Returning to the Moonshae, the sea of flowing light was as spectacular as it was in Tyche's memory.
The divine realms of the gods of magic were located in this plane. Tyche cupped the blue-glowing seawater, quietly watching the mist-like radiance slip through her fingertips.
"Welcome to the Moonshae."
Mystra's figure appeared amidst the blue and white starlight, accompanied by two not unfamiliar deities.
"Lord Sune. Lord Keoghtom."
Tyche turned to the two ancient deities, her tone calm, as if she had already made such a guess.
The first Death God, Keoghtom, after relinquishing most of his divine portfolios, retained only a weak divine power. However, among the three ancient deities, Tyche valued this semi-retired Keoghtom the most.
The primal force of death favored this recorder of death! Tyche could guarantee that compared to this senior, the previous three gods of death or the new God of the Dark Sun, Cyric, were all easily handled.
And the other primordial ancient goddess, Sune, was actually the weakest of the three deities. Tyche could vaguely sense the nature of this Moon Goddess's radiance, but the primal force of the radiance was more akin to the newly born Lord of Dawn, Lathander.
However, all three deities were qualified to converse with Tyche, a primordial god, on equal footing. This was evident in their extraordinary foundation, as all three ancient deities had transcended the constraints of their alignments.
Keoghtom, the recorder of death in the lawful evil alignment; Sune, the Moon Goddess in the chaotic good alignment; and Mystra, the goddess of magic in the neutral good alignment. The fact that these three, belonging to different alignments, could achieve such close cooperation made Tyche even more curious about the secret.
After the four deities saluted each other, Tyche turned her gaze to the darkness in the void. The cold and ethereal aura hidden in the darkness was impossible for her to ignore.
"Lady Shar, please reveal yourself."
In the darkness, an avatar of the goddess of night, wearing a black feathered mask, silently appeared.
This powerful goddess of the neutral evil alignment was quite unexpected for Tyche. Whether it was Sune or Keoghtom, even Mystra, the constraints of faith were still undeniable. But the Goddess of Night was different. Tyche could not see any threads of karma on Shar. This evil-aligned goddess exuded a pure tranquility that belonged neither to evil nor to good. She had undoubtedly taken a significant step forward on the path of primordial gods compared to the other three deities.
Turning to Mystra, Tyche asked with a light smile, "Are there any new guests?"
Tyche's true form, far away at the periphery of the world, opened her eyes. The faint pressure of a primordial god startled the four deities.
"The Goddess of Fortune, Tiamat, is still unknown when she will return. All members of this secret alliance are here."
Mystra and her three companions communicated something, and their attitude towards Tyche became much more serious.
Shar, the Goddess of Night, who held the portfolios of illusion, lies, and unrevealed secrets, added another layer of protection to Mystra's divine realm. Tyche, who had displayed her power, was undoubtedly accepted into this group.
"Lady Tyche, we sincerely invite you to join the alliance."
As the host, Mystra presided over the meeting, "Our united purpose is merely to protect ourselves and reclaim what belongs to us!"
The secrets known by these local powers were exactly what Tyche desired. She did not refuse and joined the alliance accordingly.
Shar and Sune were not truly enemies. Tyche could conclude this from subtle clues. The Storm God, Talos, had once coveted the weakened Sune, eager to obtain the goddess's essence. It was known that Sune had once fallen to a lesser deity in her struggle against the gods of evil, and for a time, she had to seek refuge with the goddess of love, Sharess, becoming her subordinate.
However, in her prolonged conflict with Shar, Sune actually escaped her awkward situation and returned to the status of a middle-tier deity. Tyche certainly wouldn't believe there was nothing fishy going on.
But the Moon Goddess Sune did not seek help from the goddess of magic, who was close to her, but instead relied on her sister to escape danger. This alliance was not as harmonious and united as it appeared.
As for the Goddess of Fortune, Tiamat, whose return was uncertain, her demise seemed to be related to Ao. The God of Decay, Moander, poisoned Tiamat's origin, turning the ancient goddess into a monster. Sune then split the monstrous Tiamat in half with a single blow, giving birth to the Goddess of Luck, Tymora, and the Goddess of Misfortune, Beshaba.
Tyche speculated that Sune's actions were actually an attempt to save Tiamat. The Goddess of Opportunity, originally a lesser deity, gave birth to two middle-tier deities after her death, which undoubtedly indicated that Tiamat was hiding her strength! And the source of the poison used by Moander to kill Tiamat was worth pondering. It was impossible for Moander, a lesser deity, to achieve this against a goddess of destiny!
Subsequently, the ancient gods suffered losses of varying degrees. The ancient Sun God, Amaunator, perished completely. This powerful deity, who controlled the portfolios of law, order, and the sun, was an ally of Keoghtom, who had not yet abandoned his divine portfolios.
Amaunator's power was then divided by Ao, giving birth to two new powerful deities: the Lord of Dawn, Lathander, and the God of Justice, Tyr. The Goddess of Magic also did not fare well. After her reincarnation, the portfolio of time that she originally controlled was completely lost, and the Weave, which originally covered the entire Prime Material Plane, also developed large areas of dead magic.
Even the most powerful Goddess of Night, Shar, did not fare well. She was once deeply twisted by unspeakable evil and endless trivial hatred and suspicion. It was Sune who saved her at all costs. Although Shar retained her status as a powerful deity, the God of Thieves, Mask, divided Shar's power with his portfolio of shadow. It was difficult to say that this lesser deity dared to offend Shar's majesty without Ao's shadow behind him.
The power of the ancient gods was divided, giving birth to more new deities. In this process, all powerful deities who could potentially threaten Ao's position were suppressed. The fortunate ones, like Keoghtom, gave up most of their divine portfolios to become harmless, weak deities. The unfortunate ones, like Amaunator, had their divine portfolios divided and were pulled into the Astral Plane, making it difficult to return.
And the demands of this alliance were very simple: to oppose Ao!
"Ao is not an indigenous deity of this world at all! This God of Gods has usurped the authority of the laws and blocked our possibility of further advancement! We will never compromise with him!"
The meeting concluded with Mystra's decisive declaration. Tyche's spirit was lifted, and she sincerely joined their disruptive endeavors, becoming invigorated by the goddess of magic's rallying cry.
The gods present had already begun to transcend the constraints of their faiths. They traded information from their respective alignments for mutual benefit. In the midst of their conversations, Tyche reached several deals with her new friends.
After the God of Murder fell, his two subordinate deities, the Goddess of Torment, Loviatar, and the Goddess of Poison and Disease, Talona, began to approach the Goddess of Night, Shar. Shar was also actively trying to entice the two goddesses to become her subordinates.
After promising to help Shar solve her major concern, the God of Thieves, Mask, the Goddess of Night unburdened herself and abandoned Loviatar and Talona, even generously offering the portfolio of the Underdark as an added bonus for this transaction.
The portfolio of the Underdark originally belonged to Ebrel, who also controlled the portfolios of caves and dungeons. Taking advantage of the great opportunity of the Spellplague, Shar killed Ebrel at a perfect moment. To this day, she still grants spells to her clerics using Ebrel's image, stealing Ebrel's faith.