"They actually withdrew."
Seated on his Divine Throne, Jiang Hao was briefly taken aback by the Goddess of the Forest Elona's actions. The Agriculture Portfolio and the Forest Portfolio were opposed: the expansion of one would erode the other.
He had expected the Goddess of the Forest to try to curb his growth by targeting the former priests of the God of Craftsmen, who were now Believers of Ieta Cavendish, the God of Craftsmen and Steam. If she forced them to change their faith once, they would be less devout when they returned to worshiping Ieta Cavendish.
He had not expected the Goddess of the Forest Elona to back down.
"But that's fine too. The Wheel of Fortune's backlash is still a sword hanging over my head, ready to fall at any moment. There's no need to make an enemy of the Goddess of the Forest as well. If the misfortune from that backlash takes effect at a critical moment, I'll be in trouble."
The power of fate was far too unpredictable. He had to stay on guard at all times... Jiang Hao sighed inwardly. No wonder the gods were so hostile to fate. Even as they feared the Goddess of Fortune Tymora and the Goddess of Misfortune Beshaba, they had deliberately or otherwise suppressed the two goddesses' churches...
Of the two portfolios, good fortune and misfortune, he could understand misfortune. But good fortune should have been among the most widely worshiped portfolios in the Otherworld. Yet on the Main Plane, these two goddesses had almost no Believers. That made no sense either.
"And then there's the Lady of Night. That ancient Supreme Divine Power has existed since the Main Plane first came into being, yet the Vampires and Werewolves she created were driven by humans into places few people