The Fallen God

by Gary Mark Lee

  But there was one thing he did not care for and that was the awful smell that seemed to be coming from all around him, its odor was like a battlefield after a victory, or perhaps the marshes of the Yug jungles in the South. But even they did not fill the air with such foul vapors as the one that now occupied the room, so fighting down an urge to empty his belly the young warrior began looking for a way down. He searched about for some time but the only way open to him was to continue climbing down the roots that seemed to never end and so with no other alternative he once more began his descent.

  It had been many age’s sense the Forbidden City had felt the marching of Honnargar feet, but now its dusky corridors echoed to warriors striding like Gods and to anyone who looked upon them they surely must have seemed like all powerful beings. They moved as one for their minds were linked together and a thought from one became the thought of many.

  Arn hung tightly to the giant warrior and he was glad he did for many times he caught a glimpse of Wormrow cowering in the darkness and if it was not for the risen soldiers they would have fallen upon them and feasted on their flesh. But now they hurried from the path of the marching dead and if any of them were unlucky enough to be caught by the giants they were quickly disposed of.

  Ishea was also glad to be carried for it gave her time to rest and think deeply of what had taken place sense the Nomad King had returned to her. This was not something she did often for she was a creature of action, relying on her fighting ability to keep herself safe and her woman’s instincts to know what to do. But she also understood that being a woman often meant letting your heart rule your head and seeing everything through of veil of emotion.

  Arn is willing to sacrifice his life for this girl she thought would he do the same for me?

  It was a question that she hoped both of them would never have to answer.

  Ral was uncomfortable being carried about like a frail leg, and more then once he wanted to jump from the back of the giant holding him but he did not want to be trampled by those that walked behind. So he let things remain as they were but vowed that if later anyone spoke of this he would cut out their heart.

  The marchers of death moved ever downward, how they knew what tunnels to take were a mystery? Perhaps they possessed more than a directional sense? Perhaps they could reach out with their minds and know what corridors would lead them where they wished to go? Or maybe something was guiding them, calling to them to the place they searched for. But whatever drove them on they would soon reach their goal.

  Andra looked into the eyes of her found child, and although the people of her Homeworld would have repelled at what they saw she did not.

  “I will always be with you,” she said softly, and looking into those pale eyes she thought she heard a voice speaking to her in her mind.

  And I will always be with you, it said.

  Suddenly a sound caused her to grasped the child close to her heart, “something is coming” she said, and she reached down and took up the dagger that she had taken from Ral. She rose to her feet and holding the weapon in one hand and the helpless infant in the other she braced her feet and prepared to defend her offspring with her life. All around her the spiders began to move away. One by one the Lurkers in the Darkness abandoned the girl and the child that they had cared for and quickly vanished into the chamber walls. Then the sound was heard again, it seemed to the girl to be like a pounding of drums but having forgotten her long years of being a soldier she could not understand that it was the sound of marching feet. But whatever the danger the Selcarie mother would not run, she would stand and defend her child from all harm.

  Very close to the crystal chamber the Honnargar encountered a barrier that would have turned back most Nomads and Norgonie. Ahead of them lay an impassable wall of giant crystals and tangled webbing, it blocked the wide corridor that the marchers of death traveled down but it did not stop them. They stood only for a moment or two then those at the head of the column began to strike at the barrier with hand and weapon, great chunks of crystalline rock broke apart and fell to the floor and shattered into a million fragments. A great crashing sound filled the air as more and more of the transparent rock fragmented, and although the webbing of the spiders would have caused great pain and even death to those who touched it the ancient warriors seemed immune to its poison.

  Soon all obstacles were destroyed and ahead of them lay only a great iron doorway, and upon that gate was an image that the Nomads knew well, it was the figure of a many legged spider, the very same likeness that was sewn on the battle flags of the Almadra.

  The Lurkers in the Darkness, Arn thought the givers of rebirth.

  Ishea also recognized the markings, that place is holy; she heard her mind say, we should not enter.

  When Ral looked upon the door he only saw the sign of his enemy, whatever lay on the other side should be destroyed.

  But before any of them could speak what was in their heads the Honnargar began to attack the barrier like all the others that had blocked their way. They tore at its massive hinges and beat upon it like it was a signal drum of the Nomads, they pushed and pulled with all their incredible strength never stopping, never giving up.

  She is on the other side, Arn thought, it was his mind reaching out now, connecting to his mates. But as he saw the image of the Off-World girl with his inner eye he felt that something was wrong, something that he could not explain. All he understood was that he needed to be at her side.

  Arn leaped down to the floor and began striking the ancient metal with his ax, a great shower of sparks flew through the air with each blow and seeing their leader using his weapon the giants did the same. The Honnargar that had been carrying the Norgonie Queen and her son removed their human burden and joined their comrades in the work that needed to be done, Ishea and Ral moved to one side and watched as Arn and his risen warriors vent their fury on the barrier. Soon a din of steel on steel echoed through the Forbidden City causing its inhabitance to scurry for their hiding places.

  And along with the unholy creatures that called the ancient structure their home one lone Caladone warrior heard the beating.

  Valen had been traversing the huge vines for some time now but always moving downwards, now he stopped in his tracks and listened to the din echoing through the broken corridors. He knew the sounds of the Outlands and could mimic the cries of many of its animals, but this was not a voice that spoke through the land, creatures like him made this. And with no other reason then it would lead him to his kind he quickened his pace down the twisting roots.

  The Nomad King was a man obsessed, knowing that his mate waited on the other side of the steel barrier made him call out in fury. And when the locks had been beaten away he put down his ax and grasped the door with his strong hands and added his Nomads strength to that of the risen warriors. The heavy muscles on his back and arms stood out like steel cords and he grunted under the strain, he pushed with a mite that would have toppled a small tree or broken the neck of a Trofar and all the while his mind called out for his mate.

  I will hold you again he cried out in silence, I will hold you and never let you go!

  And he summoned up the last of his power and pushed, and with a loud grinding sound the door gave way.

  The last obstacle between him and his goal opened and taking up his weapon once more the King of the Almadra entered the crystal chamber. He stood their only for a moment for it was a site that he had never seen before, but all the splendor soon vanished and he was once more consumed with finding Moonbud and feeling her arms once more about him. Arn moved forward cautiously, he tensed his muscles ready to defend himself, a few steps behind him was Ishea and beside her the young Prince. The army of the dead followed their leader into the crystalline chamber waiting for a command from the King to attack.

  The Nomad slowly moved through the labyrinth of glowing crystals and then around a great green tower of shimmering rock and at last came face to face with the woman that had stolen his heart. />
  Andra looked into the face of the intruder, and although she had seen those eyes many times as they lay together in an embrace of love she did not recognize them. She rose up and held her child close to her breast then pointed her dagger at the interlopers and spoke loud enough for all to hear.

  “Who are you” she called out, “what are you doing here?”

  And hearing such strange words from his mate Arn approached her, “do you not know me?” he asked, she does not know my face, she is under a spell. It was then that he saw the strange creature that the girl held in her arms. “What is that thing?” he asked, and thinking that it must be some kind of parasite that had stolen her mind he lifted his war-ax. “I am Arn King of the Almadra and you are my mate” he said as he drew closer to her, “and I will not stand by and see you harmed!” and he raised his weapon to strike the creature away from the body of the Off-World girl.

  It was then that a blast of sound filled the crystal chamber.

  It was not a penetrating wail like the disrupters of the Nomads, and unlike those weapons this one did not hurt the ears or the mind, but its effect was powerful for the interlopers into the room could no longer move. They stood like statures, Outlander, Norgonie and Honnargar; they were all frozen in their tracks like an unlucky warrior caught out in an ice storm. They could still hear and see but their arms and legs would no longer obey them, the only persons not effected by the sound were the mother and child.

  Andra could hear a soft song in her head but it seemed to her no more dangerous then the sweet song of a field bird. And when she looked down into the eyes of her offspring the child smiled at her and did not show any pain on its snow-white face. But its eyes seemed to glow with a strange light and as she looked deeper into them she heard a faint voice calling out to her.

  “Do not worry mother,” it said, “I will not harm you”.

  Andra looked up to see that the giant crystals of the chamber were also glowing with that strange light and she knew that her child and the towering rocks were connected.

  Arn’s anger grew more powerful with each moment that he could not move; there was no worse feeling to a Nomad then being helpless for they were creatures of action and now as he stood rigid in the grip of an enemy that he could not see his rage knew no bounds. He focused all his considerable mind power on moving his paralyzed limbs and the muscles on his arms and legs swelled with the incredible effort, soon sweat began to trickle down his face and blood began to flow from his lips as he clinched his teeth in rage. But for all his massive strength the power that held him could not be overcome.

  The Norgonie Queen also struggled mightily, and although she was a woman it did not mean that she was weak for a warrior of the forest people was powerful no matter what gender they might be. But like her former mate she could not break free of the invisible bonds and being frustrated her eyes burned with green fury.

  Ral also felt great anger, once as a young boy he had fallen into a tangle of gripper vines and feeling their tendrils squeezing around his body he vowed to never again be held in bondage. But there were no roots to cut with his dagger and like his father he could only cry out in his mind.

  The Nomad Kings rage continued to grow and still he could not move, but it was not all the same with the Honnargar. They too felt the iron grip of the unseen force and for a time they stood without moving like their leader, but they were linked together and together they found a combined strength. And so the many became the few and a handful of the ancient warriors were able to break free and move slowly towards one of the towering green crystals that shimmered from a power within. All about the huge columns the smaller stalactites vibrated and it was easy to see that the penetrating sound was coming from the crystals. The risen warriors made their way forward their movements were jagged and with each step it seemed that they had to use all their untold strength just to walk. But they did not stop and inch by inch their armored feet continued to move forward, their massive steel incased bodies lurched on and on and when they had reached the huge crystal they lifted their weapons and struck the rock with all their remaining might.

  Arn watched the tower break apart and fall to the floor and as it crumbled into millions of fragments the wailing sound diminished slightly and he was able to lift his hand. Then more of the Honnargar began to move and they too went to the crystal monoliths and struck out at them. One by one they shattered and as each tumbled the sound in the chamber lessened, now the Nomad King could lift his weapon hand and his legs would obey his mind, slowly he moved forward but still it took all his will.

  Andra watched as the warrior came closer to her and her child and she held out her weapon and was prepared to defend herself and her offspring from this danger.

  “Stay away!” she shouted as the chamber reverberated with the sound of crashing rocks. But as she was about to plunge her weapon into the heart of the man before her his hand touched her own and suddenly her past came flooding back into her mind in a torrent of images. Her time with the Sandjar, being rescued by the Nomads, the war with the Talsonar, Seeda, Egmar, Osh and Endo, it all once more filled her mind, and with those cherished memories she also knew the child in her arms.

  I am a mother she thought, and then looked at Arn, and this is my mate. And she reached out and held the Nomad in her arm.

  They stood there together as the last of the crystal tower’s fell and they continued holding each other till all was quiet once again. The dust settled and the ancient warriors lowered their weapons, some had been killed by the falling rock but their comrades did not weep for them and they lay unheeded under great chunks of green stone.

  Ishea and Ral had come through it all unhurt for the most part, they had some cuts from shards of falling rock but their wounds were minor and would heal very quickly. But there was one wound that only grew more intense as the Norgonie Queen looked at her former mate and the woman that had taken her place.

  She still holds his heart she thought, a place that was once mine, then she saw the strange thing that the Off-World girl held in her arms and like the Nomad King she could not understand what type of creature it was.

  Is this a demon that the girl has summoned from the pit? She asked her mind; perhaps this girl is a witch and should be killed?

  But there was little time for solving this riddle for suddenly the chamber began to shake, at first it seemed like it would pass but it did not and it quickly grew more intense. The rubble-covered floor cracked apart like a Doff-bird egg and several of the Honnargar vanished into the earth, and now from those cracks a light began to grow. And it was not the light from Starfall or torch it was the luminance that comes from melted rock.

  Eulmar, Arn thought as he released his mate from his arms, Eulmar or lava as it was known to the people of the Outer Rim was not something that could be fought with strength and steel and the Nomad King realized that if they did not find a way out they would all perish in fire and smoke.

  “We must go!” he shouted and knowing that the Outlander understood the danger the Norgonie Queen and her son began to run for the corridor that they had entered through. And now out of her dream state Andra held tightly to her child and ran with her mate as they tried to save their lives. The shaking grew more violent with each passing moment and more of the floor began to break apart as Eulmar began to spew from the place below, soon smoke and heat filled the crystal chamber and everyone knew that the Angel of Death would soon appear. The Honnagar opened a way for their leader and the others, and while some of them led the way out other stayed behind to guard their retreat. Those warriors burned in the all-consuming fire that was now chasing them but they did not try and save themselves and perished where they stood.

  Now it became a race to escape, in front of them lay twisting corridors and tunnels, behind them rolled a fiery death. All around walls began to buckle and break, ceilings collapsed and many of the ancient warriors were crushed to death under great blocks of stone and steel. But still they continued onward, and if
some bolder blocked their way the Honnargar would push it aside and make a path for their Narga Entaro. Arn held tightly to the strong arm of her mate and she in turn wouldn’t let go of her child, the heat and smoke was intense and if not for the Nomads strength the Selcarie girl would have fallen. But the Nomad King had at last found his life companion and nothing was going to harm her, so shouting words of encouragement they all continued to run.

  As they moved into a large chamber that had a massive machine of steel rising out of the floor their came a great jolt and everyone fell to their knees. Andra looked up to see a huge portion of the ceiling break apart and begin to fall directly on her. Arn saw it also and tried to cover his mate with his body and as he did several of the Honnargar moved over him and the girl and as the steel and stone reached them they gave up their lives to guard the leader.

  Ishea and Ral were also saved but it was by luck rather than the efforts of the ancient warriors for when they saw the ceiling begin to give way they ducked under the huge machine and let its thick steel protect them. Now the Norgonie Queen looked up and suddenly realized that they had found a way of escape.

  “Climb!” she shouted and pointed upwards, and when Arn looked up he saw a breakage above them that would enable them to escape the molten rock that was now creeping into the chamber. So nodding his head in approval he held his mate closes and moved to wear the tower of steel rose up to form an escape. But if they were going to live they would have to hurry for with each passing moment the Eulmar moved ever closer and the shaking intensified.

  Now all through the Forbidden City creatures raced trying to save their lives, the Wormrow were not intelligent creatures by the standards of the Outer Rim but they still had the instinct of self-preservation, and now that instinct took over. They ran about in frenzy and trampled over the bodies of those of their kind that stumbled in the mad dash for life. Even the guardian spiders knew enough to scurry into their tunnels deep in the earth and abandoned the home that had been theirs for so many cycles. And those creatures to scare to move or lacking the knowledge to escape died in the burning flames.