The broken gear

Arrival

They found the driver who was worried sick. They followed him to the car and went directly to the airport. He was driving slightly faster than normal. They arrived grabbed their luggage and managed to get into the private airplane right before the flight was cancelled.

They sat in seats that were an aisle across from each other.

"Why does everything want to attack us?"

Nelle shrugged.

A speaker buzzed. "We will arrive in Thurrock in approximately 2-3 hours."

"Much shorter than the train, huh?" Nell said.

"I guess."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm just nervous."

After a few hours they arrived in the Thurrock airport. They got into a car and drove to Tower Hackney. It was close to the center of London representing its nobles to be highly important but slightly lower that the royal family themselves. The nobles in the London county were some of the most important in the United Kingdom. The closer to the center the more powerful and important they were, of which Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, and Lambeth were the center most provinces.

Thomas' family were the 7th most important in the empire. Behind the previous 5 and the royal family.

"We should go to the library soon."

Thomas agreed. They drove through busy streets and eventually arrived in a gated forest. A gate opened up and they parked in a concrete parking lot. As the driver drove away, they walked along a path between rows of trees. Weirdly enough, there were trees that wouldn't normally be able to thrive next to each other. There were pine trees, oak trees, birch trees, 3 weeping willows near a large pond, some black locust trees, a few pecan trees, and one blue spruce in a small clearing with its own path to the manor. 

As they walked through the path they heard a voice from behind them. It was a light skinned woman with black wavy hair and blue eyes wearing a white dress. "Ellih dearie."

 Nelle's eyes widened. Natuna the Goddess of Pleasure walked towards them. She looked at Thomas in mild disgust and then whispered in Nelle's ear. "I would like to talk to you in private later." 

She took a few steps back and a beam of long white and gold particles appeared to shoot from the ground and from the sky. They faded and she had disappeared.

"Was that-?"

Nell cut off Thomas. "I don't want to talk about it."

Thomas started to think that Nelle might be a One or that she might have connections with divine figures.

"I've been wondering, how are there multiple religions if there are Gods and Ones that everyone knows about?"

"It's think it's like a cultural thing. Or that some gods and goddesses visited some civilizations in the past and then religions formed."

"But wouldn't people unite into one religion due to the fact that people would notice them?"

"I'm not sure."

They eventually reached the staircase in front of the main doors. They walked up to it and knocked.