Any discussion of pardons is meaningless. Arascus has fually ged the game; We will absolve ourselves through victory or we will be killed. Framed like that, what we not do? Why should I tain myself? For what? So that I cim moral superiority for stig to the rules? So that our victory will somehow be ‘’? We are in the business of quering the world! that ever be ?

  So apologies. I would rather have victory than have begrudging respect from people I io kill.

  - Excerpt from a speech given by Mam, Goddess of Hatred, given at the start of what would bee known as ‘The Secret War’, the skirmishing, plotting & ter-plottiweeelligence agencies of the White Pantheon Front and the Imperial Bureaucracy.

  White hair, a vas upon whiear falsehoods. Red hair, so definite in spinning passioales.

  Bck eyes, to reflect the viewer back upon himself. Blue eyes, to match the royal nobilities that once ruled.

  Bck silk dress for courtly affairs. Linen HAUPT suit for politig business.

  Helenna stared at Mam.

  Mam stared at Helenna.

  Arascus stared at them both.

  For a moment, he had been worried that Helenna would hate Mam. Mam naturally wouldn’t, she got along swimmingly with everyone. Or at least, she generally found a way to have pany with others be eaining, for herself if not for whoever she was dealing with. They had faced off against each other in the Great War, Arascus had started training Helenna to take over Mam’s spot but now that his daughter-Goddess had returned…

  Well, too much of a good thing was never bad. If these two proved they could work together, Arascus would have an excellent duo on his hands. If they could not then they would receive different tasks. Mam would focus on aggressive plotting abroad, Helenna would be tasked with guarding the home-front. He would rather have a meeting first with Mam, but time was of the essence. Especially now, after the stunt that Kassandora had gotten herself up to. The metal was hot, Arascus had his hammer, only a fool would not strike now. He let his mind wander as he thought up of his pn. It wasn’t that he could not, but there was a try to manage. A day spent on figuring out the logistics of how to hahe crag ti was a day that Kirinyaa sat without leadership. “So? Do you girls have something?”

  Both of them blushed at that. Mam saw it on Helenna, Helenna saw it on Mam. Of Hatred replied with a lewd smile, Of Love returned an ice-cold gre. “Helenna?” Mam asked pleasantly. “I like listening to myself talk, but I want to see how you would hahis.” She cooed the words as if Helenna was a little girl. Arascus didn’t admonish her, some things simply could not be gotten out of people. If these two were to get along, then Helenna would have to get used to it.

  Helenna readjusted the papers before herself. They sat around one of the tables in the huge tent, this se was especially bad with the scattering of se. Helenna’s blue eyes jumped up to Mam, then to Arascus, then back to Of Hatred. “Yes, of course.” Helenna said. “It’s good to see how an expert would hahis first.” Arascus leaned bad crossed his arms as Mam smiled. Of Love added an. “Maybe you’ll learn something.”

  Just from that reply, he khey would get along. Mam’s smile rose as Helenna tapped a picture oable. Her hair turning from that fideo being tinged with the focused bck. “If I’m going to be ho, theuation with the UNN is unsalvageable.” Arasodded, he thought the same. An amateur at diplomacy would try and recile with the UNN. How could destroying the most important cities in the try be reciled though? “Ihough.” Helenna looked to Arascus. “I assume we’re w uhe idea of world quest?”

  “We are.” Arascus said.

  “Then we should leave the UNN to suffer and turn out attention to Epa. With the damage do will take decades, entire geions even for the UNN to recover.” Helenna said.

  “Uhey use mages.” Arascus said.

  “We have Essa now. I assume she will be able to keep Arcadia out of the UNN.” Helenna said. Arascus let her tialking, ultimately, he was here to make the final decisions. And frankly, Arcadia was not even on a potential list of allies, magi’s loyalty had always been fickle. “But even if she doesn’t, we have a decade before even half of what has beeroyed be rebuilt.” Mam smiled to herself, it was that wicked hungry smile she always carried when she had ideas. “Well? I am correct.”

  “You are correct.” Mam said. “Please, tinue.”

  “Then we focus all our resources on Epa.” Helenna tinued. “On abolishing the monarchies, or directly vassalizing them. The republics will be easier, we just infiltrate our men into the established parties.”

  “Mmh.” Mam said. “That’s quite good.”

  “Is it?” Helenna asked. “It’s obvious.”

  “No no.” Mam said. “About infiltrating the established parties rather thaing a new ohat’s good. Amateurs would think that the creation of a new party is viable.” Helenna smiled and spread her arms out.

  “In Rancais, all the main parties could be infiltrated. In Lubska, it would only require Jozef’s PPL.”

  “I agree.” Mam said as she licked her lips. “Is there anything else?” Arascus khat to meant that Mam already had everything prepared. He khat if she unched into a speech, Helenna would not have a ce to intervene so he turo the Goddess of Love and nodded for her to tinue.

  “That’s everything.” Helenna said. “I don’t see the need of a propaganda campaign and I don’t believe that we achieve anything substantial through oher. At best.” Helened the words to add stress to them. “At the very best, we may get a few dissidents who don’t like the gover.”

  “We’ll get them anyway.” Arascus said. Mam chuckled and Helenna agreed.

  “We will, so there is no point. It’s better to simply trate our efforts on Epa whilst the rest of the world trates on rebuilding the damage from the crag. We have the initiative now, so we should stay a move ahead.” Helenna finished and Arasodded. That was sensible, he thought of something simir. Auro Mam, she was leaning back, idly looking at her perfeails.

  “Mam?” Arascus asked. And Mam made a yawn.

  “Is that it?” Mam asked.

  “Am I finished you mean?” Helenna replied. “Was it too much or too little?”

  “Trust me Helenna, there is no such thing as too much with me.” If they were in public, Arascus would sam for speaking in a tone like that. It was not fit for Divines. “But your pn…” Mam tilted her head from side-to-side. “Do you want an opinion?”

  “I’d be dht hoo get one.” Helenna’s tone said she would be everything but honoured.

  “Lag in finesse. Uninal. N, but easy.” Mam said, her eyes glinted. “Although I suppose it does fit.”

  Helenna didn’t take the insult, she ughed and Arascus sighed in relief. “I’m not some intellectual who housands of moving parts. Granted, I suppose if you have the patience of a child, you may need something more stimuting.”

  “Oh yes.” Mam said. “Stimuting is precisely what I need.” She kicked her chair bad stood up. “So? Are you done now? Do you want to see how a master hahis?”

  “Oh I’d love to.” Helenna said sarcastically. “You’re wele to take any of the ideas I’ve already mentioned.”

  “Watd learn Helenna.” Mam started to slowly walk around the table, as she spoke. “Firstly though, you are corre one aspect. Our retionship with the UNN is damaged beyond repair. Our world situation is looking the same, ultimately, the Pantheon has already beaten us to the jump and taken the first move with kig Essa out.” She sighed. “However, we also have an opportunity.”

  “tinue.” Arascus said, Mam was like Kassandora, both liked listening to the sound of their own voice. They were nice voices at least, even if they did talk to much. Helenna didn’t have this issue.

  “The UNN will want aid, the poorer tries on the Anktydan O will need aid. Thus, aid will be given.” Mam said. “It’s going to happen, the Pantheon ’t abandon the UNN at this point in time, they will have to send something. And whatever it is, that something ’t be a mere gesture.” Arascus crossed his arms as he nodded along. That was all true, if the Pantheon decided to not help the UNN, then the UNN would pull out. There was no ce that Pantheon would repeat the mistakes that led up to Epan separation. “This is where I e in.” Mam said.

  “You?” Helenna questioned.

  “Well, there is no oer than me.” Mam said. “Especially not at this business. What the damage aru has given us in an opportunity. A great one in fact.” Mam took a deep breath. “The coastlines hit by the wave have now bee a valley to cross over. I think that’s the metaphor we should be using, it’s not a mountain where enough willpower will get a man across, we’re talking about a grand ravine.”

  Arascus sighed. Mam always expihis theatrically. Helenna said what he was thinking. “You’re not writing a story, you’re propositioning a pn Mam. Get on with it.”

  Mam tinued with plenty of hand motions, a bright smile and eyes that seemed to get lost in the vision she was creating. “Willpower, in our case, is money and man-hours. But the ravine will need materials. Naturally, it won’t be Epa as they’re in a war against the Pantheon. Acc to the maps you guys have here, the UNN lost a half of industrial base. Some article there was saying nine-in-ten car factories are shutting down. So we assume that a good of manufacturing will e from abroad.”

  Arascus saw Helenna watch Mam with wide eyes that were impressed. Her hair turned from that bck back to a red as she listened. Arascus smiled to himself, Helenna’s pn was no bad, but there was a reason that Mam was sidered the best at this field amongst Divines. She had e out of the underground how long? A day ago? “Because it won’t just be money and man-hours, it will be materials too. Materials are a harsh reality, you build a house for cheap or for expensive, but you need a wall and a door and windows no matter what happens. If it was just money, we could slow them down, but because its real materials, we turn this ravio an endless pit. I personally ahe operations and everything as I did in the past.”

  Arascus realised he had been wrong. There was o make them pete against each other. Helenna would mahe home-front, as she had been doing. Mam would hahe operations abroad, not because they couldn’t work with each other, but because it was simply the best positions to put them in. “Men under me will serve as saboteurs, steel will be lost, bricks will be cracked, whatever else you have now that’s new will be damaged. Supplies will be sent to the wrong locations, lists in warehouses will be kept wrong on purpose. A job that should take a decade will take a tury.”

  “Wow.” Helenna said, her voice actually full of awe. Arascus was impressed too, Mam was exactly the sort to kick a persohey were down, but that recisely why she made the greatest spymaster in all history.

  “Every inch of steel lost there will be an inch we don’t fa the battlefield. Whereas Helenna.” Mam said, her tone soft as she expined. “Winning in Epa is ohing, but that is Kassie’s job. Making sure that instead of militarizing, the other nations instead focus on shovelling raw resources into this magnifit ravine I will turn into a hole, will go much further for us.”

  “And if it’s traced back to us?” Helenna asked.

  “It won’t be traced back to us.” Mam answered quickly. “But even if it is, does it matter?” She pulled a sarcastic, mog voice. “Oh no, the UNN gover hates us! Who could have predicted this oute?”

  Arascus looked to Helenna. Whewo pns were pared, it was obvious that they weren’t equal. Helenna’s was simple and effective. It would be easy to implement, Arascus would have no problem implementing it in fact. Mam’s only issue was one of implementation, but if anyone would be able to pull off what the woman was talking about, it would be her. “Helenna, don’t take this badly.”

  “Oh no.” Helenna said. “I… I’m impressed that you thought up of something like this so quickly.”

  “It’s like riding a bike.” Mam tapped her head. “You never lose it.”

  “I would make one suggestion though, based off Mam’s idea.”

  “What is it?” Arascus asked.

  “It’s going to be Guguo handle most of the materials in rebuilding, at least until the Uarts its manufacturing, but that won’t be anytime soon.”

  “I see.” Mam said.

  “You do?” Helenna asked. “What?”

  “I will focus sabotaging the relief efforts.” Mam said. “You focus oing Guguo to halt shipments to the UNN.” Helenna nodded with pure glee.

  “I knew you’d get it.” She said. “If we get Guguo to stop, if retioeriorate somehow…” Helenna looked to Mam.

  “For example, if they see the rampant corruption and iude that will exist in the restru efforts.” Mam said, her smile said that corruption would be there to be found the moment it was needed. Arascus leaned back with a smile. When two Goddess got along, it was simply a pleasure to behold.

  “Perfect!” Helenna said with a ugh. “Then the restru will take how long? Easily fifty years.”

  Arascus leaned back as the two Goddesses sorted their jobs out for them. Sometimes, things really did just go swimmingly.