The Fallen God

by Gary Mark Lee

  The tiny infant was naked and its skin was white as snow. All about it were the crystal spiders for it was they who cared for it.

  No words were spoken for a mother will always know her child, and seeing the naked baby laying on the crystals Andra walked towards it and she did she let the dagger drop from her hand. The spiders slowly moved away as the human drew near, then one by one they vanished into the crystals. Their task was done and it was time for another to take their place.

  As Simon looked on Andra stood before the child then reached out and took the tiny infant into her arms and held it close to her body. And even though she was wearing her armor she felt the warmth of the baby and at that moment she knew more contentment then she had ever known. And it was then she truly understood the singsong words of her mother.

  “Flowers of morning that bring the dawn.

  Birds that flutter and frogs that yawn.

  Wind of the meadows that blows from the west.

  Home is the haven that I love the best.”

  For there is no home without love, and there can be no greater love then a mother for her child.

  She stood there with her eyes closed for what seemed like an eternity and let her heart fill with love. And when she opened them again Simon was gone, but she knew that she would not grieve for him for he would always be alive inside her.

  But all else had been forgotten.

  She was no longer Moonbud, a strong warrior of the Almadra, there was no Moric-Kan or Norgonie, no Talsonar or Shadowmen, she forgot riding her Whiptail and hunting for Rimar, she had no memory of Osh or Endo or anyone else that had once meant so much to her. It was as if she had just awakened from a dark dream and the days of wandering the Outlands of Gorn and lying beside the man she loved had never been. All that mattered now was the child in her arms and protecting it with every ounce of her strength.

  I am a mother now, she thought looking down at the baby in her arms, and I will protect you from all harm.

  So Andra sat down and gazed out at the crystal world around her, she saw the towering spirals of glowing rock and listened to the Lurkers in the Darkness as they scampered towards her. But she did not fear, for she understood now that they would not harm her or her child.

  Near the place where she sat was a matted layer of webbing and seeing that her child was naked she reached out for the gossamer blanket; it was a strange thing to do for she had touched the spinning of the spider before and it caused her great pain. But as her fingers met the covering they did not burn and taking up the white layering she placed it over her baby. It was then that she truly knew that the spiders would supply all her needs.

  They are my family now, she smiled, this is my home and I will never leave.

  Holding the infant close to her breast she began to rock slowly back and forth, and as she did the child in her arms began to coo softly like a meadow bird in its nest. And like her mother had done with her she sang her a cradlesong, and at that moment she was more content then she had ever been in her life.

  Chapter 35.

  Man and Machine

  Scholars have long debated just where the soul might lay; some say that the idea of an inner collection of memories that live on after the organic portion of a creature dies is impossible. There are also wise men and women throughout the Outer Rim who would argue that a soul is not bound by physical laws and therefore cannot be cataloged in any scientific way.

  But there are those among the Nomads that believe a soul is just a part of the universe looking at itself and therefore will live forever.

  From the Mindlock of Oshismarie Inastro Sistashion.

  The Talsonar were no more.

  Their once powerful city was in ruins and those that once dwelled inside the great pyramid were now the slaves of Atos. How many was only known to the Orb for it controlled them and issued them work to be done, and if they died in their oppressive labors there were others to take their place. And like others before them they worked without rest or nourishment and soon they had completed their task.

  The metal God that now stood beside the fallen city was not the one that attacked it only a few days before; Atos had now doubled in size and strength. The engines that once powered the great pyramid would now propel the huge machine, and the weapons that once defended the Talsonar against the Nomads of the Outlands would be added to those taken from the Caladon. Those humans who were deemed strong enough were taken into the monstrous machine and their minds erased and filled with a new purpose, to defend their master and kill all those that were its enemy.

  But it was not only their minds that were changed it were their bodies also, the Orb commanded that the Repairbots should choose the strongest of the workers and replace weak for strong. So obeying their master they set about removing limbs and internal organs and replacing them with steel and interworking processors, Bolbecs, Talsasions, and all the strong Outer Rim species that had found a home on Gorn were made into even stronger warriors. Now they could defend their master with power and strength far greater than simple flesh could do, and with the Mindlock from the Orb they could fight as one, moving like some great war beast to destroy all that stood before them. There only flaw was their link to the Iron God, for they must stay within the shielding of the organic brain or their bodies would cease to work and they would fall to the ground and never rise again.

  Inside the Cyberman stood before the Orb but if anyone from his past would have seen him now they would not have recognized him for there was very little of Shadowman left that could be called human. His arms and legs that once had been flesh and bone were now made of steel and an iron mask that did not smile or frown or show what was behind its featureless surface had replaced his wounded face. His one good eye had also received some damage so it was removed and a more efficient ocular vision scanner substituted in its place, now the Cyborg man could see all levels of light waves and it would also continue supplying information in the dark. The Repairbots had also removed a portion of his brain for his limbs would never again feel pain and so those connections in his mind were deemed useless. But they did replace the inter-connectors of his cortex with a cordo-plexing digitator and therefore he could receive information at a greatly enhanced speed. They also added a multi-input configuration connector to his right index finger so that he could directly interface with the command consoles if needed.

  And when this was all completed the Half-man looked at the Orb, but he did not think of it as his master for he now understood that it was just a highly advanced organic reactive brain and not a God as he once believed.

  What a fool I was he thought believing in such nonsense, but although he now realized that he had been mistaken about the Orb he knew that he was correct about himself.

  “I see all, I understand all” he said out loud.

  And at the precise moment the Orb was thinking the very same thoughts.

  A long ways away and very high up a giant Screecher was winging its way to the West; it was tired now for it had flown a great distance as it carried its prey back to its feeding nest. It had already traveled over the great canyons that separate the Sorolian plains from the Mountains of Gorash. It lifted higher up and passed between the snow-capped peaks of that towering range, and then down to the dense forests of Caltarine, now it flapped its huge wings and glided effortlessly towards the broken face of the Forbidden City. And all the while it did not let go of the Outlander that had watched the fall of the Talsonar.

  Valen was still alive for the huge Screecher was a female and it preferred to feed its offspring on live food rather than the carrion that the males of its species accepted. Now it had a tender morsel to drop into its cluttered nest and watch as its always-hungry young quickly devoured the offering. It focused it keen eyes then dipped its wings and prepared to float gently downward, all the while crying out in a loud wail as a warning to others that it was returning to its home.

  It was then that the Caladon warrior returned to the land of the living.
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br />   When Valen opened his eyes he thought that his soul had left his body and was floating up to the land of the dead, but he knew that he should have been carried there by Isarie’s Handmaidens and not in the claws of a Forrest Screecher. But the young warrior was not one to panic so he held still and tried to think of a way out of his predicament, but that was hard to do for he had never flown before and his stomach longed to expel its contents. But he fought down the urge to vomit and hoped that the Gods would somehow look kindly on an Outcast.

  The Screecher cried out twice more than glided into a large opening in the side of the stone city, it floated over dozens of other nests were ravenous young stretched out their long necks and gaping mouths trying to snatch the human from the claws of the flying reptile. But there efforts were futile and after gliding deeper into the broken fortress the huge bird fluttered over her nest.

  Valen knew that he had only seconds to save his life and he began striking his fists against the hard scales on the legs of the Screecher, but they seemed to have no effect and a moment later he was falling towards the open mouth of the screaming chick. But it seemed that the Gods did indeed smile on him for the hungry infant turned its bulbous head at the last moment and he fell into the soft nest and not into the snapping jaws. And before the screaming child could turn to strike again the Caladone warrior took up a broken leg bone of some former meal and smashed the screaming infant’s brains out. The other chick that was inside the nest began to dine on his brother and that gave time for the young warrior to quickly climb out of the shelter and run for his life.

  Behind him Valen could hear the angry wails of the female as she watched her infant being devoured, but he did not turn to look back and continued to flee. Before him was a jumble of abandoned nests, broken stones and huge vines that entangled the upper levels of the Forbidden City. And holding the broken bone as a weapon the Outcast plunged into the thick vegetation where he would be save from other hungry birds of prey. Now he sat catching his breath and wondering how he was going to escape his lofty prison. After pondering his predicament for some time he decided to move on. But he had gone only a short distance through the tangled vegetation when he heard more screeching sounds and poking his head out between two great roots he saw a forbidding site, for there before him were hundreds of huge Screechers. But unlike the nesting females these were males and twice the size of their mates. And it was not only their size that was different; their huge bodies were covered in thick plating that would make them all but invulnerable to arrow or spear. Their heads were covered in spikes and more plating and their sharp beaks could hold a full-grown Nomad with ease. Their wingspread told the young warrior that they could carry prey of immense weight and their clawed feet were strong enough to grasp a Trofar without effort.

  They perched on ledges and on broken beams and squabbled amongst themselves for leftover scraps of food. Now and then one would lift its great wings and fly off to scavenge the Caltarine Forrest. There were also the armor-clad skeletons of very large warriors scattered about and looking at them and the huge flying beasts the Caladone remembered old stories from his childhood. One in particular told of ancient warriors of immense size that rode on the backs of enormous reptiles and rained down death and destruction on their enemies. And now looking at the remains of the giants and the towering Screechers he thought that the fables might be true?

  Valen watched the beasts for a time trying to make up his mind about the legends then moving with the skill of a Sagar cat he hurried away from the flying reptiles and the long dead warriors and made his way downward into the lower levels of the Forgotten.

  A long way from the heights of the Forbidden City and deep under the earth another Outcast was also trying to find a way out.

  Endo had tied several plans to save himself and his people but each time they were met with failure, but being a son of his father he understood that defeat only comes when you no longer try so he began to formulate yet another plan for escaping. Beside him Mog swung his digging tool and great chunks of Eul fell away from the tunnel wall and rolled downward were they were picked up and carried to steel carts pulled by other Sandjar. These carts would in turn be pulled to the main tunnel and loading into the great wagon to be taken to the outside. This endless cycle of work and more work was all the Sandjar knew, it was there world and the only world there could ever be.

  But now they had a new leader, a Coraw that came from above and spoke to them in the darkness, and one by one a word had spread, a word carried by a female, for Rawna listen well to her mate as they lay together and as she went about her work she spoke that word and the word was.

  Freedom.

  It of course meant nothing to the Scavengers for they had no language to speak of but the word still moved from worker to worker and with each telling it grew and grew until it became something as important as food or water or air.

  And now as Mog dug he turned to Endo and smiled at him saying that same word.

  “Freedom”

  But no sooner did he speak then he was struck over the back by a guardsman’s whip, “get to work you filth!” yelled the Norgonie who inflicted the punishment, “freedom is something that you will never know”. And again he struck the big Sandjar hard over his back so that a thin line of blood began to flow from the wound, but Mog did not cry out and simply turned and looked into the guard’s face. And for some reason we do not know the Norgonie warrior did not strike him again but turned and walked away, perhaps he saw that any further punishment would be useless or maybe it was something he noticed in the Sandjars eyes. Something that had not been there before, something that all oppressors fear, something they can not fight against.

  Hope.

  And as Mog looked at his Coraw, Endo smiled at him for he knew that Hope mixed with Courage can bring Freedom. So he in turned smiled at the big Sandjar and nodded his head “freedom will come” he said softly, “I promise that to you”. And then Endo went back to the endless digging, but somehow the heavy digging tool seemed lighter in his hands for he knew that there would come a time when he would fulfill that vow to all his people.

  Egmar no longer practiced the rituals of the High Priestess, she did not pray or read from the Book of Isarie or speak to those who came to her for solace, she now spent her days and nights in the pleasures of the flesh.

  Once Kuno had come to her asking for her help in calming the anger that was growing in the tribe for the return of their King. But she only scoffed at his concern and ordered her guards to remove him from her site and never again allow him into the Holy Wagon

  And while others ate only Kasha bread and drank stale march beer she feasted on young forest loppers and drank only well aged Po. She stuffed her mouth with meadow cakes, Hagar soup and what she did not eat she threw to the floor and watched as her Handmaidens bent low to clean it up. And when she pleased she selected the strongest of her male Thungodra and had them lay with her at night, and when she tired of them she would call her young Handmaidens to sing to her and dance naked in the torch light and do all matter of vile things. She did all this and laughed for she knew that there were no Gods and that her life had been a lie.

  Now as the others slept she rose from her bed and wearing only a thin garment of finely woven threads she walked carefully over the sleeping bodies of revelers and made her way out of her chamber. She walked to up the long stairs that led to the upper level of the wagon and then moved outside to the observation deck. There she stood looking up at the stars and saw the night moons that slowly made their way across the heavens.

  The moons are just moons, she thought and the stars are only stars, she no longer view them as jewels in the robe of Isarie and smiled at the many foolish ideas that she once held so sacred.

  From this day forth I will listen only to my mind and not my heart, and then she heard a voice.

  “He is coming” she heard it say, and looking down she saw her dark companion sitting on the carved railing of the deck.

 
“Yes he is coming” she replied to the ebony spider, “and when he comes he will destroy those who are the enemy”, then she raised her arms to the night sky and reached out and spoke a single word with her mind.

  Rahash!

  Alongside the fallen city of the Talsonar the Darkman heard her voice.

  “Rahash?” he heard himself say as he rose from the place where he sat and listened to the information that was now streaming into his mind. But hearing a word he did not know caused him to set aside coordinating the tasks of the many Repairbots around him and put his mind to solving this riddle? He focused his now powerful memory on every mention of that word and although he could now scan the information files that were as vast as any Trolacian computer he could not answer the question.

  He was about to connect himself to the multiword language banks when he heard the word again.

  “Rahash”.

  But this time he saw an image that he knew could not be, but still it was there, his mother Egmar. She stood before him wearing only a thin garment of finely woven threads and looking at her he could see that she wore the face of her youth and not the one when he last saw her.

  He tried to scan the image with his new eyes, but no matter what level he focused, heat, radiation, magnetic, refractive meda-faceing she still remained the same, so he knew that the figure dwelled within his mind and not in his ocular range.

  “Why do you haunt me?” he asked coldly.

  And far off in the Caltarine fortress his mother answered.

  “Come to me” she said “come and destroy all those who abandoned you”.

  And in the chamber of the Orb her son replied, “yes, I will come”, and if he could have his face would have shone a smile, “I will come and destroy!”

  The image vanished from his mind and he looked up at the glowing sphere, “did you hear?” he asked his fellow God.