The Mountain Hates the Sky...? (3)
That was how I gave new names to the gods. Greek mythology, Egyptian mythology, Norse mythology, and Indian mythology... well, they felt a bit too grand in scale, so I hesitated a little. Anyway. I also pulled names from Chinese mythology, Celtic mythology, Aztec mythology, and more, slapping a ton of them on.
If I hadn't had my wiki knowledge, I would've been in real trouble. There were limits to what I remembered from myths. At best, Greek and Roman, Norse, and maybe Egyptian if I stretched it.
Of course, the gods here didn't perfectly one-to-one match the ones from that world, so I couldn't assign those names exactly. Like Zeus, for example. Or Thor. For most of the local land gods, I borrowed names from myths or Earth place names.
Hmm. What was surprising was that among the gods I named, several dragons who were worshipped as deities by humans. Well, maybe because of my influence. Dragons tended to be friendly toward other lifeforms anyway. They probably wouldn't attack unless struck first. And if humans bowed and made requests, my kids would likely grant them. So it made sense they'd be seen as benevolent and enshrined as gods.
Anyway, setting aside the deified dragons for now. The gods who received new names and stayed within their cultural spheres stopped their conflicts and focused on building up their internal strength.
Among those cultural spheres, the biggest power was the gods who took Greek mythological names and called themselves Olympus. Based around Arcadia, they settled in various city-states a bit to the west, wielding their familiar closeness to humans as a weapon to expand their influence as anthropomorphic gods.
Though, because they got too chummy with humans, it often led to people getting hurt when the gods' wrath was provoked. Baal gave them a major scolding over that once, so it should be fine now, right?
By the way, these Olympus gods were the ones who fought the most fiercely in the wars between pantheons. If they hadn't brawled so hard, the number of gods might be 1.5 times higher now.
Next up were the animal-headed gods causing a ruckus around Ifrit. They were born from beastkin adapted to the harsh desert environment and got Egyptian mythological names. Their main believers were beastkin living near the desert and some folks from the magicians' city of Procyon.
Procyon's humans mostly worshipped the sacred flame Ifrit, but faith is free. No issue believing in other gods. No one would complain about polytheism anyway.
Anyway, calling themselves the Ennead, they used their powers to mimic human magic, performing miracles and gradually making the desert lands more fertile. Hey, quitting war let them do some real good. With poaching believers from other gods forbidden, they had to grow their own faith the honest way. A shift from plundering to farming, I guess.
Next. A bit east of Yggdrasil's great forest, near the icy northern tundra where snow never melts. The gods there called themselves the Aesir. They got Norse mythological names. Born from hardy humans surviving the brutal continental north, they were a rough bunch. To the west lay the elves' great forest, southeast the dwarves' Sagarmatha, and north the giants' domain—they were sandwiched right in.
Honestly, not a huge power, but their aggression and combat prowess rivaled any other cultural sphere. Notably... maybe that Betelgeuse where elves and dwarves clash is near their turf. Though even the Aesir wouldn't mess with elves or dwarves lightly. Mess up, and Yggdrasil or Sagarmatha would crush them. No matter how many gods they had, they couldn't compare to my kids.
So those are the big three powers. Then there's Rokapala in the continent's southeast, Kunlun in the east, and tons of minor gods outside major factions... but listing them all would never end, so I'll wrap it here.
Oh, right, there was one super unique god. The Lizardmen faith. A distorted offshoot that spread to humans from worship of the Creation Dragon God and Destruction Dragon God. In a way, my partial spirit. Its name: Quetzalcoatl.
Well, a bit warped, but rooted in me. When it came for a name and met me, it submitted instantly. Kinda... like a copy of a copy of the Creation Dragon God faith stemming from me. Submitting on sight was natural.
Seemed useful, so I remodeled it into a god with some ego intact and dumped work on it. Now it manages Lizardmen and Creation Dragon God human followers as one of my incarnations. Handles picking great warriors and arch-shamans, etc. Oh, and I hammered in no human sacrifices ever. The world runs fine without human blood and flesh. No need for pointless sacrifices!
"Hmm. That wraps it up."
I stretched lightly, watching the last god bow and leave.
Good. Now I can stop worrying about the gods. Rules set, territories divided, a self-sustaining system in place—no need for my meddling.
"Good work, Mom."
"Sorry about this, Sagarmatha. Promised to spend time together, but work stole it away. Even used your place for god interviews."
"Fine. Watching you work was fun."
Hmm. No idea what's fun about watching work. But if Sagarmatha was satisfied, good enough.
"Didn't know there were so many gods. Tons of 'em."
"Thanks to humans' intellect advancing amazingly."
Humans with wisdom questioned everything, seeking gods as answers. They projected gods onto all nature, birthing countless deities.
Still few, though. Most are nature gods. Later, humans will fill everything with gods. Like blaming Cupid's arrow for love. Every emotion, action, thought—gods as cause.
Hmm. That thought soured me. Feels like humans as gods' puppets.
If humans advance further... deny gods? Uncover truths, strip away divine excuses?
When god-denying era comes... could I stop being a god? Become just one dragon. Not "Life Goddess," but a single... "one" or "mare"? One dragon existing.
Dunno. Might not be bad. Humans' future direction? No clue. Hope it's good.
"Mom."
"Hm? What?"
Sagarmatha sat beside me, unusually serious.
"Mom, got an ideal type?"
"Ideal type?"
What the—why ask that?
"Or... raising that brat Baal to be your mate?"
"What nonsense! As if!"
Baal as my mate? No way! Sure, the kid looks prettier than expected, almost like a cute girl at a glance, but I'm not pairing with a guy! Mental block still there.
"Never even imagined a mate. Don't say that."
Not like I need one anyway. If I absolutely did... hmm... still not Baal. He's too small. Needs to be my equal at least. Then maybe over Baal...
Ereb... Ahem. Why'd Erebos flash in my mind? That runaway troublemaker son. Why him?
No way. Absolutely not.
"Right? Mom's not thinking that?"
Sagarmatha looked unusually happy. Thrilled I'd stay single? Makes sense—new dad otherwise. Could hate that.
I passed the time kneading Sagarmatha's perpetually grinning face like clay.