“So, last thing on the agenda today… Elkay, any info on the attempted assassinations of the High General and the All-Ksa?”
This meeting had gone on for a while. The Twelve Anew had a lot to discuss, mostly because they hadn’t really met up in a while. Dalosisaar had taken full responsibility for that, since he was supposed to be the god of unity and he’d mostly just left his fellow deities to their own devices. He was busy with his own duties and had been working extremely hard and mostly in secret on a much stranger project.
Elkay, the god of knowledge, wasn’t faring much better. He rubbed his eyes wearily, both knowing that Dalosisaar was going to ask that question and also well aware that he had basically nothing.
“Turns out I am rusty when it comes to my old assassin ways and forgot to check for hidden tablets. Sure, we captured that Spast, but they ingested all the amnetics in the universe and tried to swallow a cyanide capsule and are… uh… not in a good way. Considering that was our only lead and Nanik and Litvir have gotten a large amount of fuck all via their telepathy… I’m fucking stuck. All we have is the name of a Spast cult that seems to have basically no connection to anything.”
Dalosisaar glanced at Kohra. “I assume…”
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to help. Ain’t been able to do much though what with my dad being a massive asshole.”
“And why is he being an asshole?”
Kohra sighed. “He wants to do like a billion referendums to get the people to choose a lot of things. But the biggest question right now is whether we should have term limits and how long should a term last for. I of course want term limits because it’s wrong to have the same person in power forever and you NEED healthy change to keep society strong, that’s why I’m trying to set up a democracy, but the general population is uncertain either way and no one can decide how long a term should even be, since we’re so long-lived compared to everyone else.”
Dalosisaar thought for a moment, then turned to Murum’Va. “Can you help Kohra on this?”
“Aie, yes, but I think your assistance is required too, Dalosisaar. You are from the second longest lived race. The Spast ought to learn from the Thraki too.”
“Fair point. Anyway, back to you, Elkay, are you really telling me that you’re stuck?”
Elkay frowned, then nodded. “Yep.”
“Really?”
“Yep yep. I’ve gotten nowhere. All I have is a fucking name, the Kinisian Circle. Which isn’t connected to the Kinigian Circle. Yes, the similar names make looking things up REALLY bloody difficult.”
“Is there anything we can do to help, old mama?” Litvir asked. “I am doing the extra patrols like you asked in the dark below area but I have not seen anything unusual.”
“Nothing at all?”
“No, just the normal number of metal meanies. But not too much nasty black hungry stuff!” Litvir perked up. “The me-protecting-the-border-of-the-universe stuff is going well!”
“And is the High General well?” Syksis asked. “Actually, is nice old All-Ksa Veeyel alright too? I’ve been looking at PTSD related to the Sudden Darkness, and as a side note, I want to look into potential PTSD from events like attempted assassinations. Would help me with data gathering.”
Litvir shrugged. “Thie Rethais seems fine but they are concerned other people might get hurt. Then again, I am always like that so I do not know…”
“Can you arrange a meeting for me with the High General?”
“I… I guess? But they are busy. And closed.”
“Still, I’d like to meet them. Same with All-Ksa Veeyel.”
Elkay tutted. “I’ll ask Veeyel. But I do want your help with this stupid assassination stuff. Maybe your medical expertise can help me reverse the damage all those drugs did to literally our only lead.”
“Do you need help from the rest of us?” Dalosisaar grunted. “You seem like you are really struggling with this. We did admittedly somewhat leave you to it, but there’s not really much we can offer.”
Elkay thought for a moment. “Actually… Dalosisaar, you might be able to help me. But I want to discuss it in private.”
“Understood…” Dalosisaar trailed off, then flicked through his notes. “Alright, I think that’s everything for today. Does anyone have any questions or anything? Anything you want to get off your chest?”
Everyone glanced around and shrugged, but Litvir quickly raised their hand.
“What is it, little one?”
Litvir rummaged underneath the table, then grabbed a box and plonked it in front of them. “I have a question, Kyr Dalosisaar! Well, it is more for Akusasiiri and old mama Elkay…” Litvir opened the box. Inside was a small, mostly deflated balloon. A clear one with glitter inside and a plaster on it. “Why has my balloon died? I did everything I could to protect it, but it is getting small and it no longer floats!”
Everyone stared at Litvir.
“Have you really been looking after that balloon for like two weeks now?” Maresia exclaimed.
“Yes, of course! I have to! I am the deity of protecting things! The balloon is my friend but it is shrinking!”
Elkay took a long, drawn out breath. “Litvir, Akusasiiri already explained this when she gave you the new balloon. Balloons are temporary, they don’t last very long.”
“But whyyyy?” Litvir whined. “I want to protect it!”
Valksia clicked her beak and decided to explain. “Balloons are not perfectly sealed, and the air slowly escapes out of them, and normal air sneaks in. The amount of helium decreases and soon the balloon is too heavy to float, so it falls and shrinks even more.”
“Oh… alright…” Litvir seemed saddened. They sniffed, then put the box away. “I guess I will give the poor balloon a funeral or something…”
“Uh, you go and do that then…” Dalosisaar wasn’t really sure how to deal with Litvir and decided to let Litvir sort themselves out. “Do we have any more questions? No? We good?”
“I think we’re good!” Aster smiled. “Things have been calm anyway.”
“Alright, good. Feel free to head off now. I’ll send you all your schedules in an hour. You’re all dismissed, have a good week.”