Some people cmour flory. They crave prestige. Power is their drug of choice.

  It was foisted upon me. I was made figurehead symbolically, Irinika was the deadliest of Arascus’ adopted Goddesses so naturally Light should be chosen to ter Darkness. Light is malleable, it could be interpreted in whatever fashion one wished unlike Maisara’s Order or Fortia’s Peace.

  Now the Pantheos on my shoulders alone.

  Excerpt from Alsaria’s Diary.

  Alsaria sat in her office, two maids in prim white gowns almost matg their Goddesses white silken robes were waiting for her to finish scrawliers. Oo the Rancais gover, the other to Doschia. Even a tury ago, Alsaria would have sidered the letters needless bureaucracy at best, a humiliation at worst. The leader of the White Pantheon begging fovers to allow Divio support their police forces against Anarchia’s… anarchy. Mascot Divines were a mistake, the amount of pride they felt in their station was far too great. Doschia’s Saksma and Rancais’s Paida were strong individually but their presence made any sort of further Epan unity iion go from difficult to impossible.

  Alsaria fihe letter to Doschia’s gover. If this failed, she would try a tribute, a parade or something. Hell, she would evehem Helenna, Kavaa and Iniri if they wished for it, those three were always good for the ey.

  Alsaria folded the letters and cluded them with the official stamp of the White Pantheon; a mountain rising out of clouds. She had put so muto this projed yet it still felt like every step aook here cracked another one of the precious few foundations remaining. Alsaria sighed and hahe letters to the maids. They already knew where to send them. Sometimes the other Divines pined about the amount of servants Alsaria had underh her, Alsaria did not care for those words in the slightest: they were pying politics as she was managing the world.

  The maids left and Alsaria was left alone in her office. It was a grand pce, long ago, it had been one of her favourite locations. She remembered the discussions and anisation that went on here, especially during the first tury after the Great War, those grand restru efforts were even the ral Divines would e and ask on how they could rebuild the world into something that would never have a Great War again.

  Magical mps floated in the air, papers littered her desks, she had two monitors installed on the wall to stantly be broadcasting the news. Doschia’s stock market beginning to slohereas Rancais had all but fallen into open rebellion. That foolish gover was still trying to iate with Anarchia’s men in an attempt to stop the violehat was tearing the try apart.

  Who a thousand years ago would have predicted a Goddess of Anarchy? There were always those who believed in a ck of hierarchy, but when did that love for equality transform into a need for chaos? If she didn’t know Olephia personally, Alsaria would have believed it was her behind this u.

  She opened another report. The two hundred Seekers she sent personally after Leona informed her to go che what happeo the me after Atis. They should have unicated by now, but the weather iern Karaina was terrible, storms had swept in and forced the surveilnce drones away, whereas the atmospheric models took pictures only of dark clouds. The moment she heard Leona’s voice, she had written off Elijah’s expedition as missing in a, the lot of them were more than likely dead, but then if they were simply dead in a storm, Leona would have not called.

  The door to her office opened and Alsaria’s day got from bad to worse. Fortia stepped into her offi that golden armour of hers. Battleskirt, chest-pte, tall boots and all, the only thing she cked was her helmet. Alsaria didn’t even bother to stand up, if Fortia came with Maisara then it was for another ridiculous demand, if she came without… scheming was the most likely option. “What is it?” Alsaria asked, she was in no mood for scheming today.

  Fortia closed the door behind herself, pulled up one of the huge chairs specifically crafted for Divines and sat in front of Alsaria’s desk. The Goddess of Peace did it with such fir she may as well have been in a theatre. “This is the st time I ask, what is it?” Fortia merely pulled out a stack of papers and put it oable:

  White Pawo: New Foundations in a New Age.

  By Goddess Fortia, of Peace. With advice & excerpts taken from others.

  “What is this?” Alsaria picked up the papers, it may as well have been a tome in thiess. “Fortia, I don’t have the time for this.”

  “The White Pantheon has failed.” Fortia said, Alsaria wondered if she was like this with her beloved Maisara too or if the dramatization was only for her. “This is how to stop our ing war.”

  “You know I’ve heard this talk before.”

  “I’m not here t us into war.”

  “But you will.” Alsaria said. “Because if we follow your ideals, then it won’t be war within the White Pantheon, it will be war with the world.”

  “It won’t be that.” Fortia said, shaking her head. Her golden hair swung from side to side.

  “Did Maisara help you write this?” Alsaria flicked the first page. She khe answer when she saw the ly anised tents page, it had Maisara’s touch practically spilling out of it.

  “She did.”

  “I thought so.” Alsaria said idly as she sed the page. Point One: On the formation of the Pantheon. Point Two: On Hierarchy. Point Three: On Divines. Points four… five… Poieen: On Fn Policy. The fact su issue y so far down the page said everything Alsaria o know. She flicked to the page, the very first sentence roblem: On the urgency to reestablish Divine participation within national politics. “This is exactly what we are not doing Fortia.”

  “This is the ohing we do to stop war. I and Maisara would take the Anar threat, you would be left to mahe Pantheon.”

  “Do you think I want to mahe Pantheon?” Alsaria asked incredulously. Fortia was good, but she wasn’t a schemer like Helenna, and Alsaria had long since learned how to handle Helenna. Of Peace’s little tremble of her lips, the little flicker in those golden eyes revealed the iion.

  “We could always s.” Fortia asked ily.

  “You are incapable of leading the Pantheon Fortia, you or Maisara would destroy it.”

  “I see the Pantheon falling apart right now, Atis is dead and Leona will die sooner rather than ter. Who is incapable betweewo of us?” Alsaria thought about ung Fortia out of her office there and then. She held off ohought, this woman held grudges like no other.

  “Betweewo of us, who has held the Paogether for a thousand years and ting?” Alsaria asked.

  “Leona’s luck has.” And there it was. Alsaria hated this theory. Leona was important, yes, but her luck binding the Pantheon? If anything, it was fear of her luck that stopped the rest of the Divines from engaging in childish drama. The moment they sensed weakness in Lady Luck, they started cirg the woman in some veneer to honour and protect her.

  “I have Fortia. It was my doing. Leona’s powers do not predict the tedium of the day-to-day.”

  “Do you know that?” Fortia asked quickly, too quickly for Alsaria’s liking.

  “If they do, then she does not share, the point still stands.” Alsaria said and caught herself from saying anymore. Why did she even try? What was the point? Did she actually think she could try and vince Fortia? She had been trying for a thousand years.

  “When Leona dies, it will be over for the Pantheon. You know that.”

  “The Pantheon is mine. I was chosen in a unanimous vote, I will lead it.” Alsaria said.

  “You are leading us into war.” Fortia said and Alsaria felt something snap in her heart. Leading us into war? Into war? Her? It was ohing for the Goddess of Peace to talk about her own domain, it was another eo try and gaslight her into this. Alsaria leaned back. If words won’t work, then she supposed it was once again a time for threats.

  “Fortia. You are wele to do whatever you wish to do. Do you think I don’t know about the fact you’ve been visiting Kassandora, that Maisara has too? Do you two seriously think you are so smart you py like this on my mountain? Do you think that Maisara’s sector turning into a fortress went unnoticed? Do you know why I don’t stop you?”

  That finally quelled Fortia’s eagerness. Alsaria only tinued as she stood up to look down on the Goddess of Peace. “Do you think I’m scared of you? Do you think you making your little troop movements worry me more than what is happening in Rancais? Do you think I even care what you do Fortia? You ot lead the Pantheon because you’re incapable of leading.”

  “And are you better?” Fortia said, but the strength had gone from her tone. Alsaria khat without an audiehe Goddess of Peace would give up.

  “You pced me on this throne. You gave me a world filled with war, ashes, death and rubble and I’ve singlehandedly built a peace that has sted a thousand years, a prosperity unseen in history, advas we couldn’t even imagine a millennia ago!” Alsaria shouted. “And now what? Do you want it? Do you think I want to sit here? Do you think I would not hand it off the first ce I got? How many times do you think I’ve begged Leona to take the throne?”

  Fortia took a step back as Alsaria unsciously started to float into the air, still shouting, her hair starting to rise around her. “I didn’t allow Ciria to join the Pantheon because I didn’t wao see the squabbling embarrassment you are! I created the Epan unity to repce us! Why do I not give you throne? Because you are a child Fortia! You and Maisara and Helenna! Anyone in the Pantheon who dreams of the seat I hold is instantly disqualified from it! Your peace would be a peace so terrible it would hurl us into a war the likes of which we’ve not seen since Arascus!”

  “I am the Goddess of Peace!” Fortia shouted back but as she did, she took a step back from Alsaria.

  “Thehe peace! But if you want war, then know I am far better at it than you are. Every trick you think of, I’ve done already. You were a mere general ba the Great War, I was the Champion.” Alsaria blinked, she realised the prowing in her hands and she set herself ba her seat. She poi Fortia’s ridiculous pn that she had written. “Take that and never show it to me again. If you want to hold out until Leona’s death, then go ahead.”

  “I do not want war with you.”

  “You yourself said I was leading this Pantheon into war. Then go, prepare for it. You have my full permission. If you make one move against me. If one Seeker falls to a Guardian’s bde, I will personally se your Order from existence.”