[h3]Aureia, of gold, commerce, wealth, [/h3][i]and the far less important, trivial aspects of travel and luck[/i]

The door at the top of the staircase was a very sturdy looking barrier. The fact that it had been dented meant that whatever the mortals were using to try and breach it was a very powerful weapon, indeed. More intriguing, though, was the way the doors slid open as she approached it, but even that became of little interest compared to what the open door revealed. 

Like the mortals before her, Aureia had to take a pause to take in the enormity of the scene in front of her. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the blood and gore, the number of dead and living, and their equipment. It seemed, even ten thousand years later, there would always be armor and swords, however unusual. The strange tube-like devices in their hands were another thing entirely, though. They had been shooting volleys at the door—where were the siege engines that could do damage to such a strong door? It was entirely possible that what they wielded were strange staves, and they had been firing volleys of spells at the door, though if that were the case, then she must be very weak indeed, if she couldn’t detect the magic.

Her eyes drifted to the carnage on the ground. A lopsided battle and a heroic stand had occurred here. In the past, the knowledge of such parties would have been trivial to her, but here, she only had her eyes to work with—who are these two parties of mortals, and more importantly, which group was affiliated with the priestess or had otherwise summoned the gods? By color palette alone, she had to assume the white-clad priestess was more likely to be familiar with the fallen knight than the crimson-armored soldiers.

As the patron of commerce, though, she knew better than to assume, and instead contented herself for the moment to observe the exchange between the commander and his subordinate, finding it amusing. 

She took the time to pick her own brain on how she’d introduce herself, vocalizing her thoughts at the same time.[b] “Hmm… what should I say? It’s been ten thousand years. Maybe something quick, since there’s so many people. Maybe ‘Hello, mortal’? But that’s so uninspired,”[/b] she muttered, before realizing she was being addressed, and rudely, at that. [b]“Oh. Ahem. Greetings, mortal. Oh. Oh my, oh dear. You mortals can’t be serious. You wouldn’t mind repeating that again, would you?”[/b] Fake friendliness filled the tone of her voice as she processed the gall of the man’s statement. She’d give him the benefit of the doubt, it was ten thousand years and all, maybe it was some strange slang, because she was pretty sure the man had just tried to order around the divine under the authority of some mortal pretty boy. A pretty bad first impression, all things considered. Surely they weren’t…?

Oh, they were doubling down. Aureia had been in a good mood from being reawakened, but threatening her and insulting a fellow goddess –one that she respected-- in such an impudent way was a very effective way to ruin that.

[b]“I am Aureia, goddess of wealth and commerce. And travel and luck, but that is far less important. That ‘beastkin’ you see there is the Goddess of Hunting and Judgment. By what insolence do you and your ‘holy’ emperor presume to make a mockery of the divine and order us around?”[/b] She shifted her umbrella forwards, pointing it directly at the face of the red armored commander. It had taken on a dangerous appearance; the tip had morphed into a golden spike, and a single spoke along the edge had transformed into a long, thin razor along the length of the umbrella.

She gave them a polite smile. Still riding some of her good mood, she gave them one last chance. She doubted the rest of her fellow gods would be as forgiving and wait for their response, but whatever. 

[b]“How about I offer a counter proposal? Surrender and submit to our judgment, or die.” [/b]