A crowd outside made enough noise to wake her. She yawned and climbed down from her bedroom. "Good kind of crowd or bad?" she said.

Nusina's answer felt distant. "Be right there." She paused and continued in a louder mental voice, "More magic-seekers, I think."

"Echo my voice, will you?" She opened the door just as her companion flashed into reality. Ruyo spoke to the hundred or so townsfolk, and her voice rippled unnaturally loud. "Good evening! Thanks partly to you, the southlands city-states have won a major victory against Khyber. Peace is coming back!"

There was some applause. Ruyo steeled herself and boasted without feeling too foolish about it. "As the new patron goddess, with the blessing of the Steadfast Church, I can offer you access to magic. Come on in if you want to get started, or you already have some of my power and want the next step of it, or you just want to say hello!"

In the group were several city guards and a spy that Ruyo recognized. She welcomed his company while pretending he was a stranger, not the one who'd helped yank a poisoned crossbow bolt out of her leg a while ago. She began handing out her initiation to those who'd already prayed. She explained the basic water-shaping technique, getting people to pass a ball of water back and forth and toss it around.

"You've put me on the spot," Ruyo told the group. "I guess I have to talk about fighting the northern hordes, huh?"

She kept it short and left out the more horrible or secret parts. Mostly that meant talking about outwitting scouts, ambushing some raiders and rescuing miners from a desperate, self-imposed cave-in.

"What about killing the general?" somebody called out.

She grinned. "That part's more magical and secret than most! I'm not telling that one tonight." Growing more serious, she said, "The Council knows what it's doing, though, and they appreciate your support as we get through this tough time. Please do your best to help your friends and neighbors who've lost someone or still have family out in the field."

They prayed in the traditional way of the Church, but of course she needed prayers to herself, too. She let Nusina ask for them, suggesting no particular words but requesting their good wishes and desire for Ruyo to be powerful and wise. Ruyo stepped back from the altar and tried to take the heady sensation of incoming prayer without looking dizzy. This whole service had given her a little energy already. Right away she spent most of it on conjuring a few trinkets to show off and hand out, and on deepening the channel of magic for her already-empowered followers.

"There's one other thing," she said. "Pretty soon the Council is going to introduce people to Lady Elinor, Goddess of Night. She needs your help just as much as me, and she'll have her own different set of powers to help the southlands. If you want to do everyone a favor, when the city sets up a little shrine for her, please visit that and send her your best wishes too. I'm sure she'll do great things with them."

When the formal service was over, a few people lingered to ask questions and more hung back to hear the answers. Yes, she said, she wasn't just a normal wizard. No, she didn't have the ultimate answers to the big questions. And yes, she planned to keep doing more. Two gods? Why yes.

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At last the stragglers filtered out. Ruyo was drained, both by the performance and by doing so much of the workman-like magic that had become routine.

And rattled, because despite her best effort to keep it all upbeat, there'd still been one request to heal someone who was "very sick".

Ruyo said, "More healing lessons are in order. How am I going to apply that shapeshifting upgrade?" She sighed. She'd told the petitioner she could visit the man's ailing father, but there really wasn't much she could do if conventional healers couldn't fix him.

Nusina floated above the altar, looking brighter and more vivid than usual. "Want my assessment in business terms, or more social?"

"I'm used to the ledger aspect of all this. But what else is on your mind?"

"They don't know what to make of you. Sure you have the government's endorsement, and you spoke up on the nobles' behalf too. But the Church is a religion without gods and you're co-opting it."

"I have to."

Nusina switched to silent speech, in case anyone managed to listen in. "Are you sure?"

"The alternative would be to promote some whole new church around me and my former bodyguard. And we haven't got all the things we'd need. A religion is more than a fancy meeting hall and some stories. Even if the Church here didn't object to me going independent, I'd hardly know how. It wouldn't do anybody but me any good."

The spirit swirled uncertainly. "I don't know how to run a large organization either. I suppose the Steadfast Church is handling things well enough and you haven't got the attention to spare for taking over."

"Yeah. We've got time to develop a following and go independent someday, if that's a good idea. For now, I'm mostly okay with what this group teaches, and they have an army and a priesthood willing to work with us. And remember, we still need them to accept Elly too."

#

One of the Witch Hunters came to the temple and said, "Our Council meeting went well enough. On a trial basis they're going to build a lesser shrine similar to your first one in this town. Later they may dedicate the main government building as a temple, since it was already built around the Shroud."

Ruyo looked up from her magic practice. "Good work, then. Thanks. I hope they treated her decently."

The man patted the sword at his belt. "We didn't come to blows, but having us as her escort helped."

"Do you want my blessing while you're here?"

He grimaced. "As you can imagine, we're wary of having much connection to spiritual beings. Our group has thrown in our lot with you, though, and we've been watching you. I and the others are willing."

Ruyo did the usual blessing to get him started. "I need to know more about what you're fighting. Can you tell me --"

"Not here. Outside town."

Ruyo wondered if there was some hidden spying system in this building. She was glad she'd chosen her words carefully. "My plan is to travel to Starshore again. But I have things to do after that."

"Elly will train here for a day or two while the locals study her abilities, and then proceed to Starshore."

"I'll join her, then."

The Brotherhood man left, and Ruyo and Nusina were alone again. Ruyo wrote a status update for Wellspring and another for Starshore, and splashed each message out of existence to reappear at its destination temple. She said to her companion, "Want to help Elly ditch her guards?"

"Not yet, but soon. For the moment their agenda makes sense, even if it makes Elly practically a prisoner."

"Can you search the building for spy systems?"

Nusina floated along the floor methodically. "There's this drain you asked for. Wouldn't be surprised if... hmm." She entered it and sighed. "Yes, there's a hidden bit of air-based enchantment here. I'm not sure what it does, but transmitting a sound to some listening post is possible."

"Break it?"

"Better to leave it and just not let on."

"Fine."

She slept in the church's bedroom, dreaming of that brief period when she'd played at being the Night God herself. She'd enjoyed the power of having multiple elements, but hadn't gotten double the responsibility.