Jo is in the Meta Chamber staring at the stone wall that is covered in monitors broadcasting views from around the multiversal structure that the Smiting Chamber had learned to monitor. One screen shows the view of Universe H123, also known as the Node 2 Demon Realm, where the being known as Lord Cockroad is from. It was returned to its universe at its insistence, though the feed from its existence doesn’t feature it, but the woman known as Dee Williams who consorts with the entity. There is a view of Universe HV33, also known as the Node 4 Bright Universe, home of the Halfyn Heir, that shows the Ice Prince in a moment of solitude crying over a picture of the Heir. There is a view of Universe 1121, the Node 3 Panopticon universe, home of Azalaan, God of Dreams who has been helping to soothe the refugees of the Talj Rip with pleasant dreams when they sleep or their minds wander. The view of Universe 2VI1, the Node 5 Wiis Existence shows the two rulers who rule an empire in Femina Tenebris’s stead.
Jo isn’t looking at anything in particular. The wall is the visual equivalent of white noise and she stares so that her mind can go blank to think clearly about what lies ahead for the Fonlands.
“Anything good on?” Agbe asks and stands next to Jo.
“The enemy will come to the Fonlands,” Jo says, looking at her sister gravely as she speaks.
“That’s what everyone thinks, yes,” Agbe responds, “since the Hyperion said its name.”
Jo nods, “And the Hyperion and Pultine told us that it would send everything at its disposal at us. This thing understands the threat we represent to its plans and it will do what it can to remove obstacles.”
Agbe nods. “It knows that we can defeat it and if it is smart, it knows that stopping us is its priority if it wants to continue consuming the multiversal structure.
“If it is coming here, should we even be worried about its location? Lêgba, Agê, and Xêvioso are taking a group to the Paradise realm to use the Hyperion and Pultine’s knowledge to pinpoint the source of it. And I believe they will be successful, the combined powers of Pultine, the Hyperion, and the Superguardian are extensive and they will have no trouble finding the enemy. But I wonder why we will take the fight to them given the very likely chance that it will come here. We can’t afford to defend against this thing while coordinating such a complex attack on its homebase. Don’t you worry that splitting our forces will leave the Fonlands vulnerable?”
“From the discussions so far, you and I, Gu, and Sakpata are enough to protect the Fonlands while the rest try to kill it in its home. I believe that is sound logic, though, either Sakpata or Gu should accompany them instead of Lêgba. Gu is the closest to a Vodun of Death Magic that we have…”
“Owuo is the Vodun of Death,” Jo says firmly, interrupting her sister with a very stern look in her eyes. “We all know this. He was born from the Lofted Disc, he created Deads’ Town and now he has reshaped the underside of Lêgba’s Disc, and the Mother-Father approves.”
“He wasn’t summoned to speak to them,” Agbe says. “I don’t care if Owuo is a Vodun or not, I’m not as sensitive about it as Gu and Agê are, I don’t take offense to it. But the Mother-Father doesn’t treat him as one of us, and I think that is an important thing to note. It is possible that Owuo is not the embodiment of Death Magic, he is not the one who remade the underside of Lêgba’s Disc, and he may have had the idea to found Deads’ Town, but it is not his, Owuo will tell you that. The Barons remade the underside, and they are among the greatest powers in Deads’ Town, he will tell you that, too. And there are others not on the Disc of Lêgba that could outclass Owuo with Death Magic, and you know some of them well.”
“The Death Witches,” Jo says and looks away from Agbe. She says it with a hint of derision. “Thankfully, most of them have been sealed away in Kútmómɛ.”
Agbe laughs. “You have been glued to these screens for so long. Thank you for doing this very arduous work, by the way, I would have gone mad in here,” she says looking around at what seems to be an extraordinary amount of screens that cover the Chamber wall. “The Death Witches have been freed from Kútmómɛ.”
Jo looks at Agbe with genuine concern. “There is a reason they were sent away. When did this happen?”
“Just before the mission to Talj, the mmoatia made the call and Agê is ecstatic because Sakpata is sure that one of them, probably the Quietus Witch, will be chosen as the Death Magic Vodun to go with Agê and Xêvioso to the location of the enemy.”
Jo shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “That is just what we all need, an empowered Death Witch. I’m all for feminine powers and energies, but Quietus? The Death Witch Coven? They are so power hungry, I would imagine them betraying everyone if the enemy offers them dominion over us.”
“We will discuss all of this when they return to the Fonlands and I imagine that we will be choosing a Vodun of Death to have a purple magic source equivalent to us Vodun. Sakpata’s theory is interesting and I can see Agê trying to elevate Quietus because of their association with her Disc after they were banished from yours, but I think that the power of the underside will have to be considered. What they did was unheard of, unthinkable really, they are lucky the Mother-Father was impressed.”
“Owuo is the choice, we are foolish to overlook him,” Jo reiterates.
“I’m going to find Sakpata. We have been discussing plans to safeguard the Fonlands against attack and will start creating a network across all the Discs to ready armies informed by us. You should join us when you tear yourself away from the screens.”
“I will find you all soon,” Jo says and watches her sister leave. Then Jo disappears from the Meta Chamber, reappearing in the Shifting Planes of the Disc of Lêgba. She is on the platform that Owuo occupies. “We need to talk,” she says, interrupting his work.
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