When Reason chose to undertake the event, to be as so many others claiming to end the rise of this new force. It had known that Wonder was going to be a difficult adversary.

But the passing of years displayed to it, along with other Sovereigns; that they’d still ended up underestimating their foe.

Most of all, the gods championing it.

They were not eager, or overly confident enforcers seeking to crush all under their might.

They were cunning, careful, very restrained.

Nothing was left to chance; none ever took risks that allowed for others to exploit them. They remained forever guarded, and wary of Reason’s growing host of sympathizers.

It led to years of attrition; thousands slaughtered without any sensible gain.

It had taken Sovereigns time to noticed the failure of their approach, and to stop fighting amongst each other; all clamoring to be the one to end Wonder and claim the main reward.

Those with memory locks were the worst, but even they had come to see the truth.

They had been losing, badly.

With Wonder unwilling to expand, or send normal, mortal armies to fight. The pantheon of Wonder had remained strong, and their mortals safe.

Worse, what should have been spent trying to claim and hold land, had instead been focused on defense. Acts that had made it impossible to reach the Devotion makers. Without a means to lessen their numbers, Wonder kept growing stronger, its methods to counter them rising, and becoming more impactful.

The searing towers of wrathful hate, which surrounded the glowing walls protecting the lands of the adversary, was just one example. But it had been a potent one, enough that even the most stubborn of gods had stopped spending themselves and mortals trying to take those walls.

Wasted effort that had cost them thousands.

They had no means to counter such a feat of creation. The towers reach covered a league, maybe more, and they cleansed the lands of invaders long before they got close.

It hadn’t helped that the lands near the wall were made barren; the rocks smooth and whole. No life, no matter how hardy, was able to grow there, leaving the walls open, no cover, no means to sneak upon the defenses of glistening metal.

Visions of those defenses, joined with those illustrating the devastating losses that stubborn gods had suffered, made all accept its plea. Everyone ceased wasting their strength trying to take the impossible.

The walls of metal remained uncontested. Yet, even with years passing unbothered; those of Wonder hadn’t expanded outward, they were content with what they already had, and saw no gain from broadening their borders.

Reason had tried to find out what Wonder was up to, what works it was performing within those guarded lands.

It hadn’t gotten far, before being noticed.

Those lands were full of watching entities, be it Souls able to ignore the Glen’s pull; or those divine.

It had only been able to explore the forests, since the cities, and burgeoning villages were cloaked within runes that kept it out. Still the rural lands were enough to get a sense of their adversary, its cunning, its plan.

It was going to win.

Reason knew this the moment it watched the mortals of Wonder. Gazed upon the secrets openly given to them, the quality of life they had, and the population said miracles were producing.

There would be no means to pull the mortals from the path of wonder, it rewarded too much.

Too much.

The Mortals bestowed knowledge that could make them into gods themselves.

A land of potential gods, Reason had never seen it before, for no Sovereign had been so foolish, or willing, to risk the rise of so many rivals. But from what it could see, those of Wonder, its champions, cared not for new combatants.

They allowed rivals to flourish, and while all favored Wonder, not all had the same view of it. Reason saw an opening, the means to sunder Wonder’s unity quickly.

Since it couldn’t turn mortals from such a favorable path, it could have them bicker over what the ideology should entail.

Alas, acting upon the weakness was impossible, Wonder’s champions had covered themselves well. No matter how it tried, the eyes on it remained. It couldn’t risk manifestation, it would be instantly countered, and while it could still sing to Creation, it wouldn’t be enough to affect the mortals; not with protections around them and other gods waiting to act.

So it kept to its watching, moving its awareness about lands that didn’t hindered its flow.

Villages were everywhere, all flourishing, all singing Wonder’s praise. The lands were fertile, and becoming more so each day, nature gods at work; plant life soring ever higher into the sky. Crops, all of them skillfully cultivated, were ripe, and harvests overly abundant.

No mortal that it could see, went without, all needs were met, all were content.

And, no matter how small the clan, all could sing to Creation, make it dance.

Lands of miracles, lands of rising gods.

This could not be bested, given it, and its allies current strength.

It contemplated, it thought, and it learned.

It saw the path forward, the means to face this prospering foe.

If Wonder couldn’t be countered, then it would be mimicked.

-----------------------------------------

The sights of Wonder’s lands, its followers prospering in ways rarely seen at the beginning, caused those of Structure, and those of Mayhem to shift.

Reason spread its visions, and voiced its concerns to those it saw best able to contest Wonder. Those that didn’t, it sent Shards, learned of them, their weaknesses and strengths, and sold the information for a price.

Its actions caused ripples, the lands outside of Wonder’s influence falling into a state of upheaval. With Sovereigns, both memory locked and not, aware of the growing threat. And their attempts to thwart Wonder shown to be inefficient. There was only one course of action to take.

They had to grow as well, had to consolidate their power, which meant the removal of those unwilling to work with others, whose godly natures made them a hindrance in the grand war taking shape.

Small, and unwanted gods died, their followers taken, their lands claimed.

Reason used those moments to grow as well; to fleeing mortals, godless, homeless, it showed itself.

They listened, they converted, for all mortals see Reason in the end.

They marched, guided by its will, heading away from the lands near Wonder, to the north they went. To lands free from the manifestations of flame the south regularly suffered.

While the climate was harsh, it was survivable, and its followers were of one mind, of one spirit; they worked together.

But it knew, thanks to its watching’s, not to amass its following in one place. They spread out amongst lands of its own, and those of its allies.

After the upheaval there was peace, as Reason, and those of like understanding, cultivated their power.

Plans had to be made, and more information sought.

It spread its eyes, searching and watching for those that Wonder sent. Souls, cloaked in forms of light, or figures endowed in hunting attire, and then there was another group, one it had yet to witness, but they were there. They spread poison, an art to them, for all the variances it had seen. But it was learning, there were patterns, and poison could only harm those it could come in contact with.

Food sources were heavily guarded, water tested for even the most minute of impurities; the air cleaned, whether needed or not. Costly endeavors, but it was learning from the mistakes others suffered.

Reason kept its flock safe, and growing, while others fell prey to the machinations of Wonder. Only those furthest out, thousands of leagues, were kept safe from Wonder’s reach.

It sent some of its followers further north, the cold brutal, but at least their only enemy would be the elements. They could be adapted to, Wonder... Wonder was always changing.

Reason changed too, for Reason learned, for Reason understood.

It watched the ways Wonder sang to creation, the way it moved, the dance so beautifully conducted.

It copied the songs as best it could, some more successfully than others. It sang to nature, made it grow and ripen. It sang to water, making it pure and clear. It sang to the air, making it fresh and lifting.

Its following spread, numbers growing, Devotion flowing.

To those most loyal, to those most dear; it shared the songs of abundance.

Gods grew in might, Structure made right, the lands tamed, the lands calmed, their follower safe from Wonder’s many wrongs.

The enemy saw this too, its agents failing, its calamities ending.

But it didn’t act rashly, spending more of itself to inflict similar wounds. It watched them, as they watched it. Two forces sizing the other.

Unfavorable, but there was nothing to be done. Wonder was too enclosed upon itself, its many miracles forming a cocoon they lacked the means to puncture.

Their armies needed more time, their growing mortals, with their amusing kingdoms, and empires.

It heard the prayers from its followers, the need for resources, for ore.

In times past, Sessions of old, such a thing would have been simple; dig down far enough and all sorts would be found. But the underground was claimed; Wonder tricking them all.

They’d been so focused on the surface, at its tantalizing cities, bustling with followers in need of Reasoning. They had failed to notice Wonder hadn’t been as immobile as it first appeared.

Sight aiming downward, its many selves spreading out. It tried to measure the scale of their mistake.

What it saw, what it perceived, was enlightening in many ways.

For one; Reason felt as if it were gazing upon a ever reaching system of roots. Where they spread, resources were drawn. Wonder sought to claim all they needed, to remove their means to craft. Hurriedly it had sent the news, to friends and foes alike.

They needed to act, else their means to rage war would be forever hindered.

Grudges were put aside, hostilities at an end, for war against Wonder was a costly act.

To the north, south, east and west, forces came together, a race, a competition; whoever could claim the most ore would have an advantage over others, a way to bargain and force favors.

While the lands above, the surface, lied calm; the realm below, the place of stone, came alive with activity and death.

Wonder was prepared, its champions at the ready. An elemental god of rock, showed itself fully to them, its influence making the realm of stone shudder and warp. Makeshift tunnels collapsed, as rock moved like a living entity; it crushed, smothered, stab and punctured their mortals.

This would not work, Reason saw… Reason listened, Reason learned.

It heard the song, it saw the notes, it witnessed Creation’s dance.

It too learned the ways of stone, made it shift and turn. A favorable advantage, but one it couldn’t keep, its followers were too few to risk expeditions. So, it shared its song to those closest to its understanding.

For the price of followers, and sharing of ore, they learned its secret.

Wonder’s elemental no longer held sole sovereignty over the realm below. It was contested, it was fought back; however the act was taxing, and the elemental never stayed away for long. Its form was rock itself, and it swam through the stone like it was water.

A dangerous adversary, even with the means to contest it.

Still, those of Reasoning made ground, dug deeper, were able to claim small alcoves of needed ore.

It had to suffice, they had to adapt.

Reason watched, studied the tools of their enemy; saw how the dead were one of its favorites.

Thus it became theirs as well.

Throughout the lands, above and below, it had watched the use of Souls, how they manifested into the realm. Their forms were weak compared to that of a god, but they could interact with the material realm, even summon forth weapons from the ether.

Those feats it paid special attention to; since it would allow them to use the ore gathered for more… exalted forms.

Copying what it saw, singing to the realm in far off lands, away from the prying eyes of Wonder’s highest champion. It mastered the miracles enough to teach others.

Dead could be made of use, Souls given purpose, and freed from the Glen’s pull. It shared these secrets; to all.

Wonder had to be pressed, contested, it couldn’t be allowed to grow any more than it already had.

With its gifts came tolerance, even from those misaligned with its broad views. Its presence, and following was ignored, allowed to prosper without the risk of possible attack.

Wonder had drawn too many eyes, had displayed too well its capabilities. They had come to end it, but now many pondered whether that could be done; that maybe in the end they were only a bulwark, trying to keep this foe from sweeping the lands.

It was a growing opinion that they were buying time for the realm, allowing other continents a chance to develop.

Reason half agreed; Wonder was a threat, as much as the Elders. But it had a flaw, it had beheld it, they only needed to hold on.

So it spread its knowledge, shared more, the Souls weren’t the only things it studied. Wonder’s constructs, figures of stone and alloy. Far superior and less wasteful than the corporeal forms of the dead.

It copied Wonder, since it’s chosen form struggled to comprehend the runes and glyphs required to give the constructs movement. The mimicry worked though, and while their constructs weren’t of the same quality to the likes of Wonder, at least they had the means to make their own.

The knowledge to make them spread to all corners of the continent, every force of worth began constructing armies of them.

Figures of stone marched, The Forged, sent to fight underground. With their use, the loss of living followers ended, they were allowed to stay safe and reproduced in protected lands, while the dead warred against one another.

Thanks to the change, their fighters made of stone, the collapsing of tunnels meant little. They didn’t need to breathe, nor eat, and their forms could withstand great amounts of stress.

They took ground, for all worked as one. Wonder was being pressed from every direction, though none of them knew if this was weakening it or not.

The champions of Wonder had grown tired of Reason’s watching, learning.

It must have come at a great cost, but it was effective.

Wonder made a claim, and a domain, the lands under its control all became hazy to outside viewing. Reason couldn’t see within, be it the surface or the underground.

Perhaps there was a way, but it knew not the song, and even if it did, it would require Devotion. An act of countering the aura, one that would let Wonder know it was being watched, and where.

Reason found content with this change, for it was a partial boon.

Though it could no longer see, the price Wonder had to continually pay, was worth the trade. Any means to dwindle the growing Devotion building, the population within those hallowed lands blossoming, was a gain.

Besides it had other sources it could learned from. Wonder loved its miracles, loved to sing and demand to Creation; its followers were no different.

The weavings from mortal souls held within constructs of steel, made for bountiful study. The songs were simpler, easy to learn and mimic, and show cased how dangerous Souls could be when properly taught.

While not godlings, even a miracle sent by hundreds was a force hard to ignore. Could end weaker gods if they lacked the Devotion to keep going.

It was another tool they needed to copy, and with most of Wonder now blind to viewing. Reason had to change its approach, for though it wasn’t memory locked, its form had limits.

Wonder had many gods, and all equally specialized. It was plain to see there was those especially skilled at crafting songs to move Creation. There might even be mortals doing so, since Wonder had shown no restraint with its handlings of knowledge.

It was an intriguing and harrowing vision. Thousands of mortals experimenting, learning, testing new methods to counter Reason.

It had to do something similar, it had to have mortals of its own attempting such feats. But that would mean weakening its hold on certain followers, allowing them to think…Unreasoning thoughts.

But there was no choice, Wonder would adapt to them, and they too had to have the means to do the same.

------------------

War raged, turning the underground into a realm of endless struggle, where woven constructs and sundering miracles were common.

Materially little had been gained from the acts of destruction. The underground, a place that should have been rich with ores, was mostly barren.

The source had to be Wonder, even though no signs had been left, something that mattered not, when rock itself could be molded. Still they searched, gathering what they could, but spending most of their expeditions on keeping Wonder in check, halting its expansion.

They had succeeded, the tunnels, wrapped in runes that kept the occupants within safe and free from the gaze of outside forces; hadn’t spread, but nor had they been destroyed either, Wonder hadn’t lost any ground.

Still they fought.

If not for the accursed towers with their searing light. The battles would have erupted on the surface, all the lands of Wonder contested, but they hadn’t, not yet.

Soon though, it would. The years of battle, the testing and refining of methods, the formation of colleges aimed at the teaching of miracles. All were coming together, and bound by the birth of new gods.

Those of metallurgy, of crafting, of the making and weavings of arcane forces.

Forces to contest Wonder’s hold. But to achieve this, Reasoning, and its allies, had to become very… lax with the knowledge given to mortal minds. A danger, a risk, but such was the price of innovation.

Wonder kept improving, growing stronger; Reason was of the mind that it was biding its time. That all the conflict and testing of its borders were but meaningless noise.

But what else could they do?

So more conflict had to come, weapons of war made and shaped. Knowledge gathered and put to use, and prophecies sent far and wide.

It had sent out Shards, all tasked with the purpose of warning gods and pantheons that dwelled on separate continents. As well as to bargain, and gather new followers. Even if it failed to end Wonder here, the threat spreading, then it would try again; Reason would unite the realm against the calamity that Wonder was forming.

Even blind, Wonder hiding its flock, Reason had seen enough. Eventually there would be a schism, too many were given power, conflict, the dispute over what should be, who should rule, the rules themselves. Upstarts would challenge the norm, hungry for more, even expect it after a life of overflowing excess.

Wonder is a disaster waiting to happen, and when it comes, gods full of might and knowledge that few should have; the realm would sunder. Reason, and its rules of conduct, had to be ready, to be there to halt the destruction and undo the madness Wonder would birth.

It would be a mercy for all, if they could end the threat now, keep Wonder from reaching that point. But the chance appeared already behind them, Wonder while ruinous in the long run, was too prospering, and careful. Even now, contested on all sides, it refused to send out armies or unleash miracles to end threats, it refused to go on the offensive.

It remained hidden behind its songs of protection, letting them, Reason, take the initiative.

It should have been a boon, but the miracles from the birthing calamity were too strong. They were making no ground, couldn’t reach the source of Wonder’s strength. The mortals remained safe, and multiplying, and like Reason’s own, aiding Wonder in the ways of innovation.

The years of conflict showed as much. Wonder’s forces, the constructs of stone and metal were improving, made stronger and more effective. So too for Souls that sang to Creation, their skill in the art ever rising. An alarming number of them had also ascended into gods; with more to follow.

Madness, utter lunacy. The cataclysm to mayhem, but for now, it was making Wonder stronger. The lands under that force filling with godlings, its capabilities growing, its voice rising.

This had to be stopped, or at the very least slowed.

It gazed upon the works of its following and allies. Constructs of metal, and runes, forming together into instruments of destruction. Movable weapons similar to the searing towers that Wonder was using to keep them from the surface.

Their range had been tested, as well as their defenses. The WallBreachers would work, Wonder’s defenses able to be contested.

Visions were sent, the call given.

It was time to launch everything they had gathered; it was time to halt Wonder.