Power Overwhelming

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As Khaine pushed the wooden doors open, they could all see a seemingly endless hall full of festivities and warriors making merry. The hall was organized into six rows of long tables, where both the tables and the chairs were made of logs. The rows of tables continued towards the other end of the hall, which was not in sight. Above them crisscrossed wooden beams from which hung lanterns and rough chandeliers made of wood and wax candles. Every table was laden with food and drink, and formless servants made of holy power moved between tables bringing in more food and alcohol.

The tables were filled with warriors of various races and strengths. Some were elegantly sipping wine and playing games of strategy, looking a bit out of place in this hall, while in other tables topless warriors were wrestling on top of the table. Some warriors were carousing with the courtesans Khaine had mentioned earlier, while another group were in the middle of testing their mettle in armed combat. It was impossible to say how many warriors the hall had, but they seemed without number and all of them were in various states of inebriation, regardless of race or gender.

The cacophony of noises was deafening, which made it even more striking as a hush filled the hall in a wave as all the warriors noticed the new arrivals. Every warrior inside turned to look at the door and stare at them with a solemn expression that was in sharp contrast with their earlier cheer. “The boss is back!” Someone close to the door called out with a voice that would’ve been right at home in a drill square as it carried to every corner of the hall.

Slowly, every warrior started stomping their feet and hitting the tables, and the warriors called out "Hu!" together like they were chanting. Khaine lifted an arm and brought it down in a sharp gesture as if she was cutting something, and indeed all the noise was cut with her gesture. "The bitch is back," Khaine said simply and with a wide grin.

Now the warriors started openly cheering and laughing, though the merriment only lasted for a handful of seconds before they all got serious again. They all had fervor and desire in their eyes, but the desire was not for the goddess in front of them. They all seemed to desire for battle. “Is it time then, Chief?” One of the warriors asked, and clearly all of the warriors were eagerly awaiting the answer.

“Close. Sharpen your blades and don your armor. The time for us to go to war is at hand.” Khaine declared, eliciting another cheer from everyone gathered. This time it took a lot longer for everyone to calm down, and Khaine started walking towards the other end of the hall.

It was rather obvious to Karna that the only reason they reached their destination in less than a minute was because the master of this realm controlled this space completely, as she couldn’t see the door they had entered through when she took a look back. As they reached the end of the hall, they came to a small elevated platform, where stood a relatively simple throne made of bones and the skull of some huge monster, and the warriors at the tables closest to the throne seemed much more serious and skilled than the ones closer to the door.

Karna had noted that the tables were not ordered according to power, as there had been immortals even close to the door while there were mortals even at the tables closest to the throne, but now she had some idea what was going on. Still, she was curious. She wasn’t the only one as Envy was the one to voice the question. “How are the tables ordered?”

"You are given a place of prominence according to your deeds and the worthiness of the enemies you defeated. Even if you've reached immortality, if all you faced were enemies of your own rank and weaker, then that's not as impressive as defeating multiple enemies above your own strength. The worse the odds you managed to overcome, the more glory." Khaine explained, as six warriors, all of whom had sat at the end of the rows of the tables walked up to her as soon as she sat down on her throne.

“Chief. It’s good to see you back.” A blond woman dressed in fine furs was the first to speak, her expression filled with worship and awe as she gazed up at the goddess. She gripped the handles of two axes that hung from her waist as she spoke.

“It’s good to be back Silja. While my place of arrest wasn’t uncomfortable, it wasn’t home either.” Khaine responded, eliciting angry murmurs from the six warriors.

“Who have you brought with you, Chief?” A long and dark-haired man dressed in silks and holding on to a Katana at his waist asked with curiosity.

“Meet my daughter’s friends, Valor, Hope, and Envy, and my daughter Wrath.” Khaine didn’t mince words and introduced them with their True Names. Even non-reincarnators could understand the significance and power of a True Name, even if they were not aware of the implications.

As Khaine had gestured to them in turn the six, as well as the other warriors in earshot, turned to look at Karna. "Wrath, eh? That's a powerful Name." A very distinguished-looking older man said, his emphasis on the last word making it obvious he knew at least some of the significance.

“Yet does she have the achievements and glory to go along with it?" A gruff-looking man with a spear questioned. "Is she a warrior worthy enough to be the Chief's daughter and standing at the foot of the throne?" His tone wasn't malicious, and it seemed he was speaking more due to his reverence for Khaine than any dislike for Karna.

His word of course elicited a gale of laughter from Envy and Hope. “Well, daughter? What say you?” Khaine asked with a small grin.

Karna had a tiny smile of her own. “I think you’re mistaken about something.” She said before turning to the man and pointing at the monster skull that made part of the throne. “I’m not a warrior that goes searching for glory. I’m the monster that eats the warriors that don’t know their place.”

A moment of stunned silence was followed by a chorus of laughter, hooting, and jibing, as the gathered warriors found her response satisfactory. Even the man who had challenged her grinned in response. “Good. I wouldn’t expect any less from the Chief’s kid.”

As the warriors, the six leaders leading them, started a procession to greet their goddess and to affirm their loyalty and willingness to fight, Karna tuned them all out. As Khaine had said, this was unavoidable, and something they needed to deal with before they could get to the real point of their visit. Of course the most fervent servants of a deity would feel the need to affirm their faith and the wellbeing of the one they served, but that didn’t mean she had to pay attention. As the whole thing dragged on, the four of them sat down at a table that had been brought out for them at some point.

“This is quite good actually.” Valor commented while chewing on the meat of some roasted bird. “Not what I’d call fine cuisine, but surprisingly good when you consider how it looks.”

“I’m not quite as fond of it.” Hope’s expression was a bit pinched. The meal was decidedly meat and bread focused and had very little in the way of mild tastes or healthy food.

“It’s food for warriors in their afterlife. It’s not supposed to be good for you. Only expected they'd go heavy with spices and grease." Envy smirked. She rather enjoyed the spread. Her tastebuds were influenced by her race, and her race tilted heavily towards the carnivorous side.

"Just don't expect it to satiate your hunger," Karna advised. "It's food for souls given form. They don't need nutrition. All of this is magically created with the power of belief. It's not actually real food. Besides, this is supposed to be a constant feast. Getting full would kind of defeat the purpose."

They spent a good few hours until Khaine called a stop to the proceedings. The goddess told her subjects that she had to make preparations for the upcoming struggle, which wasn't untrue. They stepped into a backroom that didn't differ much from the décor style of the previous room. Plenty of logs and furs, though there were some allowances for comfort like pillows, which immediately drew Karna's eyes. "Do sit down." Khaine gestured around the relatively modest but large room. "I would've preferred to have this discussion privately with my daughter, but since she has made her own allies, I certainly won't insist."

“I do hope you won’t expect me to call you mom?” Karna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No. While that would be kind of fun, it would also be…just no. It would feel wrong. Anyway, I’m well aware how difficult it can be for the likes of us to form connections with family even at best of times, and this certainly hasn’t been the kind of situation that fosters familial love.” Khaine shook her head. “I still call you my daughter, because that is a fact, and that is how I will present in front of others. It’s easier if I don’t try to switch between behaviors in public and private.”

“Wrong?” Envy asked, focusing on a word that seemed out of place.

“Let’s just say that this isn’t the first time we’ve met.” The goddess smiled mysteriously.

The group of reincarnators immediately tried to check the woman's True Name but didn't get one, which caused all of them to frown. Three of them were skilled enough that hiding from them should've been impossible. "How?" Hope voiced the obvious question, as they knew the goddess had felt their probing.

“You have your skills and specialties, and I have mine. My research has necessitated that I have the ability to hide myself. Otherwise, I'd be killed immediately." Khaine leaned back in her fur-filled chair in a rather tired fashion.

“What kind of research?” Envy questioned.

“That brings us to the main point actually. While my daughter here has avoided this universe like the plague whenever possible, I on the other hand have focused my efforts here. I’m sure you all received the decree? Of course you did. Well, I’ve been researching the figure behind that decree. And when I say a figure, I mean both the Heavenly Emperor and the power behind the throne. After all, some of us would like to know as much as we can about the force that makes us dance to its whims.”

“Ah yes, this mysterious ‘figure’ we’re supposed to replace.” Envy retorted sarcastically, using air-quotes.

“That’s the gist though. You’re not replacing that figure. She is.” Khaine pointed at Karna. “I brought her here and created a suitable vessel for her for that very purpose.”

"Brought me here?" Karna's eyes narrowed. She had suspected something about this reincarnation was iffy, and now she was getting a confirmation of sorts.

“Yes. I made a deal with the Head Judge. Before you burn down the River of Souls though, you should really excuse his actions. He was between a rock and a hard place, just as we all are.” The goddess made gestures to calm down the four that had gotten visibly irate at the thought. “This is more important than any of us.”

“So. You want me to win this little tournament of sorts? Why me? Why not you or, say, Valor here? You obviously picked me instead of someone like him for a reason.” Karna pointed at the Virtue.

“We did. You’re the most likely to win, which was a real factor, but it’s more complicated than that.” The goddess drew a deep breath before releasing it to try and relax while rubbing her forehead. “While the decree might have given another impression, we have a reason to believe the position isn’t open to just anyone. The part about the ‘winner’ being brought to be judged is the most important part of the decree, despite seeming like a tagged on extra. At least according to what I’ve managed to find out, there are in fact very few reincarnators that qualify, and this little fight is supposed to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. What makes things more difficult is that it's almost impossible to find out too much about this entity doing the judging, so we can't be sure what the qualifications are. For all I know, Envy and Hope here could qualify as well. Here's the thing though. We can't be certain until we try, and if we want our candidate to win, we can’t divide our support between multiple candidates. I’m pretty sure Valor doesn’t qualify, though I couldn’t say where the limit is. Why my daughter specifically? Because I’m sure she does qualify, and of the people that applies to, you’re by far the most preferable option.”

“That’s the other important part, isn’t it?” Karna pointed out. “This is just as much about who we can’t allow access to the position.”

"Exactly," Khaine confirmed. "Look. There's an old saying: 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ And the unfortunate fact is that the more likely someone is to gain this position, the more likely they are to be the sort of person we wouldn’t want to have the role. And make no mistake. While I haven’t been able to find out much about this mysterious being, the one thing I have found out is that their power is very much absolute.”

“Then why are they giving it up?” Valor asked with a frown. People that amassed power like that were not very likely to give it up.

"Weight of time and boredom," Karna replied instead of Khaine. She could understand quite well.

"Bingo," Khaine confirmed and pointed at Karna. "I knew you'd understand. What most people that haven't reached the apex don't realize, is that if you're too powerful, immortal, and have everything at your fingertips, things that you used to value lose their luster. If there's no challenge, no difficulty, no adversity, then you slowly slide into apathy and torpor. From what I've been able to find out, the being we're talking about is so ancient that he's been around so long that even my daughter here, whose soul is already too heavy to be reborn again, is a teenager in comparison. As far as I can tell, he’s been in a state comparable to heavy sleep for eons now, only waking up once in a while. They’re the voice behind the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, but that voice has been silent for almost as long as the current emperor has reigned. Hence why we’re at this point now. I can only assume they’ve reached a point where they’ve had enough.”

“And you want your daughter to take up the job after all that?” Hope wasn’t too pleased by the prospect.

Khaine was quick and firm with her answer. “Compared to the alternatives? Would you rather Pride or Greed takes the role? Make no mistake, both of them are aiming for it. And so are certain other people even worse than those two. So yes, I do prefer she take the role. Remember, they’d have absolute power.”

"The prospect doesn't exactly fill me with glee," Hope admitted with a frown.

“There are a couple of things that stood out from what you’ve told us so far. You mentioned ‘we’ several times, and I don’t think you referred to just you and the Head Judge of the River of Souls. Secondly, you seem to know an awful lot about me.” Karna narrowed down on two points.

“I did tell you I’ve been preparing this for a while. Surely you didn’t think I picked you randomly? And like I said, this isn’t the first time we’ve met. And before you ask, no I won’t tell you when and where. You’ll just have to figure that one out on your own. As for ‘we’, I’ve gathered some allies. Some more reliable than others. What unifies us is the need to address the situation. I’ll introduce you in the near future. Keep in mind though, that they will likely have their own goals and aren't necessarily fervent supporters. We have a unified purpose but that only takes us so far." Khaine didn't seem to have any illusions about the loyalty of said allies.

The goddess continued. “Which brings us to the next point. Greed at least has a very powerful position in the Royal Family and has been preparing for something like this for hundreds of years. I’ve done my best to prepare as well, but there are too many parties involved. We can relatively safely rely on House Titannica, but they alone aren’t enough support. We need more allies, both political and military. Most of all though, we need to bring other True Gods to our side.”

“We need to take a lay of the land.” Envy was quick to interject. “We certainly won’t reject your help out of hand, but you just dropped quite a lot on us, and do excuse me for not taking everything you've said on blind faith. As you said, everyone has their own goals."

"Fair enough." The goddess stood from her relaxed seat and prepared to move back towards the festive hall where the warriors were still gathered. "Just don't take too long. We don't have an endless amount of time, and our enemies aren't just staying still either. And I still need to have a private word with my daughter later on.”

As the goddess exited the room, Hope quickly wove a ward to prevent eavesdropping. “Well. That was something, wasn’t it? Am I the only one that feels like we just became tools in someone’s toolbox?”

“Only if we submit to being used as tools.” Envy quickly protested.

"We might have limited choice." Valor argued. "She is right about needing allies and allying with Wrath’s mother certainly has advantages over allying with many other groups.”

“Still, Envy has a point. Blind trust is not something we should give out.” Wrath felt a bit pensive at her own lack of information on the subject. She wasn’t used to not being the most knowledgeable person in the room. “Her information on this mysterious figure especially seemed on shaky grounds. The problem is that I don’t have any better information either. My avoidance of this universe might have come back to bite at me. Still, we should keep our options open. For one, I’m not fully convinced about the part where others are not able to take the position. We’ll have to keep our eyes open.”