Those Who Serve the Gods (1)
The manipulation of the Birth God, the Cloud Whale, had succeeded brilliantly.
In this era where the existence of gods was only vaguely known, with legends varying wildly by region and not even properly documented, it was child's play to tweak and spread a bit of information to reshape those legends to my liking—turning the god into whatever form and function I desired. How convenient, right?
Well, it was only possible now, in this time before legends about the gods solidified. A little more time passes, and these tricks won't work anymore.
In every province, every city, the same god's legends differed wildly, with even the names varying. A gentle wind god in one place becomes a raging storm god elsewhere. With no clear information to go on...
...there was plenty of room for me to meddle. By spreading the right rumors and using a touch of magic to make people believe, I could mold them into the god I wanted. Talk about a scam—what a scam.
Of course, this won't work forever. Once records of the gods proliferate and unify across regions, my wiggle room shrinks. Oh, right—Sylphid's name had already made it onto the list of gods. Looks like spreading that fear of her storms paid off.
I'd figured sailors would start revering her once sea voyages kicked off, but it seems the faith stemmed from terror of her destructive gales. Eh, whatever. I'll congratulate her on it later when I have time.
Following my intentions, the Cloud Whale drifted around the world, accompanied by all sorts of white birds, aiding in the birth of new life. Hmm. I'd planted the idea of storks as "white birds," but apparently any white bird counts?
From swans to storks and white doves, they all swirled around the Cloud Whale. Even if I set the broad strokes, the details could shift like this, huh? One more thing to keep in mind.
And now that the Cloud Whale had developed a bit of intelligence and could understand speech, handling it was a breeze. As long as it didn't throw childish tantrums now and then.
Still, compared to a mere beast, being able to reason with it was a huge step up. At least it listens when you talk.
Musing on the Cloud Whale like that while tending the second layer of the Underworld, planting flowers, my GodTalk chimed with a message.
Hmm, the Lizardmen again? I'd been communicating regularly through their grand shaman, so what could they want now? I was properly handling the pre-tournament blessing withdrawal for their annual festival's martial arts contest, bestowing it on the victor afterward, and keeping up conversations with the grand shaman until they died or stepped down. No reason for the Lizardmen to summon me.
Thinking that, I opened the message window—and it wasn't the Lizardmen. It was from the dragons. The dragons, who roamed the world as the "Life Givers," had messaged me.
And the recipient wasn't listed as the Creator Dragon—it was the Life Goddess.
Hmm, Life Goddess, huh? I'd used the name "Life God" when fixing the Cloud Whale legends as the Birth God, but why goddess? Maybe the info I spread got twisted a bit, or the dragons—knowing I'm female—spread it as Life Goddess instead.
Anyway, ignoring the title, the sender was the Dragon Lord.
Hmm... why's this kid calling me? He can handle most things on his own. Must be something big.
I opened the GodTalk screen anyway.
Why call me "Mother of Life" instead of Creator Dragon? Now I've got two titles out of nowhere.
I cleared my throat lightly, hit record, and replied.
"What is it?"
Hmm. For the dragons' representative to say that much... what could it be?
"Tell me. What is it?"
Humans? As Life Givers? Wait, that's...
Well, dragons can do it because we flood our bodies with life force via mana, sharing the excess. But humans? Like dragons? Normally impossible!!!
"Explain how this happened."
Hmm... what to do. Humans and dragons are totally different; humans can't do dragon things. Not enough mana, and overflowing life force is a dragon perk...
Can humans even handle that much life force? I doubt it! In a human body—not as robust or massive as a dragon's—excess life force causing endless cell regeneration? That's just cancer!
Maybe make them give up the dream... Most realistic, but... why don't I want to? Do I not want to crush that kid's dream?
"A tough issue."
I pondered deeply. It was a role made for dragons, yet humans want in. Hmm. Expand the scale? Make it open to humans and dragons alike? But humans still can't recover life force.
The kid wants to heal others, right? Unlike dragons activating life force with mana, could we use something else? Like faith in a god?
Far-fetched now, but if it works, believers could benefit greatly. Priests drawing power from faith to heal others.
Yes.
"Have them pray to me ten minutes each morning and before bed."
If it works right, priests wielding miracles through faith will emerge.
And so my experiment...
"Grant me the light to heal these souls."
...concluded when that child, now a young man after daily prayers, became a priest healing others through faith.
Several humans sought to become Life Givers, but only he could wield such power via faith.
Embracing belief in the god, he fulfilled the divine will, healing others as a priest. Priests producing magic-like effects not with mana or life force, but faith—previously nonexistent, now real.
Thanks to them, the Life Givers' ranks began to grow, bit by bit. No—now it's the Temple of Life, with proper temple members.
Most followers are still dragons, humans a tiny minority. But some diversity in races is good, right?
Anyway, clear miracles of healing made the Temple of Life constantly swamped. It became the prime healing spot for the sick.
Thus, the voices seeking me grew louder and more chaotic... but that's minor.
I ignored the swelling clamor of devotees as best I could, finishing the final layer of the Underworld.