Kaizen/Forgehall

Kifu, God of Reflections, happened upon a group of young acolytes on a routine visit to offer prayers to the Saints. And these were clerics-in-training of the Dinuri Order - New Forgehall's merchants. None of them were prepared to deal with Kifu's sudden appearance.

"Shit!"

"What in Allis?!"

"Saints save us!"

These were just a few of the cries that erupted as the small group of brown-robed goblins shattered and fled for the edges of the Hall at the bizarre and disturbing sight. Thankfully, there were more experienced denizens of Forgehall at hand.

A goblin robed in elaborate gold and silver and purple, wearing a many-jeweled crown, appeared seemingly from nowhere about twenty feet from the trio of intruders.

"You who fly through our Heavenly Hall unannounced and neglect to introduce themselves," she began in a voice that seemed to resonate everywhere at once, "now that you have finally ended your little voyage in our Earthly Hall, would you care to clarify your petition? How exactly can we help?"

Another goblin appeared next to her, a larger one covered in furs and chainmail with several arrows protruding from his chest and stomach. "And why should we offer our assistance to a foreign monster who intrudes unannounced into the Hall of the Greats?" The snarl on his face made it more than clear that he had no desire to help. He was brandishing a lance in one hand and a javelin in another.

Yet a third goblin, this one also large and armored, appeared on the royal goblin's other side but remained silent. She bore no weapons in her hands, but a bow and a quiver hung on her back and a sword at her belt. A spear was lodged all the way through her heart and out her back, but like her counterpart she paid the injury no mind. She stayed silent for the moment but watched the scene intently.

The Dinuri acolytes, for their part, mumbled and shivered as they cowered in the corners of the building.

The royal goblin considered the petitioner's words carefully before making a decision. "We have no quarrel with your kind and plenty to quarrel with your demonic enemies, noble Kifu 'God' of Reflections." She was clearly skeptical of the mystical being's self-appointed title, but she didn't seem to consider him a threat either. "I, Taraba Piketooth, Master of Forgehall and Queen of the High Goblins, see fit to accept your petition, on one condition. Whether you are Spirit or Saint or Monster, if you will remember what the Saints of the High Goblins have done for you, you will make no friends of the Monster Citalmin and his followers, who opened the Portal and begot the Second Sundering."

The lance-pierced armored goblin who had remained silent until now added, "To heal a future or present ally of Citalmin would be a shame and an insult to our people. I, Queen-Knight Tabitha Piketooth, swear that if you break this vow I will personally lead the vengeance upon you, but if you keep it I will treat you as friend."

"As do I, Ghafar Piketooth," the armored goblin-man pincushioned by arrows agreed, looking much more suspicious of Kifu's intentions than the others.

"Do we have an agreement?" asked Queen Taraba, gazing intently at the avian deity.

"Then the bargain is sealed," Queen Taraba confirmed. "As was originally proposed, we expect you to use your own power, but we will assist in any way we can. The extensive knowledge in apothecary and surgical arts of Saints Koldar and Yadira, the Great Scholars of Forgehall, will doubtless aid the process. Please instruct us as to any other ways we can be of help."

Yet a third armored goblin, this one with an orange plume atop her helmet and an orange sash across her body, entered the scene along with the two scholars - Koldar in black robes and Yadira in maroon.  In her hands she held a small vial of water, which she carefully uncorked as she approached the wounded avian.  The Scholar Saints rushed ahead of the warrior to check on the dying woman, examining her for clues to the precise nature of her ailments.

"There are few direct wounds, and none lethal," Yadira noted in reference to the avian's bruising.  "And her bones are still together.  Her heart is not weak, but it is being sapped by something else..."

"Starvation, thirst, and shock," Saint Koldar chimed in with a hint of sadness in his tone.  "She will need to drink the water."

Saint Nakbaj the Champion simply nodded and knelt before Song Ai.  She held the bird's mouth open with one hand while she poured the water with the other.  "Water from the Hall of the Saints.  Drink and be well."

[Use Blessing of Saint Nakbaj (Healing) with 4 Divinity granted by Master Kifu]

Meanwhile, Queen Taraba took to answering Kifu's questions.

"The High Goblin pantheon was nowhere to be seen during the First Sundering," she recounted.  "My people starved and diseased and slain, all their prayers and rituals bore not a single fruit.  Whether those old high ones existed or not, they certainly were not there for us.  And what we saw of other peoples' 'gods' were titans who brought nothing but destruction after entering through the portal.  The Gods of the Lizards, the Gods of the Orcs, and others turned out to be good for nothing more than destruction.  My people learned there was nothing divine about them except for the sheer power they commanded, but even this fell short, since both the Lizards and Orcs alike failed to eradicate their enemies.  My people rightly concluded that they were not Gods, but Monsters.  Nothing more than very big, very strong creatures that extracted worship from unfortunate mortals.

"Saints are those of us who did not leave the mortal plane altogether, but found a place at the edge of the Heavenly from where we could advise and guide our fellow high goblins.  They learned that no mortal goblin, no mortal creature at all, can claim to truly know the cold and distant and mysterious forces of the divine, but that those of us in-between have enough of an understanding to bring something of the divine to our people in need.  In the end, the High Goblins were saved by their own strength, manifest in the Great Ones but their own nonetheless.

"Knowing what we do now of the difference between the Cosmic Divine and 'divine' powers of heavenly beings that claim godhood, we no longer need refer to such beings by their presumptuous titles as if they were beyond our capacity to challenge or understand or predict.  Some were quite predictable after all, and not one was beyond failure or defeat.  But there remain some heavenly creatures which are neither Saints -Great Ones of their people- nor brutish and corrupt enough to really be Monsters.  These benign or disinterested ones, manifold in form and power, we refer to as Spirits."

Kifu listens attentively to the explanation.

"That is an interesting phylosophy. Thank you for sharing your insights."

"As you describe it, Saints are those who where once mortal and gained strenght from the...Spirital realm." he says pausing a moment to correct his terminology.

" Spirits are those like myself, born from the realm itself."

"Monsters are those who may be from either category, whose temperament leads them down a path you consider destructive."

Seeing the divine energies have finished repairing the mother, who has fallen asleep deeply after her burden he walks and picks her up as though she herself where as much a child as his other burden.

He makes to leave, but turns his head upwards in thought.

"It seems strange to me though, the title of Monster requires only to be found guilty of fault by a viewer. It is the very nature of any even moerately powerful person to posses the potental to be an anathema to another. So wouldn't all spirits be monsters?"

He shakes his head slightly.

"My apologies, I have grown into the habit of stating my musings to those around me from my interactions with the Kaizen. I shall meditate upon it I am a Monster, once I have given these lost ones to their families." he says seeming minorly chagrined at his musings.

He bows once more the two in hand, both now healthy, "Thank you for your hospitality, your patience, and your assistance in saving a life. Perhaps one day it shall save many more."

"As for our meeting, i shall pass along memories of our meeting and pact to my people in their dreams. By this time tomorrow my people will know of it."

"Again, i apologize for my intrusion. I will strive to not do so again in the future. I am ...Unfamiliar with these sort of interactions. My interaction with other beings is a recent event, even with my own Kaizen."

And with that he makes to leave, carefully avoiding the territory of the nearby Spirits and Saints, as he moves to the land of the Kaizen to reunite a family, both old and new. (Kifu leaves unless stopped for whatever reason, potential end of first diplomatic encounter.)

After hearing the report from the Dinuri acolytes, and later from the Saints themselves, First Immortal Olga Nakbaji knew the Disciples would need to follow up with the followers of Kifu. If they were being forced to deny friendship with one people, they ought to be offered friendship with another at the very least.

Of course, locating these "Kaizen" would be no simple task. The only avians known to the high goblins were those of Michoacan, disturbing in their high rituals but friends nonetheless. It would take months of scouting for Olga's agents to finally locate any other birdfolk, but when they did the response was swift. The Grandmaster herself wandered the mountain ranges, holding high the banner of New Forgehall and announcing herself everywhere she went with marching drums and the heavy footsteps of her personal guard.

Without any sacred monuments,or sites to center themselves upon, the priests of Kaizen had taken to spreading themselves out, listening to the quiet of the mountain peaks.

Michi was one such priest.

Perched upon a tall thin rock, his wings drooping downwards in full rest, as he listened to the serenity and tried to center himself within it.

Tried.

The growing rhythmic thumping of drums slowly drew out a frown as he tried to ignore them.

Eventually it was far to loud, and the accompany marching didn't help. inching open an eye he saw a procession of goblins, walking through the pass. Forgehall goblins, he like the rest of his people knew their banner instantly, thanks to the dream sending of Kifu.

Letting out a sigh, he adjusted his clothing, and picked up his staff, and glided down gently to meet the visitors, the rings jangling in the wind.

"Greetings, Goblins of Forgehall. I am Michi, a priest of Kifu. May I inquire as to the purpose of your visit?" he asked, his face impassive.