Part 24
“In this case, it is Tithian, seer and oracle, for I speak in that capacity for The Circle of Seers. We have added many members since this Assembly first met; prescients from every race among us, and we have learned how to join our talents somewhat by Linking. We are now capable of giving a discerning of the future in only moments, and we have done so.
“The new capabilities that Fire announced are welcome news.
“But we find so far that if we do this attack today, the peak of the nexus will occur in just less than a year and a half, rather than in two years, and it will be more severe. By that I mean that the magnitude of a nexus is measured by how much change occurs during it, and if we do this thing, there will almost certainly be more change than otherwise, as well as sooner. We still do not know how much of that change will be beneficial and how much harmful, only that there will be more, sooner. But our general consensus is that acting now will not be an improvement. It seems that if we attack the demons today as has been proposed, and it were destined to be successful, then the peak of the nexus, the period of maximum change, would occur today or shortly thereafter. But as I say, that is not what we see.”
She returned to her place, and another appeared on the stage where she had been. Everyone there instantly knew who he was, as that was an attribute of the divine, but Mark announced him anyway.
“Glishkerkugthak, Kwetkerthok God of Life.”
The great gray gargoyle god seemed to glower at the gathering for a moment, then spoke. “There were only one hundred and ninety-six gods on Kellaran when we faced the demons over seven million years ago. There were only about six hundred million mortals then, only half of whom lived on the surface and fought the demons.
“Now we are many, we are all united, we are far more capable, and we have the assistance of The Triax. It is easy to think that we could be victorious, particularly if all of us and all of our nations and all of The Triax joined with these young warlocks in launching an overwhelming strike with all of our power simultaneously. It might seem that we could not fail.
“But there were only about twenty million demons on Kellaran at the most the last time, and only two hundred thousand of them were greater demons, yet with the constant reinforcements they were able to bring through their Gate they were able to hold their own against all of our gods and mortals, and they were gaining the initiative. Only the destruction of their Gate allowed us to prevail.
of those that The Triax call DemonLords. And The Triax, in all their war against the demons, have never seen them use a Gate such as they used here. So the demons that were here were more dangerous in that way than any that The Triax have ever faced. The rock that the demons are riding here is much larger than the Triax have ever seen them use before. The Triax assure
not be easy to defeat, even given the unprecedented power that
we would not go to war against any mortal, and despite everything else they were, the demons were certainly mortal. I was forced to act when
days I stood raging before it, for I could find no way to destroy it. That entire time they taunted me from within the Gate. Their cries were wordless, but it was plain that they were mocking me, and I challenged
or perhaps by the Gate itself. It was so sudden and so powerful that I could not resist
though it seemed that I was alone there, I was then attacked. Millions of demons
eye before surveying the rest of his family, then speaking
doing so. Is very valid, and very telling. Wait. Wait until we are no longer improving, or at
demons are tricky and cunning and unpredictable and cruel beyond all imagining. It is easy
disappeared, and a second later his place was taken by Heklivmalgiso, first of the two
announced him
the future, and we see deeper and with greater detail than the mortal Circle of Seers. We agree with their assessment, and add this; If you act against the demons now, there is no doubt that the
should we
the elven god decreed. “We will
right, we’ll wait.” Mark