by Eric Vall
“Haruhi, what can you tell us about the god who lives in this dungeon?” I asked as we came over the crest of the hill and stepped over fallen trees and branches closer to the dark entrance.
The librarian perked up, and she nearly vibrated with excitement as we took our first steps inside of the dungeon. The sage ran her hand along the smooth rock walls as her eyes upturned towards the mossy ceiling.
“This dungeon has been here for a long time, although many people on the island don’t know about it. I’d suspect that no one has ever been in here before, since Nekokian people, like all of Canarta, don’t like violence and wouldn’t kill the god within,” the sage told us in a voice that sounded far away like she was reciting the lines from one of her favorite books. “This is the dungeon of Nanook, the god of animals, or more specifically bears.”
“Why was he thrown from the heavens?” Morrigan asked as her dark eyes moved over the sage’s face, and Haruhi nodded happily.
“He tried to steal the domain of another. There’s a smaller, less powerful god on the lowest point of Kegawa. Nanook thought he was strong enough to overpower the god and take control of both of the islands. The god’s realm quickly took notice of his actions and blasted him out of the heavens.” The sage told us, and I nodded along.
I knew of Nanook but not well. My parents were in the High Order, and my status was above the lowly god of the animals. I could still remember the god’s round face and jolly laughter that echoed through the heavens on more than one occasion. From what I remember of Nanook, he was kind and jubilant, but that didn’t mask the fact that he was power hungry like most other gods. He wanted all the earth to himself as I did, but the difference between us was that I was succeeding in my efforts.
“What types of powers does he have and what type of sigil?” Annalise questioned over her shoulder, and the sage’s brow knit as she concentrated hard.
“Well, he’s the god of the animals, so mostly he controls animals, and his sigil is a bit strange,” Haruhi explained as she turned towards the high queen and drew in the air with her paw. “It goes up like this, spikes up a few times to a point then comes back down in the same way.”
“Oh?” the swordswoman murmured in a confused tone, and I turned back with a half-smile.
“It looks like a leaf, which is kind of fitting for how he looks.” I chuckled, and Haruhi’s eyes glittered as she nodded vigorously.
“What does he look like then?” Rana asked as she scrunched up her nose and turned towards the sage.
“A bear,” the librarian laughed lightly. “He’s kind of pudgy, fuzzy and…” Haruhi trailed off as she thought for a word.
“Cute?” Carmedy giggled, and Haruhi tilted her head curiously then laughed.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that about him.” The sage smiled to her feline sister, and the alchemist’s tail swished out behind her happily.
“But be wary,” I said in a somber tone, and the feeling in the air around us changed as my minions became more serious. “No matter how he looks, he is still a fallen god, and he could strike out at you at any second. Just because he’s…cute doesn’t mean he won’t flay you alive.”
I turned back toward the darkness ahead of us, and my minions huddled together. Each of my women held their weapons tightly, and it was almost comical the way that Haruhi held the book out in front of her, but from the way her eyes flashed, I could tell that she could cause some harm with the hard leather cover if she really wanted.
Nanook hadn’t shown himself yet, but though much weaker than mine, his power was all around us. I followed the trail of power like a bloodhound, and we traveled deeper into the darkness of the dungeon. Our boots crunched against the dirt floor, and a few times, I had to step over large rocks then help my women over them one at a time. We were close to his nexus, and it was strange to me that it wasn’t buried deeper underground, but we hurried on toward it.
A few of Haruhi’s words stuck with me, and I rolled them over in my head. Nanook was the god of the animals, and he could control them. I stopped dead in my tracks, and Annalise bumped into my back softly. I glanced back at my minions in the gloom around us and took an inventory of all of them. The high queen stood directly behind me and stared up into my face with question eyes, Carmedy, Rana, and Haruhi stood in a loose line behind her and Morrigan took up the back as she usually did.
“God of the animals?” I asked and, in an instant, Haruhi’s fluffy white ears lay flat against her head as she hissed loudly.
Rana’s tail puffed up as she lowered herself to the floor and growled deep in the back of her throat, and my eyes narrowed on the three hybrid-women. I felt rage building inside of me. Carmedy’s short black hair ruffled up as her ears lay back too just like Haruhi’s, and the petite alchemist tensed her paws in the air then swiped out at me.
Annalise grabbed onto my arm and jumped out of the way of the incoming paw. I grabbed the high queen and pulled her behind me as I glanced back at Morrigan. The elven woman was utterly unnoticed by the three hybrid-women and therefore safe from any attack.
“Holy shit, Master, what do we do?” Annalise cried in my ear as she held Bloodscale out, then glanced down at the weapon.
I could tell that the high queen was having a moral debate with herself in her head. Would she defend her Master to protect him, or would she lay down her sword for her sisters? She would have to do neither.
I shot out my right hand and made a fist in the air as I gritted my teeth. My dark power whipped around us and blew back our hair for a second as it surrounded the hybrid women. I wrapped the dark energy around them, almost like a rope, and my women roared, not in pain but out of anger. Their faces were masks of pure rage as they fought against the invisible force. I held them there as each of them threw back their heads and hissed at the rock ceiling of the tunnel. I raised my hand higher, and the hybrid women’s feet lifted from the floor as I turned back toward the darkness ahead of us.
“Show yourself, you fucking coward,” I growled through my teeth as my women struggled even harder against their invisible bonds.
Loud, guttural laughter exploded up the hall as Nanook chortled in his nexus ahead. His voice was so familiar and reminded me once again of my time in the heavens. I reached into my void pocket for the God Slayer as the archway into his nexus appeared a few paces away.
“Unum Tenebris! My boy!” Nanook boomed in a friendly, jovial manner that made my hands tighten around the haft of the God Slayer. “Look who finally found me. I would say welcome home, but we’re both far away from home.”
I stepped through the archway, and golden light exploded all around us as the three of my hybrid women screamed and thrashed against my power. I held them tightly in place but not enough to hurt them in any way. I was their protector, and Nanook would pay for what he’d done to them.
Nanook looked just as he did in the heavens and how Haruhi described. He sat crossed legged on the floor with his paws resting on his knees as his furry face smiled at us. The god of the animals was huge, larger than three men combined and covered in snow white fur, except for his ears and two black splotches around his eyes. His bright eyes were emerald green and flashed as he tilted his massive head at me.
I slammed my hand out into the air and tensed my fingers. Nanook gasped and sputtered for air as I used the smallest amount of my dark power to choke him off. His round eyes widened and stared out at me from the recesses of black fur as he grabbed at his throat as if to loosen my ethereal grip.
“Release my women and your death won’t be as painful.” I snarled as my hands tightened in the air, and Nanook sputtered even louder. “Don’t release them, and I’ll rip off your pelt while you’re still alive. Either way, you will die; it’s your choice.”
Chapter Fifteen
Nanook’s eyes pleaded with me as his massive paws beat at the air, but I showed him no mercy. I had no intention of parlaying with him. From behind me, all three of my hybrid women quieted, and when I glanced back
at them, they looked more conscious than before, though a bit dazed. I let my dark power drop from around them, and Rana jumped away howling in anger.
Her baby-blue eyes were bright with anger, and she held her daggers out in front of her as she approached the massive bear. The fox was nearly foaming at the mouth with rage, and I let my power drop from around the god as one of the elven daggers flew through the air towards him. The knife hit him in the belly, and the god howled in pain as he struggled to reach the blade.
Rana was too fast for him as she pounced at him. The elven dagger flashed through the air and sliced into every limb that she could reach. The redhead used the single dagger like a handhold as she stabbed it high into his stomach and grabbed for the second knife. The fox ripped it free then swung forward with her paw still clenched around the knife which was still buried in Nanook’s side. Then Rana used her momentum to swing forward, stab into the massive bear’s white belly, and then drag the dagger backward.
Scarlet blood spilled down Nanook’s pristine white fur, and the bear roared. Nanook swatted at the tiny fox, but she ripped both of the daggers free and scurried around him.
Nanook was too large and too slow to keep up with her. His massive paws beat at the empty air, but Rana scurried up his back with the help of her knives and quickly climbed the nape of his neck.
“Bet you don’t like it when someone fucks with your head, asshole!” Rana screamed as she placed one of the knives between her teeth and lifted the other in both hands over her head.
The redhead slammed the dagger down, and it sliced into the middle of Nanook’s skull, but the bear didn’t drop, only thrashed around as he roared. His movements made Rana lose her grip, and she tumbled off backward from his shoulders. The dagger was still buried in Nanook’s thick skull, and blood dribbled down around his furry face and stained more of his white fur scarlet.
Annalise blew past me with both of her swords drawn, and Haruhi disappeared around the back of Nanook with the book tucked under her arm. Carmedy quickly mixed up a bag of potions from beside me, and she named off each of the ingredients as she poured them into the bundle.
“Minced daisy root, peeled shrivel fig, sliced caterpillars, one rat spleen,” the feline whispered as she pulled out a tiny bottle and popped the cork. “a dash of leech juice, blech, that smells nasty. Then some cowbane and some wormwood for fun.”
The Carmedy sealed off the smoking potion in its bundle and dropped it into the cradle of her slingshot. The petite alchemist lifted the slingshot, closed one eye as she aimed, then let it fly. I followed its trajectory, and the small bundle found its mark directly in the middle of Nanook’s chest. The packet exploded with a cloud of green smoke that completely enveloped the massive bear.
Nanook snarled from within the cloud, and I watched as the smoke swirled and broke. My eyebrows raised as Nanook appeared from the cloud of smoke but much smaller than he was before. I glanced over at Carmedy, and the feline giggled as she scratched at an ear.
“That’s a Shrinking Solution for you! How does it feel to be cut down to size, meaniehead?” Carmedy yelled as she ran away and began mixing up another potion.
I turned my attention towards the high queen as she squared off with the bear. Annalise’s movements were fluid and smooth as she thrust out with Bloodscale and cleanly sliced into Nanook’s side. The much smaller bear, now only a few inches taller than the swordswoman, swiped out at the weapons but Annalise leaped back gracefully.
Nanook was thrown off balance, not used to the size that Carmedy had formed him into, and he stumbled forward.
The high queen’s brown eyes glittered as she lifted the unnamed sword high over her head and sliced down with it. The blade of the unnamed sword cleanly severed Nanook’s left paw. The dead hand tumbled to the floor as Nanook brought the bleeding stump closer to his chest and screamed in agony.
Morrigan slunk up behind him with her palms glowing with emerald power. Slowly, she lifted her hands, and the god was lifted off the floor. The elven woman held him there, and suddenly, the emerald light surrounding both of them began to crackle with life. Nanook convulsed in the air, and bright fire consumed parts of his body as the emerald light came to life. Sections of his fur singed off, and a mighty roar ripped up the great beast’s throat as he batted at his own burning skin.
I lifted a single hand into the air, and Morrigan nodded once and dropped the struggling bear to the floor. I stepped up in front of him as the shrinking solution began to wear off. Nanook’s body returned to its normal size, and all of the wounds my minions had inflicted only became larger. Nanook wavered on his feet, and I took in all the damage. The god was covered in blood, and most of his fur was burned, some of it still smoked from the elven woman’s attack. His black, marble-sized eyes were dazed and filled with pain.
I’d molded my women into perfect warriors, and they’d taken the initiative before I even had the chance to give them the word. I stood in front of the colossal bear god, and his barely focused eyes glared down at me. I wasn’t surprised that my women had weakened him so much, but what did surprise me to see was the top of Haruhi’s head as she climbed up the wounded bear’s back.
Rana’s elven dagger stuck out of the top of Nanook’s head as Haruhi wriggled herself into place on his shoulders. The god didn’t seem to notice as he groaned in pain, and the sage lifted the heavy book over her head. Haruhi’s hazel eyes shone with determination as she focused in on the hilt of the dagger and brought the heavy book down. The hard leather cover hit the handle of the dagger and drove it deeper into the top of Nanook’s skull. The crunch and crack that came after resounded around the god’s nexus and from beside me, Rana winced from the painful sound.
“Where’s the Qianlong?” Haruhi screamed as she brought the book up again, and Nanook barely had time to swivel his head as the book came down again.
The crunch was louder this time, and blood poured off his face in rivulets, but that didn’t stop the sage as she yelled again in an angry voice.
“Tell us where the goddamn Qianlong is, Nanook!” the sage roared, and I’d never seen her this vicious before.
The librarian’s almost black hair swung out around her, and her round-framed glasses flashed hatefully in the dim light. Haruhi held the book up over her head, but her arms didn’t waver or shake from strain as she glared down at the back of the bear’s skull.
“The Qianlong?” Nanook asked in a slurred voice.
The god stood in a pool of his own blood, and the scarlet liquid dripped from the stump where his paw used to be. I didn’t feel an ounce of pity for him; he’d brought all of this upon himself. He’d taken over the minds of three of my minions, and each of them had taken turns attacking him, but I’d yet to have my turn.
“You are the only being on this island who knows the location of the Qianlong! Where is she?” Haruhi shouted in a voice that didn’t seem to be her own.
“The last beast of her kind, yes, the offspring of the vengeful Akalong and the peaceful Qianlong tribes. Heijing… the last reminder of a time when beasts took to the sky.” Nanook whispered in a tired, faraway voice, and Haruhi’s eyes narrowed.
“Where is she?” the sage roared, and the god’s eyes winced.
“The mountainside, west of here,” the god answered in a slow, thick voice. “There are two twin peaks before the highest point of the mountain. The path between the peaks will lead you there.”
“And that will take us directly to the Holy Temple, correct?” Haruhi snarled, and Nanook’s head nodded limply.
“The temple is the only remaining building left of the Qianlong city,” the bear answered in a hushed whisper. “Between the peaks, you will see the ruins of the guard towers, that’s when you will know that you’ve found the right place.”
Haruhi’s eyes glittered as she thought, and I knew she was running over the layout of the island in her mind. The sage’s eyes narrowed as she honed in on the exact spot Nanook spoke of. Haruhi nodded once then dropped from th
e god’s shoulders with the huge book in hand.
I stepped forward as the sage came around the massive being’s body. The sage hurried over to her sisters, and they began to speak in quiet but excited tones. But as I stepped up in front of Nanook, my women went silent and watched me attentively.
“Kill me, Dark One, please, just kill me,” Nanook begged through a hoarse voice.
His black eyes were wide with fear, and his furry body shook as he stood in a pool of his blood. My women had wounded him severely, but I would do as he asked and finish the job. I didn’t need the God Slayer for this, no; I would use all of my dark power at once. I slammed out my left hand and ripped the bear’s head back as I held Nanook in place with the other. I summoned the lava god’s power above him, and Nanook stayed absolutely still while a massive orb of lava formed above his furry head. Using my hands as tools to manipulate my dark power, I ripped my right hand back, and Nanook’s maw fell open.
My women were silent behind me as they watched my dark power move all around them. Haruhi stood in the middle of her sisters; this was only the second time she’d seen a true god at work, and her mouth pressed into a hard line. From her thoughts, I could tell that the pacifist in her heart wanted her to turn away, but she was one of my minions now, and that new part of her wouldn’t let her. Haruhi knew she needed to witness this, knew that coming along with me and my women would mean seeing death and destruction. She accepted that when she fell in love with the god of the Underworld and now, she’d have to see it with her own eyes.
A single drizzle of lava dripped from the floating orb, and its surface shone in the light like golden, glowing honey. It came closer to Nanook’s face, and the fur around his open mouth sizzled and began to smoke from the intense heat. His black, moist lips crinkled and curled inward as the lava entered into his mouth. Nanook screamed through the mouthful of liquid heat, and his body thrashed, but I held him still with my power. Yellow lava sputtered from his lips and down his chin, and the magma burned trails down his furry chest and belly.