Pantheon Peace is the first real attempt at forcing the genie back into the bottle. Ultimately, the thought of annihilating victory had to be removed for the sake of the world. Kassandora’s theories of scalable war were also denounced along with magical militarization. All were ideas that simply should have never been thought of. The War College of Arcadia was renamed, the reframing of War back into the Age of Heroes and settling national grievances through champions rather than armies, the cleansing of Sorcery and the capture of Weapon-Divines are the foundations of the Post-Great-War Era.
I find Fortia and Maisara annoying, but there is one thing all three of us agree on. None of us will forget Kassandora’s changes. Her mentality is an ideological plague we needed to produce antibodies to. Already, I fear her pragmatic paranoia setting in, the doubt of whether Peace with Paraideisus and Tartus will last, the need to prepare for a conflict should they stab us in the back. I push these thoughts away, the White Pantheon will lead Arda until powerful Divines naturally emerge from Pantheon Peace ideals, the reins will be handed over then.
Excerpt from ‘My Thoughts on the New Era’, written by Goddess Allasaria, of Light, kept within the White Pantheon’s Closed Library
Olonia gripped her sword as the rank smell of sulphur invaded her nostrils. Lubska had sulphur mines in the mountains, every decade or so there’d be an avalanche. She would be called to help out, and the smell had ingrained itself into her memory. A pungent aroma that seeped into clothes and everything she had on her.
Saksma went for her blade. Agrita started to shake, she gripped her spear in both hands and took a step back. Olonia took a deep breath as she recalled her thoughts from training. She had stood up against Fer. It was true, that it was only training, but it was Fer still. The pinnacle of what a Goddess should be in melee. Just as Fer had said, if Olonia could get a cut on her, she could get a cut on anyone. Aliana pulled her bow off her shoulders. Paida drew her blade and started to get the shield ready.
But none of them were fast enough, nor brave enough. Olonia saw a red circle appear on the stones of the ground as if a magician had suddenly drawn it with magma. It bubbled and set alight with flames. And Olonia felt her legs go as hard as stone. Her hand tightened around the hilt of her blade until her knuckles turned white, she felt her breath catch, and couldn’t force herself to expel the cold underground air from her lungs.
The circle on the ground grew to the size of a table. Five points, each equally spaced from it each other, started to shine brightly on it. Straight lines expanded from them, joining together to make a cursed five pointed star. “Ihh…” Olonia tried to get the elf’s name out. She hated herself that she was still so weak that she needed to call for help, but call for help she did.
Fer left the room first. Clad in animal skins and a skirt, her legs exposed and a tail lightly swishing from side to side. She simply did not fit the mood, it was as if they were all in a horror movie, and she had come out of one of those action flicks Aliana enjoyed. The woman sniffed the air, her ears bounced, she actually turned her back to the burning pentagram on the ground and looked deeper into the corridor. The torch on her head shining brightly onto the walls of smoothed stone.
Iliyal was the second, Kavaa came close behind him. They both stared impressed at the symbol on the ground. And Olonia finally saw their faces. Kavaa was merely watching, her grey eyes looking almost bored. There was nothing in them, she was merely waiting for whatever it was to happen. One hand was on her sword hilt, the other gripped her shield, but it was loose.
But Iliyal though? The expression he was making was the exact same as when Waramunt had been killed by his hand. His emerald eyes danced excitedly over the red symbol on the ground as he waited. One hand on his sword, the other on his pistol. In that dark suit, he almost faded into the darkness around them. “Looks like they’ve not changed portalling then.”
“They haven’t.” Fer said as she finished her inspection of the tunnels ahead of them. She turned back towards them and Kavaa took a step back. Fer… that was the Goddess of Beasthood indeed. Her iris’ had grown large, teeth extended from her jaws, her nails had grown into claws and thick golden fur was bursting out of her skin. “Been a while since I saw one of these.” Kavaa shrugged her shoulders.
“So what now?” She asked.
“So now we wait and see what comes out, this confirms that the first rune wasn’t a fake.” Iliyal said as Kavaa looked to Olonia and her four friends.
“You’re about to see a demon, whatever it is, we will kill it.” Olonia blinked as Saksma let out a mirthless, panicked laugh. Agrita took another step back, Kavaa noticed it immediately. “If any of you run, you are putting yourselves in danger, you are safest around us.”
“Kavaa is correct.” Iliyal said. “Fer, it’s your kill.”
“That wasn’t in question.” Fer merely growled as she circled around the portal. Olonia took a step back to give her room. She was scared of whatever was about to come out of that portal, but that expression Fer was making, the impatient excitement, was just as terrifying. That was the difference between them. Olonia did not know if she could get into that mentality, even if she lived for a thousand years more.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Fer’s tail dragged along the ground as she found a spot, opposite the wall. She gave a single glance up, at Iliyal and Kavaa, who were on the other side, and moved her hand to shoo them away. Neither made comment, they simply moved. That was something else, that level of teamwork… Did they even like each other? Fer and Kavaa had been on opposite sides in the Great War, and now they moved as if they had ten thousand years’ worth of experience together. “Anything we should know?” Iliyal asked. Olonia blinked. Was that question for her?
“I am supposed to answer that?” Kavaa said.
“You are.”
“I assume you know everything.”
“You fought with them.”
“You fought against them.” Kavaa replied just as dryly. “Let’s not pretend that I’ll be better at killing them than Fer.”
“Let’s not.” Fer agreed excitedly. She adjusted her posture, one leg behind her, the other bent forwards, arms hanging loose at her side. “This wait always annoyed me.”
“I always liked it.” Iliyal said.
“You had to prepare for it.”
And Olonia stared at them, barely able to move. She finally took a breath, and felt her hands start to shake. Whether Iliyal noticed or not, he had nothing to say. He was only looking at Kavaa. “I thought you would have more…” He searched for a word. “Unwillingness to fight them.”
“I’ve told you about the Pantheon.” Kavaa said.
“You did.” Iliyal said.
“Imagine the Pantheon, now imagine three of them. That sums the three world alliance up.” Kavaa said. She turned to the Goddesses and finally decided to explain. “This is a portal rune.” She pointed to the red pentagram in a circle behind her. It set alight, the flames growing tall. “It takes about a minute or two to move someone. It’s not particularly dangerous.”
Olonia blinked. Saksma let out her scared laughter again. Agrita grabbed onto Paida, the Goddess of Rancais changed her posture, one hand holding Agrita’s, the other trying not to shake her as she hefted the sword to protect the two of them. Aliana reached for an arrow, her fingers missed it and she dragged an empty bow ready to shoot. “You’ll see now. This is good training.” Kavaa said. “If it bleeds, it dies. Divines bleed, we die. Far easier than you would think. Demons.” She turned to the portal. “There’s flames and howls, but that’s about it.”
Iliyal said nothing, he merely crossed his arms across his chest as Fer remained still. Olonia did not know if the woman had frozen and her eyes had glazed over, or whether she really had just adapted into a silent snake ready to strike.
The rune of fire in the middle started to glow brighter, the flames simmering on it spiralled upwards. Higher and higher, until they made a pillar as tall as Iliyal. Bright oranges and yellows and reds that silently danced in the cold darkness of the dwarven underground highway. They slowly became brighter and brighter, the fire growing so hot that Olonia felt the heat hit her like an avalanche. And they kept on growing, Iliyal took a few steps back, Kavaa only one, Fer remained fixed in place. The fires turned to blue, from the flame of a candle to that of a gas stove.
And Olonia saw a woman of appear in the middle of them. She was in mid-air for only a moment, looking down at her shoes as she dropped from the centre of that flame and into the middle of the magical rune. Two horns, pure black, stuck out of her head like a flowing crown. She had a thick red tail that popped from just above her derriere. Eyes like magma, bright orange, perfect white teeth. Her hands burst with flames. She didn’t notice anyone around her, simply looking down in a careful expression as the flames cooled and she fell the towards the stony ground.
But she never touched the floor. Fer was faster.
Olonia did not blink, but she missed it anyway. One moment, Fer was stood there, the next, she simply wasn’t. Both her and the demoness had disappeared. Olonia heard the impact first, a thunderous sound of a cannonball as the stone to her left cracked. Dust fell from the ceiling as Olonia turned to Fer.
She was holding the demoness to the wall, a crater around it as if one of the artillery pieces Kassandora used that Olonia saw on TV had just fired point-blank into it. The demoness squirmed for a moment, her arms flailing, her tail madly grabbing as Fer. The Goddess of Beasthood merely closed her grip on the woman’s throat. Bones cracked, arms fell loose, legs stopped kicking, the tail followed the legs. And Fer let of the woman. She slid down the wall and collapsed into a heap of stone.
And Olonia stared. That was it? Just like that? She had seen Iliyal shoot men dead in Drayim. That was slower than this attack. She remembered the training. Had Fer just let them win every time? How would it be even possible to go up strength and speed such as that? Iliyal clicked he tongue in annoyance. “I would have preferred if you didn’t kill her immediately.” Fer sniffed the ear, her ears bounced, she straightened her back, her tail waved from side to side.
And that monster was gone, replaced with a smile and warm golden eyes again. “Well you should have said so!” She said it so earnestly and heartily, she may as well have been commenting on the flavour of her favourite sweets.
“I suppose so.” Iliyal said with a sigh. “I’ll remember for next time.” Fer merely chuckled as Kavaa blinked and turned to look at the corpse, she took one step forwards, held out her hand, and pulled it back.
“That was fast.” Kavaa said.
“I aim to please.” Fer said happily. Olonia stared at that corpse in disbelief. That was it? Fer had just… Just like that? Iliyal seemed to notice her staring.
“That’s how it’s done in battle.” The elf spoke to the five National Goddesses. “Take that as a first-hand demonstration. You aim to kill, children fight, adults kill. That’s what separates the two. The only you can be sure of your own survival is to eliminate all threats immediately. Every second you give is an infinite amount of openings which the opponent may or may not see.”
“This is what fighting Leona does to a man.” Kavaa said dryly and the elf shook his head.
“It’s merely Goddess Kassandora’s philosophy. There is no such things as raising stakes in warfare, you go with everything you have at all times.” He said and took a breath.
“Are we going in?” Fer asked. “Or should I carry the corpse back? It’s proof of what we came to find.”
“Proof it may be.” Iliyal said. “But it could just be a rogue succubus who was left behind a thousand years ago.” He smiled at Kavaa. “That’s what fighting Leona does to a man.” The Goddess shook her head in exasperation. Iliyal turned and shone his light deeper in. He turned around, towards the entrance, and he turned back, facing the depths once again. And for all the respect Olonia had for him, sometimes, she wished he just wouldn’t say anything. “ Leave the body, we’re going deeper.”