Impure: Godslayers

Beneath the Temple of Day and Night were three tombs. Two were open and one was sealed. Diantha and Macius stood before the sealed tomb accompanied by a flock of priests. The atmosphere became awfully tense, when the large flat stone that sealed the tomb, began rolling to the side. With extreme ease Drazo pushed the massive stone completely out of the doorway.

“Father, forgive me for not attending you last night, but you had already sealed yourself in your tomb…the ships that left are to only two destinations. The Tahmuntra kingdom in the south and the city of Lu on the eastern mainland,” Macius said.

Drazo crossed his arms and his brow furrowed.

“If she headed south, she is dead already. Cities of Tahmuntra have no king, my brother Shadro is god and king of all. The mortals will find her and he will kill her. But if she headed east…send some priests to my brother Tzio to inform him of recent matters,”

Some priests bowed low and then rushed off.

“Father, why dispatch messengers to the east,” Diantha asked.

“Tzio did not answer Shadro’s summons, he thinks it is beneath him. But it is more than that. Like me Tzio is affected by the sun but it is more of a blessing to him. He feeds of it, the rays make him invulnerable. In truth, if not for the fact that Shadro is indestructible, I think Tzio would have been the greatest of my siblings. So mortals to the east worship him with such totality that they believe the sun only rises at his behest.”

Diantha sighed in disbelief.

“The ignorance of the mortals, it is good for the family,” Drazo said.

“I understand,” Diantha said as she nodded.

Drazo began to walk up towards the temple as he spoke.

“Their absolute fear of my brother is only rivalled by their hate of each other. A war has been raging amongst the three cities in the east; they will not notice Avida in their populace. And I fear my brother is lost in the belief of his own myth to care for the threat that she might pose. I mean those children were hidden on the northern-most part of his domain all these years and he did not know?”

Osy eyes snapped open as he sat up abruptly.

“Lee he is awake,” George said.

He ran towards Osy, who looked around with wide-eyes as he palpitated.

“Precipia is she gone. Did you defeat her?”

“It is alright Osy. We won,” George said.

He held Osy’s shoulder and enunciated every word carefully as he spoke.

“I need you to let go of Lee’s hand now,”

Osy spontaneously released Lee’s hand, which he had just realised he had being holding all this time. Whilst looking at the bulging green veins that pulsated on his hand, Osy managed to regain his composure.

“Ah yes brother. You… live…. after ….two weeks… you had me worried,”

Lee slurred his words as he stumbled drowsily, before resting a wall.

“We have some news. After we defeated Precipia… a goddess, Lasters has agreed to help us free Norton,”

“Really?” Osy asked excitedly.

“That is only because …George threatened to smash him to pieces if you died,” Lee croaked weakly.

Osy smiled and punched George affectionately on the shoulder.

“So when do we leave?” Osy said as he tried to stand up.

“Woow we nearly lost you, these barbarians were of no help. I had to get some proper supplies from the ship and even that was not enough. We had to resort to taking turns in holding your palms; luckily your body instinctively leeched our lives to replenish itself,”

Osy sighed and silently began unravelling the bandages around his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” George asked with incredulity.

“You were too close to death Osy. Please rest,” Lee urged through his parched lips.

“Trust me... we do not have time, every moment we waste Norton may die, and with him our answers and the closest thing any of us had to a parent.”

Lee and George shared a look of worry and disconcertion, but made no further protests. Osy winced. The last layer of bandage took some of his scab with it, as he ripped it off, reopening the wound. He inhaled deeply and he became a wraith. As his ghostly body floated the wisp that was his wound, seem to mesh closer together. Osy became solid again and he fell back on the bed. George and Lee were shocked, because Osy’s wound was somehow better. However, there was less scabbing. It was like his skin had grown back around the wound. Panting heavily, Osy smiled as he saw that the bleeding had decreased and the size of his wound had reduced markedly.

“I did not know you could do that with your godly feat” George said in awe.

“After all the times Lee has burned me, why do you think I have no scars on my beautiful body,” Osy guffawed as he slapped Lee back heartily.

Lee rolled his eyes but nevertheless shared in Osy’s happiness.

“Get me some food. I need some energy if we are to leave today,”

“This way girl,” the man said.

Avida pulled her hood lower as she followed the man and his guardsmen down the hill. The great valley was beautiful in the night as a result of the thousands of lit torches. Thousands of people clamoured for a view of the monumental temple which stood at the eastern end of the valley. The guardsmen all forced their way through the crowd with their spears. It dawned on Avida that she would never be acclimatised to the billowing attire of the mortals in the eastern mainland.

“You are lucky you employed the services of Tai Meng Security. A young girl such as you with a heavy purse is easy target for bandits. It is a surprise that you made it all the way from the docks to the city centre, do you know why?” the man said as he led Avida behind his men.

“No but I’m sure you will tell me,” Avida groaned sarcastically.

“Because since the advent of the war of the three cities, the streets of Lu city has been the taken over by criminals,”

As they reached the front of the crowd, the man became silent and looked up at the priest speaking. The priest stood in front of the altar which was on a balcony; on the middle -level of the temple. The temple was a wide pagoda that towered over the valley and stretched high in the sky. There was a long wide flight of stone stairs in front of the temple, with stone statues of priests lined up on either side of it. Avida was admiring the craftsmanship, evidenced by the statues, when an awful scream ripped through the air.

A woman was carried on to the altar by several priests, who held her down, as she wriggled like a fish out of water. Avida closed her eyes in horror as the priest brought a dagger down on the girl’s chest, bringing her echoing screams to an abrupt end. She opened her eyes to see the priest holding his victim’s beating heart high in the air. Subsequently a figure appeared on the temple roof. He raised his hands up and as though it was cued, the first rays of the morning sun shot over his broad shoulders. As the sun shone on him, his skin began to twinkle like he was covered with rhinestones. This refraction sent beams of light shooting around and lighting up the entire valley. The crowd cheered as the man flew back behind the pagoda and the apex of the morning sun appeared behind him.

Subsequently, there was a mad scramble as some people lined up the stairs to the temple, whilst the rest of the crowd dispersed.

“Move it,” the man yelled as his guardsmen pushed people out of their way.

As she was led up the stairs, Avida was growing tired of the abrasive attitude with which her protectors treated the vulnerable pilgrims; yet she needed them to ensure she was not discovered before reaching her destination. However, the sight of a sobbing mother and child being slammed by the shaft of a spear willed Avida to action.

“That is enough, I will wait here,” Avida shouted.

“What! “We are barely half way up the queue,” the man retorted.

“Have you been paid?”

The man snarled in irritation. He nodded to his men to hold their position, just as Avida was helping the mother and child up.

Joyta readjusted her dress and fitted her fur boots on. As she picked her fur coat off the oars, Joyta screamed excitedly as Lee grabbed her from behind. Their lips locked together and they shared a passionate moment.

“Lee,”

The couple pulled away from each other nervously as they looked up at Osy, who stood on the wooden stairs.

“Thank you for intervening Osy. The sights I have seen on this day,” Lasters said.

Joyta glared at Lasters as she grabbed her circlet and strode towards the stairs. Osy moved aside so that she could walk up to the deck. However he blocked the stairs as Lee strode forward.

“What was that?” Osy asked.

“Well I was…oh that is right you would not know. Let us just say while you were napping for two weeks, I have been doing a lot more than kissing,”

“Are you crazy? These mortals have rules,” Osy said as he grabbed Lee by the scruff.

Lee rolled his eyes with indignation.

“Since we slew Precipia, the King knows better than to question us. Their rules do not apply to gods. And if a god wants to lay with a mortal woman, neither soldier or king can stop him,” Lee said through gritted teeth.

He slowly pulled Osy’s hand of his neck and pushed past him.

“Do not worry George is still a virgin too,” Lee sneered as he walked up the stairs.

An angry vein throbbed at the side of Osy forehead as he snarled under his breath.

“Cast off Lasters,” Osy said as followed Lee.

As her boat hit the beach, Joyta was assisted off it. She summarily joined her father who stood with the people, waving farewell to the boys.

“Thank you for all you have done,”

“We are forever indebted to you my demi-gods,”

The people of Freydal cheered.

“How does their ship compare to ours?” King Aldur said.

“It is a larger vessel father, capable of ripping deeply through the waves,” Joyta panted.

“Interesting,”

Kilowulf, who had overheard the conversation over the cheers of the people, shot Joyta a dirty look.

Meanwhile the boys waved at the mortals as they sailed away.

“Where are we heading anyway,” Osy asked as he smiled and waved.

“The eastern mainland,” George replied

“We must make ready for our encounter with Shadro,”

“Why? Shadro is not the god of the east,” Lee retorted.

Osy snarled in aggravation as he stomped towards the middle of the deck and through the wide trap doors, which led below deck.

“The god in the east is the closest,” Lasters said as the demi-gods came storming down gangway.

“We only want to rescue Norton,” Osy snapped.

“You cannot do that without risking an altercation with Shadro,”

“I can use my godly feat and escape with Norton untouched by Shadro,”

“And what if you do not? … Matter of fact what if you do and are on the run, would you want one god after you or several?

“We barely survived one god, how are we to beat four?”

“How indeed?” Lasters retorted ominously.

The boys looked at each other, their brows furrowed with stress and their shoulders were slumped by the weight of worry.

The priest rolled up his large sleeves and looked at the squalid cloak of the hooded individual with disdain.

“Before you state your prayer, you must know that the price is demanded forthright,”

“I need to see Tzio,”

The priest looked to his brethren and began to laugh in disbelief. As the priest cackled loudly, Avida took of her hood. The moment he saw the faded gold colour of her sclera, the priest gasped in shock and bowed low. Subsequently his conduct was followed by all the surrounding mortals, until all in the entire valley bowed before Avida.

George and Lee sat around a small wooden table in a large house. Although lavishly built, the large house was rather dilapidated. The house comprised of three connected buildings, and a wall that surrounded it all. In the middle of the house was a large courtyard. Despite its scenic purpose, the courtyard was an eyesore. The vegetation had overgrown and was now plundering the house, with vines stemming all over the walls.

A lady shuffled in from the adjacent building with a hot kettle. She had prominent cheek bones, a dainty jaw and a broad face; as were the features of the mortals on the eastern mainland. Despite her multi-layered billowing garment, George and Lee ogled at her. Her beauty was breath-taking and her long black hair, which was held up in a ponytail at the apex of her head, only enhanced her grace. Whilst she poured some steaming tea into their cups her lashes danced like the wings of a hummingbird as she blinked repeatedly.

Suddenly the gate swung opened and Osy walked in, accompanied by a man. As Osy walked across the courtyard and dropped the large pile of wood that he had bound on his back.

“You drink too much Mang,” Osy said as the man teetered behind him.

Mang was a portly man with acute eyebrows and long hair, which was tied up in a bun on his head. As he drank from a jar, wine streamed down on his long groomed moustache.

“Finally, it was getting cold,” Lee said as he stomped on to the courtyard.

“What is his problem?” Osy said as he walked into the main building and sat down by the table.

“Ying rejected his advances …again,” George droned.

“Mortal or god, men are all alike. They want what they cannot have,” Mang laughed.

He hiccoughed loudly and slumped on a nearby chair. Ying smiled apologetically and avoided Lee’s glare as she walked towards her father.

“Let me take your coat father,”

“Damn it,” Lee said.

Osy and George sighed loudly and turned their heads to see Lee wincing in pain as he tried to uproot a splinter from his finger.

“It is only a splinter,” Osy groaned.

“What are we doing here?!” Lee exclaimed angrily as he smashed a piece of wood into the fire.

“Would you rather that we were going in and out of Yu city? Sleeping on the central plains every night like animals. Happening on battles and hiding from soldiers lest they attack us and we kill them. Mang’s hospitality is a blessing; you ought to be more grateful,” Osy said.

Lee snorted stubbornly. Osy sighed as he stood up and went to join Lee by the fire.

“It is the least I could do for the saviours of my daughter. I have already lost one daughter to this damned sacrifices and I am not complaining Tzio is a god and I am simply one of thousands of vassals,” Mang lamented.

“That is enough, father,” Ying said.

She snatched the wine jar out of her father’s hand with polite aggression. The subject of her father’s rant was now getting on her last nerve.

“But the least he could do, is intervene in the war. I do not even mind if my warlord loses. Yet all he cares about is his damned night time sacrifice. A month of night and darkness is small discomfort to bear if it means the end of this damned war,” Mang said.

“Father I readied the bath in anticipation of your return,”

“In fact a month is nothing, a year would suffice. You know why, because that is how long it will take for me to be living on the streets if this damned warlord does not end his occupation of my mine to pay for his damned war.”

“Father your bath is ready!” Ying growled through gritted teeth.

Mang hiccoughed loudly as he stood up and walked to the adjacent building. When her father was out of earshot, Ying exhaled loudly and sat on the chair.

“Forgive him. He started drinking after my mother was killed during a siege by the Lu and Dong armies on our fair city. He only worsened when we were forced to retire the servants,”

“Hmmm,” George sighed in a disinterested tone.

Buffeted by his somewhat heartless remark, Ying looked at George, who was examining a small chunk of rock.

“So you are sure this was found underground?” George asked.

“Where else do you find iron ore?” Ying replied nonchalantly.

“All I have ever seen are rocks and sand. I mean it is no wonder really, considering we grew up in an illusory world! I mean I have seen iron but I did not know it was from the ground,”

Ying sipped her tea and shrugged. Then George looked to Lee and Osy for their support in convincing Ying, but they were locked in a heated conversation.

“Are you certain that there is no more, I cannot even form a limb from this,” George grumbled.

“I am sorry. Our warlord seized all the mines in Yu city, my father’s included,”

George sighed as he cupped the ore in both hands. Suddenly, like a rapid infection, the texture of the ore began to spread till it covered George’s arms. Ying gasped loudly as she reclined on her chair from fear of George’s godly feat.

“Yes,” George said as he triumphantly slapped the table.

Osy and Lee looked back to see the table smashed to wooden splinters.

“Ah sorry,” George said as he shed the iron skin from his arms.

Osy shook his head and turned back to the fire.

“What I am saying is we have spent over four months here and are no closer to slaying this Tzio. We have a rough idea of the location of the temple, we should just go there and face him,” Lee complained.

“We cannot,” Osy retorted.

“We are wasting precious time. Norton’s time,”

“No one wants to save Norton more than I do, but we cannot do that if we are all dead. We need a plan,”

“Then do something,” Lee urged angrily.

“I am,” Osy snarled.

He exhaled heavily as he regained his composure.

“Granted the wars in this land and the size of the three cities involved, has delayed our plans, but now this Mang fellow has offered his help. I will not press the man after he has housed us this past month. He has finally agreed to show us to the temple for tonight’s sacrifice we shall watch and device a plan,” Osy explained in a hushed tone.

“Osy it is your turn,”

Osy looked up and smiled at Mang, who had just exited the adjacent building.

“What?” Osy questioned.

“A bath,” Mang said.

“It quite al-”

“No, no, I insist. That was a mighty lot of wood you carried, even a soldier would not be able to manage the load that you bore. But demi-gods sweat too, I shall have Ying prepare you a bath,” Mang said as he nodded to his daughter.

“Right away father,” Ying said.

As Ying pulled up her flowing garment and shuffled past him, Mang jolted at the sight of the pile of wooden smithereens.

“What happened to the table?” Mang asked.

Lee responded with an impatient sigh as he threw a piece of wood into the fire.