[color=7bcdc8][h3][center]The Lamps and Shadows of Telum'velik[/center][/h3][/color]

The sun shone bright, piercing past the window and conquering the room. The goddess almost felt like using her cape of divine power as a simple curtain, if it would help to make the room more comfortable.

She had been trying not to hold a single drop of bitterness in her heart, towards a friend and an ally, but Benea had bound her to a regrettable position.

"My goddess." a guard said as he entered the room. "We have another guest. A mayor..."

The goddess simply waved her hand, signalling for him to let the man pass. Soon the man who called himself the leader of a nearby village entered the room, nodding before sitting on the chair, a finery imported from the Twilight Swamp.

"Hello, your ladyship." he started. "Uhm... I came here today, to this audience, to request your help in protection, and maybe if possible, propose a trade of our resources?"

"W...What?" a dusklander woman by the goddess' side gasped in indignation. "You and your village denied helping us, said we were freaks with the hair of rats, and told us to crawl back into the shadows. Now YOU come here asking for help?"

[color=7bcdc8]"Hatzur, that will be enough, let us not dwell in the past."[/color]

Indeed, from the wording of the goddess, the group of her people who crossed south expected to be received as peacekeepers and friends, instead, they found nothing but hostility, from beginning to end. First villagers refused to house them, then some bandits were given free rein to harass the group, finally, in the capital Telum'velik, the goddess had to activate her cape's protective powers to walk to the Node, repelling all the stones and dirt being thrown at the group.

Thus began Dzallitsuny's reign on Node 13. Unlike the initial plan, they did not make a base at Tillume Villahke, as the dusklanders called Telum'velik, but something closer to Node 8, Dzalli's own Mirror Marches. This position was advantageous for there was a river that ran from the north all the way down to the sea, not only were her people master at river navigation but rivers and boats were such delicate things that the goddess of dusk could manipulate the situation with minimal divine actions.

The goddess did not want to bring an army to impose her will upon these people, but the truth was that the condition was rigged, the side of the shadows had a goddess, and the side of the lamp was lacking its creator. A lightning strike to a warehouse here, an inopportune rain or hail at the wrong time, and the path for the domination of the river route by Dzallitsunya was cleared. The moral of it was questionable, but the goddess took a pragmatic approach, it was best this way, chaos would retake this land without her leadership, and surely no other god would be as gentle.

With the river taken, the goods of the twilight swamp then flowed in, as bribes or gifts, what was important was introducing them to the wider public, to get the locals "hooked". Silver and platinum, gemstones and amber, clothes, oils and salts for enduring and exotic lamps, dried up tea leaves and spices, cocoa fruit and coca leaves, even many types of mushrooms, the normal and dream-inducing types. Soon the goods of the Mirror Marches would also flow in, Croll had been exploring uses for the many new things that had been found there, from grapes, nuts, and apples in the green valleys to the black cotton-like flowers of the salt flats, the peculiar spiders that seemed to craft webs of crystalline strings or the many bees that existed both on Node 7 and Node 8, suspiciously close to the centre of the nodes, producing very distinct types of honey and wax on each area.

Finally, the third pillar of the goddess's presence in Node 13 was her army. Well kept and always fed thanks to the goddess' blessings and ultimately protected by the goddess herself, who had no qualms about fighting with her people. This group was not meant to conquer cities, but they were not there for just defence either. Bandits and criminals started to increase their presence due to the crisis of faith and the lack of divine leadership, and to the East rumours of beast-like men cannibalising entire villages were spreading, awful but useful.

With all that in mind, she turned to the pleading mayor.

[color=7bcdc8]"It is about the recent wave of refugees isn't it? Leaving the east after a village was burned..."[/color] she added. [color=7bcdc8]"I can lend the boats to move the food to feed them, and help them resettle with my own materials and my people's expertise. I can protect your village but your actual leaders in Tillume Villahke will complain, won't they? Such a troublesome lot, if not for their threat of having my 'embassy' raided I would have moved east already to properly scout and eliminate these raiders."[/color]

The mayor gulped at the clear implications of the goddess' words. "We will have a council meeting in Telum'Velik soon. To address some issues... I can put my word for you there. If that helps..." this was the fourth mayor of a local village saying this, it would help indeed. "And about the trade... I visited another village and I saw the silver pendant you gave them, so I was thinking..."

[color=7bcdc8]"I do not trade. But friends to my realm will receive pleasant gifts with a formal agreement on some basic rules. After that, you can put requests for resources and goods, and I will see if am able to provide you with them."[/color] the goddess added, smiling. [color=7bcdc8]"For a start, have this. If you ever see trouble nearing your village, burn his oil in the village's bonfire, it will rise a bright flare that can be seen from afar, that will signal me and my soldiers that you are in need of help."[/color]

[hr]

One of the dusklander guards observed the salad that had been among the produces gifted by the mayor, cabbages, onions and some sort of white round thing with a yellow core. Without thinking much, he took a handful of it and started chewing, trying to identify what the hell the third ingredient was.

One of the other guards looked startled at that. "Dude... that is like, chicken egg." he said, waving his head.

Immediately the salad eater froze, tilting his head. "W...what?"

"Ayup. It's an egg, from a chicken, popped out straight from their rears. They clean and boil it but like it's any better but it's still, you know, messed up man. It's like the lady bird's baby-making stuff, and they eat it." the guard added, smirking.

"No way what..." the other guard coughed the now chewed up salad out, narrowly avoiding vomiting onto the floor. "This is sickening. What is wrong with these people? Don't they have enough food? Why would they eat eggs?"

A female guard nodded at those words. "They also drink milk here, from those large things... uhh... cows yeah?"

"They drink it straight from the tit I hear, as if they were little baby calves." another person said with a laugh. "Sun-landers are messed up in the head man, all this sunlight cooks their brains."

The guard shook his head. "Now you are just making stuff up." he sighed. "I really hope we can go back to the swamps soon."

"Not lying man, ask Zillike when he is back from scouting." then he blinked. "Wait, what are you doing here? Weren't you meant to be in the north?"

"Right. Trouble in the mirror marches, I have a message to send to the goddess."

[hr]

Telum'velik was of all cities one of the oldest and one of the largest. Being so close to node 18, where all humans had been created, had given it potential, and said the potential was later fully realised by Anak'thas, though without his leadership issues of corruption and slums had started to spread it was still one of the jewels of the world, as far the current level of metropolitan cultures went.

Zillike had been a scout since the start, rarely in the swamp, often in the barren plains and beyond. Unlike most dusklanders, he had maintained a healthy sun-kissed appearance. He could easily blend in with the crowd, and not be called out as one who came from Dzallitsunya's lands. As such, he had been their primary ear in the region, keeping the goddess' embassy informed of any developments.

He noticed a crowd and went to check on them, but it was merely a group of children around a story-telling priest. Something about siblings, a girl and a boy, the girl made many small little lights, represented by a jar of fireflies, one of the goods imported from the swamps, while the boy would make a greater light that dwarfed all others, represented by an oil lamp, a traditional local one. The girl would then live in jealousy of the boy or something, he stopped paying attention when the theme became clear, it was a mockery of his goddess and a declaration of her inferiority to Anak. 

These days these types of stories were almost all one could hear, Dzallitsunya leaving and letting the cities be independent had made for some time without much hate for her, but now it had all been rekindled. Something was off, Zillike could tell, so today he decided he would be bold, and try to spy on the council of the city.

Wearing black garbs and given the cover of the night, the young scout climbed up and sneaked past the few gate guards, going to the temple near the node. Since what he was doing was unusual, security in most places was quite weak, Dzallitsunya, in the time she took to claim the node, had also surveyed the central building, even loosening some stones or casting tunnels on the ground to help her future spy once she left. With his skills and such blessings, he was quickly within ear range of the council meeting.

"And this is what the usurper goddess has said to me. She gave me this oil that would turn any fire into a beacon of light, and she would march with her soldiers to its location." said the mayor that had just arrived after visiting the goddess.

"Great! we could lure them in, prepare a trap! If we join all our forces, even a god should fall." answered another.

"At what cost? Half of our adult population? And then what? Wait to be raided by another god, or those animals to the east?"

"So long as she sticks to the river and doesn't try to take cities, I think we can tolerate her."

"I don't feel comfortable making my village the centre of a trap. Not while the goddess is here."

"We could lure her east, she did say that she would go deal with the werebeasts if she was not worried about our forces, we give her our word, and act while she is away."

"All of you are too eager." Spoke Perfek Tilus Tilum’Velik, the governor of Tilum'Velik in the absence of Anak'thas. "Our Lord has returned, it is what everyone in the east says. He is biding his time, creating an army powerful unlike any ever seen, and soon he will march and cast out all usurpers. The word of our brothers is that he has recruited soldiers capable of performing miracles. The plan to lure the invaders is good, but it is not yet the time for confrontation."

This caused the spy's eyes to widen. If he was to be believed, the imprisoned mad god had returned. Zillike felt the pressure upon him now, this was crucial information that he had to tell his goddess. Yet, as soon as he stood up, his heart froze, he was no longer alone in the dark chamber he had been using to eavesdrop upon the council, in front of him, three guards were smirking. 

"Didn't I tell you I had heard of a rat scurrying around?" the leader of the guards told, readying his weapon, the dusklander did the same, though he had just a knife, he was not about to just go down without a fight.

[hr]

The wind blew gently upon the wheat fields nearby Tilum'Velik, under a tall oak tree a single torch was lit.

Perfek Tilus Tilum’Velik stared at the torch and at the bloodied young man fallen on the ground, clearing his throat as soon as he felt a chill of cold wind up his spine. "You are late."

[color=7bcdc8]"Have mercy, I am with child."[/color] Dzallitsunya smirked, offering the governor a cup of fire tea. [color=7bcdc8]"Oh, seems like you have caught Zellike."[/color]

"My guards were a bit rough. He lost a few fingers in the sword fight. I am sure you can re-attach them with godly magic. As you did to the assassins we sent against you."

[color=7bcdc8]"Any news on Anak'thas?"[/color]

"No further contact since the news of his escape."

[color=7bcdc8]"I expect he will act soon. When the time comes, try to not make big announcements about where Tilum'Velik will stand..."[/color]

"It would be unreasonable to expect us to not side with our creator."

[color=7bcdc8]"Yes, but you do not have to say that. Let the people go and fight as you please, but if you announce it, the city will be part of a possible conflict, with enemies in all directions. I would recommend waiting until the safety of the city is guaranteed, until then, at least pretend you will be neutral."[/color]

"So you think there will be a heavenly war."

[color=7bcdc8]"It is not impossible."[/color] she sighed. [color=7bcdc8]"So. The brigands to the northeast, near the hills, are they...?"[/color]

"Not ours. I would guess it's people fleeing east and going desperate. We have our peace deal Dzallitsunya, and so far it serves our people well."

[color=7bcdc8]"On my side, I do not see movements from any other god, the beastmen also seems to have stopped, probably by Benea's actions"[/color]

"Right, speaking of that threat, you should do better than to trust every mayor who comes asking for help. That fire you gave today was almost used for a trap."

[color=7bcdc8]"That was not for him, that was for you. I will need to leave the region for a few days. If there is any emergency, be it a god or an existential threat to the city, light it up and I will know there is trouble."[/color]

"Leave for the north huh?" the governor stroked his beard. "Some sort of trouble up there."

The goddess rolled her eyes, wouldn't he like to know. [color=7bcdc8]"No, I am merely incredibly lonely and I want to kiss my husband."[/color] she said in an annoyed tone. [color=7bcdc8]"Just make sure nobody has funny ideas in the little time I will be away, nothing that would test the patience of a pregnant woman, yes?"[/color]

"A conflict with you as we stand now is not of the interest of the people, even if few realise that. Now, did you bring me the goods that I requested?"

[color=7bcdc8]"Here. Two disks of gold, and a vial of the poison of the most venomous snake in the swamp. Have fun I guess?"[/color] she smirked. [color=7bcdc8]"Now, if you excuse me, I need to heal my spy."[/color]

As he left, turning off the torch and vanishing into the field of moonlit golden wheat, the goddess sighed in annoyance. [color=7bcdc8]"Its trouble after trouble. I really hope Croll did not do anything stupid."[/color]

[hider=summary]
Dzallitsunya has went south and taken Node 13 from Anak'Thas.
Knowing conquest would need bloodshed, she instead leaves the city and rules by bribes, espionage, diplomacy and minor divine arson.
Secretly, she has a deal with the governor of Tilum’Velik, the node's capital, to keep the peace and other gods away, in exchange for neutrality and no attacks against her troops.
[/hider]

[hider=might]
Initial
3 
+ 3 (Quiz answers)

Spent
- 1 (create special flora: a type of black cotton-like plant with certain properties that will be discussed later)
- 1 (create special animal: bees that create a different type of honey and wax depending on which node they are. Much like bees IRL can make even hallucinogen honey if they feed on certain flowers.)

Final:
4 might
[/hider]