The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2
Chapter 116

Part 18

"Raising children has been the most wonderful and beautiful part of our lives, and it's also been our greatest accomplishment. As parents, we hoped to produce children who were greater than ourselves, and we did. Though our children are only seven years old, already they've surpassed us in most areas of endeavor. They'll accomplish more, and help all of Kellaran more, than we ever will.

"But I'll return to the subject of our children in a few minutes. For now, suffice to say that today they and others helped me fulfill the task that had been set for me by the gods.

"Before The War Of The Founding really got going, after I Healed Dalia and Bezedil, a bunch of us went to Hilia to relax for a few minutes, and we were visited by the gods. The gods told us that we were Candidates for Divinity, that we might become gods ourselves, and that I'd probably have to get it first for it to work for the rest of us. They encouraged us to try to attain divinity as soon as possible, so that Kellaran would have more gods when we faced the demons. But they couldn't tell us how to do it without thousands of years of study.

"Today, with the help of my family and closest friends, I discovered how to become a god. And I discovered how to help anyone who has the potential for it to become a god as well. Soon, there will be new gods of Kellaran."

The crowd had been silent and attentive, but now a murmur of many quiet speakers began. Mark continued as the sound and excitement of the people rose with his every word.

"I also discovered how to tell if a person has the potential to become a god, and I designed a spell that will automatically check every person in the world, and give me the identities of everyone who has that potential.

"When we're all done speaking here, I'll cast the spell that detects those who have divine potential. Three minutes after that, I'll know who all of them are except those in the other time-bubbles, and each of them will know that they've been selected."

The buzz of the crowd was getting loud now, but Mark just increased his own volume and kept going.

"It's a big step, becoming a god. And to be honest, I'm still a little hesitant about taking that step. I made an agreement with the gods where I didn't have to start working on it until the end of the two-month duration of the time-bubbles, and I'm sure they expected me to take at least a week to get it, so I'm going to wait until then. When the time-bubbles end, we'll take a week to welcome their occupants back to the world, and to start integrating what they'll have discovered with our efforts to prepare for war against the demons, and check them for the potential.

"So most Candidates will have about seven weeks to prepare themselves. One week after the time-bubbles end I'll call them to me, and we'll all become gods, unless they absolutely refuse it. And those who refuse had best prepare to be extensively debated by the Pantheon about it. If any need more time before they agree, the gods might provide it for them in another round of time-bubbles. But one way or another, we have to maximize our capabilities before we face the demons."

He took a long pause to give them a chance to absorb what he'd said.

"Now I'll return to the subject of our children. Like all parents I suppose, I could go on for hours and hours about their abilities and accomplishments, but they deserve to present their own accomplishments, so I'll merely introduce them. And in this case, our children includes Povon and Kragorram's son."

He paused for a moment as the three moved away from the center of the dais and were joined by a beaming Povon and Kragorram, then raised his hands and announced with a booming voice and a joyous smile;

"Good people of Kellaran, we most proudly introduce; The Governors of Hiliani!"

The four youngsters appeared in formation on the center of the dais facing their parents, and bowed to them with happy smiles.

Mark formally introduced them with their full names and every honorific they had, and each bowed again as they were introduced.

Then the parents bowed to their children, and Mark finished by saying; "Governors, you have our attention."

"Thank you Father." Six acknowledged with a smile.

Mark returned it with a nod, and the five parents Translocated back to their place on the floor.

Six stepped forward a bit, clasped his hands behind his back as he struck a thoughtful stance, and spoke. His boyish voice rang with confidence.

"We were incredibly and undeservedly blessed with the parents, companions, and circumstances that we were born with, and we've always felt a certain responsibility because of it. We wanted to do something to deserve all that we've been given, so we've worked very hard to accomplish something worthwhile.

"We were proud to take part in our community's development of new methods of warfare, Shielding, and Warding, and we've made important advances in spell design and psionic techniques.

"We've designed and implemented a better life for Sylvan, especially their youth, and we're convinced that soon, all Sylvan will choose to take part in it, instead of playing The Game Of Status. That will have a very significant and immediate effect on the state of society on Kellaran, both among the Sylvan and among the rest of The Just Alliance.

"We cast a spell today that apprehended and punished every murderer still at large in The Just Alliance, almost all of whom were players of The Game of Status. If anyone else murders anyone from now on, the spell will be hunting them in less than a second.

"And we helped Hilsith with her discovery of longevity and magic for those who lacked it. We know that soon there'll be a lot of new magic users who need training, and we think the existing training programs could be a lot more efficient, so we'll be establishing training programs among the general public, as well as among the Sylvan."

He gave them a moment to absorb the import of that, then stepped back, and Val stepped up.

"Today I designed a spell that can do everyone's physical work for them." she stated without preamble. "When we face the demons, it will allow us to put every able body into the fight, and after the war, if we survive it, it can eliminate unpleasant work from our lives.

"I also designed a spell that can Heal any wound as soon as it's taken, almost instantaneously. Can I have a brave volunteer to... Ah, thank you Zayobod." she nodded as that worthy elf appeared on the dais in front of her with a huge grin and a sweeping bow.

"You are most welcome!" he responded.

"This is Zayobod of The High People, of The Hilian Volunteers, Leader of The Valiant Glory Seekers, and a Sergeant in The Hiliani Defense Forces." Val stated.

Zayobod grinned and bowed again, to the audience this time.

"Please stand with your chin high and your shoulders low, Zayobod." Val instructed as she reached out and drew his sword from its sheath at his side, rose a little in the air, and held the middle of the blade against his throat. "I'm now casting The Healing of Valentia upon you. You'll want to hold still for this. The Healing will still work the same if you move, but it'll probably hurt less if you don't."

She drew the sword all the way back and made a slow practice swing, ending with the edge against his throat again, so that there could be no doubt that she planned to cut his head off. She drew back again, then struck with an incredibly quick two-handed swing. The blade passed through Zayobod's neck and out the other side, his blood was whipped from the end of the blade to spatter on the dais in an arc that almost reached the first rows of the audience, and he cringed and yelped a bit a fraction of a second after the fact. His hands slapped onto his neck in panic and found it intact as the audience reacted to what they'd seen with flinches and cries, and he released his held breath in a deep sigh. Then he grinned and bowed to Val again as she handed him his sword.☐☐☐☐

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