Ash merely nodded mentally to Sammy’s request not to shift subjects. “As you wish. But if so, it was inevitable. Probably contingency alarms. You were eventually going to trigger something to be making waves in Dominion territory and killing sages.”

  Sammy smirked internally. “Ah, well, thanks for making me feel a little better. What is Central, by the way?”

  “You don’t know? A hive mind of sorts. A psychic medium to communicate that the Inquisitors use. Somewhat like your Brain Trust, perhaps. Those with access are among the best and most trusted in the Dominion.”

  “I should’ve guessed! Okay, so, with all this in mind, what would be the Sage’s motive?”

  “Find diamonds, I suppose. Test his protege, baptize him in the fire. And others, too, maybe. Perhaps he wouldn’t expect much. Expects failure, or even plans on it. We see a lack of concern for his empire in the vision, just as he has exhibited after the Redberry scenario. Even now, he may have withdrawn again.”

  “You don’t think he’d interfere in the war again?”

  “I didn’t think he would at all, before — just tug strings from afar. The West is there to buffer and take the punishment just as it did. But I also didn’t expect two principal and key deaths. I expected to chase the Naugites out, at great cost and drain, but inevitably. My assumption was that Zadkiel would retreat before he was truly threatened, with the idea to continue stirring conflict, which is what a God of War thrives on.

  “I’m still amazed that the True Sage prepared to have a presence there. Perhaps he planned to see Inquisitor One tested. If he wanted to snipe Zadkiel, he could’ve acted quicker. But as I understand it, it was an unexpected ambush. It’s wholly possible that the Sage just wasn’t paying attention during the period. That’s the disadvantage of a disposable puppet waltzing around.”

  Sammy sniffed in distaste. “He may have just not cared enough about them to interfere.”

  “A fair assessment. It makes me think about the vision and the end result. A true apocalypse of destruction unleashed from Below. Perhaps that is what he is working on now? A terrifying thought. I wonder what would’ve happened if you had gone?”

  “Not something we’ll be doing. Myself or the heroes. Never. I’ll bait him out. If any of that shit happens. Remember that it is a potential future that won’t actually happen.”

  “If the vision shows their intentions, we need to pretend we don’t read them, or never let on in any way that we do. Then we counter it at the last possible moment. Only then will you seize the most advantage from the foreknowledge.”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty logical. Again, though… big, big if.”

  “We can look for the signs and be ready. After all, you have three Daughters to help you.”

  Sammy sent a mental smile. “That I do. I already rely on one, and you’re not far behind. I’m glad you’re plugging in quickly. Okay, then, that’s what we’ll do, while preparing as ever for the worst. In secret.”

  “My thoughts exactly, Madam.”

  Sammy popped into the spirit realm and shifted over to a zone of Limbo to recharge her mana quickly. While her Avatar was still sticking by the Great Oak, Sammy repeated her solo success with the temp mana item and made another matching earring. Not only did she obviously need to match an earring, but it allowed her a more ‘secondary’ source after the regenerating sapphire. The third earring could be the true backup last resort.

  Temporary Mana Storage Item of capacity 26 MP has been successfully created.

  By this time, dusk had come and gone, and her realm gained on another day.

  Sammy checked the total Followers to see how close she was to completing the associated quest. 847 Followers! If my gains are a little more next time, I’ll complete it! I think it will, too. A big portion here was from Puck. It’s going to spike again.

  Looking at her total FE gains, she was at 12,273 FE out of 16,000.

  Holy Forking Shirtballs, I’m going to max out! I might as well stop spending Pantheon FE because I need some sinks for all this. And I can start converting all or nearly all prayers into Specialized FE instead of trying to hit targets. Hmm. What else? Servitors. And I could make another Avatar, but I want to keep one free for spontaneous creation. Level 9 would be when I can have 4 of them.

  “System, what is the maximum FE for a Pantheon?”

  Pantheon maximum FE follows a formula based on the total deity levels of all members as well as the Pantheon level. This is 999 times deity levels plus 3,333 times the Pantheon level. In the case of Celestial Horizon, this is (999 x 22) + (3,333 x 2) = 28,644.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Damn, so a metric shitton. Got it. And can you tell me anything else I can do to avoid wasting FE over my personal maximum?”

  You can convert raw FE into Pantheon FE through your own prayer, at 2 Deity FE per Pantheon FE, up to 7% of your Maximum FE per day. You may also invest up to 25% of your total maximum into Projects you desire to complete later. The FE can only be utilized for that specific ability use (such as Relic creation) but otherwise remains flexible.

  “Ah! Perfect. I can avoid waste for a while, then, if it comes down to it.”

  She took a glance at the Pantheon’s total current FE. 9,115…

  It’s over nine-thousaaaaaand! Eh hehehe! Hmm. Must be Redberry punting some of her reserves over, because I’ve been using it and prayer isn’t to that level yet.

  She handed off monitoring the gains to Jeeves and her realm and began pondering what to spend some of it on. Servitors, definitely. Holy Relic? They were maxed at four total, and she was always going to keep one in reserve. She planned to revisit the third as something less… adventurey and place it in her primary Consecrated church. At the least, Relics were certainly a target for a little Project allocation if needed. She put that on the books as a contingency.

  Servitors, okay, let’s see…

  Jeeves popped into her head suddenly. “Your Majesty, by way of Peretheia the Nereid, three merfolk have asked you to meet at the beach as you once did. They’ve returned from their trips back to their lands. If agreed, you can meet in ten minutes.”

  “Oh! Nice. I agree! I’ll be there.”

  Sammy Mirror Walked over to the location, shifting to her dressier form for the meeting, then modded it to something a bit different with her phantasmal power. Instead of birds, she went with seashells.

  On the sandy shore with the ocean just behind them were three merfolk once more, the moon shining in the sky above their heads. Two of the merfolk present were those she recognized from before — Alkai Kari and Heizon Kar of the Seriotikka. The other was not Morriam, though attired similarly.

  They all bowed, and the new one said, “Apologies, but Current Changer Morriam Gosi was not able to come. I am Current Changer Tenshai Gosi of the Shanwysi. Your form is breathtaking, as is your dress.”

  Samantha inclined her head. “I am the Seeress of Geirkos. Thank you and I find you very pleasing as well. I’m honored to receive you all again. To what do I owe the pleasure this evening?”

  Heizon pulled out what looked to be a red and gold conch shell. “Highcaller Galeshaen Osa Kar of the Seriotikka thanks you for your gift and gives his own. A Rittok to summon three fine helpers as swift as the sea can carry, who would serve you in whatever capacity.”

  He stepped forward and knelt to offer the conch, which Samantha took, noticing it was indeed magical. “Incredible,” Samantha said. “Please convey my gratitude and glee to receive it.” She held her hand out, sensing and assuming he’d want to kiss her hand again, which he did immediately, and then rose to step back away.

  Tenshai stepped forward and pulled out an ornate coral wand with something like three ribbons at the top of it. “Highcaller and Mistress of the Currents, Unteria Gosi of the Shanwysi, thanks you for your gift and gives her own. A wand that makes any natural creature of the sea to be tame toward you, whether to flee or be friendly, as is their disposition. But always pacified and non-aggressive.”

  She did the same thing as Heizon, kneeling and giving the gift. Samantha took it and likewise offered her hand. “Thoughtful and kind,” Samantha commented. “Please convey my gratitude and glee to receive it.”

  Hmm. Promising developments so far. What else is in store, I wonder?

  It could very well be fish.

  Next Chapter...

  More interesting developments with the merfolk.

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