A Chance Encounter

A failed Sacrificial Ritual.

Soren finally had a rough idea of where Malar, the God of Hunt, was. He had also confirmed something else: Malar had lost a great deal of power after falling from his divine realm. Otherwise, he would not have killed his own follower over a failed sacrifice. Judging by the final scene Soren had witnessed, Malar had turned the Orc Boss who conducted the ritual into prey, then used him to replenish the Divine Power spent manifesting his Avatar. Since the Time of Troubles began, many Deities had found it exceptionally difficult to receive faith and Divine Power. Soren had a Grand Temple to serve as a conduit, but Malar's circumstances forced him to rely on his Avatar to absorb power.

The same was true of most Deities now.

If Soren's followers prayed anywhere other than a temple or the vicinity of Port Nyanzaru, he could absorb very little of their faith.

The Time of Troubles had affected every aspect of a Deity's abilities.

In the past, if someone spoke a Deity's name, certain powerful Deities could, if they wished, see that person and their surroundings within twenty-four hours. It was rather like the saying that the gods were always watching. Though Deities could not easily appear in the mortal world, they could readily learn of many things that happened there.

That was no longer possible.

The power of Divine Rank had been greatly weakened. Deities could maintain only their most basic abilities, while powers of Divine Rank that had once been effortless now consumed vast amounts of Divine Power Value.

This would continue until the Time of Troubles ended!

Now every Deity had to rely on Avatar Form to sense and adapt to the outside world. Even if a follower called to Soren in Port