Mieonus’ irritation as he watched her stomp her heel against the marble. “If we do this right, Mieonus, would you not enjoy watching the beings of the worlds suffer? I see no reason why we cannot enjoy the carnage. You know a smile will find your face as soon as the last breath escapes the first creature’s being.”
Mieonus’ expression changed as her disgust vanished. Her delight in Lasidious’ proposal brought joy to her heart. “Your demented mind is delicious, Lasidious. I’ll enjoy the heartache.”
Seeing the goddess’ pleasure, Lasidious continued, “Should our team win and collect the majority of the crystal’s pieces, the worlds will fall under our control. Evil will rule for the rest of eternity and govern the Crystal Moon. Likewise, if good is victorious, the worlds will be dominated by boredom.”
“ What will keep you from cheating?” Alistar blurted as he adjusted the green hood of his robe that was trimmed in gold. “You’ll have the advantage. There’s no way to monitor fair play. I won’t play a game where there’s not an opportunity to attain victory.”
Lasidious pretended to ponder. “I shall enter into a Promise of the Gods with the Book that I won’t cheat. If I do, the Book will sense the infraction, and I shall be destroyed. This should be enough to keep me in line, don’t you think? However, I may find it difficult to play. If this happens, I’ll resign and become a spectator. I’ve never been much for teams anyway, so this may very well happen.”
“Sounds fair to me,” Mieonus responded. “When do we start?”
Lasidious clapped his hands and then rubbed them together. “The influence we have over our followers shall be our weapons, our tools you might say, to manipulate. You could even call them our chess pieces.” The Mischievous One smirked. “If I remember correctly, Bassorine did love chess. Too bad he’s not here to enjoy the festivities.”
The God of Mischief smiled. “We shall play a game fit for the gods. The rules are as follows: first, we cannot force our pawns to do anything against their will. As the law on the Book’s pages states: ‘Free will is to be cherished above all else.’
“Second: all worlds will continue to trade merchandise without interruption, since this is necessary for their survival. None of us will do anything to influence commerce, or the game will end and the Crystal Moon will be destroyed. The goal is to get the beings of the worlds to conspire and fight to attain its pieces. As I have said, the first team to capture three ... wins.”
Lasidious moved toward a large piece of debris and hopped on top of it before he made his next statement. “Are there any objections?” He paused, but the moments were not long enough to allow for a response. “Okay, good. Just to be clear, if the game is not played, I’ll destroy the Crystal Moon. However, even with Bassorine’s replacement, we’ll be unable to create another one. I think we all remember how tedious starting over was.” Lasidious smiled and added, “Who would like to be on my team?”
As the gods glared at one another, Bailem took the opportunity to speak. The angel’s robe was white and gold, and he had a portly belly that would have caused him to lean forward if it had not been for the weight of his wings. “You’re deplorable, Lasidious. It appears our free will is being taken in a round about manner.”
The Mischievous One rolled his eyes. “You act as if this concept is unfamiliar to you, Bailem. Do you not remember the age of old? We all had our free will stripped from us in a ‘round about manner.’ Why should I be restricted from using his tactics.”
“How dare you speak of him in that fashion!” Bailem shouted. “If he was here, he would—”
“But he’s not!” Lasidious indignantly interjected over the top of Bailem’s voice. “His back remains turned to us. Remember?”
The group fell silent for many moments. Even the Book said nothing as the gods stared in disbelief at Lasidious.
Eventually, the Mischievous One spoke as if nothing negative had been said. “So ... who’s on my team?”
Of those present, enough hands reluctantly lifted to give Lasidious a team of eight—if he included Celestria.
Thoroughly disgusted, Bailem stepped forward and took the other team-leader position. “I’m going to find a way to beat you at your own game, Lasidious. I shall never forget your trespasses.”
Lasidious smirked. “Whatever, Bailem. Spend your moments how