148 Elemental Wrath (2/2)
I closed my eyes and allowed myself to feel the pure power at my fingertips. Every volcano in Torus and Salifinos for that matter was under my control, thousands of volcanos, many of which were presently erupting. And the power they offered me, though small in the grand scheme of things, was still considerable. And as they did, I begin to become more sensitive to the power I was receiving curtesy of the devastating power I was unleashing on the world.
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Althos' wrathful fury first manifested itself in the activation of one of the first elemental overlord abilities he had gained: his mastery over volcanoes. And at first, this power was slow to activate.
The first volcanoes to erupt were almost universally underwater ones. They were located throughout the seas that dotted the largely blue planet. Their eruptions were strange affairs that went unnoticed by some, but not all of the world's inhabitants.
Underwater civilizations felt the impact of the submarine volcanoes erupting. They felt temperatures for ranges of up to a few dozen kilometers away rise up abruptly, thanks to the divinely empowered eruptions having greater potency than natural ones, and settlements near submarine volcanoes were instantly boiled. That said, Althos' warning reached everyone at the same time. This warning came right before the earliest eruptions and allowed some creatures living near the volcanoes to swiftly flee.
That's not to say that no one died, thousands of lifeforms were abruptly boiled to death, but Althos' foreshadowing his elemental fury saved thousands of creatures from unpleasant deaths. That said, not every underwater volcano was known to living creatures outside of the seas. And underwater volcanoes had one especially bizarre effect on the oceans that was relevant for populations of creatures living on the surface, near them.
Submarine volcanoes still released volcanic gasses. Volcanic gasses often escaped from submarine volcanoes in the form of bubbles that lowered the density of water near the volcanoes, and these gases were released far more often and far more violently during eruptions.
These gasses created sinking zones that caused many of the victims of submarine volcanoes to be surface-dwelling air-breathers whose ships abruptly sank beneath the waves and who themselves drowned or were crushed by water. These sinking ships themselves killed a small handful of sea-creatures who were near the sinking zones. Some of the victims of the ships were individuals who managed to escape the immediate vicinity of an underwater eruption.
The most powerful of the submarine eruptions were actually capable of breaching the surface. These eruptions, only caused by a few hundred of the several thousands of volcanoes located under the sea, sent steam and debris into the air in oceans all over the world. Pillars of steam erupted from the surface of the seas all over the planet, and this was before the volcanoes that jutted out from the surface of the world added their own ashes and gases to the mix.
The world began to change abruptly as the god's rage manifested. Though some volcanoes erupted effusively, their lava steadily flowing out and onto the ground, many erupted explosively.
Explosive volcanic eruptions were the main source of a lot of chaos and death in the first few minutes after the final volcano began to erupt. These eruptions sent up a toxic miasma that blocked out the light of the sun and within the hour following the commencement of the final volcanoes eruption a dark, ashen shroud covered the sky.
Within a quarter of an hour after the eruptions began the temperature of the planet, in areas far from the volcanic eruptions, began to cool down. Even the totality of the volcanic activity couldn't touch the entire planet at once, so some areas went almost unaffected by the continent-changing bursts of volcanic power. Some areas became so hot that they incinerated entire settlements and thousands of people perished in the immediate aftermath of the initiation of Althos' fiery fury.
But Althos himself was quite busy. He was answering prayers left and right.
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Unsurprisingly, initiating what had the potential to be a global apocalypse made lots of people very religious. As a god that was to my benefit. I received millions of prayers immediately and they continued to flow in even minutes after the beginning of the newest age in Torunian history.
Many of them were prayers for protection. These prayers were easy for me to answer. On those I felt like aiding I bestowed an immunity to fire and heat damage, and sometimes even immortality. At this point using such powers were child's play for me, even remotely. Creatures in every continent received my protection, as did at least some members of every single royal family in the world. That said, I ignored many, many such prayers.
Some prayers were not prayers for protection. They were prayers for aid in exacting revenge on the dwarves who, according to my lie-filled notification, served Morehammer.
These prayers were predominantly by fire-giants and by orcs, two especially pious races who historically were known for serving gods of war, destruction, and conquest. They asked for omens, and in some cases for the power needed to endure the environmental hazards they'd need to face to be able to attack my enemies and send a message to Morehammer in my name. There was a smirk on my face as I answered those prayers.
”War...” I said, to no one in particular. There was a bright grin on my face, as I began to utilize the dreadful powers I possessed over and related to war itself. This was the first time I was making direct usage of those abilities, and I began to feel excitement creep into my heart as I did so.
Some of my powers were naturally easy to use in broad strokes and over a group of people as opposed to being naturally focused on singular targets. My war-domain powers were a perfect example of this. I started off by targeting the men and women who prayed to me, seeking vengeance against my foes, and I blessed them.
The war-domain's blessing was an indirect and subtle one that increased the talent one has with commanding troops and improved their abilities related to strategizing. I applied it exclusively to the leaders of the communities that were excited to go to war. Other powers though, I made much more liberal use of.
I effortlessly manipulated their emotions, stoking the existing hatred and anger they felt until almost all they could think about were a number of ways to slay and flay dwarves. It was at that point that I activated ”death empowerment”, which gave them the ability to feed off of the deaths they would inflict on their foes. Over the course of a few moments, I had empowered thousands of brutal warriors all over the world and I still had one more gift to give them.
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One of the simplest ways a god can manipulate a soul is to grant them a class. Classes alter the very composition of one's immortal essence, the thing that is most commonly called a soul.
Over the course of my life, I had gained the power to grant people a number of classes. But right now what I needed was simple. I just needed simple worshipers who enjoyed war and warfare. Which I had. But came the part where I needed to strengthen them. Several of them already had the warrior class under their belt so I needed something else. Fortunately, I had just the right ability.
I targeted the followers of the people who sought to go to war with dwarves all over the world. And in an instant I granted them the templar class, enhancing their considerable strength even further. In return for my gifts, I felt something pleasant: a warm emotion flowed out of them and into me. I was feeling their love and admiration for me, and for my power, grow. Which in turn served to amplify my powers, even if it was just a little bit.
That said, what wasn't small was the bloodlust these warriors felt. They were eager for conflict. I closed my eyes and prepared another notification even as I opened up portals into where dwarves were living, to speed up the bloodshed.
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[Alert: Stopping the servants of Morehammer
Althos is proud of every warrior who bravely stands up in defense of his, her, or their home. He is proud of those who are willing to take up arms to fight back against the darkness that has hidden away in the earth. He has blessed those who opt to stand against the coming darkness.
Take up your swords and cleave through the followers of this devious lord of darkness. Stand up for your home. Stand up against the doom this creature would unleash on your world and a thousand others.]
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I chuckled as my incredibly powerful sensory abilities alerted me that my followers were indeed dashing off to confront their enemies. And with that, I received a notification I had long waited for: the one alerting me that at last, I had acquired the second tier of influence over the potent subdomain of corruption.
As I read through it, I smiled wider than I ever had. I was on the precipice of acquiring significant power, at a time when I needed such power. That elevated my mood even further than my acquisition of new worshipers had.
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[Corruption subdomain alert:
You have successfully incited conflict between two or more communities on the basis of one of the seven deadly sins. The sin that was utilized was the sin of wrath. As a result of that, you now get to choose one of the six remaining sins you do not have influence over. Which will you pick? When you make your choice you'll gain power over that sin, and greater power over the sin you can already influence: lust.]