To say that the world was in uproar would be a gross exaggeration of the current situation. The magical world was, definitely, they knew magic was real and suddenly someone who very much exuded the aura of one proclaimed herself a goddess, a real, honest to god, living Goddess!

Tika would not have believed a word that was said if she hadn’t met Queen Vuthe de Thal before. The magical world had a lot of crazy truths and tales, but this one was by far the most outlandish one possible.

Truth be told, she still didn’t entirely believe the claim, she hadn’t been there herself, and it felt a little too convenient that a dragon that, from all accounts, looked very similar to the description of Queen Vuthe de Thal she had gotten from Vladimir, punished a bunch of evil doers while claiming to be a goddess.

In Tika’s mind that meant that Vuthe was simply up to some flashy shenanigans. Not that she blamed the girl, although she was slightly upset because now it fell to her to make sure that none of that went public.

Actually, she had already failed at that, the news hit the public channels not even half an hour after the event, she was just so glad that most people ignored it or thought of it as some bogus marketing stunt. Within hours it was already gone from the main media feeds, and she didn’t even have to really put much effort into hiding it, the people did that job for her.

Tika had never been fond of the new digitalized age, she never really fit in, but sometimes she was glad that because of the sheer amount of bullshit posted online stuff like this was oftentimes ignored and laughed at, it made her job a hundred times easier.

The only issue: The government knew it was real. And they were very frightened.

God, or perhaps Goddess, knew that they were not upright people. Truth be told, neither was Tika or her brother. While they didn’t go out of their way to commit crimes, their job of keeping magic secret meant that they had to get their hands dirty quite often. In their long lives they were involved with any number of shady deals, some bordering much too close to the line the two of them had set for themselves, but needs must, and in their early days they were by far not as principled as they were now. Time does change a person, especially if that person experienced a lot of different things in a life much longer than any humans.

That being said, compared to the magisters? Tika would gladly defend her actions in front of divine judgement, they definitely wouldn’t.

Truth be told, Tika was a little worried. Her life was long enough that she probably had done something worth her judgement at some point, but at the same time she couldn’t focus on that right now.

No, right now she had to focus on the magister on the phone with her, one that, to her great delight, was terrified out of his boots. Not that he would tell her that. But by his reaction and his insistence that she did something about this Goddess, how she was supposed to do so he of course had no idea, she knew he was terrified.

“Mister Schürfer, we are doing what we can to verify the claims, but what are we even supposed to do if they turn out to be real? Deport her? Ask her really, really nicely that she doesn’t do anything? If her words are true, she is a goddess. That is not something we can deal with. Especially if, by your wish, we do not ask the Dragon Queen or her people for help. They might actually have a chance to deal with this and you want to exclude them? Have you gone mad?”

She did keep to herself her theory about Vuthe being this “Goddess” in question, it would just make her job easier if it turns out that she was indeed not some all powerful omniscient being, and it would hopefully earn her some brownie points with the Dragon Queen if it turned out to be true. A possibility that, by all accounts, wasn't as impossible as most people would think. She had her doubts, but by Vuthe’s own admission, she had experience with gods.

“Asking that vixen for help will just make things worse and put us in her debt! Clearly someone with your experience sees that!”, Paul Schürfer exclaimed, which showed just how short sighted he truly was. Actually, he wasn’t truly short sighted. She knew from experience that he could play incredibly long games, the issue was that he was far too paranoid and jumpy for his own good. Most of his elaborate plans fell apart the moment some kind of hurdle was put in front of them.

“Listen. I know you politician types don’t like owing favours. But do you know what I like even less than owing someone? Being unable to do anything as the entire world I build up crumbles around me, because of my short sightedness. If you want us to deal with this, then we will have to involve someone who might actually be able to solve the problem. You have heard what she said, no? She met gods. She might know how to make sure this newcomer doesn’t do anything to us.”

“And where do you think this newcomer came from, hm? It’s a dragon! She herself told us that dragons cannot exist on earth yet, and for once our scientists agree with that. This Goddess or whatever has to be one of their group. That just means-”, he started shouting, but she just cut him off.

“That just means that if we are lucky we can ask Her Majesty Vuthe de Thal to talk to this Goddess and make sure they don’t act out. This isn’t really a discussion Paul. I have given you your options, the only question now is if you want them to know that you are the one who asked me.”

Silence.

For all his faults his logic was sound, and she agreed with him. That he did not know the description of Vuthe’s dragon form was the only reason he wasn’t up to speed with her. And Tika was planning to leverage that piece of knowledge as much as she could.

Honestly, Tika had kind of expected Paul to say more, to flail more, but he was surprisingly silent.

“Very well”, he said with a tone much too calm. It set Tika’s teeth on edge. “I will listen to your wisdom. Once the situation is resolved we will speak again. Good Day, Lady Loltharim.”

And with that he hung up, not even giving her a chance to respond.

Something was seriously wrong. She knew Paul, basically ever since he first got involved with politics. And this was not the way he usually acted. First he was as jumpy as a cat in a cage, and now all calm and collected? He had to have some kind of plan going on. And she didn’t like that he felt this confident in a situation like this. Even disregarding the whole question about if that Goddess was real or not, neither she, the Paranormal Council, or god forbid Thelvadore could be pushed around.

With a deep sigh she rubbed her face, then picked up her phone once more and called a number she had never called before. Tika was one of the oldest people around and someone her age made connections over time. Most of them were not notable, to most people anyways, but one of those connections enabled her to get more information than she should have. It was never anything that could be traced back to her old friend, but they were certainly helpful.

And now she dialled the number of a person that would normally never even be on her radar. A soldier that had been in the Thelvadore camp when they first returned. She had no illusions that this man could help her in big ways, but he had one thing going for him: He knew one of Vuthe’s friends. And Tika intended to exploit that little relation as much as she could.

“Hello, Dave Platora. My name is Tika Loltharim, Overseer of the Paranormal Council here in Nord-Rhein Westfalen. I would like to talk to you about your evening with the Dragoness Tizanta isk Thesekar during your first few days in their camp.”

Perspective: Dave Platora

Dave Platora was a simple man with a simple life and simple needs. He was not one to dabble in politics, he much preferred being somewhere where he could solve issues immediately and preferably without words. Like monster extermination.

He was not someone who liked to be involved with the higher ups. He actually gave up on a promotion he had earned after his time in the dragon’s camp, because he didn’t want to be involved with any of it.

And now he had gotten a call from someone who shouldn’t even know of his existence. A call that basically told him to act like a messenger sheep to establish a connection between Tika Loltharim and Tizanta isk Thesekar away from any and all prying eyes.

He hated it.

It wasn’t that he was terrified of what Tizanta would do to him, she seemed reasonable enough, and while he feared dragons, or in her case serpents, for what they could do, he doubted she would actually harm him.

No, he wasn’t terrified of the people involved. He was terrified of the implications. That this meeting was even necessary in the way it was conducted was speaking volumes. He had heard the news about this supposed Goddess and had put it off as some bogus shit that people like to tell each other.

But if Tika Loltharim, a person he had only known tangentially, was involved in such a way said more about the situation than anything else did. She should have a million different ways to make sure this meeting would happen, yet she decided on this one.

With a sigh he shook his head, refocusing back on the road. He had been given one day of unexpected leave, no doubt Lady Loltharim was involved in that as well, and of course he was on his way to New Thelvadore.

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Normally he would have told her to fuck off and eat it, but she had made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that she would not take no for an answer. And while she was by far less frightening than a dragon, Tika Loltharim was still a very dangerous person.

To him she was what she was to most people: Mysterious and in charge of overseeing the Paranormal Council. But he had also, like many others, heard the stories, how ancient she was, how powerful she was, how she liked to drink people who upset her dry like a vampire.

He was sure most of those tales were exaggerated, but even then she was someone he didn’t wanna fuck with. Nothing good came of that. It wasn’t fear, it was begrudging respect. Yeah, definitely.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive, the roads near New Thelvadore were all but deserted, with most of the traffic belonging to some kind of construction company or another.

The camp had changed a lot in the few months he hadn’t been here. Now a fully fledged small town with the beginnings of normal infrastructure, and an impressive, but much more natural looking city wall it was a sight to behold.

He was stopped when he pulled up to the giant gate.

“What is your purpose for visiting New Thelvadore, human?”, a rather intimidating Beastkin Woman, a Foxkin of some variety, asked him in a tone that told him he better hurry the fuck and be truthful.

He didn’t fear her, he might actually be able to beat her if he got the drop on her, but he also didn’t really care for any altercations today. This entire mess was enough for him.

“I’m looking for one of your bosses, Tizanta isk Thesekar. Name’s Dave Platora, bet if you tell her that she will wanna see me regardless”, he answered as truthfully as he dared while omitting all the important things that Lady Loltharim would no doubt prefer he didn’t mention to anyone outside the intended recipient.

The Foxkin woman gave him a look that informed him very much about how much she didn’t trust a word he said, but she walked off regardless, leaving Dave with the even more impressive looking guy that guarded the gate together with the Foxkin. This was going to be a fun wait…

The man, in typical soldier fashion, stared at him with all the friendliness of a dark and stormy night. At least he nailed the pissed off Soldier look, Dave thought to himself.

Not even five minutes later the air next to his car opened up and Tizanta stepped through, closely followed by the Foxkin woman. Even knowing about magic and Tizanta’s spatial abilities the sudden shift made him nearly jump out of his seat.

“Dave? I wouldn’t have thought I’d see you here. What brings you to our little corner of the world?”, Tizanta asked with her dazzling smile.

“Yeah… I have some things to discuss that some people wanna keep hush hush. And I mean really hush hush. I wasn’t quite sent here at gunpoint, but I’m sadly not just up for a social call. No clue what the fuck you guys did to have these people so up and jumpy, but whatever it was I hope it was worth it.”

He had been told not to mention Lady Loltharim at all, and so he didn’t. But he also didn’t want to lie to her with some bullshit made up reason. He was almost certain that Tizanta could see through those lies with ease.

Tizanta for her part frowned, then nodded, and suddenly he was elsewhere, car and all.

The place he found himself in was bizarre, defying any and all logic and reason and seemed to be mostly empty nothingness, while also being the most colourful place he had ever seen.

“I know what you wanna say and I also know who sent you. Truth be told I was just on my way to contact her, so this makes things a lot easier. Before you ask, no I will not tell you anything. I like you, but this is the kind of stuff worlds go to war over.”

Her voice was firm and strict, and without revealing anything she had just confirmed something he didn’t even want to know. And by the way she reacted with a smile to his thoughts, he was fairly sure that was by design.

“Oh for fucks sake… Fucking great… Just… Fucking awesome. Okay… Yeah, so she told me to set up a date with you, as soon as possible.”

“Right now is more than fine. Should I drop you off first somewhere or do you want to participate?”, Tizanta asked in a tone that told him that she already knew his answer.

“Oh fuck no! I want nothing to do with this shit. You sort your shit out, I’m out. Imma go home, or more likely to some bar to have a really stiff drink and try to forget it all…”

“I figured. It was nice seeing you again. Maybe after all this mayhem is dealt with we could have another fun evening?”, Tizanta asked with a giggle that most lesser men would be unable to ignore.

Dave was a lesser man, but he was also a man to whom the entire world just went upside down.

“Sure… Whatever… Fuck…”, he mumbled, rubbing his face.

Dave was a simple soldier, and he was sure that if whatever meeting was about to happen would not go as planned, soon he might be sent to fight against these beings. These dragons. And if Tizanta’s implication was anything to go by, a fucking Goddess. Out-fucking-standing.

Perspective: Tika Loltharim

The sudden appearance of a portal in Tika’s office came as a great surprise. Not only was this room runed eight ways from Sunday against any and all intrusion, she was quite the skilled mage herself and she hadn’t even felt the spell forming. She also hadn’t anticipated for Tizanta to show up so quickly.

But that was of course who the person who stepped into her office was, for whom else could it be. With a sigh Tika controlled her nerves, calming herself down from the sudden jumpscare.

“This is a lot faster than I had anticipated. Hello and welcome to my office, Lady Tizanta isk Thesekar.”

It never hurt to be courteous.

“Hello. I apologise for my unannounced visit, but we have things to discuss that are of great importance, so I decided not to let you wait any longer than absolutely necessary.”, the dragoness replied with a smile.

Tika nodded, then motioned for Tizanta to sit. “Yes. Her Majesty playing Goddess is most certainly problematic, especially because she decided to do so publicly. I thought we had been very clear with our orders not to reveal magic to the normals?”

Tizanta’s smile vanished and was replaced with an expression that made Tika sit up straighter.

“So, I see you have already come to a conclusion. I should not be surprised”, with a sigh Tizanta shook her head, then rubbed her temples, “But it makes it a whole lot easier. I pray for your own sake that you know how to keep a secret, Overseer Loltharim.”

A sudden wave of magic washed over Tika and the rest of the room, from the taste of it most likely some form of detection magic. Tizanta probably wanted to check if she had any bugs. Not that magic was good at picking up the mechanical kind. But then again, Tika would not let anyone bug her office. The last one that did very quickly regretted it, and he did not live to learn from his mistakes.

“You don’t get as old as myself in a world such as this if you can’t keep a secret. But I am sure you know that”, she replied simply, already suspecting where this is going.

“Indeed. So you better keep what I am about to tell you to yourself, or someone will be very, very fucking upset with you. Upset enough to remove you from the annals of history if need be.”

The sudden shift in tone was shocking. Tizanta had always seemed like the kind of person to keep up pretences, even if she despised them, to come off as someone approachable. For her to use this kind of language, this really must be one hell of a secret to tell. And Tika loved secrets.

In response to Tizanta’s words Tika nodded sagely, “I vow to keep whatever is said in today's meeting to myself.”

“Good”, Tizanta said, then continued to drop the bomb Tika thought she was prepared for. “You are right. The person who was responsible for last night was Vuthe. I don’t know how much trust you put into the words of the bystanders, but they are correct. She is, in fact, a Goddess, a rather powerful one at that. She did what she did because she was petitioned to. Don’t even bother asking me what or why, I don’t know. I just know that she perceived an injustice and corrected it. Take that as you will.”

Normally Tika would not be above breaking an oath to get more nuggets somewhere else. This? This was much too big for that.

“And now the reason I even told you about this. Vuthe is already going to have my head for this, but we need help to make sure that society doesn’t collapse. We have the power to defend against anything, but we can’t make an entire planet's worth of people forget. So you need to make sure to keep this under wraps, I already have Scarlet on it as well. And, just fyi, make sure that nobody has the bright idea to pray to her or something. The cat’s out the bag now, more or less, but it’s best to keep that piece of knowledge a secret as best as we can.”

Suddenly this was more than just her knowing a delicious little secret. Tika has learned a lot of little nuggets over the centuries, each interesting and useful in its own right. For all that she never really physically worked with her arachnid lineage, she did fancy herself a web of information to help her with her work. And this was just another puzzle piece that could be important in the future. A very, very important one. The only question was how it would relate to future events.

Giving it a moments thought she immediately pinned down three connections of importance. The Church and whatever they would do when faced with an actual deity. Then there was the governmental body, not only of Germany, but also all the different countries out there. In all honesty, she was more interested in the reaction of the various super powers across the globe than her small corner of the world.

And lastly, of course, the magical society as a whole. This was bound to have some kind of impact in the future. Magical beings were naturally connected to myths and legends. Having an actual Goddess among them? That would stir up a storm, something fierce.

The question was now how she could use this entire situation to her own benefit and to empower the people placed in her care. Tika was, for all intents and purposes, interested in solidifying her power base. But despite all the things that could be held against her, abusing her position solely for her own gain was not one of them. Yes, she liked to further her own goals, sure, but she never forgot that she was an Overseer of the Paranormal Council. And that made her responsible for a lot of people.

Considering the possible connections this piece of information had, she had to tread carefully, not revealing enough to antagonise Thelvadore and its people, while also making sure that the involved parties kept in line with the goals of the Paranormal Council.

This was the kind of situation she thrived in, mingled among all the little things that connected to the great whole. Tika saw herself as human, most of the time, but in moments like this her arachnid heritage showed clearly.

While she thought Tizanta stood in front of her desk, a frown on her face. Tika knew that her thoughts were an open book to the dragoness, and while she was sure that most of the things that came to her mind were nothing but unknowns to the woman in front of her, she also knew that she had to be very careful.

One thing she wouldn’t mind the other woman knowing was that of her arachnid heritage. It was hard to hide anyways, while she looked quite human her arachnid features were very clear to the naked eye.

There was one thing that she would prefer to keep hidden, but she was not yet sufficient enough in her aura training to prevent the dragoness from learning about it, a fact that became clear to her the moment she had to think about an old acquaintance. Oh well, you couldn’t win it all. At least the reactions would be fun to watch.

As if on queue, Tizanta spoke. “Who the fuck is Hecate?”, she asked with an expression that made it clear that she did not like what she saw one bit.

In response, Tika’s smile only widened.