"All clear, everything's good. I'll tell you all about it when you get home."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief as I read the text Amy just sent me. I'd been stressing all afternoon, knowing she was going to meet that other God today. Even though she and her angel were sure things would go all right I couldn't help worry.
Now that I knew my girlfriend was home safe I was able to relax for the last half hour at work. Except I was still eager to get back home, I wanted to find out how it went. So the last half hour of my day ended up going as slow as all the preceeding hours had.
At long last the end of the day arrived, I bid Bev and the other staff a good evening. I hurried out to the car and only a few minutes later I was home.
I was excited to hear the details of Amy's meeting, but as I stepped through the door my mood fell slightly. My girlfriend wasn't alone, she was in the middle of a conversation with her angel.
"...think they're scared to believe it's true," Raven was saying, "Rather than being cold or hostile because they think you're mocking them. Not when Leah's so vocal and excited about what you did for her."
Amy agreed, "I think you're right. I guess the challenge is going to be getting them to take the chance and invite me over? I'm sure once they accept that it's real, they'll come around pretty quickly."
The goth angel shrugged, "Perhaps. Perhaps not. From their voice I think it's clear they're a mature adult. They might have family, they probably have obligations and responsibilities. A sudden miraculous change will be harder for them to explain to the other people in their life. Particularly if it's a drastic change."
"Right," Amy grimaced. "And if they want to look like their game character that's going to raise a whole lot of questions. It might even get us in trouble, having a real live elf turn up in the pacific north-west."
Neither of them had noticed me yet, or if they had neither said anything yet. I finally spoke up as I moved away from the door, "What's this about an elf getting you in trouble?"
My girlfriend smiled as she got up from the sofa to greet me with a hug and kiss. "Hi Tess, welcome home. How was your day?"
I returned the hug and kiss before responding, "It was mostly quiet and a little bit stressful. I'm looking forward to hearing how things went with your meeting though."
"Have a seat and get comfortable," she suggested. "I'll get us all some drinks and we'll tell you all about it."
"We?" I asked, with a glance towards the angel sitting on the love-seat.
Amy was already heading for the kitchen as she nodded, "Yes, we. There's other things we need to discuss."
I suppressed a sigh, then put my purse down and finally took a seat at one end of the sofa. I only had to wait a minute or so before Amy brought me a glass of wine, and she gave Raven what looked like a tumbler of whiskey. Then my girlfriend got herself a glass of wine, and finally sat down next to me.
"So what were you saying about getting in trouble with an elf?" I asked.
Amy smiled, "Oh, we were talking about our friend Kreff. They play an elven archer in our game? They know me and Raven look like our characters, and Leah will look like hers soon enough. If Kreff wants the same thing folks might notice or question. I don't know how the world would react to people turning into fantasy races."
I frowned as I sipped my wine, then finally asked "Do you think people would really want that though?"
"Absolutely," she nodded. "If we keep helping people like April it's a question of when, not if. Cat-kin, fox-kin, wolf-kin, demon-kin, dragon-kin, bunny-kin... Probably lots more I can't even imagine."
Raven looked thoughtful as she sipped her whiskey. After a few seconds she responded, "I'll ask around. If you're that certain it's inevitable then it's probably already happened. I'll try and find out if there were any consequences."
"What sort of consequences?" I asked with a frown. "And even if you did turn someone into an elf or a catgirl, how would that get you in trouble? If they're happy with it, isn't that all that matters?"
Amy thanked her angel then told me, "That's part of the stuff I wanted to tell you about. But first I'd like to get something else out of the way."
My girlfriend had another sip of her wine then looked at her angel again and stated, "Ravenna, as of last Saturday Theresa is officially my cleric. She's also my fiancée. When it comes to official Goddess business, I'd like you to answer to her as well as myself. If she calls for you I want you to attend her as you do me."
"Yes my Goddess," Raven acknowledged before having another sip of her whiskey.
Then Amy turned towards me and said, "Theresa, as my cleric you and Ravenna are on the same side, you and she are on the same team. I know you've had some personal misgivings about her but I'm asking you to please put those behind you. As my cleric and my angel you both serve the same goddess."
I felt my cheeks colouring slightly but I tried not to let myself blush too much. Instead I had another sip of wine then nodded, "Ok Amy. I hadn't thought of it like that, but you're right. We're both on Team Amethyst."
That made her smile, but she continued "Outside of official business, Raven and I are friends. It would make me happy if you and she could be friends too. I know that's a big ask though, so I'll settle for you accepting that she's my friend and that we're all on the same side."
My blush grew a little brighter as I sighed, "I'll try to keep that in mind. It's just... It feels hard to compete against someone you've had a relationship with for hundreds of years. Or thousands maybe? Then there's the whole unthinking obedience thing..."
Amy and her angel both exchanged a look, then Raven shook her head "Forgive me Theresa but you're mistaken. I've only known Amy online since last summer, and we didn't meet face to face until a few weeks ago."
She must have seen the confusion or disbelief in my expression so she added, "I now understand that she is not the Goddess who created me. Amy is still my Goddess, but I'm only just getting to know her for who she is in this life."
My girlfriend explained, "Raven and I had a long talk on Saturday while you were visiting with your mom, and the two of us came to an understanding. I'm Amy and she's Raven and we're friends. Like she just said, she's accepted that I'm not the Amethyst she used to know. That's more of a role I'll play when I have to be the goddess."
"She's not completely obedient either," Amy added with a slight grin. "Like this afternoon she refused to get on the bus today to keep me company. She was going to let me ride home all alone after our meeting was over."
I nodded slowly, "Ok Amy. And Raven. I'll try to keep that in mind. And speaking of your afternoon meeting, you were going to tell me how that went right?"
Amy grimaced, "It was a complete waste of time, and I almost feel sorry for Mike having to work for that guy."
She went on to describe how the teenage God acted and what he wanted. By the time she was finished I had to agree with her assessment. It sounded like the guy was a spoiled jerk, though knowing he was also a God left me feeling uncomfortable.
I couldn't help thinking someone like that would be a huge danger to any humans who caught his attention. And with a pang of anxiety I realized that I was probably in that position.
"What if this guy wants revenge or something, for being shot down like that?" I asked. "Is there any chance of him coming after you? Or me?"
"You're under my protection," Amy replied. "I mean you always were, but now that you're officially my cleric that kind of marks you as mine? Other gods and their angels will recognize that you carry a divine blessing. Some other supernaturals will be able to recognize that too, but they'll also know that means you're under my protection. Basically they'll know you're special, but they'll know better than to try anything."
I frowned, "Ok we're going to come back to that 'other supernaturals' thing in a moment. But first, sorry if this comes across badly but how do you know you can protect me? What if Kai's stronger than you?"
"He's not," Amy stated confidently. "He's given up. No-one worships him, nobody prays to him, I doubt he's got more than one or two people who even know his name. And he's not doing anything about it, he thinks gods like us have no place in the world anymore."
Her voice started to sound a little excited and intense as she continued, "I figured this out when I was talking with Raven on Saturday? It's not just a question of having believers or worshipers, we need a purpose. Kai's purpose was the same as Amethyst's, they were both local deities who protected and cared for small communities. But between mainstream religion taking over everything then science and the industrial revolution and now the internet age, we're not needed like that anymore. Except you've helped me find a new purpose Tess. We're going to help queer people, trans people. Like we did for April, and like I hope to do for my friend Kreff. And that's just the beginning."
My eyes widened, and I asked "So we're going to start a new church?"
"No," Amy shook her head. "Maybe someday in the distant future, but probably not. We're going to have to move slowly at first, and quietly. We can't advertise, we won't be showing off or doing anything public. It's got to be word of mouth, one friend telling another."
I drained the last of my wine then asked, "Why? Is this part of the elf trouble you were talking about earlier, the consequences thing?"
"Exactly," she replied as she got to her feet.
My girlfriend reached for my empty wine glass, but I beat her to it. With a wide grin on my face I used one of the spells she gave me. Swirling gold sparkles filled my glass, then the magic faded to reveal it was now full of cold crisp Riesling.
I'd made a point of doing that every day, and I'd been playing with the fire cantrip every day too. Today was the fifth day I'd been able to use actual magic, and the novelty still hadn't worn off yet. In fact I was positive I'd never get bored of it.
Nobody around me had been injured in the past few days so I still hadn't had a chance to try the healing spell. I figured being used to the two smaller spells was good practice though. When it came time to try the more important magic I'd already be familiar with the process.
And the big one, the transformation miracle spell, that one still left me feeling anxious. I was excited to try it, but well aware of how serious it was.
Meanwhile Amy just rolled her eyes and left my now-full glass where it was. Instead she took her own and Raven's back to the kitchen to top them both up, before rejoining us in the living-room.
Once she was seated next to me again she asked her angel, "Raven could you explain the status-quo stuff to Tess? And tell her what you told me about what other supernaturals we might encounter here on Earth?"
I sat back and cuddled with my girlfriend as we both listened to the angel's lecture. That was equal parts surprising, fascinating, and worrying. On the one hand I found it hard to believe there were so many kinds of supernatural beings out there, all living in secret while in full view of the public.
I'd already got my head around the idea of Gods and angels, so finding out fallen angels existed wasn't that big a surprise. And considering all this got started thanks to my granny's journal I wasn't surprised to know there were other witches out there. Finding out about werewolves and fae surprised me though, and learning demons were real left me uneasy. Although according to Raven they had nothing to do with Hell or the devil, she said those were both concepts invented by human religions.
The 'status-quo' stuff was a bit worrisome but it also made sense. I'd been wondering what would stop a disgruntled God from making a scene. Finding out the big Gods used their power to keep the world from believing or even noticing lesser Gods trying to do anything in public made sense. From the sound of it that also explained why magic wasn't widely known or believed either.
At one point I asked, "So what happens if a God does something people can't ignore? Like blows up a city or goes on a rampage or something like that? Or what if they use their power to smite a couple humans?"
"Destroying a city becomes a natural disaster," Raven replied as she sipped her whiskey. "Depending how it happens it could be an earthquake or a fire. Plagues were popular a few hundred years ago. The status-quo is both a passive influence and an active force. It influences what eye-witnesses see, and now that everyone's carrying smartphones and cameras it influences what gets recorded. And if something comes up that does threaten the status-quo, it's discredited and mocked. People don't want to know the world isn't what they already think it is."
She added, "If a God did something like that, they'd likely be stopped from ever doing it again. Banished from Earth, or sealed in stone, or something like that. That's the active side of maintaining the status-quo. The powers that be wouldn't tolerate someone messing with things to that great a degree."
"Helping or harming the occasional human is small enough to go under the radar," Amy said as she took up the explanation. "According to Raven, that sort of thing only affects a few dozen lives. Like helping April, that was a boon to her and you said her family were uneasy but eventually accepted it? And other people noticed but didn't freak out. That's probably the status-quo, helping keep things quiet."
Raven agreed, "Even if her family rejected her, it wouldn't cause ripples outside that small group. Performing the occasional quiet miracle, or smiting someone now and then, both will generally go unnoticed outside the affected human's immediate circle of family and friends."
I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable as I thought about all that. I drained my second glass of wine then said, "I'm glad it means we can help people without causing trouble. Just, please don't smite anyone ok? Even if you can get away with it."
"I won't," Amy promised. Then she continued, "This is what I was talking about earlier, whether turning someone into an elf or catgirl or some other non-human fantasy race would be a problem or not? It would mean their ongoing existence might challenge the status-quo, and that might be enough to cause trouble. For them or for us."
My girlfriend got me another glass of wine, and topped up her own glass and Raven's too. She suggested, "Let's order something in for dinner? How's Chinese sound? We can continue the conversation while we eat, and maybe start making some plans for how we'll work towards our goals without disrupting the status-quo?"
I noticed Raven looked as surprised as I felt, but it seemed like Amy was intent on treating her angel like a friend. And like she said earlier, the three of us were all on the same team after all.
"Chinese sounds good," I agreed.
Raven nodded as well, so Amy put in the order. And the three of us settled in for an unusual evening, or at least I thought it was a bit odd. A Goddess, a Cleric, and an Angel, plotting to secretly support queer folks with magic and miracles.
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"All clear, everything's good. I'll tell you all about it when you get home."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief as I read the text Amy just sent me. I'd been stressing all afternoon, knowing she was going to meet that other God today. Even though she and her angel were sure things would go all right I couldn't help worry.
Now that I knew my girlfriend was home safe I was able to relax for the last half hour at work. Except I was still eager to get back home, I wanted to find out how it went. So the last half hour of my day ended up going as slow as all the preceeding hours had.
At long last the end of the day arrived, I bid Bev and the other staff a good evening. I hurried out to the car and only a few minutes later I was home.
I was excited to hear the details of Amy's meeting, but as I stepped through the door my mood fell slightly. My girlfriend wasn't alone, she was in the middle of a conversation with her angel.
"...think they're scared to believe it's true," Raven was saying, "Rather than being cold or hostile because they think you're mocking them. Not when Leah's so vocal and excited about what you did for her."
Amy agreed, "I think you're right. I guess the challenge is going to be getting them to take the chance and invite me over? I'm sure once they accept that it's real, they'll come around pretty quickly."
The goth angel shrugged, "Perhaps. Perhaps not. From their voice I think it's clear they're a mature adult. They might have family, they probably have obligations and responsibilities. A sudden miraculous change will be harder for them to explain to the other people in their life. Particularly if it's a drastic change."
"Right," Amy grimaced. "And if they want to look like their game character that's going to raise a whole lot of questions. It might even get us in trouble, having a real live elf turn up in the pacific north-west."
Neither of them had noticed me yet, or if they had neither said anything yet. I finally spoke up as I moved away from the door, "What's this about an elf getting you in trouble?"
My girlfriend smiled as she got up from the sofa to greet me with a hug and kiss. "Hi Tess, welcome home. How was your day?"
I returned the hug and kiss before responding, "It was mostly quiet and a little bit stressful. I'm looking forward to hearing how things went with your meeting though."
"Have a seat and get comfortable," she suggested. "I'll get us all some drinks and we'll tell you all about it."
"We?" I asked, with a glance towards the angel sitting on the love-seat.
Amy was already heading for the kitchen as she nodded, "Yes, we. There's other things we need to discuss."
I suppressed a sigh, then put my purse down and finally took a seat at one end of the sofa. I only had to wait a minute or so before Amy brought me a glass of wine, and she gave Raven what looked like a tumbler of whiskey. Then my girlfriend got herself a glass of wine, and finally sat down next to me.
"So what were you saying about getting in trouble with an elf?" I asked.
Amy smiled, "Oh, we were talking about our friend Kreff. They play an elven archer in our game? They know me and Raven look like our characters, and Leah will look like hers soon enough. If Kreff wants the same thing folks might notice or question. I don't know how the world would react to people turning into fantasy races."
I frowned as I sipped my wine, then finally asked "Do you think people would really want that though?"
"Absolutely," she nodded. "If we keep helping people like April it's a question of when, not if. Cat-kin, fox-kin, wolf-kin, demon-kin, dragon-kin, bunny-kin... Probably lots more I can't even imagine."
Raven looked thoughtful as she sipped her whiskey. After a few seconds she responded, "I'll ask around. If you're that certain it's inevitable then it's probably already happened. I'll try and find out if there were any consequences."
"What sort of consequences?" I asked with a frown. "And even if you did turn someone into an elf or a catgirl, how would that get you in trouble? If they're happy with it, isn't that all that matters?"
Amy thanked her angel then told me, "That's part of the stuff I wanted to tell you about. But first I'd like to get something else out of the way."
My girlfriend had another sip of her wine then looked at her angel again and stated, "Ravenna, as of last Saturday Theresa is officially my cleric. She's also my fiancée. When it comes to official Goddess business, I'd like you to answer to her as well as myself. If she calls for you I want you to attend her as you do me."
"Yes my Goddess," Raven acknowledged before having another sip of her whiskey.
Then Amy turned towards me and said, "Theresa, as my cleric you and Ravenna are on the same side, you and she are on the same team. I know you've had some personal misgivings about her but I'm asking you to please put those behind you. As my cleric and my angel you both serve the same goddess."
I felt my cheeks colouring slightly but I tried not to let myself blush too much. Instead I had another sip of wine then nodded, "Ok Amy. I hadn't thought of it like that, but you're right. We're both on Team Amethyst."
That made her smile, but she continued "Outside of official business, Raven and I are friends. It would make me happy if you and she could be friends too. I know that's a big ask though, so I'll settle for you accepting that she's my friend and that we're all on the same side."
My blush grew a little brighter as I sighed, "I'll try to keep that in mind. It's just... It feels hard to compete against someone you've had a relationship with for hundreds of years. Or thousands maybe? Then there's the whole unthinking obedience thing..."
Amy and her angel both exchanged a look, then Raven shook her head "Forgive me Theresa but you're mistaken. I've only known Amy online since last summer, and we didn't meet face to face until a few weeks ago."
She must have seen the confusion or disbelief in my expression so she added, "I now understand that she is not the Goddess who created me. Amy is still my Goddess, but I'm only just getting to know her for who she is in this life."
My girlfriend explained, "Raven and I had a long talk on Saturday while you were visiting with your mom, and the two of us came to an understanding. I'm Amy and she's Raven and we're friends. Like she just said, she's accepted that I'm not the Amethyst she used to know. That's more of a role I'll play when I have to be the goddess."
"She's not completely obedient either," Amy added with a slight grin. "Like this afternoon she refused to get on the bus today to keep me company. She was going to let me ride home all alone after our meeting was over."
I nodded slowly, "Ok Amy. And Raven. I'll try to keep that in mind. And speaking of your afternoon meeting, you were going to tell me how that went right?"
Amy grimaced, "It was a complete waste of time, and I almost feel sorry for Mike having to work for that guy."
She went on to describe how the teenage God acted and what he wanted. By the time she was finished I had to agree with her assessment. It sounded like the guy was a spoiled jerk, though knowing he was also a God left me feeling uncomfortable.
I couldn't help thinking someone like that would be a huge danger to any humans who caught his attention. And with a pang of anxiety I realized that I was probably in that position.
"What if this guy wants revenge or something, for being shot down like that?" I asked. "Is there any chance of him coming after you? Or me?"
"You're under my protection," Amy replied. "I mean you always were, but now that you're officially my cleric that kind of marks you as mine? Other gods and their angels will recognize that you carry a divine blessing. Some other supernaturals will be able to recognize that too, but they'll also know that means you're under my protection. Basically they'll know you're special, but they'll know better than to try anything."
I frowned, "Ok we're going to come back to that 'other supernaturals' thing in a moment. But first, sorry if this comes across badly but how do you know you can protect me? What if Kai's stronger than you?"
"He's not," Amy stated confidently. "He's given up. No-one worships him, nobody prays to him, I doubt he's got more than one or two people who even know his name. And he's not doing anything about it, he thinks gods like us have no place in the world anymore."
Her voice started to sound a little excited and intense as she continued, "I figured this out when I was talking with Raven on Saturday? It's not just a question of having believers or worshipers, we need a purpose. Kai's purpose was the same as Amethyst's, they were both local deities who protected and cared for small communities. But between mainstream religion taking over everything then science and the industrial revolution and now the internet age, we're not needed like that anymore. Except you've helped me find a new purpose Tess. We're going to help queer people, trans people. Like we did for April, and like I hope to do for my friend Kreff. And that's just the beginning."
My eyes widened, and I asked "So we're going to start a new church?"
"No," Amy shook her head. "Maybe someday in the distant future, but probably not. We're going to have to move slowly at first, and quietly. We can't advertise, we won't be showing off or doing anything public. It's got to be word of mouth, one friend telling another."
I drained the last of my wine then asked, "Why? Is this part of the elf trouble you were talking about earlier, the consequences thing?"
"Exactly," she replied as she got to her feet.
My girlfriend reached for my empty wine glass, but I beat her to it. With a wide grin on my face I used one of the spells she gave me. Swirling gold sparkles filled my glass, then the magic faded to reveal it was now full of cold crisp Riesling.
I'd made a point of doing that every day, and I'd been playing with the fire cantrip every day too. Today was the fifth day I'd been able to use actual magic, and the novelty still hadn't worn off yet. In fact I was positive I'd never get bored of it.
Nobody around me had been injured in the past few days so I still hadn't had a chance to try the healing spell. I figured being used to the two smaller spells was good practice though. When it came time to try the more important magic I'd already be familiar with the process.
And the big one, the transformation miracle spell, that one still left me feeling anxious. I was excited to try it, but well aware of how serious it was.
Meanwhile Amy just rolled her eyes and left my now-full glass where it was. Instead she took her own and Raven's back to the kitchen to top them both up, before rejoining us in the living-room.
Once she was seated next to me again she asked her angel, "Raven could you explain the status-quo stuff to Tess? And tell her what you told me about what other supernaturals we might encounter here on Earth?"
I sat back and cuddled with my girlfriend as we both listened to the angel's lecture. That was equal parts surprising, fascinating, and worrying. On the one hand I found it hard to believe there were so many kinds of supernatural beings out there, all living in secret while in full view of the public.
I'd already got my head around the idea of Gods and angels, so finding out fallen angels existed wasn't that big a surprise. And considering all this got started thanks to my granny's journal I wasn't surprised to know there were other witches out there. Finding out about werewolves and fae surprised me though, and learning demons were real left me uneasy. Although according to Raven they had nothing to do with Hell or the devil, she said those were both concepts invented by human religions.
The 'status-quo' stuff was a bit worrisome but it also made sense. I'd been wondering what would stop a disgruntled God from making a scene. Finding out the big Gods used their power to keep the world from believing or even noticing lesser Gods trying to do anything in public made sense. From the sound of it that also explained why magic wasn't widely known or believed either.
At one point I asked, "So what happens if a God does something people can't ignore? Like blows up a city or goes on a rampage or something like that? Or what if they use their power to smite a couple humans?"
"Destroying a city becomes a natural disaster," Raven replied as she sipped her whiskey. "Depending how it happens it could be an earthquake or a fire. Plagues were popular a few hundred years ago. The status-quo is both a passive influence and an active force. It influences what eye-witnesses see, and now that everyone's carrying smartphones and cameras it influences what gets recorded. And if something comes up that does threaten the status-quo, it's discredited and mocked. People don't want to know the world isn't what they already think it is."
She added, "If a God did something like that, they'd likely be stopped from ever doing it again. Banished from Earth, or sealed in stone, or something like that. That's the active side of maintaining the status-quo. The powers that be wouldn't tolerate someone messing with things to that great a degree."
"Helping or harming the occasional human is small enough to go under the radar," Amy said as she took up the explanation. "According to Raven, that sort of thing only affects a few dozen lives. Like helping April, that was a boon to her and you said her family were uneasy but eventually accepted it? And other people noticed but didn't freak out. That's probably the status-quo, helping keep things quiet."
Raven agreed, "Even if her family rejected her, it wouldn't cause ripples outside that small group. Performing the occasional quiet miracle, or smiting someone now and then, both will generally go unnoticed outside the affected human's immediate circle of family and friends."
I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable as I thought about all that. I drained my second glass of wine then said, "I'm glad it means we can help people without causing trouble. Just, please don't smite anyone ok? Even if you can get away with it."
"I won't," Amy promised. Then she continued, "This is what I was talking about earlier, whether turning someone into an elf or catgirl or some other non-human fantasy race would be a problem or not? It would mean their ongoing existence might challenge the status-quo, and that might be enough to cause trouble. For them or for us."
My girlfriend got me another glass of wine, and topped up her own glass and Raven's too. She suggested, "Let's order something in for dinner? How's Chinese sound? We can continue the conversation while we eat, and maybe start making some plans for how we'll work towards our goals without disrupting the status-quo?"
I noticed Raven looked as surprised as I felt, but it seemed like Amy was intent on treating her angel like a friend. And like she said earlier, the three of us were all on the same team after all.
"Chinese sounds good," I agreed.
Raven nodded as well, so Amy put in the order. And the three of us settled in for an unusual evening, or at least I thought it was a bit odd. A Goddess, a Cleric, and an Angel, plotting to secretly support queer folks with magic and miracles.
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