Whereas Alsaria’s loveliness ahy are fantastic to behold. I have merely one qualm to raise, she herself defihe atrocity as something intolerable. She cedes that it is nothing but a moral descriptor. In this regard, she is correct. An atrocity is not merely defined by scale: extermination of disease, executions of bandits and bloody insurres are not called atrocities, yet the brutal murder of a child is. It is about the pain inflicted to the popution’s morality as a whole, the subject is irrelevant: case-in-point: A death by Olephia is instant and painless, yet we have a rocity every time my sister opens her mouth.

  Alsaria’s definition is correct. An atrocity is intolerable. Poputions simply will not stand for them. However whereas her foundation is correct, her clusion is wrong. There is another way to prevent atrocities:

  Raise the popution’s pain tolerance.

  Excerpt from ‘Rulership’, written by Mam, Goddess of Hatred.

  Iniri coughed and groaned as she slowly stirred and awoke. Her entire body ressed against something cold, she stretched and yawned, her hands sliding along the smooth material. Her stomach felt cold, her bosom did too, and she realised she was he shock woke her up immediately as she pulled on her magic to grow a dress of leaves for herself.

  Nothing came. Her energies simply rebounded bato her. Iniri opened her eyes and saair of bck heels popping out from the edge of a dress. She scurried backwards immediately to avoid whatever blow or attack was ing as she tried to call upon all the flora of Arda again. And again nothing came. Iniri’s back smmed into a er as she reached the edge of the room. It was cold again, and she flinched forwards when she felt the cool…

  It was metal. Iniri’s eyes readjusted to the cold light. It ale glow-stone crystal, not the brightest, looking as if it was running out of energy, hung from the ceiling on a of pure metal. Iniri tested the area around herself again, her powers sniffed like hungry wolves throughout the entire room, there was not a single piece of wood or dirt, no furniture, even the door-handle ure steel. And Iniri finally looked at the person in the middle of the room, who was standing in a bck dress with a silver of a belt around her waist. Daggers li, she was holding a cloth in one hand, but none of those details really mattered. And the woman was taller than the Goddess of Nature, Iniri had to look up to see the face.

  Eyes as bck as pitd hair as white as snow.

  Mam, Goddess of Hatred.

  Of course it would be Mam. Who else would know how to tain the Goddess of Nature? It would have to be one of the old breed Divines. Iniri groaned as she felt her energies crash bato her, they were uo disperse past this little steel box of a room, so they o be absorbed by something. “Hello Iniri, did you sleep well?” Mam spoke in that voice of hers that just radiated happiness. There was no other Divine who could pull it off, Maisara and Fortia would have had the toinged with smug satisfa when talking to a prisoner. Helenna would have gone harder, and added some worry for her prisoner ioo. Kavaa and Kassandora would have simply treated it like a business meeting, but Mam? Mam sounded as if she was stroking a kitten, as if she was enjoying a sweet treat on a sunny day. How the woman could be happy with such earness made Iniri’s gut turn.

  “I’m not your enemy.” Iniri said quickly as she stood up.

  “Mmh.” Mam said. “That is rather lovely.” Iniri stood up, ung of her own nakedness in front of a Divine. Or at least, she tried to be ung. She covered herself with her arms and tried not to look at the cloth in Mam’s arm. “At least you’ve not bee as degee as Kavaa.” Mam said.

  Iniri blinked. Excuse me? Kavaa? Degee? Kavaa was the most prudish woman Iniri had ever met. Even Maisara and Fortia would show off more than Kavaa! Her brows furrowed at the ent towards the Goddess of Health. “Who are you to talk Mam?” Mam squi the sudden burst of anger, and tilted her head to see Iniri from a different angle, as if analysing her. Iniri stood there in the cold silence of the metal box.

  “Who am I to talk indeed?” Mam said. “So have you two bee each other’s bedwarmers in the past thousand years?” Iniri knew Mam, who in the Pantheon did not know Mam? Arascus’ chief propagandist, if Kassandora was the flood that had washed over the world during the Great War, then Mam could only be the rivers and rains that created the flood. She khe woman was only trying to rile her up and throw her off.

  And she knew she fell for it. “Mam!” Iniri shouted. “NO! What? Don’t…” Iniri trolled herself, she couldn’t think of a snarky reply, but she could expin before Mam made some other ent. “The Great War ended Mam, it ended a thousand years ago. Arascus lost. We’re in the era of Pantheon Peace, at least we were up until two months ago.”

  Mam smiled as she took a step away from Iniri. “Has it ended Iniri? Why am I still here then?”

  “I…” Iniri didn’t have an answer. What did the woman even want to hear?

  “How the Great War be over when I’m still alive? After all, when two people are in disagreement, they’re in a state of war.” Mam said haughtily. “That’s not even my lihat’s my sister’s.”

  “Kassie’s.” Iniri said quickly. “I’m w with her now! I tell you everything about her.”

  Mam replied immediately, so quickly in fact that it threw Iniri off. “What is Kassie’s favourite colour?”

  Iniri had to holy think about the question. It was… it was so stupid. Had she ever asked though? Why would she ask? They weren’t little girls who talked about colours… but then what would Kassandora’s favourite colour be? Iniri blinked. Wasn’t it obvious?

  “Red.” Iniri answered and Mam smiled smugly.

  “Wrong.” She said.

  “What is it then?”

  “It’s red, but answered immediately.” Mam’s tone was dht righteous as she talked about her sister, it was a soft silken scarf, so delicate yet cold, that gently tickled Iniri’s ears. “Any idiot will be able to work that Kassie’s favourite colour is red. She’s not known for being humble now, is she? Of course it would be the colour of her eyes and her hair.” Iniri blushed at the dht scolding she just received, it was as if she was a little girl.

  “That was a stupid question.” Iniri said quietly as Mam stared down at her, her teeth showing in a wicked smile.

  “Yet you still got it wrong.” Mam said and just as Iniri was about to defend herself, Mam switched topics. “Here’s a cloak.” She extended her arm to Iniri, just slightly out of her reach. Iniri had to leave the er of her room to grab it, but she retreated just as quickly as she covered herself with the fabric. It was too lo also too narrow. She had to squeeze it tightly around herself to hide. Mam raised an eyebrow. “What do we say?”

  Iniri looked at Mam, then her eyes slid down to the daggers on Mam’s belt. “Thank you.” Iniri replied and Mam smiled in satisfa. She leaned against the door, crossed her arms and looked Iniri up and down.

  “Am I ho Iniri?” Mam asked. Iniri stared at the Goddess of Hatred. What sort of question was that? Was Mam ho? What sort of answer did the woman even want?

  “Are you?” Iniri asked and Mam smiled. “I mean… I don’t think so?”

  “Mmh.” Mam said. “What do we think of Kavaa then?”

  “We as in us?” Iniri asked.

  “We as in the Royal ‘me’.” Mam answered smugly. “You’re not going to start treating me like a oner, are you?” Iniri gawked at the expnation for a moment, whilst she did uand what Mam just said, she didly know what Mam actually meant.

  “I don’t know what you think, but I like Kavaa. Her, Helenna and me freed Kassandora from the White Pantheon prison.” Mam gave ion, but those dark eyes poured over Iniri as the woman was a mathematical calcution to solve.

  “Out of my sisters, who do you like most?” Mam said.

  “Fer.” Iniri answered immediately. It wasn’t even a hard decision, Iniri was ied to both Kassandora and Fer, but Kassandora was much too cold for Iniri to be able to say she liked. Fer though was lovely and sweet.

  “That’s a good answer.” Mam finally said. “It almost makes me believe you’ve actually met them.”

  “We have.” Iniri said. “You ask Kavaa.”

  “I’ve already met the sad nurse.”

  “She’s a doctor.” Iniri didn’t know why the words came out of her mouth, but she wouldn’t take them back or apologize for them. Kavaa had goo the Juh Fer and Kassandora to rescue her, Iniri owed her a debt of a lifetime.

  Mam tilted her head again. “Between me and Helenna, who is better?”

  Something in Iniri snapped. She had expected to be questioned, but what was this? It was ohing for Mam to ask about the Pantheon, Iniri would have even expected those questions, but why was everything so personal with the woman? “What sort of questions are these Mam?!” Iniri shouted.

  Mam smiled. “I asked a question Iniri. You’re the prisoner here, don’t make me make you answer.” The ge in the woman’s to the end sounded disgusting. It wasn’t a threat of violence or pain, it was one of humiliation.

  “Helenna.” Mam she air in humour.

  “You are the only person I know who has ever said that.”

  “I like Helenna Mam.” Iniri defended her friend, then trailed off. She was about to tell Mam she didn’t like her. Mam raised an eyebrow as if reading Iniri’s mind.

  “That’s it?” Mam asked.

  “That’s it.” Iniri replied definitely and Mam smiled, she sighed and shook her head.

  “Who was it then Iniri, because it wasn’t one of my sisters, I’m sure of that.”

  “hat?”

  “Who made you into this?” Mam said as she pushed off the wall and closed the distance. Iniri retreated deeper into the er. If she had her powers, there would a reality in which Mam was a threat, but without access to anything that pnts could root in, then the roles were reversed. Mam came close, pushed Iniri into a er and grabbed one of her hands, she twisted it and pulled it above Iniri’s head. “Was it Fortia? Maisara? Helenna? Alsaria? I don’t think it was the Forces, they don’t care that much.” Mam said then pulled Iniri up, the woman wasn’t strong enough to lift Iniri, but it still hurt. “Or maybe it was, after all, Nature is one of the gra Forces there is, no doubt that Lightning and the Sun would be jealous. Sceo definitely is, she’s the sort to seethe about things like this.”

  Iniri cried out in pain as Mam squeezed her wrist. “Mam! Stop! You’re hurting me!”

  Mam squeezed harder. “I didn’t believe Kavaa, but I believe you Iniri.” Yet she only pulled Iniri’s wrist higher up. “Just answer me one question.”

  “What?” Iniri said through closed eyes and grit teeth. She felt the cloth fall down and her bace again press into the etal.

  “Why do you not grab one of the daggers on my belt and open my stomach right now?” Mam asked. And something within Iniri cracked. It wasn’t any great barrier or that kept her trolled, it could only be described as a pilr or a foundation. Mam dropped Iniri and the Goddess of Nature colpsed onto the floor. Why did she not fight back? The Iniri of the past would have done so. Yet the Iniri of today did not. Instead, she grabbed the cloth and ed herself into it as Mam made some distaweewo of them again. She squatted down on the ground t herself to Iniri’s height.

  “I don’t know.” Iniri whispered quietly, she felt her eyes start to grow wet. “I don’t know.”

  “Mother Nature would never say thank you to me.” Mam said coldly. “And when she lists off names, she doesn’t care for politeness, she’s always at the front of the list. So, what ged?”

  “The world moved on Mam.” Iniri said quietly. “I adapted where I could.”

  “Did you?” Mam asked. “I’d say I have adapted.”

  “You’ve not ged.”

  “I’ve gotteer.” Mam said. “I wouldn’t be able to manhandle you like that in the past.” Iniri wiped her eyes with the cloth as she wound it further around herself. “Kavaa hasn’t ged too much, she’s more bitter than in the past, but you’re very different.”

  “I’ve ged my title.” Iniri said. “To Of Food & Bounty.”

  Mam made a humourless sniff as she looked ftly at Iniri. “Was Of Fertility taken?” Iniri shook her head, she didn’t even care about the otation. Frankly, it didn’t even embarrass her.

  “It was vetoed by Maisara.”

  “Too grand a title?” Mam asked.

  Iniri sighed as she replied. She hated that Mam was correct. “Too grand a title.” She firmed.

  “What a sad little Goddess you are.” Mam said. The Goddess of Hatred squatted there for a few minutes as Iniri tried to trol her sniffling tears. Mam fiddled with that cold white hair of hers, it was like a ed out boher than the precious snow Iniri had first thought it was. “If I release you from here, what will you do?”

  “You mean from the cell? I’ll dig my way out.”

  Mam shrugged as she spoke, she didn’t even seem particurly cruel or joyous in her revetion, instead just resigned. “I’m ined to believe you, but I ’t take that risk.” When those dark eyes of her rolled over Iniri

  “Leona is dead.”

  “Mmh.” Mam said. “I won’t believe it until I hear it from one of mine.” Iniri sighed and nodded.

  “I uand.”

  “I don’t think you do.” Mam said. Iniri didn’t reply, Fer had said the same, that one had to fight Leona in order to know what it was like. Iniri had never asked Kassandora on it, but she was that the woman would say something simir too. Mam sighed and looked Iniri up and down. “I feel sorry for you.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “But I do.” Mam said, harder this time. Iniri merely shook her head.

  “Go ahead then.”

  “What a pathetian you are.” This time, Mam had some disgust ione. Iniri pulled her legs up to her and didn’t reply. “Are you just going to sit there?”

  “I have nothing to say Mam. I’m not who I was.”

  “How noble of you.” Mam said it as a taunt, but to Iniri, it was oddly rexing. It wasn’t noble, but she wasn’t- “Iniri, you’re a liar.” Mam said coldly. And Iniri blinked, she wasn’t the stro in the White Pantheon, there were plenty of stronger didates, but not once had she been called a liar. Frankly, it did hurt her pride.

  “What?” Iniri asked.

  “You’re a liar. You sit here and pretend to be some pitiable creature, you’re not worthy of being Iniri. You were envied, you’re the Goddess of Nature.”

  “Like I said, the worl-“

  “World has moved on.” Mam interrupted. “The down on your knees and beg for your p it.” Mam stood up from her squat and crossed her arms. “But you won’t, will you? Because there still is some pride left in you, because even though you pretend you’ve ged so much, there is still some of the cruel and capriother Nature in there.”

  “It’s gone Mam. A Mother Nature like that would have been cut down in this age.” Iniri said, it was simply self-preservation. She had to ge throughout the eras, she had to grow to stay useful to the world, because she was not Alsaria who led it, nor did she have the overwhelming demesnes of Fortia and Maisara. Nature, at the end of the day, existed as long as humanity let it.

  Mam’s reply was harsh and fast. “Don’t pretend you’ve ged, you’ve merely retreated from your demesne. Is it cowardice? Or just ziness? Or did the White Pantheon really break you? Is this how little you care about yourself? Kavaa at least put up a fight.”

  “And?” Iniri asked. “So what, Kavaa is Kavaa, I am me.”

  “No.” Mam growled. “Iniri is the Goddess of Nature, you are nothing.” Iniri pulled the cloak even tighter around herself, and buried her fa her knees. Her brown hair covered her fad she shivered against the etal.

  “I’m just me.” Iniri whispered.

  “Have you really joined us?” Mam asked ftly, a plete otion in her voice. Iniri’s rge brown eyes looked up at the Goddess standing over her, all she could muster was a feid and tiny nods of her head. “Then it is good you met me.” Mam said.

  Iniri felt her eyes start to get wet again. “I wish I didn’t.”

  “Oh no Iniri, you don’t know it yet, but yrateful you did meet me, no matter what you say.” Mam said. “Because I see the problem, the White Pantheon has cut down the Iniri I lost the war to and this creature in front of me has regrown in its pce. I will cut you down, and we will regrow the Iniri that was back then.” Mam raised an eyebrow. “That is, only if you have really joined us.”

  “Mam. I’m not the Mother Nature that takes childrehey wander into the woods anymore.”

  Mam opened her mouth, and then stopped. There was a kno the door. Mam made a surprised fad looked at Iniri. “Well look at that, we have guests.” She said. “For your sake, let’s hope it’s not Irinika.” Mam turned and tapped otle shutter in the door, it was close to the ground, even Iniri would have o bend to reach it. The metal slid open from the outside, a dwarf was on the side. “What is it?”

  The dwarf was breathing heavily, his face covered i, and he spoke in their old tongues. It had ged slightly over the past millennia, some of the words sounded weaker, others had been ged to be more stressed, the intonations harsher. Only a few words were new in their ey, and Iniri caught more than of the speech to uand it. “The Madness Roots are being burned up! There’s something ing through the lost highway!”