Alsaria travelled to the undersea kingdom. One down. She smiled to herself in her whale. This was going to be a whole new Pantheon. She had made a mistake before with allowing other Abstracts to join. This would be a Pantheon of Forces.

  Arascus walked through Nanbasa with Kassandora. It was a sequestered city, anized for efficy as if Maisara herself had desig. It was a giant ring, built around a nature reserve. The only urban area in the whole world with such a design. The reserve was green fields and vivid trees, the sort that oed in the lost areas of Western Kirinyaa before the Jungle had cimed then. Fer had goo visit today, the reserve was holding a celebration for the birth of four lion cubs, after her stelr performah EIE. There ecution in the local gossip papers about whether it could force EIE to shut down the Nanbasa branch. That wouldn’t happen of course, but it was a good indication that she put on a good performance. Arascus and the other Divines in Kirinyaa had drank a bottle of Arikan Rum ea celebration as they watched that.

  A massive port looked out onto the clear Eastern Arikan O, that was a light blue, Olephia had gone off to paint it with the port today. Ships were dog and leaving, bringing supplies and Binturongs from Ausa. Then the ringed city was divided into ses. Further inhe richer districts, closer to the port were the industrial and ercial zones, all celebrated by habitation blocks. Tall towers that housed people like ants. Like the skyscrapers in Ausa, but not as tall, and without the spiderweb es eg them.

  Arascus and Kassandora walked up the steps to the Kirinyaan Parliament. It was a grand building, all fine red sandstone carved in intricate fashions, with swirling patterns. Pilrs held the roof up over the front, with a grand staircase of more red sandstone leading up to it. The blue, red and green fgs of Kirinyaa stood waving. Blue for the o, green for the Jungle and red for the blood iween them.

  Arascus had a meeting with Mwai Ruku today, the Kirinyaan President. The big man in charge apparently, although from what he read about the gover, Mwai was merely a figurehead, the whole state was a bureaucratiightmare. With legistion needing to pass the parliament, theed on in the Kirinyaan High Court, before Mwai himself could sign it into a. The president could revoke it immediately. It didn’t surprise Arascus this try was failing to the Jungle if it was structured like that.

  An assistahem. A tall dark man in a dark suit, a band of green over his elboarently it was used by supporters of the Recmation War to identify themselves. Helenna had started the movement in a news presentation when she argued with some minor Epan station, it was a good move sihe whole city wreen armbands. Support for the War hovered somewhere between 95 and 97% in Kirinyaa. Same as in Ausa then.

  “It’s our pleasure that you’ve e to Parliament.” The man said as Kassandora stepped o Arascus. They both towered over the fellow. Kassandora in her bck HAUPT uniform, with skull-cap and all. Her hair was tied bato a tail today, very professional. Arascus’ was going to arrive soon from what he heard. He had suits enough though, Ausa had enough of its own tailors. He walked on with a short red cape trailing behind him as the assistahem through the building.

  Everyoopped to look, everyone wore a green armband. The clerks, the assistants, even the politis themselves. The building did make a good impression, it was obviously built with assistance from the White Pantheon, the doorways were more than rge enough for several divio walk through side-by-side, the corridors were more like halls that reached high. Paintings of past presidents and figures in Kirinyaan history hung on the walls.

  And it was well-anised. Maisara then, must have helped build it. This city as a whole did have traces of her touch. A ring timal, but it wasn’t a human design. Without any official jurisdi, it celebrated the w csses from the gover simply by distahere were talks of Kirinyaa of building tunnels underh the animal reserve in the tre to ease transport, but nothing had ever e of those talks.

  Mwai was sitting in his office. His ministers had already been prepared. Arascus did not know them, he had no reason to learn their names. Ministers in Kirinyaa ged as often as the seasons. They all sat in dark suits, with two chairs already prepared around a circur table for Arascus and Kassandora. They all looked more than happy to meet Arascus, although that was expected. The Recmation War made this the first gover in Kirinyaan history with an approval rating above 40%. It was now sitting at a safe 71%. That in itself was amazing, in the past, falling below half meant the fires of revolution started to stir. Falling below 40% meant someone’s head would roll.

  “It’s good to see you, please, sit!” Mwai raised his arm and motioned for Arascus and Kassandora to sit. “It’s a great honour to host the two of you here.”

  “The Epan tries don’t seem to think so.” Arascus said lightly as he tested the waters.

  “We’re not ihough! The White Pantheon has such a problem now but they had nothing to say when the Jungle crept onto us!” Mwai said and the table guffawed with ughter. Two men raised gsses and drank to that. “So, what is this meeting about?” Mwai finally asked.

  “Naturally, it will be about the Recmation War.” Arascus said as Kassandora pulled out a binder of papers from the inside of her suit. “Kass.”

  “One month from now, at the rate we’re going at, we’ll recim the lost Chasoi copper mine. We’ll then orth to the open-pit mines in Kabatwa and scour them of the Jungle, both should be operating within three months of today.” The table cpped at that. Reg nd was ohing, that brought public support. Reg lost mineral sites though, that was airely different matter. That brought the whole try from its knees and onto its feet. “Under reement, the Miner’s Union have iated to have access to Chasoi, the Kabatwa site though is yours.” Kassandora said. She stopped and Arascus took over.

  “We’d rather inform you that you hold an au or nationalize it sooer to tell you what’s going to happen. I’m not one for surprises, even if they’re pleasant.” Mwai raised his gss as assistants poured two cups of whiskey for Arascus and Kassandora. It was good stuff.

  “Excellent!” He said. “We’ll start w on our pns, do you want us to run them by you or no?” Arascus apologetically raised his hand and shook his head. He did want it ran by him, but only for the sake of his own curiosity. It wasn’t crucial, and these people needed a taste of Divihat weren’t the White Pantheon’s mia.

  “It’s your try, you decide what to do with them. I help you pn, but I’m not here to interfere with how you manage yourselves.” Kassandora leaned back as Arascus ughed and tio talk. “The tribesmen I’ve met are rather blunt, and I appreciate bluntness rather than wames, so I’ll say it how it is. This is your business.” Mwai raised a cup, the eable did. One man spoke up.

  “And here we were talking about what to do if you wao cim the nd.” Arascus ughed the man’s worries away and took a drink with them. Kassandora intervened.

  “I would like t up that the tribesmen deserve nd. I did promise to help them, I won’t allow them eic sites but I’d rather they have something.” This was uirely. Arascus and Kassandora had simply made this up to make themselves seem like benevolent saviours. To give the impression of what Divines should be. And to have nd for themselves.

  “Of course!” Mwai said. “Kirinyaa is expanding as a nation, we have more than enough nd for everyone!” Arascus and Kassandora looked at each other. This was the signal for moving the versation on. Now that they had made a pleasant atmosphere for them, they had to drop the bad news.

  “In regards to that.” Arascus said and sighed. Kassandora took over.

  “We have enough nd, but we do not have enough people.” Kassandora said. “The Clerics field a huhousand true, but as efforts expand, we will have an expoial increase in our needs for bodies.” The mood dimmed only slightly.

  “And that means?” Arascus sighed.

  “We would like to propose something.” He said it heavily, as if it was hard for him to say. As if he didn’t want ahis more than everyone in this room. “Kirinyaa has an unemployment rate of eight pert right now, I half that within the year.”

  “You ?” Arasodded.

  “There is an issue though.” Arascus said. “Because it won’t be good diplomatically for you.”

  “How?” Mwai asked. He looked over to a man, Arascus reised him from KTV. The minister of fn affairs.

  “We are in a bad position diplomatically already, with sans from Epa and the Union, we ’t get much worse.”

  “I’m talking about Kirinyaan troops w the Binturongs.” Arascus said. “We need more men, several teams to take the South-Western angle. We need road yers. We say it like this and talk about in roundabout measures, but the White Pantheon will call it the creation of an army. To aent, they won’t be wrong.” Kassandora o add to it. The mood did not drop an inch, Arascus knew how to work a room.

  “Kirinyaa could do it. How many men do you need?” Mwai said.

  “We e to you because of the legisture issue.” Kassandora said. “It would be the creation of an army.” She pulled out piece of paper and put it oable. She and Arascus had spent the st night designing a hierarchy fit for the modern world. The advent of radios effectively allowed every modern soldier to receive orders. No longer was it o separate men inte armies, rgely indepe and anding themselves, but rather into a tralized system led by one person.

  By Kassandora.

  “I have only oipution, which is that I lead it.” Kassandora said. “It would be easier to pass iure for you, since you wouldn’t have to deal with mortal self-is, and it is rgely needed because the Clerid tribesmen…” Kassandora searched for a word. These were merely reasons to give the leaders of Kirinyaa an excuse in their minds to relieve themselves of the responsibility. “Well… they don’t have a high opinion of the gover, but they do listen to me.”

  “Would you give it up?” Mwai asked seriously. So the man wasirely stupid. His eyes sed the paper. “This would be a try within a try, we would be creating a parallel society.”

  “When the Recmation War is done.” Kassandora said. “Or as its ending and once victory is secured, but not until then.” Massed the form around. It went through the entire hierarchy, from team, to ptoon, timent, brigade, then division and Corps. And finally it e the top. General Kassandora.

  No one in the room but the two Divines actually knew full hierarchy. There was still higher. Supreme ander Kassandora. With the ability to appoint and dismiss generals and create new armies. Nowhere in Kassandora’s manuscript did it mention that, but there was more than bureaucratiguage that could be stretched to show that if they agreed to this, they effectively granted her that title.

  “But you would not be secretive with this?” One of the men asked.

  “Of course not.” Kassandora said. “We would tinue as we are, but with this anisation. It would allow me to manage multiple fronts against the Jungle, but we’d still be holding news interviews and allowing journalists to record.” Journalists were an effective cover, they recorded seemingly everything, but actually, all that they showed was maps and Binturongs shooting araining. The “transparency” they brought was an excellent curtain to hide what the theatre was actually perf.

  “I see.” Mwai said.

  “The other reason is I want to expand the Recmation to other tries. Ausa wishes to start their own front.” Kassandora shrugged. “I’m am the Goddess of War, I don’t mean to insult, but I don’t trust that mortals will be able to manage a war better than me.” She said it coyly, as if joking and the table chuckled lightly.

  “That is true.” One of the men said.

  “We could force this through.” Mwai said slowly. “I don’t really see a reason to be against the formalization of an army for the Recmation War.” He looked over to the table and they nodded. One man smoke up.

  “I am gd to be ho.” He looked over to the two Divines. An old man with beady eyes. The hair gone from his dark head. “Not to offend-“ Arascus interrupted him.

  “Do not worry, be as harsh as you wish to be, I’ve heard worse.” The man nodded in thanks and tinued.

  “It leaves a bad taste in my mouth to have our problems be solved entirely by Divines.” He said. “I’d rather this, with Kassandora managing it, but with our own people saving our own try. Then at least there’d be heroes to put in the history books that aren’t…” He looked to Arascus and Kassandora. “Well, you.” Arascus smiled and humbly waved the praise away.

  “We’d prefer soohan ter.” Arascus said. “The earlier we do this, the fast we get up to speed. Ausa is pressing on their front.” Ausa was not pressing anyone.

  “It will take a few months at least.” Mwai said.

  “What does it take to vote oure? Is it just a vote?” Kassandora asked, she talked fast now, sharp, like anding troops. Arascus tapped her with his foot to cool her down. Politis needed a gentler hand than troops. Mwai didn’t seem to be offehough and both Arascus and Kassandora already kly what it took, and that roposition. The reason the goverook so long to do anything was due to how long they took to discuss discussing it.

  “Just a vote.” Mwai sed the repain. “The High Court won’t find anythio quarrel with, there’s no infri hts or anything like that, it’d be the parliament that takes issue.”

  “But a vote does not have to be discussed extensively?” Kassandora asked.

  “Not in theory.” Mwai replied.

  “on-gover people take part in the debate?”

  “Yes.” Arascus tained his smile. They had taken the bait; hook, line and sinker.

  “Then you propose it and I will do the ving, we have this signed into w by the week.”