The building is easily the nicest thing in the town, though also the least well-lit. There are no torches or lanterns hanging from its walls, and no buildings sit near it; it stands quite apart, a dark, looming blight upon the rest of the town. It's just barely possible to make out the long iron spires that reach into the sky from stone so dark it looks like it eats light. The smooth grey marble of the courtyard is pristine and polished to a perfect shine, and shot with slivers of white reminiscent of lightning, barely visible in the gloom.

The guards that brought them depart in silence, and the door closes with a thud of finality. For a few seconds, all but the incessant insects fall silent, as if the wind itself were holding its breath.

Dark clouds form overhead.

That's... ominous. Is this what a temple looks like, then? Ellie doesn't think she likes temples.

If there are nice temples, this probably isn't one of them.

Without warning, a loud crack sounds from above. Lightning arcs from the sky, drawn to and down the spires, illuminating the courtyard and everyone in it. Including someone that wasn't there before.

"Welcome," says the woman in a smooth voice that echoes with languages Ellie hasn't heard before. "To my temple." She smiles broadly. "I'm so dreadfully sorry about the accommodations on the way here, I hope the trip wasn't too trying?"

So it is a temple. Okay. That must make this person... a god? Ellie's never met a god before. She'll let someone else test what happens when you talk to one.

"I," says one girl with a hint of a sob, "would like to go home."

"You are home now," says the god, almost-gently. "And you're very lucky to be here. It'll take some getting used to, but you'll be well taken care."

She wasn't smited for talking. That's promising.

"Great. So are you going to untie us now, then?"

"Of course, of course," says the god, and the ropes around them disappear. "Is there anything any of you need? Food, water, new clothes-?"

"My parents!" insists one boy.

The god's smile thins. "It's not nice to interrupt. In fact, it's quite rude." A crackle of lightning strikes another spire. "You don't want to be rude to me, now do you?"

The boy flinches and nods.

"Apologize."

"I'm, I'm sorry for interrupting you."

"Good. Thank you. Now, as I was saying. Is there anything any of you would like?"

"Something to eat would be nice. Your minions haven't fed us since yesterday."

"Of course!" says the god, and she claps her hands and a table with shining gold plates materializes before them. And then, on the plates materializes a feast.

"I am kind to those who serve me."

We haven't actually done anything for you yet, Ellie does not say.

She takes a plate and starts eating instead. Yesterday was a long time ago.

Since Ellie doesn't voice her thoughts, she doesn't get a reply.

While they eat, the god explains what their life is going to be like while they're here. They will live in the temple, and she will make sure they all know how to read and write, if they don't know how to already. They will be taken care of, have everything they want... But they will learn her scripture, train with her warriors. They'll learn loyalty and history and martial combat, and the best will be rewarded. Those who serve her faithfully will be rewarded and well taken care of. Those that don't...

Well. They're replaceable if they don't make themselves useful, aren't they? Who here will care if they are locked in the darkest dungeon for weeks, or if they scream until they're hoarse, or starved until they're too weak to move? They are hers, now, and she is the only one that will ever care about them. The only one that will ever take care of them. So they'd better stay on her good side.

They can start by learning her name. Maeverine. Then, they can pray at her altar, to thank her for letting them into her home.

I'm here because you took me, thinks Ellie. Thank yourself. Better to be on the safe side, though.

"I've never prayed before. How do you do it? I just want to make sure I get it right."

Maeverine smiles fondly, like a mother with a favorite child.

"It's quite simple," she explains. "Usually, it is proper to give offerings at a god's altar, but from my children, from you, I ask only words from your hearts. Go to my altar and speak what you think. About me, about my temple, about your new home - about anything you like, really. But always be respectful - it wouldn't do for you to be rude. I expect thanks, but I will reward creativity."

She pauses, as if thinking. ".... And I will punish lies, so do be honest."

Okay. This god is clearly insane. But just as clearly, powerful enough to squash Ellie like a bug. Ellie gets up and walks inside the temple with the other children.

The altar is obvious, a white stone slab covered in purple cloth. The wall behind it is dark, with patterns of lighter stone running down it that look like lightning bolts. Ellie goes to stand in front of it. Should she kneel? Probably, that seems respectful. She drops down to her knees. So. Compliments without lies. Great.

"Maeverine. Thank you for letting me stay here. It's very nice of you, especially since my parents just died. You probably do more exciting things than them anyway. I promise I'll try really hard to learn everything and make you happy. Your temple is really neat and I want one like it."

Maeverine smiles.

A voice whispers in Ellie's ear. "If you keep your promise, I'll show you my other temples. They're all just as magnificent. Thank you for your first prayer, you may depart for bed. I'm sure you're very tired." And then the voice relays directions to where she will be sleeping.

That is super creepy.

Ellie follows the directions to her bed and curls up and for the first time in three days, thinks about crying herself to sleep.

Behind her, some other children have answers that Maeverine doesn't like as much.

They do not get to go to bed. They will stay awake until they get it right, and they will be shocked as necessary to stay awake until they do.

Ellie is free to cry if she'd like. She has a room to herself to do it in, small though it is.

The noise of the others' lessons makes her think she doesn't want to draw too much attention. Her cheeks are damp when she drifts off, but her pillow is dry by morning.

Well, whatever works for her.

When she wakes the next morning, a voice from everywhere gives her an overly familiar greeting, then asks if she's literate or not.

Good morning, Maeverine. Yes, she is.

Excellent! A book materializes at the foot of the bed. If Ellie would please memorize the major details of the first chapter?

There is no mention of breakfast.

"Will there be breakfast?" asks Ellie as she reaches for the book and opens it.

"Of course. But after you've memorized the first chapter of my history."

...At least she didn't get smited.

What's this book got to say for itself?

Well, Maeverine began several hundred years ago - the people that lived there were grouped into tribes, not a proper government, and frequently fought each other. According to the book, they'd been cut off from the rest of the continent by the leftover domain of a long-deceased mountain god whose name is forgotten to time, and descended into barbarism. Maeverine created a body and went from tribe to tribe in secret, learning about each. Then, she picked the one she deemed strongest to favor. They began winning and subjugating their rivals with her help - the strongest and smartest of those stayed in Maeverine's domain to be her followers. The weakest of the losing side were shipped off in chains, to be sold as slaves.

That certainly seems... in character. Ellie reads over it several times and does her best to get what seem like "major details" memorized.

Several hours later, she runs through the highlights in a murmur without peeking and gets them all correct. She does it again, just to be sure. Then, in a louder voice: "Maeverine? Are you there?"

"Of course, child. Are you ready to relate what you've memorized?"

"Yes." Ellie makes sure the book is firmly closed, and sets it aside. She runs through her summary: barbaric tribes, cut off by dead-god mountains, Maeverine picked the strongest tribe and made them stronger, conquered the area, kept the useful people, discarded the useless.

"Excellent job! you're quite a clever girl, aren't you?" she says, delighted, and then a tray with breakfast materializes next to Ellie. It's ordinary; bread, butter, water, but for the three strawberries innocently accompanying it.

It was probably unreasonable to expect the quality of the food from yesterday to continue. Ellie is still very hungry so she doesn't mind too much. She starts eating.

Oh right. Respectfulness. Chew, swallow. "Thank you for the strawberries."

"You're quite welcome." A fourth strawberry materializes. "I'm glad you enjoy them."

Ellie continues eating. It doesn't take her long to finish.

"What should I do with the tray?"

"For now, I'll take care of it. Later, you'll be expected to take it to the kitchens to have it cleaned and put away." The tray disappears.

"Okay. What do I do now?"

"I'll have someone show you around my temple, and give you a schedule to follow. He should be here shortly."

Ellie looks down at her torn and travel-stained clothing.

"Can I have something new to wear also?"

"You may," says the goddess, and a simple black robe materializes on the bed. It's simple and made of rough material, but in Ellie's size.

Probably a message in that, somewhere. Whatever, it's not as smelly as what she has.

She changes, kicks her old clothes into a corner of the room, then sits on the bed to wait for her guide.

Her guide arrives; a thin, slightly older boy with distant eyes that are firmly pointed downward. He wears a matching black robe.

"I'm to show you around," he says, hoarse.

...What's wrong with him? And how can Ellie avoid having it happen to her?

She stands up. "Let's go, then."

He doesn't exactly expand on what's wrong with him. He doesn't talk much, actually; only when he has to, and only the smallest sentences possible. This is the cafeteria, where they will go to after Maeverine has said they may eat. This is the training ground. This is where to get a chamber pot and this is where to leave it when it's full. This is the fountain where you get water to drink.

"The baths are down there," he says, pointing down a hallway. He turns to leave it at that, and -

"You are forgetting something." Maeverine's voice is louder now, echoing through the temple, instead of whisper-soft and directed to one.

The boy flinches as if burned. "And, and you shouldn't go down there without permission, it, wouldn't do to waste water."

Maeverine doesn't comment further, but the boy speeds up his gait and spits out his customary four to seven words a bit faster. It seems he's afraid.

Stay on Maeverine's good side. Noted. Ellie does her best to memorize the major hallways and relative positions of things.

Why, why, why is she here she wants to go home

They run out of hallways and rooms eventually, and the boy leads her back to her room.

He goes to flee, then hesitates.

"Do you, know the temple?"

"I think so. Unless I'm going to get hurt if I make a mistake."

"If you have questions, ask now."

Ellie tries to run through the walk they just went on in her head. She clarifies some of the turnings.

"And is there anywhere else I shouldn't go?"

"Don't try to leave. Do what you're told. Don't leave your room after dark."

"Okay." Fun stuff. At least the inside of her head still seems to be her own. Can gods read minds? Hey Maeverine, you stupid annoying murderer, if you can hear this, send me home.

Maeverine doesn't reply.

"Any other questions?" wonders the guide, edging away.

"Uh, no? Wait. Weren't you supposed to have a schedule for me or something?"

"Oh," he says, stopping. "I. Yes. I do."

He relays the schedule, trembling all the while. Get up in the morning, do whatever task Maeverine set for you the night before or the morning of. Then, breakfast. If there is no task, there is no breakfast. Then, training in the courtyard (one of the places he pointed out to her) for several hours. He doesn't expand on what that means. Pray to Maeverine. Then return to your room, complete whatever studies you've been given, prove to Maeverine that you understood the studies themselves. Then, dinner. Then, pray to Maeverine. Then, courtyard, again, then bed.

He does not mention free time.

Agh, this would be so much easier if she could just write it down. Memory, don't fail her now.

"So do I go to the courtyard or pray now?"

"Pray. Your first day's, different, than the others."

He's trembling.

Well, hope he has good luck with whatever he's trembling about. Ellie getting involved in that is not something that is going to happen. She thinks she's made a favorable impression so far and doesn't want to mess it up.

She heads for the altar room.

The boy turns and goes to what's presumably his room, failing to stop himself from sobbing pathetically. He made a mistake. He's going to have an unpleasant few hours.

The altar room is small and free of people; it's a different one than the one she saw earlier. It's less impressive, but not unimpressive. More - intimate. Private.

When the door closes behind Ellie (it is weighted to stay closed) the room is almost completely silent. Maybe the room is soundproofed.

That's probably bad. Ellie goes to kneel in front of the altar.

"Maeverine. Thank you again for the strawberries. I still think your temple is neat. The schedule you have sounds really busy, but I can keep up with it. It'll be easier for me to do that if I don't end up like that boy. Was he just bad at following directions?"

"And not very bright. I think you will do much better. Don't disappoint me."

"Yes, Maeverine." That probably counts as enough of a prayer, right? Ellie stands up and tries to open the door.

It opens without any trouble. That probably counted as a prayer.

Oh, good. Maybe she's getting the hang of this praying thing. Now, what was next...? Courtyard or room? Ellie thinks back to her room, so she heads in that direction.

There are more books waiting for here, there. One seems to be about history. Another, geography, and another about math.

Joy. In absence of other directions, Ellie will start with the history book.

It is exceedingly dry, and very detailed.

This would be so much easier if she could take notes. Ellie will have to remember to ask Maeverine for paper next time she prays. She sticks it out for about forty-five minutes, then switches to the math book, just to see what it's like.

The math book is a bit kinder. It seems to be aware that its material is dense, so it spaces it out a bit and is a more gentle introduction to the concept of dividing numbers by other numbers and getting different numbers out of it.

Okay. That's cool that you can do that. Doesn't seem to be immediately applicable, though. What about geography?

The geography book contains a lot of maps, but most of them aren't particularly recent; each map has a year dating it at the bottom. They seem to be in chronological order. Gods' domains are neatly color coded and labelled, and thick black lines denote the borders of countries. The country lines occasionally move from year to year, but it's the god domains that really change. Proverbial ground that's lost or gained, with many gods as comparative brief flashes before their domain shrinks and they are removed from the map. There are only a few that really stick around - Cartalomir's the largest and oldest, but Opedist and Raezenoth are both very stable, border-wise, and there are several more minor gods that seem like they haven't overextended themselves.

It's possible to find Maeverine on the map, along with the god that was responsible for the mountains Ellie passed over. It seems he died a long time ago, and the area's been empty of gods until Maeverine. Varkalosix, an ocean goddess, seems to be her closest neighbor. No information but the name and domain is provided.

Ooh, maps. Ellie flips through, watching the borders change.

...Can she cross-reference the events described in the history book with any of these?

She can!

Is she looking for something in particular, or a general history lesson with the maps provided as visuals?

She wants to use the maps as visuals. Maps are easier to remember than words. If she can stick the words to the maps, that might make it easier.

There are parts in the history books that aren't written up in map form; the books tell of a lot of minor gods fighting over small domains and smaller tribes and generally causing trouble, and writing hadn't been made common yet. Most of what's known is hearsay. Apparently destructive gods that ruled by terror were more common, but after several gods (Opedist was the first, and Cartalomir, Raezenoth and a few other (now deceased) gods came after) decided to focus on taking care of their followers, things began to stable out and being a menacing plague god fell out of proverbial style. Turns out: people are more willing to worship gods that treat them well, or at least leave them alone instead of constantly causing them trouble.

Some of their strategies are interesting, as are the results. Cartalomir took over most of the mapped continent slowly but surely, and has the largest domain on the continent. He seems to have gotten where he is by being boring but dependable. Rains over harvests, roads where people want them, good healthy grass for livestock, decent but not fantastic climate, food on every table, and the god stays out of mortal affairs as long as people don't cause too much trouble. Opedist seems to have a similar type of tactic, with less focus on slow expansion and feeding people and more focus on stability and leaving people alone. It's the place to go for people that want to not have their geography change, apparently. Raezenoth's a bit more interesting, and his domain borders change more often than his peers, but the tactics he uses aren't expanded upon in the book. It vaguely talks about self reliance and, quote, 'desert winds,' but otherwise glosses over it entirely.

The history book talks about other gods, but with less of an expansive history behind them, it's (mostly) hard to see if the strategies of those still alive are working or not. There's a nearby decay god that seems to be on the out, a hunting god that seems to be in a similar situation, and Kalandax's strategy of trying to kill Opedist doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Other conflicts are less clear - it's hard to tell if Varkalosix will manage to kill Raezenoth while he's distracted with the dying hunting god, and many of the various flavors of minor god are hard to predict.

Oh, and there's country history, too, but that's a bit more straightforward than what appears to be a divine free-for-all that takes place over centuries.

Ellie has a suspicion that Maeverine is less interested in having her learn the history of mortal countries. She focuses mostly on the gods. When Ellie can pin events to specific maps, she does so, otherwise she tries to at least figure out where things happened on the continent. She also makes a note to look out for more information on this Raezenoth, whoever he is.

Reading about the gods' strategies is interesting, now that she has a way to visualize them. The math book is going to be neglected for some time.

The math book will suffer this indignity.

Time for meals is marked by a bell that rings throughout the temple (breakfast appears to be different in some way, or Ellie was spared it because it was her first day) and the schedule seems to be pretty apparent by watching where everyone else goes, even if Ellie has trouble remembering her instructions.

After lunch comes the courtyard. There, Ellie and the others are... told to run laps around the courtyard. Their instructor is not very forgiving of 'but I'm tired' as an excuse. As such, if they don't keep running, she rolls her eyes and raises her hand and shocks them, as a reminder that they should not stop until they collapse.

Ellie's not the first one to try to stop, and after that display she's not the second.

She tries as best she can, but she's still seven and running is not her strong suit. When she drops down, she doesn't get back up.

She gets a brief shock to see if this will persuade her to move some more.

Ow.

She attempts to push back up with trembling arms, but they give out and she collapses again.

Well, that's all right then. No more electric shocks for the seven year old. She can just stay down for now.

Yeah, she's just going to stay curled up here.

When it's time to go pray again, she can just about manage a walk.

Excellent.

What is she going to thank Maeverine for today?

Oh no she has no idea she is too tired for this... at least kneeling is appropriate, she doesn't have to keep standing. Ellie drops down to her knees and lowers her head. Uh. Notes? Right.

"Maeverine. Thank you for letting us run around; I don't really do it that much." (because it's so terrible and everything hurts ahh whyy) "I like the books you left for me. I think if I had some paper and charcoal to take notes with I could learn what's in them better."

"I'll see about getting them for you," says Maeverine, agreeably. "Poor child, I know you've had a hard day. It's all right, it'll get easier. Why don't you go to your room and I'll bring you dinner?"

"That sounds, nice. Thank you."

Wobble wobble back to bed, collapse therein.

Food appears shortly after, neatly on a tray nearby.

It is quite delicious.

Ellie is too tired to pay much attention to the flavor.

After she's done eating, she considers whether to go back to the books, but sleep ambushes her before she can make a proper decision.

That's fine.

The next morning she wakes up tucked in, pillow under her head and shoes off of her feet.

"Good morning, Ellie. You can have today off, I know you're exhausted from yesterday. Don't worry, I'll bring you food, and you can make your daily prayers here."

Isn't that nice of her.

"Thank you, Maeverine." Ellie attempts to stretch, but all her muscles groan in protest. She aborts the attempt.

"You're welcome. I'll always take care of you, so long as you serve me."

Breakfast!

It's pretty plain, again.

Ellie wasn't serving when Maeverine killed her parents, oh that must be it. She needs to remember that.

She finishes breakfast, and reaches for the geography and history books again.

They are just as interesting as before! Is there a time period she would like to focus on learning about?

She wants to know about the transition period, from menacing gods to caring gods.

Apparently it wasn't completely pleasant, and didn't happen all at once. A few of the menacing gods just died on their own - sort of like a flame that consumes all of its fuel, only to die out. At one point, though, several of the menacing gods made an alliance together, to attempt to return to being able to terrify people without interference. The caring gods responded by making an alliance of their own. The caring gods' alliances proved to be more stable than their peers'. When the mean gods inevitably betrayed each other at pivotal points to try to gain power and territory, their enemies swooped in to pick up the pieces and persuade the people that had been worshiping them to leave. With better options available, the menacing gods' followers quickly converted, and the gods' support network collapsed underneath them. Then they died, starved of followers and bereft of power to persuade new ones to fear them.

Maeverine seems to sort of straddle the divide. When did she pop up?

Relatively recently, actually. She's taken advantage of her isolation to quietly gather power over the past century, leaving the mountains that make finding her more difficult.

Hmm.

Ellie thinks she might not fall over if she gets up now. Her legs are stiff, but don't complain quite so insistently as she takes a walk around her room.

"Maeverine? Can I have some paper now, please?"

"You may."

And then there is paper, and a stick of charcoal.

"Thank you."

Ellie sits back down with them, and records what she can remember from reading the history book last night. Drawing out the maps helps with that.

Then back to the books. More recent history, this time.

Perinixu is the most major of the more recent gods; a goddess of healing, though the way the book describes her, she sounds rather similar to Maeverine. Perhaps not with the torture and murder and kidnapping, but she seems very controlling of her followers. Apparently there's a sort-of alliance between her and Raezenoth, but the book doesn't expand on why this sort-of alliance has occurred. This is likely to his benefit, because he and Varkalosix very famously hate each other, and are waging a long-term, low-key war that doesn't look like it'll end anytime soon. In comparison, Opedist and Kalandax are waging a less low-key war, much further away. Apparently on Kalandax's side, it gets a bit messy. Cartalomir tends to ignore other gods if they leave him alone, and he can probably afford to; no one particularly wants to poke the behemoth in the north.

There's a number of minor gods and goddesses as well that are new and relatively untested. Tamaryse is the oldest, and a goddess of renewal; apparently her most noteworthy characteristic is that it rains a lot in her domain. Bereth, a forest goddess, seems to be taking a page out of Cartalomir's book and focuses on healthy harvests and a safe domain. Sivuari is a lake god, and the author isn't quite sure what he does. Or even how he's still alive. He keeps to himself, is notoriously quiet, and generally doesn't bother anyone. Tisvetaia is a goddess of some kind of tropics, and her focus seems to be preservation, whatever that means when applied to a domain and the people in it. Then there's the decay god and the god of hunting, but Tisvetaia seems to have taken issue to the former, and Raezenoth keeps stealing bits of land from the latter. (How a desert god manages to win any people over is something of a mystery, the book still doesn't clarify what his strategy is.)

Notetaking, notetaking.

Some of these places and gods sound interesting. Ellie doesn't like this swamp. Even a desert would be better. (She is very careful not to write this sentiment down.)

This is for the best, Maeverine probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Dinner arrives on another tray.

Ellie looks up and blinks when the tray arrives. She hadn't noticed how much time had passed. She puts her paper down and eats. She's supposed to pray after dinner, right? Should she go to the altar? Maeverine did say she had the day off...

Ellie kneels on the floor in front of the bed. "Maeverine. Thank you for dinner, and giving me the day off. I feel a lot better now and I think I learned a lot. The paper was helpful too, thank you for that."

"You're welcome. I hope you enjoyed it. Next time, two prayers a day. I'll expect one before you go to bed."

"Yes, Maeverine. Sorry."

Back to the books. Let's see, what else does that history have to offer...

There's a lot on old, dead gods. Would she like to learn about dead gods?

Would she? That's a silly question, narration. Of course she would.

There have been a lot of minor gods! A lot of them have died off. It seems to be a common problem for gods to start existing and then assume that because they're a god they're invincible and all powerful. And then they start causing trouble, and some combination of their neighbors getting annoyed with them and their followers getting fed up with them causes their death. Most successful gods have a very clear purpose, something that mortals will be able to remember, and possibly petition the god for.

Some gods didn't do anything wrong, though, and they died anyway. A few to neighbors, a few to not being memorable enough, and a very few number of them to - their own followers, apparently. The history book mentions an acolyte killing a god and ascending to godhood themselves in their place. ... And then immediately being killed by all nearby gods that were quite horrified at this obvious aberration of the natural order.

...Acolytes can kill gods? Ellie tries to keep the look of dawning wonderment off her face, or at least modulate it to resemble horror. Does the book go into any detail about how?

Nope, none.

It would definitely be a very bad idea to ask for a book that has information about that. Ellie is not going to do that. Nope. Maybe there's a library she can browse somewhere?

Whatever the details, she knows she will have to be an acolyte. And she will be an acolyte. No matter what. She is going to kill this god.

Ellie finishes her notes for the section, then kneels down again. "Maeverine. Thank you again for letting me stay here. I think this is a much better place than where I was before. I really want to help you, and I'm going to be the best acolyte you've ever had."

"Who said anything about becoming my acolyte? Though I applaud your ambition, child."

"I said something about being your acolyte. You'll see."

"I suppose I will. Sleep well, child. You'll be busy tomorrow."

"Yes Maeverine." Ellie stands up and gets ready for bed. But when she lies down, she can't fall asleep right away. Her mind is too busy whirling through the implications of what she'll have to do to kill this god. When she does finally drift off, it is with a smile on her face.

Morning dawns bright and early, as it usually does, and Ellie yawns herself awake.

This day goes a lot like the second day. Studying, quizzing, food, courtyard, praying.

The courtyard is pretty bad again, but there's a different instructor present and she doesn't shock people as often.

Not being shocked is good. But Ellie has Reasons to push herself as far and as hard as she possibly can, she doesn't need the external encouragement.

Well then she can have a hard day, and a single strawberry at dinner for dessert.

She does not complain, and thanks Maeverine for the strawberry when it comes time to pray.

Back to work.

Days turn to weeks, and Ellie settles into the routine. It's hard work, harder than she's ever had to work before in her life, and for longer. But she refuses to let her resolve falter, even in the depths of the worst nights. Her pain spurs her onwards. She will kill Maeverine, for what she has done and what she is doing. Nothing will prevent her from reaching this goal. Nothing. She excels in her studies, and pushes until she excels at the physical training as well.

Weeks turn to months, and Maeverine begins having the children work together more. She says to them all that she wants them to become friends with each other, to learn to trust and rely upon their peers. Privately, she tells Ellie to be watchful for signs of disloyalty, and to report any such at once. Ellie assumes the others received similar instructions, and is careful to closely guard her ultimate plans, while still extending a hand of friendship. She finds this a difficult task. When she is eight and a half years old, she discovers a girl who has made a habit of muttering imprecations against Maeverine in a corner after dinner. Ellie informs Maeverine of this, and is rewarded with a half-day of rest. The other girl is not seen again. Ellie reaffirms her private vow.

Months turn to years, and Maeverine begins teaching the children how to fight. They are not supposed to kill each other during sparring, but there are no other rules. Ellie is bruises head to toe for three solid weeks, but manages to avoid any more serious injury until she is competent enough to not take so many hits. When Ellie is twelve years old, she breaks an older boy's arm in three places during a match. Maeverine gives her a full day off.

The years continue to pass. When Ellie is sixteen, she and the two others remaining in her age cohort are sent along with a raiding party. One of the boys uses this as a chance to flee, but Ellie rides him down and brings him back to Maeverine along with the other tribute. Maeverine is very pleased with Ellie. She learns how to inflict what Maeverine considers a suitable punishment for such betrayal. When Ellie is seventeen years old, Maeverine begins to occasionally give her the task of sorting through items brought in from outside. She is told to especially watch for anything resembling rock salt, and if she finds it, to send it far away. Ellie decides that rock salt must be Maeverine's desecration material.

On the day of Ellie's eighteenth birthday, she is made an acolyte of Maeverine. She is suitably grateful. Her first task as acolyte is to travel out into the world, to visit neighboring gods and assess what weakness they have and whether they pose a threat.

Ellie nods in understanding, and prepares to set out at once. Secretly, she is delighted. This is exactly the opportunity she needed.

She consults her mental map. The closest gods are Varkalosix, Tisvetaia, and the decay god. She doesn't especially want to go out on the ocean, and decay doesn't appeal to her. She's spent enough time in this fetid swamp already. Tisvetaia it is. Ellie sets off.

Tisvetaia's domain is lush and balmy, with a lot of trees. It looks tropical, but Ellie is spared the humidity. Not, luckily, the pretty vistas.

And of course, when Ellie enters it, a voice rings out from everywhere around her.

"Greetings, acolyte, and welcome to my domain."

Oh, this is a nice place.

"Greetings, Tisvetaia. Your domain is lovely."

"Thank you, I hope you enjoy your stay here. What brings you?"

"I grew up in my god's domain, and only recently became an acolyte. My Lady Maeverine, Goddess of Storms and Marsh, thought it would be good for me to see more of the world."

"I see. Well, would you like a tour of some of my domain? See some of my more scenic vistas and some of my nicest towns?"

"I would appreciate that very much, thank you."

"Please wait one moment, I've got a bird nearby..."

And then, presently: there is a bird! It - well, she lands neatly in front of Ellie. She's a very distinctive bird, white with bands of black and orange-red and a long set of tailfeathers.

"Hello," says the bird, hopping a little closer. "Is there something specific you'd like to see first?"

"Something that looks nothing like a swamp. It's nice enough while I'm there, but after ten years I'm about ready for something new."

Tisvetaia laughs. It's a nicer laugh than Maeverine's.

"Well, I'll just go with what seems best, then. Follow me, please?"

And the bird flies forward and perches on a branch ahead.

"If you need something, please let me know! Everything that looks edible probably is, but if you have any doubts feel free to ask. Springs should be pretty numerous and easy to find if you're thirsty, and they're all free of diseases or insects. Oh, and if you see something that you think could be improved, please, feel free to mention."

She certainly seems much nicer than Maeverine.

"I will, thank you." Ellie follows the bird, building the route they take in her head as they go, and commiting major landmarks to memory.

There are lots of landmarks! They are all very pretty. Large stone rocks and distinctive trees and little strangely shaped ponds and streams. Tisvetaia must make a point of making her domain easy to navigate. It's mountainous, but not so much that the place becomes unnavigable.

Soon enough they're on a neatly paved path. It leads them to an absolutely gorgeous view of the bay, black sandy beaches lining it, and a town that overlooks it.

It, too, is lovely. Though it's hard to tell if it's just impressive to look at, or if the people in it are actually happy to be there.

Oh.

"It's beautiful," whispers Ellie. She starts down towards the town.

"Thank you," says the bird. "I try to make my domain a nice place to live."

The path widens and joins with another, this one nicer, but a bit more worn. It must be used more often.

"There are some people up ahead that you'll cross paths with," says Tisvetaia. "Would you rather I introduced you as an acolyte, or not?"

Maeverine said that gods would always recognize her but if she could pretend to not be an acolyte to the commoners she might be able to get more information.

"Not, please."

"All right," she agrees.

Soon enough: there are the commoners! It looks like a cute little family, out for a walk. They have a daughter with them. About the age Ellie was when she was kidnapped.

She lights up when she sees Tisvetaia's bird.

"Tisvet!" she says, grinning. "Hi! Can I pet you?"

"Why, sure!" says the goddess, and she flies right over and lands on the child's shoulder gently. And then the bird gets gentle feather pets.

The parents look faintly amused.

Well, isn't that nice.

Ellie puts her people-face on.

"Hello! My name's Ellie, I'm a traveller. Tisvetaia was kind enough to show me around her domain."

(The mother gently pets Tisvetaia, too.)

"It's a nice place to live," says the father, smiling. "Though she's not a jealous god, won't mind if you leave. She'll even still come by and poke you if you're not too far away."

"Daaad," complains the girl. "You haven't pet her. You should, what if you forget and get old!"

He rolls his eyes, then holds out a hand to Tisvetaia's bird. She graciously pokes him with her beak.

"There, see? Happy?"

"You didn't pet her!"

"Pokes work too, dear."

"But they're less fun, she is soft."

Right, Tisvetaia does preservation. And she seems to have a positive relationship with her people. Probably helps that touching their god doesn't produce excruciating pain.

"I'm not looking to settle down just yet. There's still many places I've not been. This is one of the nicest so far, I must say."

"Thank you," says the bird, ducking her head.

"You should see her temple! The one nearby, it's pretty!" says the girl.

"Most temples are pretty," says the mother.

"Yeah but it's the best of everywhere."

"Have you been to everywhere?"

"No but it is!"

Tisvetaia: does not laugh. She is a good bird, look at how graciously she accepts pets.

"I would like to see her temple, while I'm here. Is it in town?"

"Yep, near the center of it. It's the big grey and white building, you can't miss it," says the father.

"I'll be happy to show it to you, if you'd like," says Tisvetaia.

"Yes, thank you," says Ellie. She smiles at the family as she passes them.

Once they're out of earshot: "They seemed nice."

"Yes. They've lived here for a while, the parents are both in their, oh. Fifties, I believe?" She sounds faintly smug. That is a faintly smug goddess.

"You'd hardly know it, looking at them. Very impressive."

"Thank you. I can keep mortals alive indefinitely, as long as I or my acolyte pokes them once a decade."

"You only have one?"

"Yes. I have to be very careful with my acolytes, barring violent death, I will have them forever."

"Of course. I'd like to meet them, if they're around."

Brief pause.

"He's in my domain, but it'll be a few days before he can get to this area, if you're still willing. He's curious about you."

"I don't have any specific plans. I could stay a while."

"Certainly, stay as long as you like. Provided you don't cause me or anyone in my domain any trouble."

"Of course not. That would be intolerably rude of me."

Walk walk. Is the town getting close?

Closer, certainly.

"Quite. What's Maeverine's domain like?"

"Very hot. Quite wet, it rains frequently. There is almost more water than land, though some of the channels get so silted there's hardly a difference. And it's easy to lose your way amongst them."

"Hm," says Tisvetaia. "Well, I suppose she prefers it that way. It is more defensible."

"Yes. Though the mountains do most of the work in the direction almost anyone would have to approach from."

"A bit, yes. Very isolated. Maeverine enjoys the space?"

"She's never complained about it to me."

"Mm. Well. I imagine the state of things in her domain is exactly how she likes."

"Having things just so is very important to her."

"I'd be a hypocrite if I condemned her for being very particular about her domain."

A mysterious bit of paper materializes out of nowhere and lands in front of Ellie. Are you safe? Shake your head if not, she won't be able to notice, but say anything and she'll hear you.

Ellie tilts her head back and forth slightly, and makes a subtle equivocating gesture with one hand, down at her side.

Her situation is a little more complex than simply 'safe' or 'not safe'.

The paper's writing changes.

Do you want to work for her?

"I was very obsessive when building my mountains, I wanted them just so. You know, so people could travel through them without too much of a climb but still get a nice view."

Again with the equivocation.

"You care a great deal about your people."

"I do."

... Are you planning something in particular?

Nod.

All right. Good luck. Let me know if I can help in some way.

The town's close now!

At last. What's it like from up close?

It's cute, colorful, and somewhat spread out; the result of being built on mountains. Another result is that it is very multilevelled, but it seems to mitigate this by having slow, meandering inclines for the main paths and stairs if someone would like to take a faster detour. This makes navigation rather different than Ellie might be used to, but each street is named and there are occasionally signs pointing to relevant locations. For example: Tisvetaia's temple, various civic buildings, and a few places to eat. The roads are well paved and the stairs all have nice railings.

People there also look happier than in Maeverine's domain. Also younger, but that's probably less of a surprise.

Ellie thinks she might like this place.

She'll go look at the temple first. She doesn't have anything to offer right now, but she wants to see what it looks like.

Her temple is similar to Maeverine's in that it is very large, and very impressive. That's about all it has in common besides an altar, though. It's open where Maeverine's is shut off; with archways and multiple entrances and exits and a lot of open space. It's also very lovely, with white marble and green granite and a dark, purple-tinted obsidian and with diaphanous curtains over the many very large windows. There are two living quarters attached, one that's for priests and one that's larger and meant for anyone that needs a place to stay. This is matched by what looks to be a cafeteria that serves food for free. There's a sign pointing to baths and hotsprings that are purposefully a bit more secluded than the temple.

It feels more like the well organized and surprisingly color-coordinated center of town than a monument to a god, though there is an altar provided.

That fits with what Ellie has gleaned about Tisvetaia's personality. Coming here to begin with seems like it might pay off.

Now, to make an offering... Are there any shops around?

There are a few! But mostly they sell practical things like baskets or clay pots or clothes, Tisvetaia doesn't seem to be the type of god to provide easy offering gift shops.

(She doesn't need them. Offering immortality? Very lucrative, power wise.)

She'll have to think a little outside the box on this one, then. Hmm...

One of the shops has notebooks for sale. Ellie hasn't used one years, the inside of her head is much safer, but she pauses at them nonetheless. Her one-sided conversation with Tisvetaia earlier gives her an idea. She purchases two notebooks and a pair of pencils, then goes to get something to eat. While she eats, she begins writing in one of the notebooks. An account of her life in the village, the raid, and her first years as a ward of Maeverine, including Ellie's decision to commit deicide. This should answer all of Tisvetaia's questions, and might even persuade her to help.

She's done writing by the time her meal is gone. Ellie returns to the temple and places the notebook upon the altar. "Tisvetaia, I ask that you accept this offering, which is a tale close to my heart, and keep it safe as you do your worshippers."

The notebook disappears, and there is a pause as she reads it. ... Not a long one, she can read multiple pages at once and reads very quickly, but a noticeable one.

"Thank you," she says, "This is a fine offering, and very well thought out. I'll keep it very safe."

A note appears:

Later - here is too public. Then it disappears shortly after.

It is a public temple. There are lots of people around.

Ellie won't hang around for much longer then. She goes wandering around town, taking in the sights. And if she happens to wander down some empty streets, well. These things happen.

When she is in one of these empty streets:

Do you know her desecration material?

Nod.

Is it something I can help you get?

Nod.

All right. I'm willing to help you with it. Maeverine is a menace and I'd like us all to be rid of her.

Ellie can't expressed her gratitude verbally, but she can smile widely.

My acolyte suggested teaching you a sign language so you could talk silently. Does this sound acceptable to you?

Nod.

All right. He's already figuring out teaching methods that will get by Maeverine's notice. For now I think it's wise to explore and play the good little acolyte, but if you can get whatever her desecration material is to me sooner rather than later, I can get to work making it. Pause, then another note: It's not related to human sacrifice, is it?

Headshake.

Ellie considers whether to try to act out 'rock salt' by charades. Probably easier to just wait for the sign language. Or the acolyte. He, at least, she can communicate with in writing without having to make a conspicuous offering.

Okay. I'll get a list of likely candidates and if one of them's it you can point at it. Is it from anything living?

Headshake.

Mineral, then?

Nod.

Twenty questions works too, she guesses.

Yep!

And eventually they narrow it down to the appropriate mineral.

I'll get to creating it, then. Thank you.

Nod.

Back to wandering. Cheerful-ish wandering. Ellie gets another meal when the sun begins to sink behind the horizon, then goes back to the temple to take advantage of the free bed.

It is a pretty comfortable bed! Maeverine made her earn a bed half this comfortable. And while there's a second bed in the room, there are enough empty bedrooms that Ellie can just have this one to herself.

The night is quiet, but for the gentle sound of rain.

Ellie is entirely used to sleeping through rain.

She wakes at her accustomed early hour, is briefly confused that there is no task immediately awaiting her attention, then goes in search of food.

Food is provided for free! It's a bit bland, but 'bland' for Tisvetaia's domain is noticeably an improvement on 'bland' for Maeverine's domain.

Mmm, food which contains a distinguishable flavor.

Absent anything else to do, Ellie will do more exploration of the town and surrounding area today.

It is very pretty! But that's not a surprise by now.

There are hot springs, apparently, and Ellie can visit the beach if she likes. Or, she can go travelling to another town and look at that.

The beach, first. Ellie's never been to a proper beach, even though Maeverine's domain is bordered by ocean.

The ocean is certainly a sight to behold, and the beach itself is lovely and very striking, with its black, glittering sand.

There are people, but the concept of tourism hasn't really caught on yet, so Ellie doesn't have to deal with crowds.

That's nice. She'll spend most of the day wandering up and down the beach, in and out of the surf. It's relaxing to not have any responsibilities pressing on her.

Tisvetaia is kind enough to ask if she would like to have lunch delivered to her while she's down there, or if she just wants to eat random things from the forest.

Ellie is unaccustomed to eating more than twice a day, and she is not yet hungry. Thank you for the offer, however.

No problem, Tisvetaia is happy to treat a guest.

The beach: is not moving anytime soon. Ellie can have as long as she likes with it.

...She can plausibly take the whole day off, right? It's not like Maeverine is actually here to chivvy her into doing something useful. And besides, she already said she'd wait for the acolyte who's on his way here. She doesn't want to run out of things to do before he gets here.

Well, Maeverine doesn't pipe up to order her around, so - perhaps it's okay.

The acolyte's still on his way, it'll be another day or two before he gets here.

Ellie stays out long enough to watch the stars appear above the ocean, then goes back into town.

Some people recognize her and wave hello.

She can have the same room she had back, if she wants it. Also, free dinner.

Hello recognizable people. Ellie does not make herself unapproachable, but she doesn't go out of her way to start a conversation either.

She will take both the dinner and the bed, and tomorrow morning, she'll have a breakfast as well. She should probably do something more reconnaissance-like today. Approaches to and from the town?

There are a few! A little mountain path to the north, a larger, flatter one to the east that seems to be a main center of trade, the town's harbor, and a few more minor paths. The wilderness itself isn't difficult to traverse, even with mountains there are little dirt paths that trail up and down the less steep portions.

Ellie will spend her day hiking in the jungle, then. Getting the lay of the land.

Night falls. She returns to the temple.

The next morning, she asks Tisvetaia if her acolyte is getting close.

He is!

Tisvetaia predicts he'll be here around noon.

Then Ellie will eat breakfast and stroll around town for a few hours. Presumably Tisvet can direct him to her.

Presumably!

Around noon, a man in black locates her and walks up to introduce himself.

"Hello," he says, smiling. "I'm Tainel, Tisvetaia's acolyte. It's nice to meet you."

"Ellie, of Maeverine. Likewise."

"How have you liked Tisvet's domain so far?"

He speaks slowly and deliberately, but not unnaturally so. It can be played off as a personal quirk of Tainel's - but the reason why soon becomes apparent. As he talks, be begins signing, slowly and deliberately so she can watch, every word he speaks.

Oh, isn't that clever. Ellie pays attention to the signing. Hopefully the system is not too complicated.

"Quite well. I've never really been out of my god's domain before."

"It's nice to travel," he agrees. "I don't leave my god's domain all that often, really. There's a lot to do here, and Tisvetaia has a hell of a protective streak."

The sign language isn't very complicated - the grammar is the same as spoken language, but there are a lot of signs to learn.

Fortunately, Ellie has an excellent memory. And here is all this new territory around she can tie signs too!

"I've noticed. It seems to mostly manifest positively."

"Definitely. And I let her know when she's gotten into over protective territory, so we're safe from that quirk."

Yeah, if Ellie tried that, she'd get smited smart quick.

"Why don't you show me around a little? I've been wandering on my own, but I'd be interested in a native's perspective."

"I'd be happy to!"

Tainel doesn't sign in front of non-Ellie people for fear of someone pointing it out and giving things away to Maeverine, but they can coincidentally tour places that don't have any people. Here is a set of obscure hidden hot springs, here is this cool cave Tisvetaia has with mushrooms that light up when touched, here is a lovely waterfall. He makes a good tour guide, if a chatty one, for obvious reasons.

Taniel is a competent person. Ellie approves of Taniel.

After the waterfall, she signs back at Taniel. I think I've picked up most of this.

Quick study! he signs back, smiling, while talking about some completely innocuous history of a nearby town.

So, do you have a plan for Maeverine? (Names don't just translate into sign language without being painstakingly spelled out. So Tainel has dubbed her sign name 'Soon To Die.')

Get a lot of rock salt. Descrate one of her outlying temples. Then kill her.

Straightforward. Does Maeverine pay attention to some borders more than others? Tisvet and I were thinking that she be your rock salt transportation method. Not like you can drag a cart of the stuff without getting caught.

There's a small village where the mountains run into the coast. She doesn't send anyone there more than once every six months. I could land a boat there and any real response would be at least a day away.

Tisvet, map?

A map appears in front of the both of them. The Maeverine's domain is not as filled in as its surroundings, but a basic sketch of her borders is present. Tainel continues to talk about history.

Here? asks Tainel, pointing approximately to its location.

Ellie makes small comments when appropriate.

Yes.

Attacking places where the god owns but doesn't do as much means the mental fight'll be harder and longer, he points out. Tisvet can run interference, but not forever, and the more she helps the more backlash she gets from other gods.

What's the tradeoff like? Anywhere she is active, her acolytes are closer, too. But it doesn't have to be there, once the salt's past the border I can move it more easily. 

Maeverine's likely to notice it showing up if its in a large concentration once it's past the border. Don't expect to be able to keep it hidden. Tradeoff's not insignificant, if you were to manage to desecrate her major center of power you could pull it off pretty quickly, I think. The place you first take is your starter power base in the fight, and everything you take is something she can't use herself.

What range of timescales?

If you get her major power base from the start... An hour, maybe two, to kill her. Outskirts get trickier, but can take several days. ... You don't need to sleep or eat while doing it.

Ellie considers, then taps the map. 

This is the main port. There's usually two acolytes at the temple here. If I can neutralize them, I might be able to finish before more can show up.

Are you confident in your ability to kill them both?

One, yes. Two's... trickier.

Do they usually stay located together in the same area?

Pretty close, yeah.

How viable are - he was not able to figure out a way to use this word in casual conversation. He signs the word to Tisvetaia, and she produces another bit of paper.

Explosives, says the bit of paper.

I... don't think her blessings would do much to mitigate that. If they were close enough.

We can get you explosives.

...if I didn't need to stay her acolyte to kill her I would convert right here.

Tainel grins.

Tisvet was the one to suggest it! I am very happy as her acolyte.

Thank you, Tisvet.

You're welcome, says a note.

The hard part is timing. Setting things up so the explosives go off right as you get the rock salt to use. Otherwise you get smited or don't blow up your fellow acolytes. How long do you think it will take you to get to the port and get explosives into position?

Depends on approach. It'll take... two days, to get there from the mountain pass. Maybe an hour to set up the explosives and make sure they're in the blast once I'm there.

That sounds like it would tip her off to what you're doing. Is there a way to do it without potentially gaining her wrath?

I could come in by sea. I'm supposed to spend a while out here scouting for her, there'd be time to create a plausible reason to do that.

Fair. Good idea. And Tisvet can fly in the night after you arrive with the rock salt.

Yes. It would be suspicious if I came back here before I finished my trip, we should pick a different place to meet and confirm the final steps.

Definitely. We can also pick out locations to leave notes in case any change of plan's needed without it coming out of nowhere. Tisvet, can you get us a few locations that would be good for meeting or leaving notes?

Yes. I'll get Ellie a location list before she leaves for places to leave notes and meet outside of my domain. In it is hardly the problem.

Do you have a time schedule for your travels? Tainel asks of Ellie.

Not as such, no. I can create and adhere to one, that seems like it would be useful.

Very! I'll get you a proper list of places to visit that you can work with. Tisvet can have the rock salt in a few weeks, think you can stretch it out that far?

Yes. I will be very thorough. Maeverine will be impressed with my diligence.

Tainel smiles.

That's the spirit. I'm surprised that she acolytes people after kidnapping them. Completely unsustainable, we are doing the world a favor by killing her.

Her training is normally very effective at instilling loyalty and weeding out the ones who aren't.

But not universally, obviously.

I formed my intention to kill her very early in my time there. It was... an anchor.

... Well. We'll kill her. And then you'll be a god and have all the time in the world to do whatever you like.

I've not thought so much about that part of it.

Understandable. Tisvet and I can give you pointers if you want them, but - cross that bridge when we get to it, and all.

Advice would be appreciated. Mortals who slay gods don't tend to outlive them by much.

Not really, no. There's a lot to handle, and most of their peers don't take kindly to former mortals, uh, existing. Tends to give acolytes the idea that they could maybe do the same. Maeverine's not very well liked, and is pretty isolated regardless. The major god you'd have trouble with is Varkalosix, and otherwise you'd maybe be okay if you spin it as a necessary evil and keep to yourself.

I think that should be doable.

All right. Anything else for now? There's only so long I can bullshit about history.

Gosh can he bullshit, though. He's still not out of history to talk about.

I don't think so. The history is interesting in it's own right, perhaps we can have that conversation properly someday.

Half of this is made up, the other half's exaggerated, he assures. I'll tell you the actual history later, though.

Nod.

"Thank you for the lesson, Taniel. We'll have to do this again sometime."

"You're quite welcome," he says, all smiles. "Yes, we will. Take care." And kill the bitch.

And then he waves, and off he goes.

Ellie goes back to the temple for dinner and bed, intending to leave in the morning if Tisvet gets her the map.

She does! Also planned supplies to be left at each location, and what date they will be available without any divine presence overlap so as not to tip off Maeverine. Included in the supplies are explosives, several types of poison, a spyglass, rations, and some knives. Ellie can also make requests if she wants anything in particular.

That should be sufficient, with the supplies Ellie brought herself. She memorizes the locations and dates on the map and tucks it carefully into her boot.

And then she's off. Places to go, gods to visit.

The places and gods are all there as promised, certainly! As are the drop points for helpful items.

(Even the decay god is nicer than Maeverine. He's perfectly nice to his people, he just threatens and terrorizes people that aren't under any god's protection.)

No delay here, says the last of the notes. I will be watching for your boat, please leave the name of it at - and then a location in the port town Ellie planned to depart from that would do perfectly well for leaving notes.

How lovely.

Eventually, it's time for Ellie to return home. She makes sure to end up in a port city and books passage back.

Maeverine is so pleased to have Ellie back! She enjoyed her reports of her peers' weaknesses.

(And one of Tisvetaia's birds does circles above the ocean, well out of Maeverine's sensing range. She watches the boat from far, far above, not even a speck in the sky to the sailors and acolyte below. She modified it for speed, she'll be there on time.)

Ellie is happy to be back too, Maeverine, thank you.

(Where is a good spot to ambush those two acolytes...?)

Somewhat appropriately, Maeverine's temple. They all are expected to sleep there, Ellie included. Would Ellie like to poison them, or blow them up?

That's a good question. What did Tisvet say about the effects of the poisons she provided?

There are two types, both of them pretty quick and merciful. One goes into food and will make them feel tired before they pass quietly in their sleep, and the other can transfer by being put into the bloodstream (stabbing is the recommended method, though Tisvet also provided a sneaky pointy ring as well) and will cause them to have heart attacks within the hour.

No point in drawing too much attention. Ellie wears the ring and pricks both acolytes over dinner.

Gosh. Those sure are some heart attacks they have.

Maeverine is appalled and shocked and demands that Ellie investigate!

She is on the case. Her medical knowledge is mostly focused around how to cause pain efficiently, but she will do her best. And she'll look for Clues in the area. Any Clues to be found?

Well, Ellie could certainly invent a few, if she's not interested in forking over the actual clues. Would she like to?

She's mostly just trying to kill time until Tisvet brings the salt in.

This evidence that she just found suggests it was poison. It'd probably have to have been delivered by someone close. Have any of the priests here been acting suspiciously?

Maeverine will sure find the ones that have been! Here are all of the priests, lined up in front of Ellie. Maeverine expects her to torture the appropriate information out of them!

Ellie will stall as much as she can without being suspicious.

Anytime you want to show up, Tisvet, that would be great.

Here she is!

She makes her entrance by crashing, high speed, into a deserted section of the coast. It is pretty fiery and noticeable.

"The little bitch," growls Maeverine. "Ellie, whatever she's trying I need you to go and stop it -"

"I'm on my way."

And off she goes, at high speed.

There is a bit of Tisvetaia, on the beach! Her bit of domain is dark and smoldering and rapidly cooling as Maeverine grumpily rains on it.

As soon as Ellie shows up, rock salt starts appearing at the edges in easy grab-bags for Ellie to snatch and carry off to spread.

Ellie takes the first one and quickly spreads it around the area where Tisvet landed, creating a safe zone. Then she starts making a path back towards the temple.

"My apologies Maeverine, but I don't think I can stop this."

"Wh-" begins the storm goddess. She attempts to fry Ellie with the traditional lightning bolt, but the lightning dissipates before getting anywhere near Ellie. "What are you doing. Stop!"

"No." The path continues to lengthen.

"Have you solved the mystery of what happened to the others yet?"

"You - you betrayed me," whispers the goddess. "You won't get away with it, my priests will kill you -"

"Your priests are no match for a trained acolyte and you know it."

"I," she begins, and then stops. "Have contingencies you couldn't even dream of, give up now and your death will be quick."

"Quick like my parents' were? I'll take my chances."

"You'll die, screaming!" shrieks Maeverine. "I gave you everything! Everything!"

"You gave me nothing . You tried to take everything I had. You only wanted to twist me into a tool you could use to further your own selfish glory. But I am not your slave."

"Do slaves get everything they ever asked for? Did you want for anything, once you'd earned my favor?"

"You never gave me a choice."

"You never asked for anything! I would have given it, had you asked!"

"Don't insult my intelligence."

Maeverine growls.

And then a mob of priests and followers marches around a bend in the swamp. It is likely they are not here to do Ellie's hair.

Ellie dumps the half bag she has in a large area around her, for freedom of movement, then draws her knife.

"If you attack me, you will die. Leave, and let me do this. I will be a better god to you than she is."

Mobs are notoriously hard to reason with, especially when Maeverine shrieks, "Anyone who flees will die on the spot, the one who kills her can have whatever they ask of me!"

So, now Ellie has an angry mob to deal with.

Mobs are disorganized, and Ellie is well-trained. If there were other acolytes in the mob, that would be a problem, but she is the only one present. Maeverine's acolyte power is a potent weapon in the correct hands.

It's not much of a contest.

A few of the mob members flee by the end, and are struck down by Maeverine.

"Idiots," she hisses. "Failures! You haven't won, not yet. Not ever."

Her temple's just up ahead.

"We'll see."

Ellie desecrates the temple, taking special pleasure in spilling salt over the altar.

Maeverine tries threats and bribes, but doesn't stoop to begging.

Soon enough, the entire temple is properly salted. Ellie is free to begin, if she'd like.

When one becomes an acolyte, a bond is formed between the mortal, and the god. It's hardly noticeable, and not invasive. Just a small feeling, at the very back of the acolyte's mind, whenever at least a little of the god's domain is near. Some acolytes describe it as a well that fuels whatever power they have, some as the power itself, freely given.

How an acolyte kills their god is by reaching into that well, and taking.

This time, Ellie will do the taking. She reaches.

It's hard, at first, to take. Like she is fighting something and having to tear something away from herself at the same time. Fighting to reach something while stuck deep in a bog.

But then Ellie grasps the first scrap of power and it's like the easiest thing in the world. Her body fades into the background as the temple around her fades in. It feels different, more mobile. Instead of moving her arms she can change the shape of the entire - well, not arm, temple, and the land underneath it, and the air around it. It would be easy, to move something one way or another as she likes it. She feels - present in the things around her, intertwined. The rock underneath the temple is cold, but doesn't cause her to feel cold. It's just a thing that is. It could be scorching hot or freezing cold, and it wouldn't be uncomfortable, just itself. Like the type of rock it is or the composition of the soil above it, or the smell of the air around the temple. One might expect that feeling all of this at once would be overwhelming, but it isn't. As she takes pieces, her mind expands, blossoms like a flower. She can perceive a thousand things at once without them becoming muddied, think entire separate trains of thought without muddying them up, and switch between them effortlessly. She could, if she liked, carry on several conversations at once, or read several books at the same time, or -

Well, it's hard to tell what else she can do, because a something is shoving at her with a powerful force, trying to dislodge her from her place in everything around her and push her back into her measly body. Maeverine, probably. But Ellie can shove back, and keep taking.

No no no no no this is hers now this is her now she will not be removed she will not be contained.

MINE

I AM

Speaking to Maeverine is easy. It doesn't even require language anymore, the thing she would like to say just is. Exactly what she intends. And hearing her is just as easy, and as easily understood.

"You think yourself so powerful? You're a pathetic little gnat, and I will crush you like the bug you are."

Maeverine is entrenched, hard to move -

But not impossible. And she's reeling from a loss of power and presence, has become somewhat complacent. She's scrabbling to bring everything she has to bear in this fight.

A mistake that Ellie is free to take advantage of.

Ellie pushes, and expands, expands-

"You are old. And complacent. And weak. Your time is over."

Speaking of complacency, she should take care her body comes to no harm. Reshaping the temple is easy, she blocks all exits, thickens the walls around the room she's in.

Maeverine catches her wind soon enough, figures out how to fight this fight properly. She gets crafty and switches the directions that she shoves Ellie at, starts occasionally making little victories against Ellie.

Of course, they come too late. Tainel's advice was accurate; Ellie took a large portion of Maeverine's power base in her first foray, and has taken more and more since. She eclipses her once-goddess in power now. If she were to slip, and there are plenty of occasions to, this fight might become a bit more fair. But if she doesn't...

Ellie has waited too long, come too far, to slip now. She maintains her concentration, keeps hold of what she has, and pushes, pushes-

"You are done. Finished."

"So are you," hisses Maeverine. "You think this isn't a death sentence? You think the other gods will let you live?" She laughs, harshly. "Enjoy your scraps of power while you have them. It won't be long."

And then the last of her is taken by Ellie, and the storm goddess dies.

"We'll see."

And then Ellie pauses, looks around-

-and is pleased by what she finds. But it shouldn't be so hot, it should be cooler- there. This town is better. She will expand the change gradually through the rest of her domain.

The domain cools...

... But for a little spot on the beach.

"Ah! Congratulations." says Tisvetaia. "Well then, I don't need to distract her at a pivotal moment after all, nicely done."

"Thank you. Are you planning to remain there?"

And with her expanded attention, she can see to her newly-acquired residents at the same time. Maeverine's other acolytes are probably not salvageable. She smites them. The priests she'll deal with individually. They are all directed to gather in the nearest temple.

"No, I don't like part of me being this isolated, and I suspect you'd rather have your space. But I can stick around a while longer if you want help or some kind of advice."

Acolytes get smited. It's very uneventful. Also very easy.

Most of the priests go to the nearest temple. Many of those are already swearing to serve their new goddess instead, just please don't kill them they don't want to die. Some of them are more quiet and pensive. Some of them don't go to the nearest temple, and instead start trying to get out of the goddess's domain as soon as possible.

"Some residents may wish to leave, with Maeverine gone. I can recommend your domain as a destination, if you are willing to accept immigrants."

She is reassuring to the priests who come over willingly. She intends to be a different sort of god than Maeverine. If you have anything you want to change about how things are run, this would be a good time to mention it. Go forth and spread news of her to the people, and give them the same message.

The ones who try to leave are gently but firmly prevented from doing so. Where are they going, and why?

"I am. Though I would prefer if you didn't mention I helped you kill Maeverine, if you don't mind. Other gods might think I'll try the same with them. And that would get... Messy."

Most of the priests go to do as she says. Some request to not be her priests, and be free to do whatever they'd like. Two ask for her name.

Mostly, the ones that are trying to leave just want to not die. At least, that's their story. Some of them tell it better than others. A few of them are lying to her.

"Of course. It shall be our little secret."

She tells them her name is... Ellayania. The priests who wish to be priests no longer are released from their duties.

To the leavers, she is not intending to kill them, but as long as they will not cause trouble that will tarnish her reputation, they are free to go.

The liars are not free to go. She reminds them with godly landscape-controlling emphasis that she can tell when they lie to her.

"Excellent, thank you."

The priests will inform everyone of their new goddess's name! ... Everyone is pretty wary. The priests that are released from their duties scurry away.

The leavers leave, and the liars... Attempt to lie better, mostly. One breaks down into sobs, it's quite memorable. One stammers that if killed Varkalosix will avenge him, somehow. One begs for forgiveness.

Varkalosix? Really? Her compliments on managing to maintain a hidden allegiance under Maeverine's nose. That one is free to go, but don't give her cause to regret this.

As for the others, she is willing to be lenient, but only if they tell her the truth. Where are they going, and why?

Squeak, says the one who managed to maintain a hidden allegiance under Maeverine's nose. And then off he scurries.

Most of the liars fess up eventually. They also seem to be working for Varkalosix. It seems she was running reconnaissance on Maeverine.

She was not the only one planning Maeverine's demise, then. How exciting! Off they go, then. Tell your master Ellayania would be interested in having a more formal sort of chat.

Are there any trainees left at the main temple?

And there go the minions, to talk to their master!

There are a few trainees, yes. Maeverine kept a steady supply of them so she could afford to occasionally kill some off. They know something is up, but most of them seem to think that it's another test, so they are acting accordingly.

No, this is not a test, no really, she's a whole new god. Go and look at the remains of one of the acolytes if you don't believe her. She understands most of you probably no longer have homes to go to, but if anyone would like to go somewhere else, she can facilitate that.

... Mostly they don't believe her. They tell her that if she is not Maeverine, they aren't going to work for her, and aren't going to help her. Some of the bolder ones say that if she really killed Maeverine, they'll kill her right back.

A few of the younger ones do believe her, and would like to go home.

Well, first things first, get the young believers separated from the older trainees. Then try to gently determine if their homes still exist, or if they were destroyed like hers was.

As for the older ones, she's not going to force them to work for her. But are they sure they want to be that open about their intent to kill her?

Most of their families are pretty dead. A few are still alive, but those families were pretty indoctrinated by Maeverine. They gave up their children willingly.

Some of them say yes! They will be that open about their intent to kill her!

Some of them hesitate and say that they won't work for her unless she's Maeverine, but maybe she doesn't have to, you know. Die by their hand right then. When they're teenagers and yelling at a god and overwhelmingly likely to die horribly.

Sorry, kids, looks like going home is not really an option. You can stay at one of her temples until you're older, she can try to find you somewhere else in her domain to stay, or she can send you to another god who has a really nice domain. (Hey, a couple of you Varkalosix priests, wait for a little bit. She may want you to escort some children elsewhere.)

Smart decision, hesitators. Your prize is not being smited. You can have a few days to think it over, if you like.

The others are smited. It is only the minimum amount of horrible.

Some of the Varkalosix priests will hang around, they guess. If the god tells them to. But they're not super thrilled about being babysitters.

Most of the kids would really rather not stay in the temple. Anywhere else but the place they were taken and tortured. Some of them break down crying.

The ones who are smited die, and it is very uneventful.

There, there, children. You don't have to stay here. In fact, why don't we all go outside, away from the temple to keep talking. Do you want to leave this region entirely? Ellayania can make that happen for you, just say the word.

She begins to make alterations to the temple. First to go is the altar, melting smoothly into the floor. A glassily black slab is raised in its place, with shelves on the wall behind. Books begin to appear, her favorites of the ones she's read and remembered. Benches, of the same black stone as the altar, around the perimeter of the room with light sconces for reading. The more... ominous of the rooms Maeverine maintained are sealed up and the layout of hallways is shifted to block them.

Some of them do. Some of them don't - the idea of leaving a place they know again seems awful and terrifying. Some of them just quietly say they will go wherever they're told to go.

One day, Ellayania can make her own temples instead of refurbishing Maeverine's. But for right now, this is very cost efficient.

For now, a certain degree of continuity is useful. Not too much, but enough to ease the transition.

The children who wish to leave, she directs to the priests of Varkalosix. She impresses very firmly on the priests that they are to escort them to a safe, friendly, nearby location. Whether in a domain or not according to individual preferences. If she hears of anything ill befalling them on the trip, she will be upset. To the children, she offers a vial of her holy water to take with them, so they can ask for any help she might be able to provide.

To the children who don't want to leave, and the ones who will do as they're told, she offers the suggestion that they travel to the port town. There are people there who would take them in. (People she marked as potentially noncompliant when serving as acolyte-in-training to Maeverine. She offers them special favor if they take care of the children.)