There is some mistaken belief that Maisara and Fortia are the same person, or that they think in the exact same way. That is a mistaken belief, they simply don’t have an equivalent, Elassa’s relationship to Allasaria is a comparison that is obvious on the surface, yet looking deeper, Fortia and Maisara have something more than just the employer-employee combination that is Allasaria-Elassa.

  Why they get along is terribly simple, and both have admitted it in roundabout ways through praising each other’s values. If the White Pantheon were to be a collection of autocrats, then one of them would be proposing decentralized federation and the other self-governorship, if the White Pantheon were to be a concoction of democrats and republicans instead, then one of them would be arguing for monarchy and the other absolute rule. It is not that they are the same, they simply strengthen and reinforce each other in a cyclical manner.

  Allasaria has confided in me to complain about them. She talks of their closed feedback loop, of Maisara feeding Fortia and Fortia feeding Maisara, of their unwillingness to transition their Orders into a unified Pantheon Army, of the fact that both don’t see Pantheon Peace as an ideal to strive for but a policy to enforce. Her complaints are all true of course, Maisara and Fortia are downright terrible to the rest of us. I can write with full confidence that I prefer going to the Closed Prison to discuss with captured Kassandora rather than with the comrades in arms that are Fortia and Maisara. And just as definitely, I can state that I am not the only one who prefers to Of War’s company to Of Peace and Of Order.

  Yet Allasaria’s complaints, just like mine, just like Elassa’s and Kavaa’s and Iniri’s, Zerus’ and Alkom’s and Sceo’s, are all tinged with the same sour drop of self-indulging ego. The relationship between Maisara and Fortia is one I would kill for and I am jealous. Allasaria is jealous, the rest of us are just as jealous. All of us are Divine, all of us have lived through entire Eras, all of us saw the horrors of the Great War. We all strive to complete something within us, yet I am certain that my mind and my heart don’t have all the puzzle pieces. I am unsure if they ever did.

  Yet I know that one thing: Maisara’s pieces fit into Fortia’s, and Fortia’s fit into Maisara’s.

  - Excerpt taken from Helenna’s private diary.

  Arascus picked his head up as his plane started to turn. The plane itself was huge, built specifically so that Arascus and Fer could stand up easily within it. The entire command squad of assistants Arascus had brought with him looked as if they were humans that had been downsized. Yet Arascus had always found the plane cramped and tight. Even though he could stand up straight when he was in the very centre of the plane, when he was sitting on one of the leather couches that lined the sides of the plane, he had to lean forwards to stop the top of his head from scraping along the ceiling.

  Elassa was opposite him. In the same blue battledress that she had cracked the continent of Arika in, she sat there, eyes unfocused, mouth slightly fallen open in half-stunned shock. At first, she had assumed that Arascus was joking when he had told her she was invited with him to Igos. When she got on the plane, she had spent the take-off looking out the window as if suddenly expecting them to turn direction and start heading north instead. Yet they did not, they kept on flying west with the Sun. Arascus looked through the window and onto the new Sea of Arika. A name had not been chosen, colloquially though Arascus had heard everything and anything: Elassa’s sea, the Sea of Arika, the Jungle Sea, The Green Sea, the Grey Sea, The Cracked Sea, Arika’s Blemish, The Lake, anything and everything seemed to describe the new azure seaside, it was a truly magnificent mixture of dark blues and greens.

  And Arascus turned back around to Elassa. She could not be like this in Igos, he had to wake her up, and she had to be told about what happened in Arcadia too. “Are you alive?” Arascus asked, Elassa remained sitting there, unmoving. Arascus moved his hand and snapped his fingers in front of the woman’s eyes. That shook Elassa awake.

  “You’re not going to kill me?” She asked and Arascus allowed himself a moment of fleeting victory. It would be this much easier to work Elassa if she thought the man was being merciful.

  “How many of the old breed are left?” Arascus asked, he sighed softly, his hard eyes matching Elassa’s blue. “And more than that, how many are Worldbreaking breed?” Elassa sniffed in mirthless humour at that, she didn’t sit up though, instead almost collapsing further to lean on her knees.

  “I just showed what Worldbreaking breed does.” Elassa said. “How many species did I just make extinct?” Arascus noticed the sad tone, Elassa had never had too much of a problem with killing. She had never been an Anassa, a Fer or a Kassandora, but likewise, she wasn’t totally innocent either. Human experimentation for magic had only been stopped because of the Pantheon’s decree on the separation of Divinity from mortals, and that decree had been made to stop Divines from usurping governments. Its effect on the magical world had not even been considered.

  Yet the Archivist of Arda was sad.

  Arascus did not even bother asking Elassa on how many she just saved, he knew it wouldn’t have an effect. Instead, he went down a different route. “You wiped the slate the clean for new ones to take their place.”

  “In an unnatural manner Arascus.” Elassa said.

  And the God of Pride shook his head. “No Elassa. When wolves hunt foxes out of a forest, is that unnatural too? Or when the wind carries a new species of vine across a valley? You sped up what was going to happen.”

  “Continents don’t crack themselves.” Elassa was more definite this time.

  “Yet volcanoes explode.” Arascus said. “Do you cry for the life lost in Worldbreaking too?”

  “I didn’t exist before Worldbreaking.” Elassa said.

  “The question stands Elassa, do you cry for the mammoth and the sabretooth?”

  “I don’t.” Elassa admitted. “The world changed.”

  “Just as it did a week ago.” Arascus said.

  “No Arascus, the world did not change, I changed the world. I did it Arascus.” Elassa got louder now. Arascus maintained his posture and kept his eyes fixed onto hers, but he had to bury his smile deep. There we go, Elassa did indeed have some life in her, her voice increased in pitch as Arascus’ assistants in the plane backed away from the Goddess of Magic. “I did it! I cracked a continent! There is no justifiable reason for it! Kassandora could have plinked away at the Jungle as she was doing and it would have been the same thing! Yet I did it! Do you understand? I cracked a continent! I did it to prove it could be done! So many are dead for what? For me to prove my ego? Just because it had never been done before, so somehow had to do it eventually? Is that it!?”

  “And can it be done?” Arascus asked.

  “It can.” Elassa said with a sigh. “It can and I proved it can.”

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  “So what do you feel bad for?” Arascus asked and Elassa gave an exasperated sigh. Her head dropped down and she stared at the floor.

  “I don’t know.” The Goddess said, her dark hair swaying with her. “I just don’t know.”

  “Judgement?” Arascus already knew that Elassa didn’t want that. Yet he didn’t know if the woman realised it herself.

  “From who?”

  “Well it won’t be from mortals, will it?”

  “Of course not.” Elassa said, she looked up. Those blue eyes wordlessly begged Arascus for reprieve from what she was feeling. “From one of us.” She said after a pause. “From one of us.”

  Arascus sat up straighter to get even more height on her. On a normal day, he would dwarf the woman but right now, he towered over the Goddess like a mountain. “From one of us Elassa?” He asked her. “Which one? From Kassandora? Who thought up of Continent Cracking in the first place? And who has led so many wars that her death count can be measured in how many times she killed the entirety of mankind over? Or Neneria? Who enslaves souls into her Legion? Who is in Arika right now to ensnare millions to serve forever?”

  Elassa’s pained expression shattered. Those blue eyes started to sparkle. Arascus knew exactly what he was doing. “Or Baalka? You may have killed more as a raw number, but that is only because this age is so populous. How many times have you cut the population in half? How many nations have you depopulated? What about Fer and Anassa? Are they any better than you? We’re blessed that Beasthood and Sorcery can’t crack continents, else this world would have been torn in half long ago Elassa.”

  A tear streamed down Elassa’s eye. “Let’s not pretend it’s just my family either Elassa. Your Pantheon too. Iniri in the past was the most feared Goddess of us all. People would clamour for Neneria to appear in order to scare Iniri away. What about Kavaa? Goddess of Health, she is so lovely that her favourite has become Kassandora. How many minds have been broken for eternity due to Kavaa’s healing? How many families are stuck with empty husks that breath yet can’t think because Kavaa laid her hands on them? Do you think your quick deaths are worse than that?”

  “What about Maisara? Who reduces humanity to mere ants. Who would micromanage people for sheer efficiency and nothing else? Fortia? Proud Fortia who thinks herself the Goddess of the World’s desire? Does Fortia believe that taboos stand in the way of Peace? Do you think she looks at Continent Cracking in horror? Or do you think she just sees it as an opportunity to rid the Pantheon of someone who could be a competitor?”

  And Elassa sniffled in a terrible awe. “Or maybe Allasaria. Can the Goddess of Light judge you? The Goddess of Light responsible for how many great purges? How many blemishes have been brought to the light to be cleansed? Or maybe me Elassa? Can I, the God of Pride, judge you? The man who started the Great War? And for what? I’ve bathed Arda in a century of flames because I know I can run the world better than any of you. That’s why. And I’ll do it again. I’ll keep doing it until someone kills me or I win.”

  Elassa pulled her legs up to her knees as Arascus delivered the final blow. “No Elassa. With the amount of power you possess, your foundation as Worldbreaking breed and the way the Pantheon has treated you for the past millennium, there is none who can judge you. The fact that all that is happened is only a continent has been cracked and the world hasn’t been shattered makes you downright admirable.” He let the silence stretch on as Elassa tried to hide her face in her knees.

  Those blue eyes didn’t cry, but they stared up at Arascus as Elassa seemed to cower on the leather couch. The plane’s windows behind her revealed only a blue sky and bluer sea. “Then why do I feel bad?” She asked.

  Arascus did not even lie, he replied as though stating a simple matter of fact. “Because you can’t do it.”

  And Elassa got angry. Arascus stared her down, her eyes escaped to the floor after a few tense moments of silence so heavy it may as well have brought the entire plane down. “I did do it though.” Elassa said it to the empty air, not to anyone in particular.

  “And look at how it’s destroying you.” Arascus said. “Imagine if Kassandora had your power. Maisara or Fortia or Fer. We both know if it was any of them, then continent cracking would just be the start of the week.”

  “But…” Elassa trailed off.

  “If you feel about this, then why do you not feel bad about magical experimentation on humans?” Arascus asked and the woman sat there. She had no answer. Those blue eyes simply blinked at Arascus. “Between us, there is nothing I can judge you for and frankly, I simply have one thing to say.”

  “What?”

  Some people were beggars disguised as kings. They had everything the world could give, and they had no one to share it with. Kassandora had been like this. Yet some people were mighty fortresses built on rotten land. It wasn’t enough to simply tear down the structure, the entire landscape had to be bathed and cracked by fire to drain the swamps. That was Elassa, a beautiful, awe-inspiring palace, in an untouchable plague-ridden swamp. Arascus struck the glaring crack in the walls. “You’re not special.”

  And Elassa shattered. She burst into tears. She cried like that for at least an hour as the plane slowly soared over Arika’s pristine new ocean. Arascus’ assistants all disappeared into the other compartments on the plane, and none dared show their faces to interrupt the God as tears streamed down Elassa’s face. She cried uncontrollably. Arascus let her cry her tears out. He had seen other Goddesses do it, he knew it would help her.

  And eventually, Elassa ran out of tears. She sniffled, she wiped her nose, she shook. Her cheeks were crimson, her eyes were bloodshot. She was sweating and Arascus could practically feel the warmth coming off her in waves, as if she had just ran a marathon. The God stood up, went to the plane’s bar and got a small towel. He wet it with water and brought it to Elassa. “Thank you.” She said quietly as she started to wipe her face.

  “It is what it is.” Arascus said. The woman, even if she had not been destroyed entirely, had let her defences down enough. Kassandora had prepared her already, as did Anassa and Fer, by spending time with her and letting the woman enjoy herself. Even if Elassa had been a prisoner, Arascus was sure that she had a better time over the past few months since her capture than she had in a thousand years of dealing with Fortia’s and Maisara’s and Allasaria’s scheming in the Pantheon. “I have one thing to inform you of, I think you need to know it.”

  “What is it?” Elassa’s whimpered.

  Fondness, guilt, catharsis and now one last thing to prime Elassa. “You should read this.” Arascus leaned down and pulled out one of the suitcases he had brought onto the train. He unclicked open the little bronze hatches and out came one of Helenna’s reports. “It’s Helenna’s spies, she wrote it, but it’s real.”

  “Is it?”

  “It’ll be meaningless if it’s fake and I’m not going to bind you anyway.” Arascus replied quickly. “So read it and change your mind later if you think it’s fake.” Arascus passed the woman the report on Allasaria going to Arcadia. Arascus made sure to watch Elassa’s face for any reaction or any sense of a tell on what she thinking. They skittered over the paper quickly, moving from side to side as her vision devoured the lines on the page. This woman truly was the Archivist of Arda, Arascus had always considered himself to be a fast reader, but when compared to Elassa…

  She swallowed all the information on the piece of paper in maybe a dozen seconds. And Helenna’s writing was not the easiest to read either. That woman’s prose was tinged purple all the way through. She finished and looked at Arascus. Frankly, even he did not know it would have caused such a reaction. He had expected rage and annoyance, but not this cold and utterly resolute anger which promised to kill. “This is true?” Elassa asked flatly.

  “This is true.”

  “Why?” Elassa asked and Arascus raised an eyebrow.

  “Why what?” He knew he caught her, hook, line and sinker.

  “Why does Allasaria think she can do this?” Elassa did not blink, did not scream, did not even raise her tone. Yet beneath that stern exterior, Arascus could see her eyes begin to start sparkling again, and she had to blink her tears away.

  “Arcadia will be no more.” Arascus began and Elassa raised her hand to interrupt him.

  “I know what you’re going to say. And the answer is Yes, save us both the time and don’t treat me like a fool.” Arascus innocently raised an eyebrow. And this is how the Goddess of Magic was caught, he only needed to show her the correct style of thinking, and suddenly she was coming to the conclusions without even needing to be asked. He opened his mouth and Elassa interrupted him again.

  “You’re going to say Arcadia won’t be able to survive without external funding.” Elassa said. “And then you’re going to offer support in exchange for me assisting you in this war. Being kicked out, I can understand. This though, Maisara and Fortia have both done far worse and they never had to deal with such a humiliation.” Elassa took a deep breath. “The answer, as I said, is yes. I would have stayed neutral if this didn’t happen.” Arascus didn’t bother to hide the smile, Elassa no doubt thought he was happy, he was to an extent, but he was also laughing at the farce of that statement. He wouldn’t be able to recruit her? Just what reality was Elassa living in? He held out his hand. Elassa took it. They shook. “Don’t make me regret this.” The Goddess warned.

  Arascus said nothing, after all, who would ever regret joining him?