God of War, Ares: Guardian

by Brandon Chen

  Suddenly, a horn boomed through the area, and hundreds of Persian soldiers flooded into the plaza from the surrounding buildings. Archers took their positions on the rooftops, nocking their arrows and aiming them straight at Ramses and Tetsu. Meanwhile, dozens of armed foot soldiers advanced towards the stage while the crowd of Persian spectators scattered, fleeing at the sight of brandished weapons.

  “Well, damn,” Ramses said with a nervous chuckle, unsure of what to do. “I can’t say that I didn’t see this one coming. A trap.”

  Cambyses was standing on top of a building in the distance with several archers and soldiers surrounding him. He burst out laughing at the sight of Ramses and Tetsu. “Do you have a plan to escape this one, Ramses? I’ve got thousands of Persian soldiers watching every inch of the surrounding streets. No matter what you do, no matter what you try, your fate is sealed. There is no escape this time.” The king tossed the Sands of Time into the air and caught it, wearing a sly smirk on his face. “Kill them both,” he said, pointing to Kira, who was amongst the fleeing crowd. “Oh, and dispatch the girl too. No matter what it takes. You’re free to fire into crowd if you like.”

  “You bastard!” Tetsu barked, tugging at his cuffs as if he could break them. They didn’t budge, as expected. “Don’t you care for your own people’s lives?”

  “Care for them? Of course, I do. They’re the reason I’m so affluent, aren’t they? They’re the reason that this kingdom is thriving with wealth. They’re the ones that drive this empire,” Cambyses said with a sly smile. “But a few sacrifices here and there are fine. Unlike me, everyone here is expendable.”

  Tetsu’s face turned red with rage. “I can’t wait until I get my hands around your throat, you wretched old man!”

  “Throw all the insults you want,” Cambyses called. “That won’t change your fate. Fire when—” He was interrupted when he suddenly saw Bator at his side. The man seemed frantic, his hands jittering and his face pale. “Bator? What is it? Have you returned from your mission already? I expected you to at least be a couple days….”

  “They’re here already!” Bator screamed. “Thousands of them! An army that could easily topple the city!”

  Cambyses frowned. “Who is?”

  “Some king from the east has assembled an army using all of the soldiers of the eastern nations of Dastia! They’ve come to destroy Persia, milord. B-But … they’re already a few miles away from the capital! They’ve destroyed the outside patrolling units and are advancing on the city!”

  “How is that possible? We would’ve been notified….”

  “Milord, they came from the Lost Sands. All of them, unscathed!” Bator exclaimed.

  Cambyses swore under his breath. “How is that possible? Assemble my military generals and make sure that there is a secured perimeter around Persepolis’s walls. We will not let those barbarians from the east take our city. Gather the other Magi as well. I’m heading back to the castle.” He turned to one of the archers at his side. “Execute these fools immediately. We have other enemies to attend to.”

  ***

  Aleysha’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times, turning to find that Ares and Mithra had already left. She glanced up and saw that Yuu was standing on a sand dune, gazing at Persepolis in the distance. The noble then knelt down and began to pet a small puppy that was panting at his side.

  Aleysha rubbed her eyes as she climbed up the mountain of sand and stopped at Yuu’s side. She smiled at the adorable puppy that was at Yuu’s side. “Aw! He’s so cute! Where did this little guy come from?”

  “He’s one of Ares’ Guardians,” Yuu said with a chuckle. “That idiot just went on babbling last night how he wouldn’t use his Guardians. Yet, here he is using one to subdue the two of us. A waste of resources, isn’t it?”

  “Wait, so this puppy is supposed to keep us from going to help?”

  The puppy nodded its little head.

  Aleysha frowned, folding her arms. “And he can understand me.”

  “Yep,” Yuu said, sighing. He could see that smoke was rising from Persepolis in the distance. There was a battle raging within those walls and he wanted to help. Sitting here and doing nothing while Ares and Mithra were fighting to save the continent was degrading. “Well, little guy,” he said to the puppy. “I hope you know that we aren’t going to stay here. We’re going to go and help.”

  The small dog growled, its fangs elongating into the size of sharp swords. Its eyes morphed from an adorable blue into a demonic red as its body began to shape shift. Its bones cracked and stretched as the tiny puppy transformed into a massive hound, one that was the size of a horse. Saliva dribbled down its chin and the beast snarled, making Aleysha take a step backward.

  Yuu smiled fearlessly at Ares’ Guardian. “Look, I understand that you’re following orders. But your master is in trouble, you know that, right?”

  The beast was silent.

  “We want to help him. If we don’t, he could die. You know that, right? Your job is to protect your master. So by preventing us from going to aid Ares you’re going to put him at even greater risk,” Yuu explained. He reached out to the hound and gently patted the creature’s wet nose. “There, there. Don’t you want to help Ares too?”

  Aleysha winced, expecting the monster to bite Yuu’s hand off at any moment. Fortunately, the creature didn’t.

  The beast whimpered, nodding its head gently.

  “Alright, because I’m standing here feeling as useless as a doll. Do you feel that way too?” Yuu moved closer, scratching the beast behind the ears and beneath the chin. The Guardian snorted and nodded once more, closing its eyes as it enjoyed Yuu’s gentle massage. “So you’ll be willing to help us save Ares, right?”

  The Guardian pulled away and stuck out its tongue, panting excitedly. Yes!

  Aleysha exhaled. “Wow, you’re pretty good with animals, aren’t you?”

  Yuu patted the Guardian on the top of the head with a laugh. “Yeah, I spent a lot of time with them as a child. Hey, little guy, you’re going to need a name, aren’t you?”

  Aleysha raised an eyebrow. Little guy?

  “You’ve got some pretty sharp teeth, huh? How about Fang?” Yuu said, hugging the hound’s neck while smiling broadly. “That seems to fit you.”

  Aleysha narrowed her eyes and stuck out her lower lip. What a way to pick a name….

  Fang suddenly turned his attention to the distance and growled, baring his pointy teeth. Aleysha turned to see what the Guardian was looking at and spotted an army of horsemen storming from the Lost Sands in the direction of Persepolis. Her eyes widened when she saw how fast these horsemen were riding. They were galloping at triple, if not quadruple, the speed of any ordinary riders. The hoofs of their horses glowed with a gleaming yellow light that matched the shining color of the sun, and a giant cloud of swirling dust streamed behind the thousands of galloping horsemen.

  The leading horseman was upon them within minutes and slowed to a stop as his mount trotted up the sand dune slowly. When the steed refused to climb any higher, the rider dismounted and continued forward on foot. Clearly his mount was frightened of Fang, who snarled at the newcomers. The man was wearing golden plated armor and had a helmet with bronze horns poking from the top. His greaves clanked as he stopped before Yuu, Aleysha, and Fang. He was wearing a blue mask of some demon entity that wore a creepy smile. The stranger reached up and pried off his mask, revealing that he was Alkaios, the king of Luxas. He smiled when he saw Aleysha. “Glad to see that you’re still in one piece, Aleysha. Where’s Ares?”

  “In Persepolis, wreaking havoc,” Aleysha said, pointing to the city over her shoulder. “He’s with Mithras, another god of war, confronting Ahriman right now. We were actually just about to go and back him up.”

  “Ah,” Alkaios said with a nod to Yuu and Fang. “These are your friends?”

  “Yeah! This is Yuu, he’s one of Ares’ old friends. And this big fella is Fang, he’s one of Ares’ Guardians,”
Aleysha introduced, tilting her head slightly. “How did you guys get here so fast? It’s only been a week!” She pointed to the vast army of horsemen that were galloping from the Lost Sands. “How did you get all these men across the Lost Sands safely?”

  “We received a blessing from a particular god, your father, Ra,” Alkaios said. “At least, he claims to be your parent. He said that we were to come and make sure that you’re alright because he knew that you were about to dive into some deep trouble. Looks like he was right.” He nodded towards the walls of Persepolis, where thousands of Persian soldiers were gathering. Foot soldiers piled through a gaping hole in the wall and archers took positions on top of the walls, preparing to launch a volley at the oncoming army. “Ra allowed us to pass safely through the Lost Sands without any dangerous encounters. He also granted our horses swiftness, allowing us to move at increased speed. These mounts have never needed a moment’s rest. My men, on the other hand, are quite exhausted after racing here with haste. But we knew that we had to get here quickly. Otherwise the fate of the continent would’ve already been decided before we arrived. Have you seen Tetsu or Kira?”

  “Not yet, why? Are they in Persepolis?”

  “Yes,” Alkaios said. “I’m worried about them. They went into the city alone, and from the looks of it, Persepolis’s main army is in there. If they weren’t careful, they could’ve easily gotten caught. Those soldiers out there are going to prevent you from getting inside. But we’ll get you in so that you can help Ares out. Just make sure to go and find Tetsu and Kira to ensure that the lot of them are alright. Can you do that for me?”

  “Of course,” Aleysha said with a resolute nod. She looked over her shoulder at the assembling Persian warriors. They must’ve begun bolstering their defensives after Ares and Mithra dove into Persepolis. “You intend to conquer the city?”

  “If we manage to take the capital and overthrow the king, then Persia will collapse,” Alkaios said. “But we will need to defeat Ahriman if we want to fully eliminate Persia as a threat to Dastia. You need to get to Ares’ side and help him.” The king glanced over his shoulder at the thousands of horsemen that waited patiently behind him, their steeds bathing in golden light from Ra’s blessing.

  Yuu and Aleysha mounted Fang, the beast growling as it turned its head towards Persepolis. The sea of warriors that were gathering outside of the walls seemed to be growing by the second. Just how many soldiers did they have?

  “Forward!” Alkaios boomed, his voice filled with authority as he mounted his steed. The king drove the heels of his boots into the sides of his mount and the ground rumbled like a furious earthquake as the thousands of armed horsemen charged towards the walls of Persepolis, ready to strike the city with everything they had.

  ***

  Cambyses walked through the empty hallways of Persepolis’s castle, making his way to the throne room. Bator had already informed the generals of the current situation. There was no doubt that the Persian warriors were already forming ranks and fortifying their defenses against the oncoming invaders. A raiding army from the east, huh? Surely, the Persians would not fall to such unsophisticated barbarians. The ground trembled suddenly and Cambyses halted, turning his head. The two guards that were standing at his side also stopped. What was that? An earthquake?

  Suddenly a wall in the castle was torn apart as a gargantuan red bull barreled through the stone, sending debris scattering in all directions. The beast trampled over one of Cambyses’s soldiers and continued onward, smashing into yet another wall as it charged towards Cambyses’s throne room. The king was on the ground, dust covering his face, his heart caught tight in his throat. He choked on his own words as he stared in shock at the obliterated walls of his castle and the deformed, squashed corpse of his guard. How on earth had a creature as large as that gotten into Persepolis? How was it even in the castle? Was it from the Lost Sands?

  Cambyses slowly pushed himself to his feet, brushing the dirt off his expensive clothing with an annoyed look on his face. Where was Zahir? That bastard ought to take care of this beast. He began to inch forward slowly and his eyes went wide, his face blanching of color, upon spotting upon a powerful man with curly brown hair, wearing golden armor. He stood with such authoritative posture that he had to be either a god or a king. Beside the stranger stood the monstrous bull that Cambyses had seen only moments before. A familiar that could only be summoned by gods. So that had to be the intruder’s Guardian.

  “Zahir, your selfish claiming of the unholy powers of the Persian god of darkness has been brought to the attention of all of the gods,” the man shouted, wielding a golden sword in one hand and a flaming torch of white fire in the other. “I, Mithra, of the Persian pantheon, have been sent forth to bring about your destruction. Surrender yourself and we will make sure your powers are stripped properly without taking your life.”

  Cambyses peered cautiously around the corner of the hole in the wall and saw that Mithra was standing in the throne room, and Ahriman was sitting upon the golden throne that belonged to Cambyses. The Persian king winced. What was Ahriman doing in his throne? Only those of royal blood were allowed to sit there, surely he knew that! Breaking that rule was punishable by death.

  Ahriman eyed Mithra as if he were a bug, easily squashable. He slammed both hands down on the golden arms of his throne and stood, rising to his full height. His eyes flashed a glowing shade of violet and a wicked smile cracked across his lips as he held out his hand, his golden scepter materializing in it. The weapon gleamed with the colors of all of the gems in the world. “Surrender myself? Why would I surrender to a lapdog that the gods are sending to subdue me? I’ll make an example of you, Mithra. Destroying you will prove to the gods that I am not afraid of them. And I’m not afraid to do what it takes to make my dream of a united continent come true!”

  Mithra raised his hand, his eyes coruscating bright orange as they reflected the radiating color of the sun. The white flames that blazed upon his torch suddenly leapt outwards and curled around his body, licking at his gleaming armor. Soon the bright flames filled the room, transforming the throne room into an inferno as howling fires snarled around Ahriman. “In that case, I’ll dispatch you myself.”

  Cambyses’s heart pounded when suddenly a gust of black magic swept through the room and sent both Mithra and his bull flying backward. The god and his gigantic companion tumbled through multiple walls, quaking the Persian castle. The king threw himself to the ground as Mithra’s body smashed through the wall right next to Cambyses. The Persian lord turned shakily to find that the god of war was buried under a pile of debris, which shook slightly. Tiny pebbles began to roll off the heap of debris, clattering to the floor.

  Mithra burst from the pile of detritus, sending stone and marble spraying in all directions as he rose to his feet. He didn’t look the slightest bit injured after receiving such a dangerously powerful blow from Ahriman. Mithra looked past Cambyses, hardly even noticing the cowering Persian king, and sprinted forward at his enemy.

  Cambyses clung to the floor, his body shaking uncontrollably. There was no way that he could stay here, not with these barbaric gods battling it out in his castle! He was about to turn to his guard to ask him to escort Cambyses out but he found that the soldier had been crushed underneath a collapsed wall, a bloodied hand sticking out from underneath the cracked stone. How useless. The king clawed at the ground, dirt and dust clinging to his expensive clothing as he began to crawl across the battleground in the direction of the exit. With gods battling within Persepolis and an unfamiliar invading force just outside Persepolis’s walls, Cambyses wasn’t sure if they would still be victorious. Then again, in lore, it was said that Ahriman was one of, if not the strongest god from the Persian pantheon. Surely, he wouldn’t fall to Mithra. But would he be able to fend off the foreign attackers as well? Was he even willing to? Cambyses winced, realizing that Ahriman was no longer under his control. Cambyses hadn’t realized until now that his throne had been usurped by the Per
sian god of darkness.

  ***

  Ares staggered backward, sweat pouring down his face. There were several cuts across his arms and legs from slash wounds and his face was slightly bruised. The two Magi, Sahad and Jafaar, were definitely formidable opponents. The entire area around their battle had been reduced to rubble. The broken corpses of several bystanders who had been caught in the fight lay sprawled out in the open. The god exhaled and was about to lunge forward at his enemies once more when he suddenly felt the ground rumbling and heard a loud cry that sounded like a resounding roar from a ravenous beast. He turned in the direction of the sound and realized that it was coming from outside of Persepolis.

  “What’s that?” Jafaar said with a frown, tilting his head to the side.

  “Sounds like some kind of a monster to me,” Sahad murmured, lowering his chain scythe to the ground. “It’s coming from the Lost Sands.”

  “An army,” Ares said aloud. He could feel the vibrations in the ground from thousands of horses dashing across the Lost Sands. But whose army was it? He lowered his head. That old man from the mansion in Yuusus. The king of Luxas. He’d offered to let Ares lead an army to storm Persia. Could that be his men attacking Persepolis?

  A flash of movement shot from Ares’ peripheral vision and one of the blades from Sahad’s chain scythe ripped through the air just past his face. The tip of the weapon grazed Ares’ cheek, slicing his skin slightly. The god winced, staggering backward at the sudden attack and saw that Jafaar was already sprinting at him with his sword swiping through the air. “You’re dead!”

  Ares’ eyes widened as a shadow suddenly loomed over him. He glanced up and saw an enormous hound leaping over him, descending on Jafaar. The beast smashed into the Magus, sending the man flipping wildly through the air. The man struck the ground with a heavy thud, his arm snapping unnaturally as he landed. He rolled several feet in the dirt before he went limp.