The Fourth Croneprincess' Faith

The 4th Croneprincess of the Ruskatan Queendom Yagana was an odd one. Her hair and iris were both of a black so pure, one couldn't see any depth in them. Like a shadow one could say. The Black Goat granting one such a pure black was a rare blessing, rare even among those of Divine Croneblood in their veins. This blessing is what likely, gave her a zealousness in the faith not matched by anyone in their Kingdom.

At the tender age of 12 she traveled to the Northern border and demanded that land will be her's and as it was Empty under crown authority it was granted. She wished for land up North as that is where heretics laid near. The day her Ice Palace was constructed she sent out a 100 prewritten letters to priests of various faith of bordering kingdoms. One's to the slaves of the Arn, to those who Worship 'Fey', to those who lick dragon Claws and to those of minor unknown religious sects.

Yagana then debated all of them, spending her days doing so often neglecting her duties in chaperoning her realm. Afterall their faith was the only true one and if not the ONLY true one, the Black Sheep by all means was the first among Gods, were he not? While Yagana would claim she won every debate, when she was young her arguments would boil down to Crones existing and her pitchblack divinely gifted hair. One would be amiss to believe the 4th princess was delusional, for after years her delusion came true. Years of daily debate have truly honed her skills to the point she truly won all of them. Her greatest Pride is inviting a Belaran Missionary sent to the Blacklands to spread his heretical faith. Said missionary, left that day a converted man, ready to devote himself to the Black Goat instead.

Her winning streak was bound to obviously one day end, even if she would never acknowledge defeat. From her connections she heard, that there was a priest of a foreign faith was kept as a prisoner of war there. He was a priest of faith she did not know, from a land she newer knew as such she arranged a meeting with him.

Paying the Belarians a sufficient price in soft metals, allowed for the meeting to happen. The priest was a truly odd man, he was young, but looked sickly and had metal parts embroiled in his flesh. Not any artifacts, just slabs of decorated metal sometimes piercing trough bone in in his limbs.

He spoke a language that resembled more the clicks of insects rather than the speech of men. His skin was orange red as opposing to pale white of Yagana.

And as such she stated

"Why do you believe your faith to be divine? What makes your God superior to the Black Goat?" - she smirked showing off her hair

"He protects us and our clan from all harm and keeps the dead among us alive with him forever."

"Ha, how is he protecting you, if you were captured in a lost war?"

The boy foreign priest smirked at what he saw as an ignorant remark. With even the translator looking flustered.

"The lady here is clearly not very worldly, the Belarans famously lost their recent attack on Thlectl'tltra. Sepetrtl, has blessed us with another victory. They captured in an act of cowardice, taking a diplomat sent to negotiate peace as a prisoner of war." - the translator looked at approval from a nearby guard, before finishing the translation

Yagana leaned forward showing off her Vantablack hair. "Then that makes your God similar to ours. Our Gods too protect us. It is Ruskata which first managed to stop the armies of the Great Khan! The unstoppable menace from the central steppe."

"Not before loosing half you land."

"No war is won ideally, will you tell me Goldland has never lost land!?"

"Were those of the lands lost those of little faith? Despised by your Black Ram?"

"Not that I know, many good servants were also lost in the war. What is your point, has Godland never lost land, not lost any faithful?"

"Never have the faithful of Goldland lost a spec of land. Only those Godless ones who abandoned the faith did. Or the Weaklings of the west, who chose to embrace magic and abandoned their duty towards the Divine."

"Are you saying that those who lost faith, were punished by being conquered? Or are you simply saying that all those conquered lost only because they did not have enough faith? You sound like one of 100 men who believe themselves immune to arrow fire. When 99 of them are killed because of their stupidity one proclaims they just didn't have enough faith."

"Only one who never saw a Godmachine could make an argument as silly as that. Whereas where is the proof of the divinity of your black Goat?"

"I am the living proof you silly man. Blessed by the Black God himself with divine black hair and magical power few grand mages can match!"

"Nothing made of soft flesh could be ever called divine. Neither can magic something present all around us be called Divine. Only the Godmachines unmatched in their power not similar to any other in the world can!"

Surprised at an answer so "utterly retarded", Yagana leaned over and in whisper asked the translator to explain what a Godmachine is. Him not being able to do so he merely said 'a Ostrog-Babas made out of Metal'. To which she smirked inappropriately for the situation.

"So let me show you the 'Godmachines' of our land." she was ready to amaze him only to declare them mere tools later.

The prisoner was put back in chains, though excitement could be seen on his face. Could there truly be Godmachines in another land? Ones which still function and have not been ripped to shreds part by part?

The Goldland priest was lead outside and the Princess left.

Yagana understood how impressive the Ostrog-Babas could be to a foreigner. They were basically walking fortresses after all. One with a white brain might by mistake see them as divine. As such she hatched a plan. Under her rule she had a retinue of 40, but she would only show one.

One should be more than enough to amaze the man, showing that owning 40 is mundane should make him question his faith and pretending they are mundane should break is faith to shards.

As such she returned a Ostrog-Babas following her, but she did not see any amazement on the foreign Priests face. Instead she saw disappointment.

"I don't see anything divine" - he uttered in monotone, and not even the translator could make it sound polite

That statement deeply insulted Yagana. The Ostrog-Babas were not Gods, but they were made trough Divine Crone magic and many human lives need to be traded to the Black Goat to make one.

"How can you say that what you see is not divine!? You think your Godmachine could even face one?"

"It could face 1000"

"Really, it could?! There is not 100 in the entire land and you say one Godmachine could defeat them? Just one!?" the remaining 40 marched out as planned, now only bringing embarrassment to the cause.

"Very well, I shall see the Godmachine. Then!"

something ominous filled the air

"Guards, bring me a sacrifice!"

The Belarans knew what would happen next and they demanded to leave, but the Princess would not let them. They themselves had become her prisoners.

Dragged into a temple they were tied up and the foreign priest was made to clear before an alter decorated with bones and flayed skin.

"The deity of this land is sure a macabre on." - he said, but the translate only dared to translate "I admire the beauty of this altar."

A young maiden of Uzataar descent was brought into the temple her hands, torso and head placed on the alter. The rest hanging of to the side.

Yagana opened a blank book and read off the spell. She took a severed Goat's Horn and laid it to the side. She prepared a bowl and mixed together some odd herbs. She then grabbed the Horn and stabbed her own eye. Not deeply just for it to turn red and for blood to leak on the horn.

Some dark power kept the foreign Priest down as she did the same to him. The Horn was then inserted into the mixture and dissolved as if it was sugar put in boiling water. Yagana started chanting, but it sounded as if 100 women were chanting and the mixture started boiling.

Yagana lifted it and spilled it on the back of the woman's head. Her hair as as if sucked in and her skull melted into a bowl with the boiling mixture changing to black tar as it consumed the brain.

Terrifyingly enough the Woman was still alive, being kept alive by the dark ritual as if to only prolong her suffering.

Yagana drank first of the tar and then she offered it to the priest opposite of her who refused it, as such she forced it down his throat. The spell was complete and their bloodshot eye turned entirely black.

In exchange for an eye the Black Goat would exchange between them all they ever saw.

Yagana started crying, for she saw what a Godmachine could do. All it could do. It would stomp on Belaran Mages and Knights as if they were insects. Ants beneath is metal feet. No attack launched towards it of any effect. A giant marching titans by all means truly capable of what they boy said it were. The princess started trembling as a thought crossed her mind. If the Godmachine she saw would come to Ruskata. Did they have anything which could possibly stop it? Would it be able to kill the Black Goat itself. A Titan out of metal... is that what it means to be truly divine.

With a stutter she uttered.

"Is that the one they worship in all of Goldland?"

"No, this is the one of my land and of course it is the grandest of them all (just his opinion), but there is many in the land."

Before her eyes flashed images of other ones he saw too and they were all magnificent and grand.

It was then that Yagana in her heart renounced the faith in the Black Goat, even if she didn't want too in her mind. Her hair then turned a pale white and some sources say, she died of a heart attack. Others say she escaped to to go herself to Goldland.

*Footnote: This does not actually say anything about the literal power about the Godmachines compared to Ruskata btw. she saw them as these super-grand things because the Priest saw them that way. This was more of a story of her actually loosing due to being of lesser faith. Her faith not being rooted in true piety, but in selfish pride.*