Carthus looked down on his starting continent of Veltus. There were so many possibilities open to him right now. What time of people should he have installed in this realm? What sort of religion would be best? Should he have a single deity or a pantheon? How type of society would be beneficial? What type of economic system should they focus on? It was all just so very exciting. He looked over the list of creatures and beings available and found himself with to many to choose from. He looked over some of his past choices and grimaced. There was no right or wrong decision. When he couldn't decide after an entire year passed him by he decided that the best choice was a variety of races and the strongest of them would be his chosen people. Feeling rather proud of himself he deposited several different races throughout his continent. "Now they can choose the boring stuff like economy and religion." He paused then pursed his lips. They had a set power pool for summoning but what about for deities? He had planned on the strongest peoples being his chosen but what if they all had different gods? How many would be left after the battles? Would any be incorporated? He didn't recall that being decided upon. So, he sent out a call for another meeting and moved to the amphitheater.
"Calling my victory already?" The gruff voice of Barnabus called out as soon as Carthus appeared. He rolled his eyes and petulantly flung his shoulder length hair back with a hand. He turned to see the child scribe seated at his desk dutifully writing. The stern woman was there as well seated on the edge of the desk with her arms crossed in what appeared to be irritation. Yet Carthus knew this was just who she was. The eagle flew down and landed near the boy while the kitten popped its head up from the child's lap. "What is it Carthus?" The child asked in a neutral tone. "Clarification or amendment to the rules regarding the power for the deities." Carthus said. "Standard power rules apply I thought that was obvious. They can only be planetoid gods and not any greater." The stern woman said. Carthus nodded and clarified. "What I mean is, lets say there are multiple unified races each with their own belief systems and pantheon. It would be rather unfair to have the standard powered system if they had 32 separate deities compared to the other side having only a standard pantheon. "What are you planning? Barnabus questioned as he shifted his large frame to loom. "Nothing untoward. That is why we are having this discussion so that it remains fair. When I win it will be from my skill not from an overlooked data point." The eagle released a deafening screech that quieted the amphitheater. Everyone looked at it and it bobbed its head in a way that made it look like a shrug. The kitten let out an adorable mew that had the child pause in its writing. "That is interesting." The child said and offered the kitten a few scritches. The stern woman nodded in agreement. "Very well." She said. "There will also be a pool of divine power to form a pantheon. The larger the pantheon the more power is shared. Much like the hero summoning we do not care how you divide that power." She looked pointedly at Carthus. "Anything else? I am missing my stories." Carthus paled a little and shook his head then vanished back down the paths that led to his new office overlooking Gulva II.
With that question answered Carthus felt like his idea was even better. At first the power levels of the deities would be low but after a few thousand years the deities and the races would be culled a bit. Even if they did reach some sort of accord their combined power would still be equal to the other side and with more diversity in abilities perhaps it would be better. He decided to spend his build points on enriching the land with natural resources and letting each race figure it all out. He ensured there were tons of minerals, plants, animals, mana wells etc. Then he congratulated himself and sat back to watch his brilliance unfold.
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Carthus was bored. He was so incredibly bored. This twenty thousand year wait was ridiculous. He didn't have anything to do. Not if he stuck to his plan anyway. Which he absolutely would it was a brilliant plan that he painstakingly thought of over the course of an entire year. It had been just over a thousand years and the primitive races had not really interacted a whole lot. They had begun to build their own individual societies and they had some rather interesting beliefs they were developing. The proto deities were starting to form from the additional power being funneled from that allotment. There were some interesting parts. When the elves discovered magic after that one guy caught himself on fire. That was a pretty good laugh. They couldn't figure out why natural water wasn't putting it out. He bet one of the elemental fire concepts had done that on purpose. He didn't blame them it was a good one. The problem was that while there was some entertainment it just wasn't constant enough to keep him occupied. He wished that his favorite concept Lust hadn't chosen Barnabus's team this time. They were always a good distraction for a few thousand years. He thought for a moment then his face lit up in a delighted smile. "Maybe we can trade!" He thought joyously.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Barnabus did not want to trade. Carthus should have known better. "He get's really serious when it is his turn as a player in these games." He thought bitterly. He had just about resigned himself to his fate of being eternally bored when he had another grand idea. He would check on the other universe to see what was happening there. They probably had their own concepts and caretakers but most universes didn't mind a little voyeurism. He rushed back to the amphitheater where the child was busy scribing whatever he scribed. Carthus managed to annoy him into using his strange abilities to see through the void gate. They stared in awe at the spiraling galaxies arrayed before them. Massive supernova's lighting up the otherwise empty void in one moment only for the light to be pulled into a black hole the next. The gravity well pulling matter from unimaginable distances to create what appeared as a semblance of stability. It was beautiful and terrifying but Cartus couldn't help but smile. Until it blinked at them. A cold sweat overtook Carthus and he laughed uncomfortably. "Wow that was great thanks so much!" Carthus said nervously as he patted the child's shoulder and rushed back to his office swearing to himself that he would do all the work. The child looked on confused at the reaction as he did not see anything unusual in the gateway. "How annoying." He thought then shrugged and went back to work. Afterall this universe wouldn't write itself.
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It had been just over 10,000 years and things were finally getting very interesting for Carthus. Years of aggression from the orc tribes finally caused the declining beastfolk tribes to unite and nearly obliterate the race. There were only a few of the more peaceful tribes remaining, and whatever was left of those that fled when the great warband was destroyed. Tribes of trolls and goblins had united up for a massive push against the dwarven strongholds. Yet the dwarves prevailed in the end and hunted them to extinction yet it was at great cost to their numbers.
The elves being rather far removed from most of the other races decided to destroy themselves with infighting. They split themselves into several sub species and generated different religions until their was not enough power to fuel their divinity. Then the gods and elves killed each other until fought until only a few of the tribes remained. Carthus did not expect that from the elves. In several of the past worlds they were a unified people. He rather favored them as they were more pleasing to look at then most of the races he enjoyed. However, he couldn't help them out of the situation as he had allowed them to decide their own destiny and for now, it looked like they might have messed this one up.
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Carthus looked excitedly at the world below. It was nearly time for the game to truly begin. He was rather proud of his people. The dwarves had come out ahead of everyone else and expanded into a larger empire throughout the continent. The few elves that remained struggled to survive but managed to by denying their old gods and finding a new path that allowed them to live more closely with the land. They are still around in some places but their groves are shrouded in deep magics that are all but impenetrable to the current peoples of the continent. The remaining orcs found a home as part of the dwarven empire. The ones with more aggressive natures found a home with the dwarven legions who always required fresh bodies to help claim land from the savage predators that called this continent home. The beastfolk were nominally part of the empire but the dwarves didn't have a need for their grasslands and the beastfolk were not really interested in the mountainous areas. They agreed to share the forested lands and had kept to that agreement for a few thousand years. The inflated growth rate of resources on this side of the world probably helped ensure less competition over the last 10,000 years as well. Overall there were 12 deities remaining which was more than manageable for a single pantheon. With an excited smile Carthus sent each deity an oracle.
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The throne room doors slammed open causing all in audience with the emperor to flinch. Emperor Bradme Silverbeard stared hard at the woman in priestess regalia running frantically toward the throne. The woman came to a stop, knelt, and bowed her head. The emperor narrowed his eyes and spoke. "Raise your head high priestess. What do the gods request of the crown this time?" The emperor saw that the priestess was pale and covered in a sheen of sweat. He unconsciously leaned closer to the woman and noticed as the rest of the court did as well. An orc man in manacles stood forgotten off to the side and started to slink away unnoticed. He along with everyone else froze when he heard the voice of the priestess. For it was the voice of Voin the god of battle. "A new enemy comes to these lands to pillage and despoil it for their evil gods. Prepare yourselves for on the day of the equinox 20 years hence they will come with the falling of the stars."