âCould you tell me just what happened there?â The beautiful goddess of birth inquired of Lira, goddess of connections. It looked like grandmother and daughter, almost. âEverythingâs abuzz. Everyone can feel that something major happened, and the more attuned among us know there was a huge explosion of spirits in the sky above the Great Chu. But you were there, werenât you? Some are even saying Argrave killed two ancient gods.â
Lira gave a slow, resigned nod. âTo summarize⊠Erlebnis and Sataistador are both rendered irrelevant, now. Argrave baited Erlebnis out of the Palace of Heaven, and after doing battle with Law, Rook surprised him, killed him, and inherited the vast majority of his power. We took the Palace of Heaven, then, and while Iâm not privy to specifics, Sataistador was defeated due to something Argrave did. Now, Stout Heart Swan joined the fight to hunt down the rest of him, and Kirel Qircassia is suing for peace. Most of the Qircassian Coalition was destroyed. The whole of Berendar, and all of the Great Chu, are under Argraveâs thumb.â
With this juicy information, the goddess of birth talked a long, long while, prying whatever information she could. Then, hours later, she conferred with several other gods who sought news about this strange happening in the Great Chu.
âApparently, the King of Vasquer pulled Erlebnis out of the Palace of Heaven, where he, Rook, and Law killed him together. Minutes after, Argrave killed Sataistador on his own inside the Palace of Heaven. Apparently, Kirel Qircassia is surrendering, too. Lira showed me the skyâeverything turned black after the king wiped out the Qircassian Coalition. The kingâs putting down his roots in the Great Chu. Iâve heard itâs the largest empire the worldâs ever seen,â she bragged.
âThat canât be right,â the gods with her expressed disbelievingly. They, too, probed for more details⊠and bit by bit, words changed.
âThe King of Vasquer killed Erlebnis with Law and Rook, then went on to fight Sataistador after taking the Palace of Heaven. Kirel Qircassia tried to take advantage of things, but most of his coalition was destroyed. Apparently, heâs surrendering unconditionally.â
âReally?â An impish-looking creature, who was the god of mischief, smiled devilishly as the news reached his realm. âThatâs quite the tale.â
âIt came from Lira. It should be reliable,â the messenger told the god.
âReliable indeedâŠâ the impish creature stroked its chin. In a few minutes, he was before another.
âYou wanted to know what happened, right? Iâve heard that Argrave taunted Erlebnis, sent him into a fury. It was something to do with the affections of a woman,â the mischief-maker said. âThereafter, the mortal king beat the god of knowledge alone. Sataistadorâwho was actually Erlebnisâ brother, as it turns outâarrived to avenge him. And the king beat him, too! Now, Kirel Qircassia is whimpering with fear and begging the king to stay his wrath.â
Gaunt, the god of death who had in the distant past nearly joined the Blackgard Union, regarded the god of mischief with immense distrust. There was also a resounding sense of loss that Gaunt himself had not joined, considering this burgeoning unionâs ascendency. He remembered nothing of the offer in the White Planes given that realmâs restrictions, but others inside the Blackgard Union had informed him he had been considered to join. Despite not being a member, Gaunt did have some contacts within. Gaunt called upon Rook, seeking to correct the record.
âHe said all of that?â Rook laughed at Gauntâs retelling of the tale. âWell, it wasnât about a woman. And Sataistadorâs not Erlebnisâ brother. But the rest of it⊠thereâs a lot of truth, there.â
âYou mean to say King Argrave beat Erlebnis and Sataistador alone?â Gaunt crossed his arms.
âOne after the other,â Rook confirmed. âWell⊠thatâs only partially true. Argrave destroyed the vast majority of the Qircassian Coalition and Sataistador at the same time. After all, heâd taken the Palace of Heaven by storm, and he somehow knew how to use it. Kirel Qircassia keeps sending people asking for peace, but Argrave hasnât given him a single response yet.â
Gaunt, armed with this new information, spread the news. His serious nature gave credence to the taleâand, being that his tale was the most outlandish, it spread quickest, slowly twisting and morphing with every retelling in the slightest manner.
âA mortal king named Argrave killed both Erlebnis and Sataistador after taking the Palace of Heaven by storm. Kirel Qircassia has surrendered without a fight.â
âArgrave stormed the Palace of Heaven, which had Erlebnis and Sataistador both inside it at the time. Kirel Qircassia was meant to help the two of them, but Argrave just finished things too quickly.â
Iteration after iteration, retelling after retelling, until eventuallyâŠ
âDid you hear about what happened in the Great Chu?â A lesser god spoke to Almazora.
âDid I hear about it?â The goddess of magic crossed her arms. âI was there. There for part of it, at least. What are you referring to?â
âEveryoneâs saying that Argrave killed Erlebnis and Sataistador, then made a slave of Kirel Qircassia. This is just after he took the Palace of Heaven and the whole of the Great Chu.â
âWhat?â Almazora narrowed her eyes. âWhat do you mean, âeveryoneâs saying that?â Whatâs your source?â
âApparently thatâs the word from Lira and Rook,â the lesser god answered. âIs it true heâs still mortal? That canât be true, right? Do you think you could arrange a conversation with the king for me?â
The goddess of magic blinked, befuddled.
The whole world was talking about one personâArgrave, the mortal king that had been the cause of the destruction of two ancient gods, and had brought to heel a third. Tales of his past exploits rose from the deadâhis challenge of Fellhornâs authority in the Burnt Desert, his fight against Erlebnis and Kirel Qircassia both in the Bloodwoods, his unification of the continent of Berendar and the subcontinent of the Great Chu⊠but the man himself was only just able to walk again.
âWe canât give Kirel Qircassia a break,â Argrave insisted. âWe have more than enough manpowerâor godpower, as it were. Rook and Law alone could probably handle it, but weâve got way more than that.â
âYouâre not thinking for the long-term,â Elenore disagreed. âThe purpose of this debacle was to emerge the foremost power in the world, so that we could unite everyone against Gerechtigkeit. Kirel Qircassia has been very vocal about seeking peace. If we ignore that and destroy him utterly, that could send a terrible message to all of our future allies. It could paint us as bloodthirsty.â
âBloodthirsty? But heâs killed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions! Heâs been bombarding our homes for months, now, and we just stopped him from destroying the whole of the Greatââ Argrave trailed off, wheezing. He still needed time to recover.
After patiently waiting for him to cease wheezing, his sister explained calmly, âThey arenât privy to those details, and we canât get that message to every potential ally. This is about how weâre seen, Argrave,â Elenore reminded him. âIâm not suggesting we genuinely make peace. Iâm suggesting we hold off, gather more allies, and then explain this fact while we amass power. We need to be patient. Dead now, dead laterâheâs still dead.â
âI donât know,â said Durran, interjecting. âQircassia is a slippery bastard. If we give him timeâŠâ
âLet him writhe. Let him get desperate. Meanwhile, we amass influence. In the meantime, he might make a mistake. And need I remind you we need every resource at our disposal right now? If weââ Elenore trailed off, eyes going distant as she listened to a voice in her head. She focused on Argrave. âThey found Melanie.â
âWhat?â Argrave tried to rise off his chair, but the movement pained him. âHow is she? Whatâs she saying?â
âNot muchâDario is the only one conscious, but theyâre both alive. Theyâre both getting healing, now,â Elenore told him, then went silent once more as she asked for more information. âDario said⊠apparently, they couldnât do it.â
Argrave closed his eyes, swearing in a tight whisper.
âI had him,â Dario told Argrave. The man was unable to even meet his gaze. âI had Traugott. Enough golem cores to generate a blast large enough heâd die.â
âAnd what stopped you?â Argrave demanded.
Dario looked over to Melanie, who was unconscious. She had been healed, but she needed to wake up on her own. Apparently, it wouldnât be long. âThe blast wouldâve killed both of us. I did⊠I thought about it. Thought long and hard, but just couldnât. Wasnât selfless enough. Or selfish enough, I suppose, depending on who you ask.â
Argrave stared at him, asking himself if he wouldâve made the same choice. Consign not only his life, but Melanieâs, just so he could take out Traugott. The answer⊠Argrave couldnât give one, really.
âSo, if Iâm remembering things right⊠Traugott got his hands on the lichâs soul? Thatâs what this was about, right?â Argrave questioned.
âI didnât see it.â Dario lowered his head. âAs it was⊠Fellhorn, the Shadowlanders⊠we barely made it out alive. Had to bury those creatures with all the cores, lest they spill out onto the surface. But I plugged the hole, repaired the tear.â
Argrave took a deep breath, then walked away from Darioâs bedside. In truth, without Traugottâs tip about the fortressâ vulnerability, that whole battle mightâve been drastically different. As it was, casualties were in the tens of thousands. That number mightâve been far greater had they not been able to breach the Palace of Heaven in a timely manner.
But Traugott certainly wasnât going to pass into the great beyond quietly. He clung on, parasitizing everything Argrave did. And he was getting closer and closer to things that he had no business being anywhere near. They were near the cusp of it allâboth getting answers, and putting an end to this cycle of judgment once and for all. Traugott needed to disappear. They were supposedly the undisputed power in the worldâthere were few better times than now to make that happen.
âArgrave,â Elenoreâs voice interrupted his thoughts. âYou told me to tell you when she woke up.â
âOn my way,â he told her at once.
Argrave brushed Annelieseâs hair gently, pinching it up high so she didnât feel it when he caught snags.
âAll of Erlebnisâ knowledge?â Anneliese questioned after Argrave finished explaining things. She sat up partially, leaning against copious red pillows.
âYep.â Argrave nodded, running the brush through. âJealous?â
âIt would be envy in this case, I think. Either way, not particularly.â Anneliese stared at the edge of the bed, unmoving. Unlike Argrave, Anneliese took the advice to stay still and rest seriously.
âReally?â Argrave studied her eyes. âYou donât want all the knowledge of the universe?â
âI know myself well. Itâs the process of discovery I like.â She looked at his hands as they brushed her hair. âYou donât have to do that, you know.â
âIs it uncomfortable?â
âNo. Itâs nice. I like this. Itâs justâŠâ she trailed off.
âDonât fret. Always wanted to do this,â Argrave told her. âYou have nice hair.â He looked down to her hands in turn, then said pointedly, âAnd no fingers, at present. Hard to hold a brush without those.â
âDonât get upset at me. I regret nothing,â she told him. âI would lose fingers and more to keep you alive.â
Looking upon her, Argraveâs budding anger died. He merely smiled. âAlright. Iâll buy you new fingers at the finger store. What size are they?â
Anneliese laughed gently, and quiet set upon them as he groomed her. After a time of serenity, she asked, âWhat must we do from here?â
Argrave stopped brushing. âJust rest, for now.â
âHas saying that ever made someone rest, I wonder?â She looked at him, a droll expression on her face. âYou mustâve spoken to Elenore by now. Just catch me up. Magic may be beyond me, but my head is clear.â
Argrave sighed, conceding. âThe Alchemist caught emotional rabies. We need to vaccinate him, somehow, but Iâm not sure how. Iâm reading the wiki, but heâs a rather unique case. Past that, weâve got to bring all the other gods into the foldâElenoreâs handling most of that. Weâre restoring order to the Great Chu, first. Long-term⊠we look to Sophia. We stop Traugott.â
âAnd then Gerechtigkeit,â she finished.
âAnd then Gerry.â
Anneliese took a deep, deep breath, then let silence hang until she said, âWeâre very close.â
âTo the end, yeah.â
âNo,â Anneliese shook her head, pulling the brush from Argraveâs grip. âTo us finally having our beginning. The thought of that⊠it keeps me going.â
Argrave retrieved the lost brush. âMe too. So, letâs hold on just a little longer, yeah?â
Anneliese leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. âYes.â
New novel đŹhapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com