Cults of the Dragon Gods (Path of Transcendence Book 4)

by Brian McGoldrick

  "I don't understand what games Woden and the dragons were playing on Earth. Instead of going to war, Woden and the dragons have been using the Earth humans as part of a shadow war against the faction of the god who calls himself God. Who is God? Why are they playing their shadow games instead of fighting in the open like they would in Yggdrasil or on Taereun?"

  Life releases the breath in what may be a sigh. "Woden is Allah, and he's just copying God.

  "The being that calls Himself God is Our enemy. Like Death and Myself, He existed before the second metaverse. Sometime after we created it, He started meddling with the races in the universes within the second metaverse. He creates religions like Christianity on the Earth and uses them to wage war against what they call pagan gods. We have never managed to identify Him and only know Him through his actions against Us.

  "This God, as he calls himself, appears to be a Primalist. In the way that a true Elementalist has the ability to manipulate Elemental Power directly, a Primalist can do the same with Primal Power. Normal Primalists can only wield a single Primal, but God can wield all four: Light, Dark, Order, and Chaos. His Power exceeds Nidhoggr, the first born and mightiest of True Dragons. God has the Power to create universes, and He has done so many times in the past.

  "God may also be something like a Primal Transcendent. Whatever his true nature, His control over the Primals lets Him shield Himself from Us. There are signs that he might have Transcended to some degree with both the Light in the Dark, which should be impossible.

  "Wherever he creates one of his religions, there is always a God and a Devil to oppose Him, and both are God Himself. He is most likely insane, but there is a possibility that He could also be a gestalt being with multiple parts. That might be how He can use all four of the Primal Powers.

  "There are countless instances where God has acted directly against Elemental Transcendents, but We have never found him to take direct action against Amalgamate beings. Woden and the dragons should have some awareness of God's existence and are playing their shadow games, as you call them because they fear God acting directly against them."

  Life stares intently into my eyes. "This metaverse is going to change. Order and Chaos grow nearer. All four Primals are coming for war. The Amalgamate Realms must be shielded against the Primal Powers. When dear old Boran dismantles Yggdrasil, Death and I will change the Laws of the metaverse. There will no longer be a place for Elementals or Primals in the Amalgamate. Once a being starts on the path of Elemental Transcension, the Laws of this metaverse will be force them to leave for the Elemental Realms. It will be possible for Transcendents with enough Power to project images into the Amalgamate or create Amalgamate Avatars and send them, but the strength and Power of such things will be brutally suppressed to the point most will not even be equal to non-Coalescent mortals. This will shut out the influence of certain Transcendents that seek to overstep their bounds."

  "What about Thrall and the Dvergar?"

  Life frowns. "Boran and the Dvergar who have begun Elemental Transcension will be forced out of the Amalgamate Realms. For the prohibitions to be effective, there can be no exceptions. It cannot be helped. They will be forced out. The destiny of mortals will be left in the control of mortals. Thrall is an Elementalist, but he has not begun Elemental Transcension. For a time, he will be able to remain here in the Amalgamate, but whether he will choose to, I cannot tell you.

  "The day will come when you embark on Elemental Transcension. You, too, will be forced out at the time, but until then, these Amalgamate Realms will be a place for you to grow and acquire knowledge and experience."

  Life wraps Her arm around mine and rests Her head against my biceps, I try to pull away, but my body will not obey my will. I do not need to see Life's face to know She is frowning.

  "Are you trying to hurt my feelings? Your grandmother is so young looking and cute. Yet, when She tries to get close to you, you try to pull away from Her."

  "Urgh?" My inarticulate grunt betrays my confusion. I think Life intended to cut off the previous line of conversation, but with Her, I cannot be certain. She is completely beyond my ability to read or comprehend, and I have no idea if She is being serious or playing around.

  Life's soft laughter seems to fill the world around us. "Our relationship is a bit more distant than simply grandmother to grandchild. It would be closer to the truth to say that I am your ultimate great-grandmother. In all the long trillions of years that this metaverse has existed, there have only been twelve children born of My womb. They were born in the very beginning. There were six boys and six girls, and their children became the race known as High Men.

  "When those twelve were born, there was still a single universe, the universe of the world you know as Taereun. It was the first world of the first sun of the first universe. In that age, there were no Elemental Powers or Realms. Death, Myself, and the Od were all that existed.

  "As the metaverse grew, the High Men left the world of their birth and spread throughout the near infinite realms and planes of the burgeoning metaverse. Because of the attacks and machinations of the creatures that serve the Primal Powers, many branches of the race of High Men have disappeared or been destroyed, but eventually, a tribe with the blood of the High Men found their way back to Taereun. Despite being degenerate to the point of barely being more than humans, they founded the Vangrade Empire

  "Thousands of years later, a single family with a bloodline of almost perfect purity also found its way back to Taereun, but despite their bloodline, they had almost no knowledge of the use of Power and knew nothing of Transcension. I do not know where they came from or how they found their way to Taereun. We are not omniscient, and the Power of the Dark was used to deliberately distort and corrupt the knowledge of their origins.

  "One of the nobles of the Vangrade Empire lusted after the youngest daughter of that family. He sent the Dread Reavers bound to his house to claim the girl and destroy the rest of the family. The girl became his concubine, nothing more than a sex slave. She soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son, a child so pure that he was almost an atavism. When the reptiles calling themselves Dragons again attacked the remnants of the Vangrade Empire, the noble sent the infant child of his concubine to Earth in the care of two retainers.

  "You are the child. The generations between us numbers in the billions, but you are like a child of My womb and a child of Death's seed."

  As I stare at Life with my jaw hanging open, she reaches up and caresses my cheek. Maybe this smile that I am seeing is the smile that a mother would show to her child. I have no memories of my mother, and the woman I called mother was only a guardian. I do not believe she ever mistreated me, but among the fragments of my past before the accident, I have no memories of warmth and affection, either.

  With my thoughts lost to Life's smile, I do not know how much time passes. For the first time that I can remember, I feel safe. Her Power surrounds me, and nothing can harm me.

  Life sighs, and the brilliance of her smile dims. "Once this frozen instant of time ends, you must never reveal what I have told you. The truth of the High Men is lost in the mists of time, and it should stay lost. By being of My and Deaths blood, you were born with enemies beyond number. Before you have the strength to stand against the creatures that come from the Primal Powers, it will not be safe for you to reveal what you are. There are already those that know that High Men are different all other men, but the do not know what the blood of the High Men means. That is why the little reptiles were manipulated into attacking the Vangrade Empire. The one behind that is probably the one that calls himself God.

  "God will certainly be a part of the Primal Powers' war against us, but before you Transcend, God should not act against you. He will be aware of your connection to the Od, and He has always been very circumspect about not getting personally involved with the High Men. It is unlikely he knows what the High Men are, but He knows that We have protected them from Elemental and Primal beings. When He acts against
them, He always acts through dupes like the little reptiles and the mindless followers of his religions. He is Our enemy, but He does not seem to want to engage Us in direct conflict. With the number of Elemental and Primals we have destroyed in the past, He probably fears what We would do if he directly acted against the High Men. That does not mean that you will not be the enemy of the beings that worship Him, and if you set foot on a world where He holds sway, He may send entire nations and races after you."

  "Does that apply on Earth?"

  Life laughs. "It did once but no longer. God's interest in Earth waned centuries before the current time, and once Woden brought Yggdrasil's drive to Earth, God seemed to abandon it entirely."

  "How long has your Yggdrasil's drive been on Earth?"

  "A little over fifteen hundred years by Earth's timeline."

  Life hugs me tightly to her breast. She is tiny compared with me, but in her embrace, I am like a child. Reality changes to suit Her whim. "You are so young. You cannot conceive how long I have waited for the chance to hold a child of My womb in my arms again. Even though, I know you are not My child and are only their descendant, I feel the strength of their blood in you. It is almost like holding My own babies."

  Caught by surprise, I cannot decide how to react. Hot tears fall on my shoulder, but I do not know if they are tears of joy or sorrow. Maybe, they are a mix of both.

  "The road before you will be long beyond your imagination, and painful beyond your nightmares. You will be caught up in the wars between Us and the Primals. Before you reach the end of your road, you may well come to hate Death and Myself, but I will always love you. No matter what I do, you must know that I love you."

  * * * * *

  As I surge into a sitting position, Elan and Angelique are shoved to the sides. I spin around looking in all directions.

  This pocket Realm appears normal again. The wind is blowing. The river is flowing. Fluffy, pink tinged clouds are moving across the azure sky.

  As my gaze settles on Life, She puts Her right index finger across Her lips and winks. Without speaking a word, we stare at each other. In Life's eyes, I see that emotion that might be the love of a mother for her child.

  There is no question in my mind that that frozen instant of time was real, and the words that Life spoke to me are truth. Now, I know what I am, but I do not see how knowing will change anything. My path is already set. I will train. I will fight. I will walk the Path of Transcendence, and I will stand at the absolute peak of power in this metaverse.

  "I will Transcend. I will fight. I will exterminate my enemies." My words are not a promise. They are not a desire. They are a statement of fact.

  "I know."

  The smile fades from Life's face, and She looks down at the fire in front of Her. There are frying pans over the fire, and the smell of cooking bacon and eggs fills our campsite. Without any apparent use of Power, She is cooking breakfast.

  The rest of my party is awake, and most of them are looking at me with varying degrees of confusion. Special Agent Jones is the only one that appears to take my words at face value.

  "Come, it is time to eat. I wanted to do this for you just once."

  My entire party has expressions of surprise mixed with a bit of confusion. Life's words were directed toward me, not them. They do not understand the meaning behind Life's words.

  While we eat, our conversation is about Earth. I pick Special Agent Jones brains for anything about the nuclear launch facility in South Dakota that might help. Unfortunately, his only been there twice, and the plans uncovered by Delphi contain more information.

  "Do you still intend to destroy the Earth?"

  I look at Life. "Do You want me to give up my plan?"

  "Whether you destroy the Earth or not is immaterial. Boran will break apart Yggdrasil, and when he does, he will isolate the Earth in a sealed Realm."

  A wry smile twists my face. "If that's the case, I'm still going to destroy it. After having to grow up there, it'll make me feel better to destroy it."

  Life smiles sadly. "Because of the taint and corruption from the Dark, there are other universes with their own twisted versions of the Earth, and there are countless other worlds with cultures and beliefs like theirs. It is a sickness that can never be dispelled without eliminating the Dark."

  At my side, Elan flinches, and I turn toward her. With a sad smile of her own, Elan shakes her head and looks away.

  I do not know why Life does not mention God and only refers to the Dark. I look back toward Her. "By destroying the Earth, will it hurt anything?"

  Life closes her eyes for a moment and shakes her head. "No, neither help nor harm will result from your plan. It is a pointless gesture in relation to the metaverse. The only one it will affect is yourself."

  After staring at me for a few moments, life rises to her feet and smiles. "It is time for you to continue your journey. There will come a day when we meet again."

  Life looks at Special Agent Jones. "Come along, Clarence."

  Special Agent Jones holds out his hand to me, and I shake it. "Mr. McGuinness, thank you. I don't know how I can ever repay what you have done for me, but if I ever have the chance, I will."

  "Good luck, Special Agent Jones."

  "See you around, Clarence." Dacbold has a smirk on his face.

  "Go fuck yourself." Special Agent Jones' comeback seems almost perfunctory. His heart just does not seem to be in it.

  As Special Agent Jones walks over to stand next to Life, I see some things in him that I had not realize were missing from the first time I met him. His ramrod straight back and fierce gleam in eyes show a clear sense of pride and hope that were never there before.

  Life's eyes linger on me for a few moments, then She and Special Agent Jones disappear.

  The Strength of a Triune

  *** Swamp of the Lost – Battleground of the Damned ***

  Return: Day 347

  (Brand)

  Reaching the end of the spider tunnel, a clearing in the jungle at the base of the escarpment and a night sky greeted us. As is normally the case, the time of day in the Four Bones Goblin Lair is out of sync with the time in the Swamp of the Lost. Our attention is drawn to the southwest by an unexpected sight.

  "Gor'achen?"

  Tyrend's surprised ejaculation about sums up my reaction. Some ten to fifteen miles, away the distinctive silhouette of Gor'achen Citadel blocks out the stars in the night sky. The last time I saw Gor'achen was when we went through the Tren'fon Gate the first time. I do not know where it went from there, but this is the last place I expected to see it.

  "Master, we've been waiting for you." The first mate from the Night Raven rises to his feet. While the four air sailors with him were playing dice, he was stretched out on his bed role pretending to be asleep.

  I shift my gaze from Gor'achen to the first mate. "First, where is the Night Raven?"

  "She's in the docks at Gor'achen, Master. We've been keeping a boat and a crew here to wait for your return."

  "Valcrit, can you …" I sea two more longboats silhouetted against the night sky, I break off in mid-sentence. It seems there will be no need to summon extra longboats. Someone, almost certainly Thrall, knows that we are here.

  While we wait for the longboats to reach the clearing, the first mate and his sailors appraise my new slaves.

  Crack!

  "Ah!"

  Tyrend's slave is half sprawled on the ground where his slap knocked her. As the slave licks the blood from her split lip, her hand cradles her reddening cheek.

  "What do you think you're doing trying to cover yourself, slut? You're nothing but a piece of property, and you were nothing but a whore before. What part of you hasn't been seen and used a thousand times over?"

  Tyrend's anger is out of proportion to the slave's offense, but after the torture he received at her hands, anyone that would blame him for his treatment of the slave is nothing but a hypocrite. Inside the Labyrinth of Yggr, hypocrites like those are few and fa
r between. The vast majority of the populace in all but a handful of places that I have seen would never even blink twice at how an owner treats his slave, no matter how brutal the treatment might be.

  Only a few yards away, under Valcrit's watchful eye, the rest of my slaves are kneeling on the ground. With solemn and resigned expressions on their faces, Mikumi and the other two former whores are positioned by Valcrit with their knees spread and their backs arched to show off their assets to the best advantage. Next to the women, Bobby and Kyle are fearfully huddling together.

  "Train that new meat for the general pen to sit in the same way as the sluts. Those rabid animals will get a kick out of it. Also, have them given to what's left of Mungo's faggots for a couple weeks before they get thrown in the general pen."

  "You should be happy. You are useless sacks of shit, and the Master has taken an interest in you." With brutal punches and kicks for directions, Valcrit puts Kyle and Bobby in the same position as the sluts.

  Without breaking her posture, Mikumi does her best to watch Valcrit abusing the two faggots and reveals a cruel smile.

  Angelique clings to my left arm. I feel the faint trembling in her body, but I ignore it. She still has a long way to go in overcoming her deep-seated fears, and if I coddle her too much, it will do her no good. If she is going to move forward, she needs to find the strength within herself. No matter how strong she may become, there is always the chance she will be beaten and wind up in the same position as Mikumi and the other whores. If she cannot face the dangers, she will be nothing but another useless sack of shit, like Bobby and Kyle.

  As soon as the other two longboats touchdown, we load up and head for Gor'achen. Rising above the edge of the escarpment, I see flashing lights in numerous colors on the distant eastern horizon. Whatever their source is, it is still hidden by the curvature of the world. I cannot estimate the distance, but my guess would be that they are originating somewhere around that city filled with Woden's followers.