The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]
Chapter 288 – How The Tide Turns

Maisara, Allasaria, Irinika, Malam, Helenna and Fortia and even Fer will all profess to know how society should be structured. Who at the end of the day is correct? Do we take Order’s bastions of productivity? Where every home is a foundry and every smile is a waste? Peace’s militarized vigilance, with a permanent crusade against the shadow of war? Light and Darkness’ utterly monopolistic devotions, where the entire nation is united in its worship of their Goddess? What about the grand irony of Beasthood’s civilized anticivilization? Hatred’s pragmatism manipulates everyone to be best of what they are and Love’s endless tragedy descends into impulsive barbarism.

Looking at it, one can almost fall into nihilism. The moment any of these deities gain total control, they will revolutionize the world for the worse. It is because they are children. Each of them is infected with a childish pride, an unbending mold that constrains their specific ideals. What fits into the mold can stay, what does not is simply discarded, what a grand idea, if only the molds they were using weren’t the size of a fingernail.

There is only one difference between the other Divines and myself. They proclaim allegiance for their grandiose ideals, unable to see that they are in fact enforcing their own mentalities onto the world. I work for myself, I am here to rule because my personal pride will be inevitably better than the heartless ideals that can only communicate through spokespersons. I am here to make sure that Divinity does not crack the world apart. I am here to make sure that Divinity does not drive itself extinct through its own victory. I am here to do a great amount of things, but there is one thing I have never and will never proclaim to do.

I am not here to enforce utopia.

- Excerpt from Arascus’ Private Writings.

Arascus turned and looked out the window as he felt the plane start to turn. Elassa’s azure sea had finally given way to the endless ash of Starfall. The world below them may as well have been some barren planet. The skies were tinged with spotty black clouds of dirt and the ground was tableclothed with a sheet of wasteland. Greys and blacks and browns and pale whites formlessly splattered across the ground as the Sun started to hide behind the western horizon and the dark purples of oncoming night scattered stars from the east. And towards the south, like a mountain constructed of a thousand different lights, lay the city of Igos.

Ausa’s capital, the ash had been cleaned off and the city proudly waved its defiant flags. An ocean so dark it was almost black, endless ash before it. That ocean carried the Ausan Navy that had been built for the Reclamation War, now the ships were lined up in parade, as they prepared for one final parade. The cities grand Firewall, built centuries ago to protect it against the oncoming Jungle, had donned green and blue cloth. The ground within it had been cleared and for maybe the first time in the country’s history, the population was allowed to safely stroll along it since there was no Jungle to be called into anymore.

Arascus tuned back to Elassa, the Goddess sat there, arms crossed, foot tapping, everyone now and then she would look to Helenna’s report. And every now and then, her mouth would twist into an uncontrolled scowl. The God of Pride watched her for a moment longer, she was furious beyond belief, that much was obvious. Those blue eyes burned with an intensity matched only by the frustration in the woman’s expression. All Divines were jealous of their demesne yet as the woman sat there, there was only one comparison Arascus could make.

Sitting there, Elassa looked like a carbon copy of Neneria, the Goddess of Death was just as touchy as when someone even mentioned her demesne, much less actually tried to usurp it from her. He understood, to an extent. Arcadia was the woman’s first and last College of Magic. It had been established before all the other ones, it had outlasted all of them, and now Allasaria had split more than half the mages from it. Everyday that went by, more and more were leaving.

Yet if Elassa went, they both knew she would not be able to stem the flow. Her appearance there would only, in fact, make things worse. The Goddess had no backing anymore, nor had she ever been much good at securing funding for her people. Allasaria, for all her failings, knew how to manage. Arcadia had everything provided for it from White Pantheon coffers, the college could not even talk of dissent. It wasn’t that the cost of leaving the White Pantheon’s pull would be too great to bare, it was that if Arcadia left, then Arcadia would cease to exist.

“You should get changed.” Arascus said. Elassa narrowed her eyes and looked up at him.

“Excuse me?” She asked.

“You should get changed.” Arascus repeated. “There’s a uniform for you in the back.”

“You have a uniform for me already?” Elassa said, she didn’t move and Arascus noticed the combative shift in posture. “Did you think I was going to join you?”

“I predicted it.” Arascus said flatly. “We have an image to maintain. Today, it will come out that the Goddess of Magic has switched sides.” He looked at Elassa again; magician, noble, pretentious, magician, Divine, stubborn, argumentative, just downright terrible, arrogant in her demesne yet sympathetic out of it, a woman who wanted to be liked yet also liked the vanity that her title gave her. A need for relevance, just like Neneria. A fear of being made obsolete just as she had done to Iniri. Nothing like Kassandora, who hid herself behind an untouchable persona that needed to be cracked open before Arascus realised what he was dealing with, Elassa was an open book. Magician.

So she wasn’t difficult at all. “Blue doesn’t suit you.” Elassa blinked, her mouth dropped open, she looked down at herself.

“What are you talking about?”

“Blue doesn’t suit me either.” Arascus said. “So we don’t wear blue.”

“Blue is the colour of mana, I’ve always worn blue.” Elassa said.

“And silver is the colour of my blades yet I don’t wear silver.” Arascus said. “We’re not the Pantheon, we’re a professional organisation Elassa. Funnily enough, the dress code is one of the few things we don’t compromise on.” Elassa burst out in laughter.

“Are you actually going to make a big deal out of clothes?” She asked. “What? Are you going to say I can’t ally with you just because I wear this?” She picked at her battledress.

“If Kassandora could, she would throw a shirt over herself like a slob. Fer would prance around naked. We’re not farming ravens either so that Neneria can half spare feather cloaks, and Anassa pushes the line with how she dresses. If the rule is broken for you Elassa, it will be broken for everyone else.” Arascus maintained his gaze on the Goddess. “And frankly, it’s a good design.”

Elassa rolled her eyes and stood up with a sigh. “Back there?” She pointed to a small door, small for Arascus, huge for mortals, in the rear of this part of the cabin.

“Back there, on the left.” Arascus said as Elassa walked off. The uniform served two purposes, firstly, it was a test. Some Divines had utterly refused to wear the Imperial suits in the past, those had been kept out of all positions of power and reserved to the front line. If one’s need to own their self-expression was so great that they would refuse it, then how could be trusted to sacrifice anything more important? At the end of the day, Elassa had been correct, it was simply clothes at the end of the day. And secondly, it would send a message to Allasaria and the White Pantheon: This was not an Elassa in Arcadian Blue who was teetering towards Arascus and could still be salvaged, this was an Elassa who donned the Imperial Black openly. An Elassa had switched sides without reservation, there was no point even attempt to win her back.

Elassa returned just as the plane started to tilt downwards. She stood there, looking at Arascus, in her new look, her blue dress folded in her hand. Tall black boots, a black suit, a coat she hung around her shoulders, a black hat to match her cap. The symbol of Worldbreaking, three lightning bolts cracking a circle apart, was emblazoned in silver on her cap and on her belt. She stared at Arascus. “Coat’s too big for, don’t tell me I have to put the sleeves in.”

Arascus contained his smile. “We’re not that tyrannical here. You look good though.” She shook her head at the compliment and gently put her blue dress down on the seat. Let the woman think she scored a victory keeping the coat as a cape around her shoulders. It was only clothes at the end of day.

“Helenna made this, didn’t she?” Elassa said as she stood over Arascus.

“She had it designed for Kass. We just adapted the style for everyone.”

“And that’s it? No input from you?” Elassa asked and Arascus shrugged.

“Can I sew?” He made sure his tone was general and not directed at Elassa in specifically. Not sarcastic, just self-aware.

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Elassa said and Arascus cracked a smile.

“I’m sure I’m the best at it.” He said, full of confidence so vain it was almost parody. “But I’ve never tried.” Elassa looked at him, her lips curled upwards after a moment and she chuckled.

“How funny.” Her flat tone failed to hide the fact she found the humour in it.

“Some of us manage clothes, some of us manage magic.” Arascus said. “If you want, you can ask Helenna to switch with you.” Elassa chuckled at the joke again as the planes wheels gently touched the ground. Arascus looked through the window again. Arascus couldn’t hear them from here, but a line of police were stood and making sure that the cheering crowd would not get into the wheels of the runway. The flag of Ausa, a the white dot separated on a bicolour of blue on the bottom and green on the top, was being waved by every second person. Arascus’ red-white-black tricolour was waved by every third.

Arascus supposed there would be some people loyal to him here, it was his daughters that stopped the Jungle after-all, but it always surprised when he saw obvious mistakes like this. He wouldn’t allow foreign flags to be flown in what once was Kirinyaa, no matter if they were allies or enemies. The plane came to a stop and a set of humungous stairs was rolled onto the door. Elassa stood up and followed Arascus out.

He thought of letting her go first, it would no doubt make her feel good. At the end of the day though, having someone march to signal his arrival, even if it was the Worldbreaker herself, simply wasn’t his style. The door slid open and Arascus stepped out in the steps. Above, the sky was magnificent pinks and purples and dark blues, the stars were coming out. The city should have been asleep, but Igos was in a state of frenzy, the howling winds were dried out by the songs coming from the distance and the mad cheers of the populations.

They cheered for Arascus, they cheered again for Elassa. A mortal, a new-breed Divine, Arascus would have explained how to act for. Not an old-breed who survived Worldbreaking though. He didn’t have to turn around to know that the most Elassa would do is raise a hand in acknowledge or maybe tilt the corners of her lips into a smile. And at the bottom of the staircase, surrounded by police in heavy riot gear, was Premier-General Abakwa. Ruler of Ausa, tall and dark, he looked invigorated compared to the last time Arascus had seen him, as if the man had suddenly gotten ten years younger. He wore a dark-green uniform that looked to be copied from Arascus’ style. The God of Pride smiled at that similarity, imitation was the highest form of flattery after all.

“Apologies for the lateness.” Arascus said. “We had an issue getting some papers in order.” It was largely because Helenna had accidently flown to KAFAF-Two instead KAFAF-One. “I’ve brought the Goddess responsible for the mess around you.”

Abakwa burst out laughing at that. Some of the politicians by his side, Arascus recognized a few from when he stayed in Igos with Olephia, took the joke just as well as the Premier General did. A little bit of ash to clean for getting rid of the Jungle after all? Could that even be considered a price to pay? Elassa finally made it all the way down as Arascus’ assistants started to venture down, each one with a suitcase that was filled with papers.

Officially, Arascus and Elassa had been invited to be the guests of honour for Ausa’s celebration of the Jungle’s demise. Unofficially, whether Abakwa wanted to or not, Arascus had issues to discuss with him. Elassa stood there in silence for a moment, she looked to Arascus, she looked to Abakwa, she looked back to Arascus.

Arascus sighed, he should have expected it from her frankly. She was a magician after all. “This is Elassa.” He introduced. “Goddess of Magic, her titles are many but modesty is in short supplies these days so we shall stick with one: Worldbreaker.”

Elassa smiled at that and the whole small crowd of Ausa’s leadership looked impressed. Honestly, it was because Elassa’s other titles held little meaning for most mortals. The Archivist of Arda, Caretaker of Magic and so on did not inspire in the same way Worldbreaker did. Elassa must have noticed it too, because she gave Arascus a tiny nod of thanks and a smile at the awe the Goddess suddenly inspired. A gust of wind swayed Arascus’ coat. “I assume we’re not here to talk on the runway.”

“Ah yes.” Abakwa quickly caught himself. “There’s a lot planned for this evening, and I would like to…” He trailed off, almost nervously. “Interviews with the news, a ball too, we hope that it does not disappoint. We are awed by your attendance of course.”

“Do you want to set off then?” Arascus asked. The man wanted something, that much was obvious. He had talked with Abakwa before, and Abakwa had been the sort to be to the point.

“Of course.” Abakwa said at a deliberately brisk pace.

“You look like you have something to say.” If Abakwa was struggling to be blunt, then Arascus would be blunt for him. The human looked up at Arascus, then made a slight tilt to the crowd behind him. Arascus understood immediately. He turned to the Goddess of Magic who had caught up on the other side of Arascus, they were walking to a series of parked buses and helicopters, all painted in the governmental greys that Ausa used. “Ela.”

Immediately, Elassa’s face soured. “Don’t call me that.”

Now was not a time argue about nicknames. “Elassa.” Arascus acquiesced. “You should actually introduce yourself.”

“You understand I’m not a public speaker.” Elassa said flatly.

“I’ll do the speaking then, fly into the air and show off.”

“How?” Arascus took another step with sigh.

“Imagine there’s a horde of children and entertain them.” Arascus said with a stop and turn. Elassa was shaking her head as if she didn’t agree, but the smile betrayed what she was really thinking. Well? What he said hadn’t been wrong! That was the best way to entertain mortals! “Would you like to see the Worldbreaker’s prowess?” He asked no one in particular, but loudly enough for the civilians in the back to hear.

No doubt the politicians would have felt dirty to admit that they did, but crowds had a way of getting the truth out of people. A giant “YES!” rolled over the runway. Arascus turned to Elassa and the woman sighed, shaking her head. But she lifted off the ground. She went higher and higher and Arascus brushed Abakwa with his knee. The two started to take steps back.

They were noticed by Abakwa’s assistants, but with no one moving, no one had the gall to step towards the men. Elassa got to the height of the third story and spread her arms out. “Thank you for this.” Abakwa said. Lightning struck down from the sky and onto Elassa.

“It’s a good skill you should learn.” Arascus said as he watched Elassa’s lightning curl around the Goddess and into a ball. The crowd went silent in awe. “How to make diversions like this.”

“I will.” Abakwa said. The ball of lightning exploded around Elassa like a spiderweb of electricity. “There’ll be a discussion today, on the future of Arika. You’re invited.” Arascus smiled, of course he would be.

“I expected there to be one.” Arascus said. That electric cobweb hardened, the light from it grew dark as winds rushed up to Elassa.

“Ausa is split half-half, but they’ll go where I want tell them to.” Abakwa said. “I saw what happened in Kirinyaa.” That lightning exploded once again, but then it dissipated, leaving only strands of water in its place.

“What did happen in Kirinyaa?” Arascus asked. The water formed great lines over Elassa.

“Let’s not joke ourselves.” Abakwa said. “Your army couped the country.” Those great lines of liquid stretched into a single thin sheet.

“Maybe so.” Arascus said lightly, maybe he had underestimated this man. A herd of horses, all made of pale water, rushed out of that liquid sheet. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to do nothing.” Abakwa said. “I simply see the way the tide is turning.” The horses set alight in flames.

“Oh?” Arascus said. The burning animals evaporated, leaving only beasts of fire.

“We’re thankful for Elassa killing the Jungle of course, but I’ll be straight with you, it has created a problem for Ausa.” The beasts of fire roared with thunder as lightning shot out between their eyes.

“What is that?” Arascus asked. A hurricane of flame swallowed a great blazing lion conjured up by Elassa.

“The discussion to be done today is dividing the terrain that Elassa opened up.” Arascus smiled as a blast of lightning shot upwards out of that hurricane. The Goddess of Magic was starting to enjoy herself, he could see it in how quickly the spells were beginning to flow into each other. “Ausa has the least people, we have the least negotiating power.”

“You want me to vouch for you and allocate land to Ausa.” Arascus summed up what the man was going to say. The lightning curled as it went into the sky, and started to flow back down. Elassa was smiling in glee.

“I don’t actually.” Abakwa said. “I have a proposition, like I said, I see how the tide is turning.” That snake of lightning hit its own tail the electricity started to straighten out into a perfect circle.

“What’s the proposition?” Arascus asked. The perfect circle set alight and expanded as it made a burning orange star in the sky above Igos.

Abakwa took a deep breath as he gazed up at that burning star. “Ausa has a lot of issues, the Jungle reduced us to thirteen cities, we’re not a country, we’re just a collection of city states that share a flag. We don’t even have the same currencies.” Arascus smiled, the man wasn’t trying to convince the God of Pride, he was trying to convince himself. “There’s no future for us here, five years from now, there won’t be an Ausa, there’ll be a series of irrelevant countries that follow whoever our largest neighbour will be. That’s most likely you.”

“Mmh.” Arascus said. Elassa’s star changed colour, from orange to a blinding white. The day returned to Igos.

“So you see the issue. But I want a promise.”

“Words are wind Abakwa. It won’t mean anything even if I make one.”

“So be it.” Abakwa said. “I don’t care about rulership, but I don’t want to go down in history as the man who sold this country out.”

“That depends on what you’re trying to do.” Arascus said. “I can’t make any promises, you yourself have summed up the sorry situation.”

“This is my proposition then, and it’s why you need to know before the conference.”

“Get on with it Abakwa.” Arascus said. Men who were so blunt usually were the worst at the intrigue, and it was precisely because of this behaviour. They couldn’t hint at something, but they couldn’t bring themselves to say it either.

“I want you to ensure Ausa gets the Lion’s share of the land, I will vouch for the Imperial Province of Kirinyaa at the same time.”

“Why would anyone want to give land to a failing state?” Arascus asked. Abakwa did not seem offended at the bluntness.

“Already the other Premiers are doing dealings with our neighbours to secure their own support for independence. It won’t be seen as giving land to Ausa.” Arascus smiled as he finally put everything together. Elassa’s sun above started to blue a blazing blue as animals of flame rushed down to the ground again. The crowd made a collective gasp of awe.

“The Imperial Military won’t conduct peace-keeping operations abroad. We’re stretched enough as it is.”

“And if it’s not abroad?” Abakwa asked hopefully.

“I have no clue what you mean by that.” Arascus replied and Abakwa sighed.

“Are you going to make me say it?”

“I am.” Elassa’s sun burned out and night fell over Ausa again.

“I propose Ausa become an Imperial Province.”