Impure: Godslayers

The three demi-gods stood on the deck of their ship, which was now docked in the magnificent port of Lu city. They were joined by the three warlords who were admiring their vessel. It seemed the warlords had also brought the entire populace of their cities, because the port was crammed with people, whose cheers and merriments could be heard for miles around.

“You promised us peace,’ Osy said.

“We gave our word. Whichever one of us reignites the heat of battle, may he be cursed,’ Warlord Shen said.

Ning the Warlord of Lu city, a lavishly robed young boy barely in his teens, nodded in agreement.

“You are all accountable,” Osy said sternly.

He waited for the interpreter to convey his message to Ren, the Warlord of Dong city, before he nodded at them. Osy had barely turned his attention from the Warlords before Ying pulled him away. As Ying and Osy conversed and walked to the other end of the deck, Warlord Ren made his grievances known to Lee.

“Great Lee, the sun is still lost over a majority of the lands to the east. All the farmlands in Dong are in the east,” Ren’s translator complained.

“The smoke will dissipate,” Lee said dismissively.

“But it has been over a month since you defeated Tzio and…”

“I said it will dissipate,”

“Of course great one,”

Lee rolled his eyes indignantly as he turned to look at Osy and Ying at the other end of the deck. Singe, who was propped on his shoulder, looked askance at Osy and Ying and then back at Lee. He could feel Lee’s envy. Abruptly the monkey began to kiss Lee’s face.

“Ew stop it Singe,” Lee laughed as he knocked Singe off his face playfully.

The monkey ran up the mast and along the sail. With its tail, Singe skilfully hung on the length of the sail, right above Osy and Ying.

“No. Your destiny is too great. I would just get in the way,” Ying said as she stroked her hair and looked solemnly at the eastern sea.

“This is all Avida’s fault for slaying your father. I should leech all her life!” Osy growled bitterly.

“One so handsome should not be so angry,” Ying replied as she stroked his cheek affectionately.

She rested her head on his shoulder and exhaled gently.

“Do what you need to do. I will be here waiting for you. I promise,” Ying said calmly.

The Warlords bowed to Lee, then Osy. They turned to bow to George, who had just managed to force Avida on the ship. Her hands were bound by a thin length of chain, which George yanked, driving her forward like a stubborn dog. Despite her precarious position, Avida was still as staunch in her loyalty as ever. The sight of the Warlords bowing to the three demi-gods only served to ignite her rage.

“They are no gods. When they fall and they will fall, you will all suffer for your treachery!’ Avida chastised venomously.

George rolled his eyes as Avida spat in front of the Warlords.

“I will take her below deck and tell Lasters to cast off,” George said as he yanked Avida forward.

“Damn you, damn you all,” Avida shouted as she stomped below deck.

“Great now we have to explain to Lasters, why we have an extra body on-board,” Lee groaned loudly as he escorted the Warlords to their boats.

The sails flapped open as the ropes began to unwind.

“It is like you have an invisible crew,” Ying said.

Her voice resonated with intrigue as she was assisted on to her boat by Osy.

“Something to that effect,” Osy said.

He held on to the ladder at the side of the ship as he and Ying shared a brief kiss. The vessels drifted apart, Osy winced regretfully before finally pulling away.

“How is your back,” Ying asked in a worried tone.

“Better than it was a month ago, worse than it was before that” Osy called out with an impish smile on his face.

The couple both smiled at each other for one last time as they drifted apart on the waves.

A figure dashed across the eastern seas. Its feet were so fast it treaded on water, with ease. Unseen in the nights, it decreased its speed on the eastern shores. Regardless of its slower pace, the figure was still a blur to mortal eyes. Hence the city guards did not think it was anything more than a rogue gust, when the figure whizzed past the walls of Lu city. Sprinting at a supernatural pace, the figure quickly covered the miles between the city limits and the valley, where the wrecked temple lay. A lone priest rummaged amongst the debris muttering sorrowfully, until he realized someone stood behind him.

“You treacherous vultures have taken everything of mortal worth, leave….All that is left now are things of sentimental value,

The figure remained still as the priest oiled Tzio’s headless body which was laid on a funeral pyre.

“There is no need to rub his skin with scented oils, the corpse of a god will only begin to rot months after that of a mortal,”

The unwarranted counsel seemed to cause the priest grave anger.

“And what would you know of that-”

As the priest turned round, he instantly noticed the golden shade of the figure’s sclera.

“You are a god…Dra….Drazo forgive me,” the priest gasped as he fell to his knees.

“What happened to Tzio, what happened to my brother?’

’They killed him. Those damned children killed the Light of the East… the Sun Dragon and now the populace say they are free,”

“Ungrateful mortals,”

“I have been grateful. I still serve my god, I am a true believer. I spit on these so called god-slay-,”

After seeing the scowl forming on Drazo’s face, the priest dared not complete his statement.

“How strong is your faith?” Osy asked.

“I am forever faithful,” the priest purred maniacally.

“Good…”

As Drazo bared his fangs, knowingly the priest shut his eyes and exposed his neck with a sense of urgency. Instead of biting him, Drazo snapped the priest’s neck like it was a dry twig and threw the body aside. He then fell to his knees and grabbed one of Tzio’s bulging biceps.

‘Forgive me brother, I shall avenge you… but you have no need of your blood and the smell is …intoxicating,’ Drazo’s said as his eyes widened with gluttony.

He dived, fang first on to the corpse.

The three demi-gods were on the deck. Whereas George and Lee were looking at the strokes of the oars in the calm sun-warmed sea, Lee had his ears against the shut trapdoor that led below deck.

“What do you think they are talking about down there?” Lee asked.

“Who cares?” Osy shouted back.

“We have been at sea for several weeks and everyday Lasters insists on conversing with her, and when you go below deck, they speak in hushed whispers,”

“She is our long lost sister,” George said.

Lee and Osy looked at George for a second, as though he was insane.

“Who cares, as long as when they are finally done, it is I who gets the pleasure of tossing her overboard. I do not care if she is supposed to be Hydro or one of us…if I live, she does not,” Osy denounced dismissively.

“This is bigger than your unnecessary need to revenge Ying’s father,”

“His name was Mang!”

Lee looked at Osy blankly before speaking.

“… I could not care less about whether or not she lives or dies; she is no sister of mine. My worry is that we are unsure about her godly feats,” Lee said as he finally gave up on his attempts to eavesdrop.

He stood up and walked towards the edge of the deck.

“The mortals said she controls water. Merchants from the North of the central continent speak of a goddess who makes wells and ends famine,” Osy sighed.

“Mortals? Since when have they known anything? Are you going to trust the words of people who killed their kin every day for the belief that some egomaniac caused the sun to rise every morning? Hydro or whatever it is she calls herself may have Godly Feats that we may not be aware of. Right now she could be warping Lasters’ reasoning, turning him against us. He could be leading us right into Shadro’s hands as I speak,” Lee stated, wagging a finger warningly.

“Please both of you- shut up!” George shouted as he sprinted towards the barrel next to the mast.

He buried his head in the barrel and vomited heavily into it.

“I do no- I do not understand. It is a sunny day, there is no storm why are you still seasick?” Osy grilled humorously.

“I am already sea-sick; I do not need to hear your incessant scheming?” George retorted, before dipping his head back into the barrel.

“I am not emptying that barrel again. I still do not understand why you will not vomit overboard,” Lee chimed in.

“It is because it is even the sight of the sea makes me sick,” George moaned in between his continuous spewing.

“Close your eyes then,” Lee retorted brusquely.

Osy sputtered out in laughter but was quick to disguise it as a cough.

“He is trying to convince her to join us,” George said with a scowl as he wiped his mouth.

Lee and Osy both shared sceptical look, before Lee began to laugh in disbelief.

“You just do not get it do you? He is trying to get her on our side,” George reaffirmed abrasively.

“What you are telling us is that someone who fancies herself a goddess is now going to help us slay the gods?” Lee demanded sardonically.

“Lasters never knew of Hydro…Avida or whatever her name is. Yet, he is adamant that we survived in order to face these gods when we will mature. And now two mortal civilisations, seas apart, speak of this god-slayers prophecy….suddenly he believes there are meant to be four of us,”

“And she is the fourth?”

“There are no words to explain how insane that notion is,” Osy interjected.

“If only Norton was here, he could tell us if we indeed have a sister,” George said.

He spat a mouthful of vomit into the barrel before standing up straight.

“Surely you do not believe that. Lasters is only wasting his time, we do not need her,” Osy said.

“You do not believe that. Do not let your thirst for revenge blind you from our true quest, freeing Norton. We have being lucky so far,” George said.

“Speak for yourself. I slayed Ragnaghast singlehandedly, and forced Tzio to suicide. Luck has nothing to do with it,” Lee boasted loudly.

“Ragnaghast was not a god,” George sighed as he rolled his eyes in indignation.

However this seemed to trigger his nausea as George dipped down and heaved his guts into the barrel.

“Are we sailing faster than usual?” Osy asked in a contemplative tone.

“We have been lucky so far. I agree with what Lasters is doing. There are more gods left, some day we may encounter one unlike any other. Whose life, Osy cannot leech. Whom you cannot trick and whose might I cannot defend against, then what?” George stated rhetorically.

“Then I will roast them alive,” Lee said stubbornly.

“Idiot,” George sighed.

“Girl,”

“What?”

“You heard me. The sight of the water makes me sea-sick” Lee said in a high-pitched tone that sounded less like George and more like a whimpering toddler.

“I never sai- I do not sound lik- Shut up,” George stammered.

“Shut up,”

“No you shut-up,”

“No you,”

“No you,”

“Just shut-up and vomit?” Lee said waving a hand dismissively.

“You-”

However instead of words, George found his mouth was filled with vomit. Lee guffawed loudly as George turned back to the barrel and began to hurl his guts out.

“Osy did you see that, Osy,” Lee said.

Lee looked at Osy, who was transfixed. He turned to look at what Osy was staring at, out in the sea. Lee’s grin was instantly replaced by a terrified slack-jawed gaze, when he saw the end of the sea and nothing but smog beyond it.

“What is happening?” Osy asked as he and Lee came storming below deck.

George followed, but he did so, slowly. He trudged down the stairs holding his belly, in efforts to settle his queasy stomach.

“It is called the Fire-fall,” Lasters said.

As he spoke, his face disappeared and an image began to form in the mirror. The image was of a birds’ eye view of the sea. They saw their ship and the sea after it. Then the sea just flowed into an immense waterfall. At least a mile away, laid a deep gorge at the bottom of which lay an ocean of lava. As the waves fell into the lava, it created a thick cloud of steam, which hid whatever was beyond the waterfall.

“The resulting damage of the bout between the light gods and the dark god... All ships that veer too close are lost; sometimes even those that are not close are pulled in by the current, which is exactly what is happening to us. My apologies but I am pushing this ship to the limit... I estimate we will fall in the fiery chasm soon,” Lasters said as his face reappeared on the mirror.

The demi-gods all gasped loudly. Even Avida had a fearful look on her face.

“Except if…”

“What?” George snapped.

He was usually tolerant, but had no patience for Lasters’ complacent nature at this dire juncture.

However Lasters remained silent but maintained his gaze on Avida, causing everyone else to looks at her.

“What?” Avida demanded reproachfully.

“Of course, you can manipulate water,” Lee sighed in relief.

“Yes,” Osy and George said simultaneously in glee.

However, their smiles quickly disappeared as Avida maintained a glum expression.

“What? Were the mortals wrong?” George asked.

“This is ridiculous. There is too much water,” Avida retorted defensively.

“I thought the mortals worshipped you as a goddess, your godly feat must be great…right?” Lee groaned in confusion.

“Yes great enough to create wells,” Avida said.

“Wells?” Lee asked in utter confusion.

“I can barely create a current in my bath, how can I change the current of the seas,”

“You will try damn you. I am no coward but if you think I will meet my end off-land you have another thing coming,” George warned as he reached for Avida.

However Osy held him back. Meanwhile Avida crossed her arms and turned her nose up at them, which only succeeded in angering George further.

“All of you get on deck so we can at least try to survive this before ripping each other apart,” Osy scolded.

Singe, who had made a habit of staying below deck with Lasters, screeched as he ran towards the stairs.

“Not you Singe. You stay right where you are,” Lee scolded.

Despite its stubborn whine, Singe stood as still as a statue, causing Lee to grin even if but for a moment.

By the time they were on deck, the Fire-fall was already in sight. They gawped at the dark sky, which was darkened by a fog of steam. The ship rocked violently as the sails ripped and the sound of snapping oars filled the air.

“Alright Avida stop this!” George whined with a slack jawed gaze.

“But...I ..I cannot,” Avida moaned.

“She is lying.” Lee yelled as he pointed an accusing finger at Avida.

“All of you stop! …Avida please at least try,” Osy said.

“Why are you defending me… I killed your lover’s father,” Avida replied, her voice ringing with pronounce scepticism.

“We can settle that if we survive this, please,” Osy hissed through gritted teeth.

Avida nodded as she breathed deeply. As her brows furrowed, Avida shut her eyes and put her hands out in front of her like she was pressing on an invisible wall. The other demi-gods all held their breath expectantly for a moment, but nothing happened. Another moment passed and still nothing. Several moments elapsed and still nothing.

“Anytime now,” George yelled as the ship shook violently.

As the sea vanished in front of the ship, all that was left was smoke rising from the Fire-fall. Avida strained so hard that her face became very venous and the tanned skin turned red.

“Avida!” Lee yelled.

Avida strained intensely and screamed in concentration until a blood vessel on her forehead popped. As she fell to the deck clasping her head, the ship tipped forward. Anything that was not nailed on deck, including George’s barrel of vomit, rolled overboard. As the heat of the lava below hit their faces, the demi-gods held on to whatever part of the ship they could reach. The ship slowly began to tip over the edge. Meanwhile George grabbed Avida, before her body rolled overboard.

“Lasters tie me to the front of the ship,” Lee shouted.

A rope unlashed itself from the railings at the front of the ship. In an instant it whipped itself around Lee’s torso and pulled him over the bow of the ship. As he was strapped down, Lee put his ignited hands forward. The ship began to topple down with the waves. Lee clasped his hands together and the fires combined into a continuous burst of gold flame.

Lee gritted his teeth in pain as the overwhelming force of the flames erupting from his hands, pressed his back firmly against the ship. The entire vessel bucked as the force of Lee’s fiery blast stopped their descent. Slowly the ship was propelled up the falls and whizzed up in the air leaving a column of golden flame behind. Lee screamed as he expended all of his efforts. Yet the last wisps of flames coupled with the swift rowing of the remaining oars, had the ship smashing over the waves and far away from the Fire-fall. Vomit flowed freely out of Lee’s blood drained lips as his hands were extinguished leaving the ship with one last boost of momentum. As the ship landed fully on the sea, George was still yelling in fear from the rough ride. Meanwhile Lee was the first on his feet. He jumped on deck and he threw aside the rope that had bound him, only for it to fasten itself back in its original position.

“First I defeated Ragnaghast, then Tzio and now this. What would you all do without me?” Lee scoffed.

He staggered below deck, leaving the others still recovering from the shock of their close brush with death.