Prometheus tried his best to feel the sensation of being summoned, to understand the inner workings of Bryer’s focus on a deeper level. Sadly, he blinked, and it was over. The god was no longer in his hall teaching the wise men and killers of tomorrow.

He took a moment to feel the ambient mana around him. It was that of Alfhiem, a land he’d not seen since before the Olympus was forged.

“Good of you to join us, Titan,” said a voice trembling with power.

“What the fuck?” Prometheus said when he saw where he’d been summoned.

It was a throne room without a doubt, but filled with admittedly expensive but obviously improvised tables and seats. Hugging the walls were Bryers, most with the glowing eye of a summons. Closer were several gods that made up the Aesir pantheon. All were minor like himself. River and poetry gods never sat with the greats. It was where Prometheus should have been as a god of learning and not war. But here he was, sitting across from Magni, Vara, Modi, and Vidar. Only Baldr was missing, as he never ventured from his seat of power in Gridania.

It took Prometheus an extra second to notice the other person that was out of place near the table as she was eclipsed by the four gods. It was Tanya, trying her best to look unafraid and failing horribly. Bitarr was not with her with good reason. Some of the Aesir might kill her as its summoner. Well, Vara with her uptight nature was the only one that hated it to that extent, but she didn't seem up to the job of killing anything right now. Prometheus noticed her spasm as if.”

“Oh, I get it now. The queen bitch agreed to be summoned and got put down, hard. That doesn't explain why I'm here.”

“I still don't see why we need him?” Magni said as a distant thunderclap reflecting his outrage.

The thunderer’s complaint washed away any surprise Prometheus had. This could be the beginning of another end war that would tear the nine worlds and beyond apart, but the chance to fuck with the red-bearded asshole was a chance he wouldn’t miss. “Well if you need me that means you need brains. So you should just leave now before you hurt yourself. We don't need two suffering death’s curse.”

Magni stood with a hammer in hand, filling the room with the electric smell of burned ozone. Prometheus responded by placing his feet on the table and leaning back in his seat with a cocky grin. For a moment it seemed like Magni would attack, but a look from Modi brought his brother from the edge of madness, saving his life.

“This is your fault,” Magni said, scowling at Modi. “He can do what he wants thanks to your oath that never should have been made.”

“Yeah, except I can’t leave my school unless summoned by you,” The titan though but kept his expression free of anything but a shit eating grin.

Modi sat upright clanging his arm’s gauntlet on the table as he lost all the softness in his eyes. His hair turned from white to an angry dark red. His gray and blue armor grew from just covering a shoulder to spread over his body until the god wore full plated armor with a black sword wider and taller than he was appearing stabbed into the ground next to him.

“You dispute the oath?” Modi said, slowly filling each word with the threat of death.

“No!” Magni showed, not wanting to die that very moment.

Modi kept staring, his transformation begging to exact punishment. That’s when Yule, in his shabby brown coat and dirt-covered hands, decided to drag a chair across the floor to join the meeting at Prometheus’s side. The god seemed unbothered by the tense atmosphere not looking away as everyone looked his way.

“What?“ Yule asked. “It was my festival that was attacked.” Without trying to discreet, he leaned over to Prometheus. “I’m glad there’s someone here I can talk to. These lots are so uptight. They could use a good smoke.”

“Enough!” Vidar bellowed and slammed his foot down. The room warmed as the castle’s enchantments tried to keep itself from falling apart. “Titan, you're here for your expertise.”

“On what?” Prometheus asked in honest confusion.

“Mortal magic that is capable of killing a god.”

“You're joking right? If there was a mortal with that much power I'd know. Hells, you'd know better than me. The Destroyer took three melinia to reach our hieghts and I've only been aound the last few centeries.”

"It wasnt Nergal," Vara said, each word forced and costing great effort.

The Aesir gods went deathly silent and to Prometheus delight, pale with fright. Yule and the minor gods about the room just looked confused, each one far younger than those who wared during Ragnerok.

"Who is Nergal?" Yule asked.

"Leave it boy," Vidar spat like to mention the man that kill so many of the old god was like poison.

"leave what?" Yule said, but no one answered. "What got you all so scared?"

Not even Magni rose to the challenge and Prometheus see why. If this was Nergal the Destroyer, more Aesir would fall, many them all. Vidar seemed to think the same.

"if this was Nergal-"

It's not," Vara said bearly managing the words. "The Destroyer is dead, properly dead, and I'd know a litch when see one." Vara rose to her feet, unstead but she managed. “H, h, he was human. I could tell. No blessings either, but one of Amra’s was there with him. She’s turned against us!”

“Good for her,” Yule said looking at Vara with a hostile gaze. “Maybe I’ll join her when I have some free time. You know, thank her for not killing any of my priests.”

“Son, If you want to sit amongst us stop playing your games,” Vidar said.

“No game,” Yule continued. “If Amra has a mortal that can kill us, old grudges might come to an abrupt end. Right mother.”

Vara tried to respond, but doubled over in pain allowing Magni to talk over her. “Does anyone mind if I cave in this farmer’s head.”

Yules shrugged, an apple appearing in his as if pulled from thin air. “Why don’t you give it a try. I’m only a farming god after all.” He placed the apple on the table. Something beneath its skin moved as if worms were about to burst out. “How could I possibly defend myself.”

“The first to attack gets their head ripped off,” Vidar said, wanting to put an end to the bickering.

Modi, back to his normal self, was the first to speak after the threat. “This is some Tir Na Nog plot. That, or some new god or even demigod that feels human. This could also be Utgard’s nature at work. That jötunn could simply have made a human with, I don't know, the strength of a raging storm or some nonsense. With his power, there are no real limits.

“Then why were no Bryers killed,” Vidar questioned. “Vali would want them all dead and Utgard doesn't plan shit, so at least a few should have died. It seems all this adversary wanted was to protect the city. He even tried to make peace, but it could have been a lie.”

“No lie,” Vara forced out. “And not some unknown god. He was faithless, without a shred of respect for our kind.” Vara looked like she wanted to slam her fist but pain restricted her from doing so. “He could have killed me at any point with his final spell. It’s like he was playing with me.”

Modi and the rest of the pantheon looked towards Prometheus. “That only leaves one source of power, mortal magic, your purview. So, any ideas?”

Prometheus coughed into his fist to avoid a manic smile. From what had been revealed, he knew exactly who killed Vara and the spell forms used to do it. They were put into practice years ago through the persistence of a student obsessed with power. Prometheus thought him dead all this time and was happy to know his only Jabari student was alive and well.

He met Tanya’s eyes before speaking, letting her know that he knew. “I can confirm that yes, this culprit is mortal.”

Magni burst out laughing, knowing Modi’s oath prevented any lies from the Titan. Many more gods joined him until Vidar palmed his fist shattering glass and the unprotected eardrums of mundanes in the streets outside. “If my wife was defeated, we all have problems.”

“Indeed,” Modi agreed, eyeing each god in the room. “Vara is mightier than I, is she not? If not breaking an oath, she’d kill me with ease while I could do the same to all of you. So this man could do the same to you.”

“Oh, he definitely could,” Prometheus said, cutting through the silence.

Vara stood on shaky legs. “You know who this is?”

“I do. I know his mage craft, name, and best girl.” Prometheus made sure not to look at Tanya when he said this and hoped no one saw her panicked expression. “But I’m not telling any of you who he is.”

“What,” Vara said, her sentiments echoed by many gods, but not Modi and Vidar. They just groaned as the titan continued.

“I’m not obligated to tell you a damned thing. Modi’s oath keeps me in my school, but that’s it. I don’t work from the Aesir. Vidar is not my king and there’s nothing anyone can do about it without taking care of him first.” Prometheus gestured towards Modi. “You might have shackled me to Vellia, but my help is something that can’t be bought or forced.”

The table between the gods broke into splinters when Vidar moved in a blur stopping a step away from the titan. “You will tell me or-”

“Or you’ll what!” Prometheus shouted standing to meet his gaze. “Throw a god’s damned punch Vidar! Give me the pleasure of seeing this pantheon rip itself apart when Modi kills you!” Prometheus then turned crying out as if in despair. “Oh no! But you could attack my worshipers!” He snapped a finger turning back on his smug expression. “Wait, they all can't leave my school which you can't attack.”

All but Modi and Yule stared him down with hate. Yule laughed, enjoying the show while Modi simply knew his own nature. He wasn't the one who made the terms of the oath, he simply enforced them no matter the consequences.

Prometheus began walking the room, addressing every god equally. “I've been wanting to tell you all to go fuck yourselves for centuries. You've held me back all this time, you've held back the worlds. If I wasn't stuck in Vellia, mortals would be living on the moons by now. That's what Zeus was afraid of but you lot aren't even smart enough to see that.”

Mjölnir flew by the titan’s face but he paid it no mind, not flinching in the least. “And I invite anyone to try their luck if they can find a way around the Oath Keeper. My hall has many wonders I've been wanting to share with you all.”

At the end of his speech, Prometheus closed his eyes, cutting the connection to the Bryer who summoned him. When he next opened them, he was back in his Hall’s library sitting amongst hundreds of books.

“I should have known the fortress spell would do them in,” the god thought.

The spell was the culmination of knowledge. It was simply a ward meant to change energy. Over the years, more was added, strengthening it with the understanding of the world. It was the antithesis to the gods that were simply what mortals thought they were and nothing more.

*******

“The situation is not as dire as it may seem,” Modi said once again proving he was the most level headed god in the room.

“True,” Magni added. “Only a weakling would lose to a mortal. But if the rest of you are scared, we could just ban all magic. Our blessings are enough.”

“Without magic, our armies would be pathetic,” Vidar said.

“Like I was saying,” Modi continued. “Let's not panic. Mortals aren't going to start killing us off. This one man is our problem. He must have a rare focus that can challenge us. If Prometheus developed magic that could challenge us, more would have done so by now. We just have to find this one man. His dark red skin should make that easy.”

“Only if that was his true skin color,” Yule interjected. “It was blue at one point, and Amra’s worshiper had cat ears despite being confirmed human. You never know what’s real when illusions are involved.”

“Regent, I’d like your thoughts on who this man could be.” Tanya’s heart skipped a beat when she was addressed by Modi. “You’re more familiar with the situation that brought on this attack. I have my doubts this was aimed directly at us.”

Magni rolled his eyes, still behaving like a child with far too much power. “If we cleansed the city of beast kin, this would never have happened.”

That sent a shiver down Tanya’s spine. The god was completely serious, not acting on his impulses only because Vidar did not agree. Her life and the lives of every beast kin was one decision away from ending.

Tanya gathered her courage and spoke. “I share your doubt eminence. Many believe killing a Bryer will result in their god being summoned. I believe that’s why none were targeted. Whoever this was, he didn’t want to face any of you. By Lady Vara’s own account, she was only attacked after bringing harm to the city and, um, the adversary took measures to protect it during the battle.”

“So we destroy the city to draw him out!” Magni said with excitement.

“We’re not cutting off our nose to spite our face,” Vidar said. “I’m not waiting another century to expand into Jotunheim so we can rebuild infrastructure we already had.”

Everyone’s attention went back to Tanya, so she continued. “It turns out very few saw anything after the archbishop was killed. Most ran for their lives thinking Lady Vara battled a jötunn god.”

“You need to fix that,” Vidar commanded. “Tell the people he was a mortal and leave no doubt.”

“Vara's divinity might weaken,” Modi warned.

“Even if her nature changes, it's better than the alternative. If this forces a god into existence, its nature will probably simply be killing us.”

The discussion went on for several more hours but thankfully the gods seemed to be finished with Tanya until they came to a final decision.

“None of us are staying in Bastion,” Vidar declared. “I can't trust that we won't cause more damage.” He sent a pointed look at Magni when he said this. “If summoned, only one of us will answer. Whoever this adversary is can kill us all with the large scale spell that defeated Vara. I want to see if he can cast it multiple times a day.” Vidar turned to Tanya. “Regent, have your father send an army to take the north. There’s a chance our enemy is hiding there so let’s conquer it.”

Tanya nodded, keeping her building dread from her face. It seemed she couldn't avoid the road wars after all.

“And if Vali and his pack show up with this god killer amongst them?” Modi asked.

“Simple. Mortal magic doesn't discriminate so we meet his pack with everything we have. If that gigantic explosion kills us, it will hurt, but my brother will stay dead. He doesn't have a way to summon himself like we do.”

“We still haven't discussed my avatar,” Magni said. “Or why she was with Vara to begin with.”

“She wanted a final death to get away from you!” Vara spat.

“Well she’s more than dead now!” he roared. “I’ve lost my connection to her and she’s not in Gilmi!” A grin appeared on Magni’s face. “I should take one of yours, a woman to replace the one I’ve lost.”

“Magni, shut up,” Vidar said. “In fact, we’re done here. Leave now before I end your summons the hard way.”

One by one the gods vanished as Vidar waited, making sure they all left without running amok in the city. Magni stared him down for a long while but disappeared like the rest. Only Yule stayed behind quickly offering an explanation.

“I’ll be staying for a while and keep a few people from starving.”

“Fine by me,” Vidar said. “I can count on you not to cause trouble.”

********

As Yule left the castle grounds, many averted their eyes thinking him nothing more than a beggar. With his wrinkled wool coat, tangled mess of grey hair, and dust covering his hands he looked nothing like the rest of his divine family. The god more resembled one of the thousands fleeing the city in mass. He joined these unfortunate souls, merging within their crowds seamlessly while trying his best to keep his single wing pressed against his body and remain hidden under his cloak.

Yule saw his mother’s handiwork and scowled. Thanks to this mysterious adversary, Vara wasn't able to burn the city to the ground but there was still a tremendous amount of damage done. Many were killed under collapsing buildings while the survivors went without homes. Food was becoming scarce in the wake of the battle as once-popular markets lay in ruin. A looming war with the gods only made things worse.

Yule followed the crowd until finding himself outside South Bastion's walls. On the open fields, thousands marched to settlements with whatever they could carry, determined not to be caught up in the latest war of the gods. Unfortunately, the far off towns and villages would not have nearly enough food to support such a large migration.

“But I can do something about that,” Yule said under his breath.

He left the crowd to venture onto one of the many plots of land outside the city reserved for farming. There were no crops left on the trampled soil, all taken by passers-by leaving the city. Yule didn't mind, he preferred working with hopeless farmland.

Grasping at thin air, a plow appeared in the god’s hand. Holding a hand out, he cut his wrist with the tool soaking the earth in his blood. He let it pore for several minutes spilling far more blood than his small frame should hold. When the blood stopped flowing, it began spreading, turning the plot of land’s soil darker before moving onto the next. The bloodied soil moved along the pathways made by South Bastion refugees bringing panic as they were noticed. The screams grew deafening as the soil shifted like snakes were about to slither free.

Yule smiled as the literal fruits of his labor burst from the ground growing into fully grown trees with ripe fruit dangling off their branches. The trees were white and dripping with sweet nectar. They held fruits from across the realms, some never seen in Alfhiem and edible leaves mimicking several vegetables. It stretched for miles covering the paths being used to abandon the south lining the roads with a forest that would feed thousands at least for the few days before they withered. By then, so much food would have been produced no one could possibly perish from hunger for a good while.

Yule hardly had a chance to appreciate his work before an ocean of black erupted around him, lifting the god off his feet in a spinning motion. A woman’s laughter could be heard as he was embraced and pulled into the shadow realm.

“Amra,” Yule said, patting her on the head. “Are those cat ears? You're a beast kin now?”

“Well they worship me now,” she said playfully. “Probably you too after growing those trees.”

“I’m just cleaning up mother’s mess. Yours too if you planned this.”

Amra fell back into a cloak of shadows lounging as if on a bed. “Do I look like someone with a plan.”

“Most think so. Are they right? Please tell me their right and the adversary works for you and not Vali.”

“Adversary?” Amra repeated. “I like that better than Phantom, but he’s not mine, he’s not anyone’s. Shadow boy is though, and he’s one of the best I’ve ever had. He built a church for me and everything.”

“And has turned all the Aesir against you,” Yula added.

Amra scoffed. “Not the ones that matter to me”

“Sister,” Yules said, turning serious. “This could start a war, maybe even an end war if more than Tir Na Nog gets involved.”

“With Vidar’s road leaving Midgard, this was bound to happen soon enough,” Amra said. “Stop thinking so much. This is not some conspiracy. A mortal wanted to cause some trouble and mother got in the way. So just sit back, relax, and see what happens next.”