73 More than one Party?

***On an unknown world, there was...***

Blasius Alronde is the greatest artificer of his time. His genius is said to match the gods. But his fellow craftsmen just look down on him in pity. 

This was for one reason. Blasius invested all of his genius on only one thing. And that was a device to spy on the gods. Blasius wanted nothing more than to know what moved the beings who were so far out of everyone's reach. 

He was in pursuit of knowledge, which wasn't meant for mortal ears. He wanted answers for existence itself and all the other impossible questions which burdened every living being. 

So after years of studies and failures, he finally activated the device which would answer all his desires. 

*Crrrck* 

"And he was so bold! Look at this thing! I had to wear it and dance for him!" 

"Whoa! That's dangerous Celes! Where did he get that! You should have a closer eye on your husband!" 

"I know Sandra, but he finally becomes more active. I am not sure if I should stop him." 

"That's definitely dangerous. I think I saw that thing in a place of suspicious purpose!" 

"What were you doing in a place like that Margerie!" 

"Even I have to research this stuff in order to get someone. I feel the burden of taking care of my house. My brother ran off and dropped all responsibilities on me after all." 

"I heard he settled down with the wolf girl somewhere in the north. They are making children like crazy. The latest reports endanger Sandra's position as the top breed..ugh....cough... cough...that wasn't called for!" 

"Shut up! I don't even want to know what you intended to call me Tanja!" 

"Anyway! Have you seen Celes's head maid lately? I met her in town and she either fattened up quite a lot or..:" 

"Rose is on pregnancy leave. My help with the chocolate worked a little better than expected with her boyfriend." 

"I heard he actually wasn't her boyfriend -yet- at that time!!" 

"What? So she used the baby trap on him!? Your head maid is a fearsome woman Celes." 

"Hrm. It wasn't entirely her fault. I may have forgotten to tell her what my chocolate exactly does and she was unprepared." 

"So it was your doing?" 

"I fear so. I didn't think about what would happen if she actually managed to land the big hit with Drem. You only start to appreciate someone else's work if she is gone. Luckily it's just a leave." 

"Hoho. That's the most important thing then isn't it?" 

"Yeah. If I have learned one thing over the years then it's to hold those dear to you close. Enjoying every moment is important." 

"Don't speak like your maid is gone forever."

"If you had a maid like her you would understand me...." 

*Crrrck* 

Blasius deactivated the device and started to search for the mistake in his theories. Listening to the bickering of a group of women was never his intention. 

He was after the wisdom of the gods and not interested in the worldly problems of other people. 

While taking his device apart, he started to search for the mistake. Not knowing that he already got all the important answers about life and it's meaning from the gods. 

Blasius never found out that he had actually succeeded and tried different approaches on the matter for the rest of his life..... 

***Midpoint, Palace***

"A nice party..." I smile while I greet the guests together with Celes. 

There are multiple factions which formed in the recent weeks since the Council disappeared. 

First we have the Perseides Alliance. Those guys are purely a group of convenience. They all share the opinion that other gods should stay away from their worlds. So they formed a contract to help each other in order to keep peace in their sphere of influence. From what I have heard it already became quite a big group and they are actually thinking about duplicating our planet in order to have a base of operations.

Then there is the Gaian Pact. When I heard about their goals, I had to think about Green Peace! They wish to preserve the nature of the multiverse. At first I didn't understand why a god should be interested in something like that. But then I realized that their members mostly worked as gods of nature under the Council's rule. 

The Council assigned everyone to a specific world in a specific role. This wasn't for the purpose to keep the world in order. They just needed a reason to assign us to a specific world. They didn't really care if the god did his job or not. At least they never checked for me or Celes while we worked for them. 

Having all gods covering every planet of the multiverse has the benefit of being able to hunt more effectively for new gods. Back then I didn't think about it that much, but now it's clear to me. 

After having used the Sphere of Sight I realize it's weak point. If there are too many gods in one place it becomes useless. In order to track someone you had to concentrate on a spark of power. I guess if there are too many in one place it would become difficult to focus on an individual. 

Then we have the Arcane Community. They formed from similar circumstances as the Gaian Pact. Celes's impression of them was something like this. "A bunch of weirdos and insane scientists." I found her judgement a little too hard. There are some interesting people among them. 

They are only concerned about their studies and experiments. They don't care much about anything else. Their association formed in the first place to exchange their theories among themselves. They just present a united front to others in order to show them to mind their own business. 

The Path is another big group. They are trying to form something like a religious church. I am a little wary of them. The first discussion with them was very strange. I had the feeling to talk to some kind of priests who were trying to convert me to their religion. 

Their doctrine is to value a gods worth on the number of his mortal followers. I already have a bad feeling about them. Celes and I had a fight over something useless as that in our previous lives. I am now of the firm opinion that religion should be left to the mortals. 

The Unity was inspired by our world. A few of the gods who came to Asheim heard about our world from the guards and other personnel stationed within the city. They immediately picked up the idea. By now they are on the best way to their own version of our world. I am very curious about their future. 

At last we have the Carne Empire. It's led by a very charismatic guy who is called Carne. Oh, wonder. He somehow managed to smooth talk a considerable amount of people into his idea of government. 

I am not against a dictatorship. My world uses one too, with me as the ruler. But I fear that the Carne Empire is the most likely candidate to become the Council's puppet. 

Of course we already informed everyone of our concerns regarding the Council. We decided it would be best to make all circumstances behind the recent events public knowledge. The Council didn't even twitch till now. 

I am still concenerned. They have to be planning something. I am sure of it! 

The rest of the people at the party are from smaller groups, which aren't worth mentioning yet. Maybe they will fuse with others or dissolve. Or grow enough to be worth mentioning. 

As of yet they are too small to be taken into consideration. 

Looking around, I see that the party should start soon. There are only a few people missing. 

"Oh I hope this party will have no major fuck ups!" -Me 

"I wouldn't put too much hope in that. If you think about our party history..... we have a really bad history!" -Celes