Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

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  Uritus looked out the tiny window as the sun struggled to rise above the mountains. It was remarkably easy for him to find the Black Mages in Vindyrion; but wearing black robes out in the open made him easy to spot. Almost as soon as he descended the steps at the temple, a man claiming to be a Black Mage hurried him to his nearby home. The man was poor, but he still found food to feed his new Medoran friend. They stayed up all night talking and when the man was convinced that Uritus was indeed a Black Mage from Medora, he went to get a few more Mages. None wore any robes but Uritus, but he kept the hood down.

  He turned to the four men sitting at a round table. "So you have no defense against these Silver Mages?"

  A heavy man with a thick blonde moustache answered. "No, they have somehow learned to use real magic. It all happened about 15 years ago, when I was just becoming a man. I don't know how they learned to use such powers, but we have not had any luck learning any magic ourselves."

  "It was much the same in Medora until recently. I have learned to control magic, and most of my Mages there have been taught. If we had more time I would show you some things to start, but that will have to wait."

  The man tapped his meaty hand on the wooden table. "Do the Mages in Medora walk the streets wearing their robes?"

  "Of course we do. The people are afraid of us but they are too stupid to do anything about our presence. Why?"

  "Well Medoran, as you can see we are not even wearing our robes now. We never wear them unless we are in the middle of a ceremony. It's too dangerous to walk around here with them on. I am surprised that you have not already been attacked."

  Uritus chuckled. "Attacked? By who?"

  "The Silver Mages. Haven't you been paying attention?"

  "My friend, I assure you that no one can harm me. I fear nothing."

  "How can you be sure that the Silver Mages cannot harm you? You can't be sure of the strength of their power."

  "I am sure because these robes are not the normal robes of the Red Master Mage. They are the robes of Inshae."

  All of the men let out a laugh, thinking he was joking. The one with the moustache drummed his hands on the table to express his amusement. "Is that right Medoran? Where did you find them?"

  "In the city of Brinn."

  Another man spoke up. "We are not stupid Medoran. Don't take us for fools."

  "I did not make any accusations regarding your stupidity, Vindyri. These are in fact the sacred robes of our god. I have spoken with him as well. Would you like to laugh about that too?"

  "Look, we don't mean to be offensive, but there are no robes. There are no artifacts of the gods; they're just a myth."

  "I find it hard to believe that you gentlemen lack any sort of faith. Why on earth would you become a Mage if you do not believe in the things we teach?"

  The heavy man leaned back in his chair. "We are Black Mages because we feel that the ideals of the sect are more in line with what we believe. We could have become Silver Mages and been granted power and safety, but they believe things that we don't. We are two groups sharing many traits, but we are divided by our beliefs."

  Uritus stroked his chin. "And what exactly do the Black Mages here in Vindyrion believe in that the Silver ones don't?"

  "We believe in absolute equality. No man in this nation is any greater than the rest. We must all rise up and succeed together, not as individuals."

  "Then the Mages in Vindyrion are more like the Medoran Mages than I was beginning to think. I hold those same beliefs, although I do not have the reckless irreverence for our god that you seem to have. I applaud your vision, but if you were under my control you would be punished for your insolence toward Inshae."

  "But we have done nothing to suggest that we do not respect Inshae. You have no evidence of that whatsoever."

  "You laughed when I told you about the robes. You claim that the old books tell lies. While it is true that The Book of Oderion was largely made up by Mages countless years ago, the true information was still handed down to you and you mock it. I found a copy of the original Book of Oderion, and it told me where to find the sword of Arius. Another book tells me where the rest of the artifacts are located, and that is how I found these robes. My Mages are back in Medora now, faithfully translating that text and finding other artifacts and items of magic."

  One of the men frowned and threaded his fingers together. "You claim that you have found more artifacts? How many?"

  "So far we have found the robes of Inshae, and the sword and armor of Arius. We killed the god of war in a ritual and attempted to put a puppet god in his place, but things did not go as planned. He escaped before we could finish."

  The man grinned. "You have to understand how ridiculous all of this sounds to us, Medoran. How can you expect us to believe all of that?"

  "I don't expect you to believe anything. But if you see a Medoran with a golden sword, kill him. However, if the Medoran has blue eyes, leave him alone. I sent one of my men to retrieve the sword. Hopefully he has it by now. That man also wears the armor of Arius."

  "And would we be able to kill this god you created?"

  "I have discussed this with Inshae. We believe that he does have some power, but he is not really a god. It is likely that he will age and die normally, and he should be able to be killed."

  The heavy man pulled at his moustache. "If this is all true, we have reason to fear this man who is now a god. As far as I know, nothing like this has ever happened. It should be our main priority to find him and kill him."

  "You are correct, Vindyri. Nothing like this has ever happened. Inshae has sent me here personally to ensure that the matter is taken care of. As I already mentioned, I have another one of my Mages hunting him down as well. We must kill Rommus Tirinius, and we must find his father Tannis, and kill him too."

  "Tannis Tirinius. Yes I know that name. He is the General of the Medoran army; or at least he was many years ago. He is not well-liked here in Vindyrion. Many of our fathers and sons died by his hand and the hands of his soldiers."

  "I am aware of that. We are fortunate that the Vindyri think of him as an enemy. If we're lucky one of them will find a way to cut his belly open and spill his entrails. I don't really care how he dies, as long as it happens soon. Inshae demands his blood, for until all of those in the Tirinius bloodline are dead, the balance of power cannot be shifted to the gods of darkness."

  "What do you mean? How can killing these men shift any power among the gods?"

  Uritus sighed. "It is not easy to explain. The gods need bloodlines here in this world in order to maintain some kind of connection to this realm. This is also the reason for the artifacts. Without this connection there would be no gods as far as we knew, and if there were no gods, there would be no creation. We would not exist without this link between worlds.

  "Our goal as loyal followers of Inshae is to eliminate the other gods and grant him supreme rule. As I have said, I have discovered how to kill a god, and it is my intention to kill all of them but Inshae. That is my purpose. That is why I am here in Vindyrion."

  The men were shocked and stared at him with wide eyes. "How can you say such things when the eyes and ears of the gods are in every shadow?"

  Uritus laughed. "My fellow Mages, the gods are not listening. Have they answered your prayers? Have they given you the success and protection from harm that you desire? Did they keep your fathers and sons safe when they went off to war with Medora? The sad fact is that man is responsible for these things. Man must protect himself. Man must find his own path for success. But this is only a simplistic explanation for our duties. Most of mankind is foolish and cannot take care of themselves. It is our duty to provide these lesser men with a system of rule that ensures that their efforts are combined with the efforts of others. A man is weak, but men are strong. A single brick does not a city make."

  The heavy man crossed his arms and stared down his nose at Uritus. "You dare say that w
e lack respect for Inshae, and you sit there and tell us that the gods do not listen to our prayers? Just who do you think you are?"

  "I am a man who understands that is it not man's duty to ask of the gods; it is the duty of the gods to command man."

  "You seem very confident, Medoran. I do not know much about what the gods want from us, but I do understand your words. You are beaming with strength and integrity, and I am beginning to feel like you are a man we could all follow. Your view of the world is nearly identical to ours, and we fight for the same cause. We have remained in the shadows as we helped to shift this nation into its current state. We have done much to advance our cause, but the people still hate us, even though we are doing things for their benefit. We dream of the day when we can walk among them as friends and saviors, and when they can understand that we helped to bring such unified success to Vindyrion."

  Uritus crossed his arms. "There will always be people who hate their superiors. You cannot let the voice of the people deter you from your cause. You already know what is best for them, so continue to do the things that make this world a better place to live in. People are lazy. Force them to unite and work towards a common goal."

  The man with the moustache was silent for a moment as he stared reverently at Uritus. "You are truly a great man. You have a vision and you inspire me. I would follow you if you asked it of me."

  Uritus snorted a laugh. "And what would your Red Master have to say about that, my friend?"

  "Uritus, you are speaking with the Red Master of Vindyrion. My name is Duncan."

  "Is that right? Well if you are willing to follow me, I am willing to lead you Duncan; you and your men."

  "It seems as if you have a better idea of your agenda than we do. And if it is true that Inshae has chosen you to wear his robes and take orders from him directly, I don't see how we could refuse to follow you. We will do as Inshae commands, and if it is through you, then so be it."

  "Good. I am glad to hear that you are so willing to join with me. Right now I just need those two men dead. Nothing else matters. Send all your men to find Rommus Tirinius. Kill him on the spot."

  "How will we know where to find him or what he looks like?"

  "Rommus is tall; taller than most men. He is strong and well-built. He has the dark hair of the Medorans and dark eyes. He carries with him the sword of Arius, and he is most likely traveling with an attractive Vindyri woman. His father is even easier to spot. If you should happen to see his father, kill him as well. He is much taller than any man I have ever met, and he wears all black, even though he is Medoran. He wears no armor at all, and he has a black sword.

  "I must warn you though, both of them?especially Tannis?are extremely dangerous. Both of them were trained as soldiers, and neither of them are fools. While Tannis is the deadlier of the two, Remember that Rommus has that sword. If he touches you with that blade, it will send you directly to the void. Even the smallest cut will destroy you.

  "Rommus is somewhere between here and the Land of the Gods, but he is most likely not spending a lot of time on the open roads. Tannis is obviously to the northwest of this city with the rest of the Medoran army."

  "So it is true. The Medorans are coming to fight in the war?"

  "Yes they are coming. There are two Legions remaining in Medora though to protect the cities and people there, but no protection is really needed. There are no plans to attack Medora."

  "How can you be sure of that?"

  "I am sure because I have had a part in planning this war. Have you prepared for the war in any way?"

  "There is nothing that we can do. We are doing the same thing everyone else in Vindyrion is doing. We will leave the city as soon as we know the Bhoors will attack it."

  "You fools. The Bhoors are not here to attack you. The Bhoors are secretly working with the Vindyri army. They are waiting for the Medorans to arrive."