131 - Echoes of War 2

"You're either insane or the little power you've gotten has blinded you to reason. You're supposed to be the logical one of us" Carla shouted a horrified expression on her face.

"Let's hear him out Carla. " Moira would dare not say it but she was all for this idea. Yet her impulsiveness had already gotten her a bad name especially back with the Bukgarwolves. So she had silent about it. What better news than to have someone else suggest it?

Humda who knew exactly what she was thinking rolled his eyes before continuing.

"Kendor has been keeping tabs on the Orcs to the Northwest. The Orc you killed to evolve was a High Orc King"s brother. So yeah ".

"That's a huge problem. " Carla mumbled rubbing her eyes.

"Sanda has blended in with the dwarves. That disguising magic is a good skill. With Aegefon heading over to the Basilisk's territory to buy their humans, I say we strike. We already have someone within. We save the humans and momentarily cripple the dwarves long enough for us to focus on the Orcs."

"The Orcs are brutal and their charge could cause us severe problems". Carla agreed.

" And their gods? " Moira asked.

" That's where you come in. You're the strongest. So it's up to you to make sure no one summons a god." Humda deadpanned. "The rest of us then focus on properly demoralizing the Orcs.

"I say we spare them. Showing goodwill might give them better opinions of us". Carla suggested.

"I strongly suggest against it. They came at us all those years ago because they feared our potential. If we manage to do this with just a few ragtag cohorts then we'd be proving their fears true." Hunda warned with an impassive expression.

" We attack and become the bad guys. We don't and get slaughtered. "

" A literal rock and hard place huh."

" Even you Carla can see the answer here don't you, "Moira asked her soft-hearted sister. The girl was silent for a while before asking.

" There is no other way?"

"There are tons of them sister. Bit you and I know the races won't let us have them". Moira looked to Humda for confirmation who nodded with a sigh. For a moment the rational boy seemed sad.

"Then we fight. If staying still gets us killed then I don't see how defending ourselves is evil". Carla angrily looked to Humda who made an approving nod to her thought.

"Then it's decided?" Moira looked to Humda now.

"Yes. But keep it to ourselves". He suggested.

"We have spies already?" Moira was shocked by this. You'd think all humans would work to liberate themselves.

"Of course. No war lacks spies. We take only the paladin and a few of our strongest. Alert them only when we strike. " His advice was legit making both sisters nod.

" I guess it was unavoidable. Great one bless us". Carla made a praying gesture before all three looked out the balcony again.

" The calm before the storm," Moira mumbled

" The worse moment. Not knowing. Whether you win or lose. Survive or die. Lose someone you cherish or not". Carla shuddered for a moment making Moira wrap her arms and bring her sister into a hug.

" It is what war becomes " Humda muttered before he made a slight bow his eyes connecting with Moira's for a moment before he glanced away and disappeared into the shadows.

"It is what war becomes" The girl turned queen repeated for her little sister who held her tight.

* * * * * * *

"What do you mean not this time?" A loud voice that sounded like an earthquake boomed.

The male dwarf while short was amusingly leering up at the male who scratched his head with a tired gaze.

"The humans are receiving the aid of another god." He repeated himself loudly this time before slumping back and into a seat like he had used up his energy into the shout.

" That's. Who dares? The old fool Turtuka couldn't realize what happened back there. Which leaves us with no other god. Rizos was eliminated by us. Thanks to that we could push on with this agenda. So who, who I ask dares to cozy up to that filth of creation?

The taller male stiffened before turning to glare at the dwarf. Flames burned in his eyes as he made a chilling statement that doused the dwarf's anger and pride.

"One more such comment and you'll be facing the Berthadds Jury". The dwarf knowing where he had gone wrong could only bow his head but not to the male. Rather to the side while he quickly muttered a few words under his breath.

"Forgive my stupid ranting. " the dwarf made a slight nod to the other male before he continued.

"You know what this means right?" the male simply nodded.

"Then we can't hold back this time. We finish what we started." the male just nodded again before turning away from the dwarf.

On his own, the dwarf barely perturbed by the male's disregard looked to his hammer leaning by the stone and then to the markings on its shaft. Strange markings also adorned his left wrist in a circle.

If Erizos were to see it he would realize that while not similar it bore rhe same weird shapes and symbols as the one drawn by the dying Eldritch.

"For ########" his tongue spat the words yet the sound distorted the words making them seem unspeakable within Fiarin. Yet the various symbols on his wrists lit up in a purple glow and then began rotating around the dwarf's wrist.

An imperceptible glow of purple briefly ignited in his eyes while he walked out of the room mumbling to himself.

"Let's see how long you ignore All-father". the smile on his face was hidden by his long white beard. His steps quickened as he shivered with anticipation. A dream he was close to fulfilling within grasp.

The flash of purple lightning in the strange sky was unnoticed by anyone as he phased away from the room the large double-handed hammer now resting atop his shoulder.

The moment he was gone the room descended into silence.

Then the male rose off his chair and made a kowtow to a corner of the room.

"Forgive me, I didn't punish rhe dwarf for his disrespect". his words while aimed at the wall opposite him were strange due to only his presence being visible within the room.

The silence after his words stretched for a while the male's face twisting in various ways. He remembered when he had begun suspecting things. When he had sent various demigods and even a few lesser gods to check on the events ongoing.

He remembered the warning he has received to not act. Then the various confusing happenings after that.

It wasn't till the village in Mount Carion suddenly for no reason migrated and the town in the center of Anges grew that he began to suspect something else was happening.

Then his beast records alerted him of a one-time inconsistency. One that couldn't be overlooked. Animals or humans couldn't just cease to exist but several had just vanished from the face of Fiarin.

Checking the logs of the dead and other means he found nothing. What he

did find was another animal with a severe change. A change that removed it from his divine authority.

When he tried to act again the dame warnings had come once more. And now he was here.

The space before him shimmered as reality bent like a piece of crumpled paper. Then tore. The wind went hysteric as something attempted to enter. It took a few minutes before finally whatever was happening ceased and then a clean tear appeared.

A little girl not more than eight years old stepped through the line her clothing a simple commoner gown that lacked any eccentricity or beauty.

The male already had one thought' She's doing her roleplay again eh'.

While her face and smile were babyish and adoring the Aura that the male suddenly felt from her as she escaped the portal wouldn't let him even admire her looks.

BAM.

His body was subconsciously pressed to the ground a weight like nothing holding him there.

The girl though was too busy stamping her feet into the wooden floor that was not normal wood since the meager amount of strength she used caused bursts of air around her feet. The wood cracked and mended repeatedly.

When she was done removing the dirt from her soles she looked up only to find a male squished to the ground like a pancake.

"Sorry. sorry. Always forget to turn it off" She muttered before the aura dissipated. She watched the male rise with a groan her face bearing a sheepish smile.

"Sorry" She drawled making a pout. The male seeing this adorable look couldn't help but will his body pain away. Who in their right senses would be annoyed at such a cute smile?

'Not like I can even do anything even if I want ' he thought while nodding to the girl.

The eight-year-old skipped to another chair sitting before the male could even think to respectfully offer his. While caught in his confusion the girl began speaking. Her voice had gone from babyish to authoritative.

"So I see Thodorin has moved ahead with his plans?" It was more a statement than a fact. Not waiting for the male to reply she nodded for a bit before continuing.

"Ready your people. Act only when I say " she rose as swiftly as she had come and began to phase away much as the dwarf had done.

" My lady!" the male called out with urgency. He'd long been confused about a lot of things and now was the best time to settle those confusions.

" Forgive my rudeness. But.. I know nothing of what is happening. If my lady was aware why look away and let Thodorin commit something so vile. Once again forgive my disrespect". his eyes were low so he missed the slight flash of anger in the little girl's eyes. If before she had gone from extremely cute to a young noble lady then at the brief moment her countenance changed to a ferocious beast who wanted nothing more than to tear its enemies to shreds.

Yet the loom was gone faster than it appeared.

"I guess after investigating for so long you deserve to know.". She nodded while talking like someone convincing themselves of the right decision.

"Several years ago something entered this domain. More precisely, the multiverse. I don't know what. All I know is for some reason I couldn't see past it. Strange things have been happening since then. Thodorin being an example. It left and returned" she halted here before gazing deeply at the male.

" Thia time it was even hazier than before. Almost like it had grown powerful. Even worse I tried looking through the time pool to find its effect but everywhere it has been remained closed to me. IN MY WORLD" her voice boomed as the earlier savage expression returned.

Her anger was quite understandable too. The male shivered as the killing intent even though not directed at him seized his divinity and made him cold.

"My...my..la..lady. Uhm... I'm still... here" his broken voice reached her ears before the intent dropped. An apologetic expression on her face.

"My apologies little one. My temper still needs a touch". she confessed.

The male even with his breath being frantic noted one thing. " But what does it have to do with all my investigations. Wait you believe it is what caused it". he speculated.

" Far from it". she shook her head with a sigh.

" While the events that you investigated are weird I found them .. " she paused before a little hint of realization flashed through her eye. "..a bit similar".her legs took her back to the sit.

The male watched as she speculated something for a while. He noted the confusion growing on her face before she finally grumbled.

"Whatever it is, it'll soon be resolved." She stood and began phasing away. "After all what is coming will bring an end to all this".

She didn't specify that the event she had looked into would be the last of them appearing in her time pool.

' Ah. It has been a long time since I personally participated in a war. For some reason, it doesn't feel like it'll be fun".

The male was left even more confused than he was at the beginning of everything.

"Now I get why the mortals dislike our answers. We never give straight replies." Shaking his head the divine took to his seat making himself comfortable atop the chair as he stared at the leather-bound book in front of him.

It glowed for a moment before dimming.

"I guess I should use you. Whatever the All-mother sees that worries her. Should be cause for worry to the rest of us as well". He sighed for a moment before flipping open the record. "Fine lets do this".