The Greatest Sin

Some people clamour for glory. They crave prestige. Power is their drug of choice.

It was foisted upon me. I was made figurehead symbolically, Irinika was the deadliest of Arascus’ adopted Goddesses so naturally Light should be chosen to counter Darkness. Light is malleable, it could be interpreted in whatever fashion one wished unlike Maisara’s Order or Fortia’s Peace.

Now the Pantheon rests on my shoulders alone.

Excerpt from Allasaria’s Diary.

Allasaria sat in her office, two maids in prim white gowns almost matching their Goddesses white silken robes were waiting for her to finish scrawling letters. One to the Rancais government, the other to Doschia. Even a century ago, Allasaria would have considered the letters needless bureaucracy at best, a humiliation at worst. The leader of the White Pantheon begging for governments to allow Divines to support their police forces against Anarchia’s… anarchy. Mascot Divines were a mistake, the amount of pride they felt in their station was far too great. Doschia’s Saksma and Rancais’s Paida were strong individually but their presence made any sort of further Epan Community integration go from difficult to impossible.

Allasaria finished the letter to Doschia’s government. If this failed, she would try a tribute, a parade or something. Hell, she would even send them Helenna, Kavaa and Iniri if they wished for it, those three were always good for the economy.

Allasaria folded the letters and concluded them with the official stamp of the White Pantheon; a mountain rising out of clouds. She had put so much into this project and yet it still felt like every step anyone took here cracked another one of the precious few foundations remaining. Allasaria sighed and handed the letters to the maids. They already knew where to send them. Sometimes the other Divines complained about the amount of servants Allasaria had underneath her, Allasaria did not care for those words in the slightest: they were playing politics as she was managing the world.

The maids left and Allasaria was left alone in her office. It was a grand place, long ago, it had been one of her favourite locations. She remembered the discussions and organisation that went on here, especially during the first century after the Great War, those grand reconstruction efforts were even the neutral Divines would come and ask on how they could rebuild the world into something that would never have a Great War again.

Magical lamps floated in the air, papers littered her desks, she had two monitors installed on the wall to constantly be broadcasting the news. Doschia’s stock market beginning to slow down whereas Rancais had all but fallen into open rebellion. That foolish government was still trying to negotiate with Anarchia’s men in an attempt to stop the violence that was tearing the country apart.

Who a thousand years ago would have predicted a Goddess of Anarchy? There were always those who believed in a lack of hierarchy, but when did that love for equality transform into a need for chaos? If she didn’t know Olephia personally, Allasaria would have believed it was her behind this unrest.

She opened another report. The two hundred Seekers she sent personally after Leona informed her to go check on what happened to the men sent after Atis. They should have communicated by now, but the weather in Eastern Karaina was terrible, storms had swept in and forced the surveillance drones away, whereas the atmospheric models took pictures only of dark clouds. The moment she heard Leona’s voice, she had written off Elijah’s expedition as missing in action, the lot of them were more than likely dead, but then if they were simply dead in a storm, Leona would have not called.

The door to her office opened and Allasaria’s day got from bad to worse. Fortia stepped into her office in that golden armour of hers. Battleskirt, chest-plate, tall boots and all, the only thing she lacked was her helmet. Allasaria didn’t even bother to stand up, if Fortia came with Maisara then it was for another ridiculous demand, if she came without… scheming was the most likely option. “What is it?” Allasaria asked, she was in no mood for scheming today.

Fortia closed the door behind herself, pulled up one of the huge chairs specifically crafted for Divines and sat in front of Allasaria’s desk. The Goddess of Peace did it with such flair she may as well have been in a theatre. “This is the last time I ask, what is it?” Fortia merely pulled out a stack of papers and put it on the table:

White Pantheon Two: New Foundations in a New Age.

By Goddess Fortia, of Peace. With advice & excerpts taken from others.

“What is this?” Allasaria picked up the papers, it may as well have been a tome in thickness. “Fortia, I don’t have the time for this.”

“The White Pantheon has failed.” Fortia said, Allasaria wondered if she was like this with her beloved Maisara too or if the dramatization was only for her. “This is how to stop our coming war.”

“You know I’ve heard this talk before.”

“I’m not here to drag us into war.”

“But you will.” Allasaria said. “Because if we follow your ideals, then it won’t be war within the White Pantheon, it will be war with the world.”

“It won’t be that.” Fortia said, shaking her head. Her golden hair swung from side to side.

“Did Maisara help you write this?” Allasaria flicked the first page. She knew the answer when she saw the neatly organised contents page, it had Maisara’s touch practically spilling out of it.

“She did.”

“I thought so.” Allasaria said idly as she scanned the page. Point One: On the formation of the Pantheon. Point Two: On Hierarchy. Point Three: On Divines. Points four… five… Point Seventeen: On Foreign Policy. The fact such an issue lay so far down the page said everything Allasaria needed to know. She flicked to the page, the very first sentence was a problem: On the urgency to reestablish Divine participation within national politics. “This is exactly what we are not doing Fortia.”

“This is the one thing we can do to stop war. I and Maisara would take the Anarchian threat, you would be left to manage the Pantheon.”

“Do you think I want to manage the Pantheon?” Allasaria asked incredulously. Fortia was good, but she wasn’t a schemer like Helenna, and Allasaria had long since learned how to handle Helenna. Of Peace’s little tremble of her lips, the little flicker in those golden eyes revealed the intention.

“We could always swap.” Fortia asked innocently.

“You are incapable of leading the Pantheon Fortia, you or Maisara would destroy it.”

“I see the Pantheon falling apart right now, Atis is dead and Leona will die sooner rather than later. Who is incapable between the two of us?” Allasaria thought about launching Fortia out of her office there and then. She held off on the thought, this woman held grudges like no other.

“Between the two of us, who has held the Pantheon together for a thousand years and counting?” Allasaria asked.

“Leona’s luck has.” And there it was. Allasaria hated this theory. Leona was important, yes, but her luck binding the Pantheon? If anything, it was fear of her luck that stopped the rest of the Divines from engaging in childish drama. The moment they sensed weakness in Lady Luck, they started circling the woman in some veneer of trying to honour and protect her.

“I have Fortia. It was my doing. Leona’s powers do not predict the tedium of the day-to-day.”

“Do you know that?” Fortia asked quickly, too quickly for Allasaria’s liking.

“If they do, then she does not share, the point still stands.” Allasaria said and caught herself from saying anymore. Why did she even try? What was the point? Did she actually think she could try and convince Fortia? She had been trying for a thousand years.

“When Leona dies, it will be over for the Pantheon. You know that.”

“The Pantheon is mine. I was chosen in a unanimous vote, I will lead it.” Allasaria said.

“You are leading us into war.” Fortia said and Allasaria felt something snap in her heart. Leading us into war? Into war? Her? It was one thing for the Goddess of Peace to talk about her own domain, it was another entirely to try and gaslight her into this. Allasaria leaned back. If words won’t work, then she supposed it was once again a time for threats.

“Fortia. You are welcome to do whatever you wish to do. Do you think I don’t know about the fact you’ve been visiting Kassandora, that Maisara has too? Do you two seriously think you are so smart you can play like this on my mountain? Do you think that Maisara’s sector turning into a fortress went unnoticed? Do you know why I don’t stop you?”

That finally quelled Fortia’s eagerness. Allasaria only continued as she stood up to look down on the Goddess of Peace. “Do you think I’m scared of you? Do you think you making your little troop movements worry me more than what is happening in Rancais? Do you think I even care what you do Fortia? You cannot lead the Pantheon because you’re incapable of leading.”

“And are you better?” Fortia said, but the strength had gone from her tone. Allasaria knew that without an audience, the Goddess of Peace would give up.

“You placed me on this throne. You gave me a world filled with war, ashes, death and rubble and I’ve singlehandedly built a peace that has lasted a thousand years, a prosperity unseen in history, advancements we couldn’t even imagine a millennia ago!” Allasaria shouted. “And now what? Do you want it? Do you think I want to sit here? Do you think I would not hand it off the first chance I got? How many times do you think I’ve begged Leona to take the throne?”

Fortia took a step back as Allasaria unconsciously started to float into the air, still shouting, her hair starting to rise around her. “I didn’t allow Ciria to join the Pantheon because I didn’t want her to see the squabbling embarrassment you are! I created the Epan Community to replace us! Why do I not give you throne? Because you are a child Fortia! You and Maisara and Helenna! Anyone in the Pantheon who dreams of the seat I hold is instantly disqualified from it! Your peace would be a peace so terrible it would hurl us into a war the likes of which we’ve not seen since Arascus!”

“I am the Goddess of Peace!” Fortia shouted back but as she did, she took a step back from Allasaria.

“Then keep the peace! But if you want war, then know I am far better at it than you are. Every trick you can think of, I’ve done already. You were a mere general back in the Great War, I was the Champion.” Allasaria blinked, she realised the power growing in her hands and she set herself back on her seat. She pointed at Fortia’s ridiculous plan that she had written. “Take that and never show it to me again. If you want to hold out until Leona’s death, then go ahead.”

“I do not want war with you.”

“You yourself said I was leading this Pantheon into war. Then go, prepare for it. You have my full permission. If you make one move against me. If one Seeker falls to a Guardian’s blade, I will personally cleanse your Order from existence.”