The God Warriors (12 page)

Thorvald Gunderson threw the reports down and roared with fury. He just read the latest reports on the disaster at Ashstone. Almost eight thousand dead, and the body count was still rising. Thank the gods that the safety protocols had held or the body count would have been five hundred thousand. When the mountain rumbled and cracks first appeared, levers were pulled, chutes were opened, and when the lava came, it funneled into a nearby flue to empty into the ocean almost a hundred miles away. However, not before it wiped out thousands of homes, killing thousands more. Even where Thorvald sat, in Groundhome, over a hundred miles away, they felt the tremor and knew something was wrong.

Ashstone, known for its tin and minor jewel deposits, held a population in the hundreds of thousands, approaching a half million and was a thriving center of commerce. Now, it was a disaster area that would not see active mining for years to come. The death toll among Thana alone was horrendous, and Thorvald burned with rage at the why of it, for he knew there would be more deaths due to smoke and fume inhalation, even though the ventilation pumps were working overtime.

"Get that wizard in here now!" he screamed in fury at his subordinate, Eric Fortson. The man left so quickly he seemed to disappear, even though his size was large, and Thorvald passed the time by breaking things within his office. He had almost given up waiting when the door flew open with Eric dragging Regin Berthorson in by his robes. Thorvald knew the wizards could communicate with each other over distances. It was how he stayed in touch with the many cities the Thana populated.

"What in the twenty levels of Shianna took you so long, Wizard?" roared Thorvald.

"Sire." For Thorvald Gunderson was the King of Earthhaven, the home of the Thana. "I needed to consult the Head Priest first. It is as I suspected but I needed confirmation!" the wizard stuttered.

"Would you get to the point, you blithering idiot?" his king demanded.

"Mortis says it was Logi, and that's why our wizards and priests detected nothing until it was too late." Regin said, informing Thorvald that it was the Jugazi's, god of Chaos that caused the destruction.

"What? No. That cannot be. We have an understanding with Logi. Especially after he and Mortis fought, the last time Logi tried something similar. Why would he do this?"

"The Jugazi." Thorvald's fury burned incandescent at that short answer, and he turned to his advisor, Eric, again.

"Get all my advisors, Eric, and this time don't take so long, or I'll yank out those gold teeth you're so proud of, one by one, with my bare hands. Wizard, you stay here."

A chorus of "Yes, Sire" rang out, and one man disappeared like a puff of wind while the other stayed. As soon as Eric left, Thorvald turned to the wizard.

"Will it happen again? Did you happen to ask the priest that?"

"Maybe, and yes." Thorvald headed around his desk, murder in his eyes at the short answer, and the wizard immediately held up placating hands speaking quickly. "The Head Priest says Mortis cannot promise to catch Logi every time. He will try, but Logi is unpredictable and is very clever at seeming to appear in one place, while actually wreaking havoc in another. Mortis says he will do his best, but he must preserve his strength in case of need in the upcoming war."

"You're speaking of the new war the dark ones intend to pursue with the southern countries. What matter is that of ours? Mortis is our god, not theirs," said Thorvald with a growl.

"Have you forgotten your history lessons so quickly, my King?" asked Regin.

"No. Well, maybe. It was a couple hundred years ago since I was a kid, and I always hated reading, even now. So, refresh my memory, Regin." King Thorvald returned to his chair behind the desk and settled back, waiting for his Chief Wizard to begin.

"Very well, Sire," he began. "Eons ago, the Thana did not live on this planet. Instead, we came from another in a different universe, in fact. It was a beautiful world, even more so than this one. Rugged peaks so tall a man could not breathe at their tops and active volcanoes strewn everywhere but one area, the South Pole. The southernmost tip of the planet remained shrouded in ice, due to the tilt of the planet as it circled the sun. Small seas and large lakes dotted the land here and there, and it was a paradise. The people were fat and happy. Our God Mortis was very good to us, seeing to our every need." Regin stopped for the moment and coughed a few times while rubbing his throat, looking longingly at the sideboard where sat a barrel of premium ale fit for a king, which was the reason it was sitting there. Thorvald rolled his eyes and got up to fill a tankard for the wizard, also drawing one for himself.

"Here you go, Wizard, but you get the next one," said Thorvald as he growled again. The Thana did not stand on much ceremony and were a practical people. Taking a large swallow of his own, he impatiently started tapping his foot after sitting.

"Ah, thank you, Sire," Regin said as he downed half of the sweet hoppy nectar before lowering it to the small table beside his chair. "As I was saying, our God Mortis saw to our every need and the people were happy and prosperous. At one time, I understand we numbered hundreds of millions, perhaps even a billion people: our great cities were everywhere in the ground, with some measuring more than a dozen miles in diameter, being built on levels upon levels of golden arches. We had communications that spanned the globe in an instant and even transportation that flew through the air. Then one day, there were great earthquakes. In fact, the earth never stopped shaking from that moment forward." Regin coughed again, drained his tankard then got up to get another to the frown of Thorvald. Finally, he sat back down and continued while the king wondered if he had enough ale on hand to get the full story out of the wizard.

"So, we were at the part of the earthquakes, right?" asked Thorvald, and Regin quickly started speaking again. "Right, okay. Our priests prayed to Mortis for understanding, for back then we had no wizards. In fact, there was little or no magic as we know it now. Mortis answered. For whatever reason, our planet began to drift too close to the sun and break apart. The priests panicked and prayed again, but Mortis said there was nothing he could do but watch his people perish. He would survive, but it would be a hollow victory to watch over a belt of rocks orbiting the sun, instead of a happy, lively people. Now the priests were scared beyond imagination and enlisted the help of the people. Before that, the planet’s destruction was kept a secret. Bear in mind, this happened over many years, but now the truth was told to young and old." Regin paused again, drained his tankard, and rose to get another. Instantly, Thorvald reached behind his chair and grabbed his great battle-axe, slamming it down on the table. With a frightened squeak, Regin hurried.

"That's your last one, you drunken sot of a wizard, one more delay, and I'll shove my axe handle up your arse to get your attention," said the king softly, promise in his eyes. Regin knew the king’s accent grew thick when he was irritated and quickly continued.

"So all the people knew, and all the people prayed to Mortis. They prayed day and night, without stop. They did not want to die. They did not want their children to die. Mortis heard their prayers and those prayers drove him to tears of frustration and then desperation. Frantic, he called out into the heavens, across the universe and even beyond the boundaries of space into other realms. As another year went by, the people and Mortis grew even more terrified that nothing could be done. Mortis sent out one last prayer, then vowed to spend the remaining time with his subjects, the Thana, and decided he would allow himself to perish with us. That is how much our god loved us. But, as Mortis was descending to be beside the people in their final hour, his own prayers to the heavens were answered by the Goddess Hera, who vowed to help. As an elder god, she had the power to open a rift, or membrane, I think it's called. This membrane ripped a hole in the very fabric of space from our planet to another. This new planet would be safe for the Thana, she said, to grow and prosper, to be happy again." Regin paused for another quick swallow before continuing.

"But, they were almost too late. The planet was already breaking apart. Quickly both Mortis and Hera grabbed the Thana by the tens of thousands and shoved them through the membrane, which spanned many miles wide. Other people simply ran through it to safety. Rocks shot straight into the air on pillars of magma, and at last, Mortis pushed Hera away, and said he would die with the people that remained. But Hera would have none of that. She grabbed Mortis and dragged him through before closing the membrane, keeping the new world safe from the destruction that would have followed. The great Goddess Hera told Mortis that the Thana needed their god, not the memory of him. Mortis wept tears of both happiness and sorrow. So many were lost, but some few saved. In the end, only one hundred thousand out of almost a billion made it. But it was enough for us to start over." Regin took a quick swallow and kept speaking at Thorvald's angry glance.

"When the Thana arrived here on Corvalis, we had nothing. Simply the clothes on our backs, though some had managed to bring crop seeds and tools in those last few moments. This was fifteen hundred years ago, by the way. In the first few days, the people almost starved to death. Infants cried; adults stood around despondent. The membrane deposited us near what is now our southern border, in the grassy plains we use for grazing. To the north, we saw the majestic peaks of mountains and the smoke and glow of volcanoes. The north looked like home, even though it was not. It was not enough for the Thana that survived. Some of the people simply walked off to their doom, but only a few, as we are a strong race."

"Then on the third day, as our people started to die again, another miracle happened. The Lorr came in great wagons, hundreds of wagons, no thousands! They lined up across the plains from the south leading to Earthhaven, four abreast. The caravan stretched as far as the eye could see. Overhead rode their giant feathered birds, keeping an eye out for predators and thousands more of their warriors rode on horseback to either side, ensuring our protection because the Goddess Hera had told them of our plight. They had responded with empathy and caring. It was at that time we learned we were not alone, but one of eight races that shared this planet." A pause while Regin emptied the last remaining dregs of his tankard, then he looked at the barrel with longing eyes, and Thorvald shrugged.

"Go ahead and get another. I have to admit, I probably slept through half of this story as a child. I was too busy learning to fight and hated reading, as I said. I find the tale interesting and illuminating.” Regin quickly shuffled to the barrel and filled his tankard again before sitting back down and began speaking as the king grinned at him. By this time, crowded into the room was most of his council of advisors. Two were yet missing, but he waved for Regin to continue. The story was cheering him up, and he really needed cheering up right now.

"Thank you, Sire. So, the Lorr came because the Goddess Hera had told their God Apollo that we needed help, and he told his people. At that time, we did not know each other's language, so the goddess gifted one from each race with the gift of tongues.

The Lorr stayed with us for years. They are also a long-lived race, and the relatively small time they spent with us was not a burden. In fact, their lifespan is longer than ours is, and they knew what it was like to lose your world for they had also lost theirs. The wagons they brought contained everything we needed to rebuild. Food in plenty—food we could eat. Temporary shelters we could use while we dug our great caverns. Metal smiths to help ours. Masons to build side by side with our own and their children playing with ours, teaching each other their language. They even taught us magic, a new skill and one we had never known of. Once again, it was a happy time for our people. A hundred years passed before they left us, for it took that long to build the first great city underground, but before they went we found out they had been here for over five thousand years. Like the Thana, they too came from a great civilization before their world vanished. In coming here, they vowed to stay close to nature, to give up the trappings of technology and live happier simpler lives. As you know, they are now very good friends of ours and use our lower plains to graze their horses with our blessing and the blessing of Mortis. Mortis was still filled with sorrow but was happier now that his people were once again prospering." Another pause for a large swallow of ale, the tankard almost empty, and Thorvald noticed that not only were all his advisors now present, but that they were all listening with rapt attention to the story. As Regin drained his mug, another was immediately thrust into his hands. Thorvald figured, like him, his advisors had not listened to their history either. Regin cleared his throat after a large swallow and continued.

"Years passed, and a new city was built every hundred years. Then when we needed more room, we simply expanded the ones we had. We were comfortable, happy. We traded with the Lorr and the humans, occasionally with the others but not so much for we had trouble from the beginning with the dark ones. In fact, they tried to raid us many times but we ignored them, for we lived in the ground. Then the first Great War with the dark ones broke out, almost five hundred years after our arrival. Well, not the first Great War, as the dark ones had been here for almost as long as the Lorr, but about every five hundred years, they tried to rule the world. Each time they tried, they lost with only a fraction of their number surviving, but still they kept trying. That first Great War for us came almost as a surprise, though the humans and Lorr had warned us. The Goddess Hera went to Mortis to seek our aid for the humans. The dark ones also wanted our aid, but we refused it. Because Hera helped our people escape certain destruction. For our race, we agreed to assist them. We tried to get the Lorr to also help, but they refused. However, we went in our limited numbers, because we owed the goddess. Of the six hundred thousand, we had at that time, almost half our number left their homes and loved ones to fight a war for the greater good. Two hundred and fifty thousand volunteers marched forward into war with axes drawn, marching beside our human friends. Almost all our able males went to war, even those too old to fight drew an axe because the human's goddess had saved our people. We owed them." A great shudder ran through Regin as he drained his new tankard, and yet another was thrust into his hands. The wizard looked down into its contents, tears trickling down his bearded cheeks. Finally, he continued.