Chapter 1923 Ves the Benevolen The glow emanating from the dwarf known as Rion Aaden was unlike anything his fellow rebels ever experienced! The dwarves of Desala X were completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy. House Kantis held a vice grip on their slave population and would never let them learn more than they needed to mine the planet. In fact, in this suspected time period, the existence of glows shouldn't even exist because Ves hadn't even been born yet! Let alone regular people, the dwarves completely blanked out for a time as Ves strengthened his glow. Ves did not filter his glow too much. His Spirituality was a reflection of his values, principles and design philosophy. In essence, that meant that Ves was currently expressing his love for mechs and life. He exposed some of his typical Larkinson traits such as duty, courage and fellowship. His mask filtered out some of the more irrelevant traits, such as his mixed feelings for dwarves. Instead, he tried to form a slightly favorable impression towards the dwarves. It was difficult. Ves didn't exactly possess a lot of optimism about the dwarves, but lying to others was a practiced routine for him by now. He just had to exert enough effort to come across as a friendly entity. So far, it was working! Many of the dwarves did not question the fact that a god had descended upon them at all! In fact, many of them weren't really familiar with the concept of gods, but the naked glow acting upon their minds at close proximity immediately converted many naive dwarves by virtue of the persuasiveness of the method! However, a few of the older and more jaded dwarves slowly shook themselves out of their stupor. Master Gion Greybeard adopted a stern expression as he faced the possessed Rion with obvious suspicion. The old dwarf had been screwed around too many times by the tall folk to take a gift for granted! "Vulcan.." Gion carefully spoke with his low voice. "We are honored by your presence. We are very poor dwarves. We have never heard of your existence. Please excuse us, but could you..." "I am aware of your lack of awareness of my august existence." Ves spoke through Rion's mouth. "You are fortunate that I am a generous god. Out of all the variants of humans that exist, I cherish dwarves like you the most. The hardships that dwarves like you endure on an all-too-frequent basis is tragic, but this makes me love you even more. I know the dwarves have the potential to be great. Life is a test, and some tests are harder than others. It is best if dwarves like you are able to overcome your challenges by yourself." His control over Rion's body gradually increased as time went by, but he still needed to stall in order to proceed with the next steps of the plan! "Great Vulcan, if you are the protector of dwarves, why have you not shown yourself to us before now?" Master Gion pressed, unwilling to surrender himself to what could possibly be a prank from the tall folk! Rion's possessed head adopted a solemn expression. "Many dwarves throughout human space require my assistance. As powerful as I may be, I can only assist the ones who need my aid the most. I am being hindered by other gods, demons and eldritch entities at every turn. The entire galaxy is trying its best to prevent dwarves like you from ascending to your rightful throne!" "Do the tall folk possess their own god?" Someone else asked. "Yes. In fact, they enjoy the care and protection of many gods!" Ves spontaneously spun a tale. "The tall folk are the favored variant of humans in the galaxy. They are the original breed of your race, and while they are weak in many aspects, they excel at being cunning, deceitful and strong." Many dwarves looked shocked! They bought his tale without any skepticism because it conformed to their elevated view of the tall folk. No wonder the lengthy humans were so powerful! They possessed the backing of many gods! "How can you resist the might of these gods when they are so many?" Ves randomly supplied the first answer that came to his mind. "The tall folk have many gods, but there are too many normal humans to count! Most humans never even know of their gods because the great beings already have their hands full with their existing worshippers!" "And we are different?" "Yes. You are dwarves. You are special." Ves purposefully flattered them. "As a powerful god, I have chosen to turn my back against the cruel and duplicitous tall folk. Instead, I chose to favor your race because I see greatness in you! Do not believe in the poisonous lies of the tall folk who are doing the best to press your people down. Dwarves are the most superior variants of humanity!" Every dwarf, including Gion, perked up at his words. Their self-esteem was so low that any positive affirmation by someone greater than a dwarf evoked a lot of ecstasy and irrational pride in their bones! In the meantime, Ves not only gained more control over Rion's body, but also refined his application of his Spirituality. He had become increasingly more adept at manipulating people over the years. He especially liked to persuade crowds because it was easy for him to affect the overall consensus pattern through his spiritual manipulations! Lies alone weren't enough to hoodwink a crowd of people. Most words didn't go much further than confusing someone's logic. In order to make his audience believe his words, he needed to manipulate their hearts! Even if their mind and logic warned them that his words had issues, as long as Ves managed to capture them on an emotional level! As Ves observed the rebel dwarves through Rion's eyes and his spiritual senses, he noted that aside from a couple of old dwarves like Gion, the others quickly fell under his sway. The dwarves of Desala X were pretty much the opposite of the rational and enlightened people who populated much of human space. They developed many scattered beliefs of their own. Adding yet another myth in the form of Vulcan, the God of Dwarves, Mechs and Craftsmanship did not sound so strange when their rudimentary culture was already rife with superstition! Of course, the holdouts just happened to be the most senior dwarves. Their age and wisdom elevated them slightly above their more gullible dwarves. These skeptics just happened to be the people that Ves needed to persuade the most! Though Ves could easily fool the younger dwarves among the rebels, they weren't capable of launching a rebellion on their own. Respect for their elders was ingrained among the dwarves, and witnessing a split between their familiar leaders and an unfamiliar god would prove devastating to his attempt to correct the course of their foolhardy plan! Gion Greybeard stared straight into Rion's eyes. "You stated earlier that you are a god who helps the dwarves that need your help the most. Since you have decided to appear before us, does that mean that our escape plan is flawed?" Finally. Ves had been waiting for this question. His possessed body grinned. "I admire the audacity of what you are planning. I applaud the resourcefulness of your rebel movement for setting up this secret base. Dwarves like you are strong, honest and talented in craftsmanship. The mighty battle wagons that you have built are impressive considering the limitations constraining your efforts." A couple of dwarves wearing tool belts and technician overalls beamed with pride! "We have spent years to arm and modify our mining vehicles. The tall folk will tremble at the might of our great war weapons!" Rion's face turned serious. "Is that what you believe?" "We.. do?" A tense silence descended in the tent as the conversation took a darker turn. In order to emphasize the seriousness of his next statement, Ves tweaked his glow so that it started to restrain his positive attributes while amplifying his negative attributes! An invisible aura that expressed his worry, paranoia and fear of greater threats began to engulf the dwarves in an illusion of hell! "The battle wagons may have been the best that you have managed to build, but the tall folk are so much greater than you. The guard force hired to guard Outpost 35 possess much better gear and machines. Even a single mech can crush all six of your battle wagons without falling in battle! As the protector of dwarves, I implore you not to attack the tall folk in your current state. This dwarf body of mine will never have the chance to pilot the Genie Pearl because it is impossible to breach the central district at your current strength!" Despair struck the dwarves as they believed in his words! Even Gion seemed swayed as the doubts he carried in his mind suddenly came to the fore. As the leader of the Desala Resistance Movement, the dwarf master was used to fostering optimism among his dwarves. If he didn't do so, morale among the slaves would quickly drop, thereby splintering his rebel group before it even had a chance to fulfill its purpose! Though Gion tried his best to set a good example for his fellow rebels, in his heart he possessed a lifetime of scars inflicted by the tall folk. It didn't take that much effort for Ves to reach inside the old dwarf's heart and tear open the scars! A couple of dwarves howled and cried with grief! Were the dwarves meant to suffer their entire lives? Were their children and grandchildren destined to become the playthings of the tall folk? It was only in the darkest of times that a single light reached its maximum value. Like a profiteering merchant who purposefully starved a planet of food before arriving with a shipment of nutrient packs, Ves inwardly grinned like a shark as he completely reversed his glow back to normal. All of the doom and gloom in the tent disappeared. The breath of life and the limitless potential of mechs started to lift up their darkened moods and grant them some much-needed hope! Before the dwarves could question Ves further with their inane and ignorant questions, he forestalled them by slowly standing up from his short and sturdy chair. "Words are the weapons of the tall folk. I am aware that dwarves aren't as good at them. Let me borrow your tools and show you a glimpse of my power!" Rion's body slowly turned around and stepped forward with shaky but increasingly more confident steps. The other dwarves robotically followed after the descended god as if they were no longer in charge. Even if leaders such as Master Gion wanted to assert their authority, no one would listen to them right now as long as Ves commanded the full attention of the rest! As Rion's body stepped out of the tent, the other dwarves in the vicinity all stopped and stared at the dwarf they previously hailed as their ace pilot. "What is the matter?" "Why is Rion different?" "He is no longer Rion! He is a god!" "A what?" "Make way, make way! A god called Vulcan has descended upon us! He is a patron of dwarves, a master of mechs and the embodiment of craftsmanship! He is on his way to prove his might and demonstrate his godly power among our blessed people!" That certainly caught every rebel's attention! Word quickly spread and dwarves continued to hobble over as quickly as possible! Their bodies strained against the heavy gravity as they reached one of the central workplaces where a lot of tools and materials were strewn around. Once the dwarves came within a certain distance of Rion, they noticed that he was the source of the odd and pleasant aura that affected their moods! None of the dwarves came up with a reasonable explanation of why Rion seemed so special. What was happening to them right now was completely unprecedented in the history of the dwarves of Desala X! Gion trailed after the rest of the curious and eager dwarves. Both worry and hope welled within his eyes. Would the rebels