Author note: since Meg has been ruminating over the 'Gorion should have saved Sarry instead of me' stuff for nearly all of her life, the canon second challenge wouldn't have worked for this story, so I made up an entirely different one for her to face.
oxoxoxoxoxo
The party enjoyed their dinner, a long warm bath and some well-deserved rest, then they gathered around the table for 'breakfast' and noticed that one of the challenge rooms was now open. "Looks like Yaga-Shura's death triggered another challenge", Edwin commented, intrigued, "Five challenge rooms…One for each member of the Five!", he suddenly understood, "Every time one of them dies, you take a challenge and earn some advantage in the war, like the healing discs in the first room". Everyone stared at him with newfound respect and he preened at their looks, knowing full well that none of them had thought of it. "Excellent reasoning, Edwin, as always", Meg praised him and his smile widened. "Of course, I am an Odesseiron after all", he said with obvious pride. "Well, let's go see what's waiting for us this time".
They all moved towards the challenge room, but as soon as the Ilmatari got inside, the rock slid to the side and sealed the wall behind her, leaving her companions out. A figure stepped towards her from the darkness, a woman with fair skin, blond curly hair and emerald green eyes, whose lips were curved in a small smile, "Hello, Meg", the apparition said. "Hello, Meg", the Ilmatari replied, taking in the luxurious dress her clone was wearing: it was made of the finest black velvet, lightened up by beautiful gold and silver embroidery and decorated with pearls and rubies, "Nice dress".
The copy's smile widened and she whirled about like a debutante, "Lovely, isn't it? I had this little thing made for my ascension, I wanted to look my best as I joined the Pantheon". "Ascension, uh? So you took the Throne?". She nodded, "Hell, yeah. Come, I want to show you something", she added, extending her right hand. The Painbearer took it without hesitation and the room vanished, replaced by a tall hill surrounded by a beautiful landscape, "What...".
The fake Meg made a sweeping gesture, "Beautiful, isn't it? And it's all mine. It could be yours as well, if you wanted it". The real Meg arched an eyebrow, "And what, pray tell, should I need this land for, if I were a Goddess? To grow lettuce, cabbages and spinach?". The clone laughed, "Oh, of course not, silly. I wasn't referring to the land itself, but to the people who live in it", she explained and at her gesture, an incredibly large crowd appeared at the foot of the hill, hundreds of thousands of people of every race and age and as soon as they saw the two women, all of them prostrated on the ground, chanting the Ilmatari's name over and over.
"Who are they?". "Worshippers, my dear. Your worshippers, to be more accurate. Extremely devoted to you and ready to do literally anything to please their Goddess. You can ask everything you want of them and they'll do it without question. They will conquer lands for you and convert all those who live there to your worship as well". "Why would I want that?".
She shot a patient look at the Painbearer, like a teacher facing a particular dense student, "Because your power comes from worship, darling. Don't you remember Amaunator's fate? More followers mean more power for you to use as you please. Why do you think the Gods are always trying to get more people to believe in them? It's all a matter of power, nothing else. Besides, it's fun to order these fools around and see them obeying without batting an eyelid to even my wildest requests. Here, let me give you a little example", she pointed to a blue-skinned Tiefling man, with bat wings and a long fox tail, "You! I want you to cut off one of your wings and eat it!", she ordered, tossing him a dagger.
The man deftly caught it and bowed, "As you command, my Goddess", he said in a humble tone, his eyes not daring to meet hers and without another word, he started to cut off his right wing. "NO!", the real Margaret Dawn shouted, horrified, "Stop! I don't want you to hurt yourself!". Her clone huffed as the Tiefling obediently stopped, "Oh, you're no fun at all. Fine, suit yourself, little miss spoilsport. My point has been proven anyway".
"Why in the Nine Hells did you ask him to do something so cruel?". "To show you how deep and unquestioning their loyalty to me is. The stronger their faith is, the more powerful I become. This power could be yours as well: you could do everything you please, have everything you desire". Meg snorted, "I already have all I need, thank you".
"Ah, but do you have all you want? Here, let me show you something", the clone snapped her fingers and the surroundings changed again, this time they were on top of a cloud and below them there was a city in ruins, "See that? An army of conquerors invaded the city and slaughtered all who tried to resist. Many women are now widowed, many children orphaned and their means of sustenance are gone with the men who died", she added, the visual narrowing to a small house where a woman and a child in rags were eating a meager lunch consisting of half a loaf of bread and a couple of carrots.
Meg's heart clenched in pain and sympathy, "Sweet lord Ilmater…". "Now snap your fingers", her copy said. "Excuse me?". "Just do it". The Ilmatari blinked, puzzled, then shrugged and snapped her fingers and suddenly, a big pot of stew, a three-stories chocolate cake and a huge roasted turkey appeared on the table, complete with plenty of mashed potatoes, "What…".
"Cool, uh? And that's only a small taste of what you could do with the power of the Throne: a snap of your fingers and hundreds of thousands are fed; a blink of your eye and every illness is cured; a single word and those who died will live again", the fake Meg said, her voice becoming more and more mesmerizing by the second, "You could save them all, if you chose to claim what is yours by birthright. You could be a ray of hope for those who suffer. Isn't that why you became a Painbearer in the first place?".
Margaret Dawn gulped, her heart beating furiously in her chest and her hands shaking as she considered the many things she could do to help others with that power, "Yes. It is". "Then seize it!", the copy exclaimed, as a small globe of swirling golden light appeared in front of them, "You just need to reach out and take it and then you'll be the Goddess of Mercy and Hope". Meg's breathing hitched and she began stretching her arm forward...But a sudden thought hit her and her arm dropped back to her side, "Wait. You said that this destruction was caused by an army of invaders, right?". "Yes".
"Who guides them?". The clone arched an eyebrow, "Is that important?". "Who. Guides. Them?". "Okay, okay, miss nosy vixen, if you really want to know, I'll show you", she rolled her eyes and clapped her hands and the house was replaced by a battlefield where a small army stood proudly, surrounded by hundred of broken corpses. The Painbearer's eyes widened in shock as she recognized them, "What…No, it can't be…".
Before her eyes were her party members, her family: Anomen, Sarevok, Imoen, Jaheira, Edwin, Yoshimo, Aerie, Daniel, Gromnir, Toop, Merlinious, Chinchilla, Minsc and even Boo, all of them in full battle gear, all of them covered in blood and ashes and all of them wearing an amulet depicting a bloodied mace.
"What happened to them?", she whispered, horrified. "They became your champions, your generals. By the way, Anomen, Jaheira and Aerie turned from their patrons and became respectively your High Priest and High Priestesses. And in case you're wondering, that lovely little amulet hanging from their neck is your own Holy Symbol". "You mean that I turned them away from their Gods and turned them into monsters? All of that destruction was caused by MY army?!".
"Wow, easy, there's no need to pierce my eardrums, thank you very much", the clone muttered, placing her hands on her ears with a pout, "Why are you so upset? Power always comes at a price, you know. Besides, why should you worry about those who died? You'll have the power to bring them back anyway, so why fuss?". The Ilmatari was beyond herself, "Why fuss?! Do you even need to ask? This is…This is monstrous! This is abhorrent, wrong and unforgivable! And what of Ilmater, uh? What's gonna happen if I seize the Throne?".
"Well, you're going to steal away His followers and He'll fade like Amaunator, but who cares? You'll do a great job in His stead". "No way!". "Oh, come on, do you really want to tell me you'd rather keep on being the lowly servant of a deity, instead of being a deity yourself?". "Yes". "Are you sure? Do you really refuse the power, do you want to give up the chance to be a Goddess?", her copy asked once more. "Yes! I refuse all of it!".
She nodded approvingly and their surroundings faded like mist in the wind, leaving only the two women back in the circular room, "Well done, Meg". "What do you mean, well done?", the real Meg asked. "Isn't it obvious? You have passed the Test of Temptation and this place is now yours to use as you please".
She looked around and noted that the room was different: where before were boiling lava pits and sharp rocks, the floor was now covered with a thick layer of soft golden sand, luxuriant palm trees dotted the place and lined up against the whole length of the wall were some big circular pools filled with crystal clear water. "It's beautiful", she breathed, her eyes once again filling with tears, but this time of joy, "It looks like an oasis from dad's homeland, at least from the way he described it...".
The fake Meg smiled and now it was a genuine gentle smile, "It does, yes. The waters have healing powers and you can switch them from warm to fresh as many times as you want. You can even drink it and it will serve as both a strong healing potion and an antidote against all poisons known to mankind". "Well, that's good: we won't have to exhaust our healing spells so often then", she smiled and turned to look at her clone, "Say, that part about Anomen, mom and Aerie becoming my own clerics…They wouldn't really do that, right?".
"Probably not, especially Anomen, he's too devoted to Helm to turn his back on Him. Though he's equally devoted to you, so maybe he would after all", the copy added with a mischievous grin, "So, no hard feelings? I was just doing my job, you know, it was nothing personal". "Yes, no hard feelings", the Human priestess smiled and took her hand and when they touched, the apparition dissolved and the wall split and twisted to form a doorway once again. Meg's companions immediately rushed in, surrounding her and asking a hundred questions all at once. "Guys, guys! I'm fine, it was not a fighting challenge", she reassured them and they relaxed. Anomen wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "What happened in here, beloved?".
"I...Well, I had a little chat with a copy of myself about moral stuff. No big deal and we parted on friendly terms. Oh, there's good news, by the way", she added quickly, as she didn't want to reveal the part of the test concerning them, "See the pools over there? Not only their waters have healing properties, but they can be warmed up and cooled down at our discretion. We officially have our personal thermal springs!".
Imoen cheered, "It's great! Now all I need is a tree house". "I already told you, pixie, there are no trees here to...". "And what are those, then, miss know-it-all?", she shot back, pointing to a palm tree. "Well...They're palm trees, true, but you can't build a house up there". "I'm sure you can! Come on, sis, make an effort for your poor, sweet, innocent little sister who loves you soooo much! Pretty pleeeease?", she pleaded, making her best puppy eyes.
"But...I don't think...", Meg sighed, "Oh, all right, all right, I'll try", she closed her eyes and focused on the nearest palm tree and surprisingly enough, a shadow gradually took shape on top of the leaves, solidifying into a small wooden cottage. "Woooo-hooo! I knew it! Thanks a lot, sis!", the pink-haired thief enthusiastically shot her fists high into the air and wasted no time in climbing the rope ladder to go see her new lair.