Jackal Among Snakes

The god of flesh and blood, Chiteng, filled the role of a god of fertility primarily. Men were intended to pray for virility. Women were intended to pray to prevent their children from being disabled physically or mentally—specifically, they prayed that the flesh and blood of their children was sculpted to be both beautiful and strong. Supposedly he made the figures of all men and women. All the elven gods took sacrifices, but Chiteng supposedly used the bodies to craft their children inside their wombs.

When Argrave looked back from where they’d come, he could see the shore no longer. Soon enough, the blocky throne of ivory came into view past the fog. It had been difficult to see from so far away, but there was a small white harbor leading to an entrance with a door well familiar to Argrave. The whale swam up alongside it, planting its broad head against the smooth stone. Argrave and Orion stepped up onto it. When they looked back at the whale, it sunk into the deep and disappeared before their eyes. Argrave wondered what else was lurking beneath in the deep beside that whale—the player could never swim in there. He didn’t care to find out now.

When he looked upwards, Chiteng peered down at the two of them. He seemed to exert pressure with his gaze alone that almost made Argrave want to drop to his knees. Perhaps it was just his size, but maybe there was something more to divinity than mere power. Argrave felt entirely a fraud calling himself ‘king.’ But he did call himself king, and that came with certain responsibilities. So, he had to begin.

“Are you interested in an early victory in the struggle to come?” Argrave asked boldly. Though he felt intimidated standing closer to the divine figure, the fact he had been brought here suggested there was some leeway he might have.

The god leaned forward until he hunched, placing his arms atop his knees. He said nothing, but only stared at the two of them, waiting and watching. Orion shifted uneasily, and Argrave gave him a glance, pleading that he would do nothing to provoke Chiteng.

Argrave looked back up at Chiteng. “I was able to reach you because Gerechtigkeit is targeting the region, specifically. He’s bearing pressure upon the Bloodwoods strong enough that an ancient god has been able to enact its will on the land itself. This has destabilized the situation tremendously, and if left unchallenged, the forest itself will die—the forest that you and your family made for the elves.”

Chiteng tilted his head from one side to the other, still listening.

first to break through the division between the realms,” Argrave continued, speaking slowly and clearly so that his nervousness did not cause him to stutter. “Whoever it is clearly has no interest in cooperation—they intend to destroy the forest to make way for their domain. I can give you an advantage in this situation. With my presence on the mortal realm, I can facilitate the connection of realms and position your family

head back, chuckling. Slowly the laughter faded away,

already present. And if you think me incapable of actually doing what I claim to be capable of… know that I opened the altars to the centaurs’ great steppes using Sarikiz’s hair, and that I know the location of your holy artifacts—the spade, your father’s mattock, your sister’s sword. I can use these to manifest them. I can make good on my promises—I

his elven face. His hand clenched around the armrest of his throne, and then his lips parted, saying two words that echoed across the

“Kirel Qircassia.”

elder god behind all of the trouble in the Bloodwoods—nothing else could come close to that kind of power. They were wrong,

enough. But just as some people sought protection under Argrave, some gods sought protection under other gods. Kirel was the self-proclaimed eldest god, who allegedly had been through the judgement

pleased. It was nothing more than a defensive coalition. When its founder and enforcer was Kirel, a

blow to the leader of a divine faction that had persisted for many of the cycles of judgement. Argrave didn’t think he was wrong in claiming what he’d claimed—that the elven gods, working in tandem with true presence in the mortal realm—could expel Kirel.

force of the Qircassian Coalition had come to recognize Argrave and his godly allies as those who had cut off the grasping hand of their founding member. The

Chiteng? Persuading all of the elven pantheon to go after the heaviest hitter? Even if he told the elven gods that he knew both their favorite color and who they had a crush on, his knowledge about Heroes

Argrave reflected. If he’s here… when the time comes, all his crony godlings will come and make Berendar their territory. If I know that’s coming, I can prepare better. I can position us to take the least of the impact. We’ll… have

settled over Argrave, some words

turned it into five or six by weakness of will. Self-pity