111. Faith

The grass in the grove reflects a sun that isn't there, glowing in the pinks and oranges of what must be, to those outside, a truly beautiful sunset. The stones glimmer slightly as the demon trees' long shadows claw up the cavern walls, and the splashing stream draws your eyes with strange half reflections, as if it can't quite decide weather to reflect what's really there or not. A soft wind rustles leaves in a gentle susurration.

Without Mercy, it feels rather too quiet as you sit on one of the boulders and stare into the water. Even Stumpy seems despondent, his vines lying limply around the rotted stump of his body. Every so often he'll twitch, drawing your gaze, but he seems content to ignore you for the most part, and you have rather a lot on your mind to go looking for trouble with the lust tainted elemental.

Tranquillity. It all comes back to Tranquillity. Changes to your lair interface, changes to your menu – to your being – and doubled rewards for taking those fleeing from it.

And should the gods become bored

You are not a scholar, nor a priest. Theology is not something you ever expected to have to deal with. The gods were just that. Gods. Unknowable, all powerful, and responsible for the continued functioning of your world. Spending too much time thinking about them always seemed a bit pointless. They'll do as they'll do, and nothing you do will change that. They are all powerful, and compared to a being like that you are less than a dream.

But... are they?

They change the world at their convenience. The updates that come and add things to the world every year or so are obvious, huge, and just an accepted part of the world. One day, you might wake up and find out that the gods have removed your class. Or home. Or changed how magic works. How weight functions. Reality is their plaything. If they wanted to remove you, they would. You'd have no defence, no chance to fight back. You'd just cease to exist. They wouldn't even need to leave their strange realm.

Gods become bored with their creations

Why make a plague that isn't a plague? If the goal was to kill, they would kill. A disease would be an inefficient way of creating death. If the goal was terror, why not send out an update pop up? The Tranquil Plague wasn't mentioned in the Keeps and Settlement's update. Knowing that there was an incurable disease coming would have certainly lit a fire under everyone.

Is it just another world event? Something to test the heroes? Make them think, learn, research a cure rather than just hit things with swords?

But that's the point of the world, to give heroes a place to hit things with swords. You don't know they exact relationship between the people and the spirits that possess them except what Amanda told you about the nature of her memories. But the world functions in such a way that hitting things with swords is inherently a good thing to do. Heroes don't lose their memories on death. They just get stronger by killing. You're sure that, should they have wished, the gods could have made world that didn't need violence to function. Instead, the fundamental forces of creation facilitate hitting things with swords.

Even 'smart' hero classes, like the various wizard offshoots, just use their intelligence to hit things with magic. You could maybe see the gods deciding that they were going to give a class a chance to shine, put the focus on the smart wizards rather than the charismatic fighters, but you don't think that's what's going on here.

Suddenly you feel so very tired of it all. Death after death, heartbreak after loss. And why?

Because the gods like it when heroes hit things with swords.

So why a plague?

gods become bored

Boredom? Is that really all there is to it? They want to watch you struggle and hurt for their entertainment?

But why a plague?

Surely there would be easier ways to change things up, to make people hurt, than this sickness that isn't a sickness.

Maybe the rest of the quote has some hidden meaning. Maybe whoever it is, whatever it is, that talks to you through your own menu wants you to go on a grand quest to identify the book the quote comes from, and upon finding it all your questions will be answered. But you doubt it. Something about that message, infected with red light, seemed to you as if it was as much as they could do. Like a clearer message was beyond them. Like a kidnapping victim who has one moment to leave a clue, and throws an open book under the bed.

And should the gods become bored with their creations,

Then what? If the gods were bored, not in themselves but of the world? If they didn't want a change of circumstance or a more entertaining storyline in the lives they're destroying, what?

A hand of ice and iron closes around your guts.

What would anyone do then they're bored?

They'll close the book. Pack the toys away. Wipe the table clean.

Why a plague?

Because they won't need to watch.

You've never wanted to be wrong more. To believe in the gods. To trust that everything will work out. But the beings that made Amanda out of nothing to be given to a hero who abandoned her moments later, and then abandoned her themselves; the beings that tore out Mercy's experience progression, a part of the natural law, because she messed up their plans; the beings that made a world where you are killed over and over again the fuel the growth of others...

You don't have a lot of faith in their good intentions.

A huge thank you to my patreons Spockk Kirkk, Abysslsniper, Tyrant615, Dakkanor, Jakelandiar, Curious Krissy, CBK, Roman, TheDrTelos, RD, Bakerdea, and Hemlock. A special thank you to Spokk Kirkk who is paying more than they need to, which is one of the most incredible feelings. A very special thank you to Roman for being insane and updating their pledge to a truly silly amount.

And it's the second of the month which makes it a great time to join them!For £2 you get 3 advance chapters, a few bits and pieces of my other work, a special role in the Discord  and access to more parts of said discord, where you can give requests, suggestions, or just chat. And I get a warm fuzzy feeling in my heartmeat, and £2, which is pretty neat.