Wicked Things This Way Come

The first cups of tea were finished, and so was the small talk. Selen served a second time, which emptied the pot, and she sat again with a worried, regretful look to her.

"Do you know the city of Crown?" asked the goddess.

"The king's city, yes," said Afena.

"Are you familiar with Treni?"

Afena crossed her arms and looked up, as if searching for something in her head. "A goddess, but I forget whose great-granddaughter she is."

"Fillili and Grenek's, but it doesn't matter." Selen waved her hand and crossed her legs under the table. "For the past three years, she's been building a sect of followers in secret."

Afena groaned. "For Dit's sake."

"She's in disguise, of course, making herself pass as a human, and carefully approaching people one by one. She's sharing sympathetic stories and messages with them, and the king's rule is such that it's not hard to convince the people that they're being oppressed, and that an uprising should happen."

"It's forbidden to worship gods! Do they not remember what happened last time?"

"Last time happened two hundred years ago, Afena. Of course they don't remember. The humans that lived through that are long gone. Except you, of course."

"But stories and history are there precisely so they don't forget!"

"Stories change every time they're told, you know that. And do you believe most people have any interest in reading page after page of a book that's a volume in a collection? Humans, as you well know, Inarenta, simply want to do as they will, and not be bothered. Besides, if you picked up a book of recorded history, do you honestly believe the events of what happened will be faithfully rendered on the page?"

"Stop that." Afena raised her open hand and took a moment to compose herself. "Please. I left all that behind for a reason."

"You're right. Forgive me, Afena. To be honest, I'm not quite sure I should be telling you any of this. It could all go horribly wrong."

"How so?"

"Treni wants to enslave humanity. All of it, and have them worship her so she can get rid of every other god, and be the only one left. After that, she'll set out to discover exactly what being worshiped by countless humans will allow her to do."

"What would it allow her to do?"

Selen shrugged. "You don't know this, but gods were not the first to be. Ubtirs were here first."

Afena shrugged in turn. "Interesting. But I don't understand your point."

Selen chuckled mischievously. "Oh, you'll find it more interesting still in the future. But my point is, even gods wonder what created this world, and the Ubtirs. One possibility is that an unknown god was worshiped by all its subjects in another world, and that gave it enough power to create its own."

"Ah. And Treni wants the same?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not able to read someone's thoughts. That was Fillili's gift."

"You said you weren't sure you wanted to tell me any of this. Why?"

"Because I know your esteem for humanity is abysmally low, and you might wish to help her. She'd favor you if you did. I've seen it."

Afena nodded, understanding. "Is she good convincing others?"

"She's a seductress. It amounts to the same thing."

"I'd say seducers are more dangerous than lobbyists. But tell me everything you've come to say, Selen."

The goddess sipped from her tea. All of this seemed to entertain more than worry her, and she settled back into her chair with both hands on her cup. She looked like a friend enjoying a bit of gossip.

"Well, you'll find that there's this warrior who'll be able to oppose her, but only if you help him. You'll come across him and, if the two of you defeat Treni, I've foreseen the return of wise ones like you. The chain of events that will be triggered by her defeat will ensure it. And if you get rid of Treni, she won't come after the other gods. If she doesn't, I'll be able to have my Jublun back."

"Can gods be brought back to life?"

"They can with the right lore and materials."

"Then just revive him and help him fight against Treni. Ol is still alive as well. Seek his help and leave me out of this."

"I thought about it, Afena. But Treni is being worshiped. She could easily kill us even now. Would you like me to start a sect of followers as well? Not every god is power-hungry, my dear girl."

"And what of Jublun when he's brought back? Won't he be power-hungry?"

"Not at all!" Selen said excitedly. "Much like you, Afena, all we wanted was to be left alone. That's what cost him his life. When our son joined the hunt for Inarentas, he and Jublun faced off because my husband wanted to stop him. Unfortunately, the brat won."

Afena knew nothing of that, and she looked at Selen with new-found understanding. "How do you talk of all this so…free of care?"

"We don't have the slightest influence on the past, Inarenta. It happened, and our choice is to allow it to make victims of us, or to let it go and focus on the things we can still influence."

"Well said," Afena leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Tell me, then, what will happen if I side with Treni?"

"You, in particular, will live quite well and comfortably. You won't have to worry about others, but will forget most of the lore you've learned, everything you want will be given to you, and you'll finally die calmly and contented in your bed. All you'll have to do is dedicate a few words of prayer to Treni every day."

"And if I don't side with her?"

"You'll suffer." Selen said calmly, putting her hand up and then lowering it as if scaring off a matter of no importance. "At first, mind you. You'll suffer a bit, fight, and endure distress. Things turn very well after that, however. If you survive, the people you save will live very happily guided by lore that will not be heavily corrupted for millenia, if you can believe it. You'll go to bed every night not only accompanied, but also glad to know that people are free, happy, and living good lives. And you'll die much the same death as I said before.

"Ah. The only difference between the two is whether I'll allow other people to be happy. Is that it?"

"And that you'll go through a rough patch in one as well."

"Hmm. And how long will it take for this warrior to cross paths with me?"

"About a year."

"No need to rush, then."

"Not at all."

"Now, Selen, I need to ask a favor of you."

"Please, do."

Afena smirked and spoke in the first tongue, "Answer truthfully. Have you spoken falsely?"

Selen let out a small disappointed grunt, shook her head, but smiled understandingly. "No, Inarenta. I have not. Especially when I say that your pronunciation of the Tongue is horrible."

"Fair enough," said Afena. She felt the jab of the insult, but let it pass. "Would you like more company, then? My hut is much cozier than this spot of the woods."

Selen touched her hand to her chest. "I'd be delighted, Afena."