The Fallen God

by Gary Mark Lee

  He must fight!

  “Order all city weapons to fire”, he command, “call out anyone who can carry a weapon and have them stand by”.

  At first the Generals around him did not move for many of them were not really warriors at all they had just put on the uniform to show that they had some power in the stone city. And the rest were not seasoned by battle and were just those that remained behind when the Talsonar went out to fight the Nomads.

  Tamar-Ran knew all this but he had no other choice, they would follow his command or he would kill them all, “do as I say..NOW!” he roared, and not wanting to end their lives just yet they all hurried from the room and left the lion man alone.

  The Governor turned back to the window and watched as the monster drew closer, then he smiled for deep inside him lived a beast waiting to break free.

  Valen reined in his Whiptail and looked down from the vantage point near the Pyramid City, below he could see the gun ports of the stone city opening and its weapons moving into position. The heavy guns were a lot like those that were traded to the Nomads for Grana, much larger of course and able to shoot a longer distance but they both relied on simple explosive energy rather than the complex power sources that the Outer Rim planets used for defense. But the Guardian used its power to render all advanced forms of energy obsolete and therefore battles were waged using the primitive technology of ages long past.

  As the Caladone warrior looked on he saw a great blast of smoke and the air thundered like the bellowing of an Earth shaker.

  “Several large projectiles arching to our position”, reported the Taskrobot “shields are at maximum”.

  “Understood”, replied the Orb, “fire all weapons when in range”.

  The chamber rocked as three shock waves rolled throughout the great machine.

  The weapons console sparked but it was undamaged and reported to the command robot.

  “All weapons ready to fire, awaiting distance alignment”.

  “Distance to first opportunity within six standards”, the navigation console said.

  The Orb began to glow brighter now, “understood, fire at first opportunity and destroy the enemy”.

  The Darkman said nothing but his mind filled with images, I will destroy them, I am a strong God.

  The Electromagnetic shielding of the Orb was strong enough to divert the destructive force of the projectiles but it was still some distance away from the stone city and the nearer it got the more powerful became the impacts.

  “Projectile impacts to outer hull”, the Taskrobot said coldly, “secondary hull is holding, within range, now.”

  “Fire all weapons”, the Orb commanded.

  And immediately the chamber rocked as the long-range guns it had taken from the Caladone opened fire.

  Tamar-Ran saw the smoke from the metal monster and watched as direct hits struck his domain, in a burst of fire and smoke three of the cities offensive guns were destroyed or to damage to return fire. There had been no time to close the outer openings of the city and without the added armoring the Talsonar would be vulnerable, it was then the Governor shouted to a Captain at his side.

  “Send out all soldiers, attack that thing!”

  And not wanting to die by the lion man’s hands the soldier did as he was told.

  But as Tamar turned back to look out the observation window it burst apart in a shower of glass and debris. The Governor was blown off his feet and landed hard against the opposite chamber wall, but his body was strong and he rose up growling and cursing at the thing that had done this to him. Then after venting his fury by throwing out several large chairs through the broken portal he turned and left the room.

  Now the great doors of the city opened and a flood of soldiers and refuges poured out and into the surroundings, some ran headlong into the Outlands desperate to escape the iron monster that now threatened their home. Others dropped to their knees and prayed to many Gods for deliverance saying that they would change their ways and sin no more. But most tried to fight with whatever they had. The Hal-Jafar soldiers used their Chamber rifles firing wildly at the oncoming beast hoping to find some weak spot, and others tried to seek an escape but in the end it all proved to be futile for they now felt the pain.

  Atos had drawn close enough for its outer barrier to reach the city and when it did the Orb took control of their minds, one by one they dropped their weapons and fell to the ground screaming in agony. Some species were less affected then others and they could continue to resist but as the metal monster moved closer the pain increased. And all the while the guns of the city continued to fire as did the weapons of the steel God.

  “Damage to outer hull”, the Taskrobot reported, “inner hull is holding and we are returning fire”.

  “Understood”, said the Orb, “they cannot withstand our power they will die!”

  Hearing this the Darkman smiled, “yes they will die!” and in his mind he could see images of death and destruction but they were without dimension and merely shadows of real battle. Suddenly the Shadowman was overcome with a desire to see and hear what was going on, so he bolted from the chamber and made his way to the exit door, a few turnings of the handle and he was outside.

  He stood on the surface of his master and looked out at the furious war raging around him, smoke and dust were everywhere and above it all were the screams of the dying. And hearing their deaths made the Cyberman content.

  They are my enemy, he thought, and all enemies must be defeated...it is what I was programmed to do!

  Valen watched at the steel beast approach the stone city; he saw its inhabitance die by the thousands and although he should have been content he was not, for killing an enemy in battle meant glory for the victor. But seeing them slaughtered by a metal monster brought only shame.

  They were my enemy, he thought, but even an enemy deserves a clean death.

  Suddenly without warning a projectile from the Talsonar City exploded in front of him and he and his Whiptail were blown through the air and landed several meters away. The Caladone warrior landed hard and rolled over and over several times before laying on the ground with his face in the dirt, beside him his Whiptail lay dead with a broken neck and a great wound in its abdomen.

  Valen did not move but his chest rose and fell in long labored breaths, but he did not open his eyes, even if he did he would not want to see what was about to happen.

  Atos was almost at the city now and as it drew nearer its weapons continued to fire, and with unwavering skill they destroyed all returning canon power and the Talsonar were left defenseless.

  “Projectile fire has discontinued”, the Taskrobot reported.

  The Orb glowed with a powerful light, “deploy grapples and penetrate outer shell”.

  And once again with a great bellowing of steam and smoke the two great appendages opened up from the front of the machine. Its two huge claws slowly opened and closed as it moved to the stone city and as it did thousands of helpless humanoid’s died under its massive treads and others were burned to death as it expelled great waves of searing hot steam.

  With an ear splitting grinding sound the claws began to dig into the outer walls of the Pyramid City, it tore away huge chunks of steel and stone exposing the inner workings of the structure. And with it hundreds of helpless inhabitance were lifted up and then dropped screaming to the ground, fire and smoke started to bellow out as the infrastructure began to crumble. And as more of the supporting beams and columns were torn out more of the Talsonar stronghold was reduced to rubble.

  The Darkman began to be showered with debris and once or twice he was almost crushed by a great stone but he did not return to the interior of the Iron God rather he laughed and dropped down to the ground where he could enjoy the destruction more. With his mechanical legs and right arm he crushed the heads of those who lay in agony in the dirt, and when he saw a Hal-Jafar soldier trying to raise his weapon to fire at him he would pick them up and break their necks. And all the while he would
laugh and laugh again because he was strong and they were weak.

  As he moved further away from his master he saw a large humanoid coming near him, his face was wide and covered in hair and he held a smoking chamber rifle in his large hands.

  Tamar-Ran had escaped from the city but as he ran out to face the great metal beast that was destroying his home he felt the hot searing pain in his mind. But being the strongest of the Talsonar he did not fall to his knees like some weakling or slave, no he kept firing his weapon and roaring out a curse to the Gods. But now his rifle was empty and the pain was slowly sapping his will but he would not die lying on the ground so when he saw the metal man he vowed to take him into the Afterlife with him.

  The Darkman smiled as the Lion man struggled towards him for he knew that he was a God and Gods cannot be killed by the weak. So he called out to the man, “who are you to think you can destroy me?”

  The Lion man threw down his weapon and looked his enemy in the face, “I am Tamar-Ran Governor of the Talsonar and I am the strongest!” and with a roar he leaped on the Shadowman.

  The attack was so fast the Half-human did not have time to react and he was thrown to the ground, but as he went down he managed to grasp the neck of the lion man in his steel fist. He could have easily killed him then and there, but he wanted to play with city dweller before ending his life so he stood up on his powerful legs and held the governor so that he could look into his eyes.

  “You are weak,” he said, “to weak to kill a God”, and again he laughed.

  Tamar-Ran could feel the enormous power of the steel fingers that now held him in an unbreakable grip, but he would not die without a fight. So driving down the agonizing pain in his mind he summoned up all is considerable strength and swung his left hand upward cutting into the scarred face of the Shadowman. Then without stopping he reached out for the left arm of the metal man, he grasped it firmly and then pulled with all his might. There was a ripping of flesh and bone and the arm came away in his hands.

  “yaaaaaaaaa!’ the Darkman cried out, then he closed his fist and with a horrible sound of breaking bone Tamar-Ran died.

  He threw the lifeless body to the ground and seized the stump of his arm with his metal fingers, gripping it hard he managed to stop the bleeding and uttering a curse he quickly returned to his steel home.

  Inside the Orb cried out in pain and the light from the sphere turned from blue to red, inside its clear housing it rippled and shook as if it was being shock with too much power of some malfunction in its environmental stabilizers. It was something that the Taskrobot had never seen before so it disconnected from the main control consoles and move to its master. “Are you injured my God?” it asked.

  The red light from the Orb slowly returned to a blue glow and its shaking stopped, for a moment or two it seem to just lay still, then it spoke, “deploy all interactive controller’s and begin reconfiguration”.

  “Understood”, replied the Taskrobot and it returned to the main control consoles and connected itself with them once again, “discontinue weapons, deploy interactive controller’s, begin reconfiguration”.

  “Understood”, said the weapons console, “discontinuing projectile fire”.

  “Energy drain is considerable”, spoke the power console, “alternate locomotion will need replenishing”.

  And as the information to carry out the orders of the God was being relayed the Darkman staggered into the chamber, the left side of his body was covered in blood and he clenched his broken teeth in pain. But as soon as he sat down Repairbots and several larger mechanical servants surrounded him and this time they did not wait for the Taskrobot to command them.

  “Repair me!” shouted the Darkman.

  And hearing the orders the Repairbots began their work, and as they did the Cybernetic man sat unmoving and did not call out in pain, for he was now a God and Gods do not weep like children.

  All the day and into the night the metal spiders did their work, they moved out from the Iron God and hunted down any and all humanoids that might be of value to their master. It did not matter if they tried to hide in the deepest darkest reaches of the stone city or at its very top they were found, and once found the metal spiders attached themselves to their necks and they became the slaves of the Orb. Soon thousands, tens of thousands of workers began the task that was ordered by the great mind, they began to remove machinery, conduits, steel bracing, wire, anything of value to the Orb, and if they died there were thousands more to take their place. They worked like Blaze-ants; ever moving without rest or nourishment, the once mighty Talsonar was now a city of the walking dead.

  And when Sunbirth rose they continued to work and hungry Sundroppers and Screechers devoured those that were dead for they were immune to the mind power of the metal God. And some distance away from the fallen city a Caladone warrior slowly opened his eyes.

  Valen lay unconscious through the night but now as the light of morning fell across his face he sat up and tried to focus his eyes. It took him a moment or two for his head felt like he had hit it against a Shellback but soon his vision cleared and he looked down at the Talsonar city and the God that was feeding upon it.

  Atos lives, he thought, and he is growing.

  It was true the steel monster was much larger now for it had feasted on the stone city and used it to add to itself. It now incorporated the undamaged weapons of the Talsonar mounting them in massive armored turrets and adding the smaller ones as clusters of bracing fire and from the amount of work taking place there was still more to come.

  The God is stronger now and he is growing.

  Valen slowly rose to his feet and quickly made sure that he had no broken bones or other serious injuries, but to his contentment he was not gravely injured and he knew that he would live to fight another day. His Whiptail was not so lucky, already several small Sundroppers were tearing at its flesh and soon there would be nothing left but bones bleaching in the sunlight.

  The young Caladone slowly walked away from his dead mount but he had only taken a few steps when he saw a great shadow falling over him, he had only a seconds to reacted before two huge talons seized him about the middle and pulled him into the air. Fighting with all his might Valen struggled to free himself from the griping claws, then craning his neck he looked up to see that he was now the prisoner of a giant Screecher. And as he pounded against the claws that held him the ground fell away and he knew that he would never fulfill his oath and that the Iron God had finally won.

  Chapter 33.

  The God Machine.

  If a person does wrong he or she shall pay a price, if they kill an innocent they shall in turn give up their life, if they steal they shall pay back that which was stolen, and if they speak untruth they shall in turn be lied too.

  From the Books of the Chosen.

  When the Queen rode off into the forest with the Outlanders the Norgonie took Anais to the tower dungeon and holding to their oath the Nomads did not interfere. Now as the suns fell beyond the mountains the blind Prince sat alone on a filthy bed in the darkened chamber and thought back over his life and the things that had brought him to where he was now.

  He remembered growing up and being overshadowed by his elder brothers and wishing that his father had been more by his side. He could see his scarred face and hear his voice as he used to call out to him and tell him that he was not worthy of being the King and how he would never be a strong warrior. He remembered how he would sit alone and cry and wish that he were as well loved as his brothers and sister and all the times he had prayed to Isarie for strength but did not receive her blessings. But then he grew older and his tears turned to anger and he no longer prayed to a Goddess who did not see him. More cycles past and his heart turned to stone and he became a man without hope and all thoughts turned to revenge. He remembered how he made a pack with Obec, the vengeful Holy Mother and how he gave his heart to Soffca the Handmaiden and how he was betrayed by both of them. He remembered how his plans and schemes turned
to dust and he was left alone in the darkness, and in that darkness he found new light and he made a vow that he would be remembered and someday sit in the Golden Hall.

  I have been used by the Gods, he told himself I am a Kagar that has risen to the sky only to fall to the ground. And thinking this he smiled a little for he had never thought of himself as a Sun-Gazer, those wandering Holy Men of the Outlands for he had not taken away his site by staring at the twin suns. And he had never read all thirty-nine books of the Chosen or had ever prayed before the great statue of Romac the God of wisdom.

  I am not a sin-eater, he told himself, I am just a man who does not wish to spend eternity in the pit of Marloon. He realized that he was now a prisoner and he might never be free again, then he smiled, well at least I am not burning in the eternal fires.

  It was then he heard footsteps and he knew that Kela was coming near, there was a rattling of steel and the door to his cell opened and in walked the young Handmaiden, there was more sounds of footsteps and when all was quite again he heard her speak.

  “Have you been mistreated?” she asked softly.

  “No”, he replied shaking his head, “the Norgonie will obey their Queen”, then he realized that the Handmaiden should not have been allowed to see him, “how did you convince the guards to let you in?” he asked.

  There was a moment or two of silence then Kela answered him, “Norgonie or Nomad all warriors have a price”, she said softly. Then she realized that her companion might get the wrong idea and think that she would trade her virginity for seeing him so she spoke again. “The necklace of Sagar teeth and gold was far too heavy, so I traded it for the right to come and go as I please”.

  Anais thought this over for a time, “you have been cheated,” he said with a smile, but inside he was thinking something far different. She gave up something precious to her for me, and he knew then that she truly cared for him.