(Interlude) School Days-Acts of Madness

Mr Durnoff went on to explain the various crimes and atrocities Fallacy had committed. 'He' had once turned more than 200,00 people, an entire city, into a puppet and directed them to suicide charge the local churches. After massacring every believer of Sol, Gaia and Zephylte in town, the survivors jumped off a cliff to their deaths.

"Another case was when Fallacy ripped a hole to the Spirit World over a port town, causing Mana to rush in and drown the surrounding area. Over half a million perished or mutated in grotesque monsters, and all the Churches on the Gaia Continent had to work together to destroy them. At the same time as this, Fallacy "kidnapped" an important trade city in the territory of House Gregorio and transported it to the Astral World, where all its inhabitants broke down and slaughtered each other to the last man."

"The most infamous case for Fallacy however, originated from the Dark Age. Near the end of the Great War, Fallacy and Jester infiltrated the hometown of a certain Supreme who caused great damage to the Yareli forces. Together, 'They' slowly replaced each individual in the city, one at a time. Every night, someone with a connection to the Supreme would die horribly and be strung up to be found the next morning. Over the course of two weeks, eveybody was turned into a puppet of the two Gods. When the Supreme rushed home after hearing about the news, she was met with her entire hometown being taken over. Her closest friends and family all committed suicide in front of her. In the end, the town was collectively sacrificed to Seraphic and the Supreme went mad. This act of slowly tormenting such a powerful figure, stripping her of any pride and self-respect before breaking her mind, cemented Fallacy as a deranged and incredibly dangerous lunatic."

"Cases such as these repeated all throughout the Fourth Era and early Fifth Era, before Fallacy was beaten back by the Orthodox Gods and reduced to skulking around in the shadows. Friends and family murdering each other, bizarre and unexplainable deaths, mass suicides and vanishings, villages and towns going mad all at once, entire regions of the map vanishing into thin air...At one point, people feared Fallacy in the dark more than Nyx or Aenrys."

"According to the various Bibles, Fallacy was unique even amongst the other Gods. A single look at 'Him' would cause even a Sacred to go mad on the spot, and 'His' Divinity warped and twisted all life it comes into contact with into the most terrifying of abominations. 'His' presence was said to distort the rules of the world, and even laws set by Sol and Daemon struggled to hold 'Him'."

"Where Fallacy received this Authority was unknown, since 'His' Affinity was fabled to be Space and Time, not Soul. As such, the bizarre changes Fallacy can cause likely stems from 'His' biological state rather than 'His' Divinity. Of course, that raises the question of what Race Fallacy belonged to. 'His' symbol depicts tentacles, but 'He' is not a Mermaid nor a Beast."

"A rough hypothesis is that Fallacy holds a quasi Cosmic Authority and uses that to warp the rules of Orvonia, but this has not been confirmed. Jester is the only known God to have a Gravity Affinity and Fallacy has never directly shown any usage of Gravity Mana. Likewise, none of the Gods that known 'Him' well like Seraphic, Daemon or Chanteur have never mentioned 'Him' possessing a Gravity Affinity."

At this point, Ophelia raised her hand and, upon receiving Durnoff's permission, spoke in a clear and authoritive voice. "Teacher, what is the connection between Fallacy and Weaver? Both Gods are said to share the Authority of Fate and Destiny, even though Fallacy doesn't have them in 'His' official description."

Kieran nodded at the Princess with a slightly proud look in his eyes as he stroked his beard. "Very good question. The exact dynamic between these two Gods have eluded us, much like everything about Fallacy and Weaver. The former is called the God of Horror, Madness and Secrets while the latter is the God of Luck, Destiny and Choices. It is suspected Weaver uses Soul Mana to pry into Fate and discover its secrets, while Fallacy uses the Time Authority to also see the future and make prophecies. "

"While different methods, the two more or less result in the same outcome. As in common with all the other Gods, 'They' want to monopolise 'Their' Authorities and thus see each other as enemies. Fallacy in particular holds Weaver in deep contempt and often instructs 'His' believers to hunt the latter's whenever they get the chance."

Once he had finished speaking, Altair raised his hand next. "Teacher, why doesn't Fallacy have Time, Space or Fate in 'His' description, if 'He' possesses the Authorities?" 

Mr Durnoff paused for a second as he seemed to be recalling something. After a few seconds, he slowly spoke. "Gods use 'Their' simplest descriptions most of the time, and the reason is twofold. First, it is simply more convenient to remember for 'Their' believers. Secondly, to avoid conflicting messages. If Fallacy included the words Fate or Destiny, 'His' believers might accidently end up praying to Weaver instead. That is why Sol and Xerxes focus on two different aspects of Fire: Heat and Destruction. Likewise for Metallus and Ingrid, the former focusing on practical work while the latter being mostly theoretical."

"Of course, if you remember I mentioned Fallacy's faction is called the Esoterics of Destiny. This is because the members of this organization are all closely devout to 'Him' and as such, share a deeper connection. Even if they use the term of Fate, they would still be able to connect to Fallacy and avoid other Gods."

Seeing the clock on the wall was about to run out, Elizabeth hurriedly put her hand in the air. "Mr Durnoff, Fallacy is said to hold a prestigious position in Astoria. Why is that?"

Their teacher sighed heavily at Elizabeth's question, especially after everyone looked at him curiously, wanting to know the answer too. He gently brushed back his white hair and tapped his foot against the group multiple times before stopping.

"Astoria...is in a unique position. While it is run by Angels and overflowing with Ether, thus countering the Divinity of Gods and making the Continent a truly neutral ground, the Angels lack a God. If they were to follow Seraphic, the Orthodox Gods would storm Astoria regardless of the consequences. As such, the Angels are forced to defend their fragile balance and broker deals between the various camps."

"Fallacy comes into play here because 'He' offered protection for the Angels, protection via sealing Astoria away should the Gods attempt to invade it. While they obviously didn't trust the God of Madness with their safety, the Angels didn't outright refuse 'Him' either. As such, Fallacy was given special privileges within Astoria, being allowed to freely proselytise as long as 'He' got involved in no arguments. The exact situation surrounding Fallacy and the Angels is above my paygrade. Perhaps on Mr Le'garde knows the truth."

Before anyone else could ask questions, the bell rang and signified the end of class.