Part 5
“Vordea, we meet again.” Neptis said with a smile as Vordea’s presence became immediately felt as she entered the silent battlefield.
“Neptis, you look lovely.” Vordea replied with a genuine smile on her face. “You’ve grown so much.”
“You never told me it would take so long.”
“All in the past, dear. Shall we go? The others are waiting for you up north.” Vordea asked, extending a hand in offering.
“Others?” Neptis asked. “What others?”
“The other Gods, girl! I’ve called an emergency meeting, so we really need to get going. Come on!” Vordea grabbed Neptis and they both left in a flash of lightning.
“Where are we?” Neptis asked as they reappeared inside The Hissing Lobster, coming face to face with the other Gods.
“Welcome to The Hissing Lobster.” Vaust responded with a bow.
“The Inn in the mountains?”
“Not just an Inn, Neptis. It’s my domain. My name is Vaust, and I’m the God of Luck.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” Neptis replied, bowing.
“Well, you achieved it. Looks like I owe myself a drink.” Eigengrau replied with a smirk. “Though, something quite unexpected has happened.”
“So you felt it too?” Vordea asked. “I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m certain.”
“Let’s finish introductions first.” Neptis cut in. “I’m already well acquainted with Lady Vordea and Lady Eigengrau, so let’s move on.”
“I am Lord Sargon, God of Justice. You would be wise to not get on my bad side, little girl.” Sargon thundered, scowling at Neptis.
“Come now Sargon, quit being so dour.” Zalas called out from the lounge chairs. “Pleased to meet you, Neptis. You may call me Zalas, I’m the God of Love, and all that entails. We can get to know each other better later on.” Zalas said with a wink.
“And that leaves me. Welcome, I am Lord Agbus.” Agbus bowed, hands in his sleeves.
As Agbus finished speaking, there was a knock on the door, which surprised Eigengrau.
“No...” she said quietly.
The door creaked open slightly, and a very large raven flew in and landed on the largest table. It didn’t speak a word, but every God present knew exactly who it was.
“It can’t be...”
“The Raven King.” Vordea said, narrowing her eyes. “Where have you been all these years?”
The raven merely cawed in response, flapping its wings but staying in place. Vordea shook her head and sighed. Neptis however was curious about the giant raven, and approached it.
“So, you’re the Raven King? The missing God himself?” she asked, as if expecting a response. The raven cawed and hopped up onto her shoulder, and looked decidedly content.
“Introductions are over, it’s time to introduce yourself.” Eigengrau flatly said to Neptis.
“What about the raven?” Neptis asked, gesturing to the large raven perched on her shoulder. Vordea shrugged in response. Neptis chuckled and began her introduction. “Hello, I am Neptis, Goddess of War, Revolutions, Violence, and Blood.” Neptis spoke her full title, and bowed.
“See, this is the unexpected I mentioned.” Eigengrau said to Vordea. “It was only supposed to be one purview.”
“Yes, I see the problem. The kalpa has changed more than we intended.” Vordea replied, stroking her chin.
“What are you two blathering about?” Vaust asked.
“Neptis has inadvertently done four things during her apotheosis,” Eigengrau said, holding up 4 fingers. “First,” she said, holding up just her index finger, “She took an extra purview from Vordea, violence.”
“Second, she created a new one, blood.” Vordea said, holding up two fingers. “Thirdly,” Vordea continued, holding up three fingers, “She created a new school of magic, Blood magic. This part is interesting as it wasn’t retroactive. It only just began to exist a few hours ago. The University’s going to have fun once they discover it.”
“The fourth one is the most interesting to me, however.” Eigengrau continued. “She has become the patron God of vampires. The curse is intact, and yet it has shifted.”
“All of these combined has made Neptis far more powerful than myself, Vordea, and Eigengrau planned for.” Agbus finished, walking up to Neptis. He rummaged around in his sleeve before pulling out a metal necklace with Neptis’s sigil hanging from it. “A gift, if you will. Consider it a... welcome gift from the primal Gods to a new Inner God.”
“There’s that phrase again. What’s an ‘Inner God’?” Neptis asked as she took the necklace from Agbus.
“Ah, forgive me, as it’s not a phrase known to mortals.” Agbus said, bowing. “There are 3 levels of Divinity. There are the 3 Primal Gods. That’s Vordea, Eigengrau, and myself. We are nearly limitless in power and represent universal truths. I am order, Vordea is chaos, and Eigengrau is death and time. Then there’s the Inner Gods. You are concepts, ideas, abstractions. Sargon is justice, Vaust is luck, Zalas is emotions, The Raven King is nature and creation, and you are war and blood. Do you follow so far?”
“Yes, I believe so. You mentioned three categories, though?”
“Of course. The outer Gods. The innumerable lesser Gods for things such as good harvests, commerce, fishing, murder, and so on. Not very powerful, but they exist.”
“There’s one other benefit you get.” Vaust added, sitting atop the bar. “As an Inner God, you now have a permanent invitation to the regular meetings that take place here in my domain. You don’t have to attend, but you’re always welcome to.”
“Now, let us begin this emergency meeting.” Eigengrau finished. “As eldest God, Agbus has the floor.”
The meeting lasted many days.