Beartooth disappeared into the crowd as they entered the tower. But Exile could not shake his words from his mind. 'Alliances...' Exile hummed as he considered the matter. Would it really be worthwhile pursuing them? At some point, they would have to turn on each other anyway. 'No, this must be something more than that...'

The crowd walked up the solitary spiral staircase once they were inside. There was nothing special to see so far, which had them concerned. They had begun to talk amongst themselves, and many of them seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Beartooth. Exile could hear the terms of loose alliances being hashed out right there and then.

However, apart from Beartooth, nobody else approached him. They left him to his own thoughts as they continued their ascension up the tower for the next few minutes. Eventually, the staircase came to an end as it led into a circular room with large windows that overlooked the city. As each player entered the room, a throne would appear, creating circular rows facing towards the centre.

Exile frowned as he took his seat near the back. The chatter died down as everyone got comfortable and waited to find out what the notification was all about. Once everyone was seated, a large green crystal appeared in the centre of the room. The players who were present all cocked an eyebrow curiously at it.

"Greetings, leaders of the Skardian Gods. I am Valheim..." A deep voice spoke from the crystal itself. "I am an artifact left behind by the old rulers. My purpose is simple... To monitor events and act as an unbiased mediator during votes and disputes."

Exile's frown deepened as a bunch of players started to shout at the crystal. With the freedom they had enjoyed in this game so far, it infuriated them to discover that the developers had included a system like this. 'They're missing the point... Why aren't they picking up on the part about votes?'

To be honest, that part had Exile more worried than anything else. What were they supposed to vote on? Were all votes equal or was it linked to the strength of a Pantheon? There were too many questions, and he did not want to miss a single word that the crystal would say. Although, it did freak him out a bit to discover that the entire city was essentially a character as well.

"First, I would like to thank you all for responding to the summons. Now, let's get down to business." Valheim ignored the raucous complaints and turned up its own volume so as to be heard. "I will now send you all the information required to proceed."

[Council of Gods: Valheim]

[The council is comprised of every King or Queen of a Skardian Pantheon. The council will be called to vote on a number of Domestic and Foreign Agendas. Each ruler will be given a number of votes per issue depending on the Tier of their Pantheon. (For example: Tier 0 = 1 Vote per issue, Tier 1 = 2 Votes per issue etc).

Each issue raised on the Agenda will have two options that you can vote for. Some special cases may even require you to select a target. Each issue comes about through the logging of complaints or events that happen in all of the realms.

Vote wisely, as the course of events between Council sessions will be decided by your own choices.]

Exile frowned as he clasped his hands under his chin as he studied the message. 'It's fairly simple... The higher your Pantheon's Tier the more likely you are to swing a vote in favour of what you want. Domestic and foreign affairs are self-explanatory but I'm guessing every city or main city for each of the races is the same. But this says it logs complaints and events from all realms... Does that include the Mortal realm then?'

From what he could see, Beartooth appeared to be right. This mechanism could likely keep them in check to some degree. It was looking more appealing now to form a few alliances, as he re-read the notification. 'How much will these votes affect the game between sessions? I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one but we'll have to be wary of the consequences...'

"Let us deal with the first Domestic issue..." Valheim stated as he pushed out a new notification.

[1. Domestic Resources]

[Many Gods are complaining about the lack of Divine Beasts and Creatures near Valheim. What should be done about this?]

[Option A: Reduce Valheim's Divine interference, allowing these beasts and creatures to enjoy greater fertility. Resulting in a population boom.]

[Option B: Do nothing.]

Exile's eyes went wide as he read the first issue they had to vote on. 'This is insane!' He quickly glanced around to see similar stunned expressions on those around him. This was the equivalent of the developers allowing their players to decide how many mobs would be in the area! 'Are they really planning on leaving these decisions to us?'

"You have one minute to cast your vote..." Valheim's voice boomed out, startling everyone present!

Exile cursed under his breath as he quickly tried to weigh the pros and cons. If he chose Option B then nothing would change and there would be fierce competition for the mobs as more players ascended. However, Option A did not give any indication as to how much the number of mobs would increase. 'What if it's not just a little, but a lot? But more mobs will give everyone a chance to level up quickly with the Milestones.'

Exile felt the pressure building up as he quickly cast his vote just before time ran out. 'I hope I didn't make the wrong choice...' He sighed as he leaned back on his throne and closed his eyes. However, before he could feel too relieved, a new notification appeared. Exile's eyes went wide as he quickly scanned its contents...