Welcome back gentle reader
Fair warning, this chapter ended up running longer than I had intended, but some of the scenes just kept writing themselves. I noticed I was making a lot of dumb errors and hopefully caught them all. Misspelling people's names every so often, an uncapitalized I, using an incorrect title, or using week instead of tenday. I read other author's stories and those sorts of things jump out at me, and I think, wow, how can you miss that? From this side of the keyboard, it's pretty damn easy.
Standard disclaimer, multiply ages by roughly two to get equivalent Earth ages. Everyone is a consenting adult.
-- Somewhen, Somewhere --
There are an infinite number of planes of existence, but only a few are stable enough to allow entities to reside within them--at least for any significant length of time. Some of these more stable planes have regions that border one another, with some regions even overlapping. Transitions between planes are possible at these intersecting regions, and where a full transition is not feasible, projections of power into the other plane remain achievable.
For those of sufficient power, it is even possible to exist simultaneously in multiple planes, bringing with them a subset of the natural laws from one plane into the other. The strength of the entity determines whether these external natural laws merely influence the host plane or, in the case of extremely powerful individuals, override the prevailing laws entirely.
Seven of the most powerful entities now projected themselves into one of the more unstable planes, a place where natural laws collided and were inherently unstable. Five of the seven brought the chaos of their own planes into this realm, compounding the instability where they met. It was a cacophony of sound and light, an overwhelming assault on every sense--the kind of chaos that would drive any lesser being into instant insanity.
Each of the seven represented an aspect of chaos, the only seven among the twenty Divine to do so.
The two more restrained figures hailed from the Light. Tsinghai, whose domains included Nature, Animals, and Healing, often influenced Druids and Rangers, while Edum, associated with Humor, Family, and Freedom, reveled in the randomness that created what they both considered the richness of Life.
Two others were of the Gray, neither wholly good nor wholly evil. Axteus, ruler of Illusion, Trickery, and Adventure embraced chaos to a greater degree than all the others. None could say for certainty anything about Axteus--not race, gender, nor any concrete detail--it was chaos incarnate. The other, Udite, held mastery of Chance and Thieves. For Udite, rules were a fiction, a figment of others' imagination.
Finally, there were the three of the Dark, each emanating a palpable malevolence. Fueyr, Mistress of the Night; Utyxx, Master of Lies and Fear; and Bualdir, Mistress of Strife and Despair, completed the chaotic assembly.
Tsinghai and Edum understood the monumental challenge of convening the Chaos Five at the same point in time-space. The very act seemed destined for disaster, and the swirling activity of chaos around them was taking its toll. There would be no preamble, no agenda, no structure akin to that of a normal meeting. Tsinghai decided to simply speak.
"Lashan has confirmed Magard has access to a node."
Amazingly, the chaos stilled for an instant, such was the import of the simple phrase--except for Axteus, who continued its activity, appearing to play some childlike game.
"Magard has razed a temple of Bora. Let Chaos reign."
And at the end of her words, she found herself alone with Edum--and Axteus, still playing its peculiar game.
Moments later, as the two watched, Axteus grew agitated with the game, seemingly losing against itself, and dashed the pieces in a fit of anger. It turned a piercing gaze toward the remaining two Divine and said simply:
"The Power knows."
With a cackling laugh that echoed endlessly, Axteus's form vanished into nothingness.
Edum smiled.
"That one may be the best of us."
Tsinghai snorted in response.
"I worry about this course of action," she admitted. "But the others need to be curbed." She sighed. "What do you think it meant by 'the Power knows'?"
Edum's smile widened slightly as he replied, "The Power only knows."
-- Chapter 3: Valor Keep Construction Site --
-- Fifth Tenday of Juntaen 813 AGR --
They fear that we will overthrow their gods. Not necessarily through any deliberate act, but in a subtler fashion...No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware, the nonexistance of Zeus or Thor, but they have few followers now.
- Clarke
The evening meal turned out to be far more entertaining than Jebidiah had expected. He sat down at the head of the table with a sense of dread, fearing that cultural differences would cause friction and sour the new relationship with the Dakarans before it had a chance to take root. The table, more of a conference table than a dining table, was wide enough at the far ends for Crystal to take a seat beside Jebidiahm while Mithrilbuckle and Dagheabela sat together at the opposite end. Along the sides sat the rest of Jebidiah's family, along with Master Standing, who was sandwiched between Shirley and Dana.
After the introductions, an attempt at awkward small talk ensued--until the first course of food arrived. A full-roasted wild boar was brought to the table, and the dwarves' eyes immediately lit up in appreciation as the rich aroma filled the tent.
"Wher-as-ever diede thee finede th' boar?" Dagheabela asked, her voice tinged with excitement--the first non-dour emotion the dwarves had displayed so far.
"We hunt them at the edge of the woods to the north," Joy answered. "Whatever was keeping them in check no longer is, and they've bred to the point of becoming a nuisance. We're forced to hunt them now just so the deer stand a chance at survival."
"Thee h've so many boar? Tis ain joi ta th' stomach!"
"Le've bĂŚ, Dag," Mithrilbuckle muttered.
Dagheabela resumed the now-expected dour demeanor of a dwarf but continued to sneak furtive glances at the steaming boar. The servants--whom Jebidiah hadn't realized he employed--continued to bring out plates of roasted vegetables and drinks while one of them began to serve, carving into the boar.
Leaning over towards Joy, Jebidiah whispered, "Are these Nan's staff?"
A quick nod and smile was his answer.
"Th' haunch a'd belly iffen bĂŚ pleasende." Dagheabela's added, drawing his attention back to his guests.
"Of course, you may have the portions you wish, Dagheabela. Everything is local and we have plenty more."
He pulsed the question through the bond with Joy, who confirmed he had not lied with another quick nod in confirmation.
"Th' Holede would trade for th' boar," Mithrilbuckle said, raising a slice of pork he had speared on the tines of his fork for emphasis. "Meat like hider would g' well with our mushroom."
He raised his glass of wine and nodded toward the decanter in front of the pair.
"Th' wine tis sweet but not neeth. Beer bĂŚ better suited for meat like hider."
"We have beer as well," Joy interjected, signaling one of the waiting staff who quickly ducked away. "It's a local brew, but our brewmaster tends to the paler ales--mostly wheats."
Mithrilbuckle grimaced at that news but accepted the mug of ale he was offered. He took a mouthful, visibly savored the taste as he let it sit on his tongue for a few moments before swallowing. His grimace returned briefly before he threw back his head and mug, quaffing the entire remainder in one go. Wiping his mouth on beard and sleeve, he declared, "Weak! Iffen thee h've th' hops, Ich can brew thee much better."
Jebidiah, who had always enjoyed a stout beer, perked up at the prospect. If the rumors of what the Dwarves drank were true, then his House had just stumbled into a major bonus.
"That can very much be arranged, good sir. I myself prefer the stouts and porters."
Mithrilbuckle nodded, flashing the first smile Jebidiah had spied from the dwarf all evening.
With the ice now broken, the conversation over the dinner revolved around questions about life in the dwarven hold as compared to the human settlements. This was Mithrilbuckle's first time among humans, and nobody present had experienced anything like what the dwarves spoke of within the hold. Adding a third perspective, Mila threw in some comparisons to her halfling home and upbringing, giving everyone further insight to her childhood experiences.
The dwarves ate heartily--easily consuming twice what everyone else did, except for Stern. As much as they shoveled between their facial hair, they struggled to keep pace with Stern's appetite.
