The Northern Empire was in complete uproar. Now, the empire wasn't quite your traditional run-of-the-mill state. Rather, it had been built with two purposes in mind: Produce faith for the Wolf God, and create a new, prosperous home for the many species of canines that inhabited Tierra, be they four-legged or two.

Thus, when the Wolf God's priests suddenly received news from their God that he may not survive the coming week, it was complete chaos.

Human empires rose and fell every few hundred years, but the states backed by gods rarely ever did, unless their divine patron died. Thus, it went without saying that the citizens of the empire were sent into a panic by the news.

Still, the priests did their best to calm them down. The reigning emperor, having been elected by a council of the most influential beings within the empire and given a mark of approval from the Wolf God, worked overtime to calm the situation.

Plans were drafted up should the Wolf God fall, and contingencies were made. The fact that their God had secured the support of not one, but three major Gods for his empire should he fall spoke of the devotion the great canine had towards his people.

Within an extremely large cave in the tallest and most sacred mountain within the Northern Empire, said Wolf God was currently pacing back and forth nervously, his ears twitching occasionally.

The day had come. He had already received word from his fellow faction members about the location of the meeting, a neutral ground fairly far from the territories of both the Civilized and Beast factions.

To be honest, the Wolf God was not afraid of death. He'd already risen far beyond anything he'd ever expected from life, and he had gotten everything he ever wanted. However, that did not mean he wanted to die.

His worshippers needed him. Should he die, his priests and priestesses would almost surely die with him. There was, unfortunately, no way around this, as while he was bound to them and thus able to gift them a portion of his power, they were also bound to him in a much more intimate way.

Furthermore, everything he had worked for would be in danger. He had built up a utopia for his people through his blood, sweat, and tears, and he refused to allow it to fall into oblivion.

Still... He had no other choice. He refused to back down from this obligation of his, despite the obvious danger. He owed it and so much more to the three beast monarchs, who had given him so much.

He glanced upwards, his eyes easily penetrating through the thick walls of the mountain to look at the blazing sun above. It was almost time.

Stepping out of his cave, he easily teleported over to his empire's capital, Fenria. Originally, it had been nothing more than a small village inhabited by savage trolls, a species that was honestly so unreasonable not even their own God bothered with them much.

He'd slaughtered them all, taken their resources, and brought in his people. Now, from a mere camp with dirt homes, a vast, sprawling city that could rival even the major cities within the human lands stood.

He willed his massive forms to hover above the city, allowing his worshippers to gaze upon him. Each God and Goddess had their own way of interacting with their worshippers, and he was no different.

While keeping a distance from mortals to keep up the image of divine mystery was a true and tried method, he preferred a more direct approach. While he took no part in the people's lives or governance, he was always ready to answer a question from any of his worshipers or aid them during times of need.

These were mere examples, but still. After a few moments, he flew over towards the royal palace, his body shrinking down sizeably so that he could fit within the halls.

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Within it, he found almost all of his most high-ranking worshippers waiting for him, along with the royal family. He'd never liked the idea of 'nobility over the peasants', but true democracy was difficult to implement, hence, he'd settled for a sort of constitutional and elected monarchy when creating the Northern Empire, something that he still felt had been a great choice back then.

His eyes passed over each of the present members. The current emperor, a Southern-Tribal Werewolf, stood at the front of those gathered, with the High Priestess standing proudly next to him.

He enjoyed making it a point of his to always either have an Empress and High Priest, or an Emperor and a High Priestess. It certainly sent a message, and if nothing else, it was at least a slap in the face towards the Civilized Faction, who were regarded as some of the most traditionalist states on Tierra.

A faint smirk rose to his lips at the thought, causing the people who'd quickly kneeled before him to shiver slightly. He quickly suppressed his killing intent, not wishing to harm his worshippers.

"I have already said anything that needed to be said." He eventually spoke, his voice imbued with enough divine force to cause it to enchant those before him.

"If I survive this, then these preparations will all be for naught. However, should the worst come to pass, I hope for you all to abide by my wishes." Following those words, he allowed a small scroll to appear next to him and float down in front of the emperor.

His eyes once more scanned those before him. He could feel the uncertainty and fear, and perhaps even a tinge of confusion within them. He could not truly blame them for their feelings, but it did warm his heart a bit to know that he was wanted here. Needed, even.

Still, duty called. After one last glance at the emperor, he vanished, reappearing within the skies above.

He ran, the fact that there was no earth underneath him for him to run on making no difference. After all, running on air was something that he'd mastered long before his ascension to godhood, something that he was still proud of to this day, and something that had saved his hide several times.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination. The Claw God was waiting for him, and after a brief brush of divine sense, all the needed information was transferred to him. The amount of available help the Beast Faction was willing to provide, who could and could not, any unacceptable terms, etc...

If, along with the needed information, the Claw God also passed on a reassurance that his empire would be well taken care of should he die... Well, neither he nor the Claw God commented on it.

He could not sense whether the other two major Gods were close, but that was to be expected. The difference between a peak medium-ranked God and even a weak major one was just as large as the difference between a newly ascended God to the current him.

After a quick shooing motion from the Claw God, he departed towards his new destination. This time, the journey was a bit longer, but still only took him only fifteen minutes until he reached it.

He reached out with his divine sense, scanning the area for any traps or hostiles. He found none, unsurprisingly. After all, the Bastard Faction might have been filled with bastards, but they were certainly cunning if nothing else. They would not make such amateur mistakes.

He entered the clearing, expanding to his full size for the added intimidation and combat ability it brought. After all, there was little more intimidating than a mountain-sized titan of a wolf.

Even amongst the Beast Faction, renowned for the size of its gods, he was unquestionably the largest of them all. He was eight kilometers tall, and from head to tail, he measured a whopping thirty kilometers. Just his eyes alone were larger than common giants.

He did not have to wait long. The skies above suddenly turned golden, holy light radiating out along with a loud and beautiful chorus.

Wrapped by a dress crafted entirely out of holy light, the Goddess of Light descended, seated on a large throne carried by several dozens of unicorns.

The Wolf God could not help but snort loudly at the sight. "So it is you, Luxes. You're looking just as disgusting and pompous as last time we met."

The Goddess's eyes flashed darkly at the wolf's words. "Hmph. It's Light Goddess for you, Wolf God. I graced you with my name millennia ago because you were still a cute little puppy back then, but now, you've grown to be quite disgusting. You're not worthy of my name, mutt." She spoke, her words dripping with disdain.

"Hah. Not worthy, you say. I'd call you a bitch, but that would be an insult to my people. After all, unlike you, my bitches are at least good-looking." He laughed, eagerly goading her.

"Hmph." Luxia snorted, inwardly unsatisfied at how the exchange was going. Unfortunately for her, she was not used to fighting others with words, as considering she was a major Goddess, few dared cross paths with her like this.

Still... Her eyes closed briefly, deadly venom shining within them. The mutt would learn soon.

Very soon.