160 Rewards

I looked out at the gathered goblins and smiled smugly. Before I said another word I silenced Gnorl and Hunahpu so that neither of them would interrupt me. This was simple enough since I had a power that allowed me to do so. Once they were silenced I began to speak.

"It is time that this goblin society becomes a society that is composed only of goblins. Well... Goblins and their guardians." I said, speaking firmly. I sensed the shock that radiated out of Gnorl and Raiz alike, and even without looking at them I could tell that their eyes were locked onto me, and that they were now processing a lot of emotions at once.

"I intend to properly reward all of my servants, including both Gnorl and Raiz, but my words are the truth. It is indeed time to create proper societies by and for distinct groups of people." I told the crowd.

The truth was that I was doing this to begin to more properly inch towards greater influence over the domains of civilization and law, and I didn't really need to do it but I had a number of powers that made it possible for me to do so. I turned towards Gnorl and studied the orc.

Gnorl was handsome as far as orcs went. He was also a moderately talented leader and a powerful combatant. His inability to defeat me was not an indicator that he was weak, and any objective analysis of the shaman or of his memories would no doubt lead the analyzer to the reality that he was an all-around skilled individual.

The truth was that the orc leader's talents were being wasted here. So I was going to force him into a scenario where his talents wouldn't be wasted. I began to communicate this by raising a hand, my watery tendril, in the direction of the shaman and then speaking to him.

"Gnorl... This is not a punishment. This is a reward for your work to date." I told him, starting off simply enough. I began to activate one of my powers as I spoke.

"You deserve to lead your own kind, not goblins. And that is your reward." I explained, even as the power I activated manifested itself fully before the crowd. A number of adult pigs phased into being where none had been before. They were variously pigmented pigs, males and females in equal numbers. I extended my fiery tendril in their direction and willed the creatures to transform and evolve. I envisioned them becoming the natural evolution of all wild pigs and boars: the powerful and naturalistic humanoids known as orcs.

The pigs began to shed incredible light to the point that their bodies became impossible to make out against the light that was exploding out of them. All we could see were pig-shaped silhouettes. In a matter of moments, their bodies began to change before us.

The orcs were naked. Their various body parts were fully on display to the goblins, Sombra, Raiz, and myself. They were all muscular individuals with intelligent eyes. I smiled at them, and they looked at me in awe. They knew that I was their creator and their god, the figure responsible not just for creating them but also for evolving them into orcs.

I quietly bestowed a few classes upon them, mostly ones like warrior and berserker, but I also had a single male become a druid, another male a cleric, and I gave an assortment of the female orcs access to classes like rogue, assassin, and a few of the other magic classes. All in all, I had created fifteen pigs and transformed them into fifteen orcs. I then turned back to Gnorl.

"Gnorl... This is your new tribe." I told the orc, smiling at him. The orcs, upon hearing that, immediately fell to their knees and faced the newly named orc chieftain. Gnorl himself began to smile, even as tears welled up in his eyes. I removed the "Silenced" condition that kept him from speaking, and he immediately began to weep openly. The cries were joyous ones and the orc's fellow looked at their new leader curiously. Gnorl didn't turn to face them immediately, instead beginning to speak through the tears streaming down his face.

"Cosecha... Thank you... I will endeavor... To not disappoint you." He muttered, his voice a blubbering mess. He then took a moment to compose himself, an act that required him to pull himself together and took him taking a second to stop crying. When he was back to his normal, composed self he turned to actually face the orcs. He began to speak, with a smile on his face.

"Orcs... We have so much to thank the great and mighty Cosecha for. Let's do that by living lives that are pleasing to it." He said, his voice filled with false piety.

Gnorl was one of the least pious of my followers, but I did sense something changing inside of him as he spoke. A part of me wondered if this display of my powers was actually beginning to make him... a believer in me.

To be fair to the orc this was a powerful display of my abilities that invoked abilities beyond the ken of mortals. Mortals, even those at the pinnacle of power accessible to them, were weak compared to other kinds of beings. And even at the lowest tiers of influence over the proper domains and subdomains, I could create life and then immediately cause said life to evolve. This was the sort of truly divine power that would forever be out of reach of mortals and if any powers were able to impress him I suppose it made sense that this was one of them.

Gnorl's heart was absolutely turning in my direction, I sensed it doing so. I chuckled as I listened to him, and shortly after he spoke I spoke once more.

"Gnorl... You are the chief of these orcs and you shall take two of the women as your wives. Pick whichever two you like." I told the orc, and I chuckled when I heard his heart begin to hammer in his chest. He began to smile lustfully as he eyed the orcish women in front of him.

"And you shall pick a different part of Rodan to occupy and control as your own. You shall live there and work the land, and so long as you treat it with respect it shall provide you with all that you need." I declared, speaking authoritatively. I intended to use my powers to keep my word.

I then turned to Raiz and focused on her. Raiz was my first creation. She was now far from alone in terms of being a creature created by me, but she was the only spirit. I studied her for a moment, silently, before I began to speak.

"Raiz... Your reward for your work so far shall be something unique. I shall create for you, sisters with whom you can share your life and you shall also govern a section of the Rodan forest. Please, depart from us for now and select what area you'd like to occupy." I informed the dread. Her eyes widened when she learned of the gift I sought to give her, and she began to smile. She was evidently quite pleased with her reward. She did have something to say though.

"Creator... What about my tree?" She asked me, speaking solemnly. I could tell she appreciated her gift, but by the tone of her voice, I sensed that she was attached to her tree. Sentimentally. I turned to look at the tree for a moment.

It was a magnificent thing. It stood at the center of the encampment and imposed an extra layer of shade over everything underneath its top-most leaves. I studied it for a moment before turning back to Raiz.

"When you select where you wish to inhabit I shall simply teleport your tree over there." I told her, opting to ensure that the tree not only survived but was in a place that she selected and was within reach for her. She was evidently comforted by the tree, and I suppose she deserved to stay close to it. The delighted the woman who rather uncharacteristically jumped with joy and clapped her hands together to express her delight. A second later she composed herself and then bowed in my direction.

"Thank you creator. I shall endeavor to find a part of the forest that I can rule in your name and make you proud." The young dryad told me, a smile on her face. She then immediately rose up and departed from my presence, walking past me in the direction I came and entering the more forested section of the forest, in search of a place to call home.

Goblins eyed her leaving and seemed saddened by it. I turned my attention to them in full and began to speak once more.

"Goblins... You have been loyal to me and obeyed my teachings." I told them, smiling serenely at them as I spoke.

"You have been kind to animals, and you have prayed to me during difficult or lean times. I have fed you and protected you, while carefully watching you." I declared, speaking with a kind sternness, a gentle solidity that conveyed my protectiveness of the goblins to the ones who could hear me. They began to smile back at me as my kind words filled their heads.

As I spoke I began to activate an ability of mine. And then another. As well as one final power.

I quietly activated my eldritch aura, which caused creatures near me to begin to lose their sanity. My aura was strong enough, thanks to the worship of countless beings I had accrued over the course of my life, to spread out over every goblin who was in the tribe. I watched it seep into and then past them, a smile on my face even as I spoke.

I also activated my power to induce obsessions and I targeted the goblins as well. I infused them with obsessions with pleasing me, so as to ensure that they would find pleasure and joy in obeying my teachings. I felt their minds change as I activated these powers, and as I began to draw them towards the edge of sanity. Merely my eldritch aura wouldn't really drive them insane, but it would push them closer to service-oriented insanity and that was enough for now.

I began to quietly create food for the goblins, which phased into existence behind the creatures. Eating the food would result in them falling further under my influence, and it would sustain them while they began to prepare for the changes I wanted them to enact.

"Children... Listen to me once more." I began, a sinister smile on my face as I spoke.

"The time has come for you to begin to form a unique goblin society. One that uses my teachings to create a stable home for goblins throughout Puerto Rico, and beyond." I explained, slowly beginning to reveal my plans to the goblins.

"I have deemed you worthy of learning more from me and in exchange using that knowledge to spread your version of the faith I inspire in others. You shall be some of my chosen servants, and in exchange, you shall live in peace and be protected so long as you keep the faith." I informed the goblins, speaking serenely.

"That said... First you must do things on your own." I explained, slowing down my speech to make it more direct. The eyes of many of the goblins widened when they heard this and they all responded to me simultaneously in shock and fear. I let them speak until they began to quiet down and when they did I spoke again.

"Calm yourselves children..." I responded, speaking soothingly and infusing my voice with my powers over sloth and exhaustion, thanks to my physics-based powers over sounds. This caused some of the goblins to close their eyes for a moment as a sudden and unnatural exhaustion threatened to knock them down. They managed to stay on their feet, but only barely.

"The first task you shall be given is a simple one. In the days to come you shall select a goblin from amongst yourselves to lead you. You shall do this by vote, and the goblin who receives the most votes will receive a dream where they learn my machinations. They shall be advised by a number of goblin clerics, including Mawby and Xiax, as well as goblins I shall pick and elevate to the cleric class in the days to come." I explained.

The truth was that I had been planning to do this before Ava's death. It was one of several ideas I had on my mind in the later days of my time in my tower. It's just that in the wake of Ava's death I had to move quickly to begin to stir things up to keep Morehammer distracted, and also to prevent him from making every dwarf in the world his unwilling ally.

Now that the dwarf-god couldn't actually forcibly convert dwarves into his servants and I had begun to slander him, and would slander him more in the days to come, I could afford to make other, equally important moves.

Goblins were a useful source of faith for me and they were simple-minded yet hard-working creatures who once awed would serve me faithfully so long as I appeared to keep my promises to them. I enjoyed their simple-minded yet pious prayers and I actually legitimately liked more than a few of the goblins in the tribe. I was sincere in my stated desire to protect them.

"You have served me faithfully. I am proud of you. Continue to please me and be rewarded for your piety. Remember my teachings and keep them in your heart. So long as you do that, and you select the goblin you feel best possesses the ability to both lead you and serve me, you shall be fine and be happy." I informed them, sensing their admiration for me gradually increasing the more they stood in my presence. That made me happy, even though I knew that this was partially due to my powers.

"Now goblins... Turn around and eat! Feast to your heart's content! Celebrate your piety and the soft spot in my heart for you by eating your fill." I told them, still smiling. The goblins audibly cheered, and it was while they were cheering that I received a sudden notification. One that made me sigh and think snarky thoughts.

I suppose I ought to fix this. I think it's been long enough. I mused, after reading the notification. It was one that to a less powerful god, or a creature who wasn't an elemental overlord might be concerning. But not to me.

After all, I possessed great, though unpracticed, power over ice, and the environment as a whole. I quietly figured that learning through practice was the best way to learn. I prepared myself and began to act in response to the notification that had just filled my mind.

In a way the notification was egging me on, urging me to act. It was time for my powers as an elemental overlord to finally get a chance to shine.

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[Alert: Climate consequences

The hours of raging volcanic activity have warmed the planet. Though it is true that in the long-run volcanic activity of this scale would normally result in dramatic global cooling as a gigantic ash cloud blocks out the rays of the sun, in the short term the planet's coldest points are actually heating up dramatically right now from the force of the volcanoes you unleashed as a global superweapon. Glaciers and other frosty places are melting, and entire communities are in immediate danger.

There are other consequences of your potent powers, but in the short term it is possible that even hundreds of thousands of lives will be lost as the planet reels and begins to try to adjust to your imposed will. How will you act? What will you do?]