Chapter 5

It was the way of things, Ferona lamented, that while the gods were many in number, the fate of the world lay in the hands of only a few. She hated war; she was a lover of the harvest, of things that grew. She wept at the ravaged lands of the mortal realm, at the poisoned soil, and all the farms laid to waste.

There were six of them in all. Ferona could not claim to be entirely pleased with who had answered her summons. Theladin arrived, prepared to be excitedly agreeable but, as usual, rarely contributing anything of substance to the conversation. The other gods had become accustomed to the soot dancing from the God of the Forge's hair and falling into the tufts of his coal-stained robes, as he tended to nod enthusiastically during such gatherings. She knew that when it came down to it, he would side with whoever called the loudest. Archon and Nulir had not even responded to her plea; Nulir was undoubtedly off adventuring on the high seas. He cared not what happened in the world while he was absorbed by his fantasies. Archon loved to build; where cities were razed to the ground, he saw only a blank canvas for his creations.

Then there was Fisa, with her perpetual windswept look despite the still air. Her presence barely registered with Ferona, who often overlooked Fisa’s contributions due to her mortal heritage. But Fisa’s mind was an ever-shifting whirlwind of creativity and innovation, hard to follow, much like the winds she commanded.

Orcelius, at least, was someone she could work with. He was furious at the destruction of the great institutions of magical learning. He would do anything to stop the war and return the world to tranquility so mortals could pursue a magical education once more.

That left only Varyssa, the dreamer, and Gadolc, the loneliest of gods. She had always liked Varyssa but found Gadolc to be quite strange. Today, they both carried an unmistakable air of sadness.

Ferona had no way of knowing that the two had their own plots for ending the war. They sat on opposite ends of the council table and didn’t acknowledge each other. It was easier to keep their relationship secret from the others. They saw the war for what it was: a culmination of neglect and irresponsibility on behalf of all of the gods.

“I have assembled this council because we can no longer remain neutral in this war,” Ferona told the room. “We have to do everything in our power to end the fighting and restore order.”

“Yes, quite right, I agree,” said Theladin, sharpening his blade.

“Our efforts must go beyond ending the war,” said Varyssa.

“How can you say that? Ending the war is everything. Ending the war is how we bring back life to the mortal world,” said Ferona.

“This war is a symptom. The relationship between our order and the mortal world is far too volatile. It always has been, with our power connected to mortal worshippers. It is not enough to end the war,” said Varyssa. “Please, we must establish a new order, a new set of agreements so that the gods may no longer descend to the mortal plane. We must leave that world behind.”

“Nonsense! Let me remind you that this is my council meeting, Varyssa. I will set the terms of discussion here.”

“You do not like the idea of leaving the mortal realm behind. I know, Ferona, you have a special relationship with the living beings of this world.”

“What would you have us do? Not all of us are content to play amongst the clouds as you are! You would condemn us to an eternity of boredom.”

“I quite agree with Ferona,” interjected Orcelius. “My business is with the mortal universities. The sky is nothing to me.”

Fisa’s voice, barely a whisper amidst the heated discussion, added, "Maybe we could find a way to influence without direct presence... like guiding the winds from afar."

Ferona glanced at her dismissively, thinking Fisa's suggestions were too airy and ungrounded to take seriously.

“What do you say, Gadolc? On what terms should we end this war?” asked Theladin, unwilling to take a stance until he knew where all the others stood.

“Mmm….”

“Errr, right then. In that case, I’m on Ferona’s side. No point in being immortal gods if we give up access to our domain,” said Theladin. Varyssa exhaled; she was not surprised to be met with this response. The gods were selfish, and convincing them to give up their playthings would not be easy.  But Varyssa felt a faint breeze of possibility stir within her mind.