by Brandon Chen
The Persians yelped, staggering backwards as a mysterious figure exploded from the screen of sand. The figure drove a single punch into a Persian and the man was rocketed backwards as if he had been hit by cannonball, his body practically in pieces by the time he landed several hundred meters away.
Aleysha rushed forward and grasped the metal bars that confined her. What was going on? Was it a threat to her? Because if it was, she wanted to get the hell out of here! She tried pulling on the bars, her arms straining, but groaned when she realized she wasn’t getting anything done. The young woman glanced forward and frowned when she saw that the figure that had descended from the sky was actually just a young boy.
The boy had flowing blonde hair that looked so fragile that it seemed as if it would shatter if one so much as poked it. His skin was slightly tan from the unbearable heat of the desert and he wore a black shroud around his buttoned white shirt and glistening gold pants, connected by a colorful blue sash that was tied tightly around his waist. A golden necklace dangled from his neck and rested on his collarbone. In his hand he was holding a double-bladed spear that was made of gold. The boy exhaled and smiled, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. “Well, well! What are you Persians doing here so far from home?”
‘What’s it to you, kid? Who the hell are you?” a Persian snarled, pointing his curved scimitar at the stranger.
“My name is Ares, Guardian of the Lost Sands!” the boy announced boldly.
The Persians all looked at each other, puzzled. How could such a little boy, who looked no older than fifteen years old, be this rumored God of War? This had to be some kind of a joke. Then again, the boy had just fallen straight out of the sky and emerged completely unscathed. “What is the God of War doing so far away from the Lost Sands?”
“God of War?” Ares said, tilting his head to the side. He chortled, holding his stomach as he laughed. “Oh, man! Is that what they’re calling me? Hey, that’s a pretty snazzy title! It has a nice ring to it. Actually, surprisingly enough, I haven’t come here to halt your parade. I’m just here for that girl,” he said, nodding to Aleysha.
Aleysha raised her eyebrows. This boy came here for her? What for? They had never met before. But the very chance of being saved from these damned Persians was enough to bring her hopes up.
“We won’t listen to your demands, god,” a Persian barked. “Go back to the Lost Sands where you’re bound!”
“Is that another rumor of yours?” Ares smirked. “That I can’t leave the desert and wander the world as I please? I must say, sir.” He flicked his wrist and his spear left his hand and shot forward on its own, jamming through the Persian’s stomach. The weapon tore out his back, splattering blood onto the sand. “You’re completely wrong.”
“Attack the boy!” another Persian yelled, and all of the soldiers surrounding the caravan rushed forward to assault the petite deity.
The mercenaries in Aleysha’s cage all roared to life and cheered as Ares confronted their captors. Aleysha simply gazed with incredulity as the small boy smiled as the dozens of Persian soldiers converged on him. Hopelessly outnumbered, an ordinary person wouldn’t have a chance. This was the boy’s opportunity to prove that he lived up to his name as a god.
Ares twirled his wrist, motioning for the spear. The weapon whistled to life and tore itself from the Persian corpse that it was lodged in. It whipped through the air on its own, as if it were alive, and struck out at the Persian soldiers. The warriors screamed in terror, unsure of what to do. The boy controlled his spear by swinging his right hand about, as if he were conducting an orchestra. Ares’ spear struck down the warriors with ease, and the Persians soon saw that victory was out of their grasp. Survivors attempted to flee, dashing for the rocky mountains in the distance.
The boy extended his hand and his spear threw itself into his grip. He spun the weapon and jammed it into the sand, reaching up to touch his golden medallion. “Awaken, Amon.” The moment the god said those words a fissure erupted in the desert and a gigantic rock golem exploded from the ground, sending the fleeing Persians flying through the air.
Ares turned his attention from the Persians to the cage, prying the metal bars apart with his bare hands. The captured mercenaries all stood there, quavering like frightened children. They seemed unsure of what to do in the presence of this young deity. “Hey, aren’t you going to come out? I won’t hurt you.” He offered his hand out to one of the mercenaries but they simply leapt past him without a word, scrambling away as quickly as they could.
The boy watched the terrified men as they fled and bit his lower lip. He sighed and shrugged. It was clear that those men didn’t trust him. And what reason did they have to trust him? After all, everyone believed he was a mass-murderer. He turned and spotted Aleysha from the corner of his eye, still sitting in the cage, unmoving. “You aren’t going to run like the rest of them?”
“Why did you save us?” Aleysha demanded, her body paralyzed.
“I have a personal grudge against the Persians,” Ares said. “More importantly I hate when they take people to be slaves. The main reason I’m here, though, was because I saw that you were captured.”
“But you don’t even know me.”
“You’re right. I don’t,” Ares murmured, the corners of his lips curving into a small smile. “But you remind me of a girl named Ra that I met five years ago. You look exactly like her actually.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “She did me a huge favor back in the day. She saved my life and changed who I am.”
Aleysha’s eyes widened. Ra? The sun deity and creator of Dastia?
The mercenary glanced up in awe at the enormous rock golem that had ripped itself from the earth. She had never seen such a colossal creature before. She had read stories of ancient elementals that existed but she never imagined that she would ever stumble across one. And it seemed subordinate to Ares.
“Anyway,” Ares said, scratching the back of his neck. “I’d better get going back to the Lost Sands. I just didn’t want to see someone who reminded me of an old friend get captured, that’s all.”
“You saw me all the way from the Lost Sands?”
“I didn’t,” Ares said, pointing to the giant golem. “Amon did.”
“Amon?”
“That’s his name. He’s a friend of mine.”
Friend. Aleysha giggled at the absurdity of everything that was happening. So this teenage boy was a god and now he had summoned his friend, a huge earth elemental, to stop the Persians from enslaving a girl that looked like someone the god used to know. How simple. On top of that, the boy was wielding a magical spear. Even better!
Aleysha wondered if this was all just a reverie. “I must be dreaming,” she said aloud.
Amon began to trudge over but Ares held up a hand, giving the golem a reproachful glare. “Don’t even think about flicking her.”
The elemental huffed, lowering its arms to its side.
Aleysha turned and saw that the other mercenaries had stolen the Persian horses and were galloping off into the distance in the direction of their homes. She winced, realizing that all the horses had been stolen and not a single one was left for her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Ares whistled. “Looks like your friends left you for dead, huh?”
“They’re not my friends,” Aleysha insisted, folding her arms.
“So you’re the solo type.”
“You’ve got it.”
Ares laughed. “Well, Amon and I can give you a lift to wherever you live. It shouldn’t take that long to get there.” He turned and saw that some of the Persians were still alive, just lying on the ground at Amon’s feet, cowering in terror. The god’s expression hardened as he saw them alive. “Amon, crush them.”
The rock golem nodded swiftly and raised a giant foot, covering the tiny men in a dark shadow. He roared, perfectly ready to squash these men like bugs. “W-Wait!” Aleysha shouted suddenly and the rock golem froze. The mercenary winced. Oh boy,
why did I just do that?
Ares looked at Aleysha, perplexed. “Yes?”
“Don’t kill them.”
Amon and Ares both looked at the girl with puzzlement fixed on their faces. “You want to spare the lives of these men who had captured you and wanted to sell you off as slaves in the Persian Empire. Do you even know what they do to slaves in Persia?” Ares asked, his eyebrow knit together.
“No, but….”
“They work them until their bones are rickety and broken. They become so accustomed to the sight of their own blood that being lashed a few times is a daily routine. Their scars are cut so deep into their body that even if they were to ever regain freedom they would still never escape the nightmarish reality that they had experienced. They are driven mad. The overseers of the Persian slaves beat them if they don’t meet their impossible quotas. Sometimes they slaughter slaves just because they feel like it. These men,” Ares pointed to the terrified Persian soldiers, “will pillage more villages along the northern coast of Dastia and eventually will work their way to eastern Dastia. When they do, they’ll kill more innocent people and take home more slaves. Is that what you want?”
“No, of course not!” Aleysha exclaimed. “But they spared my life and captured me instead when I surrendered. They’re clearly surrendering right now, there’s no need to just execute them.”
Ares rolled his eyes. “Death would’ve been a better path than slavery, lady.”
“My name is Aleysha.” the mercenary said.
“Right.” Ares sighed and shook his head. He walked to the corpses of several dead Persian soldiers. The boy ripped off some of their black cloth and took some thick rope from their belts. He tossed the rope to Aleysha. “Alright, Aleysha. We’ll do things your way then. Bind their hands behind their backs.”
Aleysha did as she was told. Surely this would be better than just killing them off. She bound the surviving Persians’ hands behind their backs and watched as Ares began to blindfold the men with black cloths. It wasn’t so much the idea of killing that troubled Aleysha as it was being dishonorable by murdering people who had clearly surrendered. As a mercenary, Aleysha had dispatched plenty of enemies before, so bloodshed and cruelty wasn’t new to her. However, she always upheld her honor when people submitted to her.
The Persian survivors had their hands bound behind their backs and were tied together in a line. Blindfolds made of torn black cloth covered their eyes, wrapped tightly around their heads. Ares then ordered the Persians to begin walking in the direction of Persia. If luck was on their side, they would run into someone who would save their worthless lives before they perished in Dastia’s wasteland. Aleysha sighed. This was not much better than just squashing the soldiers underneath Amon’s giant foot. But at least they had a chance at life. However slim.
“So, you still want a ride home?” Ares asked, turning to Aleysha.
“Uh, I live quite far from here,” Aleysha said, gathering her belongings. She strapped her shield to her back and looked up at Amon.
“It’s no worries.”
“I live in Yuusus.”
“Ah! The northern crossroads between the western and eastern sections of the continent, the upper center of Dastia, a very prosperous and diverse place indeed! It’s an independent city, isn’t it?” Ares said in awe. “I mean, I’ve only heard of the place. I’ve never been there.”
Aleysha beamed proudly. “Yeah, it’s not a part of any nation. It’s just a neutral city where people from all nations gather together to trade. It’s right next to the ocean too, so there’s a lot of great resources there.”
Ares’ eyes twinkled and he grinned. “The ocean! Wow, I’ve always wanted to see that.” He extended his hand to Aleysha. “Alright, it’s settled then! Amon and I will take you home. It’s been a while since I’ve left the Lost Sands.”
Aleysha took the young boy’s hand and screamed as she was suddenly whisked upwards, yanked through the air, landing gently on Amon’s thick, rocky, shoulders. She panted, her heart racing from the rush. She glanced over the side of the ledge that she stood upon, which was the edge of Amon’s right shoulder, and saw that the ground was frighteningly far away. She winced, shaking her head as she began to feel slightly dizzy. She absolutely despised heights.
“Hey, just don’t look down,” Ares advised, sitting down calmly.
Aleysha yelped, almost losing her balance as Amon began to storm forward. A single step from the rock golem dragged them half a mile across the earth. While it was a rather slow step, it was infinitely faster than traveling by horseback. They would surely make it to Yuusus in no time. The female warrior plopped onto the hard floor beside Ares. “You don’t intend to bring Amon into the village, do you? I mean, I know that the villagers will be scared to death if they….”
“I know. We’ll stop a couple miles outside of Yuusus and will continue the rest of the journey on foot, if that’s alright with you,” Ares reassured, patting Amon’s solid shoulder.
Aleysha leaned back and nodded. “I’m used to walking anyway. I’m a mercenary after all. I’ve done plenty of escort missions where I’ve had to walk across entire deserts and barren wastelands to get to my destination.”
“Wow, a mercenary!” Ares exclaimed. “That’s pretty exciting. Must be plenty of unique contracts for you to complete since you’re in the middle of the crossroads of the continent.”
“Yeah.” Aleysha tilted her head to the side. “There’s been less work recently, though, since Persia’s been taking over a lot of the nations to the west of us. I expect that they’ll attempt and take Yuusus soon.”
Ares said nothing and gazed up at the sunny skies.
“You know there are rumors circulating around saying that you’re a merciless slaughterer, right? The name, God of War, was clearly created out of fear. People fear you, Ares,” Aleysha said. “The rumors also say that you live in the Lost Sands.”
“I do.”
“But no human dares walk into that deadly desert. How….”
“I wasn’t aware that this was an interrogation,” Ares teased and Aleysha reddened with embarrassment.
“N-No! I didn’t mean to…!”
“It’s fine.” Ares laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve actually talked to someone other than Amon. Maybe I’ve been cooped up in that desert for far too long. It’s nice to have someone else to converse with.” He leaned forward and called out loudly so that Amon could hear. “Not that there’s anything wrong with you, Amon!”
Amon snorted, letting out a gust of hot air from his nostrils.
“Well, how long have you lived there?” Aleysha asked curiously.
“Five years.”
Aleysha’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Five years! Voluntarily?”
“Yep!”
“Why would you voluntarily stay in one of the driest and most dangerous places in the world?” Aleysha almost laughed at how bizarre this boy was. “Five years without any human interaction would drive me insane.”
Ares scratched the back of his neck. He knew why he had to stay in that desert for five years — in order to learn what it meant to be a god and how to control his unstoppable powers. He also had to assure that he had grasped responsibility well enough before venturing a voyage out into the world while wielding such frightening strength. But Aleysha was right. It had been so long since he had seen a sight other than horrific monstrosities and plain sand. He needed to get out and see the rest of the continent.
The boy chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Well, meeting you is a start, isn’t it?” He held out his hand, beaming, offering a formal handshake. “I’ll strike a deal with you then. I’ll take you home to your city and you’ll show me around. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle walking around a chaotic city packed with so many people alone. What do you say?”
Aleysha shook his hand, laughing. “Of course! It’ll be my pleasure to show a god around the city.”
***
Sitting on a wooden stool
at a bar in Yuusus, a man lifted a jug of fine wine to his lips. The sweet, yet burning taste made his lips tingle and the foreigner exhaled as he took a swig of the wine. Lowering the jug to the counter, the man smacked his lips. His long, black, spiky hair cascaded down his forehead and curved sideways near his brown eyes. The foreigner wore a black, unzipped cloak, which was wrapped around his black sleeveless shirt. A long crimson cape draped down from his back to the bottom of his stool. He had a large metal belt wrapped around his waist that held an array of daggers, throwing knives, bombs, and pouches containing miscellaneous materials.
Women were gathering around the bar to marvel at the handsome foreigner that had waltzed into the city, infatuated by the amount of wealth that he appeared to have as well as his dashingly good looks. The man seemed to be only in his twenties and he drank wine like it was water. He had chugged through five jugs within the hour and claimed that it “quenched his thirst.”
The man laughed hysterically at something a dainty woman was saying to him and commented on how goofy a giraffe looked as a group of marketers led the exotic animal through the streets of Yuusus. The stranger’s cheeks were a rosy red from his drunken state, and he hiccupped. Little did he know that one of the women to his left was reaching into the pocket of his jacket, preparing to take some of the valuable gold coins that he had.
Just as the woman was pulling her hand back with the coins secured, the foreigner’s hand lashed out and grabbed the lady by the wrist forcefully. The beauty screamed at the brutish behavior but the stranger simply smiled slyly. “Oh, man. Did you seriously think that just because I’m piss-drunk that you can take advantage of me?” Despite the fact that he was intoxicated, his speech seemed quite normal. “I’m not an idiot, you know.” He pried his golden coins from her hands and shoved the thief to the ground, where she sprawled across the dirt floor.