Chapter 131: Chapter 126: Hearth’s Home

“So, Connie, I was thinking…” Rose said between bites of fruit, “how much would it cost to make an item that displays the positioning of our troops on a copy of the world map? One that, if possible, will allow us to place markers to simulate enemy troop locations.”

“Not as much as you’re thinking.” Connie said. “The tech to display a copy of the world map and put things on it is commonplace on other planes, it doesn’t even need magic. But…are you wanting something that will accurately display the location of all of your troops in real time? Because that’s harder.”

“If possible, yeah, I do.” Rose said. “I was thinking that if we tapped into Lia’s Swarm Progenitor management stuff that we might be able to cheat it a bit.”

“You’re…right, actually.” Connie said. “I hadn’t thought about that. Give me a day or two to tinker with the idea, and I’ll be able to get back to you with an accurate price. I don’t think I can get it ready by the start of your offensive tomorrow, though, sorry.”

“That’s fine, we can do without.” Rose said. “It’s just nice to have.”

“Speaking of…I was told to tell you that the Goddess of Hearth wants to speak with you and Lia tonight. Jerry has assured me it’ll be perfectly safe, so you don’t need to worry about that, but it might impact your sleep before the big day, so…”

“Why not me?” Amelia asked. “Surely she’d have words for me.”

“I don’t know.” Connie replied. “It’s possible that she’s worried that it might escalate the hostility of the discussion or something. Or maybe she’s just afraid of you, since you have shown to be capable of dealing with me and she knows that you know she isn’t a fan of the swarm.”

“Well, if Jerry says it’s safe, I don’t have an issue with meeting her.” Lia said. “I’m always open to conversation with the gods, so long as they’re making an earnest effort to actually talk, and not just…I don’t know, try and talk past me like the God of Heroes.”

“I feel much the same.” Rose said. “Sleep should not be an issue, either, should we leave soon enough. I can’t imagine the conversation would take more than ten or twenty minutes if we’re exclusively talking business, and an hour or two otherwise, so if we leave right after dinner then we’ll easily be back in time for bed.”

“Alright, I’ll let her know.” Connie said. “If you end up having trouble with her, just let me know once you get back and I’ll see what I can do.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Connie.” Rose said soothingly. “If Jerry’s given his guarantee that it’s safe, then Hearth would have to be incredibly foolhardy to try something.”

“I know, I know. I just worry. If I lose what I have here…” Connie sighed.

“You won’t.” Rose said firmly. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Right, well…I’ll let them know you’re coming after dinner.” Connie said, pulling out the tool she called a “phone” and tapping away at it. “Done. So…let’s forget about it for the time being and eat, okay?”

“That’s a bit of a hard thing to ask.” Chrys said. “But…I can try, I suppose. And, for the record, I’m worried too, so you better make sure you come back safely!”

“We will.” Rose chuckled, pulling her daughter in close. “I’m not done making it up to you, there’s no way I die before then.”

“I already told you that you’ve done all you could.” Chrys said softly. “I’m the one that should be making things up to you.”

Rose smiled, playing with Chrys’s ears as she ran a hand over her head. “If it weren’t for you, we’d probably still be living our old miserable lives.” She said. “But Connie is right, this conversation isn’t for the dinner table. So…how was your day? Did you find anything cool?”

“Well, there was this really pretty ridge I walked along…” Chrys said, launching into a retelling of the event. And from there, the dinner fell back into a somewhat normal place, and before Lia knew it, they had finished.

“Connie and I will take care of the dishes.” Amelia said. “You two go take care of business with the Goddess of Hearth, okay?”

“Um, I’ll take you over in a second, when you’re done…I’m sure Jerry or someone will be able to send you back.” Connie said. “Just let me know when you’re ready.”

Lia and Rose shared a look, then Lia nodded. “We’re ready.”

“Good luck, then.” Connie said, waving a hand. As she did, Lia felt a slight lurch, and then she was in a room that looked not dissimilar to the Dimension of Discounts. The floor and walls were all made of some sort of white tile, and it was mostly featureless save for a door set into one of the walls.

“Ah, you’re here.” Jerry said. He was standing to the side of the room, holding one of those “phones” in his hand. “I’ll lead you over to Heather’s room, and I’ll keep an eye out to make sure she doesn’t try anything funny. I don’t think she will, of course, but I want to help facilitate discussion with my guarantee. And, though I highly, highly doubt I need to say this, this goes both ways; if you two try anything weird, then I’ll intervene as well.”

“We won’t.” Lia promised. “I don’t think we could if we tried, but we won’t.”

“Good.” Jerry said, giving them a smile. “Follow me.”

He led them out of the room and down a series of hallways until they reached a door that was identical to the others, save for the word “Heather” being written on a plate to its side. Jerry motioned for them to stand back, then knocked on the door. “Heather, Lia and Rose are here for you.”

There was a muffled voice that Lia couldn’t quite make out from where she was standing, then Jerry nodded. “She’s ready for you.” He said, standing to the side and motioning at the door. “Please head in.”

Lia gave Rose a nervous smile, then led the way into the room, Rose following close behind. The room itself was…cozy and warm, built in a log-cabin style, a far cry from the clinical nature the rest of the realm of the gods had. The walls were decorated with various pieces of art and pictures of the gods, and a single hallway branched out from the room.

Lia barely had time to pay attention to that, though; sitting in a cushy chair near a roaring fire was a tired-looking elf who could only be the Goddess of Hearth. As Lia and Rose entered, she gave them a weary glance, then spoke. “Close the door on your way in, if you would.”

“Y-yes, Your Worship.” Lia said, waiting for Rose to come in before shutting the door.

“For the purposes of our conversation, Heather is fine.” The woman sighed, motioning towards a couch across from her. “Take a seat.”

Lia and Rose sat, and Rose laid a comforting hand on Lia’s thigh. They sat in silence for a while before Heather sighed again, looking over the two of them again. “I really wish you two were ruder.” She said. “It would make this so much easier for me.”

“If you would like, we can be.” Rose said politely.

“No, it’s too late for that now.” Heather said, waving her hand dismissively. “I suppose that’s part of the reason we’re here in the first place.”

Lia waited, not sure she wanted to ask why they were here, prompting Heather to sigh yet again. “Please, talk with me like you would anyone else.” She said. “This conversation isn’t going to go anywhere if you’re constantly showing deference to me.”

“U-um, yes.” Lia said. “W-why did you want to meet us?”

“To discuss the swarm, of course.” Heather said. “I imagine that’s the only reason most of the gods would want to talk with you.”

“Well, yeah, we kind of figured, but…what specifically?” Lia asked.

“What is a family to you, Lia?” Heather asked.

Lia frowned, caught off-guard by the sudden change in topic. “Um, a group of people who love each other?” She ventured. “I don’t know, I never really thought about it this way before, I just sort of…knew.”

“Tell me about Chrys.” Heather said. “Is she your family?”

“Of course.” Lia said immediately. “I don’t know exactly what to call our relationship, what with…everything, but she’s definitely family.”

“And Connie?”

Lia thought on that for a moment. “Not yet, but she’s close.” She said. “Once we’re completely sure this relationship will work out, then I think she’ll be family, but until then…I don’t know, she’s a lover, I guess? Why?”

Heather sighed, turning to Rose. “What do you think of family, Rose?”

“I…I’m afraid I’m still figuring that out.” Rose admitted. “In my previous life, I couldn’t really…feel attachment in that way.”

Lia couldn’t help but notice Heather wince as Rose said that.

“But…I think what I have now is family. The happiness everyone gives me is just so…so…I can’t even put it into words, but it just makes me happy. The way Lia’s family welcomed me with open arms…it makes me want to do it for others. I just want to share even a portion of the gift I’ve been given, and that’s a large part of why I was on board with Connie joining the relationship.

“I saw a lot of myself in her, and I just…well, I couldn’t let that be. And, seeing how she’s changed now, and how my feelings have changed, I’m really glad I did. But…to get back to the original question, I don’t know, I can’t really put a definition to family right now, just know that I think it’s important.”

“Yet, you were adamant that the children of Amelia’s aunts and uncles were taken away from their parents.” Heather said. “If family is so important, why would you do that?”

Rose’s gaze hardened. “What they had wasn’t family.” She said. “Those children were being abused, brought up in an environment where they were told their only value was what they could bring to their parents. And, in turn, they would grow up with that same twisted mindset and perpetuate it further. I made sure they were taken away because family is important; I wanted them to have a shot at a real family, not whatever they had.”

Heather drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “I really hate that you said that, you know.” She said. “I do.”

“I won’t change my stance on the matter.” Rose said firmly. “I don’t care what you think; this isn’t about politics, it’s about making sure children receive the love they deserve.”

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“No, no, no.” Heather said quickly. “I hate that you said that because I agree with it.”

Lia frowned. “Why?”

Heather frowned in return. “Why do I think that way? Well –”

“Um, sorry to interrupt, but I’m not asking why you think that way.” Lia said. “I should have clarified; why do you hate that Rose said that?”

“Because it makes my life harder.” Heather sighed. “It would be so much easier if I could write you guys off as being uncaring tyrants, but you’re not and it’s driving me mad. I don’t want to have commonalities with you when I oppose you.”

“If I may ask, why do you oppose us?” Rose said. “I assume it has something to do with conversion?”

“Yes. To be blunt, I hated how conversion would rip families apart.” Heather said. “It hurt me to see loving wives suddenly having their bonds with their husbands broken, to feel nothing for them when just an hour previous they had been perfectly fine.”

“U-um, but it doesn’t. Most families survived conversion just fine.” Lia said in a small voice. “But…I share the sentiment. It was awful, seeing the women in Aura’s capital, living their lives and forcing themselves to do things they didn’t want.”

“I know!” Heather cried out, slamming a fist on the arm of her chair. “The fact that you were the one with an aching heart over the plight of those women, that you shared my feelings…do you know what that did to me?”

Lia shrunk back into the couch, shocked by the sudden outburst.

“Sorry.” Heather said, gaze softening. “I shouldn’t be taking this out on you.”

“If not me, then who?” Lia asked. “Amelia…she did wrong, but she didn’t know better. I would rather you yell at me than her.”

Heather sighed. “I shouldn’t be taking this out on anyone. I just…I don’t know. I looked at the women in Aura very closely after they converted, and…well, as much as I hate to say it, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. They still held affection for their families. They didn’t think their converted daughters were better than their unconverted sons and husbands, they didn’t even mind intimacy as much as I had expected.

“They were uncomfortable, yes, but the majority simply cut back a little, content knowing that their situation would soon change and things would be back to…the new normal. And those that didn’t, that broke things off…those relationships weren’t built to last. But…even so, how can you continue doing these things, now that your conditioning has been broken? Why continue to rip families apart, even momentarily?”

Lia squirmed a little in her chair, trying to think of how to phrase what she was going to say, but Rose answered for her. “Because I know it’s temporary.” She said calmly. “And because I know that most will likely be happier once the dust settles. To be perfectly honest, when it comes to family, what we’re doing here is less disruptive than regular wars, and, unless I’m reading things wrong, you don’t hate those enough to take action against them all. If you did, then war wouldn’t be so prevalent.”

“I do hate war.” Heather said. “I don’t think anyone likes it. But…if I intervened with every conflict because of my distaste, then people would have no agency to do things for themselves.”

Lia frowned. “What about the God of War?” She asked. “Surely he doesn’t mind it.”

Heather snorted. “She hates it more than any of us.” She said. “That’s why she’s thrown her lot in with you.”

“What?” Lia said. “The God of War…hates war? And…she?”

“Of course she does.” Heather said. “No one else is as familiar with the horror of war as she is. She only kept the job because she wanted to do her best to minimize the damage it caused. And yes, she’s a she now; she’s the only one of us who has gone as far as willingly changing her sex to show her support. If the day comes that you’ve conquered the rest of our planes…well, there won’t be gods anymore, only goddesses.

“We stick to the broad idea of what people expect from us to maximize Worship gain, and being male gods over a population that is entirely female…it doesn’t work well. Jerry made sure none of us care about our sex or the sex of others when he made us, so the change isn’t as big a deal as you might think; it’s simply an expenditure of Worship.”

“But, yes, Willow has been very vocal about how excited she is at the prospect of there being no more war. She can’t wait to pivot her Domain into something more…wholesome, like defending against monsters or something. I don’t quite share the sentiment, but I can see where she’s coming from.”

Rose frowned. “Why don’t you?”

“Excuse me?” Heather asked, taken aback.

“I asked why you don’t share that sentiment, because, by all rights, you should.” Rose said. “Do stop me if I’m stepping out of line, but I think you’re being shortsighted.”

Heather’s gaze hardened. “You’re on thin ice.” She said. “But…continue.”

“Knowing Connie like I do, I know that the gods are…well, just as much a person as the rest of us.” Rose explained. “And I know that emotions don’t always make sense, but I think you’re letting your distaste of conversion cloud your judgement. Don’t get me wrong, conversion is distasteful, it’s not right to change someone’s mindset like that, but I think that you’re looking at it in the wrong way.

“You begrudgingly allow war, even though it rips apart families, but…our war is less disruptive than those wars. We’re aiming to minimize the impact on people, to make sure as few die as possible. And, once our war is over, that’s it; it’s done, and you don’t have to worry about conflict on this scale again. The dynamics of family life will shift, yes, but the shift isn’t inherently bad.

“As you said, those who are actually in loving families do stay loving. There might be some changes, as with Nailah and Ophelia’s families, but what makes that any worse than what they had before?

“And…you will have to forgive me for being personal here, but your hypocrisy wounds me. You let the Urge go, you let it ruin my life, let it ruin Chrys’s life, and you said it was fine because it was for the greater good. Perhaps I’m wrong, perhaps you campaigned against it just as you campaign against us, but I’m guessing you accepted it after a time; it seemed that all that needed to happen to remove it was for the right arguments to be made, and they clearly weren’t.

“What I’m saying is that there are things you let slide for the greater good, but you’ve drawn an arbitrary line in the sand. And, once you’ve seen that we aren’t crossing that line, or, at least, not to the extent you thought, you’ve chosen to ignore that because it’s easier to stick to your old viewpoint.

“I don’t care if you are with us or against us, but I want reasons. Emotion is fine, emotion is good, but not when it comes to the fate of so many people; as people in charge, our job is to maximize the happiness and wellbeing of those we’re in charge of. Personally, I think that if I have to do something distasteful to, in the end, help those people, then I will. If, in the end, I am thrust into hell for it, then I will go secure in the knowledge that my sacrifice will ease their lives.

“It’s a slippery slope we walk, yes, but that is why we have guidelines. That’s why we go to Connie with moral quandaries, why we rely on Jerry and the gods to make sure we don’t stray from the path. I’ve sort of taken over the conversation, but I guess what I’m saying is that I just want reasons why this time the greater good isn’t an acceptable justification, or I want your assurance that you will never again do bad things in service of the greater good. Can you give one of those to me?”

There was a long silence after that. Lia held her breath, not sure what to say after Rose’s outburst, and Heather just looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with either Lia or Rose. The silence lasted for a long time, dragging on seemingly endlessly before Heather looked up.

“I’m sorry.” She croaked. “I wronged you. It’s…it was a lot easier to justify the Urge when I hadn’t seen your before and after, hadn’t seen what the rest of the gods and I took from you. And…if it could be proven that it would demonstrably better the world, that our fears were founded, then I would do it again.

“But…you’re right. I need a reason if I want to oppose you, and the ones I had no longer apply. I…I’m not going to fully switch sides, not yet, but I’ll stop actively working against you. Show me results, prove that the worlds will be better off for the swarm, and I’ll join your side. But…should you make things worse, I will fight against you harder than I did before. Is that acceptable?”

“U-um, thank you.” Lia said. “If we do, if our values slip away and we’re no longer the people we are now…please kill us. I would hate to see myself become corrupted like that, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen. Just…give us warnings and try and guide us back to the right side first, okay?”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Heather said seriously.

“We know you will, and that’s why she suggested it.” Rose said. “And I agree. We don’t want to be tyrants, we just want to make things better. If we’re not doing that, then there’s no point.”

Heather sighed. “I suppose. Thank you for your time, I’ll let you get back to your family now. I’ll be watching you, so…do your best not to disappoint, okay?”

“We will.” Lia promised, standing up and offering her hand. “Thank you.”

Heather reluctantly took the hand and shook it. Then Lia and Rose left, and Jerry sent them home, back to the kitchen, where Connie and Amelia were hand washing the dishes.

“You’re back already?” Amelia asked worriedly. “How did it go?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it went well.” Lia said. “Heath – I mean, the Goddess of Hearth said she won’t work against us anymore, but won’t join our side, either. Not until she’s seen whether or not this is worth it.”

“That’s great news, actually!” Connie said enthusiastically. “She was pretty against us before, so even just neutrality will mean a lot to the other gods. I’ll have to hear all the details later, but for now why don’t you let Chrys know, then go relax. You have a big day coming up, and it wouldn’t do to be tired for it!”

“We will, thank you Connie.” Rose said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You two come relax with us, okay? It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Connie blushed. “Uh, I will.” She said. “Let us finish these up real quick and we’ll come.”

“Why are you doing those by hand instead of using magic?” Lia asked.

“Connie suggested it.” Amelia said. “Said it would help me take my mind off of things, but I suppose there isn’t really a need for that anymore. But…we’re almost done, so we might as well finish it the way we started. It’ll only be a few minutes, so you go off without us and we’ll catch up, okay?”

“Will do.” Lia said, giving Amelia a peck on the check. “Do you know where Chrys is?”

“In her room.” Connie volunteered. “She said to just knock and she’ll come running.”

Rose nodded. “We’ll go let her know. See you in a few minutes.”

“See you then!” Amelia replied enthusiastically. “Now go!”