God of Eyes

Most of the injured, I was later told, made their first stop the bank to get their pay, which made sense because not everyone was willing to count on carrying money on their person the whole trip, and so some went to war with nothing--either they left it in the care of their loved ones, put it in a bank, hid it at home, something. I had some on me, and more with my Avatar, where I could pass it back through my shadow if I needed it.

Anyway, I got a room easily enough. It was... fairly expensive, two silvers a day not counting meals, but it wasn't supposed to be a long-term residence. The room I got was not what I would have called quality, with bugs in and around the bed and no more furniture than a small table and chair. I... just kind of divine-powered away the bugs and fell into a deep sleep, though. It was better than being on the road.

As it turns out, marching injured for weeks on end didn't make you feel much like a god.

Good clean sleep did give me more mental resources to tackle problems from my other half. I had been taking care of the day to day, of course, but I wasn't doing as good a job of it as I should. Some things did happen automatically; any prayers that just requested a power that I granted, that sort of thing, were working okay. But requests for advice were getting kind of muddied when I wasn't in a proper mental state to handle them.

The big news, if you could call it that, was that Raine seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough, in a couple of ways. It was something I had mostly taken on faith, as it were, but Raine had been searching for something to dedicate her life to for a long time, a feeling that was very familiar to me from the old world. Whatever her past was, she had been aimless for long enough that being aimless was all that felt natural. She had never had another option, or at least no other good one.

And now there was someone waiting there in the wings to offer a home. I wasn't going to push her, wasn't going to yell at her, wasn't going to manipulate her, dominate her, or betray her, and I wasn't going to cut her loose and leave her to fend for herself. It felt... weird to feel so sure that my methods were going to work. It felt cynical. But on the other hand, I had been there, and I had felt doubt every day, wondering whether the company was going to manipulate me, betray me, cast me away. I had kept my morale up in spite of it... but only by burying myself in work, making myself as indispensable as I could.

Even then, even when I was on sick leave, I got notes suggesting that I would be fired if I didn't come back in, even when I thought it might have been contagious or terminal. It was different when the doctors were sure I was dying... but I privately suspected that was a PR move as much as anything. Or maybe legal? I was too busy being sick to pay much attention.

So I wouldn't be that to Raine. I would be a good boss, one that sheltered her from things outside of her control and took care of her in her rough times. She wouldn't have to fear that I was going to abandon her or treat her like a tool, and if anyone thought I was sentimental or foolish for it, to hell with them.

Before then, though, I would most likely need to actually have a church, or at least a place to call the center of my religion. Probably not in Olesport, and I doubted that this place was going to be home, either... but the only other immediate candidate was the cliff, and that was a long ways away from anywhere. Still, I had a bit of money, and some time, and some followers, and enough soulflame to work a few more miracles.

In the meantime, Raine had... actually left a couple prayers of thanks. It felt unusual to her, thanking someone for what they had done. Although she certainly didn't know it, she left a bunch of information attached to the prayer, just things she was thinking about because she couldn't--or didn't know to, or didn't see a reason to--clear her mind and stay focused. She had been learning martial arts, been leading some powerful warriors, been sleeping with one of them, a big fuzzy man with a really big ...axe. Really big. And he used it well.

I grinned and discarded most of the attached thoughts that were clearly private, but it was good to know that she was doing okay.

In my Little Gods' Room, I was slightly distressed to see that the crowd had thinned out a bit. Most likely, people were there only while they felt like they needed me. If so, I could see how some gods would go the whole "no publicity is bad publicity" route and threaten disasters if they weren't worshiped, the way the old pantheons on Earth did in legend. And in truth... while being the god of Eyes was novel, I could see how most people wouldn't actually have a use for me.

As I sat up, in my Avatar body watching the sky lighten before dawn, I thought about that. Certainly, people didn't need me all the time, but plenty of people could use me, a little bit at a time. A craftsman looking for mistakes or trying to measure a piece exactly. A farmer looking for pestilence or nuisance animals attacking his crop. A rancher keeping an eye on his flock, or looking out for predators. Guards of course, but they usually got paid even when they made mistakes... unless it killed them. Traders looking for signs of deceit in their trading partners.

But that thought gave rise to others. Thieves who were looking for someone half-asleep, or for the shiniest bauble on a table. Murderers that wanted to know if anyone was watching, which was the power Tammy had insisted on for Raine, for basically that reason. Liars who wanted to know if they were doing a good job on their mark. If anything, if I really wanted to get power, making a deal with people on the wrong side of the law was probably the easiest method. They would be superstitious, desperate, and most likely, would be willing to sacrifice things to me to get what they wanted.

Actually, I had no idea if ritual sacrifice was a thing. If it was... blood sacrifice in particular would only become blood flame, unless it was their own, right? Someone else's blood isn't yours to give, and blood flame was 'that which was stolen'. I wondered if sacrificing one's own blood still became blood flame... but it wasn't something I was eager to test. Meanwhile, sacrificing objects... probably didn't become soulflame at all, and I would just have to eat a flame loss if someone had something I wanted, like money.

If I was going to help craftsmen, though, it would be nice to be able to, say, demand a swordsmith sacrifice one good sword to me, which I could then pass on to a champion like Raine. Even if I lost flame on the deal, if I kept her alive or won an important victory, well, it would be worth it, right?

I sighed, my Avatar body wishing I had an excuse to take it outside for a long walk. I considered it, and made a plan to do something in the next few days, but first I'd have to make sure that my location was as remote as I thought it was. A lot of things would be less convenient if that body was spotted. Although... my cover story had been about meeting a god in the wilderness... I shook my head. Better not to tempt fate, because I wasn't what anyone would call a great liar.

Waking up in my real body, I felt pretty good. The mattress was anything but perfect, but it was better. I left my room not planning to come back, and headed off to get my paycheck. Which, as it turns out, was not going to happen immediately; "banker's hours" meant that although I was standing there a good couple hours after dawn, the gruff guard informed me they wouldn't be open for a while yet.

So I had breakfast. It wasn't... novel exactly, to be able to walk down a street and buy actual, good hot food, but it was better than the military food and it was better than I had been able to afford in Olesport. Granted, I didn't really know how long my money was going to last me here, either, but... for today, for the purposes of getting my feet under me, I didn't bother holding back. Even then, it was just a silver and change.

I wanted desperately to get some actual clothes next, but I decided I would wait until after the bank. The discharge papers in my hand wanted desperately to be used. So I was back to the bank soonish, and waited around until finally the door was unlocked from within and the guard stepped aside.

I was directed into a small private office, where two hulks with big knives sheathed at their waists stood behind me, and a small, old-looking halfbreed in glasses sat behind a desk in front. I handed over the papers, wondering how different things were in this world.

The little old man looked over the papers for a moment, and I saw a number of emotions flit by his face. He looked up at me and with a bit of a snarl, said, "Stupid human. These papers are fake."

The rush of emotions that poured through me were, to put it mildly, unpleasant. My thoughts immediately flitted back to when I had left the papers with my clothes by the bath--but no, I looked at them before and after, and they were the same. I pulled up the memory from the first time I'd received them, in camp... and no, the papers were the same now as they were back then.

It actually took me a while to realize he was lying. A while, in this case, was seconds, because I immediately started burning soulflame trying to think of what had gone wrong, and that sped up my thinking. But time and time again, everything lined up--everything except him.

"So eager to think that you are a hero," he was saying, taking a candle and moving to burn the papers. "Wretched creatures, believing that you are--"

A pulse of energy from my eye momentarily paralyzed him and blew out the candle. The guards must have already been moving, because I felt two hands on my shoulders, and immediately cast out to Ciel'ostra, hoping to pull any kind of divine protection from their knives, or at least get that whole "singing in response to lies" stunt going. However, again, the immediate response to her prayer was that she would only respond to those who pledged themselves in her name, and nothing more.

I snarled at the creature and willed the eyes of the guards behind me to go dark. Both immediately released me and grasped at their eyes, and I stood, moving up to the desk.

"You're lying," I said.

"I- I-" The sniveling creature rushed back and flattened himself against the wall. "Guards! Guards!"

I started to tell him to stop, but waited. Within moments, six more guards filed into the room, blades drawn, and as one, their eyes all stopped working.

"You are lying, and trying to cheat me out of my money, banker," I said. "You may have thought that I was harmless, but I am a Vicar of the God of Eyes. Your guards are discovering this to be true. If I ask it of Him, or if they lay a hand on me, sight shall never return to their eyes." I pointed at him, and he, too, lost all sight--but rather than darkness, he was left with a static image of my one eye staring at him, and my hand pointing at him. Even as he turned his head, it didn't disappear. "Nor will it return to yours."

"Okay! Okay! The papers are fine! I lied!" The thing hissed at me and collapsed to the floor, where he could not control his whimpering. "Wretched human... thing... accursed thing... you don't belong here..."

"I protected the people of this nation, and you would have had me penniless on the streets," I snarled. "Wretched? You are more wretched than me, thief, betrayer. You deserve nothing." But I let the curse on their eyes lift, starting with the guards, so that they could see the thing writhing around on the floor as I stood over him. "Should I tell the people of this town that the bank shall betray them, steal their money? Shall the god of Eyes show your true nature to all the people here?"

"Enough." A tall, thin man, a halfbreed but too close to human for me to say exactly what kind, was standing behind the guards and watching. "I know nothing of any God of Eyes, but I have heard that among the men from the army was a Vicar with one eye. You will, however, cease this. Threats will gain you nothing in this place."

I turned to face him, and he could see my eye, judging him. I waited to see what he would say.

"Give me the papers," he said, holding out a hand expectantly.

I did, taking them from the desk and walking past three guards with draw swords to do so. The guards, nervously, backed away from me, but did not put their weapons away.

The tall banker glanced over the two sheets dismissively. "These papers are signed and valid." He glanced to the guards. "Throw Elsin out, and do not allow him to return, on pain of death. He no longer works here." He gestured to me with the papers. "Follow me."

My blood was still surging, but I followed him. Two guards followed, but they sheathed their swords. Elsin--my curse still on his eyes--screamed as he was carried bodily away behind me.

The tall man led me to another office, where he quickly put a signature on both pieces of paper, drew out exactly as much money as I was owed, and placed it on the table. "This money is for your discharge... and this money is your bounty. Now, please leave."

"No money in recompense for that man's actions?" I probably didn't need it, but my blood was surging, and I really did want to do violence to something to make up for how close I came to being robbed.

"Hmph. The decision is not mine to make." He paused, then drew out a small sheet of paper and wrote out a bit on it. "I will discuss it with the proprietor. He may give you a piece of Elsin's salary. This will identify you when you return." He waved a hand over the paper, and I realized he was using magic to make the ink suddenly soak into the paper, or dry, something of that sort. He handed it to me, his eyes hard, but not... cold. Not malicious, at all. "I would not count on it, but I give you my word it will be discussed."

I took a couple deep breaths, and accepted the paper, and collected the coins. "I suppose that's all I can ask. Thank you." I paused. "You are...?"

"Charrod." He stood, but didn't offer a hand. "I apologize for Elsin... but please leave."

I wanted to snarl back at him, but simply took my things and left.

In all, I now had about ten golds, which was a lot of money for someone who had been thinking in coppers before. Of that, about a third was from my bounty, most of the rest was military pay, and I had a little saved up from before. I thought about the amount in my head. If it was two silvers a night and one for a meal, that was a maximum of twenty days of staying in the capital without a job, though it would cost a lot less anywhere else... or if I lowered my standards a lot.

First things first, of course--I passed over most of the money to my Avatar as soon as I could, along with the note from the banker. This whole moving through shadows godly business was really convenient. Honestly, if I opened a godly bank, I could put racist assholes like them out of business and then some. I grinned to myself and strolled cheerfully off to go buy some decent clothes.