Eve of Snows: Sundering the Gods Book One

by L. James Rice

  Artus stepped to the gangplank. “I’ll stay with the lady. Feels wrong to run from my home, anyhow. Whether a sword to protect her, or a voice to talk to, I’ll stay.”

  Jinbin, too, stepped up. “I will stay.” Eliles’ nerves frayed, the monk was the last man Ivin would want staying behind, but she couldn’t refuse his courage.

  Several more stepped forward, then a second wave. Eliles recognized Seden from the Salty Frog Tavern. “I ain’t fond of running m’self, and someone’ll need to cook.” She eyed Artus. “Someone with taste, that is.”

  Eliles chewed her lip, perplexed that so many would stay behind, and pained by Ivin’s frown as he turned his gaze anywhere but on Jinbin. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, all I promise is survival.”

  Artus asked, “And what promises do the Parapet Straits and the continent make?”

  Ivin came to her, wrapped her in his arms, his eyes soft, but he held her so tight she could feel both their hearts beating. “Don’t stay, come with me.”

  “Ulrikt’s Shadow brings the ice, if the Sliver can destroy him—”

  “Drop the Sliver in the ocean, lose it forever.”

  “Even if… It wouldn’t stop them from reaching the continent, us, our people, the Tek Nations, and how many more peoples? I can keep them from ever leaving Kaludor.”

  “We’ll find another way.”

  “I can no more go with you than you can stay with me. Go, find a way to close the gate, then come back for me. I’ll be here, always, waiting.” Her words were neither a falsehood nor the truth, there wasn’t a way to know for sure, but the grind in her gut felt like she lied. But his grip eased, her words maybe soothing his fears with hope. “Time runs short.”

  His lips pressed to hers, and he let go of her. “Any who wish to remain on the island, disembark now.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nineteen men and women walked the plank to the pier before Artus hugged his nephew. “Gods be kind and bring you back to us with good news.”

  Ivin nodded, and clapped the man on his back, but didn’t say a word as his uncle stepped from the ship.

  Eliles pulled the Touched’s tome from her haversack, offering it to Lelishen. “This was your gift.”

  The woman smiled, staring. “You should keep it.”

  Generosity was in the Trelelunin’s nature, but there was no doubting she wanted the book. Eliles shoved the book into her chest. “I can’t read most of it anyhow.”

  Lelishen gave a curt nod and clutched the book.

  Eliles held the rail, one foot still on the deck. She turned to Ivin, wanting to say “I love you” but instead she only mustered a smile before turning from his anguished eyes. She reached the dock and stood staring into the empty streets of the town, unable to look back until she knew there was no means to re-board the caravel. When the sails whipped in the wind, she faced the bay again, but turned her eyes to the oncoming ice.

  Shadows and Taken drew close, giving her pause. The Luxuns needed to get the ship from the island quick or risk incineration. Artus and Jinbin stood beside her, everyone else meandering to the wharf to wait.

  Artus said, “Well, girl, I hope you know what the hells yer doing.”

  Jinbin put on a smile, but his voice strained. “My life is on my faith in One Lash.”

  Eliles’ breath quivered, and she looked to the older man. “Still got that flask?”

  Artus beamed. “Do I? Always!”

  He twisted the cap and offered her the first drink. The cedar burn constricted her throat, making her cough, but she managed a second swallow.

  “Quality whiskey, made it m’self.”

  Her eyes watered. “You don’t say?”

  The third and fourth drink of the concoction went down easier and she no longer doubted its quality. The knots in her gut unwound, and she relaxed with a couple breaths, but had to pass on a fifth lest she wobble.

  She sat cross-legged, closing her eyes, taking deep breaths, meditating her mind into focus, reaching out to her friends and stirring them awake.

  When she reopened her eyes to the world, the Shadow of Ulrikt was no longer a blur in a wall of wriggling black, he was a being distinct from the crowd. She reached into her robes, grasping the warmth of the Sliver of Star and held it in her lap. Her eyelids flared in sparkling rainbows with every blink.

  She could feel Ulrikt’s hatred burning into her and she fed on the threat, the fear and hatred he bred within her, to speak to fire. Her friends swarmed around her and the Sliver swelled into a star of silver liquid-light.

  The great Shadow roared, and she felt the man’s mind forced into her consciousness, grasping for control of her will, of the Sliver. “Your world is mine, fool girl. Your soul, too.”

  The voice belonged to Ulrikt, and his power made her fingers twitch. In a lesser moment, in a time past, he would’ve frozen her every action and thought, but with her fury and fire amplified by the Sliver, his efforts were as a pup underestimating what comes from a badger’s hole.

  Silver light spread in translucent liquid waves, her friends of Fire diving and dancing in its energies, sprinkling every color of flame into its essence until the silver turned to waves of orange and yellow, streaks of blue and green. She raised her head and smiled at the Shadow, still several hundred strides away. In Istinjoln the ring of fire had threatened eternity, now she summoned it.

  “Goodbye, Ulrikt.”

  Her hair lifted then fell flat, and her tongue dried with her next breath. Heat surged and flames hissed, and she called it from the skies in a great wheel, slamming the bay with a deafening roar and blinding steam that left her skin dripping with moisture, cooling in hot winds.

  Ulrikt’s Shadow disappeared in fire and fog, gone, but she didn’t know whether she’d killed it. She would love to know she’d brought his end, but it didn’t matter. The Sliver of Star would never be his, nor anyone else’s.

  Victory belonged to her, but she realized she had lied to her love, and she regretted the decision to give him false hope. These fires would burn until the end of days, more powerful than she had imagined.

  The vague sense of Artus’ hand on her shoulder gave some small comfort. “By the gods, girl.”

  Jinbin kissed two fingers and pressed them to his forehead. “A prison of fire.”

  Eliles stood and wiped her face with the soaked sleeve of her robe, took a quaking breath, and stifled tears. The flames and fog were beautiful, and she found herself taking pride in her creation. Breathing is hope. She smiled. “I’ve never been more free.

  I MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. Ivin needed to believe that. His clan needed him, hells, the entire Silone people might need him. The island of Kaludor would be overrun within weeks, he couldn’t even be sure the Colok would survive such a hostile world. When they reclaimed his home, he needed to be there, be part of the revenge. But his heart remained empty and lost.

  The docks and the woman he loved shrank into the distance first, Eliles standing resolute on the wharf waiting for evil with Jinbin by her side, and as additional sails rose and filled with winds, the rocky island and its towers traveled into his past. Everything he had known in his life disappeared on the horizon. He clutched the rail, his sorrow turning to anger at himself. He should’ve stayed. He should strip his gear and dive into the waters, swim for the shore. Kick the smug monk’s ass straight into the bay.

  “The ice must be close, what is she waiting for?”

  Solineus leaned on the rail, unflappable as ever, at least on the outside. “I trust her.”

  Ivin doubted the man’s words. “And if she’s failed? If Ulrikt has killed her, taken the Sliver, what then?”

  “We fight that fight, but only when it comes.”

  The bastard picked his fingernails while Ivin’s gut tore him apart. “You’re a godsdamned—”

  Fog rose from the waters of the Bay, and a warm wind washed over them in a rush. Everyone on deck stared, and several screamed. A concentric wall of fire fell from the h
eavens, slamming into frigid waters with a roar of steam from combative elements. Waves surged from the fire, roiling until lifting the stern of the Entiyu Emoño, lifting and shifting, the winds of the rush pushing them farther and faster from his love.

  Ivin’s heart collapsed, his fingers limp and numb on the rail. Flames mountain high engulfed the Watch, nothing could survive such an inferno. Eliles, Artus, and the others sacrificed for a failing cause.

  Heat rushed over his face and hands, worked its way beneath winter layers, warmed the breath in his lungs.

  He expected the fires to fade, to disappear, but they streamed constant as if given birth by the sun, a tower of oranges, yellows, and blues built from a foundation of gray sky to plummet into a steam-cloud of its own making, and a parapet of boiling waters. An inversion of reality that brought awe and terror to Ivin’s heart. Through the flames he caught glimpses, flickers of the Watch deep within. A chill danced down his back. A relief, a hint of hope that might prove as false as so many before.

  “Her second tower? They’re alive, she’s alive.”

  Solineus clapped him on the shoulder. “I reckon so. A sweet girl who might sacrifice herself, but did you think she’d kill those other folks?”

  Hot winds filled the sails as unending flame plunged from the sky, striking the sea. “No.”

  Hope rushed with the beat of his heart, but the heat drying his skin and eyes as he stared brought despair while erasing any tears which might otherwise have fallen.

  Lelishen stepped beside them, her eyes wide, and voice hushed. “Not since the God Wars have mortals witnessed such raw power.”

  Solineus asked, “The Sliver of Star, what the hells is it?”

  “I’d wager only the First Dragons, or the Touched, could answer your question. The White-Eyes, perhaps.”

  Solineus quipped, “If only we could earn its name.”

  Ivin leaned on the rail until his chin rested on his knuckles, ignoring their conversation. They spoke of historical deeds, all he could think of was himself. Someday, somehow, he’d find his way back to her, he felt a certitude that the gods wouldn’t deny him this one favor, but another piece of him squirmed and told him the gods were to blame.

  Solineus clutched the nape of Ivin’s cloak and lifted him from his thoughts, dragging him stumbling across the deck. They passed so many eyes looking to him, for what? For leadership, positive words, hope? He paused to meet their stares and staggered when Solineus smacked him in the back of the head.

  “Keep them feet moving.” The man led him to the forecastle where they stood alone. Solineus pointed to the open sea dotted with sails. “If you look to get back to her, this is your direction.”

  The breeze was cool, refreshing, easier to breathe.

  Ivin wanted to scream, pummel the man, but he recognized the truth in Solineus’ words. Kotin, the son of a bitch, proved himself right again. “Forward is the best way to get everywhere.”

  With wind in the sails, the future was coming fast.

  MOZTOKO, Mypepar, Поибель, Emvikrobu, Tureviveven, Fatum, Omnare,

  Doom is my Mood in the winter of my birth, the end of all.

  Dance in the womb!

  Dance amid the emotional Soul!

  The blood of my mother steams upon my newborn brow, the witch of eternity and promise of potential unfounded and wicked, the single eye—my father if you need know, the swirl, the sworl, the whorl, father not of Dragons but of the dragon’s Nest and me and you and her—incestuous whoremonger?

  You misunderstand me, you, yourself, whores and mongering in general, mongrel mongering dumb monkey with a twitch you speak of as a mind.

  If or when that sad, puny, pruney, and shamed, flickety-flash of lightning trapped within your skull is able to stand under understanding, of seeing, of feeling, of tasting the slick of the blood of Life, come again and speak to me, and I will tell you more, of when Doom is my Mood, in the summer of my Death.

  My Sincere Apologies.

  No, not you.

  You. Dugnamtar?

  —Tomes of the Touched

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  THE PANTHEON OF SOL

  In tales of heroism and war, the gods of the Silone are depicted by their adherents as human in nature and appearance, but it is well-accepted by theologians that their true dispositions are unknown. Surviving documents from the Age of God Wars describe them in idealized human terms, but also confirm the shape-changing abilities of these deities.

  While pantheon canon teaches what follows as fact, scholars should note that most religions on the Sister Continents have creation stories. They can’t all be right.

  In the beginning there was war.

  In the blackness of deep time two forces separated from one, swirling, a tide-pool of water and oil no longer able to mix. Tundeu (mother of the universe) came to consciousness, her hands locked around the throat of Kudarn (father of the universe), her own neck squeezed by this other. They twirled in a murderous dance, their living passions setting the universe ablaze. Two sparks arose: Sol and Rin.

  Sol, King of the Gods, was born amid the Flames of War between Tundeu and Kudarn soon after the formation of the universe. He took the form of a Fire Lion in the name of his mother to battle Rin, the Ice Lion. Sol defeated Rin, and as the battle between his parents raged he recruited other gods born from their battle, bringing them under his rule to defeat Kudarn.

  Sol rules from the Conqueror Heaven, his constellation is the Fire Lion.

  ELINWE, Queen of the Gods, was the second created from the war between Tundeu and Kudarn. She is often called the Lion’s Paw, and surviving accounts from the Age of God Wars suggest she was brutal in battle, but quicker to peace than her husband, giving rise to the saying “ask the Lion’s Paw” when seeking peace with the pantheon.

  Elinwe rules beside her husband in the Conqueror Heaven, but Sol also gifted her with the Loved Heaven. Her constellation is the Lion’s Paw.

  BURDENIS, Lord of Winter, was third created, and at first he battled on the side of Kudarn, but Sol eventually won him over with the promise of taking on Rin’s powers of Ice. His turning from Kudarn is spoken of as the most important turning point in the war after Sol’s victory over Rin.

  Burdenis is said to reside in the Wise Heaven, and his constellation is the Mountain Eagle.

  ESTENWILE, Lady of the Sea, was fourth created simultaneously with Zinmil. She is depicted as a kind heart with a vicious temper. Sailors and fishermen pray often to her for deliverance from storms.

  Estenwile’s alliance with Sol earned her the Faithful Heaven, co-ruled with Zinmil, and her constellation is the Dolphin.

  ZINMIL, Lord of Winds, was Fourth created along with Estenwile. They are often spoken of as a couple, but this varies between texts. As Lord of the Wind, Zinmil is often included in prayers to Estenwile.

  Zinmil rules the faithful Heaven alongside Estenwile, and his constellation is the Anchor.

  KIBOLE, Lady of the Night, was Sixth created. She was slow to come to Sol’s aid but her presence was vital in the end, blinding Kundar with Dark so he might be slain. Her personality is conflicted, similar to the night which is beautiful and tranqui
l, but capable of concealing terrors. Kibole is also the creator of the Road of Living Stars.

  Kibole rules the Serene Heaven, and she is represented by no constellation. Her symbol is the ring of fire surrounding the eclipsed sun. Eclipses are an important time for her worship.

  TULULE, Lady of Fertility, was seventh created, and she never went to war with Kundar, but she is later instrumental in Sol and Elinwe’s union bringing children into the universe. Farmers, midwives, and parents pray to her for fertility in the womb and the fields, as well as for healthy children and crops.

  Tulule rules from the Provider Heaven, and her constellation is the Cross of Pearls.

  TURZJEN, Lord of Valor and Wisdom, was eighth created, and the god credited with the tactics that defeated Kudarn after eons of war. It is said he charged Kudarn and was nearly killed in the effort, but it opened Kudarn to Kibole’s Dark and Sol’s flaming teeth, striking such fear and pain that Tundelu was able to swallow Kudarn whole.

  Turzjen rules the Wise Heaven, and his constellation is the Warhorse.

  ERGINLE, Goddess of Life, is the first-born daughter of Sol and Elinwe. When Tundeu regurgitated the “head” of Kudarn (creating the world of the Sister Continents) and commanded it populated, Tulule first needed to discover the secrets of Spirit and Life. Erginle, and the fertility of the gods, was the result.

  Erginle rules over the Wealthy Heaven, the only “born” god to control a heaven. Her constellation is the Tree of life.

  ETINBIN, God of the Dead and the Hells, is the first-born son of Sol and Elinwe. He is often, but not always, considered a key god when praying for a soul to cross safely over the Road of Living Stars.

  Etinbine is the overseer of all the Hells, and the Hell of the False Prophet in particular. His constellation is the Broken Skeleton.

  BONTORE, God of Knowledge, is the second born son of Sol and Elinwe. He begins his existence seeking an understanding of the mortal soul, but after the Great Forgetting, his knowledge is converted into seeing the future and communicating with the pantheon’s faithful through the oracles of bones.