Chapter 96 – What the Storm was Supposed To Be
Chapter 96 - What the Storm was Supposed To Be
”Not for Destruction, that’s for sure.” ~Shallies MythernalAfter the first vision she had received since coming to Cinterbrim Province, the one where she fought Fello’resh, Shallies had been paying more attention to her dreams. She admitted that she had been caught off guard by that first dream, but such was the nature of visions. As a Godkiller, there weren’t exactly many who could simply send her such a thing, so she had no reason to expect them.
This time, she wasn’t an observer, not like in the one she had gotten about The Beatified Cradle, when she had a Divine War against Sulorf Orel. This time, it was more like the first dream, or that time when she had killed her own twin sister. Just like at those times, she could only let her dream-self act out the entire sequence from her own perspective.
While it limited how much she could see, it still allowed her to observe a bit more than what her dream-self was currently looking at. Not that it would help her much this time, since her attention would be better spent on the same subject her dream-self was looking at right now.
“How do you like it?” Fello’resh asked.
The seraph had his angelic wings revealed. It had white feathers, but the appendage itself had the bat-like features of a devil’s wings. During this time, his kin had yet to develop the ability to retract their wings and pretend to be humans or elves, or whatever else. That development wouldn’t come until a god ascended and adopted them into his domain as his subjects of the highest rank, and were officially given the seraph or seraphim moniker.
By then, Fello’resh would long be dead without knowing his kind’s name. Only ‘traitor’s child’, or nephilim.
Shallies and her dream-self stared at him. The last time they had met, before she became the Godkiller that killed her own sister, she had been crying her eyes out. That was a century ago.
“This place, or your face?” she asked.
Fello’resh giggled. “Well, both, actually.”
“You’re looking more dignified now, at least. Did Sulorf talk you into changing hairstyles?”
“Yeah. He said that a God of Famine and Destruction didn’t have to look so gloomy. So I went with blond, short hair and a snow-crystal armor set.”
“I bet people go blind just looking at you,” Shallies commented.
“Oh, I hope not!”
“I much prefer your dark colors, but I don’t mind your current getup, I guess.” Shallies turned to find the tall buildings rooted to the clouds. There was an ample population of other seraphim—who didn’t know they were called as such—flying about. “So, what’s up with this place?”
“You like it?” Fello’resh asked. “I thought I’d gather every nephilim into one place, so we can all live peacefully.”
“I really don’t like how you’re all called like that,” the Godkiller commented. “If it wasn’t directly related to ‘traitor’s child’, my conscience could’ve handled it. We should come up with a different name.”
“I agree.” The God of Famine and Destruction’s face turned solemn. He sighed. “I’m still nurturing my Divine Authority. Once I’ve fully grasped Famine, I can probably formally introduce my kin to the System, so that we can have a proper name.”
“What about Destruction?”
“Depends. It’s currently dormant, but that might come first before my kin, if it starts acting up.”
“I can help,” Shallies offered. “Just let me know.”
“You’re already plenty of help, Shallies. I can handle this much, don’t worry.”
“The offer still stands.”
Fello’resh sighed again. “Alright.”
“So, is there anything else about this place?” the Godkiller asked. “Is it really just a secret place for your people?”
“Well, it’s also my Domain,” Fello’resh said rather proudly. “It serves as my main method of containing Famine. See the clouds at the edge of the Grand Cloud Castle? Well, it’s practically a Cloud Landmass now with a Grand Cloud Castle on top. Anyway, the actual clouds below supply ample rain all over Ysvil. My followers study which regions don’t have enough, and we go there.”
“You’re not going overboard, are you?” Shallies asked, holding up a finger. “Some places should remain deserted or isolated for the creatures that live there.”
“I coordinate with Gaian, since she’s handling Abundance. It’s not too difficult to find a balance, since I can directly control where we’ll go and how much rain we should provide. We don’t spoil the mortals, but we don’t leave them to starve either.”
Shallies agreed with that. Her entire purpose as the Godkiller depended on these people, especially those who would be courageous enough to face gods when the time came.
She shook her head, pushing away the thought. The version of her at present had already long since gone through the highs and lows of her job. But her dream-self had yet to even feel her first death.
Well, I did feel it when Bernadette died…
“That’s great,” she said. “What do you call this place, then?”
“Mmm, I don’t know, really,” Fello’resh admitted, scratching the back of his head. “I was supposed to go with Fello’resh’s Domain but—”
“Boring.”
“Exactly!” The god’s face made such a relief, that Shallies thought he might collapse. “The others didn’t give me any good suggestions, either. And some said I should be responsible for that.”
“Well, you should be,” Shallies commented. “That’s part of your job.”
“I know, but…” This time, Fello’resh’s face became determined. His eyes were staring directly at her. Pleading eyes. A pair that she knew wouldn’t let her go even if she Sight Stepped away.
“You want me to give it a name?”
“Please!”
“Well, I don’t think I have that good of a naming sense, either, if I’m being honest.”
“I’m pretty sure it’ll be better than the others.” Fello’resh opened his System Console and showed the names.
Shallies was inclined to agree. There wasn’t anything creative in those names. Though it didn’t exactly bring her any confidence in her own naming sense, she didn’t have any choice in the matter. So, she gave it her best shot.
“Thrush’ven Alir,” Shallies said.
“What does that mean?” Fello’resh asked.
To that, the Godkiller simply gave him a shrug. “Beats me.”
The following day, Shallies discussed her dream with the seraphim and her students. Breakfast was served, but almost no one was eating.
“It sounds more and more apparent that this has something to do with our god,” Valor’el concluded.
Shallies was inclined to agree. There wasn’t anything that Fello’resh, the dead god, had said that was out of the ordinary during the dream, other than mentioning Sulorf, Gaian, and their small discussion about the nephilim before they became the seraphim.
Sulorf was already dead. His successor, Lorf, hadn’t sent out any alarms or warnings about his ancestor’s resurrection. Gaian, the Goddess of Abundance, though she hadn’t turned mad, had also been replaced, which made it almost impossible for her to be involved.
So that left the nephilim.
Since Fello’resh had never witnessed his kin’s future, it would be impossible for him to send direct visions about a time when he didn’t exist. So if he was sending a vision about the seraphim’s dead god, he would have to be creative.
Of course, the question that he would be the one to resurrect was still on the table.
Shallies pondered while the two groups before discussed her dream. She couldn’t get rid of one more possibility. One that would probably be more likely than Fello’resh or the seraphim’s god resurrecting.
“I should probably visit The Pantheon,” she concluded, making a sudden quiet fall into the room.
While the Shalliesters Party and Arun’dul were surprised by that statement, they had no idea about the implications of it. Valor’el and Phey’lan, on the other hand, stiffened like frozen stones.
“You’re going to call for a gathering?” Phey’lan asked. “Are you saying what I think it means?”
“What does it mean?” Ren asked, unable to hide his curiosity. Tayin and Grace were the same. Even Arun’dul made clear his confusion and his desire to know what was going on.
The two older seraphim looked at Shallies. She sighed in response.
“The Pantheon is a common place, within the System’s designated dimensional boundaries, where gods and goddesses can meet. Basically, if I call for a gathering, everyone should show up. Those who couldn’t for one reason or another must send a reply. And the ones that don’t do either can easily tell us what’s going on.”
“If they’re mad, they won’t reply or show up at all,” Valor’el said, making it clear for everyone. “Which means we’ll have a Divine War on our hands.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Grace said. “But I’m guessing you don’t want to do that?”
Shallies appreciated the half-orc showing clear signs that she knew her a little bit better now.
“I have no clear reason to call for a gathering,” she said simply. “Using it as a test will only make them complain. They might not bother showing up next time. I can only call for a gathering if I have clear proof that there’s a Divine War coming, not before.
“What I really wanted to do was ask around. The Pantheon is an open place for us. If a Divine Entity sees me lounging around there, it’ll eventually grab their attention. I can then go and probe for some answers or spot anything suspicious.”
After hearing her own plan aloud, Shallies quickly changed her mind.
“Actually, that’s probably a bad idea,” she started.
“Why’s that?” Tayin asked.
“If I suddenly showed up, that will already raise some alarms. And they might read into my questions and jump to conclusions. I’d rather keep my cards close to my chest.”
“Maybe a representative can help out, instead?” Arun’dul suggested. “No, actually that might be worse.”
“Even if I send Apple or Stachie, it’ll just have the same effect.”
“If The Pantheon’s not an option, what if we just go directly to Thrush’ven Alir?” Valor’el suggested.
“That place is currently unstable,” Shallies argued. “Since it’s pulling from different Realities right now, there’s a big chance it’ll throw you into one of those without warning. That’s why the Gaiamaxims Guild is preparing here, not there. The most that they’ve done over there is creating a surround to warn others that are trying to approach it.”
She gave an audible sigh. “That thing was supposed to help stabilize nature and provide some balance between Abundance and Famine. Now, it’s just a consistent disaster waiting to happen.”
“If you can’t go there, then we’re out of options?” Grace asked. She was clearly worried.
“Well, all we can do is prepare, really,” Shallies concluded, turning to Valor’el. She didn’t clarify the half-orc’s statement, even though she could actually visit the storm and return safely when needed. There just wasn’t any point going there, neither was there in clarifying such a trivial point. “I need you to give the seraphim a message. Don’t tell them anything about their god, but ask the elders to prepare in case we’ll need a fighting force. If push comes to shove, I’ll summon them here. I don’t think it’ll be a Divine War straight away, but I don’t want to get caught off-guard if it’s something close to it.”
“What if it’s a Divine War?” Tayin asked this time.
“Then every god, including Apple and myself, has become blind and deaf,” Shallies replied, much to everyone’s confusion. Again, only the two veterans knew what she meant.
“If we’re dealing with a difficult Divine War, we’ll have seen clear signs of its brewing months or maybe even years ago,” Valor’el explained. “We would’ve seen volcanic eruptions, or numerous earthquakes causing tsunamis and breaking the land, or other disastrous signs. A mad god is never subtle. They will always flaunt their power.”
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Shallies told them. “Even if it’s actually a mad god returning to life, and even if I have to declare a Divine War early, you four wouldn’t be participating anyway. Yes, that includes you, Arun’dul.”
“Right,” Tayin said, nodding. She was quick to agree, as well as move on from the topic. “We’re getting our roles given out today, I think.”
“We should get our Perpetual Method training done,” Grace added, rushing her breakfast. Since the meditation training wasn’t exactly that taxing on the stomach, the three planned to take advantage of it and get their training in.
The training that followed, much like everyone had expected, had no reasonable improvement to take note of, as far as Shallies was concerned. Sure, they were able to enter the meditation using The Perpetual Method almost instantaneously now, but neither of the three could hold their concentration while moving for more than a minute.
The Godkiller encouraged them, as always. This was, in fact, the natural progression of this particular training. And she had seen no individual break that norm for almost her entire life.
With the only one exception being… Fello’resh.