Ash frowned at the god in confusion at his explanation, not quite understanding what he meant. Taking a deep breath, she asked the most important question first, "Lord Virtus, would it be alright if Luri were to stand? It is not comfortable for her to remain like that," she motioned to the priestess.
The god seemed to take note of her, likely for the first time judging by his expression, "Truly, I prefer that those around me do no constantly prostrate themselves. In particular, to me, it feels as if a highly ranked priestess of an elemental god should not feel the need to act so towards me."
Noting that he'd made the distinction once again that he was somehow different from Lord Sidus and the others that came first, Ash scowled a bit. To her, the divine felt different from each other but very similar in the scale of their power. It made no sense from her perspective for there to be a difference in standing.
He responded with a hearty laugh, "You are right, yes, but also somewhat wrong, little one."
The elemental gods, he explained, came first. There were six of them, each with their own fully unique appearances and powers. The only thing that tied them together beyond being divines was that there was a male and female of each base 'creature' that they were.
Despite what one might think about the 'intended' pairings among the elemental gods, neither that shared a base creature type, such as Lady Umbra and Lord Aquas both being phoenix though of very different types, was interested in the other.
After the elemental gods came his generation of gods, which as she already knew was incomplete. They were not as unique as the gods that came before them, sharing the same three base creature types with the other gods, of course. Beyond that their domains were not bound to a singular element.
Despite not being in any physical way connected to any of them, his own domain was forged of three others. Lord Mineralis' fire brought with it the fire that made a Blazewing what it was alongside the less tangible flame of courage that came with valor, Lord Aquas' water brought flexibility in the face of change, a necessary quality for a warrior, and Lord Sidus' light gave him the steadfast foundation necessary to forge contracts.
Each god of his generation was so woven of three elemental domains in tangible and intangible ways to form the abstract concepts over which they governed. While there was no true difference in the scale of power between them, the elemental gods were the source of his generation of gods in the end.
"That makes us different, little one, in station to some degree even if only to our own perception. We would not exist without those six," he took a deep contemplative breath, "Back to your worry, though, and how that is connected…Lord Sidus has a singular element under his control. He cannot touch the others and so cannot create with them. None of his Starborn were born with too-dark coats, all glowed brightly with his light. You, though, glow far closer to his own pure power than any of the others. I was created by three elements and so those of my bound race are also forged of those three elements and so favor me much more strongly."
"Why though," she asked in a soft voice, "Does he not glow with that same light?"
Virtus chuckled, "Oh, little one, Lady Umbra wove her shadows around him when he was yet new and, though they may not have stuck in his coat for such a thing would be absurd, he quickly understood why she did so and has always cloaked himself thusly. The stars you see shining through his mane, those lights that flare and die at such a beautiful pace, that is much of what he is and he is far too bright for any of us to behold for very long. I do not lie when I say you glow as close to his pure power as one could without being blinding to look upon."
Luna's soft hand touched her arm and Ash leaned in against her slightly, feeling a bit guilty that her insecurities were still very much alive despite assurances otherwise. Insecurities, of course, were not so easy to defeat.
Her gaze moved around the room finally and she was somewhat surprised to find that it was a vast library. Ailanthus saw her expression and decided to explain that the books contained a lot of information on various contracts that they oversaw not to mention the laws that were drawn up for the town and also overseen by the temple of Virtus.
All of the tokens of temples and guilds came with a contract attached that one would obey the rules of those places or else the tokens would break. That sometimes even included things like the special foci that the temples provided.
Criminals, of course, found ways to operate without breaking the contracts because they weren't perfect. Virtus, after all, oversaw the contracts but he didn't write them.
Virtus gave them a few moments to speak before bringing Ash's focus back to the thing that had caused her initial irritation with him, "Fate Weaver is very much a title that suits you, little one. Given a new world to walk in, you swiftly began to bring change with you even when bidden to do nothing save chase your own amusement. You have even begun to weave change among the gods as you have reminded us that our powers combine to create things far greater than any of us can do alone. Given the ideals that Lord Sidus has instilled within you, I suspect you will continue to do so."
She sighed roughly, unable to argue with him even if she wanted to considering she was present in the heart of the temple to discuss an ongoing investigation that she planned on joining in on. The god grinned slightly at that though he took his leave rather swiftly.