“This is…”

I already had low expectations when I heard the stories of this land not being blessed by Hevize who was controlling the weather but I did not expect the situation to be this horrible.

“We are extremely sorry for showing your holiness this sight,” The elderly elven man said to me with a face full of anguish.

The land was dry. Extremely dry. The trees were of only dead branches and the only animals around were insects who could survive extreme situations.

But it was the conditions of the settlement that startled me. Children were lying without spirit on the streets when they should be playing around at their age. Even the adults were left cooking food with what little resources this land could give. There were not many other activities they could do other than repeating a monotonous everyday life in these desolate lands. I already had some clues before about their poverty as the clothing that Neityr and the elder wore were beyond shabby but this truly exceeded all of my expectations. The huts were also constructed out of dirt and dead branches that were very low in quality. A gust of wind could knock down these houses.

“How did your tribe survive here for over five thousand years?”

The elderly elven man replied again. “Technically we did not. Your holiness has to remember that we started with more than ten thousand but our population has decreased by over ninety-five percent since then. We only survived this long due to the longevity of our elven species and the magic of some of our mages who could use water magic to grow crops in extreme conditions. But now, our children have malnutrition as the food we eat is always homogenous and lacking in variety. We also have a severe lack of talent to drive the tribe forward. We don’t even have a system of governance currently.”

I looked at the elderly elven man. His wrinkly face was pained. His long gray hair was unkempt and dirty. I had never seen an elf looking so old and brittle.

“Elder. What is your name? Forgive me, I was too preoccupied before.” I tried changing the subject.

“You need not apologize, god Awana. My name is Havies. I am the grandfather of Neityr here. I am also currently the unofficial leader of this tribe.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you. And also, I want to ask, does everyone here still worship me?”

“Of course! We have never stopped worshipping your holiness. That was why we kept channeling mana into the sword for thousands of years in hopes of freeing you.”

That was what I was hoping to hear. I knew that my divinity was gone for now. Most of it. One cannot truly erase all of the divinity within a god. You can decrease a god’s divinity and power by reducing the number of followers they have. In this case, banishing them to a faraway land where they cannot thrive is quite efficient. I guess you could still call me a god but the small number of followers I have currently would just bring me to the point of a very strong mortal rather than an actual god.

But having some followers around is good news. Even if the number was low.

“And do you know if any group outside of this tribe still worship me?”

“Perhaps? I truly am clueless as we have no contact with the outside world for thousands of years. Your holiness’ name was of course known all over the world but I worry that they were either converted to the current gods, cast away like us, or just killed.”

I also felt that was the case. I could sense that there were more followers out there than the five hundred in this tribe but the number was low. Around five thousand at most. And even then, I could not sense their location.

I am currently outnumbered and out divined. My head was filled with a thirst for vengeance but even back in my glory days, I could never hope to fight ten gods. This is also considering the fact that these ten gods have gained the powers and followers of the fallen gods.

What was worse is the fact that the moment they knew I have woken up, they will send their forces to look for me and perhaps even kill me this time before I could even grow any stronger. This situation is not looking incredibly in my favor.

“Elder Havies.” I called out with a stern voice.

“Y-yes your holiness?” He went nervous as he could tell the difference in tone.

“I am afraid that we cannot stay relax any longer.”

“W-why is that, your holiness?”

“The gods may have become aware I have awoken. We must leave this land as soon as possible.”

Neityr, who had been silence for a while, chimed in with a panicked tone.

“But your holiness! The people are still weak, they cannot travel long distances! And where could we move to? All of the lands have been taken under the rule of the ten gods.”

“I will take care of that. Please, just believe me. Just let the tribesmen and women know to pack all of their belongings and meet me at a clearing. Now.”

“As you wish.” Elder Havies nodded as he sensed my urgency. He walked away and started shouting everyone what I ordered.

Neityr was left fidgeting as she was unsure if she should leave with her grandfather or stay with her god.

“Neityr.”

“Y-yes, your holiness?”

“Do you have any good idea for a new name?”