The Adventures of Rose Hood

Chapter 60: The City of gods

Using my dragon form I flew for a while. I shifted into a catkin in a forest and then went to an unfamiliar city. There was a line.

I heard someone here was a high priest of one of my children. I was waiting in line when a guard came up.

"Name and business."

"Grace, and I want to visit the temple."

"I see. A pilgrim, huh? Too bad beastkin arent allowed in the temple."

"What? Why?"

A human woman behind me answered the question.

"Because your kind is filthy and would defile the temple of the god king."

It seems Celios's replacement is the one worshiped here.

"Oh well. I guess I could look at it from outside then."

They were silent for a moment. I guess that they usually saw more arguments. Then I heard some people.

"Did you hear about a dragon that claimed to be the true ruler of gods?"

"No way, and people believed it?"

"Yeah, the rumor even says that she beat Celios in combat."

The woman behind me had something to say.

"It's probably just a joke. I heard it as well, but it's more likely that it was a kid playing make believe and someone heard it and brought it out of proportion."

"Actually..."

Everyone looked at me.

"I met the dragon and felt her power. Frankly I'm inclined to believe her."

Someone snorted.

"Of course, a beastkin would believe a dragon."

"I mean, I also saw Celios. He was basically at her beck and call. It was almost uncanny."

More people started laughing.

"Oh, and let me guess, she rules Selethon?"

"No, but the king is an ally of he's and he supported it."

"Ah, so it's propaganda, you do realize that it is more likely that he got a dragon and a powerful mage and merely claimed that's who they were?"

"You do realize that no self-respecting god would let mockery like a fake last?"

"They'll probably get smited."

"Maybe, but they were way too powerful to be normal, either way."

Then a human spoke up.

"Actually, I was just in Selethon not too long ago, the dragon was already recognized as the host of a god beforehand, and when I passed through, I saw the one they called Celios, and frankly, I'd believe that it was Celios."

"Did you actually see the dragon?"

"No, she was in a coma from a major battle, so access to see her was restricted to close friends."

"I see, a god can't enter a coma."

I spoke.

"That's a foolish statement."

The woman glared at me.

"Oh?"

"Gods can take damage, so it makes sense that if she used enough power, or even clashed with another god, then she may have taken enough damage to be in a coma."