Prelude to change 2.200

-Fear is a natural thing in people, we all feel fear- Kain said in the tone of an academic's voice -the important thing is to accept it so that it doesn't take away the dominance of your body and mind, as happened to you a few minutes ago-

All this conversation was born in the middle of a lunch that Kain, Hera, Viggo and their wives had, next to little Uriel who slept in a crib next to the table and near Semiramis. The windows on the fourth floor were semi-open, letting in a pleasant breeze as the curtains waved. The sound of cutlery and rubbing with porcelain plates was constant.

Kain, sitting at the head of the table with Hera on his right and Viggo on his left, talked about fear.

-Was I afraid of Zeus?- asked Viggo frowning.

-And why wouldn't you feel it? Do you think you're less of a warrior because you're afraid of someone insignificant?- asked Kain with a smile on his lips -Above all, the latter is the most frightening. I have witnessed how idiotic people who are beyond the point of salvation have accomplished great things. Sometimes, the most incompetent nobles kill kings and emperors. Kings and emperors who were a danger to the world, inherit their thrones directly or indirectly to their laziest or dumb children. How a person looks, or thinks is not important. What matters is what you are willing to do in order to achieve your goal. In that aspect, being afraid of Zeus is logical since he is someone so foolish that he is not afraid of the outcome of his actions or words. You've heard it, he believes, because he really believes it with fervor in his heart, that everything is going to be okay and that he's going to govern Orario again, doing whatever he wants. So, as I told you, it's okay to fear Zeus. The danger is extremes. When you are so afraid that you do nothing or when you do not fear and become desensitized to danger-

-I understand, Father- said Viggo -in the end, we come back to the same thing, finding balance in things-

-That's right- added Hera, who moved her cutlery with a softness and skill that everyone would like to have. She put the cutlery on her plate, took the golden cup in front of her and drank a sip of Estus.

Viggo nodded, then looked at Semiramis and noticed that she was eating, but she did not look away from the baby in the crib -Semiramis- said -Do you want me to see the baby?-

-Not dear- replied Semiramis -I'm fine-

-I understand-

Between Semiramis and Viggo was Scheherezade, who was eating quietly remembering how when Viggo activated his red touki involuntarily, Jason approached first and held her hand. She pulled her hand and pulled away and he looked at her resentfully.

Viggo ran his left hand under the table and stroked Scheherezade´s knee. She looked at him for a few seconds and Viggo asked her -Are you okay?-

-Yes, dear, I'm fine, it's that I feel a little uncomfortable with what happened- said Scheherezade, trying to change her own thoughts of the uncomfortable moment and direct them in another direction -it's just that I met Meteria a long time ago and I worry about her health. More now with the stupid requests of the god Zeus-

-You don't have to worry about that- said Hera, taking a bite to her mouth, chewing, drinking, wiping her lips with a napkin and continuing -while Meteria is in this mansion, nothing will happen to her-

-Good to know, thank you very much-

-You don't have to- Hera replied, understanding Scheherezade's thoughts a little. She was a goddess; she had lived long enough to know about this kind of thing. Men are insistent on glamorous women like Scheherezade. Her voice, her body, her mentality, everything is at the point that would drive men crazy. She already warned Jason, but on the other hand, she can only feel sorry for Viggo. Women like Scheherezade will never stop being persecuted by men. As they say out there, they were born to be loved.

Once lunch was over, the table was cleaned and filled with a bunch of items, from jewelry to gemstones. All this with two specific purposes: first, to know the scope of Viggo's clairvoyance, and two, to prepare for the Denatus.

-No, sweetheart- Kain said with Uriel in his arms -babies don't take those things- Uriel pointed her little index finger at the things on the table. Since Kain didn't approach her, she would look him in the face and babble some unintelligible things. Kain smiled like a silly grandfather, but when Uriel started slapping him, he didn't laugh so much.

-No, Uriel, you don't do that- said Semiramis, approaching Kain and holding her in her hands.

-No problem- Kain said, stroking his cheek with his hand as Hera at his side covered her mouth and laughed. Kain continued -I couldn't remember the last time a woman slapped me-

-We can remedy that- Hera said with a big smile on her lips.

-No, let's look at what this boy can get out of all these things-

Viggo was holding a huge nugget of gold that barely fit in his hand. With his active divinity, his eyes emitted a golden glow. Once the sparkle in his eyes went out, he left the gold nugget on the table and began to write down everything he knew. A dwarf named Vini had excavated it in an ancient cave within the boundaries of his property. The whole family had died, and he was the sole heir. However, he lived in Orario and wanted to sell the property. So, trying a little, he thought he could do business with the goddess Hera. A woman named Abigail owed him a favor when he helped her in her childhood, so Vini collected that favor and Abigail made the connection between Hera and him, but she was categorical, to the point of becoming offensive to the goddess and saying that she was a bitch.

Viggo crossed that word off paper to avoid generating unnecessary conflict. Hera was famous for being intolerant of those who disrespected her.

Returning to the data, Viggo noted the age, appearance of Vini, the date he found the gold nugget and against the other people Hera competed. Since the dwarf had moved here and there, looking for opportunities and waiting for several offers to be raised. He would make buyers compete and get the best result. With that money he would no longer have to worry for the rest of his life.

After writing down the data, Viggo took the gold nugget again and traveled with his vision as if it were a bird heading northwest, in a valley surrounded by mountains. There was a village and a large four-story mansion abandoned on top of a hill. The vision continued to move beyond the mansion to enter a dark, ancient forest, which had not been visited in a long time. At the base of a hill was a cave that was introduced into the earth, it was only a hundred meters deep, with old beams that were about to crumble. In the background was a rock covered with mud where golden metal stains were shown.

Viggo cut off the supply of divine energy and looked at Hera -at first glance it is a shallow gold mine, but it is such an old place that the entire construction would have to be renovated before even extracting any mineral. The village can be easily reached by a functional road and access a four-story mansion in poor condition-

-I understand, we would have to go and inspect the land in person- said Hera -it would be a problem if there was only a little gold and we invested more in infrastructure and transportation, which does not compensate-

Viggo grimaced not knowing what to answer, after all, he didn't know about gold, or metals, or mines. What little he knew it had learned from his father because he was teaching the jeweler's trade.

Viggo took another nugget of a gray, opaque metal. Activating his divine energy and clairvoyance, Viggo widened his eyes and stared at Hera. The pregnant goddess nodded calmly, and Viggo nodded in response. So, he continues to write down the data of the person who brought it, he was quite young, he was only thirteen years old. He had gone through a family crisis and practically only he and his sister remained. This adamantite pipite, which would eventually be processed and turned into damask steel, was all they had. They were in this same mansion?

Viggo looked at Hera again with his active clairvoyance and before asking, he saw the image of Hera nod once -Are they here?- he asked and the image of Hera nodded again, but this time it was the real person. Viggo continued to research the information and transfer the information onto paper. From names, age, circumstances, hair color, eyes, skin color, trends, and attitudes.

-What do ask you?- asked Kain.

Hera was stroking her prominent stomach at the time. She smiled calmly and replied -a boy and his sister, came from a village to the west, near the town from which Jason, Odysseus and Achilles come. He was offered the information regarding a mine in exchange for protection and money. They want to settle in Orario, if possible, become adventurous. He doesn't have the ability, but at least he has the desire to excel-

-Are you going to admit them into your family?-

-No, not at all, I will give them enough money, equipment and recommend them to a smaller family, where someone like them can adapt. I'm not so benevolent as to put anyone in my family, but I'm not so cruel to leave them to their fate either- Hera passed her eyes from left to right and placed it on Semiramis and Scheherezade -the objects are over and now we are going to talk about things related to Viggo's dreams. You can go to my room and occupy it as you like. Even if Uriel wants to sleep in my bed, that's fine. Don't worry, the smell of baby is something that will abound in this place in a short time-

-Thank you, Lady Hera- said Semiramis with total respect. So does Scheherezade. Semiramis and Scheherezade approached the bag of documents they had already reviewed with Hera after her arrival and encounter with the god Zeus. However, it was information so valuable to the business of Hera and Semiramis that they could not leave it anywhere.

Viggo finished writing down all the information related to the adamanthite nugget. He leaves the nugget on the table and the paper next to the others had already checked and look for more materials on the table but was done. Then he looked at Hera and Kain, who invited him to the balcony. There was a smaller table, with three chairs, three glasses and a jug of natural juice.

The three of them sat down at the table, Hera looked at Kain and asked -Can you help me? Not so cold juice, please-

-Sure- Kain replied, bringing his left hand closer to Hera's huge belly, and caressing him while bringing his right hand to the jug with juice in the center of the table. He put his index finger on the glass and the juice cooled to the point that a layer of ice appeared on the glass.

-Kain, not so icy- Hera added.

-Ok, I'll fix it-