The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]

There is scribblings upon the Age of Monsters although they are nothing more than scribblings. We know that agriculture could not be done during the Age of Gaia, and we know it existed during the times of the Concordats, which places its discovery, refinement and trial and error testing squarely in the time when Monsters dominated the world. We know that settled tribes did exist and seemingly, they did not in the previous Age of Gaia.

The greatest reporters and sources are not Malam or Helenna, for they talk far too much of themselves. Some things can be gleamed. Helenna talks about how she gave men the capacity to love, and how that love was used to sniff out any who walked through their ranks and wore the visage of a human. From this, we can gleam shapeshifters at the very least. Fer sometimes talks of such things, even though they are long extinct or so careful that they no longer expose themselves. If there is any source that is believable, it would Fer of Beasthood, for whereas she obviously has the capacity to lie, it seems like the woman has a particularly admirable of trait of simply not being fond of it.

Malam likewise, is a source we have to read into to grasp what she is saying. When she tells men that she gave them the torch and the will to hunt beasts, when she talks of mass graves as large as barns, we can gleam that she led, or, at least, directed the attacks. We know that she led massacres, as evidenced by the mass graves of inhuman bones as found throughout Epa. We know that she used torch and fire, we know that Of Conquest came about then, preceding Of War, we know that she was one of the Divines killed off by Paramethus’ Heroism ages later. What Malam did is better described not as battle, but as slaughter, for the Age of Monsters ended in the slaughtering of the beasts that terrorized humanity.

If the Age of Gaia resulted in mankind claiming sovereignty over their right to survive, then the Age of Monsters resulted in mankind claiming sovereignty over their right to govern. The shapeshifters of the past were killed and hunted down, the very fact that it was done not through sheer power in the form of already existing Divines, such as Zerus, Sceo or Alkom, but through Helenna and Malam leaves man pondering only if the Age of Monsters is viewed through the lens of traditional warfare and battle.

The Age of Monsters did not have warfare. It was instead the birthing of civilization on Arda’s surface. And that civilization, as conceived by our Goddesses of Love and Hatred, loved itself and hated outwards. We gaze upon the Concordats, the Tyrannies of Divinity, the Magocracies that followed it. Even within the Age of Heroes, we saw this, for Heroes loved themselves and needed an opponent to hate.

Elassa writes her Archive of Arda, trying to document history through archaeology and science. She misses the forest for the trees. One simply needs to look at the Divinity from that Age to know what humanity had learned: Of Conquest, Of Strength, Of Settlements, Of Slaughter, Of Dominion, Of Survival. And, of course, the two that started it, Of Love and Of Hatred.

The Age of Heroes was a Great Cleansing, Allasaria hates the term, she thinks it besmirching of the nobility that was born in that time, although she is from that time so she is naturally protective of the collective conscious that made her. She thinks I killed Paramethus. I did not. It was a Great Cleansing, it deserved to be, who did it cleanse?

My issue with it was not of morality and politics, but theology, and I was correct. The Age of Heroes was the first great culling of Divinity. We opened the box of nightmares then, we lived through Worldbreaking and the Great War, and we saw the precedent that Arascus and Paramethus had set. To use a turn of phrase, Justice, once watching only humanity, finally closed her eyes and started to collect her debts.

- Excerpt from “The Unscalable Mountain”, written by Goddess Fortia, of Peace, after the Great War.

Kavaa stood and watched with Maisara as Helenna inspected their men on the outskirts of Aris. She assumed this is how kings and queens felt when she came to pick out men for the Clerics. They seemed to be going in an entirely arbitrary manner, picking an equal amount from the Clerics and from the Paladins. Kavaa kept her annoyance hidden, she had secretly hoped for the fact that more of her men were chosen than the Paladins. Both groups stood in their standard issue uniforms, no need for armour or weaponry, arranged in blocks that Helenna was walking across.

“Yes.” Fer eventually said. Helenna stopped before a man, then nodded him forwards and towards the group chosen. “Next three, no.”

Only Fer looked satisfied, and only Fer looked as if she knew how Of Love and Hatred chose. “How?” Kavaa asked. Maisara turned her head, obviously curious.

“I can smell it.” Fer said.

Kavaa sighed. Smell what exactly? “How?”

“I can smell your types too.” Fer said. “Why do you think we don’t waste time on your inspections?”

“What?”

“You’re a cup of coffee Kavaa.” Fer said. “And it’s a bitter taste.” Maisara stood silently, hands behind her back, as she watched the inspection, not saying anything as she watched. So it went on, the sun slowly travelled across the blue sky. It was filled with clouds, the trees had lost their leaves. Snows would be coming soon, Kavaa was excited for that. She always enjoyed the early onset of pristine winter before flus and colds began to spread. Trucks which had brought the men started to take not chosen back, the ones who had been picked were just to arrange themselves into ranks and wait. Maisara’s Paladins, rather unsurprisingly, stood in silence. Kavaa would have allowed her own men to talk were it not for that.

Eventually though, the rhythm of Fer’s bestial wisdoms replied to with a baffled acknowledgement or an annoyed grunt was disturbed. Not by Helenna’s completion of her job but by Malam finally appearing. Of Hatred stood on the back of a truck.

“Look at this!” Of Hatred said. She pulled out a rifle obviously too large for humans or elves or even beastmen and held it easily in one hand. “It’s a gun!” She had that odd motion of movement, it was a seductive sway, and it was the slither of a snake. The jump out of the truck was quick and low, as if she didn’t want to spend too much time off the ground, and Malam practically curled into the flow of her movement. She remained upright throughout it, but her legs went low and she slithered into a walk even before the suspension of the truck recovered from the loss of a Divine’s weight.

Kavaa stared at the Goddess of Hatred make that swaying approach to them. With rolling hips and a cape of white hair over the cape that was her black coat, but her head did not even sway with the movement of her body. It was an unnatural walk, that was the simplest way to describe it. Kavaa’s eyes strayed to the gun Malam was holding. Some abomination of a rifle, no doubt unique since she was holding it. It looked like rifle designed to fire slugs, the barrel was far too large for the calibre soldiers used. “Look, look.” She chippered excitedly.

Fer leaned over and chuckled. “What is it?”

“Watch this!” Even Maisara turned from the slow grind that was the inspection as Malam took a thoroughly theatrical stance. Her legs spread wide, she held the rifle up, her arm and elbow locked straight. That was show-shooting, Kavaa didn’t have to ask Maisara’s opinion upon it to know that Of Order hated it as much as Of Health did. The other arm fell loose to Malam’s side, she smiled, picked a target, a small tree in the distance. Aimed and…

The trigger pull was a detonation, an explosion from a cannon, not a rifle. Malam’s held the posture as bark from the tree exploded. She held the posture, rifle still extended, then turned away as it began to fall. Branch snapping and leaf rustling was punctuated by the Goddess of Hatred blowing the smoke rising from the barrel of her rifle. She gave it a spin as if it was some glaive, threw it up, thrust a hip to the right and…

Kavaa watched it slide perfectly into a holster than could have been a sword sheath. The gun itself was simply a gun, the sheer show of dexterity was another. “How cool is that?” She chippered again, excitedly. “It arrived finally, from Doschia, I’ve been using it all day!”

Kavaa looked to Fer, who was smile, seemingly the excitement was infectious. Then her gaze passed over Maisara, that was more like it. “Do you want one?” Malam said. “You need one.”

“I just have a pistol.” Kavaa said. And her sword. And her blessing. And the third was the most important, then the second. The pistol was something she carried only because Kassie gave it to her. Malam didn’t seem to care for the answer.

“Have you been stood here all day?”

“I’m on Maisara-watch.” Fer said. “So what else would I be doing?” Malam raised an eyebrow at Maisara.

Of Order, another tower like Fer, just stood and looked at Malam. “What exactly should I be doing?” She asked.

“Drink?” Malam answered seriously. She crossed her arm, watched Helenna walk past another two dozen men, then turned back to the trio. “This is what you’ve been doing?” Malam asked. “All day?”

“Since the sun rose.” Fer confirmed. Kavaa took a deep breath. She was already getting annoyed.

“No practice fights?” Malam asked. Fer chuckled.

“Are you willing sister?”

“Against Kavaa for example?”

“I cannot stand against Fer.” Nor against Maisara, but that didn’t have to be held. She could still remember the practice fight in Erdely, where Kavaa had swung her blade with all her force and Fer had merely grabbed it. Or how the fight had ended when Fer simply closed a palm that easily swallowed Kavaa’s hand as it held the hilt of her sword and then simply lifted her off the grass.

“But against me?” Malam leaned forward. There was Anassa and there was Malam. These two should have been killed off during the Great War. They were harlots, the fact that Malam seemingly forgot the top two buttons of her shirt existed was obviously on purpose. “Against sweet little me?”

“I could defeat you.” Kavaa said. Malam made a wretched smile.

“I could defeat you in a duel.” Malam she cooed. “Easily in fact. I know how you fight.”

“Excuse me?” Kavaa asked. “And not them?” Malam looked at Maisara and at Fer, then back at Kavaa. Why was she even getting pulled into this? Let Maisara deal with this problem. Or Fer deal with her sister. Malam’s entertainment and boredom were not Kavaa’s responsibility.

“We all know that’s unfair.” Malam said.

“It is.” Maisara added her wondrous genius of a statement. “In what fashion does Malam possibly outrank me?”

Malam immediately “Brains, wit, beauty, humour, good-naturedness, charisma, intellect, philosophical theory, adaptability, the list goes on. We’ll be here all day if you want the full version.”

“No comment.” Maisara replied. “Not worth my time.” Fer chuckled. “Nonetheless, you cannot defeat me in a fight.”

“No, I won’t even pretend I would. There is a reason they call you, Fortia and Fer the big three.” Malam leaned forwards and thrust her elbows even further as if… Kavaa’s eyes strayed downwards to the woman’s unbuttoned shirt and the valley between. She rolled her eyes. Harlot. “But comparatively.” Malam continued, her tone sly. “If I was your size, I’d be bigger than you.”

“Your sister is an idiot Fer.” Maisara said and Fer chuckled.

“Well I cannot argue with her.” Fer said.

“The term has nothing to do with mine, yours, or Fortia’s breast size.” Maisara said bluntly. Malam chuckled.

“Oh I’m sure you know all about Fortia’s breast size.” Maisara took a deep breath, looked down at the ground, still her shaking arms, then uncurled her fists. Kavaa expected the axe to appear, it did not. Maisara simply turned around. “Hello?” Malam asked and snapped her fingers towards Maisara.

“I don’t even want to look at you.” Maisara said. “Were Fer not here, I’d have your tongue for that.”

“Oh I’m sure you’d love my tongue.” Malam snickered. Maisara’s reply was wistfully staring off at the jagged skyline of Aris.

“Well look what you’ve done Mal.” Fer from the side. Malam rolled her eyes at the taller Goddess, then refocused her attention back on Kavaa. Of Health wished she didn’t. Maisara had been a good meatshield for the comments.

“But point stands, I could duel you into the ground.” Kavaa just stared at Malam. “Go on Fer, give her some confidence.”

Fer replied in a flat tone. “In a real battle, you would probably win against Malam as long as she didn’t get the jump on you.” That was enough. Kavaa knew she would win. She had been a battlefield Goddess in the Great War. Imperial Divines had died by her hands, and Imperial Divines that should have, by all means and purposes, killed her. She did not fight clean, she fought to win, like the best of them did.

“You won’t use that gun though.” Kavaa said. Malam chuckled, made a spin, a knife from her… sleeve? Coat? Boot? From somewhere on appeared in her grip.

“Of course not.” She said, posing with the small blade in her hand. Kavaa drew her longsword. What exactly was this? “To first blood.” Of Hatred laid down the terms.

Kavaa accepted them immediately. “To first blood.”

Fer tutted. “You’ve lost.”

“What!?” Kavaa shouted. Fer just shrugged as Maisara finally turned around.

“Go on.” Fer said, crossing her arms. “You’ll see why. She’ll draw first blood.”

“Junior strikes first.” Malam cooed from the distance of fifteen feet. Kavaa didn’t bother waiting for more than that. She stepped forward in a feint, one foot extended and ready to jump back, her blade coming in from the side, a strike that could easily be made into a feint, or pulled back into a parry, or extended, if Malam chose to retreat. Her other hand was free, ready to grab.

Malam took a moment to react. Kavaa saw the movement immediately, she withdrew her sword, the confidence in the woman’s eyes was a tell of the fact Kavaa’s attacks wouldn’t pose a danger. The foot forward pressed down, Kavaa took a step away as Malam closed the distance. Immediately, Kavaa responded, her strike shifted from transitioning into a parry back into a swing. It would strike as her gut, or maybe clip her arm or…

It did nothing of the thing. Malam slithered downwards, ducking underneath Kavaa’s arm with a dexterity that shouldn’t be human or Divine. It wasn’t even about her size, creatures with legs shouldn’t be able to move like that. Kavaa immediately moved forward, a risk, but retreat was a sure way to signal she was being overwhelmed and she felt Malam…

Malam slid across Kavaa’s side, a chin touched her shoulder. An arm wrapped around Kavaa’s stomach, Malam’s chest squeezed into her back and Kavaa was looking at the knife tip pointed straight towards her face. “Got you.” Malam whispered, the knife came down to poke the tip of Kavaa’s nose. “First blood.” And with that, she pulled away, slithering back to the front of the group. Kavaa rubbed the tip of her nose, one drop of blood. That was all Malam had drawn before her own regeneration had closed it. “What do you think?”

“That was showing off.” Fer said.

“Slow.” Maisara replied. Kavaa didn’t bother containing the surprise and annoyance. That was slow? That? That was a speed inhuman and Malam moved as she didn’t have bones!

“Oh?” Malam said cooed. “That was slow?”

“That was.” Maisara looked to Fer and raised an eyebrow. Of Beasthood chuckled.

“Well… it wasn’t fast.”

Big Three. Another league. Something else entirely. That diagram Fer had drawn once when explaining the strength of Divines flashed into Kavaa’s mind. Fer at ten. Maisara and Fortia at nine. Kassie at six. The rest of them barely scraping into a four. “You said I would have probably won in a real battle.” Kavaa said. How exactly was she supposed to fight against that?

“You would let her stab you, catch her blade with your body and then thrust through.” Fer said. “You can actively heal, she can’t. The maths is in your favour.”

“You two now.” Malam said, pointing her hand and wiggling her finger from Fer to Maisara. The two larger Goddesses simply shared a look that said there was no chance of that happening.

“We are generally equal.” Maisara said. “It would take too long to exhaustion.”

“Maisara’s right.” Fer said.

“Then to first blood.” Malam said.

“I win that one.” Maisara replied immediately.

“Maisara wins that one.” Fer added.

“What?” Maisara asked.

“You win that one.” Fer said. “I don’t fight clean.” Maisara just shook her head and rolled her eyes. Malam chuckled to herself, then drew and spun that rifle again around her finger. So the fight was over.

“How cool is this though?” She said excitedly again. She pointed it to the ground, arm extended once again, as if she was execute someone. Then whistled and made her tone deep. “Spare me your words, demon.” It was practically a whisper. She pulled the trigger, this time, the recoil did have some effect on her. Her entire shoulder moved as a splash of dirt and grass rose up from the ground. “How cool is that!?” She yipped like a damn dog again.

Maisara shook her head and rolled her eyes. Fer chuckled and clapped. Kavaa copied Maisara’s gesture. Frankly, the fucking White Pantheon was not so bad. It didn’t have types like this at least. So they stood and waited. Fer at least had someone to chat with now. Kavaa and Maisara stood in silence as they waited and listened in. The two talked about nothing important whatsoever, they planned what they would have for dinner, joked about animals Fer had spotted, complained about Aris, joked about Paida. It was…

It was utterly banal.

It was how humans talked.

Helenna finally saved them. When ten squares, each one ten columns by ten rows, a thousand men in total, had been picked out. She stopped her inspection and returned to the party. “I am finished, a thousand men will be enough for you. With modern arms, four hundred should do it.”

“What will you do?” Maisara asked.

“I will bless them.” Helenna said. “It will not overwrite yours. Do not worry, it’s adaptive.” Kavaa felt her eyes grow wide, her mouth fell open for a moment. What? Since when? And Helenna had never told her? Kavaa’s eyes went to Fer, who seemed unsurprised, then to Maisara. The mighty Goddess of Order did not even shift as she stared. And why was Kavaa the only one surprised here?

“You have a blessing?” She babbled out. Surely not.

“A mighty one.” Malam added, chuckling and Helenna rolled her eyes, arms crossed.

“I will make them into family.” Helenna said dryly. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

Maisara released her breath, Fer sat down on the ground. Of Beasthood was the first to speak. “I see.” There was no mockery in it, instead it was just a simple admission.

Helenna’s passed over Kavaa. “What?”

“I’m just surprised.” Kavaa said. Here they were friends on the mountain, and here Helenna had never told her about it. Kavaa knew about the power Helenna had to make mortals in love with each other, although that, she was much too bitter to use.

Fer posed the next question. “What does it do?”

“I don’t know.” Helenna said, Malam chuckled, Fer tilted her head to her side. Her ears bounced and her tail stopped swaying.

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“A blessing of the mind that I have never known or experienced. How do you describe drink without ever having drunk?” Helenna answered back. “No, I know it works, but why and how, I do not. I do not even know if the description is correct, that is just what the blessed describe it as. A blessing of Love and family.” Helenna stood there, looking at them, she eyes settled upon Maisara, the roots of her hair, were it was undyed, turned into a bright red. “What? Make your comments Maisara, I know that look.”

“I had assumed it would be grander.” Everyone turned to the Goddess of Order. Fer, fell onto her back, the only one to not turn.

“Do not talk of grandiosities.” Helenna bit back. “You arrange sinew and boost growth. Every other blessing can do that.”

“Not like me.”

“Excuse me Helenna?” Kavaa said. Every other blessing? Was she in that group too?

Helenna shook her head and smoothed her dress down. She turned away. “Whatever, I’m not stealing your men. The bond is intertwined in them, not through me. It’s not like yours.” The words came out in a hiss.

“Is there a physiological change?” Maisara asked. “I don’t understand it.”

“Maybe Arascus can explain it, but I cannot.” Helenna said. “No. I bless, that is all I do. They will be less responsive to commands though…” She trailed off, shrugging. “More… human?” The word was said as if she didn’t even know what that meant.

“That is what?” Maisara asked.

“It’s a grand blessing.” Fer said. “The creation of a pack. Kassie would love it.” Helenna shook her head.

“Not like that. It’s not disciplined. It’s just family. That is all it is.” Helenna said.

“It’s a beautiful blessing.” Fer sounded as if she truly meant it.

“And it does what?” Maisara asked again.

How did Fer understand Helenna’s blessing better than herself? Kavaa just stared with awe at the Goddess of Beasthood turn towards Maisara. “Create the foundation other blessings simply build upon, imbue humanity.”

“What a phrase Fer.” Maisara turned now. Malam slid close to Kavaa and Helenna.

“Duelling time.” She whispered with pure joy.

“Do you imbue humanity?” Fer said.

“I don’t need to.”

“Because someone has done the legwork for you.” Fer replied, her tone was jovial though. Was she even taking this seriously? “That is why.” Kavaa looked at Helenna again. Two thousand years they had known each other, more than that even. Since Kavaa had incarnated, through Reconstruction, through the Great War, through Pantheon Peace. And not once had Helenna said it.

“It’s used to separate mankind from monsters.” Helenna said. “It’s just that. The time for it is passed.”

“No.” Fer said. “It’s Irinika, Neneria, Iniri, Zerus, Alkom nor Sceo cannot bless.” She looked at Maisara. “But you can. And who can you thank for setting the precedent?” Maisara’s eyes moved over Helenna as the Goddess of Love stood there, in what looked to be shellshock.

“It is not a traditional blessing.” That was already a massive step from Maisara. When was the last time someone had gotten something out of her?

Fer said something that made everyone around her gawk at the Goddess of Beasthood. “You’re human too.”

“I am Divine.” Maisara snapped back.

“You have two legs, a head, no feathers and skin. Human enough.” Fer said.

“Does a chicken you strip of feathers become human then?”

“Does a stripped chicken play word games?” Maisara opened her mouth. Closed it. No argument came out. Fer chuckled. “Animals have been talking long before humans did Maisara, don’t think I’m unaccustomed to sophistry.” Now that one argument was settled, Fer turned back to the Goddess of Love. “Do not worry little Helenna.” Fer said. “I’ll be your younger big sister and you can count on your big sister to protect you.”

Helenna’s mouth opened, then closed, then opened as Malam’s eyes grew wide. Of Hatred flushed a deep crimson. Kavaa knew the expression, she made the same one when someone mentioned Kassie. Helenna just shook her head. “It does not work that way, you do not get to choose your family.”

Fer’s grin turned terribly smug. “No.” She said. “You do not get to pick it. I do.”

“Why exactly?”

“Because you’re a human, and I am beast, and your rules are not my rules.” Helenna opened her mouth as Fer jumped up.

“It doesn’t work that way, you’re not a pet.”

“I’ve adopted you.” Fer said. She shot a glance at Malam and a cheeky smile. And Malam joined in. Kavaa just stood there, in

“That’s for me to do!” Malam shouted from the side. Helenna’s cheeks grew red as she looked from one Goddess to the other. Kavaa took a step back, this wasn’t her fight right now, she just glanced at Maisara.

“I’m not adopted!”

“Well you are now.” Fer said.

“You don’t get to pick that!”

“Children and dogs don’t get to pick being adopted either.”

“I’m older than you!” Helenna shouted.

“Not than me.” Malam said in a victoriously smug tone. “So it’s left up to me.”

“You don’t even know that.”

“I can feel it in the air.” Malam said. Helenna’s eyes went between Maisara and Fer, she lips cracked upwards.

“I fucking hate the two of you.” Helenna said. “Do you know that?” Her tone said she obviously did not hate either of them.

“Don’t worry, I’ve raised seven pups already.” Helenna’s lips quivered.

“You can’t, you don’t have the authority.”

“I have the authority to declare anyone a little brother or sister.” Fer said.

“You’re not Arascus.”

“Kavaa’s a little sister already.” Kavaa’s eyes went wide. Since when? And what? What did that even mean? Why was Kassie not so forward? She realised what she thought and went a deep red. “And Maisara is too.” Maisara did not flinch, blush or so much as react to the statement. She just stared straight ahead.

And Helenna?

Helenna burst out in laughter.