Faelyn let loose an arrow, accelerating it into its target with his gravity magic. He watched in satisfaction as it punched into the wyvern’s skull, the beast plummeting to the ground as the magic imbued in the arrow made it several times heavier. Of course, even though he had been grinding levels nearly constantly since World Saviors had launched and was one of the highest leveled players, he wasn’t yet high enough level to kill a wyvern in one hit even with a headshot, but he didn’t need to; the rest of the group was able to easily finish the wyvern now that its movement was restricted.
As that last wyvern was killed, the orb that had brought them to the nest began to glow. “How’s everyone doing?” Faelyn asked. “Do we need to take a break before we head into the trial?”
“I would like a moment.” High Priest Luden said. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not used to this sort of thing and I’m rather low on my resources.”
“I’ve got some potions, if it’d help.” Aleister volunteered. “If you need a mental break then that’s fine too, the five of us can talk with our chats.”
“I just need the potions.” Luden said. “How much should I reimburse you?”
Aleister raised an eyebrow. “There’s no need for that.” He said. “This is a team effort, and part of that is sharing supplies. If that makes you uncomfortable, look at it this way: the five of us are here to take care of the adventuring stuff, and you’re here to help with the puzzles and religious aspects of this trial.”
“If you say as much, then I won’t complain further.” Luden replied. “I just need Mana and Stamina potions, no HP potions.”
Aleister took a few out from his inventory and passed them to Luden. “There are a couple extra in there, for if you’re in a pinch. HP potions too. Don’t be shy about using them, okay? They’re of no use if you’re dead.”
Luden nodded, drinking a couple of potions before taking the orb out from his belt. “Shall I take us through?”
The rest of the group signaled their assent, and a moment later Faelyn found himself in a small living room, standing next to the rest of his party. It seemed a rather plain place, decorated in the style of a simple log cabin, a place that Faelyn wouldn’t give a second thought were he to come across it anywhere else.
Luden, however, seemed to not share that sentiment, as he dropped to his knees, awe apparent in his voice. “I can’t believe this.” He whispered. “I…I…my goddess, thank you for this privilege.”
Hesitantly, Faelyn and the rest of the party kneeled, waiting for the priest to offer an explanation. It took a while, long enough that Faelyn was starting to get worried that Luden was under some sort of magic, but Luden eventually seemed to remember the rest of the party and stood, giving them an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry,” he began, “I forgot that you likely don’t know what this place is. This…this is the home of the Goddess of Hearth. Her presence is incredibly strong here, and it matches all the descriptions I’ve read from past High Priests.”
Faelyn looked at the room with new eyes. It had seemed so unassuming that Faelyn had just assumed it was part of the trial, but for it to be Hearth’s own home…well, he supposed that fit her. If she didn’t like spaces dedicated to worshiping her to be ostentatious, it stood to reason that her home would be the same.
“What should we do?” Isadora asked. “We’ll follow your lead here, we don’t want to be disrespectful in any way.”
“I think we should just leave.” Luden said. “The trial is likely out through the exit.”
“We can stay as long as you’d like.” Donovan offered. “It isn’t every day that you have this opportunity.”
Luden shook his head. “I would rather hasten her work.” He said. “She has given me this reward, it is only fair that I repay her by spreading her message as best I can.”
He carefully walked over to the door leading outside, Faelyn and his party close behind. The moment Luden opened the door, the six of them were teleported to some sort of audience chamber, with Luden sitting on the throne while Faelyn and the others were arranged like bodyguards.
“For your first trial,” Hearth’s voice rang out, the words digging deep into Faelyn’s soul and leaving him with an undeniable knowledge of who was speaking, “you will need to answer petitions. Should you give an unsatisfactory answer to a petition, the petitioners will transform into monsters that you must defeat. Begin.”
Immediately, the room was filled with the crying of an infant, two older women, one distraught maid and one annoyed noble, appearing. The annoyed woman was holding the baby in her arms, and she gave an apologetic look to Luden. “My liege, I apologize for taking your valuable time with this nonsense.” She said in an almost sycophantic tone. “This maid behind me has the gall to claim that my child is actually hers! Her son died not one week ago, and she’s entered hysterics, demanding to be brought to you for judgement. I wanted to deny her, but it is the law, so here we are, bothering you with these frivolities.”
Luden frowned, looking down at the annoyed woman. “Have you not called for a healer?”
The woman gave Luden a perplexed look. “Why would I do that? She’s but a maid.”
“A healer would both be able to soothe her madness and provide proof of maternity.” Luden said. “To me, it would seem the first course of action.” He turned to the distraught woman, giving her a carefully neutral look. “Would you please tell me your side of the story?”
“The Mistress’s son was stillborn!” The distraught woman cried. “I’m one of her husband’s mistresses, so she sought to take my baby so as to avoid social stigma!”
Luden frowned deeply, turning back to the annoyed woman and waving his hand slightly. “What say you to this?”
“It’s true, of course!” The annoyed woman said, shock springing to her face as she spoke. “She should be grateful that I’m willing to take in her wretch of a son and provide him with a chance to be useful!”
Luden’s face turned steely. “Hand the boy to her this instant.” He said. “He is not yours.”
The annoyed woman frowned, then thrust the child into his mother’s arms. “My liege, I would ask you to reconsider. He’s but a commoner’s son, and our house is in desperate need of an heir. The lack of one could destabilize the entire region!”
“The orphanages have children that would be suitable, I’m sure.” Luden said calmly. “Get out of my sight.”
The annoyed woman grabbed her maid’s arm and began to tow her out, but Luden spoke once again. “Leave the maid.” He ordered. “She’ll be taken into my service.”
“But –”
“This is not up for debate.” Luden said strictly. “Do it.”
The noble sighed, then disappeared into nothingness, the maid and the child following shortly thereafter. A moment later, another set of petitioners arrived and began to ask Luden their questions, and, when they had been dealt with, another.
The petitions all followed a clear theme; community, family, and conflict resolution. Luden handled them all admirably, failing only one out of the ten petitions he was given. It was a particularly thorny case involving custody of children in a divorce, and Luden had eventually erred on the side of splitting the custody equally between both parents, alternating each week.
As the parents turned into monsters and began to attack, Hearth’s voice informed the group that the error was a slight one; he had simply forgotten to ask the children’s opinion on the matter. It was an easy mistake to make, as the children had not appeared with the parents, and in the end their opinions would have pointed to equal custody, but Hearth said that it was something that couldn’t be ignored in cases such as this.
Fortunately, the monsters the parents had turned into were well within the capabilities of Faelyn and his party to handle, so they were able to move on to the next petition without any major injuries. And, with a little help from some healing magic and a couple of potions, they were back at full strength within only a couple of petitions.
When the last petition ended, the room transformed into Hearth’s home, and Hearth’s voice rang out once again. “Now that you have proved your wisdom, I ask that you prove your conviction. Faelyn, Aleister, Evelyn, Marley, Donovan, I offer you a choice; should any of you so choose, you may leave now, and I swear upon my name that I will see to it that you are given enough to live off of for the rest of your life.
“You will not lack for money or comfort, and your only consequence will be the inability to participate in World Saviors, or in any future conflict that may visit your plane. If you choose to stay, know that you will likely find yourself in the thick of this conflict, more so than the average person. It will be a tough road ahead, one filled with strife and hardship, but you will likely hold at least some semblance of influence over the course this conflict takes.”
A portal appeared where the fireplace was. “Simply step through there if you wish to leave, or exit via the door you took to get to the first trial to stay. And, once again, I will stress that there are no tricks or strings attached, you will get exactly what I promised you. I will return in thirty minutes time to force those who have not decided to make a decision. Now, please, decide.”
Her presence vanished, and Faelyn immediately walked over to the door, gently opening it and stepping through. That wasn’t even a choice, not really; Faelyn already had enough saved to live for a hundred years, and even if leaving would let him live in comfort indefinitely, it wasn’t a life he wanted to live.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
If he had to give up on this whole thing, something that was shaping up to be perhaps the single most important event in millennia, he’d never be able to forgive himself. He began exploring to seek fortune and excitement, and he had sacrificed a stable life to do so. He needed to know more about this situation, needed to participate. To deny that would be to deny everything he stood for.
The door led to a large empty room, and Faelyn was shortly joined by Luden and the rest of the party.
“So soon?” Hearth’s voice asked. “Are you sure you don’t need a moment more to decide?”
“I think I speak for everyone when I say that we don’t.” Aleister said. “The five of us could retire at any time, but we keep doing this for the love of the craft. This is no different.”
“Very well.” Hearth said approvingly. “Look at the wall ahead of you. Once I finish speaking, I will begin playing video that shows the truth behind my involvement in this. You’ll find that copies will be on your computers, and I would ask that, when you next log out, you spread them as much as you can. And…thank you.”
The wall in front of them began to display an image of Hearth’s home, where Hearth herself was sitting in a chair in front of her fireplace, a weary expression on her face. The door on the far end of the room opened and, to Faelyn’s shock, two of the leaders of the swarm walked in. “Close the door on your way in, if you would.”
“Y-yes, Your Worship.” Lia said, waiting for Rose to come in before shutting the door.
“For the purposes of our conversation, Heather is fine.” Hearth sighed, motioning towards a couch that was across from her. “Take a seat.”
They did, and a silence fell, broken only by the crackling of the fire. Faelyn…wasn’t sure what he was watching; Hearth was not only meeting with the swarm leaders, but giving them permission to use her name in conversation, a privilege that was nearly unheard of.
After a while, Hearth sighed again. “I really wish you two were ruder.” She said. “It would make this so much easier for me.”
“If you would like, we can be.” Rose said politely.
“No, it’s too late for that now. I suppose that’s part of the reason we’re here in the first place.”
Lia looked uncertain, and Hearth heaved yet another sigh. “Please, talk with me like you would anyone else. This conversation isn’t going to go anywhere if you’re constantly showing deference to me.”
Faelyn couldn’t help but glance over at Luden, who was watching with his mouth agape. Faelyn couldn’t blame him; as far as Faelyn knew, no one had been allowed to speak with the gods equally. That wasn’t a thing that happened, ever.
The video froze, and Hearth’s voice began to play. “As you can see, some time ago I chose to meet with the leadership of the swarm. Only two of the three, the third is as of yet not mature enough for these conversations, but two is enough. The snippets of me that you saw in promotional material all occurred prior to this conversation, months before World Saviors was announced. These clips were used without my permission, and I believe were done to intentionally manipulate how I appeared to the world.”
The video fuzzed, changing to a scene of Hearth storming up to the God of Space. “What’s the big idea, Seth!?” She hissed, glaring at him.
Space looked guilty for a moment, but quickly schooled his expression. “What’s this about, Heather?” He asked innocently.
“You know full well what this is about.” Hearth accused. “You know you used old footage of me in that promotional material.”
“I was simply underlining the threat the swarm poses.” Space replied. “Is that so wrong?”
“Yes, when you know that’s not quite how I feel at the moment! I don’t like being misrepresented like this!”
“Then you should have looked over the promotional material before we sent it out.” Space replied. “I do believe I gave all the gods a copy.”
“I was trying to stay out of it!” Hearth replied. “I trusted you, trusted you to not pull something like this! Go cut me out of it, now!”
Space sighed. “Heather, we’re long past that. This material is final, that was communicated to everyone. If you wanted it changed, you needed to do it before.”
Hearth threw her hands up in frustration. “Fine, whatever. I’ll deal with it myself, within these stupid rules.”
The scene froze and Hearth began to speak yet again. “As you have surmised, this quest is my way of dealing with it myself. I’m going to show you most of the rest of that conversation, with some unimportant details cut out for privacy’s sake. What you’re about to see does not paint me in the most positive light, but I think it’s important that you understand my thought process and my turmoil. This situation is not as clear-cut as the gods sponsoring World Saviors would have you believe, and I feel this clip illustrates that.”
The video resumed, clearly a bit ahead of where it had left off. “What do you think of family, Rose?” Hearth asked.
“I…I’m afraid I’m still figuring that out.” Rose admitted. “In my previous life, I couldn’t really…feel attachment in that way.”
To Faelyn’s shock, Hearth actually winced when Rose said that, an unmistakable look of guilt flashing across her face before the video paused again. “Rose is the reincarnation of the greatest Hero of their plane, Ratha. In that plane, the gods chose to try a system which would prevent Heroes from harming the people, and, as a side-effect, dulled their emotions to the extreme. Looking back on it, it was a mistake, and one I’m not proud of, but it’s one that will shape this conversation, so it is important that you know.”
The video resumed, Rose continuing to talk. “But…I think what I have now is family. The happiness everyone gives me is just so…so…I can’t even put it into words, but it just makes me happy. The way Lia’s family welcomed me with open arms…it makes me want to do it for others.”
The video skipped ahead a bit. “But…to get back to the original question, I don’t know, I can’t really put a definition to family right now, just know that I think it’s important.”
“Yet, you were so adamant that the children of Amelia’s aunts and uncles were taken away from their parents.” Hearth said. “If family is so important, why would you do that?”
“What they had wasn’t family.” Rose said sharply. “Those children were being abused, brought up in an environment where they were told their only value was what they could bring to their parents. And, in turn, they would grow up with that same twisted mindset and perpetuate it further. I made sure they were taken away because family is important; I wanted them to have a shot at a real family, not whatever they had.”
There was silence for a moment as Hearth drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “I really hate that you said that, you know. I do.”
“I won’t change my stance on the matter.” Rose said firmly. “I don’t care what you think; this isn’t about politics; it’s about making sure children receive the love they deserve.”
“No, no, no.” Hearth said quickly. “I hate that you said that because I agree with it.”
“Why?” Lia asked, frowning.
Hearth began to speak to explain her position, but Lia interrupted, saying that she was wondering why Hearth hated that Rose said that. Yet, instead of being angry or indignant that Lia was talking back to her, Hearth just sighed. “Because it makes my life harder. It would be so much easier if I could write you guys off as being uncaring tyrants, but you’re not and it’s driving me mad. I don’t want to have commonalities with you when I oppose you.”
Rose asked why Hearth opposed them, and Hearth explained that it was because she hated how conversion would rip families apart.
“U-um, but it doesn’t. Most families survived conversion just fine.” Lia said in a small voice. “But…I share the sentiment. It was awful seeing the women in Aura’s capital, living their lives and forcing themselves to do things they didn’t want.”
That reply shocked Faelyn. This was a far cry from the sort of unfeeling monsters that the swarm leadership had been made out to be, and his mind was racing with the implications of it.
Yet, as much as that shocked Faelyn, Hearth’s reply shocked him more. “I know!” Hearth yelled, eliciting a gasp from Luden as she actually slammed a fist down on the arm of her chair. “The fact that you were the one with an aching heart over the plight of those women, that you shared my feelings…do you know what that did to me?”
Lia understandably shrunk back in her chair in fear, and Hearth apologized for taking her emotions out on Lia. And, as if the video wasn’t already shocking enough, she painted an entirely different picture of what life was like for people under the swarm than the promotional material had. They didn’t suddenly develop some rabid desire to assimilate every living thing, they were…people. They didn’t hold prejudice for those who weren’t members of the swarm, they just went about their lives as normal, albeit with the understanding that their loved ones would eventually become part of the swarm.
Then, Hearth asked the million-dollar question. “But…even so, how can you continue doing these things, now that your conditioning has been broken? Why continue to rip families apart, even momentarily?”
Lia looked unsure, but Rose had an answer. “Because I know it’s temporary. And because I know that most will likely be happier once the dust settles. To be perfectly honest, when it comes to family, what we’re doing here is less disruptive than regular wars, and, unless I’m reading things wrong, you don’t hate those enough to take action against them all. If you did, then war wouldn’t be so prevalent.”
“I do hate war.” Hearth said. “I don’t think anyone likes it. But…if I intervened with every conflict because of my distaste, then people would have no agency to do things for themselves.”
The video paused again. “I have to skip for privacy reasons again, but to give some context, I mentioned one of the other gods being excited at the prospect of there being no more war, and I foolishly said that I don’t share the sentiment. Rose told me to stop her if she was out of line, then called me shortsighted and began to say this after I indicated she could go ahead.”
To Faelyn’s amazement, Rose actually seemed to lecture Hearth. Rose explained her reasoning, explained that she felt this war was less disruptive than others and that it would be the final conflict on that scale. And that was already unbelievable enough, but then Rose “got personal”, and an unmistakable note of anger crept into her words.
She chided Hearth for letting “the Urge” ruin her life for the greater good, and accused Hearth of drawing an arbitrary line in the sand, then ignoring when it wasn’t actually crossed. Rose demanded a reason for being against them, and acknowledged that, while the swarm was on a slippery slope, they were consulting with the gods to keep their morals as best they could.
The most shocking thing about it was how Hearth looked; she didn’t look like a goddess, she looked like a child who had been caught doing something bad. She stared down at her feet, and by the time she worked up the courage to look Rose in the eyes, she seemed genuinely sorry as she apologized and said that she would no longer actively work against the swarm.
And then Lia made a request that Faelyn never would have expected; she sincerely asked Hearth to kill her if Lia’s values slipped and she became a tyrant. And, when Hearth said she would hold Lia to that, Rose doubled down, saying that they knew she would and that was why they suggested it. They truly desired to better things.
As they said their goodbyes, the video cut to Hearth, alone in her room. “And that was how I felt up until the last few days. After the events with World Saviors and some things that have happened on their plane, I have made my decision to stand with the swarm. I’m not proud of this, and I won’t ask you to praise me for this decision; I understand it is shocking and it may seem like a betrayal, but…Rose is right. I have done things I’m not proud of for the greater good, and seeing their society, I do think this is the greater good.
“I’m not alone in this decision. As many of you have deduced, many gods support the swarm, enough that where we have chosen to let events play out with only relatively indirect influence, like World Saviors. Otherwise, Amelia, the architect of the swarm, would have been given a smiting far before it got to this point. I get the feeling you’ll have better insight to the swarm relatively soon, and I would advise each of you to review the facts for yourself and think long and hard before you make any decisions. Farewell.”
The video stopped, leaving Faelyn’s party to sit there in stunned silence. The importance of that video weighed down on Faelyn, and for once, he didn’t know what to say. Out of habit more than anything, he checked his chat, and it, too, was uncharacteristically slow. No one really knew how to react, and Faelyn got the feeling that things had just become infinitely messier. Now…all he could really do was wait and see how this shook out.