Session 58 – Alea iacta est
"What? Why have you summoned us?" Malkiir, the goddess of Chaos Below stood up angrily from her throne.
"Can't you feel it?" Lothe, the god of Deceit Below clenched one of his many fists, as if he would squeeze the very truth from reality itself. "Divinity is shifting... AGAIN!"
"I feel no such thing." Luna, the goddess of Truth Above reclined leisurely in her throne. Her head turned to look up at her wife with a raised eyebrow.
"Nor I." Iridatha, the goddess of Life Above stood beside her wife's throne, trying and failing to tickle Luna's neck without anyone noticing.
Malkiir cackled. "Of course you two don't see anything! You're too busy burying your faces in each other's snatch!"
Iridatha bristled and took a threatening step toward the much shorter goddess of Chaos. "You think you're so tough? I am sick and tired of your snide remarks about my wife." The angel's warhammer manifested into her hand. "How about we settle this, one and for all?"
Luna rose to stand by her wife's side, the devil's bow manifesting with arrow notched.
"You wanna go, Blondie?" Malkiir willed her rapier into existence and raised it toward the towering goddess of Life.
Torr, the god of Law Above looked around with a heavy sigh. "Where are Zikteiel when you need them." His voice grew deadly quiet. "There will be no fighting in this hallowed place." The others settled back down onto their thrones. "Divinity is again shifting, just as Lothe says. The Divine Chain has been missing for five thousand years, and yet, we somehow have a new god ascending." He paused and swept his gaze across his kin. "Thoughts?"
"It must be that little red-skinned bitch!" Lothe growled, looking around and challenging anyone to disagree with him. "She has found the Chain somehow, or else coerced help from Lapazulalei. Perhaps, as payment for freeing that monster."
Malkiir smashed her fist against the throne she sat on. "I said that we should have Annihilated Lapazulalei! I've been saying it all along!" The goddess of Chaos Below spat on the floor for emphasis.
"Why are we talking about this like it's the end of the world?" Luna pitched her soft voice up so it resonated around the Celestial Staircase. "We're a dying breed after Lapazulalei's campaign of carnage. And when we go, so will the Cosmos. We should be celebrating the ascension of a new god! We have no reason to believe this woman means us harm. Aside from my dear brother traumatizing her." She glared very pointedly at the god of Deceit. "But, I'd just kill him for that, were I her, and be done with it."
"I agree with Luna!" Iridatha slammed her massive fist against her throne. "We need new gods. Desperately."
"You would." Malkiir mumbled under her breath.
"Do you have something to say to me, Chaos?" Iridatha stood from her throne, towering over the other gods with her fists clenched at her sides.
"Yeah! Maybe I do!" Malkiir jumped down out of her throne and stomped across the space until she was close enough to be in Life's face, were the tiny elf two feet taller. "Gods were never meant to be entwined! Life and Truth being interwoven has long thrown off the balance of the Cosmos."
"Malkiir..." The god of Law Above's warning went un-heeded.
The goddess of Life Above growled, low and deep in her throat like a momma bear ready to tear a new asshole out of the threat to her cubs. "Perhaps you're just jealous because no one wants your frigid ass."
The Cosmos flickered as the storm built up fury and rage, knocking over power lines and threatening a blackout. "Perhaps I will just send you to Oblivion, and then take your little wifey as mine!" Malkiir spit back, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.
Iridatha leaned down until her nose was inches from Malkiir's. "Try it, BITCH. The Cosmos could use less Chaos in it."
"Rawrrrrrr! Enough squabbling! We are being watched, again!" Lothe viciously cut them off and stomped in my direction.
"Time to go. Pull me out, pull me out!"
The Celestial Staircase faded. Hannah and Lily swam back into focus as the pendant settled once more around my neck.
"Did it work?" Hannah leaned forward eagerly.
"Oh, it worked." Lily answered for me. "She's shaking like... well, like she just saw Lothe."
Hannah pulled me into a hug. I sucked in several large breaths and attempted to steady myself.
"Zikteiel was absent; everyone else gathered and argued. Malkiir and..." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "The other one were trying to whip the others into action. Iridatha and Luna were about to come to blows with them. Torr seemed like he could be persuaded either way." I let out a heavy breath and melted into Hannah's embrace.
"Then, I was right. They felt your Precepts." Lily drummed her fingers against her thigh in thought. "This leaves us no choice. You must ascend."
"You're probably right. But I still don't like it." I pulled away from Hannah and wrapped my arms around myself.
Hannah turned to me and cocked her head to the side. "Alexis, can you explain it to me, now? You said that you would."
I nodded to the angel. "Okay so, a Divine Well is a very special reservoir in your soul that holds the Precepts of Divinity. Without both of those things, you don't have a god. Precepts come in a huge variety of abilities and power levels. As an example, I got the Precept of Willpower a while back, because I already had a Well, and I pushed myself beyond mortal limits. It's a minor one that lets me exert my desire to influence reality just that little bit extra."
The muscular blonde nodded along with my explanation. "I understand."
"At the temple a few days ago, I picked up the Precept of Love which is a major one. So now that I have three, my soul has started ascending. If I choose to acquire more, then I could rise to become a full goddess. The more Precepts you have, the more powerful you become. Not all gods have the same number or kinds."
"You said three, what's the last one?"
"Oh, Infinite Potential. I actually have no idea what that one does. It's not one that I made." I shrugged.
Lily shifted and looked away for a moment. I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her.
"Nothing." She shook her head.
I grit my teeth and glared at her. "So, back to lying already?"
She grimaced and sagged with guilt. "Sorry. Infinite Potential is unique. There's only one. Or... was only one. I created it after I ascended. If you have one too then..."
"I have part of you inside me?" I playfully raised an eyebrow.
Lily's cheeks colored and she looked away from me. "Something like that."
Hannah swiveled between us. "So, what do we do now?"
I settled in comfortably against the angel's side. "Now we wait."
Exactly ninety-three minutes later, yes I counted, the flurry of white feathers announced their arrival.
Parlay.