then it becomes, it becomes, it becomes a problem, then--

[monzun]

Monzun watches over their people. They teach their Creature. That was all they knew and all they really wanted initially, when they were freshly-created, and perhaps it ever would have been if another god's cruelty hadn't cut in.

Their goal had never been to be the only god. It was that, and then it had been surviving to oppose Nemesis, and now he was gone, and it seemed they were the only regardless.

("Eh, screw 'em! What've other gods been but trouble for us, huh?")

("Well...It is a bit lonely. And Khazar's actions are the only reason we're around today, isn't that right?")

The power of the Creeds trickle back alongside the power of the people. And then torrents, and a flood. The Miracles they use grow stronger beyond even Wonders' assistance.

Generations of their people live and proliferate and die, and Monzun's strength doesn't waver, but increases even as the populations settle lower than the war efforts and post-war burst their levels to being.

("Yeah! We're badass! Even if it could use a lil more fireballin' to make all this peace more exciting, Boss.")

 Their Creature and people are safe. They revel in being only gentle without consequence but worshippers' occasional disrespect, and they find they care little about that--unless they harm others in their village, and then Creature gentle scolding or abrupt relocation across the land tends to work nearly as well as lightning would have.

Their intervention is needed less even as they notice more. Little beacons where their people were, somewhere well beyond the seas, still worshipping where it once couldn't reach. 

And something else. A shard of someone.

Another...another god? Near their people? The numbers waver, some converting to the other, fewer converting to Monzun, as reasonable without them there to demonstrate their power. 

They need to look. 

("Could be a fresh threat we need to squash.")

("Or they may be a new god in need of a Guide?")

A fragment of them even hopes...

...

...Nemesis' brutality means their consciences say nothing while their Teleports are slowly practiced until they look something closer to a Vortex the old gods used.

It's not quite as large. Redder. But far more than a simple Teleport.

The day comes where they reach across the Lands and place it where they sense their lingering people and that god.

("Let's go!")

("It's so exciting! But we don't need to rush quite yet--")

Monzun takes some time to look over their nearest people and discuss. Khazar brought them Disciples; they could bring some possibly willing to convert to another, although they seem confused by the conversation. Do any of theirs know Miracles? Oh? Yes? One of Sable's decedents picked up the Wood Miracle, they hadn't realized that was possible--

A part of them is distant, distant, distant.

Monzun reaches for their Creature and finds they stare down into the Vortex.

Ah. 

It seems their impatience was noticed and acted upon.





In another part of Eden, a Vortex opened on the side of a mountain that Monzun's old Temple still stands on. The air splits with a shocked bellow as a massive Leopard Creature steps onto nothing and tumbles down into the water.

Ouch.

Only a little ouch. It wasn't that far, but Sweetheart wasn't expecting it. She stands and shakes the water off a little--oooh, fish. Scoops up a handful of fresh fish to eat, and then turns around to claw up the mountain to peek over the edge.

There are a few people! Worshipping wrong, or maybe just frightened. That's okay. She's pretty different now. She doesn't mind when they take off running when they un-freeze.

...Most of the trees she grew are missing. She doesn't like that, she worked hard on those.

She climbs up all the way--oh, the Temple's smaller, or she's so big as to match?--and immediately gets to Miracle Watering the withered ones in the worship sites left.

Comments

[lethys]

He doesn't seem to like his name in her mouth, as evidenced by a poisonous little aside: "Why indeed!"

But she is moving, so that's a success. He could not move her if she didn't want to be moved. He flits away quickly in case his presence distracts her from the task.

His symbol settles over a high point of the mountains, glittering. He maintains his Shield, though he finds he isn't certain how long his defenses will hold. It is his worshippers against Monzun's storm-power. Like before.

He is, at least, very visible. He is not making any attempts to take advantage of Monzun's... distraction. He wants to make this clear.

[monzun]

Something strange is going on. Sweetheart wants an answer, but she can at least take a look at the Temple first. That can't hurt.

... Mostly can't hurt. The storm is moving along in the same direction she is. Sweetheart stays crouched, getting lots of quizzical looks from humans brave enough to watch the weather from their windows.

Monzun is barely paying attention. Sweetheart was damaged, perhaps their own fault at urging Lethys on. They cannot care right now. They can heal her. After.

They fixate on staring across the sea.

Calm. Plan, if not calm.

There are other Lands, supposedly. Nemesis --

Khazar didn't seem overly attached to the Land he was battling over. If he was forced there, chased --

...They suspect he arose from another.

The rain clouds slowly drift over the water, sending the waves into a frothy mess.

Could they just...go? Streak across until they find another one? Missionaries had traveled in their name to somewhere, hadn't they?

Monzun is tempted to try.

[lethys]

From his vantage point, Lethys watches Monzun intently.

They don't seem to be doing anything. There is no whirl of rage unleased across the land, or sudden flurry of Miracle activity, or impressive action at the fringes of his own territory. They're just there. But their power leaves whorls in the clouds, and the wind and rain cuts down regardless.

He's not a stranger to intense reaction; fear and rage and desperation are not foreign to him. Nor is he a fool who is unable to put two and two together. He strongly suspects they are trying to defuse their turmoil in some unseen, internal way. What does it have to do with him?

...If they fail, perhaps a lot. Still, what can he do? Lethys is not their ally, not even close. His presence is more likely to make things worse than better.

...The fact he is considering all of this speaks volumes. He must do something.

Lethys lilts forward, hesitates, and steels himself. His symbol scores along the ridge of the mountain and beelines for Monzun, slowing to a deliberate crawl as he approaches.

He halts silently at their side. He can deduce where their line of sight lies, and follows it. They are far from the only one to stare out to the seas of Eden when their mind is racing.

He must say something.

"What is it you desire, Monzun?"

[monzun]

Monzun does not leave as he approaches.

They do not leave as much as the urge rises, rises, rises, and as he asks a question they are coming to deeply dislike.

They shouldn't, anyway. They were never one to flee from problems. Even if this is a very, very different problem than the battles of the past.

"I desire..." the truth, tired, blunt. "...the Guide to still be living. But I can do nothing about that."

(Quietly,

so quietly they do not know what fragment dares speak it:

"Yet.")

Monzun drags their thoughts to previous, and some of their focus to the god waiting so warily beside them.

There are other Lands. Monzun is a danger. These are simple facts, no matter how much they loathe the latter.

"...You...have not made another Temple in...the previous snowy Land." Nor others. I need time, he had said, or something similar. "Was it fear of...my...or his...retribution that kept you from there? Or are you kept away from there for other reasons?"

[lethys]

His confusion permeates the air between them both.

The Guide? They wish him to live, yes, he can see why a god might favour such a beast - but for that to be the fuel for this rage?

Lethys cannot understand them. This, over a Creature, over one not even their own... Unfathomable. Confusion pivots into disgust and disdain, then into morbid curiosity, and before he knows it he is beginning to sift through the dustier corners of his memory for anything to compare this to, and the moment he catches it that book snaps shut quickly. The feeling mutes.

He does not try to understand. They have questions, besides.

"Should Nemesis have returned and found I had done nothing to advance his cause," he explains, "I would surely be punished." A beat. Lethys stares at the sea, whipped by the wind into frothy turbulence. "Should you have returned and found your Lands seized, the outcome would be the same. I faced a difficult choice." It is spoken simply. That was his truth.

"But I felt that Nemesis was no more. Now that you are here, I know I made the right one."

Perhaps they will dislike his pragmatism. Lethys finds he is too confused over their behaviour to play that guessing game, and simply waits quietly for their judgement.

[monzun]

They understand it. Dislike hearing it, as of course, of course Nemesis would have done such a thing --!

The future. The now. What Monzun can do, now, amidst the rumbling skies.

"Perhaps you should consider building another Temple there now."

[lethys]

The snow glistens and cracks underfoot. A woman sets her feet between the heavy prints of wolves, and follows them to the altar. Heathen, perhaps, though she prefers devotee...

Lethys' attention snaps back into himself like the whip of coiled rope. He hadn't even meant to reach, that time. Perhaps it is this that makes him a little more eager to consider their words in earnest.

Caution. This must take caution.

His experience screams that this is a trap. But he is learning Monzun. They are different to Nemesis. Perhaps there is a chance.

"That is not the way of things," he says, testing. There is a sliver of doubt that does not quite make it into the words they hear.

[monzun]

"The way of things could lead to your... banishment, should disaster befall this Land nearer to your Temple. I do not desire this, much less if I cause destruction out of my... higher power."

Monzun's tone stays fairly dead, though their distaste for the word 'banishment' comes through even now. It is more correct than previously assumed, and yet it seems so gutless.

[lethys]

So they are permitting him territory.

(The lurch at the realisation he might go back is not entirely unexpected. Perhaps it was relief at the chance to take another step away from the end. He silences it.)

Lethys, my ally, you have earned my favour. I have a present for you. What strings will Monzun attach? There are no other gods there for him to conquer in their name. What will they do with their Villages? ...Raze them, perhaps. Although that does not seem like their style, suddenly. He is listening when they say things like 'I do not desire...'

It is simply difficult to fully believe - especially with the storms battering at his Shields.

"...I see," is all he says. "Then I will... consider."

[monzun]

...That's all?

Well.

"It would be wise."

There are fewer striking his Shields, now. The Storm on that side of the mountain has moved on as they predicted. There are fires in their forests, set and just as quicky quenched.

They know storms. Monzun has made them plenty of times, if only for the sake of occasional impressing with a dash of fearful awe while still keeping it on the harmless side. Their name is such for a reason. It feels terribly ironic, now, there is one running loose around them here.

"I do not plan to cause such. But I did not plan this. I expect you desire me to stop as much as I do," they say, sounding drained, sinking, sinking until the waves nearly clip the bottom of their symbol. "And here I expected our Creatures to be the highest concern this day."

[lethys]

Lethys watches them, keeping his thoughts to himself for a little while.

This is a far cry from the behaviour he is used to. Nemesis never faltered even once. Monzun has the power of the Creeds, yet here they are, faltering.

Once again he is reminded they are young. He knows now that their understanding of the world was never granted to them much further than the Guide and Khazar, and he knows each were permitted little time with their... student.

They are lost. This is key, even if he does not know how he ought to use it.

Slowly, easing into the thought:

"You are not the first god of Eden whose power outgrew them."

[monzun]

"...Is that so?"

Their tone holds a faintly skeptical edge, despite genuine belief in his actual words; Monzun's deeply limited experience leads them to presume Lethys refers to Nemesis. They do not wish to consider more of him, nor do they trust in anything Nemesis may have done with his growing power.

"And how did this turn out?"

[lethys]

"Poorly," he answers - "for a while."

His symbol dips, slowly, ever so slowly, barely noticeable until his light grazes the waves the same as Monzun.

"It is... helpful that our followers believe fully in our control. They must perceive that what we do is because we choose to. We are infallible."

Closest to Lethys' symbol, the tiniest specks of moisture in the storm-humid air become briefly cold enough to glitter. The effect is barely-visible.

"But if we all were infallible, you would never have reduced me as you did, nor would Nemesis have succeeded in chasing you from your first territory. I have battled many gods," Lethys declares, finally, "and I have seen enough Hands slip. You are more powerful than Nemesis. But you are inexperienced. As many have been."

There are tiny whorls of patterns appearing on the faces of waves where his light touches the water. Lace-like. Ice, half-forming before the restless water erases it.

[monzun]

Monzun is far more obvious when their slow attention shifts to Lethys--his nearness, his ice. It is intriguing to watch, even as they wonder...is this secondary effect? Intended demonstration? His own anxieties?

"...I see," they say quietly.

They were aware of the mortal aspect. It is easy enough to trick humans into believing this, most of the time. Not always. But often. It is as though most want to believe this.

"I will be sure to keep this--all of it--in my thoughts."

It is not the thoughts of mortals that Monzun is worrying about, currently.

The rain continues on, but the skies seem a little quieter.

"I have a mortal--" they begin and stop just as abruptly.

Willow...Willow, they nearly offer, but they have...they do not wish to, yet. They have something they must do with her first.

"Mortals are odd little things," they clumsily shift instead.

[lethys]

Their smaller concerns confuse him even more than their larger godly manners.

Lethys stalls, still stuck in the rut of the previous topic. But the rain might be - just a slight bit - softer... so he ought to adapt.

...Does he agree? Does he not? Lethys has not had this breed of conversation in a long time.

"Mortals are..."

Silence; waves, rain, distant thunder.

Mortals are what? Small? Beneath his notice? Significant, or insignificant? Both? Mortals are...

He flounders for an embarrassingly long time.

Maybe Monzun might care to elaborate, since Lethys has apparently run into a stumbling block.

[monzun]

Appreciative for his not pointing out their fumble, they wait politely.

And then somewhat incredulously. Surely, Lethys has considered his mortals before?

...Perhaps his opinions are low, and so he fears sharing them? Monzun tries not to give the second part of that thought overmuch attention. Mortals are capable of great stupidity. They can understand lingering irritation.

"Mortals are prone to being so fickle and so helpless, and they can believe such bizarre things about me--us," they decide to say. "And yet they can be incredibly industrious and have their own strange abilities. It is fascinating to watch if one pauses to do so."

[lethys]

Part of him recoils from us, as it always has with Nemesis, as it always has since Nemesis. Perhaps longer. There is no us - only gods against gods against gods. Only rivalry, often bitter, often to the end.

But Monzun does things differently. Curse them. He bites his tongue, as ever. (If he really had one, he might have bitten it in half aeons ago, with how much unsaid.)

It is a shock to realise he is not used to giving his opinion on something like this. Thoughts are had, and then his world moves on. Rarely is it strategically viable to give the truth.

But Monzun seems expectant. And he does not know how to give an answer they might like; but the storm rumbles. He must give them something.

"I have known many," he begins. "They are as industrious as they are wilful."

Yet Monzun is getting at something. Lethys knows what it is - but...

"It is pointless to look too closely," he finishes, a little defensively.

[monzun]

"It is not always pointless. Individuals can give surprising advantages if you look carefully," Monzun counters. "Miracles, Creatures, information..."

Ah, but that's something that can stray towards war talk. That wasn't their initial thought, besides.

"And is there something wrong with doing what's pointless? If it is enjoyable and causes no trouble..." Monzun questions, genuine.

[lethys]

"That is not what I meant."

Lethys is at a loss. They asked him for - they know what they were asking! Now they discuss advantages... Do they, or don't they want him to speak strategically!?

The ocean beneath him crackles briefly as a thin skin of ice forms on its surface. Mindful, he wanders upwards, though the effect already fades.

"It is frivolous. A waste of time and resources on lives that may barely reach a century." He bristles, a bit. They are about to scold him, he feels, but they led him here.

[monzun]

"Perhaps it is." Monzun stays where they are, just barely resisting the urge to prod at the bobbing pattern on the water. It's already fragmenting with the weakening waves. "I have had time for frivilosity. You have had less," they acknowledge.

The war cannot go completely ignored. Even in the throes of battle, they felt they had moments to do as they wished, and that was before the Creeds.

Lethys has had an heavily fearful existence.

"You have more time for such desires now, if you like."