"So… we won?"
Zebulun, Davion, Quinn, and Amalek sat in the throne room of the palace on the hill. Zebulun looked at Davion and said, "Seems so."
"I have to say," said Davion, "I’ve been doubtful this whole time. Despite your obvious powers — healing and rainmaking and such — I still wondered if your god Ur was real. I can’t doubt any more, now that I’ve seen him for myself."
Zebulun looked at Davion with amusement. "That wasn’t Ur."
Davion raised his eyes from the floor and looked at Zebulun. "What?"
Quinn giggled.
Davion looked at Quinn, then at Zebulun, then back at Quinn. His eyes widened. "That was you?"
Quinn burst out laughing.
Amalek’s avatar appeared. It grinned from ear to ear. "That," he said, "is the single greatest act of sorcery I have witnessed in all my six hundred and forty-one years." He looked at Quinn with admiration. "Truly, the student has become the master."
Quinn blushed.
Davion stared at Quinn, incredulous, and repeated the question. "You did this?"
Quinn gave him a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I did. Amalek helped."
"I loaned him some of my power," said Amalek, "but the illusion was all his. And it was glorious. Truly, my friend: I salute you. You even managed to fool most of the dragons present. Their vanity will never allow them to admit they were fooled by a mere man. That’s why Aurelius surrendered to me. He knew his cause was lost."
Davion shook his head. "Amazing. I can’t believe it." He looked at Quinn. "Why did you include me in your deception?"
"I wanted you to see it," said Quinn. Then he grinned and said, "I also wanted to see if I could fool you. Since you’re so smart and all."
Davion chuckled. "Color me fooled," he said. "What about the million star folk who showed up? Was that an illusion too?"
"Yes and no," said Quinn. "Your buddy Lao did show up with a couple hundred friends. When I saw that, I decided to make it to look like a whole lot more. Amalek told me the best sorcery is believable. If they already see a hundred angels, why not a hundred thousand?"
Davion looked over at Zebulun. "You knew about this?"
"No," said Zebulun. "I didn’t know what Ur had planned. I didn’t expect to win through deception, but I’ll take it."
"What happened to live not by lies?" asked Amalek.
"I still believe it," said Zebulun, "but we’ve won. I won’t demand bloodshed for my honor." He looked up into Amalek’s real eyes. "Ur sent me to you for a reason."
"He did, indeed," said Amalek. "But… we haven’t won yet. This isn’t over. There will be resistance. It will take time to consolidate your rule."
Zebulun said, "I have time."