Rethais watched as their advisors all filed out from the grand hall, having just finished a long and arduous discussion. The Rethavok had recently discovered a vast amount of gold and platinum beneath one of their major cities, but old, forced treaties with other races had stopped them from taking advantage of these resources. Currently, without breaking said treaties, their only options were to lease out mining operations to the Torr and make a tiny percentage of profit in return, have the Torr buy the properties from the Rethan government and give them full access to those resources, or leave it all buried, secret and untapped. While yes, the Rethavok were a prosperous race, that was only because all their income came from working as security and protection for other species, and every single attempt to expand their economy outside of being guardians had been shot down by their fellow Epanian races, mostly through political mistakes the Rethavok had made when they were a much smaller, much weaker society.
Almost all of the advisors were gone now, except for one. Relkir was Rethais’s most trusted advisor, one who was bound to serve Rethais in every way. Unlike most Rethavok, Relkir was rather small and skinny, with unfitting blue eyes. Those eyes in particular stuck out, especially since blue was a very, very rare eye colour, and Relkir’s siblings both had bright red eyes. Rethais being one of them.
“High General, you requested my singular presence?” Relkir asked calmly. Most Rethans had a healthy amount of fear and respect for Rethais, since they were the leader of their kind. Relkir though never did. They had been key to Rethais’s rise in power, and they both knew that Relkir was a vastly intelligent individual.
“I did, yes, my sibling…”
“Is it about the Torr?”
“Only partially…” Rethais got up from their throne and started pacing across the chamber. Considering that this hall was literally the Grand Chamber of the High General, where Rethais regularly met with the most powerful members of not just Rethan society, but of other races as well, it looked incredibly bland. Aside from the large window that overlooked the Rethan capital of Phoss, the governmental buildings were all intentionally basic, and opulence among leaders was frowned upon by the average Rethan. “I admit, Relkir, I am having a loss in faith. The Torr will not budge, and they have the Lady of Light by their side. Why does She so decidedly protect them, when it is us Rethans who pray to her and represent her in the eyes of the other Twelve?”
“We protect ourselves, High General.”
“The Thraki protect themselves, but they are also protected by the Whenvern…” Rethais sighed, detaching a small medallion from the chains around their neck. Relkir knew exactly what medallion it was, they had one of their own. Painful but required trinkets from their past. Like most Rethans, Rethais had always worshipped the Panelix, She was their matron deity after all, but ever since they had become the High General, their faith had definitely waned. Again, like a lot of other Rethans. “Part of me wishes to tear these ancient treaties apart, but I fear retaliation from not just the Torr, but from the Lanex as well. And the Lady of Light could also retaliate. After all, how dare we threaten her beloved favourite race?”
“Well…” Relkir hesitated. While the problem with the Torr had been bothering them for a while, Relkir very much understood Rethais’s doubts. “There are other deities. Kinder ones. Both the Allbirther and the Deathbringer are known to have… different biases.”
Something skittered across the floor by Relkir’s feet. It was Rethais’s medallion, which they had thrown in anger.
“I do not want to hear about your theories on the Thantophor again!” Rethais snapped. “The Deathbringer will not help us! It is unfeeling and uncaring!”
“Then why was it spotted in the Skyavok capital? Why does it take a shape so similar to our own?”
“Because the Skyavok are one of the three unlucky races that the Thantophor takes interest in. They have nothing to do with us. The Thantophor is literally the ender of all, it has no interest in the affairs of mortals…” Rethais trailed off, calming themselves down. “Little sibling, if you do not mind me asking, what is with your obsession with the other deities anyway?”
Relkir allowed themselves a small smile. “What has the Panelix really done for us, apart from inform the three of us of our heritage? A heritage that, may I remind you, has been troubling us ever since.”
“And you think the other deities could do more?”
“No, just the Thantophor.”
“The Deathbringer-”
“The Deathbringer was last spotted at the Gold Suite of the Great Dessaron Battle Arenas, alongside the rest of the Holy Four. It watched the same match that we all watched. According to a handful of witnesses, it did so in the form of a Rethavok, not its normal Skyavok-based form. There has been a massive uptick in its appearances around mortals. If it did not care, which my research has proved is not true, then why would it be appearing again?”
Rethais took a long, drawn out breath. “You really believe the Thantophor would help us?”
Relkir continued to smile. “It has helped us more than our Holy Lady of Light has. After all, the Deathbringer is what peacefully separated us from the Skyavok, when they turned aggressive. The Lady was content to just watch. All we need is an audience with it, to ask it whether we could rightfully break our treaties with the Torr with minimal repercussions. And perhaps we could ask it if we can break some… other rules as well…”
Rethais snorted. “You know I cannot end the Rethianos Tradition. And you know it pains me as much as it pains you and our exiled sibling.”
“You are the High General!” Relkir hissed, knowing that getting aggressive was a bad idea. But they were angry and wanted to show it. “You can change these Light-damned laws! Then you would be able to remain single and not have to burden yourself in finding a mate, while I could finally be free to find someone to love myself! And I am sure our dear sibling would love to not be an exile any longer.”
“Hmph… Do not remind me of them…” Rethais sighed. “I still cannot believe how Retvik managed to… embarrass us like that.”
“To be fair to them, according to the Skyavok, who write literally everything down, Kayess-En was the one who challenged Retvik, looking for an easy victory. Pride and hubris have been our downfall in the past. But I am glad that we have brought up our exiled sibling, because Retvik has ties to the Thantophor.”
Rethais blinked, then stared at Relkir. “What in the name of the Light are you on about?”
“The Skyavok, being their industrious little archivist selves, publish pretty much everything, but almost nothing leaves Skyavok territories. I looked into the report on the incident at Zero Zero, with the 30 rescued Temthans, 10 rescued Vrekans and a handful of assorted other species. Do you know who was with them? Our dear sibling. And the three beings that are now part of their Dessaron team. Do you know who else was there?”
“The Thantophor?”
Relkir nodded. “Yes. The Thantophor. And guess what deity has been apparently spotted a handful of times in Palaestra, where Retvik resides? The Thantophor. Well, also, a colossal Thraki rumoured to be the Whenvern has also been spotted several times in the area, but not as much as a strange yellow-armoured being. This cannot be a coincidence.”
Rethais closed their eyes, then returned to their throne, briefly lost in thought. After a moment, they sighed and turned back to Relkir.
“I want you to meet with Retvik, just the two of you, in secret. Normally, I would have them arrested so we can interrogate them, but Retvik is simply too high profile for us to do that.”
“You… want me to go in person?” Relkir seemed less certain now. “I have… never left your side. I am your highest advisor. I cannot… You really want me to go in person?”
“Indeed. Retvik’s time in exile will make them untrustworthy and hesitant. They can trust you. And you can perhaps unload some of your guilt as well. I want you to extract as much information as possible. If the Thantophor has interest in one Rethan, perhaps it can have interest in the rest of us. I have other advisors who can assist me in the mean time.”
Relkir sighed, then bowed. “Very well, High General. I shall do as you ask…”