The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 730 - 751: The Year of Turmoil

The Sword of Zariel fell into silence, making it obvious that, though her strength was immense, she was far less eloquent than her ancient kin. Moreover, Zariel was an Angel, serving the Lord of the Dawn, Losanda; whereas Aira was one of the three great Celestials, along with Bartez and Tanari, creatures of different planes. Though aligned with good, they were not existences of Divine Power.

"Based on what I just heard, death actually plays two roles," Lancelot began, bringing the conversation back on track, "First, death separates the souls of mortals from their bodies, much like ripe fruit falling from a tree, with the deities waiting beneath to collect it; second, it is precisely because of the presence of death that mortals know their time on earth is finite, driving them to live actively. Hence, when they depart from this world, their souls possess certain qualities, becoming the fruits that deities can ’consume’..."

"Using food as an analogy is not quite fitting, because the relationship between the souls of mortal believers and Divine Power is one of integration, not consumption," Starlight Strike patiently corrected, "But, generally speaking, you’re correct. That is the gist of it. So you understand why I say death is that important, right? Yago would definitely not give up the divine office of death. He might hand over divine offices related to death, like murder, disease, and Undead, but death itself will not be moved, and indeed, that is the case—the rules of death haven’t changed at all from before I was buried underground, have they?"

"You got it right," Kalalin said with sincere admiration, "Baal’s title is ’God of Murder,’ which is obviously different from death itself."

"That’s what I’m saying," Starlight Strike declared with pride, "Yago couldn’t possibly give up the divine office of death..."

"However, the current Lord of the Dead, Cranvo, also holds the divine office of death," Kalalin said with a smile, "Surely there must be some hidden story there?"

"What?!" Exclaimed the Priest indulged in the Holy Relic of Aira, as a large stream of bubbles emerged from his beer mug. It took him a while to continue, "This Cranvo... how did He come into power?"

"About a century ago, a major event took place that affected the entire Multiverse..." Kalalin turned to look at Alamir, "You must have been born when the Year of Upheavals arrived, right?"

"Yes," Alamir nodded affirmatively, "But I had just come of age not long before then and was studying for my doctorate in art appraisal and art history at Silvermoon University, so I do not know much about the specifics..."

"Let me do the introduction then. As the event is not too distant in the past, there’s plenty of firsthand information available..." The Scholar took up his own mug and sipped modestly, "This story also involves the three deities of death: Bane, Baal, and Milko, although initially, mortals had no idea what had happened. It was the Year of Shadows, on the fifteenth day of the Month of Flowers, when people were shocked to see countless dazzling meteors falling from the sky. Their brightness was so intense that even the sun seemed to dim. What followed was something that terrified the Priests: the gods fell into silence, no longer responding to the prayers of their followers, nor granting any Divine Arts to the Priests; Arcane magic became dangerous and unpredictable, a simple Fireball Technique could summon a Barlow Flame Demon, and a cold ray might turn the target into a fearsome Undead; finally, a group of individuals of unbelievable strength appeared in the world, and devastating conflicts erupted between them. Believers soon recognized these individuals’ true identities—they were their own worshipped deities, who had descended upon the mortal world..."

"This sounds too strange to believe," Starlight Strike said incredulously, "What caused all this? It’s not like the beings of Divine Power had agreed to have a massive free-for-all in the material plane, right?"

"Of course not," Scholar shook his head, "Do you know the Supreme Deity Ao?"

"The Lord of Concealment?" Starlight Strike asked in surprise, "Of course I know him, the master of all gods, but how do you know His name? He governs the deities’ divine offices and never reveals Himself before mortals..."

"Indeed, if it weren’t for the Year of Upheaval—this is what people later called the event—mortals would not have known of Ao’s existence," Kalalin took another sip of his ale, moistening his parched throat, "The Supreme Deity has a Holy Relic known as the Tablets of Fate. It is said that each tablet corresponds to a world within the material plane, recording the worshipped deities and their divine offices within that world. Milkou and Bane coveted Ao’s Divine Power, believing that part of His strength stemmed from these tablets, so they stole two of them."

"Wow," Starlight Strike seemed truly astonished, "That’s just... ogre-level stupid. The main purpose of the Tablets of Fate is for Ao to keep records, the old fella is a bit forgetful..."

"Er... I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said," Kalalin said with a nervous smile, "In any case, Ao was indeed very angry. He summoned all the deities before Him and demanded that the ones who stole the Tablets of Fate step forward immediately, right now. Of course, He received no response. This made the Supreme Deity even more infuriated. He loudly rebuked the gods for only thinking about fighting each other and enhancing their own power, while hardly caring for the mortals who worshipped them. With a sweep of his hand, He cast all the deities down to the world of mortals to stay with their followers, forbidding them to return unless the Tablets of Fate were recovered. Ao also severed the gods’ connections to their Divine Kingdoms. That is to say, He reduced their powers to the level of saints... just like Olul, whom you defeated last time in the Shattered Mountain Range."

"Ao’s power is so immense?" Lancelot put down his cup, shocked, "Even all the gods together cannot stand against Him?"

"Because Ao’s divine office is to be God," Starlight Strike replied from the side, "All beings of Divine Power are under His dominion; there’s no possibility of opposition..."

"So that’s why He never heeds the prayers of mortals," Kalalin said gently shaking his head, "Deprived of Divine Power, the gods were no longer immortal, but they still practiced their doctrines. The God of Tyranny, Bane, hid one of the Tablets of Fate in Tanteris Port, while Tom, the god of courage and sacrifice, also descended upon that city. Bane sought to establish a brutal rule within the city but was immediately met with resistance from Tom, leading to an epic battle between them. Bane, better prepared, initially had the upper hand, but after absorbing the souls of a thousand willing sacrifices, Tom succeeded in killing Bane, only to be obliterated himself by Bane’s last Breath of Death. However, later Tom was resurrected by Ao, for he died fulfilling his duties, and the Supreme Deity was very pleased with this."

(Once again, it should be noted that the Supreme Deity Ao in the official setting only applies to the gods of Toril; the setting in this book has been modified by the author.)