“Got it. I’ll tell the analysts and Horvac. I’m going to meet with the king, I’ll tell him of the danger to him and his generals too. I think Horvac will be able to get an audience with Emperor Kragosh.”
“Alright. Is the temple in the desert ready?”
“Yes, my people are there already. If Eileen shows up there, the Astral Trap will activate. That’ll hold the legate until one of the Awoken arrives. But I doubt she’ll turn up. She knows how easily you imprisoned the others, so she’ll be careful.”
“I hope so. Then we’ll meet at the temple. As soon as I consecrate it to the Sleepers, I’ll make you guys priests. Three people from Modus and three from the Travelers, plus old man Otto Pecheneg. Will you tell the others?”
“Already have. Yary, Sayan and Blackberry are here with me. Your fan girl here is begging for another spot…”
“Please, Scyth!” I heard Blackberry say in the background.
“Not now,” I cut her off.
I had twenty-three free spaces for priests, minus seven for my three ally clans — I could have made Blackberry a priestess too. But I knew that if anyone was getting the full Unity bonus, better it be my people. All the same, I promised her:
“Once we have a third temple built, we can talk about it then.”
I teleported to the Lakharian Desert right after that conversation. The ghostly figures of two Modus battle stars hovered outside the finished temple. The minimap showed them as friendly targets. The group leader, Quinto the bandit, Sprinted toward me.
“Hey, ally!” he said, coming out of stealth. “All’s quiet.”
“Hi, Quinto. Are your leaders here?”
“Almost… Ah, here they are!”
Yary, Sayan and finally Hinterleaf all jumped out of a portal nearby. Yary spread his arms, hugged me and clapped me on the back.
“Glad to see you, Scyth, my friend!” the large man boomed.
Then the others greeted me the same way. I didn’t expect such a warm welcome and felt mixed feelings: mistrust and satisfaction. My positive feelings won out when the Travelers appeared from new portals and all queued up to embrace me too. Pecheneg was the last to arrive.
Leaving the future priests at the foot of the dune, I went off to consecrate the temple to Tiamat.
Just like with the other consecration rituals, as soon as I placed my hand on the altar, a system message appeared:
Level 1 Unconsecrated Temple
Consecration requires an adept with a status of at least ‘priest.’
Identified: Initial.
Requirements met.
All sensation left me once again as the Sleeping Gods pulled my mind into the great nothing, where I was surrounded by boundless living nebulae: Leviathan, Abzu, Kingu, Tiamat and Behemoth. Showered with their attention, I returned to the temple and consecrated it to Tiamat.
Second Temple of the Sleeping Gods, dedicated to Tiamat
Level: 1.
Initial (1/1): Scyth.
Priests (16/39): Patrick O’Grady, Manny, Tissa, Dekotra, Ranakotz, Grog’hyr, Ryg’har, Movarak, Ukavana, Sithanak, Yemi, Francesca, Babangida, Sarronos, Kromterokk, Kusalarix.
Adepts: 8927/28561.
Faith points to next temple level: 1/28561.
Build a third temple and consecrate it to one of the Sleeping Gods to support more adepts.
I didn’t get any rewards for erecting the second temple; the title of Behemoth’s quest ‘Three Temples’ spoke for itself.
A dragon’s face appeared on the altar and I felt Tiamat’s presence. I turned around and saw her, blinded by her beauty. The Sleeping Goddess, now returned to Disgardium, stood frozen for a few minutes, her arms spread. Streams of Faith rushed into her from the altar. Once at full strength, Tiamat opened her eyes and ran a finger across my cheek.
“My Initial… Your new allies are children of Nergal and Marduk. The parasites will not release them so easily. Do your future priests fathom what awaits them for betraying their faith?”
Unable to tear my eyes away from the stunning goddess, I had fallen into something of a trance, then started awake when the kind, but powerful voice broke the silence.
“They say they have weighed the risks, Sleeper, and know the consequences.”
“Very well. For us, all are one, and we do not object if a sentient follows the precepts of other gods. But those two… No, they will not forgive. I see something worries you.”
“Yes. I thought of asking Behemoth, but since you’re here now… Something strange happened to me. I had a vision of the future in my own world. Twice. Divine Revelation descended on me, a talent that I have only in Disgardium. How? It’s impossible for that to happen in the other world! I don’t even think there are any gods there, because there’s no magic!”
“Magic is the breath of the gods,” Tiamat agreed. “Once full of the faith of sentients, the Gods both Old and New breathe out into the world that which you call mana. That is what gives strength to your spellcasters.”
“But then how did I see the future?”
“You are right and wrong, Initial, when you say that there are no gods in the world you come form. There are none such as Nergal or that troublesome girl Fortune. Perhaps there were, but without faith, they have doubtless disincarnated. However, there are gods that are not limited to a single world. Do you know what separates the Old Gods from the New? The sentients themselves created the Old Gods. In the dark times, when they couldn’t explain the phenomena of nature, they invented divinities. Good, evil, indifferent — all sorts. It is you mortals who created Fortune, believing that luck is not blind chance, but something tangible, something that can be gained and lost.”
“Then how did the New Gods come to be?”
“I fear your limited mind is not yet able to grasp the full truth,” Tiamat answered sadly. “But I will try to answer in a way that
