David Dalglish - Blood Of Gods

Velixar was in too much agony to understand it, his god’s words flowing over him like a frozen wind, their meaning horrifying yet so simple, so frighteningly believable, just like the vision of a burning, peaceful world Karak had shown him. Looking to Ashhur, he thought there was no way another perfect being could hear and not agree. What counter could Karak’s brother offer? What wisdom could he refute it with? The god stood still as a statue before the ruins of the castle as Karak waited for an answer. And when it came, it came with tears in Ashhur’s eyes.

“No,” he said, his deep voice but a whisper.

“Why?” Karak asked, not hiding his frustration and disappointment.

“Because I love them. And I will die to save them.”

Ashhur leapt forward. Velixar craned his neck to watch, his dying breaths stolen away. Ashhur’s sword swung, Karak blocked, and at their connection the very ground shook from the shock wave, further toppling the castle’s ruins. The massive throng of terrified onlookers shrieked. A mindless roar rumbled from Karak’s throat as he pushed back, muscles bulging, the world beneath him breaking from the strain. At last Ashhur relented, only to swing again. Sword striking, sword blocking, each became a blur, light and fire twirling, mixing. A chunk of the wall still standing was crushed beneath the might of their struggle. Suddenly it was a display Velixar no longer felt worthy to witness, and casting his eyes to the bloodstained cobbles beneath him he crawled, dragging his lower half behind him. He cried out in pain as he lurched over the remnants of one of the onyx lions that had guarded the castle portcullis. He had to be closer. What power he had left, he wished to give to his god. No matter what, Ashhur could not win. Not after all he, Velixar, had given. . all he’d lost.

As Velixar crawled, his ears ringing from the awesome noise, he felt magic begin to grow around him. It was low at first, a tingle, but soon it seemed the very air was saturated by some ethereal presence. Velixar didn’t know what it was, but it made him afraid, and he crawled faster. His intestines threatened to burst out of him entirely with each movement, but he used the power within him to keep his flesh together, to hold on just a little bit longer. The gods were so close now, and a glance showed them deadlocked, their movements mirrored. No attack went unforeseen; no feint succeeded; every thrust was parried away.

“Karak,” Velixar groaned-another inch crawled. He was nearly deaf now from the riotous clash of the gods’ ethereal blades. Even the screaming host of humanity fell away. It seemed impossible that two weapons could make such a cacophony, but each connection between them was like the collision of worlds.

They had to see it, didn’t they? See how the air was turning a shade of green, how dark clouds swirled above them like the heart of a tornado? His terror grew. So thick with magic now, multicolored sparks shimmering in and out of existence everywhere he looked. Something, or someone, was coming.

Crawl! He flung himself forward onto the remnants of the castle courtyard, strewn with rubble, without fear of the conflict, but only the deep innate sense he felt that somehow time was running out. The battling gods were close now, mere feet away. The dust vibrated before him; he saw a foot, and then he reached out. Just as he touched Karak’s heel, he heard a sound that shook through his body. It was like a crack of thunder, only greater, so much greater, and it carried the power of a goddess.

Time halted. His heartbeat froze. No blood dripped from his body. The ground vanished, and though he felt a smooth surface beneath him, there was nothing there but a blanket of stars that seemed to stretch out to infinity. Karak took a step, breaking Velixar’s touch, and suddenly he could not move, could not speak. He could only watch. Both gods turned to face the intruder, and to Velixar’s eyes she was a stunningly impossible vision. He felt an ache in the back of his mind as he tried to give form to the light shining before him. There was a face, a feminine form, hair like light, eyes like stars, and in seeing her, Velixar realized how whole she was. This was not the same goddess he had watched descend from the heavens to find comfort in Ashhur’s bed. This was true divinity. The brother gods, compared to her, were incomplete. They were broken, lacking her power, her authority. Right then, Velixar had no doubt that in her realm, the brother gods were mere interlopers.

“This ends,” Celestia said, hovering before them. Her voice was beautiful and terrifying. “No more destruction. No more wasted life. Only the two of you, as it always should have been. Find a victor.”

Karak and Ashhur lifted swords gleaming with energy, light, and fire. If they were upset with the goddess’s intervention, they did not show it. Instead, Ashhur’s brow furrowed, and his gaze narrowed with concentration as Karak grinned wide.

“There is only one possible victor,” said Karak. “We both know who is stronger. Your heart is soft, brother, and it will lead to your downfall.”

Ashhur braced for an attack.

“Too many of my children have died by your hand,” he said. “Come see how little mercy for you is left in my heart.”

Karak lunged, his sword lashing out, and when Ashhur blocked, it seemed all of eternity shook from the impact. The blades pressed harder and harder against each other, until it seemed they intertwined completely, fire and light swirling together. When they pulled back, neither god appeared fazed in the slightest. Up and around went Karak’s sword, swiping wide for Ashhur’s side. He blocked again, and the shock wave was just as strong, the impact fusing the weapons together once more. Mouth hanging open, Velixar watched as they repeated the dance again and again, sometimes Ashhur taking the offensive, most times not.

This wasn’t like Haven. That wasn’t even close to the battle he’d just witnessed. For once, Velixar saw the gods not bound by flesh, but by something different, something more. The strength of their blades was no longer dependent on the strength of their muscles. Both their eyes shone white with power, and as their intensity increased, so too did their visages grow otherworldly. They were men standing on stars, swinging blades amid the heavens, beings of strength and power that made the very cosmos shudder. Force of will drove them on. Time, already an elusive thing, became meaningless, and Velixar was nothing but a spectator, his own heart not beating, his lungs never once drawing in a breath of air.

Strike. Parry. Swing. Block. On and on, a dance unending, neither able to surprise the other, neither able to bring down his brother with either power or strength. If it tired them or gave them pause, neither showed it. A thousand times their blades struck, then a thousand times more. Through it all watched the goddess, her luminous form saying nothing, only silently waiting for the end.

And then, just when it seemed they would endure forever, their battle stretching on as infinite as the field of stars they warred within, Velixar saw Karak’s blade slow. It wasn’t much, just the faintest spark of white across the tip. It was the goddess, Velixar knew. It had to be. His god would not fail. He felt seething rage in his breast as Ashhur’s sword slipped over the block, through Karak’s armor, and into his chest. It plunged in deep, and instead of shadow, shimmering crimson blood poured forth. A symbol of how weak they were when confronted with true power. Karak stood there for an endless moment, mouth open, his fiery blade vanishing into the ether.

And then he fell.

Velixar wanted to scream, to cry out, but he was helpless. There would be no denying the goddess, not then and there, her collected might gathered and furious. Whatever terror he’d known, it only magnified. Karak had lost. Ashhur was victorious.