Pnning is a waste of time and resources. Too muning, and a man will think himself into the most cursed form of stagnation imaginable. Worst of all, his overthinking will make him want to reside in it. The stant questioning caresses the ego, and makes one feel aplished mentally even though no material a has been done. Oher hand, a ck of pnning is stupidity and ziness. To not sider events that could potentially happen is to destroy whatever e has at success. In the same way our eyes see ahead of us, our minds should be able to predict what is going to happen in the immediate future. I have no other ent about those who entirely reject the notion of pnning.

  In this regard, the most important skill is perseverance. Perseverahrough hardship is ohing, but this has to be perseverahrough nihilism. The most important skill of the men I select to lead to my armies is the ability to spend tless hours on an idea, and be prepared to throw it away at a moment’s notice. It is this that ultimately separates a person who trols pns, to one who is trolled by pns.

  - Excerpt from “The Philosophy of War”, written by Goddess Kassandora, of War.

  Kassandora watched the city of Nanbasa disappear under a yer of clouds through the window of Arascus’ private jet. A fortable thing, almost too fortable for her, but Arascus had always been one for taking the extra step in luxury. It was structed to be rge enough for Fer and the God of Pride, which meant that everyone else had more than enough head-room. With soft couches that gave plenty of room fs underh and the pretty red Kirinyaan wood for furniture and a bar with a drink for every Divine allied to him. That meant every alcohol uhe Sun was represented here.

  Kassandora stirred her whiskey as she turned back to the Divines she had brought with her. Fer sat opposite, taking up a whole couch, one leg lying on it, the other on the ground. She was tapping away on her phone. Iniri was o Kassandora, quietly looking down. Kassandora didn’t eveo ask why the woman was nervous, she was on a ph herself, with Fer, and with Anassa, who was tasting every wine Arascus had put on the pne. Kavaa was sat o Iniri, turned around and also looking out the window.

  “I assume you want to know what we’re doing.” Kassandora said. Anassa was the one who would have to be made happy, everyone else here knew how to follow orders.

  “Not really.” Fer replied, not even looking away from her phone. Kassandave her no response, she saw Anassa smile in satisfa at Fer’s ent. Sometimes, of Beasthood really was the best out of them at managing the group. “But what?” Fer said. She put the phone down on the small table between the couches, she had been looking at pictures of Kirinyaan wildlife.

  “Long story short, the geological sers Helenna had ordered from Rilia have been installed.” Kassandora pulled her bag out from underh her seat. In one quient, she brought out a map from that bck bag. Of Kirinyaa, with plenty of red lines in the west. “This is where my teams have started scouting the region.”

  Fer sat up as Anassa came over with a gss full of wine in one hand, and a bottle iher. Kavaa turned from the window, moved her gss of gin and tonic away as Iniri looked down. Kassandave the Goddess of Nature a sed to figure out what she was looking at, if anyone should be able to, it would be her.

  Kavaa beat her to it. “That’s roots.”

  “It does look like that.” Fer agreed.

  “I think so too.” Iniri said quietly. Kassandora took a deep breath as she poio the end of the roots, deeper into Kirinyaa thahe furthest point the Jungle had reached, before the Recmation War had even started.

  “This is not the end.” Kassandora said. “This is just where we’ve sed up to, the ground radars only s about thirty miles from them.”

  “That does make sense.” Iniri said.

  Kassandora raised an eyebrow. It made sense noasn’t she told of this before then? “How?” The Goddess of War asked.

  “These types of jurees tend to have shallow roots that spread far.” Iniri said. “Of course, it’s about scale, the Juself is massive, and if it’s a deity then it should be to…” Iniri looked around at Fer, at Kassandora and at Anassa staring at her and trailed off. “I mean… sorry, I didn’t want to overload you with information.”

  “tinue.” Fer said. “You have a nice voice.” If Kassandora and Fer were alone, Kassandora would have given the woman a thumbs up. Some people really did know how to keep others happy.

  “Anything could be important, no matter how small you think it is.” Kassandora said.

  “Well…” Iniri said. “The roots tend to be weak too. It’s not like Epan trees, which will split rod t. It’s more that they find openings, soft dirt and such, and burrow into it.”

  “Like rabbits.” Fer said.

  “Brilliant.” Anassa added dryly to Fer’s ent. The Goddess of Beasthood looked up smugly at Of Sorcery, as if she had just made a revolutionary statement.

  “I see.” Kassandora said. That did in fact make sehe odd patterns in the roots then would be were the roots had found openings.

  “Sit up.” Anassa said as she looked at Fer. The Goddess of Beasthood looked up at her and made a pleading face, golden vulpine eyes rge like those of a begging puppy’s. The two tall ears, shooting out of her mane of gold settled pleadingly on her head. “I’ll sit on you.” Anassa said ftly. In an instant, all the pleading ess disappeared out of Fer and was repced with annoyance. She made a sigh, and then a grand show of having to sit up. Anassa practically fell dowo her, the wine spshed out of her gss, was caught with sorcery, and then floated ba.

  “Sitting like this is bad for my back.” Fer said as she leaned over the table, her eyes boung about. She made a fused face.

  “I want to get to one of these roots.” Kassandora said. “I assume this is how the Jungle spreads.”

  “Why do you think that?” Kavaa asked from the other side of Iniri.

  “The trees don’t have any seeds.” Kassandora said. “We saw it when we went in that time. Yet they still grow, so they must be growing out of something.”

  “Why do you need me then?” Anassa asked.

  “Or me?” Fer added dryly, although she obviously did not think too deeply on the question.

  “Because I don’t know whether the roots will fight back.” Kassandora answered holy. There was no reason to hide it from these two. Kavaa was here for the same reason, because Iniri may get hurt.

  Of Nature turned from the map and looked up at Kassandora. Those twe brown eyes made terrible circles. “Fight back?”

  “Fight back.” Kassandora said. “I want to collect the Jungle’s seeds.” The whole looked at her in shock, the whole but Fer, who was still looking at the map, chewing her lip.

  Kavaa, from the other side of Iniri, only ftly stared at Kassandora. “You want to collect the Jungle’s seeds.” She repeated the words in a terribly ft tone, not as a question, but as a statement. “Why?”

  “It doesn’t have to be the seeds.” Kassandora said. “But I want a part of the Juhat grows.”

  “That’s why you need me?” Iniri said. “I ’t talk to it.”

  “You ’t talk to the wood that is in the Jungle.” Kassandora said. “But we don’t know if you talk to the wood that outside of the Jungle.”

  “Like a phonecall, only one person allowed at a time.” Fer said idly, her eyes were still looking at the map. “Kassie, do you have a pen?”

  “Here.” Kassandora passed her a blue o of her map. Fer bit the cap off and started trag lines on the map. “But as Fer said, we don’t know if it’s the trees themselves that are resistant to you, or if it’s that the trees are already beholden to a deity.”

  “That does make seually.” Kavaa said from the other of Iniri. “How some blessings are inpatible with each other.” Anassa merely watched them, got bored, leaned back, and re-filled her gss with wine. “But still, why?”

  “Ihon Knotweed satchels.” Kassandora said. “We used them in the Great War.”

  “That we did.” Anassa said.

  “That you did.” Kavaa said. “They were annoying but not devastating.”

  “Really not so bad.” Iniri said. Of course the woman would say that, she could talk to pnts.

  “Knotweed doesn’t be you forth though, does it?” Kassandora said.

  “We don’t know if it’s the trees, or if it’s the Jungle as a whole doing that.” Kavaa said. She wasn’t happy with the idea, her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and she eaking in that quick tone Kassandora had heard her use when people came to her with only mild ailments, the sorts a good night’s sleep would fix.

  “We don’t know until we try.” Kassandora said.

  “It could be a waste of time.” Kavaa argued back. Kassandora saw Anassa narrow her eyes at the Goddess of Health. She sat up straighter, to look down on Kavaa.

  “Nothing with Kassie is ever a waste of time.” She said.

  Kassandora shook her head. “Kavaa is partly right.”

  “Partly?” Kavaa asked, aghast.

  “It could be a waste of time if we have to excavate with mortals. We don’t have the luxury of pet projects like that right now.”

  “Oh.” Kavaa said.

  “It’s you two.” Fer said, the pen flig up from the paper to point at Anassa and Iniri, the tter only sighed at the prospect of having to work he Jungle again.

  “It’s you two.” Kassandora firmed.

  The Goddess of Sorcery turo Fer, then to Kassandora. “Have I been roped into something? Did you two pn this out?”

  “No.” Fer said. “It’s just not hard to work out and I like showing off how smart I am.” Her smile revealed those poieeth again. Kavaa burst out in ughter and even Iniri chuckled at Anassa’s bewildered expression. The woman down at Fer, still bent over the map as she went back to drawing even more lines on the map.

  “And you want to do what with it?” Iniri asked.

  “I want you to grow it, see if we evolve it to be aquatid then we drop it onto Anktyda, Uriamel and Olympiada.” Kassandora said with a smile. Kavaa looked up at her in horror. Anassa smiled bad Iniri blinked.

  “You mean…” Iniri asked.

  “I mean you would be a champion of this war Iniri. You would singlehandedly end it.”

  “I…” Iniri started to smile. “I could do that.” Fer interrupted their shared excitement though.

  “Before you girls all get too excited at each other. I have ohing to say.” Fer said.

  “Do you now?” Anassa asked. Kavaa looked down at the map as Fer finally picked her up and sat straight on her seat. Kassandora looked at those lines and she felt her hands tighten. Now that it was drawn over like this, even a child would be able to see it.

  “How did you miss this?” Fer asked. There was not a hint of judgement or annoyan her to was merely surprise.

  “I don’t know…” Kassandora said.

  “What are we looking at?” Iniri asked as Kavaa leaned over.

  Of Health needed a few seds to ihe map before casting her own ent. “All you did was highlight the thicker lines.”

  “No.” Anassa said. “She did not.” Kassandora shook her head as she looked down. What Fer had highlighted was simply too perfect to be a ce. It was akin to seeing a silhouette of a man in this dista could be a human, an elf, a Divine or a dwarf even, but it could never be a dog. Likewise here and there was only ohing that patterns like this signified.

  Ft in some pces, with sharp ers, only ever at y or forty degrees. With circles in some ses, that seemed to trail off at almost random points. Kassandora pulled out another map, this was of the Recmation’s rogress and the regions where the Jungle regrew for seemingly no reason. It lined up perfectly with the circles Fer had highlighted in blue. Fer ented on that map too. “We have the answer as to why it keeps popping back up here.” She said.

  “It’s not digging out of the ground.” Kassandora said. “It’s climbing out of the highway.”

  “What highway?” Kavaa asked.

  “The same sort of highway we saw demons in two weeks ago Kavaa.” Fer said ftly. “That sort of highway.”