The week flew by.

No one else in the new class had been confident enough to challenge anyone to any more duels. There was also some sort of spatial enchantment on their class. Trillia had taken to calling them Upper-Classmen, and unless one of them spoke up and made themselves known, no one from the new class could reliably see them.

Titan had only briefly run into Blossom and Trillia. The first week wasn't much training for magic and combat. It was almost entirely breaking their brains on those damn books.

The books. Trillia groaned as she mindlessly shoveled food into her face. Two of the immortals had been dropped. Lancaster, the quadruped from the duel, and another one that she hadn't met. Trillia and Blossom had just barely passed. The two sat at a desk eating with the book open between them.

"I wish we could just take a few days off like the Professor suggests." Blossom lamented as she stared at the torture device.

"Yeah, but we didn't do well. She didn't seem angry, but I don't want to risk dying because we were lazy. We're the catch-up kids right now."

Blossom gave a little mumble but kept reading. The two looked up when another plate was set on the table across from them. Tempest rubbed her eyes, obviously upset. "Ok, I was a royal bitch to the two of you at first. I honestly figured I was well above two mortals. I'm a goddess of Conflict, so it's in my nature to be combative, but I won't use my portfolio as an excuse. I can't figure out how to cast here. I am a decent caster from my own realm. I've done free-form casting before. A lot of a deity's duties utilize a type of free-form casting. Yet I cannot make anything happen."

The two girls paused and simply stared at her, waiting for the point they were sure was coming. Tempest continued. "I'll help you learn all this technical stuff that you are struggling with. If you help me with actually utilizing any of my twice damned skills!"

Trillia smiled and extended her hand. "Sounds like a fair trade to me."

Tempest's lips curled a bit in disgust before she shook Trillia's hand. "That divine magic of yours is utterly revolting to feel. No offense."

"Sorry. I'm not used to having a title. Fairtrade is the only one I have, and I got it right before coming here." That seemed to surprise both of her dinner guests.

Blossom spoke up. "Really? I've had my title for nearly a hundred years. It seems strange to have not gotten a title in such a long time."

Tempest shrugged. "Maybe her realm is just low on the power scale? I've heard of realms with low mana capacity having a lot of difficulties forming titles or magic-based classes. That could be why she's so good at free-form casting as well?"

Trillia paused, not only because she felt it a bit rude to talk about her as if she wasn't sitting next to them. But also because Trillia realized that she hadn't really gotten to know Blossom that much. "I'm... I'm only like thirteen or fourteen...."

"WHAT?!" Both of the other girls yelled out in unison.

Tempest's visage changed from the usual resting -talk to me and I'll kill you- face, to one of surprising softness. "Is...is that old? For your realm?"

"No. I'm still a child. My mother is several centuries old. My brothers are only...well, I guess now they'd be in their twenties or so. But they are still very, very young as well."

Tempest seemed almost hurt by that. "I'm...sorry. I didn't realize." Blossom put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which left Trillia quite confused.

"Umm...it's fine? Orc children are thrown into battle by the time they are five or six. For many years it's the only way we could survive our nomadic lifestyle. We have a racial trait that surfaces when we face near-death as a child, that makes us nearly unkillable for a short time."

Tempest's face dropped even more. "Trillia that's... No. That is normal. I must remember we come from different realms, with different cultures. I really need to learn to stop assuming things."

A deep voice pulled them all from their discussion as Titan walked past, book in hand. "I do believe that's why the both of us were sent here. Let's be honest, Tempest. Both of us have had relatively easy lives compared to people who were born mortal. I think our fathers wanted us to understand mortality and diversity of culture better."

Trillia offered him a smile and motioned for him to join the table. Titan sat down and returned the smile. "Tempest is technically my cousin. Her father rules over the Celestial bands from the [2nd Axle], my father rules over the Infernal bands."

Tempest smacked his shoulder and gave him an exasperated look. "We aren't supposed to just shout that from the roof you numbskull!"

Titan slowly rolled his eyes. "Yes, because we're in such a dangerous place."

Blossom glanced over at Trillia, watching her tense up. "Trillia...is everything ok?"

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Trillia's mind raced and tumbled as she looked over at the two deities. "So. You're both Darktones?"

Tempest and Titan looked over at her with a bit of surprise. "Yes? Is that an issue?" Tempest seemed almost insulted.

Titan reached across the table and gently put his hand over hers. "We aren't as scary as the rumours make us out to be. Judging by that reaction, you hail from the [2nd Axle] as well, don't you?"

Trillia had to fight the urge to jerk her hand away. While Tempest had been a bit combative at first, she hadn't really threatened Trillia. "I am pact-bound, to a deity named Arlyss Ocrey Darktone. I...I feel as though your family meddles in fate, without much thought for others."

The two gave each other a knowing look, a brief exchange of glances later, and Tempest spoke up. "Trillia. Without knowing exactly what world you come from, I don't know how accurate this time will be. But Titan is only ten thousand or so. I have only just broken into my seven-thousands. I realize that seems ancient to you. But our fathers have existed for millions of years. The [2nd Axle], who is technically our uncle. Has existed for maybe billions. We are keenly aware of how cruel things can be."

Trillia sat back and chewed on her lip, thinking about their words. Titan continued. "It is a matter of portfolio. The way a deity's power works is related to what they have dominion over. Think of it like this, Tempest is a goddess of Conflict. There are many gods of war. Which do you think is stronger?"

Trillia was happy to latch on to the distraction, especially if it meant answers. "I guess Conflict? It covers a broader range of things, right?"

Blossom, surprisingly, was the one to speak up. "Well...yes. If you are talking about a trade negotiation, sure. War wouldn't really cover that."

Tempest grinned and shook her finger. "Not quite. Conflict covers a wider range of things, which is why I ascended for Conflict and not War. However, if trade negotiations were to break down. It could result in a trade war. There is a reason all deities are so finicky with the words they use. Many people believe that War is only fought with blade and spell. But that is simply not true."

"So what's the difference? If they have so much overlap?"

Titan took over. "A portfolio gives a deity the ability to nudge certain things in a direction they want. To give boons and blessings to their allies and afflictions to their enemies. War is an escalation of Conflict, yes. In that regard, if something devolves into a War, Tempest would be at a disadvantage. Portfolios that cover a more narrow range of things are considerably more powerful."

"However!" Tempest exclaimed, seemingly much more animated and excited now. "If I can solve an issue while it is still a conflict and not a war. I win the exchange. I can give my boons and blessings significantly sooner than a portfolio of war! The biggest difference in portfolios is how strong or weak they are early on. Many minor deities pick extremely narrow subjects for their ascension. This lets them give huge boons that have a serious impact, thus generating more followers."

"But taking a broad and general portfolio is a slow build-up." Blossom reasoned. "It means at an early age you're weaker. But later in your lifetime, you will be able to wield your power over a massive area of things."

Trillia glanced at the two deities. "Can I ask...maybe a rude question?"

Both nodded. "Lord Arlyss is my age. He is alre-"

Tempest raised a hand. "You cannot judge anyone based on the progress of the Triplets. Their father is a freak of circumstance and coincidence. Arlyss has two extremely broad Portfolios and is already considerably stronge-" Tempest paused as realization dawned on her. "You're from Alirast. The cradle-world."

Titan and Tempest's faces both dropped. Trillia and Blossom sat there confused. After a heavy pause, Trillia nodded. "I am from Alirast...yes. Is that a problem?"

Titan just started laughing. Tempest rubbed her eyes. "By all the gods, I hate teaching mortals anything."

As Titan began to speak, he wiped a tear from his eye. "You aren't supposed to be able to speak to us. I'd wager half the reason any of us are here is because Uncle Kain fucked around with the strands of fate to make sure we met." He tried to say more but just started laughing again.

"Sorry, but I don't understand any of what you all are saying." Blossom looked between the three of them in confusion.

Tempest nodded. "Uncle Kain broke the rules even if he had a very good reason to do so. One of the Primordial class dragon deities tried to assassinate his pregnant wife. But rules are rules. So the...." She paused, looking at the two mortals. "The boss of the deities has to be impartial. Alirast was locked from seeking outside help. No one, except maybe Uncle Kain and the boss, knows the conditions to lift that lock, but it has lessened recently."

Trillia nodded. "Right. So why would he want us to meet?"

Titan scratched his chin, a grin still on his face. "Well. Uncle Kain doesn't really lose. Anything. Ever. I guess to get to the point we were making at the onset of this conversation. Uncle Kain is a Primordial Class deity as well. His Portfolios are Fate, Destiny, and Providence."

Blossom gave them a confused look. "Don't those all have...like, a lot of overlap?"

Both of their faces grew more serious as Titan responded. "Yes. They are also some of the most vague and broad portfolios you can have. Especially if you're clever in your wording. EVERYTHING is tied to Fate, Destiny, and Providence if you are clever. To use our earlier analogy, the fate or destiny of a company can hinge on any given argument, conversation, or trade deal. That is why Darktones are seen as cursed. It's because his very existence nudges fate to hilarious degrees. Stuff that should be statistically impossible are common occurrences."

Tempest sat back as she picked up some sort of finger food and chomped a bite, waving it about like a blurry wand. "My guess is he knew or had a feeling that Titan and I would need a nudge to overcome our inability to operate well here. Which would lead us to seek out help since Darktones are punished severely for any form of failure on the grand stage of Deific politics. Putting you here means we seek you out. We exchange the only thing we can, which is knowledge and know-how. You pass on some or all of it to your patron god. Who happens to be our cousin."

Blossom put her head on the table, half mumbling to the others. "That seems so convoluted. There has to be a better way."

"Sure. But if there is, he could be accused of breaking the rules. I mean, he still is...sort of. But there are so many degrees of separation that the other deities have to just silently applaud maneuvering so many pieces."

Trillia's worry and doubt had vanished. For some reason, she had never seen it that way. She thought the gods were trying to meddle with her specifically. But the reasoning was more simple. A Father wanted to protect his children in a safe way that wouldn't result in them suffering even more. "Well. I won't squander the chance! I'll do everything I can to help you where I can. Help me survive this class, and teach me everything a fledgling god ought to know and find out over the course of centuries instead of just a decade."

Tempest gave her a devilish smirk and extended her hand. "Sounds like a fair trade."