"Get up!" Jor growled as he kicked the figure lazing around by the river. "You're still new, right? What are you doing here? Get in line with the other Tier 0's!"
The figure stirred as she lazily rolled over to look up at Jor before her eyes went wide. She immediately recognised him, even though they had never interacted before. Jor was massive, standing at six foot eight inches tall. The Dwarven tower shield slung across his back gleamed in the sunlight as her eyes fell on the sword at his waist. Its intricate design showed that it was of dwarven origin as well.
"Well! Get moving! We're in Elden territory!" Jor growled louder as the figure quickly made her apologies and ran off.
'Damn! How could I make such a bad impression in front of Jor! Jor! For crying out loud! He's only the Pantheon leader, of all things! He's bound to kick me out after this!' She sprinted across the flowing plains populated by colourful vegetation. It was a far better scene than what she had come to know around Valheim.
'It's always snowing there! And the blizzards! But I just had to lie down in the sun and enjoy the warm breeze! Didn't I?' She scoffed at her own stupidity as she glanced at the others huddled in their own groups preparing for battle. 'What are we even doing out here, anyway? We're nowhere near the Elden capital or any of the Elden Pantheons' realms.'
She could not help but frown as she eased in beside the other new recruits that had joined up at the same as her. There was one in particular that stood out, but that was just their commander. 'They even left a Tier 4 player to take charge of us.' She snorted as she glanced at the man's warm smile and the strange toga he wore. He was completely out of place amongst the Skardian gods.
"Allevia? That's your name, right?" Jarxos said, as his eyes met hers. "You really should stop wandering off. If you're spotted by the enemy, then you'll give us away. You know that Jor is not a very forgiving man, and this mission is important for the entire Pantheon."
Allevia glared at him. Everyone knew his story. Jarxos, the Betrayer. Sold out his own followers, all except his oracle, as long as he could switch sides to Skardia and be worshipped there. Jor had taken the deal and dealt a heavy blow along the Mediria coast with the raids he had ordered. Making off with a large amount of wealth that helped him to suppress his rivals among the Skardian Pantheons.
But the rumour was that Jarxos had brought something far more valuable with him when he switched sides. Information! Something that Jor did not know, but was eager to get his hands on. 'The Elden Gods have been fine with us so far. They've been good allies so honestly. Why are we here sneaking around?'
Allevia felt a headache coming on as she glanced around at the other faces. They all knew something was wrong. That they just should not be here. But nobody was questioning it aloud. Soon, the Pantheon began to move. Her eyes studied the beautiful scenery as it passed by. In the distance, she could see a lone mountain amongst the sea of greenery.
It took some time for them to get close to it. Especially since they kept changing course instead of going in a straight line. But everyone could tell that Jor and his officers grew tenser the closer they got. Allevia could hear the others complaining. All around her were other Tier 0's who were just wandering Deities. Although they had all ascended, none of them had an Authority over anything because they had all been taken.
If a fight were to happen, then they could only rely on Divine Spells. She felt that it was unfair. If they came up against anyone with an Authority then they would not have a chance. They were merely cannon fodder for the Pantheon. It really annoyed her that she had met the stats needed to advance to Tier 1 but she could not. Because she did not have an Authority over anything, she also did not have her own element yet.
'Hopefully, a few on our side will get wiped out so I can grab something. I don't want to be stuck at this level forever.' She let out a long sigh as Jor held up a fist to stop their march. Something... Many somethings were moving on the mountain. Allevia's ears picked up on the word that Jarxos mumbled at the front of their section. 'Eldens...'
Fear gripped Allevia's heart at that words. Eldens had their own Authorities but at the same time their Divine Magic was different to their own. They could use it to connect with Primal Magic giving them something similar to having access to a False Element. It would not be as strong as a True Elemental God's spells but it would give them plenty of options.
"We're lucky..." Jarxos said from the front as many of the new recruits raised their eyebrows at that comment. "There's not a lot of them. That's the downside to the Elden race folks. There aren't many of them in the mortal realms. Their low numbers are the tradeoff for the power they can wield. Any other race can outnumber them easily."
Allevia started to get the picture with that explanation. It meant that compared to the human gods, very few Eldens ones would be able to ascend because of how hard it would be to gain followers. Especially if they were all spread out.
"Jor! How dare you invade our lands! Have you gone mad? What is the meaning of this!" A deep rocky voice called down from somewhere on the face of the mountain.
All eyes turned expectantly to Jor as he raised a hand above his head. "I KNOW what you're hiding here! I will have it at all costs!"
As his voice thundered with that declaration, the wind grew cold as the grass around the army froze over. The ice spread quickly in the surrounding area and up the mountain. Turning it into a landscape that would anyone feel that they were back in Skardia! Screams rose from the mountain as motes of light vanished into the air.
Silence fell as Allevia stared at Jors back. 'So that's what Tier 5 is capable of?'
"CHARGE!" Jor roared over the howling frozen winds...
