God of Discovery [high fantasy, slow build, mlm]

The mahee conference - part 2

As much as D'Argen hated the crowd, he loved the sounds of it. As someone who consumed sound the same way most consumed water and food, the conference was the perfect place to replenish. It was a little harder to pull the sound into himself with most of the gods wearing Simeal's charms to dampen their scents, but D'Argen was able to easily ignore the inconvenience simply due to how loud it was. He loved all the sounds and rumble around him; the conversations that faded in and out, the music that somehow both overpowered the people and was hidden by them, and the sounds of building, bartering, cooking, shouting, singing, and screaming.

And all of that, from the back of the medical tent where he lay with his eyes closed. If he could handle the crowd, he would be standing in the midst of it where it was even louder.

There was a loud thump, like a drum being hit. D'Argen opened his eyes to look at the top of the tent. It was much darker with the last of the sun's rays shining over the conference. He had not even noticed the time passing and had to wonder what was taking his companions so long to locate Vain.

Another thump and D'Argen sat up, his eyes wandering to the sound even though there were multiple tent layers and stalls and people between him and the platform where the sound was coming from.

The crowd was quieting down.

Another thump and every other sound faded away completely as if Yaling had released one of her silencing spells. He knew exactly what those thumps meant. It was the first day of the conference and Acela was due to give the opening speech.

A quick glance around the tent revealed that Simeal was not there and he expected the god to be already outside the tent and facing the stage. D'Argen was slow to leave. It was like everything stopped. When he exited the tent, the mortals only looked at him briefly before moving out of his way. He did not go down the path that was opened for him, but it did reveal the stone stage in the centre of the field with Acela standing on it.

D'Argen noticed a few of the other gods speckled throughout the crowd, draped in beautiful and elaborate robes with hints of glinting jewels and metal on them. He recognized each of them by face but Acela drew all his attention away from them and back on her.

Even from such a distance, she looked resplendid in a light gown that shimmered and metal bands on her arms and around her neck. Her long hair was loose, spilling over her shoulders. The only thing that kept it from blowing freely in the wind was a thin circlet resting on her head. It was there for the mortals, not for the gods, to show her status as Queen.

The mortals believed that the gods had one leader. The truth was that they all looked up to the First Five. They were the most powerful in each of the five aspects of magic the mahee was based on. Acela, although not the most powerful of the five, was unanimously chosen by the rest to lead them in the mortals' eyes.

Standing right behind her was Zetha, another of the five and her husband, King of the Gods. He was dressed as finely as Acela though in a medley of different cuts and shades rather than the light of his Queen. Like her, he had a thick metal band around his neck and a thin circlet keeping his long dark hair down. Unlike Acela, his curls could not be held down by such a simple band and they danced to the breeze.

D'Argen had not seen his Queen and King in a very long time. In fact, he had not seen any of the First Five in a long time, but the other three were not on the stage. Still, the Queen and King were a sight for sore eyes, even if Zetha had taken on the mortal custom of the northern towns and had grown facial hair. It was closely cropped and shaped neatly, but the mustache and beard threw D'Argen off. He looked older now, and it was strange because time did not touch any of the gods.

One final thump sounded and it echoed around the silent grounds. Even the camps outside the pillars and caravans still on the roads quieted completely.