Most Abstracts make for weak divihere is little foundation one build with something like ‘Gluttony’. Galrond is merely an excellent chef who wishes to eat. her our White Pantheon nor Arascus’ Empire make much use of a being like that.

  For every million failures Abstracts produce though, they make one genius. Whereas I am of Light, I am not an Abstralike my sister. Light is measurable and quantifiable. Darkness is merely the absence of light, yet it invokes fear. It’s a terrible power which is ever-present in our world. Pride, I’ve written about extensively already.

  Leona though is of Luck. Darkness and Pride , at the very least, be described. Luck is indescribable, Leona herself does not know how her powers work, or maybe she does and simply ’t expin. She’ll simply get a sign that a decision should be thought about, or maybe a passing thought which refuses to leave her mind. She sense when something terrible is about to strike. It’s a cursed power, bringing her no gain and only pain.

  I feel sorry for her.

  - Excerpt from the secrets texts in the White Pantheon’s closed library. Written by Goddess Alsaria, Of Light: ‘The Nature of Divinity’.

  Arascus stopped again as he turo look at the party behind him, half were elves, the rest were humans. The fact there was no dwarves didn’t surprise him, a dwarf had endurance for hiking but the short legs were a detriment to speed. He could not fly anymore, that was disappointing, although it was natural that his powers would fade as his influence dimmed. They had taken two days to trek out of Baalka’s poisoned nd. The drill had bee behio the Godstone cube, there was no way t it ged terrain and it would only risk the ce of discovery. Apparently this was called the ‘Quarantine Zone’.

  Every single night, Arascus himself would watch over his followers to make sure no one actly walked past them. He had felled two dozen wild animals already. The White Pantheon’s Luck was limitless, if he could imagine a sario where he failed, then he was sure it would happen. With Leona’s Luck, a rat would stumble across them, see him, the a travelli-speaker the day and reveal he was free.

  “We are here.” Sara had been a great help over the past few days. She had filled him in on how the world had ged. Ships were now built of steel, cities of more than a million were rather on, great maations called pnes flew in the sky. The nations were all nearently a whole host of new Gods have appeared, although Arascus did not really pay them any mind, it was obvious that was going to be the case by the time she eveio. Iions were alrideful and grand and haughty until they weren’t hen they merely faded away. Ba his time, there existed a God of Windmills and a Goddess of the Loom. Now, he was sure there was some God of Pnes.

  He had asked about his various daughter Goddesses, none of them were iions. Irinika would never fade away as she was the ination of Darkness, Neneria was of Death so she was just as eternal. Kassandora was the one he was worried most about. The White Pantheon had ceased the art of warfare, renaming anything that could even be sidered a skirmish to an ‘honourable flict.’ Apparently when nations had disputes, they would pete in arenas to a crowd to decide who won. What a farce. War was eternal. If two people had a disagreement, they were at war, whether they k or not.

  The only thing which was simir was the teology of warfare. They still used sword and shield, spear and bow. That had actually regressed, muskets had existed ba the day. The White Pantheon personally went around and put a stop to anything which could serve as a tool of warfare. That had made him smile, the spear was for hunting before it was for killing, the club was a hammer used against men. The sword was merely a sharpened club. They had explosives for mining, but apparently didn’t realise that if it worked against sto would wainst men. Even with these pnes. How difficult would it be to remodel them into something that could defeat air-cavalry?

  The worst though was this Waeh. Even the name athetic. A God of Serving-Pride? It practically made his blood boil, the faatural human instinct had been subverted to su extent was dht shameful. Esperanism, his religion, was merely s sves would willingly put on themselves. Luckily though, everyone in the party agreed on that. Sara most of all.

  “We’re almost there.” Sara said. She was a beautiful woman, with cold dark eyes and dark hair. Tall too, Arascus had stolen more than a few g her once she finally got out of the hazmat suit.

  “There’s nothing here.”

  “We ’t afford to be open about our activities.” Sara replied, took a pause and then expined further. “This is our headquarters, everyone here is someone who was raised in the cult.”

  “Do you not accept members?”

  “Not to our headquarters. We work uhe assumption that most of the cells are promised.”

  “That’s how I led the war ba the day. It’s impressive you survived for so long.”

  “We’re not worthy of the plement My Lord.” This side of Sara, Arascus had growo over the past two weeks. The woman was all-business, and then she’d e out with a statement like this.

  “Do you know why you do that?”

  “It’s always been this way.” Arascus smiled. So the foundations he had id were sturdy enough to st a thousand years. That was rather good, other people would call it luck, but he didn’t believe in luck.

  Fer y down after dinner, her dark brown hair, better described as a mane, was thiough to serve as a pillow. Wild game was the best in the world, sleep after food was the sed best thing in the world. A darkfur came and k before her. A beastman with a goat’s head and ravenous teeth that spilled out of his jaw. His fur was the colour of ste, his eyes redder than blood. “Did you feel it pack master?”

  “The ge in the air?” Fer smelled the air again. Everyone in the pack felt it. It was odd, as if the winds had ged but there was no way she could really describe the differehe closest sensation was that of when a storm or ahquake was about to happen, animals simply… knew.

  “Yes. What does it mean?”

  “I don’t know.” Fer replied. “But it’s not a bad sign.”

  - Somewhere in the Eastern Tundra, 1024PGW.

  Arascus watched people flood around a table. He had rgely skipped the procedure of a grand wele, there wasn’t any hall to do it in anyway. The cultists instantly knew he was a God, and if he was here, he would have to be the God they worshipped. They khrough the underground corridors as he passed them by. “Are you sure you don’t want a party?” Sara asked for the tenth time today.

  “Do you celebrate the sunrise?” Arascus asked.

  “No.”

  “Then why celebrate me? We’ll sooner have aernal night than my death.” That seemed to finally shut her up. “Is this an a dwarf hold?”

  “No.”

  “Mmh.” ‘No’ was the ao most of Arascus’ questions. It was odd to be out of the loop but he had gohrough this exact procedure when he first formed. How much could people really ge after a millennia? They would wear different clothes, style their hair in new fashions, drive cars instead of horses, but beyond that people were still the same. The fact he still existed meant that even though all the races of Arda had donned tire, their hearts were the same.

  Sara had lead him down through a brightly-lit corridor. That was another ge, the lights were bright, lifeless and cold. They shorong but they were nothing like the magical mps of the past, nor even like dles. There was no carpets nor decorations. It was something akin to a military camp rather than a headquarters. The woman was still dressed iravelling clothes, Arascus did not want to waste any time whatsoever now that he was back. If there was anything his pride was, it was impatient.

  “This is the war room.” Sara had said as she pulled out a card from the inside of her coat and swiped it along a pad o the door. The moment, it split down the middle areated into the walls. Arascus felt no magi the meism, odd, but he was used to it at this point. All the doors in the headquarters were like this.

  The room had a rge circur table in the middle. Banners of the a legions hung on the walls. Beyond that, there was a sword on the wall. That was the first magical item he had found, although it was merely a padin’s bde from the Great War. Apart from that, the room was empty and lifeless. “I see your leadership is rather punctual.” Arascus said slowly.

  “We maintain radio silence when we’re outside, there was no way for me to tact them in advance.” Sara expined. She had talked of this radio too, a device which could send void video immediately e distances. Arascus didn’t know how to feel on that, on one hand, it was useful, oher, if the White Pantheon had radios ba the day, he would have beeed in a third of the time.

  “Call everyone important here.” Arascus said as he looked at the seats around the round table. They were all high backed, with wheels otom and fashioned of bck leather. One of them was te for a man, te even for an elf. It was on the opposite end of the room, fag the entra was obviously the one made for him. He went and sat down.

  “I am in charge of recruitment, Sara Daganhoff.” Sara said. “This is the head engineer, Mikhail Ash. He was the one in charge of the Godcracker Drill.”

  “Mikhail, sit, Sara, go fetch everyone.”

  It was time to see what state his little cult was in.

  Five mier, the man arrived. An elf who introduced himself as Ilwin, surremali although Mikhail had told him the only two elven families here were Tremali and Olpho. Those names Arascus actually reised, both had their aors serve as generals of different armies a thousand years. “At your service my lord.” Ilwin said as he k. He was dressed in a bck suit, with golden hair and green eyes, Arascus could see the resembween him and Iliyal Tremali, the general who had led the eight army in the months prior to the defeat. To think the man had children…

  “Stand and take your seat, what is your position?”

  “Head of special operations.” Ilwin said as he sat off not too far from Arascus. “Two huhirty eight years of age, it is a blessing to finally meet you.” Arascus merely gave him a nod, pointless fttery ointless.

  “How many members do we have?”

  “The headquarters has two thousand, the outer branches have about two huhousand.”

  “Impressive.”

  “We are split amongst many nations of the Epan ti, and then we have twelve branches in Unioories.”

  “Union?”

  “The UNN, Union of New Nations, the ti was discovered five hundred years ago, it lies west of Anktyda.” Anktyda was the o west of Epa. Arasodded, back then, they had thought they were the only grand ndmass on Arda. How things have ged…

  came a human, Rickard Narma. The man in charge of finan the cult. He had brown hair, wore a suit of the same style as Ilwin and had blue eyes. His face was shaved smoothed as if he had just prepared for this meeting. Shorter than Ilwin by a foot, shorter than Arascus by three. He k on both knees before Arascus. “Rise and sit.” Arascus said ohe man finished with his fttery.

  So it went, a human or an elf would e in, introduce themselves. State their names and then finish with some ent along the lines of “I am not worthy of this honour” or “Praise the risen God.” Arascus wasn’t impressed.

  Sara came back eventually, she had ged too. The camoufged clothes had been sed out for a bd white suit. The top two buttons of her white were uo reveal a pretty cleavage, she had reddened her lips and darkened her eyeshes with makeup. “This one greets the-“.

  “Did I ask you to ge?” The room was silent before, no one would dare make a ent before their God when they weren’t aware of his character. Sara looked up, her eyes wide. For the first time in two weeks, Arascus saw some sort of genuiion in them: Fear. He had been pleasant enough before, he could five some slips here and there due to her excitement and exhaustion from the hike, but not when they were in a meeting.

  “I apologiz-“

  “Words are wind, don’t bother.” Arascus said coldly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop and the silence flooded in: people eveheir breathes as the God’s aura resohrough them. “Rise, fix your shirt and sit. Have some pride.” No one had impressed him so far, Mikhail was the only sort of character who could even be pared to a member of his previous court and the man was only an engineer. Arascus had no damn clue how they mao survive for a millennia if this was the sort of talent they were w with.

  Sara’s cheeks flushed a crimson in embarrassment as she quickly did up the two buttons. To think the woman would have the gall to try and seduce a God! Who did she think she was? She sat close to Arascus and awkwardly avoided eye tact. “Who is the st seat?” Arascus asked. No one had the decy to respond.

  “The Sect Captain, sir.” Ilwin spoke up after a long silence. Great. So even the leader was useless! Fantastic! Amazing! Arascus leaned back as he answered back.

  “When I ask a question, I expect a response immediately. I will not kill you for being wrong, I will kill you for being useless.” Suddenly, ughter filled the room from the outside. If the atmosphere among these people was cold before, now it had plunged below freezing. Arascus saw them exge terrified and nervous gnces, only his face was different. The ugh was reised instantly and the ers of his lips turned up.

  An elf appeared through the door. Unlike everyone else, he did not walk, he strode. He wore a suit like the rest of them but that was where the simirities ended. Around his shoulders hung a red cloak outlined in gold. He was the only man armed, a bde resonating with a sorceries hung off his belt. That sword was both the only on and the only magi the entire room. He had pale hair and green eyes, wrinkles on his forehead and a beaming smile on his face. His dark boots tapped the floor with every step, proudly exg the advance of their wearer. He stood at the end of the table, met Arascus’ gaze and pulled a salute the God thought he would never see again. “Captain Tremali rep, Sir.”

  Arascus smiled as the questions in his mind were all answered. Iliyal Tremali, General of the Eighth Army of the Empire. Trained by Arascus personally, of course he could lead a rebellious sect against the White Pantheon.