Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave, Anneliese, and Melanie sat behind a pure white judge’s bench, lined up side-by-side but angled inward as though to surround something. Durran, Elenore, and Galamon stood behind them, serving in an advisory role. And across from them sat gods—but it wasn’t as though either occupied a position of authority over the other. Rather, god and mortal had the same domineering bench, and neither rested at an elevated level. Argrave had just finished explaining his offer—the heist against Erlebnis, and the hope for a mutually beneficial alliance in the fights to come.

Now, all that remained was a grand hearing, where the three of them judged the gods while they were judged in turn.

He saw a sword rising from the ground, its hilt a scale—a medium to convey the will of Law, formless god of rulership, justice, and authority. He saw Almazora, the pale-skinned goddess of magic, in a quaint purple robe with her long hair that seemed to be a window into space. He saw Yinther, god of exploration, discovery, and curiosity, who appeared to be little more than a blonde-haired boy with rough clothes and a large backpack.

And then, in the back, Raccomen and Rook sat atop the benches. Raccomen governed space, and wore a decadent burgundy outfit with jewels on it that seemed to contain infinite space within. Even his rings contained small galaxies. Rook, meanwhile, wore all black. His skin was dark, too, and even his eyes and hair were shadowed. He had a smiling face that made it hard to dislike him.

“The reason I called upon all of you, in particular, is that each of you have no love for the Qircassian Coalition or Erlebnis. I can promise you and your followers access to Berendar, under the expectation that no harm is done to my people,” Argrave tapped the white judge bench firmly. “From there… let us speak of further costs, and whether or not this alliance we proposed entices you.”

“I could bless Anneliese with Truesight, and name her my champion,” the boyish Yinther declared first, gesturing toward her. “I have no further cost for this. She embodies the spirit that gave birth to me: a childlike curiosity, where the whole world needs to be understood. And the heist with Erlebnis… sounds interesting. I can get involved.”

Argrave nodded, expecting this. As he did, Law began to convey its will. Its presence emanated out from the sword, and though no words came, Law’s thoughts were conveyed in complete clarity. In order for it to participate in the heist against Erlebnis, they must declare the act beforehand. Failing that, Law will give its blessings to Argrave, and name him champion, if he builds a church to Law in Blackgard.

Argrave smiled—building a church was amenable, but there was no way in hell he’d declare his heist before he did it.

“Is the declaration necessary?” Argrave pressed.

Law’s will came again—even in war, there must be law. It was a necessary condition.

Argrave nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself.

Almazora spoke next, saying, “I will allow Anneliese or Argrave to champion me, giving them the blessing of formless magic. They pleased me greatly with their advances into magic, and their contribution to the field in Berendar has earned my favor. All I ask is that they allow me access to their minds, that any knowledge of magic they gain comes to me at once. My privilege would end there, mind you.”

Argrave looked to Anneliese, nodding in silence. Formless magic would benefit her far more than it would him.

“We’re happy with either Melanie or Argrave,” Rook and Raccomen said from the back, in tune with one another.

Melanie exhaled in relief—she seemed glad that one, at least, had called her out.

“Heists are my bread and butter. Been a while since I tried one on Erlebnis,” Rook said with a smile. “I can bring some guys—trusted guys. On top of that, I can allow either of you two the ability to hide any object he can carry with one hand, obscuring it from sight. But changing the face at will, which I can do… wouldn’t help Argrave much, being the size he is and all. You, Melanie… that’s different. And on top of all that, I can allow you to shroud your surroundings in a darkness only you can see through. All I’d ask is for a taste of something Erlebnis has. The details can come later.”

“I’m not so grand as my half-brother,” Raccomen cut in. “I can offer one thing: mastery over space in close proximity. Provided you’ve been there before physically in the last ten minutes or so, you can create gaps between two locations that shouldn’t exist. You fold the plane inward onto itself, allowing short distance teleportation of things, or people, in rapid succession. Could be spells,” he pointed at Argrave. “Could be your chains, or that sword of yours.” He looked at Melanie next. “As for my cost for this boon… you have to accept the presence of me and my followers in Berendar on a permanent basis, even after this cycle is done.”

“I can spare a section,” Argrave shook his head. “But the whole of the continent? I can’t, not on good faith.”

“Which section?” Raccomen asked.

Argrave thought on it, then looked back to Elenore. She quicky stepped forward and suggested something, which he repeated at once. “The uninhabited plains west of the Order of the Gray Owl,” he proposed.

“And part of the mountains north of Birall,” Raccomen pressed. “Where no living beings inhabit, I should add.”

“That’s…” Argrave thought if he needed that land, and Elenore gave him a nod. “That’s doable.”

Melanie tugged Argrave’s sleeve, and he looked over. She whispered to him, “You can’t champion more than one, right? But you can get blessings from multiple gods.”

“Yeah. But blessings aren’t something given lightly. It’s a piece of them given away, in essence, that’s promised until our death,” Argrave explained. “It weakens them, even if only in part. I can’t imagine we can manage to get a buffet.”

Melanie bit at her lip, thinking hard. “Can I propose something?”

“Feel free,” Argrave raised his brows curiously, then beckoned everyone over.

As Melanie explained her plan, the aspects of the gods waited mute. After an intense but quiet discussion, they all went back to their spots.

“We’d like to propose an alternate idea,” Argrave began, then gestured toward Melanie.

Melanie looked surprised to be given initiative, and cleared her throat in apprehension. “Well… that’s… rather than this merely being an alliance between an individual representing Vasquer and an individual god… why not make this into a more cohesive, if temporary, union? A total alliance between all parties. This would include those who our companions have already sought out, provided they are amenable as well.”

She looked at Argrave, and he gave her a thumbs up. He hadn’t known she could speak that formally.

“I am comfortable championing Yinther,” Anneliese put her hand to her chest. “But if Almazora would join this union and offer her blessing of formless magic, I can represent her interests in Veiden as well as Berendar.”

“As mentioned already, I would champion Law, and I would agree to establish a church in Blackgard,” Argrave held his arms out, leaving out the part about refusing to honorably declare that he would steal from Erlebnis.

“And Rook, Raccomen… if I heard right, you’re half-brothers? I don’t think you’d protest to cooperating with your brother’s champion, maybe giving a little extra help, right? And joining this union—we’d all be safer,” she proposed hopefully.

The gods were silent, and then Almazora raised her hand. “Allow us time,” she requested.

Just as they had talked among themselves, the gods did the same. Argrave looked at all of his companions nervously. In time, Argrave saw those who had already blessed the others appearing, piece by piece—Veid, Lira, and Stout Heart Swan. And finally, their discussion ended.

“This idea of a union does appeal to all parties,” Almazora spoke for them all. “But more concessions must be made.”

Argrave took a deep breath to ask steadily, “What would work?”

“All other requisites hold true—Rook’s share of the spoils, Raccomen’s request of land. Raccomen will name Melanie his champion, while Rook will bless her. In turn, I will allow Yinther to name Anneliese champion while I bless her with formless magic. For Rook and me to overextend ourselves like this, however, we need a mortal champion of suitable stature. Only once we have them will Raccomen and I fulfill our part of the deal.

“Additionally,” Almazora continued, raising her finger. “Though Law’s matter of a church is an expense borne by you, Argrave, we would ask that you merely not restrict any of us in proselytizing to your people or in establishing a church of our own.”

Argrave hesitatef—he didn’t like the idea of too many gods getting their roots established. But then… all these arrayed before him were largely good, save perhaps Rook, and even he was mostly neutral. And if they did succeed in ending the cycle of judgment… would there even be gods to fret over?

Still, Argrave called his people once again, and talked with them. And after significant discussion…

“We can agree with one more adage,” Argrave began. “Even after this cycle of judgment, however it might end, Vasquer… or its successor states, I suppose, should be given the opportunity to renew this union. If they refuse, so be it. But I want them to have the option.”

Almazora looked between all of them. “Done,” she declared. “In honor of your capital and your ambition, I propose we name this the Blackgard Union.”

Argrave didn’t want to say yes to the name, but he seemed to be in the minority as relief flooded over all of his companions. Begrudgingly, he nodded. “Let’s make this official, then.”

#####

With the establishment of the Blackgard Union, all of them finally left the dreadful White Planes, having changed in many ways. Once outside, the bright greenery around and the manifold smells were almost overwhelming in comparison to that endless sterile whiteness. But their duty was over. And they had succeeded, splendidly. In particular…

“Most valuable player, right here,” Argrave poked Melanie’s head as they looked around. “Beautiful work, Melanie. Beautiful idea.”

“Alright, knock it off,” she waved his hand away, though he didn’t miss her red cheeks.

“Welcome back, Your Majesty, Your Highness, everyone,” greeted Orion.

The Alchemist looked down upon them. “It seems you’ve done acceptably,” he noted, looking upon all of them.

Argrave looked up at the giant. “Definitely. We have a lot of serious help, now.”

“But what do we actually do?” Melanie asked. “I mean, what’s changed?”

“Everything’s changed,” Argrave said. “Our little union is a minor player in the major players, but it’s still major nonetheless. And our burst onto the worldwide scene is going to be rather spectacular.”

“It’s time to mobilize,” Elenore stepped ahead of Argrave. “Get Durran hunting gods. Get us prepared to venture to the Ebon Cult. Get the Alchemist to work with the gods we allied, obtaining all he needs to make the heist a success. To start—Durran, Argrave. Hands. I’d like to test my first connection.”

Durran offered his hand like an obedient puppy, and then Argrave followed shortly after. She touched them in turn, and then Argrave felt a distinct change.

“There,” she said, pulling back her hand. “Now, we can communicate no matter how far away we are. I can make more of these once my mind isn’t all… jumbled up.”

“I can see the connection,” Anneliese said wondrously. “And…” she looked over at the Alchemist. Truesight, Yinther’s blessing, was something the player could obtain in game. He knew what she saw—the vastness of the Alchemist’s being, and the complexity of it. She exhaled in some shock, and then looked away.

“It seems all of you have new abilities to adapt to,” the Alchemist said, looking down at her before turning to Argrave. “And promises to fulfill.”

Argrave nodded. “Not too many. But some. Take us back, will you? This is going to be a lot to adjust to, and it’s a little hard to do it out here.”

As the Alchemist nodded, Argrave had to admit… he was looking forward to bringing Law to his kingdom. And everyone else had changes just as monumental to deal with.