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"Arlore?"
"...Yes. Yes. Let's go." You begin to float upward toward the heavens. You look down and spot Eve running to and fro in the camp. Fear punctures your heart. But you are a god. The mortals must handle their own affairs. You must let Eve prove her worthiness to you; you must trust her abilities.
Soon the clouds obscure all view of the earth. You look upward. George is a little ahead of you. His face is locked in a grimace.
"Is everything ok?" He gives you a small smile, just the corner of the lips.
"Fine. Fine." His smile dissolves, and his face hardens again. You in fly silence for a while, the white and blue of the infinite give way to the eternal black, punctured here and there by pinholes of light from the distant heavens. You accelerate and follow George into one of these tiny faraway lights, it envelops you as you get closer and closer. On the other side is a searing brightness, you feel your godly essence rejoice and vibrate like a tuning fork.
You are at the home of the gods.
George doesn't wait, he flies toward a circular, open roofed building, something akin to a stadium or Colosseum. You follow him. You both fly over its high walls; beneath you are rows and rows of seats. In the center, there is a rectangular stage and a table. And 7 thrones of cloud-colored bronze. In each throne there sits one of the seven higher gods. At the helm, Glimiki, the Light. To his left, Amus, the Mother. To his right, Ishtar, the Warrior and Lover. Next to Ishtar sits Nirgaal, the Black. Next to Amus, sits Eretu, the Flower. Then Sumisu, the Wave and opposite him, Sumidu, the Planter.
The minor gods (and there are many of them) slowly fill up the thousands of seats. George leads you to one of the front rows. You hesitate, but he usher's you forward and assures you it is fine. After some time the room echoes with chatter and laughter. You look around, trying to absorb as much as you can.
There you spot, Llith, God of Birds. There, Gani, Lord of Trees. There you see Atterkan with his masked face, God of Plots. There, Allis, Yaanagon, Igal. The sons of Truth: Justice, Order and Equality. There the sea gods, and river spirits. Tok, the God of Craft. Angusus, the Dream-giver.
There you see Muta, sitting on the opposite side of the stadium, playing with something small and gold and round in his hand. He spots you and George but does not make any indication of recognition. His gaze makes you nervous. Then you feel a sudden chill down your spine, like little legs were crawling through your skin. A red robed man, completely hidden by his cloak passes by.
"Pardon me" He says, his voice is like the clack of a billion billion tiny legs. You shiver.
"Watch for him" says George.
"I don't recognize him."
"He doesn't have a name. I'm surprised he even showed up. He doesn't usually care about things like this and no one has the guts to make him come."
"But who is he?"
"He's the Ant God."
"...I see."
"Don't underestimate him. He used to sit right there once a upon a time" George points to Glimiki's throne. You look at the Red robed man in awe as he sits down. Several other gods, next to him begin shifting in their seats. Finally they get up and move elsewhere, so that the Ant god has 9 seats to himself. You are about to ask George more about him, when a gavel sounds.
"The meeting is called to order!" Glimiki speaks in a normal tone, almost conversational, but his voice carries like thunder through the ranks. "I thank you all for coming. Its nice to see the old faces, and some new ones, if I'm not mistaken (you swear he glanced at you). I'm sure some of you know why we are here. For those of you who do not..." Glimiki looks at Sumidu. Sumidu looks back, then stands.
"There is trouble brewing in the West." He waits for the whispers and chatter to die, then continues. "The Lord of the Western People has blasphemed and declared himself a One-worshiper." Gasps resound through the stadium. Again Sumidu waits. "Yes, he no longer makes sacrifice to the pantheon, but has rejected us and follows one only." Shouts erupt from the stadium. George remains silent. Sumidu waits a third time, raises his hand. The crowd quiets. "That is not the worst of it. One of the gods, one of us, perhaps right now in this very court, has encouraged this blasphemy." This time the crowd remains hushed. "One who has revealed himself as "Tef". Thus does the Lord of the West call himself Akhentef -- 'One who follows Tef'. Therefore, fellow immortals, we cannot leave this matter as the petty ramblings of a short lived mortal. There is one among us to seeks to revolt!" There is a roar of voices. Sumidu sits down. Glimiki looks at him, there is a smile on his face, but not one of benevolence. Glimiki stands. The crowd quiets again.
"My brother speaks true my fellow gods. There is indeed one among us who seeks to betray the natural order and take all power for himself." He waits, the crowd hangs on his words. "...And I know who it is." Again the crowd explodes. Even
you are surprised, but next to you George remains stone-faced. "Let Muta, son of Sumidu be called to the stand!" Absolute silence in the courtroom. You can hear hearts beating in unison. Muta stands, he shows no sign of any emotion as usual. Sumidu stands, red-faced in anger.
"What is the meaning of this Glimiki!"
"You heard me brother. It's your son." Sumidu looks at Muta. Muta says nothing and approaches the table. The other gods watch him and Sumidu. He stands at the other helm of the table, opposite Glimiki, next to his father and his stepmother. He does not look at Sumidu, but stares straight ahead. Glimiki takes his seat.
"Now take the oath." Says Glimiki. Sumidu stands.
"No! This is a farce, Sumilu. My son can't possibly be the culprit!" Glimiki rises in anger.
"Who is the lord of this court here? You? No. IT IS I!" Glimiki's eyes flash with divine radiance, then they fade and he closes his eyes. "Now be seated, and never call me that name again." Sumidu sits down, broken. "The oath, speak it."
"Father, it can't be Muta." Ishtar says.
"Silence! Do not speak young one. This is a matter beyond you." Ishtar folds her hands and pouts.
"I, Muta, Lord of Deals, swear by the Fabric which we fold, that I shall speak fair and true. Let the Fabric wrap me and I be forgotten in her folds, if I do not."
"Mmm. Good. Now as I'm sure you know Muta, once you have taken the oath, your words must be true. You shall be obliterated otherwise. You have been warned. Do you understand?"
"I do."
"Very well. Is your name Muta?"
"It is."
"You are the God of Deals?"
"I am."
"Your father is Sumidu, God of Grain."
"He is."
"Your mother -"
"I think we've established that the oath is working. Perhaps we can move to the main line of questioning?" Says Muta, his voice cutting like a sharp bone in a throat. Glimiki smiles at his impudence.
"Yes. Why not? Are you or your not the one they call "Tef"?" There is an intense pause. Muta looks about him. His eyes scan through the crowd, slowly. One by one. Then he stops at you. Then at George. George gives a slight nod. You wouldn't have noticed it if you weren't sitting right next to him. Muta faces Glimiki again.
"No. No I am not." Glimiki is taken aback. The crowd holds its breath. Seconds pass. Minutes. Nothing happens. "Is that all?" Says Muta, the corner of his eyes curls into a smile that his mouth does not make. Glimiki blinks stupidly.
"Um. Yes. Yes, of course. You are free to go."
"Very well." Muta bows then returns to his seat. Afterwards he glances at George and gives him a nod. George sees it but does nothing.
"Well...I-well...it seems I was mistaken." Says Glimiki. Sumidu watches his son closely, then Glimiki, then smiles beneath his covered face. Then he suppresses the smile and replaces it with a fake anger. He stands and points at Glimiki.
"So! You accuse my son of the highest treason and then say you are mistaken? Surely the great God of Light will take responsibility for his mistakes!" Sumidu cannot help but smile at Glimiki's scowl.
"I-I. Yes. Of course."
"I move to banish Glimiki from the eternal throne for 1 year." Glimiki's eyes flash. "Let him wander the earth upon his belly, feeding on the crawling things of the Earth." The minor gods cheer.
"But who shall take my place?" Silence again.
"Hmph. My son, Muta shall. It is only fair." You can see the raw fury building up in Glimiki. His wife touches his hand and he calms. He looks at the crowd of gods holding their breath to his words. Then he sighs.
"Very well. I name Muta, son of Sumidu, God of Deals, as my successor for one year. Let him not wield the power lightly." Muta stands and bows again. You see George smile. You turn around looking at the hordes of cheering gods. You notice the Ant God is nowhere to be seen. His seat, and the 8 seats around him, are empty.
"And what of the mortal?" This time Nirgaal the Lord of Death speaks. The crowd grows silent again.
"His time shall come. But we must not punish him yet. Let him worship this "Tef", he shall lead us directly to him." Muta this time, walking toward the table. "Besides Lord Nirgaal, he brings fresh servants for your kingdom every day. So do not be concerned" Nirgaal scowls.
"As the new high God. I dismiss this court. May you all return to your places in peace." Says Muta. Everyone cheers. George gets up to leave.
"Wait!" You say. "What about the favor? I thought you wanted to me help you." George smiles.
"You already have."
"What by just coming here?"
"Yes." He pats your shoulder. "Thank you. Now return to your mortal. I'm sure she needs you." And with that the floor disappears from beneath your feet and you fall a great distance, back to the earth.
Your trip to the other realm has reinvigorated your godly powers. You don't recognize where you are. But you can hear the call of your worshipers in your mind. The voices of the hunters calls to the east (you suspect Eve is with them), however a second set of voices calls from the south, where you left Eve's mother and the other worshipers. You don't know what's going on or how much time has passed.
What will you do?
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Topic: You Are a Minor God (Read 104320 times)