When I died I was given options for my next life, on how difficult it would be survive in that world based on my chosen boons and race.
I chose to be born a god, a god of industry and innovation With it I would be given all the powers and cons that come a with being a god.
I can only live of the faith of my followers and how much power I have is directly linked to the faith they have in me, what kind of god I would be is all up to me but it wouldn't be easy as this world is filled with ancient gods that would snuff out any new faiths.
My new "birth" was not loud but quite as in the Aether I formed a being made of metal and fire as my other domains of [INNOVATION] was practically dormant with how little faith I was gathering.
My "lands" in the Aether were not grand or full of souls but it did hold small elemental spirits like stone and iron that wandered the lands a made small shelters in the rocky landscape.
Feeling the very small amount of faith coming from the material world, there I moved my view to a man that looked like he had spent entire life in a forge he was a mountain of a man with heat scars that dotted his massive hands.
Well hand as it looks like his shop had been raided by some Iron born who was currently searching for anything of worth in the forge while the smith bleeds out on his anvil.
The Smith who's i suddenly knew on a intrinsic value, a smith by the name of Ivan who was born around 250 AC during his life he became known as decent smith on the isle of Blacktyde and was currently being attacked by one of the local banner men as he looked for anything of worth in the home, which he was getting closer to as Ivan wife and daughter were currently hiding underneath the floorboards.
Ivan who barely alive tried to stand and grab his smiths hammer but his knees failed him, but his hand never let go of his hammer.
I then appeared before Ivan in the only form I knew I could, the greatest smith of them all, Hephaestus as I needed a human-ish form if I was to gain the mans trust.
In the form of Hephaestus, even with his mild deformities but I carried a bar of bronze and a smiths hammer.
Hephaestus-"He is going to kill your family Ivan, Well first he will rape your wife then take your daughter as a salt wife and you shall be thrown in the ocean and forgotten." Ivan was frothing at the mouth at this point and again tried to rise but couldn't even move his legs, I Leaned forward in my chair and met his eyes. "But, I'll help you if you but in return you shall be my herald as a new age is upon us. So Ivan the smith do accept my help." I reach my hand out and as he extends his stump where his hand once was.
I seize his hand and forced a piece of heated Iron from his forge and pushed it right into his into the stump, the iron began to shift till it formed a new hand with my Symbol anvil with a hammer in the center.
With his new found vigor Ivan grabbed his hammer from his severed hand and slammed his hammer right into the Raider, stunning him for a moment and Ivan slams his new first over and over into the face of the raider till nothing but a red paste remained.
Ivan-"GRETHE, BODIL" he then ran to one of the back rooms and opened the hatch below and pulled his family out of the hole below.
After making sure his family was safe Ivan moved back to the forge where the fallen raider was, he searched the man taking his chain mail which he could tell was stolen from the Westland's he also found some money.
Stripped of everything the raider owned Ivan began to plan how he was going to dispose of the body, when I whispered into his ear to toss in the forge.
Still coming to terms with everything he with his even more powerful hand he was able to lift the 200 plus pins raider and throw him in the forge.
Feeling the sacrifice of blood and flesh as I didn't try and take the soul from the drowned god.
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That sacrifice gave me a small boost in power but enough for me to start altering my own lands, my domain is endless horizon of rock and fire where the occasional elemental of fire or stone is seen.
But now on one of the mountains that dot the landscape I made a cave where I placed my forge deep inside the mountain where each of my hammer strikes shook the Earth.
There I forged my own war gear as I knew the gods of this world would strike me down in a moment, a set of Legionary armor and instead of a sword a war hammer.