Ray smashed her enhanced fist into the crumbling stone block. The already cracked and splintered surface shattered in a cascade of dust and rock. She stood amidst the range of shattered pillars, breathing deeply to catch her breath. Once she recovered, she dusted off her clothes and walked away.

Smashing things did wonders for her emotions. The sadness and anger already felt like distant memories. All that remained was a faint sense of embarrassment for shedding exactly five and a half tears.

She counted.

It was all thanks to Og’s instruction on the ‘goblin way’ of dealing with emotions:

Breaking stuff until you feel better.

Technically, that was the Gobber Goblin method. Glitter Goblins played tricks on people and cracked jokes. Wisely, Og had recommended the more violent of the two options to her.

The magic users who were maintaining the field collapsed, exhausted. They had been desperately raising targets for her to smash. Once she got into a rhythm, it took four of them using everything they had to keep up with the rate at which she shattered the pillars.

Og noticed that Ray had stopped and approached her.

“You worked it all out?”

Ray nodded sheepishly.

“I feel a hundred times better.”

“I’ve seen people go at it with zeal before, but I can’t say I’ve seen many approach it with the same fervor that you did.”

Ray snorted.

“If you are ready, would you like to meet with Vorg or the Glitter Court first?” he asked.

She looked down at her disheveled dusty outfit.

“I think I’ll get cleaned up first. Then I’ll see the Glitter Court, and after that I’ll talk to Vorg.”

“Sounds good. I will let the Court know that you are coming. They will need about thirty minutes to assemble.”

“Sweet. Where should I meet you when I’m ready?”

Og pointed at a small, fenced-off area near the back end of the camp.

“The Court meets there. Head over when you are cleaned up.”

Ray nodded and reached for her enchanted bag, pulling out a tent, a rag, and a container full of water.

Half an hour later, Ray stood facing the Glitter Court, a group of five old goblins sitting in a semicircle around her. After cleaning up, she had donned a pair of dark, tight-fitted pants that stopped just below her knees and a comfortable, lacey shirt woven from bluish-grey fabric.

The old goblins of the Glitter Court wore matching outfits. Each of them wore a long, white robe that sparkled as if glitter was woven throughout. All of them had greyish-white, spindly beards.

Off to the side, Shaman, Vorg, and Lexi sat as spectators. Og stood behind Ray as a form of translator. Though she understood the language, she didn’t understand the culture or the flow of the proceedings.

“Kneel,” Og hissed.

Ray hesitated. Like before, something within her violently rejected the idea. The idea of kneeling to someone else made her feel sick.

She fought the feeling and forced herself down onto one knee. A wave of nausea filled her, and a sharp pain resonated within her head. The nausea was followed by rage and Ray struggled to push it back.

“You may rise,” the goblin in the center droned.

Ray shot to her feet and the feelings of disgust evaporated. The lingering feelings from Evelyn Raymond were powerful, and they were frustrating to deal with because she couldn’t understand their source. She wished the memories would just go away entirely if they didn’t want to come back.

“Ray, Envoy of the ‘New God’, desires to share a message with the Glitter Court!” Og introduced.

The furthest goblin on the right raised his hand.

“Why do we entertain a servant of the enemy?” he growled.

“Flynn, now is not the time for hostilities,” the goblin in the center replied.

Flynn threw his arms up in disdain, but the other goblins shot him warning looks and he refrained from further response.

The center goblin motioned towards the goblin on the far right.

“We shall introduce ourselves in accordance with the traditions of the ancients.”

The rightmost goblin nodded, stood in place, and introduced himself. The goblin to his right, and then each goblin, in turn, also stood and introduced themselves.

“I am Tyrion, Lord of Commerce.”

“Cosmo, Lord of the Hunt.”

“Oberon, Lord of the Court.”

“Cedric, the Martial Lord.”

“Flynn, Secretary”

As Flynn retook his seat, Oberon resumed speaking.

“We will hear your message, but that is all that we will promise for now.”

“You may speak now,” Og whispered to Ray.

Ray observed the five leaders for a moment. She ran a hand through her hair as she considered what to say first.

“Just repeat after me.”

“Sure.”

If there was ever a time to rely on this ‘New God’, it was now. She started to relay the message he spoke into her mind, word for word.

“Honored Lords and Secretary,” she began. “I am Ray. I bring a message from a new god who desires salvation for all those whom humans have termed ‘monsters’.”

“And what is this message?” Flynn demanded.

“This new god asks for your cooperation.”

“What does he promise in return?” Tyrion asked.

“He is a new god and does not yet have much power. He will use it to help his followers as he grows in power. As of right now, all he can promise is access to the ‘respawn’ system.”

“Respawn?” Cedric said, leaning forward. “That’s the system that resurrects the humans, no?”

“That is correct,” Ray replied with a nod.

Cedric laughed incredulously.

“That is amazing! You promise us immortality for merely agreeing to cooperate with a lesser god?”

Ray frowned. That didn’t quite feel right...

“Though he is not yet powerful, he promises that he will not be ‘lesser’ to any of the other Overseers.”

Cosmo shook his head.

“We do not refer to the Overseers with our comment. To us, they are also lesser gods. A greater god would be one of the rulers. You are a descendent of Kraveloz, no? Do you not worship your father?”

Ray shrugged and answered honestly.

“I have no memory of such a being.”

“”...”” The goblins all froze.

“Hey, don’t go off script!”

“We have been informed of your circumstances, but it is still difficult to believe that you, of all people, would reject your own creator...” Tyrion muttered in disbelief.

“I cannot reject him because I do not know him,” Ray replied calmly. “I will make my judgment if he ever reveals himself to me.”

“You’re going to make them mad. Just listen to me…”

Oberon shook his head.

“You do not understand. As is said in the records, never before has any individual from any of the origin races spoken against their creator.”

Ray hissed in frustration.

“Why are you so fixated on that? I am not Evelyn Raymond and I know nothing of the ‘origin’ races!”

The Court went silent.

“Now you’ve done it…”

“Shut up!” she thought back.

Shaman shook her head and covered her face with her palm. Lexi’s eyes widened at the mention of a name that anybody would recognize, but she didn’t understand Goblin, so she just looked back and forth without comprehending anything.

“She truly is no longer the First Daughter...” Tyrion sighed.

“My name is Ray,” she replied firmly.

After a long, drawn-out silence, Cedric finally spoke.

“You do not seem to fully understand the significance of your position. Evelyn Raymond was known as the Monarch of Ages, though it was a symbolic title. Our Queen is declaring that she has abandoned our creators and is following an invader.”

Ray was starting to feel like she messed up, though she wasn’t sure where the conversation had gotten derailed.

“It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t choose any of this!”

“That doesn’t matter,” Oberon retorted. “The idea that an individual bearing the name Evelyn Raymond does not serve Kraveloz, let alone any ruler, is tantamount to heresy!”

Ray clenched her fists as she fought down her urge to lash out.

“I do not know of your ways and I do not know your history,” she started. “But where is this Kraveloz now? Where is this Demestrix? Humans have been dominating you for over a thousand years. If the Overseers are lesser, why are they still here? Why did the rulers abandon you?”

Cedric stomped to his feet. The ground shook and the chair behind him flew away. The blast of wind caused Ray to stumble backward and the tremors in the ground made it difficult to regain her balance. None of the other goblin leaders seemed affected by the display.

“Do not speak ill of the Great Mother!” Cedric roared. “You may blasphemy your own creator if you will, but I will slay you if you say another word against ours.”

Ray trembled slightly as an overwhelming pressure tried to slam her to the ground. She met Cedric’s enraged eyes with a defiant glare.

“Ray, please calm down and let me help you defuse this situation!”

She sighed.

“Sure.”

She began to repeat the words that he put into her mind.

“I apologize if I have slandered Demestrix,” she recited. “I merely want you to consider that a new god can help you while you continue to search for her.”

Cedric took a step forward, reaching for his sword.

“Stop,” Oberon commanded calmly.

Cedric glanced back at him and the overwhelming presence faded. He bowed towards Oberon and then returned to his position. Urg stepped out of a shadow and offered a new chair to the Martial Lord. He accepted it and sat down while Urg stepped back into the shadows, disappearing once more.

“We have heard your message,” Oberon said. “We ask for ten days to allow us to deliberate amongst ourselves.”

Ray nodded.

“Take however long you will. I would like to give you a peace offering before I leave. I hope you take this into consideration during your deliberations.”

“Oh?” Oberon raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “And what might this offering be?”

Ray cleared her throat.

“It is information. There is a standing quest in Cairel, the nearby human fortress, to kill the goblins here. The adventurers know you are here. I don’t know if they have found this village yet, but they know that there are goblins nearby.”

Ray left the rest unsaid. The elders of the Glitter Court understood the implication of her warning:

In the coming days, they just might have to choose between their loyalty and their lives.

***

Ray waited patiently near the training area with Og. Shaman and Vorg had stayed back to converse with the Glitter Court. After they were done, Vorg would come over here and speak with her.

Ray pulled out her shortsword that had been used to traumatize Jantzen and Peter. She also withdrew a whetstone, a rag, some oil, and some water. Using the methods Siegfried had taught her, she began to clean and sharpen the blade.

Og raised an eyebrow when he saw her maintaining her weapon, but he didn’t comment.

As Ray finished her task, she looked around at the goblins in the training area. Everything was much the same as when she had first entered the camp and a question sprung into her mind.

“Why do none of the goblins wear metal armor?” she asked. “And not all of them have metal weapons either.”

“We have been hunted for over a thousand years, never staying in one place for long. We have little to no trade with other races. It is rather difficult for us to obtain metal,” Og explained.

Ray nodded in understanding.

“So how did you obtain most of what you currently have?”

Og smiled as he motioned towards the training goblins.

“That stuff mostly came from dead adventurers.”

Then he placed his hands reverently on the daggers he had hanging from his belt.

“These ones were a gift from Master Evelyn.”

‘Master’ Evelyn.

“I’m sorry that I’m not your Master. You seem to have liked her very much.”

Og grunted but didn’t respond.

Ray watched him for a moment as he stared at the daggers silently, seemingly lost in thought.

Finally, he spoke with a slightly husky voice.

“Ah… I guess I miss her more than I thought I would. Since she was immortal, I always assumed that I would see her again… but fate is not so kind it seems.”

Og stood up and stretched his back with a low groan. Ray followed suit, rolling her shoulders to work a kink out of her back.

“Evelyn Raymond found our camp a few years back. She stayed with us for a few months before moving on. During that time, she rigorously trained the five of us that are now referred to as assassins.”

Ray tried to summon the relevant memories but, like always, they eluded her.

“She was a heartless master. She would beat us half to death and then drench us in healing potion,” Og recalled, his voice full of nostalgia.

After that, they sat in silence. It was only broken when they heard shuffling steps and looked up to see Vorg approaching.

Vorg smiled as he stopped in front of them.

“To think, the Monarch of Ages herself has once again graced us with her presence!”

Ray grimaced slightly.

“You know that I am not Evelyn Raymond.”

Vorg nodded.

“I know. However, the reputation of that body you are inhabiting will precede you until you overshadow it yourself.”

Ray groaned.

Vorg’s smile widened as he observed her discontent.

He snapped his fingers and a chair rose across from Ray. He leaned back into the chair.

“I will be quick and blunt in my statements,” he started. “The Gobber Goblins are interested in the offer you presented to the Glitter Court.”

Ray leaned forward in shock.

“Wait, what?”

“The Gobber Goblins are interested in working with this new god.”

Ray’s mind reeled as she realized exactly what he was saying.

“Why?” she blurted out.

Vorg laughed.

“Why not?” he countered.

“The Glitter Goblins are hesitating. What makes the Gobber Goblins different?” Ray asked.

“The Glitter Goblins hesitate because they cling to the old ways. They expend all of their effort and worship for a greater god who disappeared over a thousand years ago. We Gobber Goblins have embraced our new form and moved on.”

“New form?”

Vorg waved the question off.

“It is old history and no longer important. The past is the past and we need to look to the future.”

“So why do the Gobber Goblins want to follow the new god then?” Ray asked.

“It’s the only logical decision,” Vorg replied. “The Glitter Goblins know this and hesitate because it would require them to change their entire purpose. On the other hand, following this new god aligns perfectly with our purpose. There is no future fighting against humans as we are. It may take another thousand years but, eventually, all of the races labeled as ‘monsters’ will be overrun.”

Ray nodded in understanding.

“I can accept that.”

“And so, we would like you to share the ‘teachings’ of your new god. We need miracles on our side.”

“You hear that?”

“Yeah,” the voice replied. “I heard. Ask them if they would be willing to undergo a ritual to become one of my followers?”

“He wants to know if you would be willing to undergo a ritual to become a follower. Every person who undergoes this ritual will increase his power.”

Vorg nodded.

“If you give us some more details, I don’t see why not.”