by Eric Vall
I felt my power crackle with life within my body, and my heart beat against my ribcage excitedly. The Holy Order and the mages within would feel my rage, they’d scorned Morrigan and worked against me along with the heavens. There was no way I would allow any of them to survive this battle. I would paint the dying city of Galencia with the scarlet paint of their blood and litter the streets with their rotting corpses.
I held my hand out to Heijing, and the Qianlong placed her tiny one in mine. The encampment was bustling with life as the soldiers ripped up their tents and hurriedly put them away. Many of the soldiers sharpened and polished their weapons proudly as they waited for the battle ahead.
I sensed the movement of mages from above, and I knew that this time, they wouldn’t just allow us to break through the enchantments. They would give us hell but little did they know that I was the god of the Underworld, I was the physical embodiment of all evil on earth and the heavens. There was no other god as strong and cunning as I was, and the mages barely stood a chance against me.
My armies took their places behind me in the formation that I’d outlined last night. The Tamarisch soldiers held their position directly behind me, Tintagal with Adam at their head and then the combined forces of Valasara, Canarta, and Machstein. Their numbers trailed all the way back to the burnt structures of the city proper. Once the enclosure was down, Ansel’s men would follow after me inside of the fortress, the Tintagal men would surround the whole stronghold and the Valasara men along with the other smaller armies would sneak in after and kill all those within the sanctum.
Not a single Holy Order life would be spared in my terrible revenge, and I would reign supreme over the former city of Galencia. My other minions hurried out of their tent and gave me sly looks as they glanced at the pink-faced Heijing. They said nothing, and Rana opened her mouth to mention the ghost noises from the night before, but Annalise quickly covered the redhead’s mouth.
“Master,” the high queen started, and I turned to face her. “There is something strange I would like to speak to you about.”
“What is it?” I asked with a tilt of my head.
“Uh, could we talk in private?” Annalise uttered awkwardly as she glanced at her sisters.
“Of course,” I smiled as I dropped Heijing’s hand and ushered the swordswoman over to a place where no one else could eavesdrop our conversation. “What is this strange thing you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Something’s happening with my body,” The high queen stated as she placed her hands over her belly. “Something…not normal for a mortal.”
“Ah,” I uttered as I leaned my head back, realizing what she meant. “I see.”
“What’s happening to me?” Annalise asked, her voice wavering for a second as her chocolate brown eyes bore into me. “Because I certainly couldn’t do this before.”
The high queen lifted one of her tanned hands palm up into the air. As Annalise concentrated, an orb of light chartreuse appeared and warbled unsteadily as it struggled to keep its shape. Annalise bit her lip nervously as she gazed up at me, but I kept my eyes on the orb of power. Just like Rana, the high queen received godly power from the child in her womb, and I slowly raised my eyes to hers.
“It’s happening, I knew it would, but I never expected it to happen so soon after conception.” I grinned, and Annalise looked even more confused.
“What do you mean, Master?” the swordswoman questioned as her voice cracked once in confusion.
“Annalise, you are becoming a goddess,” I told her, and the high queen took a step backward, her hands clamped over her lower belly. “The child within you is transferring my split power to you. Once our child is brought into this world, you will no longer be mortal. You will be a fully fledged god in your own right alongside your sisters once they receive my fertile seed.”
“You…you can’t be serious, that’s not possible.” The swordswoman whispered and shook her head.
“I am, deadly serious,” I nodded slowly, and the weighty realization slowly settled over Annalise’s shoulders. “You will become gods, you will no longer age or fear death. You will be able to remain by my side for the rest of eternity, does that idea scare you? Are you frightened of the idea of immortality?”
“No,” Annalise said firmly as she came closer and cupped my cheek tenderly. “This is even better news than I expected. I thought perhaps I was dying or something along the lines of that, but this…this is something amazing. Thank you for giving me this gift, for giving my sisters and me the ability to stay with you. You really are the best Master a woman could ever have.”
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the high queen’s forehead. I was glad that I was able to soothe her troubled thoughts in her time of need. I brought her closer to me in a tight embrace, and Annalise melted into me. We stayed like this for a very long time, I wanted to enjoy these last few minutes of peace before the fighting began, and it seemed that the swordswoman wanted that too.
“Rana has power too, correct?” Annalise asked as we finally parted, and I nodded in confirmation. “She helped bring down the wall, then it must be true.”
“She does, she helped us out immensely when we thought we’d fail,” I told her as I ran a gloved hand over her pleated hair.
“Then allow me to help bring down the enchantments too,” the swordswoman said in a firm voice. “I know I can do it; I don’t know how, but I feel it in my bones.”
I grinned down at her, the things she was feeling was the magical god’s power making changes to her mortal body. Annalise felt the power flow through her and it commanded her to do things she normally wouldn’t. Soon enough, the high queen would bend to the force’s will as I and all other gods did.
“Yes, we shall rip the fortress down, piece by piece if we have to,” I growled deep in the back of my throat as I took her hand in mine.
I gathered Morrigan, Heijing, Rana, and Annalise around me as we strode toward the last remaining wall between us and the mages. I sensed the Holy Order’s presence above us and when I gazed toward them, their faces peeked over the edges of the parapets. I couldn’t help but smirk up at them, and they quickly disappeared back to safety behind the slabs of stone.
Loud rumbling sounds came from behind me as the four gods rolled the massive holy cannons into place. I glanced over my shoulder and stifled a laugh as Ruitrui hung from the barrel of one of the cannons. The insane goddess swung her legs, flipped through the air like an acrobat and landed atop one of the other cannons. Ruituri waved to me enthusiastically and then saluted to me with a cackle of deranged laughter.
“Let’s go, Kazama!” Ruituri roared as she rallied the soldiers standing near her. “Let’s get this show on the road! Fluffy-butt is ready to tear some mages' heads off!”
The rotted goddess pointed through the crowd to her white bear, and the giant beast bellowed angrily toward the sky. I shook my head as deep laughter bubbled up my throat, Ruituri seemed to be an endless fountain of entertainment no matter the setting she was in.
I turned back toward the wall, took a single step toward it, and I lifted my hands. But before I even pushed my power out, the grid appeared with a hot sizzling sound. I didn’t have to guess what the mages above were doing, it was evident. The Holy Order wanted to protect the fortress no matter what, and they sent their strongest mages onto the parapets to reinforce the enchantments.
The mage’s voices were loud as they chanted together, and I gritted my teeth. The wall, the fortress, and the Elders would submit to my power no matter what they tried. My eyes flickered closed as I summoned up all the gods’ power within me. My women gasped around me, and when my eyes snapped open, my body was consumed with black smoke. I felt stronger than ever as I manifested my Underdark abilities and shot them forward at the wall.
My dark energy formed into a massive spear in the air and slashed forward. The grid appeared suddenly and crackled with life, but it couldn’t withstand the intensity of my attack. Before my very eyes
, the grid warbled and sizzled hatefully as a massive tear appeared on its surface. I didn’t have to utter a word to my minions as their hands raised into the air beside mine.
Morrigan’s was the first to connect with the grid with mine, then Rana’s. Heijing’s voice rose into the air as she screamed out in her native tongue, and her blue and red powers slammed into the grid. Hot sparks flew from the mage’s magic, and a few of the men above ducked away from the flying heat. Their voices cried out in pain, but I ignored them as my black power broke through the enchantments first.
We repeated the spell from the ancient tome we’d used before as Rana’s blinding white power combined with ours. Annalise looked uneasily at me out of the corner of her eyes then began chanting along with us. The chartreuse-colored power she’d shown me earlier poured out of the palms of her hands and flowed like a river. It joined ours, and I watched as the grid turned from neon blue to scarlet red with beating heat. The mages on the parapets screamed in pain as they attempted to stay in place, but our power was too immense.
I felt no pain as the power poured off me with such intensity that everything around me was bathed in black smoke. My women struggled to keep their places, their expressions severe and their brows furrowed, but I knew if we held out for just a bit longer, the grid would break just as before.
A loud crack resounded in our ears as the scarlet grid turned yellow from the heat, and then cracked. The grid flashed for a few seconds as it attempted to stay in place, but I dropped my hand and curled it into a fist as I manifested my power. A massive orb of black formed around my hand, and I roared as I punched out toward the stone of the wall. My knuckles connected with the rock, and the impact barely registered in my mind.
“Ohh shiiiiit!” Rana screamed as she grabbed Morrigan and Heijing by their collars and hauled them away. “Get back! Fucking Shit!”
The force of the impact cracked the stone, and a shock wave rolled through the entire structure. As if in slow motion, I watched each piece of stone crumble, break, and then blow inward from the force of my touch. The explosion and sounds of the falling slabs of rock that came after were deafening, and for a second, my ears rung loudly. A massive blast of air blew my hair back, and I closed my eyes as fragments of stone brushed my cheeks.
When I reopened my eyes, both the wall and the grid were gone, mages hung from the destroyed ramparts and cried out for help from their comrades below. Dust hung in the air as I focused my eyes and looked through the enormous hole my punch created. The destroyed stones from the wall exploded backward into the waiting mages and killed some of them instantly. The breach in the wall was massive, large enough that all of the Tintagal soldiers could stand shoulder to shoulder in and still have space to move about.
Though dust shifted through the air, I could see perfectly clear and took an inventory of all the lines of mages. Hundreds of Holy Order members waited for us, and I grinned evilly at them as Morrigan stepped forward. The elven woman’s black robes billowed around her in an unseen gale as she reached behind her for the blessed bow.
Morrigan clasped the weapon in her hands, closed a single eye and aimed directly at the first drove of mages. The elf pulled back the bowstring then let it fly. The magical arrow crackled to life and whizzed through the air, unseen by the naked eye. It hit its target, a lead mage standing in front of all the others, and when it sunk into his chest, he gasped loudly in pain. Before any of the other Holy Order members could react, a swirling black hole appeared from nothing and sucked the dying mage in. The black mass grew larger, pulled at the mages standing near it and forced them in mercilessly. The Holy Order members closest to it screamed in horror and attempted to scurry away, but the pull from the black hole was too strong for them to resist. Their bodies disappeared into the dark space unceremoniously as the gap slowly shrank.
The black hole kept swirling faster and faster as it sucked even more mages in, and Morrigan did something she’d never done before. The elven woman threw her head back, her snow-white hair swinging behind her and cackled evilly up at the sky.
“Welcome to the Void,” Morrigan cried in a singsong voice as emerald light flashed around her curled hands. “Enjoy your stay.”
“Holy shit,” Rana whispered from behind me as she took a few wary steps away from the elf. “That was a good one! Dang, look at you coming up with good one liners all by yourself, Elfy!”
“Rana,” Annalise warned as she gripped the hilt of Bloodscale and drew the mighty sword out. “Less chit-chat, more fighting, please.”
“Alright, alright, I’m on it.” The redhead chuckled as she placed a single paw over her chest and drew out the Eye of Alipsis.
A mage broke from the ranks and ran full-force at us with his hands outstretched in front of him. Light pulsed from his hands vibrantly, and I stood in front of my minions protectively as he came closer. I waited until I could see the whites of his eyes before I struck, and right as he was about to collide with me, I raised my right hand. Black smoke rose from the cracks in the dirt at his feet, solidified then wrapped around his ankles. I stepped out of the way as the mage tripped and laid flat against the rubble covered ground.
I loomed over him, and my dark shadow covered all of his body. The mage struggled to turn over, and he glanced madly over his shoulder at me as I stalked closer. I slammed both hands down in front of me, and the mage rocked and screamed in agony. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply as I concentrated on not only him but the twenty mages not engaged in combat circling around us. I listened to their pounding heartbeats and gritted my teeth as I summoned all of my dark power into every inch of my being.
Their blood coursed through their veins as they kept their watchful eyes on me, and I grinned evilly. Like before, with the mages I’d kept prisoner, I reached into all of their bodies at once. Their consciousness swirled around me as I dove deep into their minds and took control over them. I ripped through their memories, destroyed each piece of them that pledged their lives to the Holy Order and replaced it with vows to follow me and my cause. They weren’t betraying their people, they simply wouldn’t remember being with them in the first place. I would be the one and only thing that they knew from the beginning of time. As my power took hold of them, each mage dropped their hands from the air and stared at my presence in awe. I was now their Lord and Master, they would do anything I asked without question much like the armies I already held under my control.
“Go,” I commanded to not only the man who lay beneath me but those who stood quietly behind me. “Destroy the Holy Order; they are our true enemies.”
I dropped my hands from in front of me and pointed to the droves of mages attacking our sides. My new twenty-one mages moved slowly at first as they brought up their hands in front of their bodies and stared at them for a few passing seconds. The mage on the ground below me slowly rose to his feet, rocked his whole upper body forward and bowed low to me.
“Yes, Master,” the mage whispered in a low voice. “We will do as you wish, Master.”
I grinned to myself as the twenty-one Holy Order members turned their backs to me, placed their mage-marked hands in front of their bodies and began a vicious onslaught on their own men.
The Tamarisch soldiers plowed their way through the mages, leaving ravaged corpses in their wake. Ansel led the charge at the front, and I followed hotly on his heels with my minions behind me. Morrigan stepped close behind my back, her wholly black eyes moving over the outer walls of the fortress as we came even closer to the massive wooden doors.
I sensed the pulse of a god’s power and gritted my teeth uneasily. I knew this presence better than anyone’s, and I was eager to find out why he was here. I wasn’t afraid to face off with him or the Elders inside, but it still set me on edge. I glared up at the intricately carved doors for a moment then turned to the four gods hidden among the troops behind me.
“Aim the cannons!” I commanded, and Ruituri screamed with insane laughter.
The rotted goddess urged he
r drove of decaying corpses forward, their stiff hands clamped on the ropes that wheeled the massive cannons over. Domor, Bellum, and Malsumis kept quiet but guided the troop of dead men into place.
“Ready, Brother!” Malsumis yelled up to me, and I nodded once as I brought my women around me in a tight circle.
“Aim!” I shouted for all to hear as I pointed toward the massive petrified oak doors that led inside the inner sanctum of the Holy Order. “Fire!”
Ruituri’s cannon fired first and rocked backward in its wooden structure. Smoke exploded out of its barrel, and I watched in slow motion as the cannonball flew through the air, turning slowly as it glowed yellow with the goddess’ power. Ruituri’s eyes followed the movement of the ball through the air as she licked at her pink lips excitedly. The cannonball slammed into the wooden door with a loud bang, and golden light flowed through each crack and crevice in the door. The missile went straight through to the screams of the mages behind it, and in quick succession, the other three cannons exploded with life.
It wasn’t enough to bring down the wall, but the four massive holes in the wood gave us a pretty good view of what was beyond. I strode forward through the crowd of Tamarisch soldiers, and they parted for me. My women followed after me in a tight formation and right as we reached the door, I reached into my void pocket. I pulled out the God Slayer and held it aloft for a moment. I sensed the presence of more mages from behind the broken wood, but they wouldn’t stand a chance against our force.
I smashed the haft of the God Slayer down, and the three blades sprang to life. The polearm flashed in the light as I whipped it over my head. Black energy swirled in an obelisk that brushed the darkened clouds overhead. I spoke softly under my breath as I whispered the gods’ language, and I felt my collective powers grow and reach a crescendo. The black mass over my head solidified as I moved the God Slayer in a tight circle, and the enormous pillar of black moved almost like a tornado.
