Minutes before Althos' escapades in his personal divine realm awarded him a critical upgrade to his "knowledge" level, the primary will of the irregular god found himself deep in the first memories of one of his more fervent servants: the dark elf witch, Qu'Ren.

The first sight to ever grace Qu'Ren's vision was the ceiling of a dark bedchamber, the ceiling of the room she was born in. It was an impressive thing, made of handpicked, shadow-kissed, obsidian colored stones. Each of the stones was deliberately placed to form intricate, artistic, and magic-filled patterns.

The infant elf's very earliest thoughts were simple ones. Like most humanoids, she wasn't capable of linguistic thoughts immediately after her birth. Instead, her first displays of rudimentary intelligence were wordless outbursts of emotion and before Qu'Ren even laid her eyes on her mother for the first time, one of those outbursts occurred.

The first of these outbursts was a joyful one provoked by the sight of the mystical patterns that floated high above the infant. This was accompanied by light giggles from the newborn.

[System Alert:

Your dimension-spanning and in a few cases species-altering adventures have resulted in you gaining a hitherto unparalleled level of knowledge relative to the incredibly few days you've been alive.

The knowledge domain wishes you'd be more focused and assess more memories thoroughly, but given that that is what one of your wills is doing right at this moment, the domain is beginning to get a bit more excited by how you're using your assorted wills.

Both the system and the knowledge domain agree that you deserve a reward. You have now reached an overall "knowledge" level of 3. This exciting update comes with a new upgrade unique to you.

You can now gain "knowledge" updates in all situations. This does a lot more than merely allow you to gain "knowledge" notifications, alerts, and updates when conducting an in-depth examination of someone's memories, thoughts, knowledge, and secrets, but given your knowledge gaining habits, that is the most important thing you need to know right now. If you need a knowledge notification about something new, so long as you can see it somehow, all you need to do is ask. Whether you're in a memory, in front of a creature, or standing over a corpse. Just ask.

You've also gained a new divine power: "appraisal". This power grants you access to a new type of notification: item knowledge. "Appraisal" is a power similar to your "identify" power, but for items.

And you can now identify traps, spells, and enchantments placed on items at a glance.

Congratulations!]

Almost as if inspired by the very first moments of Althos' life, the place his mind teleported into from within the depths of his newly created city was a verdant forest.

He and the first of the humanoids he had created that was slowly gaining consciousness, an unnamed, male, high-elf, began to materialize in the middle of a gigantic forest, beside a majestic and imposing tree that towered high into the unearthly sky.

The process by which the two of them materialized wasn't unlike the strange process by which souls crafted by Althos or beings resurrected by him sprung to life: two mystical circles appeared on the forest floor, and began to construct their bodies from Althos' reserves of mystical energy.

This differed from Althos' past teleportations, but he himself was unbothered by it. There's no rush. I might as well relax and enjoy this. He thought, patiently allowing the circles to recreate their bodies from the top down.

In a matter of moments, the two odd beings were fully formed, and Althos was able to fully examine the forest his energy, memories, and the agricultural shapings of the system itself had created.

The forest wasn't quite a one to one replication of the one that inspired it. The first difference Althos noticed between it and the forest in the world of his birth was that this forest was made up of primeval wilderness. And he wasn't alone in that. Nor were he and his companion alone in the forest.

My abilities are really amazing. He thought as he reflected on the knowledge that surged into his brain as a result of his abilities.

Althos had two abilities that were alerting him to the diversity of life that surrounded him and his creation. His first ability that was alerting him to the sorts of creatures that were nearly imperceptibly closing in on the duo was his tremorsense ability.

Tremor-sense was the first of the divine powers that had made itself known to him. With it, he sensed minute vibrations in the earth at his feet each time a creature up to one hundred meters away from him set foot anywhere in that range. What a nice ability to be reminded of. He thought when he first felt it activate, having long set the ability aside and not using it actively.

The power had been receiving quiet upgrades over the course of Althos' life, and now it wasn't as limited as it had been when he first learned of it. Its range had doubled, and it was now capable of penetrating trees and plants.

It was that part of the power which alerted him to creatures within its range even if they hid inside of plants and trees so long as he could sense the trees and plants they hid in, which was how the power alerted him to the presence of spirits within the trees in the forest around him.

Uses of tremor-sense alerted him to the fact that he and his high-elf creation were being slowly surrounded by curious tree spirits, creatures known as dryads, only a few of which had been present in the trees in this part of the forest when he and his creation first appeared here. It wasn't the only ability that alerted him to this either.

His mini-map and radar, two things tucked away in a corner of his vision, flickered and revealed the same information. With the radar, Althos was able to see the direction from which the spirits came, and when he turned in their direction he saw them.

A number of women soared through the upper layer of the tree-line, zipping through the shrouded sky and into the trees themselves before launching their spiritual forms into other trees to quickly arrive where he and his elf creation were standing. Althos studied their forms and what he saw drew his interest.

Their appearance was almost tailor-made to appeal to a god of nature, fungi, and a number of other things because they were dangerously beautiful women whose bodies were clad in "outfits" made of bits of nature, leaves, colored dust, and dew drops. They had light green skin, their curves the color of the healthiest leaves, and they had delicate, artistically made faces.

They giggled quietly, though the sound was heard by Althos thanks to his impossibly sharp hearing, as they sailed through the air just underneath the canopies of the tallest trees. Dryads huh? He thought after his tremor-sense's claims were reinforced by the information displayed on his radar.

Hey, can I get a knowledge notification about a dryad? I can see some after all. Althos asked, directing his question towards both the system and the domain of knowledge. He didn't feel a response immediately, but half a second more passed, and he got one.

[New Species Knowledge Notification: Dryads

Dryads are powerful tree-spirits. These faerie creatures are mighty nature spirits who act whimsically to get those they fear and those they despise to have the wrong impression of them and think of them as flighty spirits when in actuality they are steadfast and uncompromising defenders of nature and of forests.

Dryads are spirits of forests whose powers include the ability to magically charm creatures, to speak with animals and plants, the ability to zip from one tree to another, and the power to attack enemies on the ground by controlling the roots of trees and using them to pummel or stab those who'd harm forests.

Dryads are loved by some kinds of humanoids, such as elves, and hated by others like orcs and humans. Creatures that live in harmony with nature have nothing to fear from these beautiful tree women, but creatures that tend to usurp nature in favor of industrialization or "civilization" are enemies that dryads seek to weaken and ruin.

Dryads are social creatures, positively adoring chances to make new friends and judge individuals far less harshly than they judge groups. Individual humans and even individual orcs can get along quite well with dryads who on a one to one level are gregarious, welcoming, and tolerant individuals. It is common for high elves and wood elves alike to ally with dryads and sometimes even aid them in getting rid of nearby communities of less harmonious beings.

When Dryads evolve they become immensely powerful beings known as hamadryads who bond with individual trees and become far harder to kill their lesser cousins. They sacrifice freedom for power and immortality becoming true, sometimes terrifying guardians of both forests in general and especially their specific trees as so long as the tree lives the hamadryad cannot be truly slain.]

[Open your eyes.]

Those words were the first that the high elf had ever heard. And moments after hearing them, before he could obey them, the young man felt a hand settle on his shoulder and felt heat radiate from underneath himself. The heat aided the unnamed elf in the process which the elf was undergoing: that of truly awakening and taking legitimate control of his body.

He was ignorant as to what was occurring, and to the subtle aid provided by the heat of the mystical circle, but he faintly hoped it was something good.

The truth was that his creator didn't feel like venturing out onto the surface of the realm he lorded over all alone, so he decided to have the elf accompany him, inadvertently aiding the elf in becoming himself.

By the time the circles finished their task of teleporting the pair into the forest, the elf had, in fact, opened his eyes. And he did it while Althos was looking elsewhere, studying the forest. The newly created elf's first sight was the sight of the vibrant forest.

"This place is... beautiful." The elf said, as he stepped out of the circle and felt the cool grass underneath his feet.

He was surrounded by massive trees, and his hand was firmly grasped within Althos' hand. He smiled as he felt the warmth of the creature he instinctually knew created him, and despite the darkness that surrounded them, he felt safe next to the mysterious creature next to him.

Althos' head was turned away from the high-elf, and so he couldn't see Althos' face. Or more accurately, he couldn't see his lack thereof. The god was studying the forest, his divine senses allowing him to sense the immense variety of lifeforms, bestial, magical, spiritual, and otherwise, already present in the forest.

"It really is. It's just gorgeous." Althos responded, his low voice echoing softly in the heavily wooded area, bouncing off of the dense assortment of trees.

[New Species Knowledge: High Elves

High Elves are among the strongest and most magically inclined kinds of elves. They live in organically grown and tended settlements that include massive towers of vines and trees, and they are an independent species of proud beings.

In the past they lorded over an ancient empire of elves who sought to justly rule worlds and protect other humanoids, kinds they viewed as inferior creatures who ought to be protected and nurtured. In the age of godlessness, that empire fractured and disintegrated due to immense infighting. There are undoubtedly some high elves throughout the worlds who wish to form a new empire.

They are naturally skilled at forged alliances with faeries, and with other humanoids who are inclined to protect nature.

High elves are naturally inclined towards being lawful neutral with a keen respect for authority and an adherence to tradition. Royal high elves tend to be the ones who dictate the directions an individual high elf community will go in, with regards to how they treat creatures they are not allied with.

These creatures walk a very fine line between being humanoids and faeries and those of them that evolve become a sort of faerie that most represents the contents of their soul. Common kinds of faeries they can become include tree-folk, nymphs, and satyrs.]

Althos' faceless form willed away the notification and turned to examine the elf. The elf noticed this, grinning at the god as he turned in his direction, but suddenly gasping when he realized that his creator didn't have a face.

"Whoa... where's your face?" He asked, rather insensitively.

A laughing sound emanated from Althos' body, coming out from his core, rather than coming out of his head.

"I am a god. My body is a lot more... customizable, then yours is my friend." He explained, taking a second mid-sentence to think about how to word his statement.

"I have direct control over my appearance. I can shape my body in any way I like. My appearance is... flexible." He said, continuing after a few seconds of silence. The high elf was quiet, as he processed that statement. After another few moments of silence, the high elf had a question.

"What is a god? I know the word somehow..., but I'm afraid its meaning isn't clear to me." The elf asked, curiosity seeping into his voice. Althos chuckled at that question, curious about it himself.

I guess I'll tell him what I was told once, a long time ago... relatively speaking. Althos thought, grinning as he remembered what Samyaza once told him.

"I don't know the best answer to that if I'm being honest. Instead, I'll paraphrase what someone once told me. Gods are beings of creation and power. We can bend reality to our wishes in ways unimaginable to mortals, which is what you are. You are many things. You are a high-elf, a humanoid, a mortal, and before all of that you are my creation." Althos declared to the high elf.

At the end of that remark, the high elf looked at him inquisitively and studied the body of the creature who declared that he was its creation. He knew Althos wasn't lying, but given Althos' form, it was still understandably hard for the nameless creation to believe the being who boldly declared that it was his creator.

"You... created me?" The elf asked, looking at him with a stare that was equally curious and serious.

"Yes." Althos said. The single word wasn't spoken curtly, as single-worded statements often were, but instead conveyed honest joy and even a not insignificant level of pride in his creation.

The elf heard that emotion and the honesty that accompanied it and looked at his creator in a new light, not just as a powerful being but as a friend and life-giver. His gentle eyes filled with joy, joy matching and even eclipsing the joy Althos felt, though the faceless creature found it difficult to express that joy at the moment.

"Creator." The elf whispered, accepting the simple truths of Althos' words in the wake of his maker's honest declaration. He fell to his knees before the god, who was silent in the wake of the elf's display. Althos allowed the elf to kneel before him for nearly an entire minute, before speaking again. His voice echoed out of him, spreading outward like a ripple.

"Arise my child." Althos told the elf, internally and invisibly smiling even though his face remained as blank as it had for the past few minutes. The elf lifted himself off of the ground, his youthful face aglow with joy, pride, and an almost unfathomably powerful sense of awe.

At the same time as the elf lifting himself up, the forest surrounding them sprung to life, having grown tired of merely passively watching their discussion.

The elf stood up just in time for one of the women who had been hiding in a nearby tree to leap out of her hiding place and land on the ground beside Althos. The faceless creature turned to the tree-woman and studied her in much the same way as he had studied the elf. The tree-woman's collision with the ground was loud and startingly, causing the elf to cling to his creator's side.

The dryad was gorgeous. She had an hourglass figure that emphasized her luxurious curves, and soft green skin the same color as poison ivy during the spring. Her lips weren't green but were a deep red that would have stirred the hearts of poetic men and women had they been the figures to lay their eyes on her instead of Althos and his elven creation. Her more womanly parts were hidden from view by golden leaves that clung tightly to her. Her hair was the soft brown color of lighter bark and fell straight, long enough to go below her shoulders.

Althos was the first of the two to speak. His head remained trained on her form while words came out of his core in an eerie and supernatural mimicry of conventional speech. "Hello. I am your creator. My name is Althos. It is nice to meet you, dryad. And your sisters as well." Althos told her, sweeping his hand in the direction of her siblings, still hidden in the trees when he said that last sentence. And he wasn't done either.

"Do you like the forest I created?" He asked. Both the elf and the dryads could almost hear a smile in the thing's voice.

The nameless elf who accompanied him was rendered speechless by the simple, yet true words of the unusually social and talkative god. To create a forest on your own... and to make not just humanoids, but even spirits... How strong are you, Althos? Can you do anything? The elf asked, inwardly wondering if this self-described creature of power and creation even had a limit to his strength. His questions didn't go unheard by his creator, who began to wonder the same thing.

And then the elf turned to face the dryad.

As the elf looked at the dryad, he felt a deep and powerful sense of awe that would have made talking to the plant-woman a challenge. It wasn't as significant as the awe he felt towards his creator, but it was still potent and it made him want to do something that honored the woman, not speak as dryly as Althos had to her.

The dryad smiled at her creator and nodded graciously at him. "We do, my lord. We know that you are our creator. When we sensed your presence on the surface we flocked to you. Thank you for creating this wonderous place for us." She said, her voice deep and earthy. Her eyes flickered in the direction of her sisters, all of whom were hidden within nearby trees "Sisters, please show yourselves." She instructed her family, and they immediately obeyed.

Other dryads began to peek their heads out of their natural hiding spots, and the elf was surprised to see that there were so many of them. At first, he only saw ones that were immediately behind the one who spoke, but he decided to turn and see if there were more.

What he learned from his visual exploration of the scene he was in was that there were several dryads surrounding him and his creator. Their faces peeked out and pressed against the trees they hid inside of, grinning at the elf and the god he adored. Their grins were dazzling, and the elf began to mentally utter his sincere thanks to his creator for allowing him to witness a sight of such beauty.

All of these heart-rendingly beautiful nature spirits were created by Althos? And even creating this whole forest was within the scope of his power? I am so lucky to have been created by a giver of life with such power!

Althos' upgrades to his mental and faith-based abilities empowered him enough that he could ambiently detect thoughts from nearby creatures so long as they were about him. This allowed him to hear his newest servant and creation and because of that he internally chuckled at the elf's simple-mindedness. But there was a part of him that didn't chuckle at the elf's statement. A small part of his mind honed in on a simple part of the elf's praising words. And not just these words, but the earlier thoughts the elf had had.

Is there a limit to my power? I haven't actually meaningfully tested it have I? I think I should. In fact... I think I will. Now... how can I go about doing that? Is there a way for me to create a place where I can unleash all of my abilities, test my spells, and summon even the most dangerous things I can summon?

[Actually... yes there is. You can create a place within your divine realm, an isolated space where you can unleash even the most destructive powers or cruelest spells. You can decorate this place however you want, whether you want to populate it with dense trees, make it look like a massive tunnel, battle in the sky, or make it a barren desert. Would you like to create this place?] The system asked, already aware of what Althos would say.

[Oh heck yes. If you could please prepare this place, that'd be wonderful. Make it really plain. I'll go and help, but before I do, let me do something.] He told the system. And then he immediately retreated into his mind.

I am going to announce my presence to my whole realm. At once. So as to avoid a lot of one on one introductions. There'll be time for those later. And that was precisely what he did. But not before searching his mind and calling out to the incredibly useful power of the faith domain.

His entire realm was immediately inundated with the faint, smokelike vapor of the faith domain's subversive power. Every centimeter of the place was covered in it, even the moon that shone far above the surface didn't escape the reach of the power. The entire world took on a faintly blue tint as Althos readied his announcement that he was the creator of everything this place's inhabitants could see.

Then he unleashed a burst of sound outward, the noise reaching the entire dimension at once. It surged out of him like he was in the eye of a verbal hurricane.

"Hello! My name is Althos, and I am a god. You all are my creations. Even this very world you live, all that surrounds you, is a realm that I created. Many of you are the very first members of your particular species that I have ever created. I am proud of all of you, and I want to know you, I want for you to know me and ultimately to aid and serve me." He announced to the residents of the multiverse's newest dimension.

All at once, the realm fell silent. In the wake of the god's declaration, his proclamation that he had created this place and all of them, each creature in the realm was rendered speechless at once.

His voice touched even the most remote corners of the dimension, leaving no doubt in any of the creature's minds who heard him that he was real and that he was the lord of this place.

Genies, demons, devils, angels, and humans alike were overwhelmed by the sound of his voice. It rocked them to their very cores, touching their hearts, souls, and the very atoms that made up their bodies. No living creature in the realm was deaf to the sound of their maker's voice. It seeped into them, immediately evoking awe and pride in even the weakest among them.

For many of the creatures, particularly the humanoids, fungi, plants, and animals in the realm, this was the very first thing that happened to them. And for them, it was an indescribable, mind-altering experience.

They had just sprung to life, and moments later they heard the voice of their creator assert his existence, give them a purpose, and make it clear that he'd personally get to know them. Even the least intelligent of them, the simplest plants and fungi felt moved by that, and so Althos' words etched an undeniable, radiant mark on the souls of his creations.

The creatures who lived in Althos' realm felt an incredible joy radiate out of them, and that joy flowed outward and into their creator. Even a deity like Althos could feel the intensity and power of their emotions wash over him like a tidal wave.

[I think you may have just created your first large-scale miracle. Congratulations Althos!] Samyaza, now not the only observer angel in the god's service, told the deity he served as an advisor. As that happened, Althos fell to his knees and felt the emotions of his creations flow into his divine soul.

Little did the deity know that his secondary will was about to create a few miracles of its own, aided by an unusual ally: the trickery domain. But before he learned that, and before he went to go and create the isolated space where he'd be able to test his powers, he received one last notification.

[Feat Gained: Godly

Benefit: Acts of creation, destruction, and displays of power are more effective than before. Your creations, including ones that were already created, gain power. Your magic and your divine abilities increase in potency, particularly ones that involve creation or destruction. Mortals are more easily convinced of your divinity, and are more easily convinced to worship you. Immediately gain the ability to speak with any and all domains and subdomains, as well as the ability to gain domain and subdomain quests more easily.

Method of acquisition: Perform an act that is undeniably godly and sways over a thousand mortals to worship you at once without any outside aid or advice. In your case announcing your presence the way, you did to all of the literally thousands of lifeforms in your realm pushed your cult from having a little over one hundred members into a number almost fifty times that in an instant.

Flavor text: Gods are unimaginably powerful creatures. Even a god of average power could destroy entire civilizations in an instant. Being able to sway thousands to believe in you at once is a simple task that shouldn't be difficult for gods of any real level of talent. Congratulations on reaching that level of power.]

And that made Althos smile internally. What a time to gain a boost to my power huh? Right before I go and test myself out. How... exciting. He thought, happiness flowing both into and out of him.