As they plodded along the dirt path through the endless grassy pastures around them, Ada struggled to set aside her concern for the mage who was behaving completely contrary to everything Ada has seen so far. Ruciella walked more than a dozen paces in front of the rest of them -- silent and probably lost in her own thoughts.

Ada entertained her own thoughts of what just transpired. Even if she was a goddess, she was incapable of healing the mages’ wounds. They’re not her followers and she doubted she could convince them to be her follower even if they weren’t disoriented or unconscious.

This doesn’t mean that the same situation has to repeat itself though. She would gladly defend herself but she disliked the usage of physical force. That poor ostrich didn’t deserve to die just like that. If she was still human, she would have puked from the grim sight of the creature’s neck tilted at that awkward angle and the dead gaze in its eyes. None of the humans were hurt that badly – if you ignore bleeding head wounds and mild concussions. No, I can’t keep using these physical barriers as the only method of defense.

“Maybe I can use some chemical attack like a sleeping gas or something? No, that would disperse in the atmosphere. I would need to develop some kind of canister, ideally one which could launch from another device.” Ada muttered to herself. “Or perhaps a net? But that’s just another form of physical attack.”

“Did you say something?” Leanne’s ears perked up.

“Nothing, I was just muttering to myself,” Ada sighed.

“If there is anything I can do to alleviate your burden, please let me know. I am not sure how long our walk will be.”

“I’ll ask Ruciella but she seems to be in a serious funk. Not that I blame her at all. I really hope that her Master will step up and clear up everything.”

Leanne struggled to find some words of comfort. Finally, she gave up and simply said apologetically. “I am sorry that I am so useless in combat.”

“That’s not your fault. I’m responsible since I put you two in this situation. I doubt as a priestess you ever had to fight three groups of enemies in less than a day.”

Leanne chuckled. “I never had the pleasure to engage even one. Where I resided, much of the city and the nearby towns were considered part of my former goddess’s Domain. No one would have dared.”

“There you go then. You were in the safety of a goddess’s Domain. Speaking of which, this concept called Domain…I’ve heard it multiple times already from both you and Ruciella and I think I know what it is…but can you clarify the concept?”

“Sure, a Domain as the name suggests is part of a deity’s territory. Within the Domain, the powers of the particular deity are at its apex. Followers of the particular Divine in the Domain will have increased power in using their gifts and powers. Furthermore, any injuries and sicknesses they sustain, even those that would have killed them, would be healed rapidly. Lastly, it nullifies or reduces any magical powers not connected to the Domain’s god or goddess. This is especially true for the powers of other Divines intruding into one’s Domain.”

“Does this mean that if you had stayed on the Cloud, even if you were shot in the head with an arrow you would have survived?”

Leanne shook her head. “If I die instantly, then no. However, as an example, if I was decapitated, I will still be fine since I did not die instantly.”

“I may be a goddess but I find that hard to believe. Your brain needs oxygen and you’ll definitely bleed out in a matter of seconds.”

“I do not know the specifics but I have heard tales of where a follower of my former goddess lost his arm and it immediately reconnected with his body.”

There was a subtle grimace when Leanne uttered the words “formal goddess”. Ada suspected that there’s still a sizable part of Leanne which missed her former master. The priestess was young and clearly was not ossified in her views. With time, her lingering bitterness should pass.

“But Ayula is the Goddess of Life. She might have these powers simply because of her natural abilities. How do you know this extends to deities in general?”

Leanne eyes flickered and she seemed a little unsure. “I have heard of tales during the Rift War where disciples who suffered certainly otherwise fatal injuries survived.”

“Hmm, stories. Where I come there are a lot of tall tales and misinformation. I think what we need is an experiment. But I’m certainly not gonna cut off your head just to test this.”

“Then, how do we test this?”

“Well, how about I convince some mice to be my followers?”

“Mice?”

“I was kidding. I suppose another joke which doesn’t make sense. It’s probably not really funny even if you are from the Divine World. Yes, mice are frequently used in experiments where I originally come from.”

Her Seer had an expression of disbelief. “Why mice? They are nothing like humans.”

Ada had thought Leanne would be shocked that a deity would kill innocent animals but given what she knew about this world, the gods here were much crueler than that. Well, according to Abrahamic religions in her world, God for much of the time enacted wanton acts of cruelty for reasons as simple as lack of faith. She cleared her throat and answered. “I’m no expert in biology but I recall it’s mostly because they’re readily available and similar to humans physiologically and genetically. You can also use rats for similar reasons. And no, I’m not about to go into a lecture on genetics right now.”

Leanne shook her head. “I was not going to ask.”

Ada chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of time in the classroom later once we have some down time between our forays.”

Leanne did not look terribly excited at that prospect. Ada was sure that Ruciella would have been a much more receptive student here. At that thought, she glanced ahead at the mage and saw that the girl was still quietly walking with head downcast.

Leanne noticed Ada’s glance. “I am sure she will be fine.”

“You’re right. There’s nothing else we can do for her. I would rather not cause a bigger scene here before we get access to their library.”

“I am not nearly as comprehensive as an Academy library but is there anything on the other gods or deities in general that you are interested in knowing?”

Ada sighed. “Where do I even begin? Just like the prospect of learning biology may not be appealing to you, learning everything about the gods is a lengthy task as well even if I am a goddess. From just the recent ordeals, I suspect time is not on our side.”

Leanne appeared lost for words. Ada quickly continued. “Don’t worry. I plan to keep all of you alive. I was just thinking that with the number of enemies I’m racking up, we have a tough task ahead.”

“I am at least sure the others in your palace are perfectly safe. Speaking of which, may I ask how I can be of assistance in returning us there? Earlier, you stated that I can help.”

“Ah, that is a good question. With your Divine Eye, you’re able to see all attributes of any objects of mine correct?”

“Yes, I can see descriptions of any of your divine creations.”

“I suspect that you’re able to do so regardless of distance or barriers in the way.”

“I have not fully confirmed this but I did notice that when we were on the Cloud Palace, I could see the descriptions of the different Divine Clouds below my feet as well as through the walls.”

“Right, I saw you staring at random spots while we walked. Now I imagine that if you focus, you would have been able to see me through a wall as well.”

“You mean for me to stare at the sky?”

“Exactly, if possible, can you try it out now? Don’t stop walking since I see Ruciella won’t stop for us.”

Leanne raised her head and squinted as if she was trying to look at the sun. After a moment, she pointed behind them. “It’s that way.”

Ada smiled. “The Academy may have their Compasses but I have you.”

Leanne blushed. Perhaps to defuse her own shyness, she posed a question. “I can only find it for you. How will we reach up there?”

“There’s no reaching up there. I’ll have it drop down softly from the sky like what we did. I’ve realized something about my sight. If I know what I’m looking for, my eyes can focus on it at incredible distances. If you give me the direction which would give me the elevation angle relative to the local horizon as well as the entire structure’s size, I can do some trigonometry and calculate the Palace’s altitude. With that derivation, I can adjust the density accordingly for it to descend at an acceptable speed.”

“I have no idea what you just said but I fully trust that you can do this.”

“It’s just geometry. I’m sure there are plenty of navigators and surveyors who know this.”

“I am neither.”

“I’m not saying I expect you to know much of it but some basics would be good. I would like you to be well-rounded in the foundations of each discipline. There is no school here for non-magical subjects?”

“Knowledge is jealously guarded by the gods. Even those gods who say who fought to keep institutions like the Academies alive are wary of human institutions sharing and exploring a broad knowledge spectrum.”

“You’re saying there’s nothing else outside of the Academies for those who are curious to learn?”

“The Galacia Club does some but on a very limited scale. I have heard of the existence of several universities on this continent which lasted a century or two. They taught all subjects to anyone including those who are not mages such as mathematics, natural science, history and so forth.”

“What happened to them?”

“Thuro destroyed them all in the first week of the Rift War. The others on his side hunted down the remaining scholars who had fled to the surrounding villages. This was one case where Catiano’s side did not bother to interfere.”

“You don’t seem very angered by this.”

Leanne shrugged. “Some part of me feel that what the gods did were wrong but I do not feel angry. I have never lived through those times. Even among those who did, these incidences are but footnotes to much more horrifying tragedies.”

“I understand. I see now that’s one reason why I’m here – to destroy the barriers erected by these gods. What is Ayula’s view on this?”

“I believe she is ambivalent on this. To her, it does not matter as long as we mortals do not wantonly destroy the creatures and plants of Urth.”

“I suspected so. The primal gods deal with the fundamental nature of existence or nature itself leaving the mortals mostly in the purview of the younger gods.”

Ruciella suddenly yelled interrupting whatever Leanne was planning to say. “Stop! I am Aurian! Aurian Silvera! Do not shoot me or my companions. We are not planning to do any harm.”

Ada and Leanne gazed in the direction that the mage was shouting at and saw two men standing on top of a small watchtower pointing at them. They were quite the duo as one of them had arms and a chest as beefy as that of a gorilla’s whereas the other man was as skinny as a pole. Both looked much older than the mages that they have tied up. Ada was amused to give them nicknames of gorilla and bean pole. The gorilla had his glowing stave pointed down at them and the bean pole was peering through a monocular.

Things didn’t exactly go too well last time that Ada encountered some of Ruciella’s colleagues and she wasn’t expecting things to be much better this time. If anything, she expected it to be worse with the sight of unconscious mages strapped down to the floating Cloud.

There was a loud throaty yell reply back from the gorilla. “Stay where you are! Don’t move any closer!”

They all halted. Ruciella looked like she was about to reply but the man continued. “Aurian! I’ve heard of you. Of course we all have. You may be a troublemaker but I’ve never thought of you as the type to consort with an enemy. I can see that you also have several of our colleagues tied to a magical floating device. Did you betray them to these outsiders?”

“No, I’m not! This was a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” Ada could see the man’s eyes twitch in disbelief. This really wasn’t going too well. Perhaps she should step in but she doubted these men wanted to hear an outsider’s words.

“Yes, Grath and his party approached us. They attacked us before we could properly introduce ourselves. My friends here were forced to defend themselves.”

“Grath may be a hothead but he is not someone who would attack without justified suspicion. You know what I think?”

There was a momentary pause. The gorilla gestured and Ruciella sighed. She asked the rhetorical question. “What?”

“I think we would like to hear a proper introduction as well. And don’t skip any details.”

“Well, the last time I tried to lie your colleague saw through it right away and when you told your colleagues who I really was we got attacked right away,” Ada whispered so that only Ruciella and Leanne could hear.

Ruciella glared at her for a second. Ada groaned inside. She didn’t mean for it sound so sarcastic. It was just the honest truth. Ruciella turned back to the gorilla in the tower. “They are…”

“No, no no! You don’t do the introductions. Let one of them speak!”

Ruciella fidgeted and nervously looked at Ada. Leanne also looked at the goddess with quiet anticipation. Why is Leanne expecting me to speak? I completely screwed up last time when I tried to concoct a story. She opened her mouth. “Uh, um….”

“What? I can’t hear you!”

“I said my name is Ada Newth.”

“And who or what in the nine seas is Ada Newth?”