High above the plains of the Canneldorth kingdom, about a day's journey west of the dungeon, an island floated in the sky. On top of the island sat a palace made of marble and gold – its size rivaling anything built by man. On the balcony of the palace stood a woman with long blonde hair wearing a dress that seemed to be spun from gold.

The All-mother sighed as she looked across the plains from her perch on the balcony. Even from this distance she could see the dungeon. The top of the structure even broke through the clouds.

The dungeon vexed her. For eons, she ruled as the god and queen of the entire world, and now someone had come to claim what was rightfully hers.

"Everyone's here, mother."

The All-mother turned to see a young man wearing a leather jerkin over his red satin shirt. The cuffs and collar had frills on them that gave him a noble air. It was fitting since he was a god after all – the god of celebration and cheer.

"Thank you, Dugan."

The All-mother walked into the adjoining room, a lavish dining area with a long wooden table as the centerpiece. Gathered around the table were the other five gods.

"Is it time to crush the interlopers!?" Asked a heavily muscled man wearing only leather pants.

"No, Jongar," The All-mother frowned at him, "and what have I told you about going shirtless at the table?"

"It's not like we're here for supper!" Jongar threw up his hands.

"No," a redhead wearing blue robes said, "we're here to discuss what to do about those other… gods."

She spoke the last word while twisting her face in disgust. She was the goddess of wisdom, Faranel.

Jongar rolled his eyes and slammed a fist down on the table, "What's there to talk about!? Let's just go over there and wreck them!"

Of course he would think that was the only solution to their problem. Jongar was the god of battle and strength.

"Calm yourself, Jongar," a silver-haired woman in a white dress said, "We still don't know what we're up against."

That was Zareel, the goddess of purity and healing.

The All-mother clapped her hands together and everyone quieted down. She took her seat at the head of the table and leaned forward on her elbows.

"It's too early to attack them outright," she said while making eye contact with Jongar, "We still don't know enough about them. In light of that, I've gathered everyone so we can talk options."

A gloomy girl with black hair wearing a black dress raised her hand. The All-mother pointed at her.

"Yes, Chanee?"

"Didn't you already make plans with that mage?" She asked, "the one that works with the king of Canneldorth?"

Chanee was the goddess of death and mourning among other things. She rarely spoke up, but the All-mother was glad to see she was making an effort.

"Yes," the All-mother nodded, "I told him to gather an army five million strong and prepare for an all out assault."

"Now we're talking!" Jongar roared.

"But," the All-mother held up a finger, "I have no expectation that will be enough to destroy the dungeon. They will simply set the stage for what we must do."

"And what's that?" Dugan asked.

"First," the All-mother swept her hand to indicate everyone at the table, "can anyone tell me what our most valuable resource is?"

A man in simple merchant's clothing smiled. He was Bolar, the god of wealth and trade.

"Is it gold, mother?" He asked, "It is quite valuable, and it's luster is just the–"

"No," Faranel interrupted him, "It's not gold, you simpleton."

"Oh?" Bolar crossed his arms and glared at the goddess, "care to enlighten me miss know-it-all?"

"Of course." Faranel nodded, oblivious to Bolar's insult, "The most valuable resource we can have as gods is the worship of the people."

That was the correct answer. Even the All-mother herself didn't know the exact mechanics behind it, but when people worshipped them, it gave them power. Because of that, the divines worked hard to make sure as many people as possible worshipped them daily.

All throughout the world were shrines, altars and other holy sites where people could make pilgrimages and receive blessings. Every nation had its own version of a church where the divines were worshipped, and one day a week was even set aside for that very purpose.

The faithful would be blessed and gain rewards based on which God they worshipped. Sometimes a person would be healed of an incurable sickness, or a withered crop might spring back to life. All these things were works of the divines who held ultimate power in the world.

But they only had that power because of their worshippers.

"You're right, Faranel," the All-mother nodded to the goddess, "our power comes from their worship. But, what if everyone stopped worshiping us? Would we instantly lose our power?"

"Not at all," Faranel answered, "We have thousands of years worth stored away for such an emergency."

"Right again."

"You're talkin' about the big rocks?" Jongar asked.

The "big rocks" Jongar spoke of were actually crystals. The crystals were solidified magic power, collected over thousands of years.

The truth was, the divines had so much power, they didn't even know what to do with all of it. The metaphysical exchange that happened when a single person worshipped the gods didn't amount to much. But when there's nearly a billion people worshipping every day, it became more than the divines needed to do their jobs. Instead of letting all the excess energy go to waste, they stored it.

The stored magic was put to use as well – the island their palace sat on was dependent on the crystals for power that it used to float in the air. Still, they were always receiving more power than what they used.

If the All-mother's scenario happened, and people stopped worshipping them, they would still have lots of power to draw from to remedy the situation.

"Yes, Jongar," the All-mother answered his question, "I'm talking about those."

The All-mother waved her hand to indicate the palace in which they sat.

"This island is held aloft by magic energy we have stored in those crystals. If we didn't have them, one of us would have to constantly supply our own power to make it work, and that would just be tedious. Now consider the dungeon."

She held up her fist.

"One moment, there was just an empty plain, then," she opened her fist and wiggled her fingers, "poof! It just appeared. The dungeon came from who-knows-where, tore through space and time itself, and ended up here."

"I see," Bolar nodded, "You're saying the dungeon must have a power source like we do. Their own crystals, as it were."

"That makes sense," Faranel steepled her fingers, "We know the whole thing is guarded by powerful magic. They call it aether, but it's the same magic we use. In order to be able to travel between worlds and put up such strong barriers, they must be using something similar."

"So?" Jongar punched the air, "Let's run in there and smash them to pieces!"

"Idiot!" Faranel glared at Jongar, "Did you miss the part about the barriers? We can't even get close to the place!"

"We may not be able to," Zareel said, "But mortals can."

"Like your pet?" Faranel raised an eyebrow at Zareel.

"He's not a pet!" Zareel crossed her arms and frowned, "His name is Peton the Light Bearer, and he's my most faithful servant!"

"What makes him so special?" Faranel asked.

"Well, if you must know, he swore a vow of lifelong chastity to me," Zareel looked away and smiled as her cheeks reddened, "It was a very powerful act of worship."

"Do you like this man?" Dugan asked.

"Of course I like him!" Zareel smiled, then she realized what she said and waved her hands around, "I mean, I don't like, like him! He's just very loyal, and honorable, and, and–"

"Handsome?" Faranel asked with a wry grin.

"Ugh, fine!" Zareel threw her hands up, "so maybe I do have a thing for him!"

"This is some juicy gossip!" Bolar leaned towards Zareel, "Tell me more!"

"Falling in love with a mortal," Faranel shook her head, "How illogical."

"Good for her," Chanee muttered, "and I'll probably be alone forever…"

"Oh!" Dugan jumped to his feet, "We should have a wedding! With singers and dancers, too! And a grand feast!"

"A wedding!?" Zareel looked horrified, "It's too early for all that!"

"Children!" The All-mother clapped her hands together, getting their attention, "We're getting off-topic, let's try to stay focused."

All six divines answered in unison.

""Yes, Mother.""

"On the subject of Zareel's boyfriend," the All-mother smiled as she watched the goddess' embarrassed reaction, "that is exactly how we are planning to deal with whatever power source they have."

The All-mother nodded towards Zareel for an explanation. The flustered goddess took a deep breath.

"Yes," Zareel cleared her throat, "since Peton is so faithful, I have given him a blessing that allows him to wield powerful magic in my name. I told him to find the dungeon's power source, or core, and destroy it."

"And then we can run up in there and destroy–" Jongar stopped talking when he saw the way the All-mother was looking at him. He cleared his throat and put his hands in his lap, "Sorry, Mother."

"However," The All-mother said, "even if Peton is successful and the barriers go down as a result, we still don't know what else we might face. What other threats might be waiting for us inside?"

"My attempts at scrying haven't been too successful," Faranel said, "but I have learned there's only five of them in there. I even heard someone say they're minor gods."

"Be that as it may," Zareel held up her hand, "We still know nothing about them. Maybe in the world they're from, the gods are more powerful than us."

"Hmm," Bolar stroked his chin, "I have a couple followers in there, maybe I can use them as spies."

"That's a good idea," the All-mother nodded, "in fact, we should all follow Zareel's example and send as many people to infiltrate the dungeon as is possible."

"Will that work?" Dugan asked, "I mean, they could just kill whoever we send."

"They already know about Peton," Zareel said, "They know what he's trying to do and haven't stopped him yet, although I can't say why."

"Maybe they're too weak!" Jongar said with renewed vigor.

The All-mother didn't think that was the case. She kept thinking about how worship empowered herself and the rest of the divines; maybe it held true for these other gods. If that was the case, then they wouldn't go killing the mortals of the world they were trying to take over.

No, they would get them to change sides.

"They think they can turn Peton," the All-mother said, "That's why they haven't killed him."

"He wouldn't!" Zareel looked aghast, "He would never be unfaithful to me!"

"Everyone will disappoint you in the end…" Chanee muttered.

"I'm sure you're right, dear" the All-mother tried to comfort Zareel, "but they will test him all the same. They will test everyone we send in, which is why we should only choose the most loyal servants for the task."

"So that's it?" Faranel asked, "We just send servants in and hope they get us some information we can use?"

"Unless you have a better idea," Bolar smirked, "goddess of wisdom."

Faranel sneered at Bolar.

"Well?" The All-mother looked around the table, "Does anyone have any other ideas?"

"Challenge them to a fight!" Jongar roared.

"Set up a blockade?" Bolar suggested, "We could keep more people from going in."

"Have we tried putting a curse on them?" Chanee asked, "I know some especially nasty ones."

"I should double my scrying efforts," Faranel said, "It's sure to yield results."

"Wait!" Dugan held up his hand, "There's one thing we haven't thought of yet!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Hear me out," he held up both hands and grinned, "What if we throw them a welcome party?"

There was a long moment of silence, then the room exploded with noise.

Everyone at the table started talking over each other to tell Dugan how horrible of an idea that was. Everyone except Chanee, who folded her arms on the table and buried her head. Even the All-mother was about to tell him it was a silly idea. Why would they welcome people who came uninvited in the first place?

But, the All-mother realized that while everyone was voicing their disapproval, Dugan's smile just continued to grow. It was as if he knew something they didn't.

And that made her curious.

"Quiet!"

The All-mother rarely raised her voice, but when she did the effect was immediate. Everyone stopped mid-sentence and whipped their heads around to face her.

"Let's hear Dugan out like he asked." The All-mother gestured to the still smiling god, "Go ahead and explain, dear."

Dugan bounced on the balls of his feet and rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, we'll send them an invitation to a grand party that we are throwing to welcome them to our world…"

For the next fifteen minutes, Dugan outlined a plan that would become the centerpiece of their operation to oust the invading gods from their world. It was actually quite devious, and the All-mother was surprised that a sweet boy like Dugan could hatch such a scheme.

But, the more she heard, the more she was convinced it would work.