The Party of the Gods

Rejinal and Ulyx walked into the meeting room about one minute late after some last-minute discussions. The room was stuffed full, and everyone was waiting for them. Niles certainly was. He stood immediately and announced “God Lockseye, Lord and Conduit has arrived.” He then knelt, to the amazement of the others. Ulyx and Rejinal had predicted something like this, and Rejinal responded as planned. “Please return to your seat, Conduit Niles.”

The other lords were staring at Niles with a mixture of disbelief and disgust.

“What is the meaning of this?” an aged but not senile Sandford asked.

Niles stood again, and Rejinal held up a hand. “I’ll explain,” he said. He and Ulyx took seats as everyone looked at Rejinal expectantly. “My tale is a long one, we should go through other business first.”

Sandford nodded and called the meeting to order. When he asked who had business, all heads turned back to Rejinal. After a minute Sandford said “Well, I can’t think of any more pressing business than your aggressions and the demise of Lords Findly and Vilaz.”

“It wasn’t his aggressions,” Antoz piped up.

Rejinal nodded. “I’ll start at the beginning. It was just after I left for my two-year independent study.” He turned to Ulyx. “Where’s the truth crystal?”

Ulyx unwrapped an object and set in on the table. “Could I have a Conduit and anyone else who wants, verify the crystal, please?”

Goldring did a Power test, then Lord Yarnell volunteered. He told a few obvious truths and lies, and nodded at the colour changes.

“Anyone else?” Rejinal asked. The lords shook their heads so he began. He told in some detail about the blue folk and the unicorns. When he noticed the note‑taker scribbling madly, he said “complete writings on my research findings can be obtained from Ulyx for anyone who’s interested.” He continued with his trip back and, choking, of the sudden discovery of his father’s death. After a moment to recover, he told of his plan to regain his property, but breezed over Davish’s part in the project. When he ended with the appearance of his mother and the revelation of his heritage, there was dead silence. Lords looked at each other, then they looked at Sandford, Ulyx, and Niles.

Sandford turned to Niles. “The crystal showed that Lord Conduit Lockseye believes what he told us, but do you have another version, Conduit Niles?”

Niles shook his head and stood. The crystal was passed to him and he laid a hand on it. “My version differs only in point of view, not in the truth. It’s true, I had a part in the death of Lince Lockseye. It’s true that I made the final strike which killed God Lockseye.

“Hang on,” Sandford said. “We can’t keep calling him a God. He’s only half God, and he walks the earth of Hume, rather than rules from space. We need a different term for a natural Conduit born of a God.”

There were murmurs around the table. Finally, Yarnell spoke up. “How about we shorten half God to Hod?”

“I like it,” Goldring said. Ulyx and the others were nodding.

“I’m good with that,” Niles said. “Anyway, so yes, I killed Hod Locksei. He was dead. So then I saw, coming down from heaven, Godly Power rays. With my own eyes I saw Rejinal Lockseye rise from the dead, at the will of the Gods above. When Lockseye breathed again, the Goddess Hydrogena turned on me. I have never seen such anger in my life, and hope never to again. Her Power reached me all the way from Heaven, and shocked me with pain worse than death. Being merciful, as the Gods are, she resisted the urge to finish me off. I was left with the task of protecting and aiding her son to atone for my transgressions. My future depends on the success of that task.

“The message of the Gods is clear – Lockseye is not to be harmed, on pain of death. However I might wish for society to be run, the Gods have spoken, and I must obey.”