The Greatest Sin

Ilwin Tremali stared at Arascus in disbelief. There was a time when ‘Head of Special Operations’ meant an assassination here and there. Looting a warehouse, maybe stopping a train. Now his timetable was filled with scouting, information gathering and kidnappings. And now… now this…

“Sir, I…” Ilwin said. “Can it be done? I assume it can. It’s just never been done before.”

“Your grandfather killed a God.” Arascus said. “Acquiring planes should be nothing.”

Kavaa sat in the Spring Garden. The Goddess of Love had called her and Iniri for a discussion. The Goddess of Health was dressed as she always was, in a simple green dress. There wasn’t any need to carry the battle armour of Peace and Order, nor the blinding silks of Light or Magic, she could wear rags and the respect she commanded would not drop an inch. Iniri was much the same, other Divines found her colourful dresses an ugly clash of colours, Kavaa was actually quite fond of them. Today, the short Goddess was dressed like a wheat field, all golden browns and yellows.

They shared Helenna’s little table. It was just large enough to fit the three divines around it, although by mortal stands, it could have fit a whole family. The Spring Garden itself was an island of vibrant life in the cold ocean of marble in Olympiada, with streams and flowers and trees and bushes and insects flying around. Kavaa, Helenna and Iniri all maintained it, it always made Kavaa feel good inside. The Gods should operate like this, together, striving for unity. It was a shame that the Spring Garden was one of the few Divine group projects.

“I have…” Helenna wasn’t herself today. Her smile had withered, her eyes grown heavy. Even her dress wasn’t that usual striking crimson but a pale black. Her hair had grown white and she swirled the tea in her cup. “I have come to a conclusion.”

“I already assume it’s something dreadful.” Iniri said and forced out a laugh. “Judging from how you look today.”

“We know Atis is dead.” Helenna said slowly. “And we know Leona…” Kavaa nodded along, the berry tea lost its flavour when she thought about that. “Well…”

“Leona will die most likely.” Kavaa said. Of the three, she was the always most direct. Treating terminal patients made you that way.

“Maybe if Allasaria and Maisara got along.” Iniri said quietly.

“If they did, the situation would be different entirely.” Helenna said. “I have suspect Leona’s death is something to do with the two of them.”

“You think so?” Kavaa asked.

“It’s just a gut feeling.” Helenna said and shrugged. “I don’t think either would harm Leona directly but… well we saw how they went at each other last time.”

“If we could convince Fortia maybe she could convince Maisara.” Kavaa said the thought because it needed to be said, not because it had any hope of coming to fruition.

“That’s like saying we can convince Elassa in the hopes of convincing Allasaria.” Iniri replied. Just as ridiculous an idea. Fortia was polite to them because they didn’t get in the way, but there was no reason to pretend she thought highly of Love, Bounty and Health. Helenna nodded, leaned back and sighed, she flicked her hair as it started to change to a dark shade.”

“So I think we have to consider something.” Each word Helenna voiced added another touch of blackness to her flowing locks. “And that is what happens in the future. Not the far future, but the near future. I’m not going to panic that the Pantheon will collapse tomorrow but ten years? Five?” Those locks were grey now. “And what happens to us? Maisara and Fortia, Allasaria and Elassa, Zerus, even Theosius all have talents which are useful in crisis like that.”

“Kavaa can heal.” Iniri said quietly.

“It’s not the same.” Kavaa said. Helenna came in to back her up.

“Oh please Iniri. Kavaa’s healing is used like your harvests. We’re here to be used as morale tools, we’ll be lucky if they let us pick the colour of a flag.”

“They didn’t last time.” Kavaa said and the other two nodded. “So what did you want to tell us?”

“Of the White Pantheon, we are the three weakest.” Helenna said. “We can’t stand against Allasaria’s or Maisara’s factions and Zerus only took us under his wing for so long because he sees everyone as his child.” The woman’s hair had become pitch black as her eyes started to flare red.

“I concur, we can’t expect him to protect us if it actually means he’ll have to take a risk.” Iniri said.

“He won’t venture against any of the big abstracts.” Kavaa added. “But what then? Are you saying we throw in with either of them?”

“Do you want to be a pocket healer for another thousand years?” Helenna asked. “Or you Iniri? Reduced to tending the gardens? I have nothing to say about myself, I don’t think there’s a single of the big names that actually like me.” Kavaa thought for a moment and nodded.

“If you got killed, there’d be so many suspects I don’t even know who to point the finger at.”

“If I got killed, they’d probably declare it a day of rest.” Helenna said and the two other Goddesses laughed.

“How long do you think we have?” Kavaa asked. Helenna drank the rest of the tea and checked the big porcelain pot in the centre of the table, it was empty.

“I have no plan to die anytime soon, and I’m not so weak that it would be easy to kill me.” That much was true too. The blast she was hit with in the meeting where they discovered Atis had died would have split cut a hole straight through Kavaa. Iniri, it would split in two. Helenna, it only broke the skin and burned some muscle.

“Elassa maybe, but Alla? Mai? Fortia? You can’t take any of them on.” Iniri said.

“That is true, I cannot.” Helenna said. “But we three have a distinct advantage compared to anyone else.”

“And that is?” Iniri asked.

“We don’t need to fight in competitions of Divine strength, unlike the rest of them.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kavaa asked.

“In the Great War, what did we do? You Kavaa served as the healer. How many millions did your arts save? Your clerical orders still exist and from what I remember, they’re quite excellent in combat too.”

“They’re better than most men.” Kavaa said. They weren’t Maisara’s Paladins, Fortia’s Guardians or Allasaria’s Seekers, but then no one was. Being fourth wasn’t too bad either, Kavaa was more than happy with her Divine Order.

“And you Iniri. You organised almost all of our logistics. A fortress with you can never run out of food, with Kavaa, it can never fall ill, with the two of you put together, it simply cannot fall to siege.”

“You’re not the worst either Helenna.” Iniri said.

“My spies are the best in the world. I don’t think that has to be said.” Helenna said, her hair growing orange, then red as Iniri and Kavaa agreed. The only person who could potentially be a better spy would be Leona, but then Leona was better at everything than everyone. “So we expand the fight.”

“You mean, you want to turn it into a war?” Kavaa asked.

“No. While Maisara and Allasaria play around with each other, I want us to build an army. We didn’t prepare for this a thousand years ago and look how we have been treated for a millennia.” Iniri and Kavaa sat in silence for a few minutes as they considered Helenna’s proposition. That much was true, they were just strong enough to be useful, and but not strong enough to be worth worrying about. It was the worst of both worlds, someone like Atis could at least disappear whenever he wanted and no one would worry. If Kavaa left for even a few days, she would immediately be called back because one of the big names had injured someone. ‘Pocket healer’ really was the perfect term for her.

“Are you sure?” The Goddess of Health finally asked.

“The three of us cannot train men like them, nor can we fight them in duels, but we can inspire and support. If Allasaria or Maisara take a year to raise an army of a million, then we can do twice as much in half the time.” Kavaa crossed her arms, her green dress flowing like grass as she furrowed her brow.

“Your idea is grand but there is an issue.”

“What is it?” Helenna asked.

“Supporting we can do, but leading?” Kavaa raised an eyebrow. “Let’s not delude ourselves, there is a reason that Allasaria and Maisara have taken the forefront. That even Zerus carries more respect among the Pantheon than the three of us combined.” Kavaa shook her head, her brown hair swaying side to side. “We’re not leaders Helenna.”

“That is backwards mentality Kavaa.” Helenna said. “We’re not in the age of aristocrats telling peasants what to do, we’re in the age of governments bowing to the people, and the people are on our side.”

“Only because we have eternal peace, when that ends, we’re the prize people aim for, not the tools they use to get the prize. We’re not Gods of action, we’re Gods of supporting people.”

“But there is a God of action who will work for us.” Helenna said, she didn’t smile or laugh, she simply leaned in and lowered her voice.

“Is there?” Kavaa said doubtfully. “Who? Who will swing their sword at our behest instead of just chaining us to them?”

“The one who is undefeatable when given an army. Who would appreciate us as treasures, rather than tools. We wouldn’t be children to rule over, we would be partners in a relationship.” Kavaa rolled her eyes, what apt language from the Goddess of Love.

“There is no one like that in the White Pantheon.”

“Not in the White Pantheon, but she’s here in Olympiada.” Iniri’s face paled as she realised something. Kavaa simply strengthened her tone. She generally liked Helenna, but the woman loved being overdramatic.

“You don’t mean…” Iniri said. It only made Kavaa more annoyed that Iniri always understood things before she did.

“Who is it Helenna?” Kavaa wished she could demand in the same terrifying way Maisara could.

“The Goddess who wishes for nothing more but an army to command, and who does not care about issues of Peace. Who would give us free reign in times of calm as long as we stand by her side during storms.” Kavaa raised an eyebrow as Helenna’s hair turned red and her eyes started to sparkle with sheer excitement. Her cheeks flushed and even her dress started to become fiery. She looked almost mad for a moment, a woman caught up in all the ecstasy of blind love and unable to think clearly, but her words were free of all delusion. They were a freezing avalanche that sent a shiver down Kavaa’s spine:

“Kassandora, Goddess of War.”