Disclaimer:
Mr. Brown, I diverted from your path. Please don't be angry, I do this for free, and loving it.
Previous:
One night, Hecate paid us a visit with a companion. She said: "My Champion, you exceeded our expectations. Plan some temples for Prometheus in your cities. Thanks to you I could free my nephew. This is a major victory and deserves a big boon from both of us. What do you wish for my Champion?"
30 A new God.
I bowed to them both and answered: "Congratulations on your freedom Lord Prometheus. We will erect a Temple in our keep right away. This way I can add your signature to the dampening field and the Balls so they won't affect, or catch you anymore. A boon from you is not needed. I own my life to you. Inspiring Mr. Brown to write that story made it so that my Lady Hecate brought me into this world."
I looked at Hecate and continued: "Lady Hecate, we are researching souls and how they can be disconnected from their current vessels in Hell and the Aesir. Any help you can provide I will consider a boon. I know this is close to your own powers and is dangerous to disclose to us, our Coven and I will swear a binding oath to not reveal your secrets."
Prometheus looked at Hecate: "My my, your champion is moving fast. A bit too fast, I can not get a clear picture of the future thanks to him. That is not so bad, because those pictures were doming us. There is a chance now."
Hecate smiled at me: "You never ceased to amaze me, Frank White. Tonight I will imprint Cerise and all my priestesses in your Coven with what I know about souls. I understand what you are trying to do, but be careful about it. When other Parthenons find out about it, it can cause a lot of trouble. Come Prometheus, I will show you the Temples they created for us. Idun was gloating that she outperformed the Aesir in Kozalin."
When they left, all of us released our breath, which we unintentionally held in the presence of those two Gods.
Tina put it into words: "I can never get used to this Frank. Getting visits from our Gods is so mind-blowing, that there are no words for it."
Berri chuckled: "Being pregnant with one is to Tina. Yet you are a natural with it."
Elin smiled at me and said: "We were in the middle of something good my love. Please continue with it. I want to be pregnant with our child, and so are a lot of my sisters."
In the following hours, we forgot all about the Gods.
Xxxxx
Going by the lore, Prometheus was the one that brought fire to humans, he also taught the basics of technology to the human world.
I talked it over with our Coven and decided to let the craftsmen build the temple, helped by the coven sisters that were most into crafting. Ulla took the lead, helped by Saskia, Berry, and Sandra.
Those four rallied the craftsmen of the keep to help build the temple. Soon every craft was represented, blacksmith, carpenter, leather workers, seamstress, cook, all male-oriented as female-oriented professions got representation.
The location of the temple was next to Idun and Bast's temple in the community center, that floor became known as the Divine Space of the Keep.
When the finishing touches were made, all the master craftsmen offered their masterpieces to Prometheus. Ulla accepted the position as High Priestess of Prometheus when she activated the altar.
Prometheus appeared above the altar, he looked at everyone in the Temple and said: "It has been thousands of years ago that a temple was dedicated to me. I am proud to be a part of this Parthenon and very pleased with this temple. Everyone that helped in creating it will get a boon from me, accept it now."
Prometheus raised his arms and everyone in the temple felt some improvements in their minds. The craftsmen received some new ideas and technologies for their profession, others got inspired and found their goals in life. Ulla received new technology about aircraft, that will lead her to spaceflight eventually.
I added Prometheus's signature to the keep and the God-catching balls. This made our keep a force to be reckoned with.
Xxxxx
Slowly, Loki's forces lost their grip on Earth. Every new army of Ice-Giants, Goblins, or Andregi got sick and died in a matter of days. So were the monsters that came out of Tartarus, the radiation I set loose in Tartarus was blocking the exit completely, any attempt to pass through killed them in a few days.
I exaggerated a bit at the gate of Tartarus, the amount of radiation made it impossible for the monsters to survive.
We and the forces of the prince cleared the enemies that remained in our world. The prince used that opportunity to add some to his territory, liberating their cities, and the show of force made the local rulers submit to Caspar.
Xxxxx
Elin, Mara, and Mira gathered some city plans from Atlantis and other lost civilizations, together with our Coven, Night elves, Dryads, and the leaders of the human side, started planning the layout of our two new cities.
We decided to let the ice age continue a few years more, it is a bit cruel, but that way the Aesir will lose its footing in our world. We can always save the locals in our cities, the weather magic of the Red Conclave can't stop the ice age, which places us at the center of the power distribution, it is up to us to end it or let it last.
Although we keep this a secret, when they find out we can stop the eternal winter, those Aesir will be all over us in a minute.
Two teams went to the sites of our new cities and started on the foundations, removing the soil and rock three hundred feet deep, in a two-mile radius, it was the beginning of a new era for us.
Once the plans were drawn and approved, the teams started to build. Envoys were sent to the surrounding settlements to introduce themselves and establish trade posts. The Gundams convinced the neighbors to keep the interactions peaceful. Thirty feet tall metal monsters and knights will do that.
On Mallorca, the locals just surrendered to us and got absorbed into our community. Corsica is a lot bigger with stronger tribes, but eventually, they too will submit to us. Our level of technology and comfort will draw them to us. The choice between a straw bed and ours alone will do that.
Xxxxx
Powers to look out for are those Light bringers, those were the ones that destroyed the Atlantean civilization, and others. The Atlantean were enslaving Gods, and the Light bringers, a coalition between several Parthenon, wiped them out.
A splinter group of them are responsible for the wars among the Parthenons. Like the Aesir versus Olympus, or the infighting of the Egyptian gods with Ra as the sole winner.
We have to walk on a tight rope to balance our power, too much will draw those Light bringers' attention, too little will cripple our development.
Xxxxx
The Night elves started to gather, the news of Nethwillin's baby boom made them come running to us and begging to join. So were the different Groves when they found out about the magic feeds our Groves received. After Galatea joined and spread the news to other Groves it caused an outcry for help to our keep.
Our Gods were ecstatic, humans, night elves, and dryads were coming to us by the thousands, new believers started to pray in their temple, combined with the power stone connected to the altars gave them a significant boost.
Dark Hecate stopped hiding and revealed herself to her pursuers, the first ones to attack her ended up in her Pokeballs. The others noticed her new magic and fled, news about Dark Hecate's new magic spread among the Gods when a few powerful Gods got Pokeballed, her reputation was set. Don't fuck with Dark Hecate… that is my job.
Xxxxx
I started the seed of the new cities, at the center I raised a big castle, with several power stones to feed the city. From the castle, the Coven sisters started to expand the city, the one on Mallorca we named Palma as the capital of Mallorca in my home world, the one on Corsica Napo, in honor of Napoleon, their most famous local.
The cities and our keep got connected with big portal dimensions, for easy traveling between them. Demetrius organized the troops and barracks to defend our territory, while Luka did the air support.
Two weeks later, big parts were ready to be occupied. Slowly the people in the Keep moved to the cities. The open space and warmer weather attracted them, also the knowledge the territory is ours without nobles or princes to answer made it an easy decision.
Xxxxx
It was hard on the Coven though, building two major cities in a short time is mentally taxing. When the primary buildings were done, it was time for a break and a celebration.
The first city for the celebration was Palma, on the grand plaza under a heat shield, we gathered our people.
Cerise made her speech: "People of the City Palma! Today we are here to celebrate our new life here! As you can see, the living conditions are the same, no, even better than in our Keep at Kozalin. In the following months and years, we will expand Palma, and colonize the island.
This will be our paradise! Created by us, for all our people to enjoy! Our community consists of three different races that work in harmony together.
It is that cooperation that makes us so great and powerful. Humans and Dryads are bringing food to our tables, Night elves are doing most of our trading. All of us are defenders of our children in the military.
All of this is made possible because of our Lord. Lord Frank White, is the single person that made this all possible. He, with the help of our Gods, saved all of our lives from certain death, death from cold or monsters.
He created the Keep at Kozalin and sheltered the children and homeless. He gave crippled soldiers a new future, the food production of vegetables, fish, and meat are abundant! From day one we never got hungry or cold. All this is our Lords doing, and we are grateful for it, more, we love him for it.
These new cities start a new era for our community, we embrace our new future and make our Lord proud! Lets the celebration begin!"
Well… Cerise has a way with words, the crowd cheered at the right moments, had tears in their eyes at the soppy parts, and started the celebration with song and dance.
The party lasted well into the night, the Coven and the maids took me to the palace where we started our own celebration. That resulted in a lot of pregnant Coven sisters, and some seeds for the Dryads.
It took a day to recover from that, the day after we repeated it in Napo. Some of the Cats and Succubus got pregnant too, much to Tina's delight.
Also, Cerise and Avilla are with child and glowing, which triggered the rest to double the effort to finish building the cities.
Xxxxx
A month later, we had room for a few hundred thousand people. A lot of refugees were rescued from small villages and cities. Crippled soldiers reinforced our troops after being healed, single females and abandoned children made up the biggest group of refugees.
It only took a few days for them to integrate, the loyalty bracelet and full stomachs, along with being healed, convinced them to swear their lives to us.
With the reduced pressure of Loki's army, the cold became enemy Nr 1. in midwinter temperatures dropped to record lows. People without shelter or food died one after the other, only a minority could be saved by our airforce.
To solve it, we let Luka drop beacons next to villages and cities, where we could collect all refugees at once. The ones that the bracelets refused were delivered to Kozalin.
Xxxxx
Half of the Coven is pregnant now, Tina is heavy with Bast, the delivery is closing in, and her nerves are getting to her. Berri is spending most of her free time with Tina, herself not ready for children but eager to be an aunt. Both went through a lot together and are close like sisters.
I am not sure how to handle this baby boom, the mentality of this world is completely different than my old one. The women here only feel complete when they have one or two children with their husbands.
Maybe the low life expectancy is urging them to have kids so they can take care of them when they get old or disabled. Anyway, I can not compare worlds, I live in this one now and going to be a dad of a Goddess and hundreds of kids. Again, mindboggling.
Xxxxx
One day, I got with Mara, Mira, and Elin in the time chamber working on the Soul problem. Cerise and Avilla were banned from using the room for as long as they are pregnant, the other pregnant coven sisters as well.
I explained my goal: "At Asgard, the warriors that die during battle or practice are reborn the next day, the maidens that serve the warriors have a worse fate. Their souls are mixed so every time a maiden is needed one will appear with the exact character and looks the warrior prefers. In other words, they are a mix of several souls.
In Hell's realm, souls get a new body, so Hell has an undead army of billions. My goal is to be able to disconnect that soul from the body. In fact, when the forces of hell attack us, I want to capture those souls and prevent them to return to Hell.
In case the Aesir sends some here, I want to do the same."
Elin got to the point: "That is a dangerous approach, my love, if word of this gets out to the other Gods they will be all over us. The lore of the souls is God's domain, meddling with it will cause them to put their differences aside and unite against us."
Mira thought it over: "Not if we send them to our God's realm, do they have one? Where do our souls go to when we die? Hell is our enemy, what will she do when we arrive at her realm? That is not a happy prospect to look forwards to too."
Mara said: "Every god has a realm for their souls, as long as they have believers they can maintain it. Cerise explained it to me a week ago. Dark Hecate could not maintain her realm, because she was the last priestess with no followers. Those souls went to hell where they are being tormented by Hell herself."
Elin sighed: "We can let them know this is a rescue action for our sisters' and brother's souls, or punishment for Hell in revenge for her abuse. It is going to be hard to sell it that way though."
I nodded: "I know, but it is necessary. A starting point can be the way I cut the gods off from their believers with that dampening field, the range is too little and there is no way to capture so many at once."
We discussed several options and methods to capture the souls, only stopping for meals. That night we spent with all the maids that came along.
The morning after we came up with several options that required a field test. The following days we discussed it with the coven in real-time. At last three methods were the most promising we only have to wait for an attack from Hell or the Aesir to test it out.
Xxxxx
Life got settled in our cities, slowly commerce started, trade in services and luxuries popped up, along with the long-distance trading the night elves are involved in. The work for the community and army is rewarded accordingly.
This is what Aria and Oromis were responsible for. Work needs to be rewarded, be it something small as a lift boy to an army General. It was way out of my comfort zone.
Aria explained: "Without pay, the people will feel like you own them. And in a way, you do own us. It is the feeling that their effort is worth something that counts. Our economy needs to be working to be able to trade with other nations and cities."
I sighed: "I leave it in your capable hands Lady Aria, both of you are doing a wonderful job" What else can I say? They are bloody thousand years old! Of course they are better at trading.
While the girls were expanding the cities, I made ten fishing boats for each city and a couple of warships.
All this time we were waiting for Hell to attack.