Of Gods and Exposition

I gulped down my coffee. "So I guess there isn't gonna be a truce, then?"

Noir shook her bread. "For now, I won't attack you as long as we're the Pub." she nodded. "Pyrra used to know my mom, so I respect her business."

I sighed with relief. 

"But that doesn't mean I won't attack you as soon as we step outside. Hell, I won't even wait until we're outside the city walls." She sipped her coffee.

"Is it a crime to use combat magic in the city?"

Her brow arched over her coffee mug. "It's a crime to commit murder. But, yes, it is forbidden to use combat magic inside the city walls."

I looked down at the missing goons. "I guess that only applies if they can find evidence."

Noir spoke loudly at the next part. "As long as no one runs to tell the city guard, I can't be tried for any of the crimes I just committed." she brandished her wand for the family behind her to see. They dropped their heads, blanching as white as paper. "Hmmph." the rot mage sighed. Pyrra placed a plate in front of Noir. It was the same as mine, except hers had cheese on the eggs.

"So you're a follower of the Green Lion? What even is that? It sounds like a faction of weird knights."

 "The Green Lion," Noir scowled. "Is the god of enhancement and order. The Lion had been locked in battle with the wyrm for years."

"Okay, why do you keep calling Demiurge a worm? He's not some slimy pink thing. Trust me, I know. I've seen him."

"Wyrm, not worm. W-y-r-m. Like a serpent dragon."

I looked at the staff. There was a dragon with the head of a sun and the tail of the moon coiling up it. Six limbs spotted from the dragon, digging tier talons into the staff.

"That Staff is known by many names. It's known as the Thorn of Kabbalah in these parts."

By these parts, she must have meant Spiritus City.

"The system calls it the Twig of Yggdrasil, though I can imagine that it means the same as the Thorn."

Noir hissed. "Your god calls it that. What you call the system is just the word of our patrons."

Patrons? As in warlock patrons?

"So the Green Lion talks to you and Demiurge talks to me. Are there any other gods I need to know about?

She held up three fingers. "There are only three gods." Dropping two fingers, she held up one finger. "There is the Green Lion, the Enlightner. Then there's your wyrm god, Demiurge the Powerful, and lastly," her second and third finger popped back up, "Homunculus, the Deus Ex MAchina. Though the Homunculus followers are considered taboo… for reasons." Her voice trailed off on the last part. Noir began to chew her lip, staring into her coffee.  I decided not to press the matter.

"Is there a reason our gods are locked in battle? I mean only one of the three sounds evil, and it's not the Demiurge or the Lion."

Noir sighed heavily. "I'm going to tell you something, wyrm forged. It is something that only a few alchemists know in this world."

I leaned across the table. Her voice dropped so low I could barely hear her.

"It's not the gods who are rivaling. It's their followers."

"Wait, so this whole magical gang war is only-!"

Nour cut me off, raising a finger to her lips. "Shhh!" she hissed.

Opening her system, she sent me a message. 

"The conflict only exists because of an ancient rumor. The followers of the wyrm think an alchemist only gets stronger by mastering several magics. While the green lion followers believe an alchemist gets strong by honing one kind of magic. That's why I have to train in rot magic, while you get to learn summoning and elemental spells. Despite the alchemists wanting to achieve one thing, we've been divided on their philosophy for years."

I assumed the term alchemists and wizards were interchangeable in this world. 

ALoud, I asked Noir what alchemists wanted.

SHe looked at me like I was a dumb child. "We want to perfect our magic so we can stand next to god."