AN: Sorry for the massive unintended hiatus, I was focusing on school, and my slothfulness didn't help.
Thanks to all the people who messaged me in worry, I appreciate it.
I tried to be a little faster with this chapter's events. I mentioned a very long time ago that in future, I would try to do this. This is what I meant since I have established a lot of what sort of thing goes into making simple or complex machines. And what is involved in lessons or travelling, I don't think I need to do much but summarize what happens, with details being important interactions to try and build up characters.
The evening of the day made it nearly a day over a week since he arrived, but the Omnissiah's focus at the moment was on the party as he flew off to Crete. The memories of the party brought a smile to the face of the tri-part deity, most of the party at least. Despite it lasting most of the day, it still seemed that so much had been discussed between himself and the various major and minor gods that it beggared belief.
Discussing war with Ares, glass windows of all things with Hermes, many topics with Hephaestus, a bit of teaching as well as learning with the twins of Leto, a disconcerting conversation with Aphrodite and Eros. That disconcertment came from more than one front and culminated in discovering some of the reasons behind the utterly destructive marriage between the King and Queen of Olympus. That they had been so open was odd but excellent, the picture was far clearer now.
If there was something unexpectedly pleasant, it was the investigative debate between himself and Athena. It was likely that it was, in a way, the pursuit of his lost omniscience and thus pleasing, but that didn't seem to be the only reason. Regardless, more crossbows had to be prepared for next week, and there were some revelations to work through, especially with regard to the warning.
When the Machine God arrived back at his chapel, it was at that time empty, Praxis seemed to be resting nearby. Entering the structure, he etched the Seventh Warning of the Cult Mechanicus into the left, if one were facing out, wall of the door. "Flesh is Fallible, but Ritual Honors the Machine Spirit," stating it aloud wasn't necessary, but it felt right, and there was little reason to refuse that feeling.
Once that was done, the Machine God took a moment to reflect, 'This warning came from eating Nectar and Ambrosia. Consuming the food of the gods had an incredible effect but only initially. I will have to experiment in future, but even if it doesn't yield anything it isn't an unpleasant experience, a silver lining to a possibly rusted cloud strafer.' That last bit brought up an examination, 'What is a cloud strafer?' After a bit of recall, it was a small part of reclaimed knowledge that hadn't been focused on, it essentially was a semi-primitive prototype glider from some point in time. The unconscious use of some turn of phrase was odd.
Physically shaking his robed head, he refocused, 'My line of thinking has become distracted, the food of the gods was useful, and I wonder what else I could gain from them willingly? Speaking of…' the Olympian council seemed to be gathered if the spirits in their gifts spoke of their position truly. Spoke may be a strong word, felt would be better in this instance.
"-that doesn't mean we can trust him!" the voice of Zeus was intense but not angry; he seemed to be emphasizing more than anything, "Friendly though he is, we should not blindly trust him. One interaction with most of us is not a good judge of character."
On one hand, they were talking about him without him being present. On the other hand, what other choice was there except blind trust? Blind trust is something almost no being should give. Besides that, it isn't as if he isn't spying on them to see how they truly feel, making their suspicion at least somewhat valid.
"No one is in disagreement with that, husband, but that is far less likely to be a problem if we treat it like it won't be. In other words, put the best foot forward." Zeus raised a brow at his wife.
"Are you saying we didn't already do so? I don't recall any of us doing otherwise." the King of Olympus questioned in a more confused way than accusatory.
A semi-slurred reply came from Dionysis after he laughed a bit, "I mean, I think he'd have stayed around longer if you hadn't sent him off I didn't even get to introduce 'em to my friends so they could thank 'em for the good wine and beer."
"I'd have thought that we didn't invite any satyrs given their lewd behaviour would have given a worse impression than even Apollo managed," Artemis commented.
Apollo looked both mock-offended and utterly serious, "Hey I did nothing wrong despite what you keep saying I was just being friendly in a different way."
As the twins bickered on this again, Dionysis responded, "I'll have you know my satyr friends aren't uhhhh… that bad. Besides, I have friends that aren't my satyr or Maenad followers."
"I don't know that I count on this matter, brother." Hermes joked.
Playing along, Dionysis gasped, "Who's side are you on?! Now I have to retract my statement."
"Well," Poseidon said, "everyone seems to be in a joyous mood given how much we are not taking this conversation seriously, can we get back on track?" After saying this, he started to mutter about getting back to the Ocean.
Hera firmly took the initiative, "Do we know when or if he will return? Hephaestus, did the two of you set up a time to meet again you were talking for a while?" the god of the cripples shook his head at which his mother made a sound of surprise.
"I am meeting him next week." Artemis stopped glaring at her brother to answer the queen's question. At this, a few of the council members looked at her oddly, "What?"
Aphrodite seized that opportunity, "Oh my, to do what, where and when are you meeting? I didn't take you for the aggressive type he must have really inspired you if you are seeking out a date so fast."
Before Artemis could verbally lash the goddess of love, Apollo dogpiled to rib at his sister, "Art! Is that why you interfered with my conversation with him, you wanted him all to yourself-" Whatever else he was going to add on was cut off by the moon goddess punching him.
"Don't. Call. Me. Art!" an inhale of breath, "I wanted more crossbows for my huntresses and will teach him and a few of his followers how to hunt in exchange." she was blushing, but that was most certainly from rage more than anything else, this level of annoyance wouldn't result in her being very embarrassed.
The meeting continued for a while, yet, the Omnissiah listened in to see if there was anything important, but the only takeaways were to stay alert and friendly. Doing those should safely uphold the agreement in their view. 'Well,' the Motive Force thought, 'I should almost certainly remove the spirits from Athena's weapons and Hephaestus' hammer. I now have several spirits there due to the gifts; they are aware of those spirits even if they aren't as strong, so that won't be an issue. However, the risk of them discovering I've modified their weapons and thus ruining relations is too high, no matter how minuscule. The benefit is not worth incurring wrath, even if they do not know that I can spy via them; the modifications alone would be damning.'
'But that is something to do at a later date. For now, I have something to work on.' The Primordial deity sat down and began to think deeper, 'The fifteenth law has some implications. While it seems to be compelling and in agreement with my knowledge as well as my logic that flesh can be fallible. My own words came back to me when I drank the Nectar so my mind must be subconsciously reconstructing itself to help my conscious efforts. I suppose I will know how that is possible in time.'
He continued to think, 'Ritual honouring the machine spirits, I have called for them to be cared for but is that ritual? I suppose that could apply, but there need not be so strict an order; then again, how many different ways can one maintain a machine without doing so wrongly? Really there is flexibility, but there is a seeming ritual to regular maintenance. Things must be done in one or more correct ways, each has a sequence of proper actions.'
There seemed to be a faint sort of chanting from many voices for a moment before it disappeared; there was nothing to focus on, so it must have been an imagined sound due to deep thought. "...I suppose there is nothing to worry about; this law does make sense after all." He of Golden Feathers left the chapel and say Praxis woke up, who greeted his master before flying off, most likely to hunt for food.
The Granter of Directed Motion then went to the house and began to work on machines, but after a while, moved on from guns and weaponry. He began to gather yet more materials though there wasn't an abundance on Crete, so he had to travel out of it quickly.
The talks with Hephaestus had inspired and helped him recall augmented limbs. Legs, arms, and a few crude eyes began to litter the crude workshop joining the few augmented limbs he had made before this point. Unlike some of the limbs he had made before, these newest ones were not based on the Skitarii.
Both old and new limbs had basic suites of sensors for touch, but the newest limbs were just above what a human limb could feel. A tricky thing to figure out was how to make that good and not overwhelming to the user. Even with all that, limbs were far easier to work on than the eyes or other augments, if only because they didn't necessarily require surgery to be used to interact with the nerves of the patient.
A few limbs could actually be removed instead of needing surgery and worked just by reading surface electrical signals. But making sure the code on the simple chips could handle the commands correctly would need to be adjusted for each person. The more integrated limbs were better motion-wise. And in view of the Gift Crafter, more comfortable to "wear" since you wouldn't notice it if integrated well. Then again, he had yet to integrate any machines into his form…
That needed to be corrected as soon as possible. While this form was meant to be approachable, how could he be a representative of his beliefs if he did not actually embody them to at least some extent without scaring the local uninitiated? 'Even the few followers that have pledged themselves would probably be put off by too many machines in my form,' this brought a frown to his face, 'that would also unfortunately probably include Clio at this point, but that will change with time. I hope that is so for all humans, I shall be certain soon enough, I suppose.'
With that thought, he went back to refining the augments as he worked through the night. While he did not need sleep, he had come to see the visions and rest it provided as beneficial. Working was a trade of benefits, but it seemed worth it. The morning was somewhat cloudy, and people exited their homes for the day's work. After talking to Korban, who had woken up not too long ago about what he had taught the day before, the priest asked, "So, how did things go yesterday?"
"Yes, an agreement was made, and while it is not ideal, I can work with it. I will have to limit my in-person appearances, at least undisguised, to just Crete. There are some other details, but I don't think they'll mean much."
The pair continued to talk for a while about the party when the Omnissiah brought up a conversation that he found he was dreading. The feeling was understandable that it was there strong enough to have an effect was the surprise, "Korban may I ask you about something that I am…somewhat lost with, you may not know the answer but I trust you will give me as good of a council as you can manage on this?"
The man, who had been in both somewhat awe and humour due to the descriptions of the god's interactions, grew serious, "Yes, as you say, I will try my best."
The Machine God sighed before speaking, "While I was at the party and even before then, I suppose many of the gods I've met made…innuendo. That was perfectly navigatable, especially when it was jokes and/or not directed at me, but…there were some flirting propositions and some serious propositions." Korban had a set neutral face, but his confusion was felt, "I would like your advice on how to deal with those that display…interest in myself that isn't just ignoring their signals."
Korban cleared his throat before replying, "Was not expecting that. Weeelll, maybe you could just make clear your feelings. I will assume you aren't interested in any, given if you had, you'd not be ignoring them." He continued after getting a nod from the Life Sparker, "I am unsure how to deal with unwanted feelings aside from ignoring them or stating your lack of reciprocation and interest. Maybe if there is a great need for more smoothly letting down the interested party, you could slowly lead away to something like friendship, but that invites its own problems."
The Motive Force breathed deeply before saying, "I had come to much of the same conclusions."
"May I know who was seriously interested?" the tone made it clear that it was genuinely optional.
After a moment of consideration, "The goddess Styx was rather forward when I visited the underworld. And, uh, Apollo made some implications before his sister chased him off. All that was made worse by the multiple gods that Aphrodite implied I was or was going to be intimate with in the incredibly brief time we talked. Her words were drivel at best, but they were…annoying."
"I…was expecting something like some nymphs, not uh. A major Olympian council member and the main underworld river…though I suppose she is technically a nymph." after a bit more talking, the two of them separated to get their day's tasks started.
The Lord of All Knowledge went to the chapel to set up for the morning lesson. When his acolytes did arrive, it didn't take long for Clio to ask him excitedly about the party. He gave a similar account of the visit as he had given to Korban, at least before his question; the adults seemingly let go of a lot of tension that seemed to be subconsciously holding. As for what was taught was not much new, but it did raise a bit of excitement from the two couples and Clio to see the newest warning. But after some time memorizing the new addition alongside the other rules, all that was taught really was yet more on how to read and write.
After the lesson, there was a small surprise, "Jace, would you mind if I accompanied you today while you work? I would be willing to use this as an opportunity to teach about the body and medicines." The doctor, for his part, was very excited and agreed, so the family and deity walked into the village together. After both Clio and Alexandria went off to do their tasks, Jace and the Omnissiah set to work of their own.
There was already a villager in need of some medicine for fevered symptoms. Diagnosing the ailment and providing not only treatment but cures had never been easier. And while Jace lacked supernatural senses, the diagnoses and answers were something he could learn. As the day went by, it also turned into a bit of impromptu reading and writing practice as the Lord of Rusted Soil helped him in his note-taking. By the end of it, all parties were much happier. Even the patients, despite the intimidation of the tri-part deity, were grateful to have even better care.
"I can not thank you enough for teaching me; even if I have a hard time understanding a lot of it, you've completely changed my understanding of my work." Jace appeared tired but happy, "I doubt there is, but if there is anything I could help you with, please don't hesitate."
The Machine God cleared his throat and spoke, "There is something I could use a second opinion on." Jace looked him in the eyes and nodded in a serious, if confused, face. "I have asked this of Korban, but I thought you might be able to give a different perspective…"
Explaining the situation was mostly the same as it had been with the priest. As it turned out, Jace couldn't offer much better advice on how to reject or gently reject a relationship. It was either honesty or attempting to lead them away. What was different was the healer's endorsement of his own married life and the suggestion that perhaps the excuse of finding a fitting wife would be enough not to engage in any relationships.
The One of Crimson Robes shook his head, "I appreciate your sentiment, but I don't want to lie to anyone fully. I am not seeking any match, and I doubt it would dissuade the most… persistent individuals that could be out there." Jace seemed to consider that for a bit before the pair returned to learning and treating a few more people.
By this time, it was near the evening meal, and so Clio and Alexandria were present to smile at his happiness when they saw Jace's excitement. The family asked the One of Invisible Works to join them for food before the evening lesson. Despite not being as filling or tasty as the divine foods he had eaten on Olympus, that was hardly a fair comparison. Besides that, it brought forth a warm feeling that was absent from the godly food. It was odd, given it wasn't physical, but that was soon put aside as the evening lesson needed to be prepared.
During the writing practice, Adga spoke up, "Omnissiah, I was wondering about something," her husband, Walenty, was the only one to look up from his practice papers. After receiving a nod to go on from the deity, she did continue, "You mentioned this morning that you had made an agreement with the goddess Artemis to teach you and a few others about hunting. Did you have anyone in mind for that?"
He shook his hooded head, "No one, as of yet, are you interested?" The woman thought about it for a moment before nodding to herself as she answered.
"Yes," her tone became firmer, "I do think I would like that, Artemis is a goddess that has domain over the transitional periods of life. My family had two small ceremonies for me at her altar here as I went from a child to a maiden and from a maiden to an unmarried woman. That was not long before I married Walenty." Her husband took her hand with a smile which she returned before she finished, "I think it would be interesting to meet her; when I was young, I really looked up to Artemis because of the stories I had heard. I think my mother would tell you I was a bit of a handful and never wanted to do any proper lady-like things, which was made worse by those tales."
Walenty spoke, "I have no problem with you going, but I do worry. The goddess Hera is the one who has domain over married women. In a way, you are sort of the opposite of the huntresses, and I am unsure if you would be welcomed." His tone was trying to be caring and gentle, but Adga did seem a bit upset by the idea.
"If there is an issue, I will deal with it; she allowed me to bring men provided they acted appropriately. She made no mention of marital status, and the majority of normal hunters are not female or unmarried. If there is a problem with you attending Adga, I will speak strongly on your behalf." the couple seemed to both be happier to hear that.
It was then that Clio cut in, "Omnissiah, I wanna go, can I!?" the enthusiasm was met with a concerned look from her parents, at which she sent a questioning look before she said, "Oh uh, mom, dad can I go?"
The Omnissiah answered and asked, "She is allowed to come, I imagine should be welcomed, but she is your daughter. Are you alright with her coming, if she does, I assure you I will keep her safe."
Jace pursed his lips before he answered, "As much as I would like to make Clio happy, I'd also like to be there with her, and I can't go. I have people to look after, even if nothing goes wrong enough to need a healer."
Clio quickly came up with a solution, "Mom can come too, right, then it is fine?" the young girl sent a hopeful look at Alexandria. The mother made a few surprised sounds and then responded, "Well, I suppose if Adga can go, I would be allowed to, right?" her deity confirmed her question she looked at her husband, "Will you be alright if I go with her?"
Jace smiled, "Yes, and if you are there to supervise her and Omnissiah is there to ensure you are both safe, then I can manage just fine." the couple talked to each other for a small while in a more private and quiet way as their daughter excitedly bounced up and down.
The Lord of All Knowledge turned to Walenty and questioned him, "Will you be attending as well?" The man considered it for a moment before looking at his wife with a smile.
"No, I think it would be good for Adga to go without me. I think she may come to appreciate me more if she has time away from me." At this, she hit him lightly on the shoulder, giving him a look that held no real venom, "In all seriousness, though, I think she would enjoy some time without me; we are constantly working together. And from a certain perspective, even if we haven't been married for a relatively long time, I am sure we've spent more time together than many husbands and wives have in the world. Though those would be extreme cases, I can't imagine what those miserable marriages are like…" As he seemed to fall into musings, the group eventually returned to the lessons. Later Walenty interrupted the lesson, "Omnissiah," he waited until he had his deity's attention, "I've been looking at the writings on the walls, and they don't seem to be the letters you've been teaching us."
"They are similar, but you are writing they are not, I am teaching you all the most common versions of how to write and read in your language. You, thankfully, speak in a dialect that had little trouble with this shift. As for the walls, that is High Gothic. After you master your language, I will help you learn both low and high versions of Gothic, so you may write in a language that gives secrecy to the cult." all of the acolytes looked dismayed at the idea of learning how to read and write in more languages but also different languages they didn't know yet. "Worry not I shall give you all the assistance in both teaching and augmentation you will need to learn these things. Alexandria, you look like you have a question."
Brushing over that they did not know what he meant by augmentation, she asked another question, "Why the need for secrecy I thought we wanted to learn to read to know the knowledge of others and spread it?"
"I have no issues with sharing some knowledge, treatments of disease, for example. But a lot of knowledge is dangerous, and while I am here to ensure you are guided, distributing what I and soon you will know is unlikely to end well if done carelessly." The group listened and nodded, "Many books will be within reach of the uninitiated, and they will see they can not read it; not only will it prompt many to join given the mysticism it presents, but secrecy will give many reasons to think twice should they consider trying to steal knowledge. The initiated will act as the keys to knowledge, and attempting to harm one of us will result in rather swift retribution from myself, directly or otherwise." by the end, his tone was cold, but it wasn't quite discomforting.
The guarantee of safety or at least protection was previously given, but the words felt a little more real as they saw how he spoke. Soon enough, though, the lesson ended for the day, and all of them left the chapel. Due to it now being well into the evening, it was now time to consider what to do before going to rest his body. It did not take long to figure out what to do.
All the talk of going to learn from Artemis and the quest hadn't been prepared. The six crossbows were created alongside three extras and three bows. While the six were given quick engravings of the moon and animals, the three bows and crossbows were for his female acolytes and thus were engraved and charred with the Cog Mechanicum without the skull. Once all that was done, he went to bed, finding himself in a cramped space.
It was difficult to understand where he was; even if this was a dream, it stood out compared to the others. It was dark, with bits of life coming from what seemed to be the outside of some sort of machine casing. There was a constant discomfort coming from limbs he couldn't move. And those limbs almost certainly should have been giving off pain if the shoddy augments with even worse implementation into the flesh he found himself were true to his senses. Tubes rain down his throat and nose. Most likely to give air and food as life support.
Before he could delve deeper, he was pulled out of the dream with an echoing chant, "Tenth Law: the Soul is the Conscience of Sentience." He bolted up; the bed of his house was normal. After extending his senses, found that it was just before dawn. The Lord with No Face was almost in a daze as he walked to the chapel to write the second warning alongside the others.
'That vision was unclear, was it some sort of hastily constructed life support system?' the Primordial shook his head and continued his thoughts, 'Whatever the case it was unpleasant. And the warning doesn't seem much more than the obvious. If there is a soul, it is the consciousness of the sentient and especially the sapient. There are souls, so this law is a useful fact statement for those who do not know this. I suppose it makes sense to define what it is before stating in the eleventh law that I grant souls…'
Walking through the village, the tri-part deity came to Korban's house. The former Athenian had woken up not long ago, and the two friends spent some time in silence. Korban broke it, "You seem worried about something, Omnissiah, do you wish to talk about it?"
"I would say confused more than worried, and if I am being honest, no, I don't yet wish to talk about it. It was just a dream or memory of someone, it wasn't pleasant, and it wasn't clear." that description seemed to go against not wanting to talk about it.
"If you are sure, the offer stands." silence resumed, and the two of them shared a beverage. The Lord of All Machine Spirits brought forth some basic bread with his manipulations for the two of them to share as well before leaving. Even with the new law, the morning lesson was not especially exciting. However, Clio's seemingly boundless excitement for the upcoming hunt was heartening.
'I should check on Mairus, the last I saw him was on my fifth day here, and it has been nearly five days, if I am not mistaken.' It didn't take long to get to or to sneak into Creteonus. With his extended senses, it did not take long to find both Mairus, with what seemed to be apprentices and the King in different places.
Deciding to try and reduce the surprise for the human king, he moved into the hallway before what seemed to be where the king's court was held. The guards at the door looked puzzled, "Please inform King Basil that Omnissiah has arrived; he will wish to speak to me." Despite being suspicious, given he didn't have an escort, one quickly went to tell the king. After being hurried in by a confused guard, he found himself speaking alone with the monarch.
"I can certainly say I was not expecting a visit." the king sounded both annoyed and relieved.
"Apologies," his tone was sincere but not deeply, "I had thought you would want to know I was here before I checked on Mairus. Has he gotten apprentices? It certainly seems so from what I have seen."
A slightly shocked look was quickly taken off the man's face, "Ah, yes. Two lads of young age that were both going to be apprenticed to the other smith Qadir. I decided that priority went to your…apprentice." the two conversed for a short while more, but there didn't seem to be much more to say that was of note.
To say that Mairus was surprised was both true and not, though his apprentices seemed not to have been told of his divine nature and thus were almost trembling as he stood there taller than most men in strange clothes. His divinity likely hadn't fully set in for them, but he was intimidating enough for the youths. He smiled kindly to them, which seemed to both help and not.
Discussion of metallurgy was listened to with rapt attention by the three humans but understood best by Mairus, given his age and experience that was unsurprising. Mentioning the crossbows and suggesting a few designs for swords and spears got the smith excited but disappointed. When asked about it, the smith said how tired and sore he was and thus unable to consider those ideas for the immediate future.
Over a week of pushing himself, and his strength was wearing him down, the Machine God quickly constructed an armorless armour suit for his smith based on what he had made before based on Skitarii's limbs. With his recent improvements to augments, this would be far better.
That is to say, it would enhance his strength so as to lessen the burden of his tasks. It started from his feet and legs and went up his spine to his shoulders, all to support the weight of whatever he carried. Included in carrying were the suit and the arms themselves, while the rest were just a sort of exoskeleton the arms were almost a second skin in their range of motion. They stuck out more than the second-skin-like device would, but the strength of the whole device was impressive. Some practice would be needed, but it would speed up his production.
It came equipt with a few features to regulate body heat and the thermometer based on Hephaestus' own. When Mairus and his apprentices saw it, they nearly couldn't pick their jaws up. Explanations of its workings were given, and the specific maintenance needed for it to function.
When Mairus finally donned the suit, the machine spirit within practically sang as the user it was made for wore it and began to hammer at the metal with ease. Speaking of that spirit, it began to subtly help the smith stay smooth in his movements and craft.
The excitement and gratitude from the smith were immense, "I don't know what I ever did to earn so much attention and favour but thank you. Thank you…" he searched himself, "My Lord Omnissiah, I don't plan to fail you have set me, and will do everything I can to improve." it seems the smith had at least partially acknowledged him to a further degree. It was not quite the devotion he wanted, but that would come.
By this point in the day, which was around midafternoon, the two boys were far more comfortable around the Lord of the True Path, and so were now mostly marvelling at the seeming magic of the machine.
Returning to Dimitis, eating a meal with Adga and Walenty, who caught sight of him and invited him to supper before the evening lesson. Laying down to rest, the image of Mar's sands lulled He Who is on Mars to sleep. His unconsciousness was peaceful, and strangely when he awoke, he didn't know if it was a bad thing that he didn't dream that night.
AN: As always, please tell me if something doesn't make sense, even if it is minor.
Note to self: This ends on day 11, which is 4 days until meeting up with the hunters.