“There is a time for life and a time for death,” he called out, “a vow has been given and a promise made, let the one who made that vow come to his promise”.
A great bolt of lightning broke and rumbled over the fortress and the forest beyond and it was then that the great silver gong was struck and with the sound of it still hanging in the air Anais was brought forth. Earlier he had been taken from his cell and placed in a chamber at the base of the temple and there guarded by several strong warriors, he was given food and drink but he did not partake of them. He just sat with Kela at his side holding her hand and did not speak. He thought over the past cycles of his life, all his faults and sins, he prayed not for himself but for the young girl at his side for he wished that her life would be one filled with contentment after he was gone. In turn the young Handmaiden prayed that this day would never end and that she could go on holding the hand of the one she loved throughout all space and time. But now that time was over and with another striking of the huge gong he was taken from the dark room and into the light.
He wore only a simple robe without any embellishments and no gold or silver hung from his neck or around his arms, as a Prince of the Almadra was entitled to meet his end wearing his best but he turned down the offering and wore only this plain robe. His only request was to have Kela the young Handmaiden at his side so that she could lead him and seeing no harm in this his wish was granted, now both of them stood close together surrounded by warriors of the Norgonie.
Once more lightning broke the sky and mixed with the sound of the silver gong and as it hung in the air Anais and Kela began the long ascent up the stone stairway and to the death that was waiting. They did not speak as they move upwards for there was nothing to be said. Again and again the air filled with the sound of thunder and many of the Elders fell upon their knees and lifted their hands to the sky knowing that it was sign from the Gods. Even the dense forest outside the Fortress echoed with the wild cries of Sagar cats and great beasts of the woodlands for somehow they knew that danger was near.
Along with the sound of the gong and the wailing of beasts the people of the Outlands and the Forest-dwellers chanted and beat the ground with their weapons. For in spite of their outside veneer they were bred to be warriors and knowing that blood would soon flow the killing rage began to grow within them.
Egmar watched her son ascending up the stone steps and with each level her heart began to beat harder, come and end your life she thought. Join your brother and sister in death.
Vitranius also watched the young Prince moving towards him. A few more steps and all will end for you he mused. Then your fool of a mother will join you in the Afterlife.
Anais held onto the hand of Kela tightly, it was not from fear of falling but rather a hold that he wished would never end, I will miss her he thought. Perhaps we will meet again in the Afterlife?
Kela also did not want to loosen her grasp on the hand of the man she loved, not enough time, she thought. A hundred lifetimes would not be enough.
They reached the last step and stood before the High Priest of the Norgonie, “you have made a vow and now you will fulfill that promise” he said.
“I have and I will” replied the blind Prince, and then he turned to the Handmaiden at his side, “I will wait for you”, and then he reached out and kissed her softly on her lips.
“I will come soon” Kela replied.
It sounded like a empty promise but want no one knew was that the young girl had made a vow to Shawcona the Goddess of love that she would throw herself off the temple top when the High Priest plunged the dagger into the heart of her lover.
Once more the great gong sounded and then it was quiet, it was then that Vitranius motioned to his servants and they began to place the body of Anais on the sacrificial stone. He did not fight but lay quietly as they bound his arms and legs to the bloodstained rock and then they opened his robe so that his chest would lay naked for the knife.
“etaro niashto emargorana Isarie tar agro may” Anais said softly, they were words from the old language of the Nomads and meaning, “Isarie forgive my sins and make me whole”.
Kela did not look at Egmar or show any sign that she was once a Handmaiden of Isarie for she now only wished that the ritual would and end she could walk with her lover in the Afterlife.
“Row emarra cantro etarus” she whispered, it meant, “we give of ourselves”.
She watched as the cutting dagger was placed in the wrinkled hand of the High Priest, and when the ancient Callaxion felt the knife in his palm he turned and spoke in a loud voice so that all would hear.
“A vow of death has been made!” he shouted, “if anyone disputes this let them look to skies and the Gods for mercy” and then he lifted the dagger and prepared for the killing blow. “Ragute Ranana Trocoro Arm-ra, all glory to Arm-Ra” he called out.
Lightning thundered, warriors chanted, the time had come.
But as Kela looked up at the sky and made herself ready for her death she saw something coming out of the smoke from the south, and without knowing why she called out loudly.
“THE GODS HAVE ANSWERED!”
Hearing the words from the young girl the High Priest lowered his arm and looked up at the rumbling sky, as he did he saw dozens of dark creatures winging their way towards him. For a moment he thought it was a trick of the light or perhaps an illusion of his age but then the images came closer and he knew it was all too real.
Egmar too saw the great flying beasts and it filled her with dread for she somehow knew this was not the coming of the God that was foretold to her.
The Almadra and Norgonie alike looked up and saw the huge reptiles flying towards them, the warriors lifted their weapons and prepared to fight while the Elders gathered the young close to them and prayed to Isarie and Arm-Ra for deliverance. Screams of terror filled the air along with the war cries of the two tribes, this mixed with the booming of thunder and the flash of lightning.
Then there sounded a beating of wings and a vision of dark shadows falling upon the ground, a sky filled with the wailing of giant winged reptiles and the return of a King.
The huge Screecher that had born the King and his Mate on its back and guided by the risen warrior landed on the top level of the great temple and those standing there watched as Arn and Andra leaped down from its back and stood before them alive and well. Arn was covered in blood and the filth of the earth but his eyes blazed with a raw power as he stood like a dark God of death and vengeance. For a moment there was silence as the High Priest and the Holy Mother gazed into the eyes of the warrior they thought was dead.
“I have returned” Arn said quietly, then he saw the sacred dagger in the clawed hand of Ormadis and he spoke again, this time in a loud voice so that all could hear. “Your Queen and I are alive, and if you do not believe me look to the skies!” and he pointed upward with his war-ax.
And there above him flew down the Honnargar and the Queen and her son, the great flying beasts fell from the sky and all those below quickly moved out of their way least they are crushed by the immense creatures. Shouts of terror and screams rose up as the Almadra and Norgonie scurried for safety, clouds of dust billowed up from the ground as the wings of the titans beat the air. Then when all had landed and the warriors stood looking in wonderment at the Giants of the Earth the King turned to the High Priest of Arm-Ra.
“There will be no death here today,” he said looking deeply into the old man’s eyes, then he lifted his ax, “unless you wish to challenge me?”
Vitranius wisely let the sacrificial knife drop from his hand and turned to the Monks around him, “release him” he said pointing to the bound Prince, and hearing his words they quickly removed the bindings and Anais rose up from the alter stone. When he did Kela ran to his side and held him tightly.
Egmar who had stood by and watched her plans of vengeance vanish in the air like a morning mist now turned to her son and his mate; it was then that she saw the cocoon wrapped around the
body of the Off-World girl stirring. She watched as a tiny creature was unwrapped by Andra and held in her arms.
“What kind of creature is this?” She asked.
It was then that all with site looked up at Moonbud and gazed at the strange looking thing in her arms, and as the lighting and thunder filled the sky they wondered if this was a demon from the Pit or a gift of the Gods?
Chapter 41.
The Valley of Despair.
The great fortress of the Norgonie was constructed from large blocks of stone and reinforced with steel and iron, but the mineral content of the blocks are of an unusual nature and highly resistant to outside force. Where they were brought from and how they were transported I cannot say for I have seen no signs of a quarry or machinery capable of cutting such dense building material.
From the Mindlock of Oshismarie Inastro Sistashion.
The Valley of Despair was a place that was held in a grip of silence for those creatures that lived there seldom ventured out in the warm sunlight and preferred the cold darkness of their time worn caverns. Very few Norgonie had ever traveled there and those that did returned with stories of a land filled with great iron beasts long dead that once feasted on rock and ate the ground under their feet. It was also a place that sometimes saw the Galu, the huge vicious ape-men from the jungles of Yug that lay to the East. The sub-humans traveled there to gather bits of metal fallen from the massive machines and then they fashioned them into crude weapons for hunting and killing their enemies. But they did not dwell there long for they are a very superstitious species.
At the far end of the valley a large group of Galu made their way into the rock-strewn canyon, they had traveled a very long distance. They numbered a hundred or more, large hairy creatures endowed with massive strength but small brains, they killed whatever crossed their path and ate it for food. They had little fear of man or beast and prayed to no God, but like all primitive beings they were afraid of things they could not understand and if it was not for the metal that was plentiful in the haunted valley they would have never ventured there. But they needed the hardened steel for weapons so they overcame their dread and now entered the strange landscape.
The leader of the band was a head taller than his companions, he had long arms with muscles like bands of steel, his eyes were small and close set with a broad flat nose and a large jaw set with sharp teeth. His name would be meaningless to us but being that he was the strongest and most vicious of his kind the other followed behind and dare not challenge his leadership. The Galu wore little clothing save for a band of animal hide around their groins and small plates of steel woven into strips of hide that covered large upper bodies and gave them some protection from wild beasts or the axes of Outlanders who were their age-old enemies. The strongest of them had the skulls of Norgonie or Outlander hanging from their belts, this was a sign that they were not afraid of the power of the humans. Others held war-axes or spears taken from Nomads and Forest-dwellers in their huge hands and many of them carried round wooden shields held together with iron, the rest made due with whatever they could. Stone weapons were common but they understood that steel was far superior but they had no way of obtaining that save for the valley.
To them the canyon was a place of great spirits for there laid the huge steel beasts that gave them what they needed. They did not look upon them as Gods for that would have taken more intelligence then they possessed but they did bring offerings as such to show their respect. These offerings consisted of meat, fruit and the occasional human female; these unlucky women were taken by raiding parties to the northern forests of Caltarine and then brought with them to the valley. Many of the females died before reaching the canyon and those that did soon perished in a bloody ritual that the Galu performed as an entertainment to the spirits.
Neelu was one such female; she was not a warrior of the Norgonie for she was too young to fight having only reached her third cycle. But she did possess a strong body and would surely have become a great fighter of the tribe if Horcon the God of destiny had not seen fit to have her fall into the hands of the ape-men. Now she could only pray to Arm-Ra that her death would be a swift one. The young girl was bound hand and foot and being carried over the shoulder of a lumbering Galu, she could have called out but she knew that there were none to hear her so she kept her mouth shut and continued to pray in silence.
The Galu had captured Neelu just before the arrival of the Outlanders; she and her sister had been out gathering fruit when they were set upon by the savage ape-men. Her younger sister had died quickly and now as the primitive humans were carrying her she wished that her fate had been the same.
My life is in the hands of Arm-Ra now, she thought, but that was of little comfort for she knew very well how savage the man-beasts from the jungles could be. But still she tried to remember the ancient prayers in hopes that they would give her some semblance of peace.
“Damage to sections twenty one through sections thirty one due to corrosive vapors, extensive frontal damage from impact upon escape,” the Taskrobot reported, “repairs can commence when sufficient materials are located”.
To this the Shadowman did not reply so the drone continued his report, “loss of independent worker and Repairbots at seventy five percent, replacement of Repairbots is underway but we do not have sufficient biological replacements for workers and mobile weapons”. Then the metal machine waited for a response, but again there was none. “Power is at fifty percent, combustible material is at acceptable levels but H2o supply will be depleted in seven point six time periods but scanning of the atmosphere has determined that replenishment will take place before termination “. And again there was no response from the Man-God, “long range weapons have been damaged but can be repaired”.
The Shadowman stood gazing up at the glowing Orb before him, in the past he would have bowed his head when looking upon such a great God. But now all he saw was a containment sphere connected to nutrient supply conduits and filled with an organic reactive organism that did not seem of much importance anymore.
Why did I fall upon my knees when I first looked at this thing? He asked his mind. This is nothing more then an information analyzer.
The Orb understood what the human machine was thinking but now it no longer cared for its interactive responses and compilation data pathways had been absorbed by the soul of the Shadowman. If a scholar of the Outer Rim had been present and had access to the information pertaining to Outlanders and their amazing ability to navigate and select their leaders based on the power of their minds. They would have theorized that sense the Cyberman was indeed a womb-twin of the King of the Almadra his mind possessed a very high level of will and that would surely have been a factor in the absorbing of the Organic Reactive Brain.
“Begin repairs immediately” ordered the Man-God, “continue forward acceleration at half velocity and scan terrain for organic life forms that are acceptable for re-programming as weapons”.
“At once my God”, replied the Taskrobot, and then it moved to the control consoles to carry out the commands of its master.
The metal man seated himself on a transfer conduit and waited for the nutrition supply drones to come and attached their conductors to the input ports at his abdomen, for although he was now the commander of the most powerful force on the planet he still knew hunger. Near by the metal man were several Repairbots and numerous Spotters, they work feverishly to complete a new mechanism in the chamber. Its design had been layout by their master and although there were many repairs that should have been done before this new tasked they were programmed to obey and obey they would.
Outside the great machine was broken and one of its huge weapon claws had been torn off when it impacted with the massive steel wall. There was also a great deal of damage to its outer hull casing and one frontal drive wheel had been broken but it was a minor consideration. Its Electromagnetic shielding was still functioning and most of its long-range guns were intact, so it began to move forward and down
the long desolate valley all the while continuing to repair itself.
In ages long past the valley was an important source of building materials for the stone that lay there was of a particular high quality and very useful in the construction of the pyramid cities and the fortress of the Norgonie. The Overlords had their workers cut through the valley using the massive machines that littered the area. But now there were no Overlords and the cutting machines sat unmoving but there rusting framework would soon bring new life to the metal God.
The Galu continued their march into the valley, all about them lay the massive rusting machines of a time long past, some of them were the size of Earthshakers while other were no more than the length of a Trofar. Many lay half buried in the rock like metal creatures emerging from the underground, others sat as if they might come alive at any moment. Along with the machines were countless blocks of stone, cut and ready to be used for whatever construction the Overlords might have in store for them. But now those Masters of the earth were long dead and the stone lay like some many pitted gamble cubes.
All this did not matter to the Norgonie girl, to her the ancient machines were the work of the Gods and only they knew their purpose, she concerned herself with the here and now and the horrible future that would soon be hers. So she prayed and tried to make amends for the many transgressions she had made against Arm-Ra and the other countless Gods.
Forgive me for not making offerings at your day of thanks, she prayed, forgive me for walking in the forest when I should have been reading your Holy Book, forgive me for...
She continued numbering all the sins that she could remember and when she could not remember any more she started at the beginning once again.
The Fallen God Page 61
