The God of Order

Within the Divine Realm, Nama the Goddess of Wisdom had been summoned to meet with Rigus the God of Order for having broken one of the Divine Laws that all the Divine are held to.

"You broke one of the most important rules, Nama." Holding a pipe in one hand, the God of Order, Rigus, watched the Goddess of Wisdom carefully. "Why did you give the mortal Savina a second chance at life? As the Goddess of Wisdom, one of the first. You should know why this is not allowed. Champions are to be selected solely from worlds outside our own."

"I know that Rigus, please don't recite the rules back to me when I helped write them." Nama retorted.

Squinting, Rigus slowly ran a hand through his silver hair. "So you admit that you made the mortal Savina your Champion, fully knowing that you would be breaking the Divine Laws we all abide by, the ones you admit you helped create so many nights ago?"

"No I, wait- wait a second don't try and back me into a corner Rigus, it's just," Leaning forward slightly, Nama held her wrist. "Savina isn't as bad as she is made out to be. Sure, she did some bad things in her youth. Made some poor decisions which resulted in lots of bloodshed. Such decisions impacted a lot of people's views of her throughout her life. Mortal and Divine. But I've been watching her since before those decisions were made. Since the day she first prayed to me."

Taking a puff from his pipe, Rigus blew the smoke into the air. "All of that may be well and true, but you haven't answered my question. Why did you break our Divine Laws?"

Exhaling, Nama stood up. Walking to a nearby window, Nama crossed her arms looking out of the window. "Why are we here, Rigus, if you actually wanted to hold me accountable for my actions. You would have enacted the court. You would have brought every God and Goddess that still resides within the Divine Realm to stand witness?"

"I wanted to investigate why you broke the Divine Laws," Rigus replied calmly.

"It's not as simple as that." Nama sighed. "It is never simple when it comes to you. If any other Divine broke the laws, you would have taken them to trial and had them punished. But not me…" Hesitating, Nama leant her back against the glass panes. "You've felt it too, haven't you?" Tapping the ashes of his pipe into a small tray, Nama slightly scowled. "I'll take your silence as truth. Without Savina, the destiny of the mortal and divine worlds would be on a collision course with a cataclysm that would wipe all life, man and god from their surface. You've felt it too, don't try to deny it. But with Savina given a second chance, she may be able to enact a destiny that doesn't lead the world to death and destruction, she has the power to prevent this cataclysm from happening."

"Only one God has the ability to see into the past and the future, but as you know, he and many others were banished down to the mortal world after the war. To limit their powers, to make them mortal. Do you remember this Nama?"

Tapping her foot, Nama nodded. "How could I forget, I wanted them to be forgiven… It almost serves as a cautionary tale to all the Divine. To not lose sight of our Divine purpose, or else our peers might turn on us and force us to live out the rest of our days with the lifespan of a human. I don't see how this fits into the situation, Rigus."

Rigus took another puff as Nama spoke. "You are the Goddess of Wisdom, it is your Divine purpose to become wise, to gain experience and knowledge. It is not your purpose to try to prevent cataclysms, that is left to such Divine who were born for such a purpose. Such as it is my duty to keep Order, such as it is Tirela's duty to enact Justice. We all follow a code."

"If that is all." Kicking off the wall, Nama began to make her way to the door. "I've got more pressing matters than arguing semantics with you for so many wasted days. I know you're the one preventing Savina from accessing her Champion Skills. I don't know how you're doing it, but relinquish the lock you have placed on her or actually take me to trial, otherwise, we're done here." Nama exclaimed, annoyed by the situation.

As Nama grabbed the doorknob, Rigus set his pipe to one side. "Tell me, Nama, when did you last summon a Champion from another world."

Stopping in her tracks, Nama turned to coldly glared at Rigus. "Watch where you're going with this Rigus, I'm warning you."

Continuing, Rigus walked to the front of his desk, leaning against it. "You become extremely attached to your Champions, Nama. Some Gods view their Champions as puppets, some as allies, even some of the Divine see their Champions as friends, but you. You view them as something more, you see them as family."

"As if you'd understand," Nama replied with increasing disdain for the conversation. "You haven't summoned a Champion in over six hundred years. This conversation is over."

As Nama flung the door open, it crashed against a nearby bookcase, causing a handful of books to fall out.

Watching Nama leave, Rigus looked at the fallen books on the floor. "Oh, Nama… I hope you know what you're doing."

~~

Savina was abruptly woken from her nap as the wagon bounced over a rock in the road, rubbing her face. Savina looked to her left, seeing that Rio had also decided to have a nap.

"Wait, if I'm here and Rio's here. Who's driving." Looking to the driver, Savina saw the back of Iseul's head, his hair ruffled by the wind. "Oh," Savina thought. "He's not wearing his helmet." Sitting up, Savina moved closer to Iseul. "Hey Iseul. Mind if I ask you a question?"

Shrugging, Iseul picked an apple from the box next to him, taking a bite out of it. Iseul gestured for Savina to join him.

Climbing into the seat. Savina looked at the half empty boxes of apples sat next to Iseul. "How many of those have you had?"

Looking at her for a second, Iseul took a second bite.

"Oh right sorry, I keep forgetting. I guess you must like apples." Looking up the road, Savina drummed the wagon seat with her fingers. "I know we've been on the road for almost a week now, and I haven't told Rio about who I am yet. It's just for some reason, every time I am about to tell him. I will tell him today, I promise."

Putting the apple in his mouth, Iseul held the reins in one hand and motioned for Savina to hurry up.

"So, the question I need to ask you before I tell Rio. Will you help me reclaim my throne? You're the Champion of a very renowned God. You're the perfect counter to any Beasts with how your Skills work. So I will need your help in the fight that comes after I get my throne back… Can you please use the system to talk, I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall."

Rolling his eyes, Iseul complied, opening the message system interface.

With a ding, Savina opened Iseul's message.

Iseul: 'Why would you need my help after you become Queen again? Surely at that point you'll have armies at your disposal."

Rubbing her hands together, Savina exhaled. "When I am Queen, I will have access to the full might of Ruoroa. All five of the branches will be back under my control. But an army is nothing in the face of a Champion. A new Champion is worth more than fifty men, a veteran Champion is worth more than an army. The reason I require your help Iseul is the same reason I need to find more Champions. The eastern Kingdoms were always looking for vulnerabilities in Ruoroa, I have no doubt that they will be attempting incursions to steal land from us."

Taking a bite from the apple, Iseul slightly flexed his fingers.

Iseul: 'You still haven't answered the question. Why do you need me? I've only been in this world for one year. There must be more veteran Champions you can use to fight your wars.'

"It's not all about having people fight Iseul. I have to find people I can trust. It's also not just the eastern Kingdoms. Remember that ghost town. The Beasts are making moves, they don't bother with politics, they just kill. Fight tooth and nail to win. You're the strongest counter, as the Champion of the Hunt, many of your skills are especially effective against Beasts. When the Beast King makes his move, or when a member of the Lineage makes a move on our home. I want you to be stood next to me."

Contemplating this, Iseul slightly turned his head to look behind him.

Iseul: 'Rio saved me when I was lost in this world. So I will do everything I can to help you regain your throne, to fight your enemies. As long as Rio is there.'

Looking to Rio, Savina smiled. "You two are really close."

Iseul: 'I guess we are.'

Nodding, Savina dismissed the message screen as she picked an apple out of the box. "I'll tell Rio when he wakes up." Moving to clamber back into the wagon, Savina put a hand on Iseul's shoulder. "Thank you Iseul."

Swiping his hand across the screen to dismiss it, Iseul could feel himself faintly smile as he returned to blankly staring up the dirt road as the wagon made its way north.