Godhood | ONC 2024

Chapter Eleven

Toho's troubled demeanor dominated the banquet table for the rest of the night. He sat cross-legged atop the bolster between Ugut and Magulana. He folded his hands and cast a serious gaze towards the gods and oracles before speaking.

"The natural warm weather came earlier than we expected," Toho said. His head turned towards Magulana, who leaned closer to listen. "With your blessing also in effect, the low valley is now trapped in a dry spell."

Likoda gasped when she heard this news. Palya recalled that the oracle had mentioned living in the valley village as a child. She must still know many of the residents there, and she probably thought of them as family.

"Oh dear," Likoda said. "Something must be done about this."

She looked at the sky-goddess, awaiting a response.

Luckily, Magulana echoed her sentiment. The sky-goddess nodded her head and waved her hand over the table. Immediately, a bird's-eye view illusion of the low valley appeared before her, allowing everyone to see the current condition of the area.

Two mountain ranges, normally swathed in shades of green, confined the low valley village. A river ran through the settlement, separating it into the eastern and western districts and providing the villagers with plenty of fish to eat. A bridge connected both areas.

Now, though, the river looked more like a shallow creek. It was steadily drying up, along with the mountain forests and shrubbery. The soil surrounding the village was starting to crumble and crack from a lack of moisture.

"We should undo my blessing so that half the heat disappears," Magulana said. She raised her head and locked eyes with Palya. "Palya?"

The void-goddess gulped as the weight of the sky-goddess' request settled over her shoulders. She expected to return to her duties, of course, but not this soon. Iloyu was still healing, so she had forgone any chance to practice in case it would hamper his recovery.

"I can try, but..." Palya clenched her hands, not exactly sure how to voice her concerns regarding this matter.

Toho noticed her reaction and spoke up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Likoda kindly answered Toho's question on Palya's behalf.

"She's worried about Sir Iloyu," the oracle said.

Palya bowed her head, letting Toho know that Likoda had spoken the truth. She blamed herself for hurting Iloyu so badly that he had to stay in bed and rely on others to accomplish the simplest tasks. She feared the fact that due to her hand, he could die at any minute.

She didn't look up, even though Magulana joined the conversation.

"He hasn't fully recovered from the last time, has he?" Magulana said.

"If I try to use my power and it malfunctions once more, I might hurt him again." Palya finally raised her eyes and implored the sky-goddess to understand her concern. "There's no telling if he'll survive another mistake."

The earth-god, however, reminded everyone about the other things they were putting at stake. Tungi snapped his fingers, and the magical vision of the low valley village wavered. He reached for his water goblet the moment it disappeared.

"Still, we can't just ignore a problem as serious as this." Tungi brought the vessel to his lips and took a sip. He then wiped his mouth before speaking again. "If the gods lose the worship of one village, the others might follow. The human's prayers and offerings are what sustain Natngilaka and the natural order of the world. Without Natngilaka's magic, it would be impossible to sustain human life at all."