and there was still a third group who believed that the destruction , doubtless the work of the cruel gods of life and death killing most people while letting some live just to suffer had been at the last moment influenced by the goddess luck , who , livid at the wickedness of her sons , had torn off a third piece from the fragment that was supposed to ensure the survival of some people , and let it drop , gently as the planting of a seed , in a land which , by grace of her mercy , was left unscathed .