Zerus held Sceo’s hand, they hovered above Olympiada and watched Kavaa’s Clerics move in. The first line of Alsaria’s had been broken, the sed line had assembled between Maisara’s and Kavaa’s own quarters. “Are you not going to do anything?” Sceo asked.

  “Do what?” Zerus growled.

  “Stop them?”

  “Kavaa must have her own reason.” Zerus said.

  “Kavaa has marched the Cleri Olympiada. This is an act of revolution.”

  “So you wao kill them?” Zerus growled. “Helenna and Iniri are part of it too.”

  “Stall them at least.” Sceo said.

  “We’ve been in a good position because of our refusal to take sides. Maisara, Alsaria, Kavaa, I do not care who leads”

  “You have to get off the fence when it’s on fire Zerus.”

  “I’m not too fond of Essa myself Sceo.”

  “But Alsaria?”

  “Alsaria is not here, is she?”

  “But she will be, with Leona. And then what hope do any of them have?”

  “Then why should we move in if Alsaria’s success is assured?”

  “You’re despicable Zerus.”

  “As are you, my lovely wife.”

  “I’m trying to make sure that there is a Pantheon for Alsaria to return to.”

  “You’re not even part of the Pantheon.”

  “That’s why it’s your job, your duty to hold them together.”

  Iniri followed Helenna as the two Goddesses made their way through the Pantheon. For ohe Divine Mountain was not silent. Explosions were ing from the dire of the skyport and the sounds of battle had travelled from the entrao Kavaa’s quarter. Helenna’s would be , then Kavaa would arrive at the Lower Prison. Iniri took a deep breath as Of Love left the empty marble corridor they marched through aered the field which guarded the Lower Prison. Seekers were already assembled there, along with minor deities Iniri had never bothered to learn the name of. Such things were beh even her.

  The Seeker captain saw them, spears lowered, a golden phanx formed. “Goddess Helenna! Goddess Iniri! You are under arrest under charge of spiracy!”

  Helenna turo Iniri. “ you clear a path?”

  “ I?” Iniri walked past Helenna. What sort of question was that? Could she? How many Divines had served in the Great War? How many had ended up in the Pantheon? She was one of the pilrs of this world. Gods of suits, Gods of clothes, Goddesses of grass and Gods of barks simply did not have the qualifications to go toe-to-toe with her. She had even ged her title to appease them, to make them feel good about themselves, to feign that there was some pretend equality among the Divines.

  No.

  Of Food & Bounty? What a joke. Food & Bounty were not the reason she had been a Great War general. Iniri saw Helenna’s eyes look up at her as she stepped onto the grass between them and the battle-line of Seekers. Grass sprouted around her shoes, the branches in her dress turned and twisted, flowers burst from the ground, seedlings deposited over the years start to sprout: Sunflowers and roses, ash and birch saplings broke the earth, a thin apple tree rose and colpse uhe weight of fruit in a matter of seds. Iniri took aep and shouted. “I am a pilr of the Pantheon, lower your ons.” She blihat was too… modern. What would the Iniri of a millennia ago have said? “Move.” The grass carried her whisper. That was better. The Seekers took a step back as Helenna caught up to Iniri.

  “I didn’t think you could do this anymore.” The sunflower by Helenna’s side replied for Iniri.

  “ot and did not are two different things.”

  The Seeker captain rallied his men, several of the minor Diviook steps forward. Zerus hung in the air above, Sceo did too. Kavaa had just broken through the sed line of Seekers, she lost twelve mey-three Seekers were lying dead, two minor iion Gods as well. Oher side of the mountain, Clerics of the Order of Twis were setting fire to the pnes. Alkom of the Sun roag them. Through flowers and roots, through trees and decorative vines, Iniri saw it all.

  She saw and she heard. She spoke. “I have suffered a millennia of humiliation. Do not think that the Pantheon go against Nature.” The branches of Iniri’s dress uhemselves against the ground. “Move!”

  The Seekers remaiill, so Iniri moved them.

  The ground below them burst. Marble and man screamed as a roots ripped both apart. Spikes of wood tore through armour of gold. It had been a long time sihe flora of Olympiada had tasted blood. Iniri licked her lips. Her arms remaiill as the Seekers answered. Beams of light tried to answer dev woods. Those Seekers who lost their spears drew bdes encased in Alsaria’s magic. They burned vine and ied wood. And then they fell themselves, pierced by furious woods, sshed by razor leaves or torn apart by green ivy.

  Iniri moved a finger and an oak roared out of the ground. A tree that would grow a tury flourished in mere moments, it turned and croaked and groaned and twisted, and twenty Seeker were sent flying through the air. One of the minods started to fly away, branches caught him by the foot and dragged him into the earth. Iniri turo Of Love, “Helenna, your path is clear.”

  Helenna nodded nervously, her eyes wide, her hair as white as bone. She murmured something unintelligible and ran off into the entrance of the Lower Prison. “Iniri.” Zerus’ voied from the sky. A thunderous boom. “What are you doing?”

  Iniri looked up at the man. Sceo, of the Sky, was floatio him with Alkom, of the Sun, by the other side. All three of them were dressed in their a armours, fies, silver for Sceo and Zerus, gold for Alkom. There were no ons among them, the Divines of the highest forces would not lower themselves to carry arms. A wind pierg roared through the fresh forest that had sprouted from Iniri’s magic, Alkom held a ball of fire in his hands. “ you not see Zerus? Has age caught up to you?” Iniri shouted from the ground. Sceo’s brows furrowed in ahose blue eyes shot daggers at Iniri.

  “So you destroy the Pantheon?”

  “The Pantheon is a walking corpse. From the ground we are born, to the grouurn. The Pantheon is no different.”

  “Would you say the same if Alsaria were here?” Sceo shouted in that high-pitched voice of hers. Iniri had always disliked it. The Goddess of the Sky was a Goddess destio be part of the background, she hated that the woman always tried to take tre stage.

  “Alsaria is not here, is she?”

  “Why did Heleer the prison?” Zerus asked. Another oak sprouted under Iniri, it greidly, the wood tearing through buildings around it as the trunk expao the thiess of a river. Iniri looked down on the Divines from her stand in the branches.

  “Why do you think? Leona is going to die. If not us, then Maisara and Fortia will free her.” Zerus tightened his fists and shook his head as he slowly floated through the air, higher and higher.

  “Do not look down on me, Goddess of Food & Bounty.” Iniri’s smile cracked as Kavaa ehe courtyard, Clerics behiheir ons were stained with blood.

  “Look down on you?” Iniri shouted, she raised a hand forwards and the great oak twisted, bark screaming as leaves fell to the ground. The tree told Iniri it was ready. “You are part of my demesne.” Zerus’ eyes turned blue, pale wires of electricity burst from them, like drops of white paint flicked from a paint brush. The tiny sun in Alkom’s hand expao the size of a man.

  “Goddess of Food & Bounty, don’t aggrandize yourself.” Iniri shook her head.

  “Goddess of Nature Zerus. Goddess of Nature.”

  Alkom’s sun grew rger. Storm clouds roared overhead as Zerus and Sceo held hands. Lightning danced above. Iniri swept her hands through the air, the great oak followed her movements, and swatted at the three flies pestering Mother Nature.

  Essa rose through clouds with two dozen mages behind her. Her gaze touched Olympiada. Fires, trees, destroyed buildings, sounds of battle, screams, Zerus, Alkom & Sceo were flying through the air as Iniri’s trees tried t them down. Essa curled her fists as she heard the gasps of the mages she was bringing back.

  Essa had never liked that Goddess. Of Food & Bounty? What a joke of a title.

  Helenna sidestepped a Seeker’s corpse, a kig out of his neck. She turned, and she ran. Through corridors, around other men, too fast for them to realise she was ing. She barged into one man, her sheer height knog the fellow down and then scrambled to her feet. “STOP! GODDESS HELENNA STOP!” Seekers were screaming behiheir boots eg throughout the hallway as they chased Helenna down.

  Ahead, two Seekers had raised spears. The corridor was growing tighter now as Helenna got closer to Kassandora’s cell. A final line of defence against Of War’s fighting style of swinging her greatsword. Helenna dropped to one leg and slid on the ground, she grabbed the knives ohighs and threw them forwards as the two spears aimed at her started to resoh Alsaria’s divine blessing.

  The two Seekers dropped, their throats impaled with a dagger each. Helenna somersaulted over them, nded on her feet and closed the final stretch to Kassandora’s prison. “STOP! YOU WILL BE TRIALED!” Of Love cast a look behind her as she barged into the cell door. It colpsed underh her weight as Helenna got to her feet.

  Kassandora stood there, arms resting on her head. She owards the tai crystal. The Seekers screamed again. “DO NOT DO THIS! THAT IS TREACHERY! SHE IS OF WAR!” The Seekers formed a shield wall with spears extehe tips were already glowing with magic. Helenna ed her fingers around the bck obsidian rock, the magiside it turned and twisted. Of Love turhe crystal above her head as she looked bato the corridor.

  The Seekers stared at her with eyes wide and full of shock. Blood had drained from their faces and their jaws had dropped. Helenna heard Kassandora sigh behind her. “DO NOT DO THIS HELENNA!” One of the Seekers called out. “ANYTHING! WE EGOTIATE! IT DOES NOT HAVE TO END THIS WAY!”

  Helenna shook her head, she saw loose strands of her own fair hair. Pure white, it was always like that when she was scared. She felt a tear go down her cheek. “GODDESS HELENNA! PLEASE! DO NOT FREE HER!”

  “You’ve e this far Helenna.” Kassandora said from behind her. “Are you going to back out now?” Helenna shook her head and whispered to the men at the end of the corridor.

  “I’m sorry.” She threw the crystal onto the cold stoiles. It smashed like a delicate wine gss, effortlessly. Magic spewed from behind Helenna, magic she did not want to touch. The Seekers trolled their panid charged their spears.

  Kassandora was faster. A greatsword shot past Helenna, her hair and shirt moved with the wind. It’s flight path faltered, the hilt brushed the wall, and it spun of out trol. The Seekers were submerged in a cloud of dust.

  Silence flooded into the corridor once again.