An alliance, though it seems a tad lacking.

(Still with Norma for now)

She stuttered for a few moments as she tried to remember what it was she had wanted to say to this imposing ****. Its intimidating aura causing her mind to go blank. After a minute or two, she finally managed to get a word out. "I-I-I came here t-to make a deal, an arrangement."

Though the creature had one eye and she could not see its face, she still felt as if it was raising an eyebrow questioningly. "You came to make an arrangement in that kind of state? Hasn't your father told you to make sure to keep the upper hand in negotiations? You shouldn't show the other party this level of weakness to them."

It was absolutely right, but there was nothing she could do about that. 'This thing exudes an aura more terrifying than the ones who beat Norman... I already have a disadvantage, I may as well confirm my suspicions, right?' "A-are you, Matthew's god?"

The eye glared at her, and her heart nearly stopped. "You dare refer to me as someone else's? I am Moged-Ruun, the god of growth." To emphasize this point, a strange arm reached out from the darkness and grasped the tree beside it. The tree instantly had a light trace it like veins and grew larger than any tree Norma had ever seen before. The arm unlatched from the tree and slowly retreated back into the darkness.

Norma stopped breathing for a moment while staring at the tree frozen. 'That was magic I have never seen before. Lana never did anything like that, what was that?' She realized that she had been paralyzed and needed to do something. "M-my deepest apologies for my mistake, I did not intend it like that."

Moged-Ruun gave a wet yet raspy laugh, "It is fine, child. I do apologize for my temper there, it was unnecessary." The eye refocused on her, its slitted pupal reflecting her compromised image. "Now then, what kind of deal do you want to make?" The echoing voices had venom in their tone, but also a sense of intrigue.

She took a deep breath, 'Perhaps I may still be able to gain the upper hand. It is a young being, regardless of if it is a god or not, surely my experience means that I will be able to come out better than I came in.' "I wish to form an alliance, or at least a non-aggression pact, between my faction in the house of Normn and your church." She held her breath, 'Its response here decides how this entire negotiation will go'.

Moged-Ruun's eye tilted to the side, "Is that all? I see nothing of worth in this deal for either party. There is no promise, there is not value. It is a verbal handshake that, what, we won't send assassins?" The eye shook while looking down, portraying disappointment, "And I thought you were supposed to be his child that took after his guile the most. Perhaps Millana in her boring attempts at seduction was the most any of you have to offer?" One of the voices sounded exited, another angry, and yet another bored.

Her breath caught as she tried to keep calm. 'This god may decide we aren't valuable because of me. Its a god! that means it may just kill us! Calm down, it probably doesn't have the power to do that yet, its a infant god after all. Still, I am within its realm, it can most certainly kill me without a thought. The terms of this deal have changed, I need to get out of here alive.'

She swallowed to try and mask her nerves, failing miserably. "I-I had not finished, if you would please allow me to continue." She gave a bow, hoping to gain some favor while also allowing her to avoid staring into that horrific eye.

This backfired, however, when she heard movement from the direction Moged-Ruun was in. Hoping not to make any crucial mistakes, she held her bowed position, praying that nothing horrible would happen. As she held her bow, she heard two lumbering footsteps as Moged-Ruun seemed to approach her. Soon enough the infant god loomed in front of her, his strange wood/flesh feet resting in the top of her vision.

She could hear a sound like creaking wood as she felt a large exhale upon the back of her neck. She struggled to hold in tears of terror as she heard the voices whisper into her ear, "Please, by all means. I would love to hear what you have to say. After all, I do lack anything better to do at the second."

Her mind raced. She needed something very valuable to offer, and fast. 'I didn't have a follow up, I don't know what to do. I can't just offer servitude or something, that makes me look weak and still gives him nothing. Then what can I offer? Think, damn it, think!' She had an idea, and she hoped to any god willing to assist her that it would work.

She closed her eyes tight before speaking, "I shall endorse your church and promote it personally. In exchange, I wish for your efforts in solidifying Wodegta as a key city in Ruyanei!" 'I really hope that was good enough, it had to be good enough. It was a decent offer, in exchange for an action that was vague and easy to get out of, while still offering something to do for a bored god!'

She barely managed to not shake as she felt Moged-Ruun moving contemplatively just above her. After a few hellish moments of this, at last she could hear him move backwards away from her. She let out a sigh of relief, before she heard something that made her hair stand on end.

The chorus of sadistic voices gave one command, "Look at me, mortal."

She could no longer hide any of her fear and surprise in her voice as she responded, "W-what are you-"

She let out a scream as her head was grabbed and dragged upwards, her eyes **** to gaze upon the full form of Moged-Ruun for the first time. Her eyes went wide, and she started to scramble and hyperventilate in absolute terror.

The monster in front of her opened its horrific, fanged maw and spoke once more.