As the echoes of the little girl's voice turned into silence, the nine of them fell into silence, as well. Her words had sounded like jesting… or at least they were supposed to. How could mortal men kill the gods?
And yet, a solemn atmosphere settled in the inner sanctum of the Oracle temple.
This peaceful realm of theirs was beautiful and thriving, but it did not enjoy the protection of a god. The gods had grown aloof and distant long ago… their temples stood proudly, and yet no matter how piously the priests and priestesses prayed, they were usually met with indifferent absence. Even War, the patron deity of humanity, had withdrawn from watching over the great, terrible empire of his.
The mortal realm where the nine of them had been born was not protected even by a neglectful deity, and so, it venerated no god. The ones they venerated instead were the Oracle — the women capable of glimpsing Fate.
