“Creates a little bit of wind and thinks she’s people,” Rykard said to Miyo, loud enough that the new arrival could hear it. There were only two that laughed - the redhead and Maliande herself. Everyone else seemed either intimidated or cautious.

“Yeah, yeah, play it up, tough guy,” the smug mage stated and laughed a little more. “You must be sooooo proud of blocking some casual discharge.”

Rykard could feel the rise she was trying to get out of him. He was of half a mind of indulging her, up to the point where he’d see if she was as breakable as she was bratty. She seemed of a full mind to push him to the point where he tried something, grinning away as she did.

That was, until a hand landed on her shoulder.

“That will be quite enough,” a voice, gentle and yet demanding, cut through the situation. Any emotions and any remaining electricity in the air was discharged and replaced with the sublime presence of the entity that had appeared at the foot of the tree. “You have been given a sign to hurry by your patron, Maliande, do not test the patience of the gathered divine further.”

The grin on the mage’s face disappeared, as she rapidly stepped forward and dropped to one knee. Before she could fully lower herself, she was instead whisked away. Without delay, she appeared on one of the empty benches, now sitting, letting Rykard look at the deity that had manifested before them.

She was an entity of self-compromised perfection. An avatar of a power too vast to be contained in a vessel comprehensible by the sapient might and thus, by her own will, bound into flesh. A fragment of a will that stretched across the infinite cosmos. A god, standing among them.

White hair gradiently shifted into red. Feathers and fur formed a long cape that rested impossibly light on her shoulders, hovering almost as much as the halo of gold-brown wood behind her head. A wreath of divine wood sat above her pointy ears. Red strips of cloth and golden ornaments covered little of her brown skin, leaving large breasts and thick thighs visible. In her hands, she held a druidic staff. For all of her radiance, the attractive wood elf’s divinity seemed bound in one place. Her left eye glowed a bright amber, contrasting heavily with the normal, green right eye.

Rykard did not have to guess who this marked woman was. He was looking at no other than the avatar of the Twinned Goddess herself. She met his gaze and smiled, sharp teeth showing behind her full lips for a moment.

“I am Teyla, Goddess of Survival and Fertility, and by the grace of the Organizer’s dice, I am your chosen host for this event,” the Twinned Goddess announced. “You must have many questions, but I am at no liberty to answer. Understand that I am here in capacity as messenger and none of you have earned enough of my favour or our favour to allow me to compromise the flow of the program.”

Disappointed, Rykard nodded. Obviously, he had questions for the goddess of Melana and Telana. Perhaps he would get a chance later. For now, the deity continued, giving no chance for anyone to speak over her vast presence.

“Your attendance is numerous and this pleases us. Six of you have arrived, a majority of the Contestants. As was promised, all of you will be granted the privilege of placing 3 Ocean Tiles for your competition. Your Ocean Tiles will be surrounded by Coastal Tiles, in effect letting you place many more than 3. All of you will also leave with the privilege of placing Dual Hexagons for your further summons of such.”

She paused for a moment. Rykard could not help but notice that flowers were constantly growing to her feet, to then be devoured by various swarms of thriving insects in an endless cycle of decay and renewal.

“This Divine Game shall be a simple one. A fighting tournament of elimination. Each of you will face off against one other Contestant. The winner moves onto the next bracket. Tess and Vimi, for your early arrival, you have been placed in a privileged position.”

Teyla flicked her wrist and a magical window appeared before all of them.

“Those in the first round will be given aforementioned base rewards,” the Twinned Goddess continued. “Those in the second round shall be able to place 9 Ocean Tiles. The losers of the second round shall fight each other for third place, the claimant of which will be rewarded with 12 Ocean Tiles and one pre-populated Coastal Tile. Second place will be given 18 Ocean Tiles, a populated Coastal Tile, and an Ocean Treasure Tile. The winner of it all will be granted 36 Ocean Tiles, a populated Coastal Tile, an Ocean Treasure Tile, and the choice whether the oceans of this world will be saltwater, freshwater, or a mixture.”

Rykard quietly whistled. Incredible rewards all around and, since this was a fighting competition, he already waned himself the favourite for first place. The question only was what these populated Coastal Tiles and Ocean Treasure Tiles were about. One that Teyla swiftly answered.

“The populated Coastal Tiles will need to be placed adjacent to one of the Hexagons you currently hold. They need not be summoned immediately and can replace any of the default Coastal Tiles you may find. You will summon them as per your typical phrase. Third place will find that theirs will require the usual conquest, second place will find theirs easy to please, and first place will be blessed with a Hexagon ready to submit immediately.”

‘That will accelerate things,’ Rykard thought.

“As for the Ocean Treasure Tile, it shall not be placed. Instead, it will be somewhere in the ocean of your design. It will be a dungeon, of some kind, a temple, an underwater cave, a forgotten city - a place worthy of the delve and the exploration, at the heart of which we will have hidden an item that will be of great interest to you, but take heed - others may also claim the treasure if they find it before you.”

‘Not a big fan of that,’ Rykard thought. Since he was going to place the greatest of the oceans, locating his treasure could be a time sink not worth the attempt. ‘Likely why they did it that way. Give the lesser places consolidation prices.’

“When it comes to the placing of the Tiles, those with less will place theirs first. Coastal Tiles will only be generated once all Ocean Tiles have been placed. Wildlife will exist within both Coastal and Ocean Tiles, potentially of the hostile kind.” Teyla paused for a moment. “To thrive and to survive go hand in hand, after all.”

She slammed the bottom of her staff into the ground. Reality unraveled from the point of impact, shifting everything around her and the Contenders. Miyo was separated from Rykard by the force of magic, her and all others moved to an elevated ring overseeing the arena that he found himself in all of a sudden.

It was a large, open space. The ground was compacted dirt, covered here and there with shrubs, tree roots, and other obstacles one could stumble over if not careful. A few genuine trees stood around, potentially providing cover for those that wanted it.

Only one other person remained in the arena with Rykard. Maliande was. as advertised, his opponent in this very first fight. They stood across from each other, about ten metres between them. “Looks like you’ll get your reality check quickly,” the smug mage shouted across, waving her half-staff.

“Taking the words out of my mouth, when you could do so many prettier things with it,” Rykard answered and rolled his neck. He felt completely refreshed. The magic of the goddess having washed away all signs that he had been up for sixteen hours already.

Teyla hovered above them. “There are no rules to this engagement. All that you have access to is permitted. Every item and every magic at your disposal can be used. The ring is surrounded by an impenetrable barrier. You cannot leave and you cannot be given support from the outside. Your attacks will not reach them, no matter how destructive. A fight is won if your opponent is immobilized for a full minute, surrenders, or needs to be saved from death by my divine intervention.” She raised a hand. “At the snap of my finger, the fight begins!”