They marched out of the fortress for no warrior would dare to stop them and when they crossed the mote they turned and headed straight for the enemy that had come to destroy them all.
As the King and his warriors rode forward and into battle Arn focused his mind and reached out to the Giants of the Earth, and hearing the call of their King they Honnagar answered.
They mounted the backs of their Screechers and lifted into the rumbling sky, the thick clouds that would soon break with rain hid them from view. But they did not need to see to know where they needed to go for like the Nomads they could never become lost and would find their Leader and fight by his side.
Ral was also eager to fight but he could not escape the bars that were holding him prisoner, he cried out and roared in fury but he could not free himself. Then there was a flash of white and a deafening blast of sound and he was thrown across the small cell and hit hard against the stone wall. He lay on the hard floor for a moment then rose up and shook the stars from his eyes and when he had regained his vision he saw that a hole had been torn in the outside wall and he was free.
He lost no time in squeezing through the opening and seeing that his way was clear he raced to find a weapon and join his comrades. At the great gate he found several Norgonie warriors dead on the ground and seeing that they no longer had use for their Kagars he took one into his fist and then raced out of the Fortress.
Near the gate and safe within a covert of stone Anais and Kela sat huddled together, they listened to the cries of the dying and although the Handmaiden wanted to go and care for them she stayed close by the side of the Blind Prince.
Anais could also hear the battle raging around him but unlike the past when he reveled in the screams of the dying his heart was with his people and the girl by his side.
“You have saved me from myself” he said to her, “and if this is our last day together I will be content”, then summoning up his courage he spoke something that he never had said before, “I love you”.
Kela heard his words and felt his arms around her keeping her safe; “we are all a prisoner of our love” she said softly and then kissed him.
The chamber that had once held the great Orb was now an inferno of fire and smoke, and the creature that had once been a man knew that he could no longer rule from his throne. Although The Taskrobot was destroyed and could no longer give orders to the huge machine the Shadowman God could so drawing up all his mind power he sent out a command to the mobile weapons and in response the Galu began to move. Deep within and safe from the guns of the Nomads the armored creatures marched down the dark tunnels that would take them to the outside, each one held a heavy weapon in their hands and their minds were filled with only one thought, a thought that had been place there by their master and one that they would follow without question.
Kill.
And so the sealed door opened and out marched the machines of war, each one armored from head to toe each one with the strength of many men.
They will do my biding the Metal man thought, and I will lead them.
And so he left his burning home and moved down the long corridor, all about him were his soulless servants and following there last commands they were busily trying to repair the enormous damaged that the Mother of Voices had inflected on their mobile home. They would continue working even if their master was destroyed, even if there were only one of them left they would go on. Never stopping to rest, working, always working and eventually they would succeed for even a colony of Blaze-ants can bring down a mountain. So leaving them to their work he continued his escape until he found the hatch seal, he opened it and emerged into a world that he had almost forgotten. Around him and overhead he heard the blasts from the long-range weapons for they would also follow their last commands and continue firing until they were destroyed. As he looked towards the Fortress he saw a great wall of Whiptails and Rowgors charging forward but he did not fear for he was a God and Gods do not run.
Arn and Andra rode side by side at the head of the Outlanders, and like so many battles in the past they shared the same fears and the same joys. Their minds were once again linked and because of that they could fight as one and die together if need be. But dying was far from the thoughts of the King for he let the battle rage run free within him now and forgot everything save for killing his enemy.
Andra was also feeling the urge for war, her long years of being a soldier had hardened her mind and body and now that she was with the man she loved all thoughts of jealousy vanished like the morning dew.
Just behind the Nomads raced the Norgonie on their Rowgors, the Drogs had also been let free and their murderous howls filled the air like the wailing of demons. And at the head of the Forest-dwellers was the Queen.
Ishea waved her Kagar over her head and shouted out the ancient war cries of her people, no fear showed on her face now and her eyes burned with a green fire that was terrible to see. She knew that she might not survive but it did not matter for the wish of any Queen was to die in battle and have your body burned in the funeral pyre. Still she did wish that it were her riding beside the King rather than the weakly Half-Soul.
Forward rode the Nomads and a head of them stood the Metal God surrounded by the armored Galu, overhead the shells still burst and the Angel of Death took many of the Outlanders, but they did not turn and continued forward. Then with a mighty crash the two armies met and the battle was joined.
The Galu fought back with all their animal strength and many of the Outlanders were killed. But the Whiptails of the Nomads took a heavy toil of the armored beast men and they died screaming as they were being torn apart by the razor sharp teeth of the reptiles or impaled on their spiked tails. Then the warriors met face to face, the Galu were bigger and stronger then the Nomads but their fighting skill was very primitive, they relied on their immense strength and ferocity to carry them through while the humans had the greater intelligence. The armor of both sides was thick and kept many from being killed outright but soon the ground was littered with the bodies of humans and ape-men. The Norgonie wore no armor and relied on their lightning like reflexes to keep them out of harm’s way, but still it could not keep them being killed by the hand weapons of the Galu.
Arn and Andra fought side by side as they had done in the war with the Talsonar, and like that other time they could not be defeated and all who stood before them learned why they had been given the name Moric-Kan, the Twin Dragons. Any Galu who was foolish enough to come within the length of their war-axes met a horrible death, soon they were both splattered by blood and gore and all who saw them would say they were demons from the Pit. The fighting madness was upon the King now, all thoughts of mercy vanished into a red mist and all that mattered now was killing and more killing.
Valen also fought furiously for now was the time that he took his revenge for the death of his tribe. With each swing of his battle-ax he felt a burden lifting from his heart and with each death of his enemy he knew that a Caladon warrior was watching from the Golden Hall of Isarie.
And above it all the God-man known as Atos looked down upon the carnage.
“Look at them” he laughed, “how weak they are, how puny compared to me!”
And saying this he jumped from his vantagepoint and landed in the mites of the battle, the great leap would have broken the legs of even the strongest of the Outlanders but the Metal man felt no pain and stood head and shoulders above them all.
For a moment the warriors thought that a stature had fallen from the sky but when it moved they saw that it was a creature of death and destruction. The Metal man lifted his arm and when he did a firestorm began to spew from his appendage, the Chamber rifle that had been attached to his robotic arm sprayed out white-hot fragment of steel and with each blast a Nomad died. But the Talsonar device was not the only method of dealing out death to the warriors for the left hand of the rampaging Godman could easily crush the skull of an Outlander or break the back of a Norgonie. And no matter how hard they struc
k they could not penetrate the hardened steel protecting the metal giant.
Inside the Norgonie Fortress Kuno shouted orders to his men but even he could see that the tide of battle was turning for the enemy for the long-range guns of the Outlanders were no match for the stronger and more powerful weapons of Atos. Even the Disrupters were of little use for if they engaged them now there warriors would be effected just as much as the enemy. So he gave the orders to continue firing at the huge machine in hopes that they could find a soft spot and do more damage to the wounded God. All around him was fire and smoke but he would not run from the battle and shouted at his warriors to give them courage.
“Do not worry men,” he laughed, “if you die there will be plenty of Po in the Halls of Isarie!” but hearing his own words he would have given anything for a tankard of the sour wine to drink. Then through the smoke and ash on the Fortress wall he saw a figure coming towards him, a strong woman holding a large silver cup in her hands.
Balru should have been with her people in the safety of the forest, but she knew that her place was beside the big Captain. Kuno did not say a word but took the cup and emptied its contents down his parched throat and smiled at the shapely Norgonie female.
“You are a gift of the Gods” he said and went back to screaming at his loyal warriors.
Osh was in pain for he could not break the coding of the God Machine and soon it would take his life. He tried everything that he knew, the inter-fractal multi-plan patterns of the Brillmar, the Quantum deferential prolog used by the Sogar-Goramic empire and several other coding that were used by the Outer Rim planets but all of them proved useless. Now as he floated in his dream state alone and helpless he thought of his adopted son for his life seemed so unimportant now and he wished with all his heart that he could see the face of Endo just once more.
I will miss you my son he thought, and then he heard the soft voice of the Guardian calling out to him once more.
“The key at the foot of the God” it said.
“The key?” he called out in his mind, “the foot of the God?”
But there was no reply to his questions and then his mind shook with pain.
Vitranius was a man barely holding on to reality; he wandered like a man in a trance oblivious to the death and chaos that was raging around him. The servants of Arm-Ra were crying out for salvation as he slowly climbed up the long staircase that would take him to the uppermost level of the Holy Pyramid. And reaching that point he slowly walked out and stood under the crumbling golden dome, the silver gong was gone now, destroyed by the oncoming War God and soon there would be nothing left of the Great Fortress.
“It was all a dream” the old Callaxion laughed, “a dream of fools!”
He stood there and saw the rain beginning to fall from the sky and he laughed once more knowing that it would soon wash away all his dreams of power.
Chapter 47.
When Gods die.
And ending comes to all things and even the Gods must someday perish.
Old Nomad saying.
A heavy rain began to fall as the battle raged on between the humans and the Metal God. The Nomads fought like demons and alongside them the Norgonie did the same, but the Galu were also creatures that would never turn from death and so each side continued to sow the ground with their blood.
Arn and Andra were fighting on foot now for their Whiptails had been killed by the Beastmen, but even without the tooth and claws of the reptilians the humans were a killing machine. The King skill with war-ax and dagger could not be surpassed and the Selcarie girl had been skillfully trained in hand to hand combat, and with their shared mind-link they could anticipate each other’s movements and so doubled their destructive power. Now as the rain fell from the sky it washed away some of the blood from their armor and softened the many fires that were burning around them but still the cannon fire from the huge machine continued to roar with death.
Without warning a cry was heard above the din of battle, a wild animal cry that rang in the ears and gave courage to the warriors for as they looked upwards they saw the cause of those screams.
The Giants of the Earth were riding to war.
The Honnargar had heard the Mind-call of their King and now they would stand by his side. They fell from the sky like ancient sky Gods and their Screechers grasped up the Galu in their powerful claws and lifted them into the air, soon the raindrops were mixed with blood and the screams of the dying echoed to the sounds of thunder.
Valen was bleeding from numerous cuts and scratches but none of them would have stopped him from taking his revenge, and as he cut the head off a charging Galu he turned to see the steel Shadowmans demon arm spewing fire. It cut down the warriors near him like a harvest blade and seeing his brother’s fall he ran to their aid, and as he came within arm’s length of the metal giant he swung his ax with all his might. The weapon found its mark but the leg of his enemy was not cut and there was only a broken ax handle and a shower of sparks for his efforts.
The Cyberman/God ceased the Nomad and pulled him into the air as easily as one would pull a Burrow Baby from its earthen home. Valen fought back with all his strength but it was useless against the might of the giant and looking into the cold eyes of his opponent he heard the thing speak.
“Look upon your destroyer!” it shouted then flung the Caladon warrior away from him.
Valen hit the ground hard and when he regained his feet he found that his left arm had been broken, but being a Nomad it did not stop him from drawing his dagger and continuing the fight.
The King and Andra watched the brave efforts of the young warrior and seeing that he was no match for the huge metal giant they raced to his aid but as they drew closer a strange thing happened. Arn’s mind began to reel like before and he suddenly found that he was no longer himself, it lasted only a moment or so but in that brief instance he was his enemy.
The Nomad staggered on his feet then with his head spinning he fell to the ground. And it was the same with the Half-human; he saw through the eyes of the Outlanders and knew what it was like to be flesh once more. But like before it did not last and he rose up from the ground and became a creature without feelings once more.
Andra also felt the strange anomaly but she did not fall then it past and she found herself facing an enemy that rose up before her like a wall of steel. When Andra had been a soldier of her Homeworld she had fought on many desperate battlefields and there she faced enemies of both flesh and steel. She fought hand to hand against the Bolbec, Cennatian and the Ogarians but they were things of flesh and bone not like the metal giant that she now faced. But she knew that she could not leave her mate helpless so she summoned up her courage and attacked. Her movements were quick and she managed to avoid the grasping hand of the Cyborg and as she moved closer she swung her weapon but like Valens it did little damage. Then before she could move out of the way a backhand swing from the iron monster caught her on the side of her face and sent her flying. She landed on top of a dead Galu and shook the stars from her eyes, luckily her helmet had taken most of the blow but she was bleeding from a cut just above her eye and her ax was nowhere to be seen.
Ishea pulled her Kagar from the chest of a slain Beastman and looking around her for another victim she saw Arn fall before the rampaging steel God, she also saw the valiant effort of the Half-Soul and her defeat. Now as the King lay helpless on the ground she raced to stand at his side. Her movements were like lightning and in few moments she was standing between the huge monster and the man she once called her mate.
“You will not kill him!” she shouted and taking careful aim with her spear she flung the weapon with all her might.
And at the very same instant the steel creature lifted its arm and fired a projectile that hit the Norgonie Queen in her chest. But Ishea’s aim was true and her Kagar buried itself deep in the left vision device of the Half-human. A shower of sparks burst from the eye socket and the giant shook his head in rage.
Ral did not st
op as he left his Fortress home and racing as fast as his strong legs could carry him he joined the battle. He fought like a demon from the Pit dealing out death left and right and as he did he shouted and screamed for he was now free to vent all his anger and frustration. With each enemy he killed he saw the face of his father, the father that he never knew, the father that abandoned him. All that mattered now was finding the man who did this to him and make him pay.
Then he saw his mother protecting the man he hated and he watched her fall before the giant, and knowing that she had sacrificed herself for the man he hated most his mind cried out for vengeance. Running as fast as he could he crossed the distance between him and the metal monster and then leaped with all his might and landed full on the back of the creature. He tried to drive his spear into the place between the head and neck of his enemy but the point broke and tossing the shaft aside he ripped at the creature with his bare hands. But the monster reached up and grasped him in his iron grip and pulled him away, the Norgonie Prince was about to be crushed to pulp when a wayward canon shell hit them from the Fortress. The force of the projectile struck the metal man full on the chest and sent him reeling and his grasped on the human weakened so that Ral was able to free himself.
At that very moment in the underground chamber of the God machine Osh was deep in pain for the power of the device was rising and would soon send out a charge that would destroy him. But as he sat there waiting for the inevitable he could not forget the words of the Guardian.
The key is at the foot of the God?
With only moments before his life would end he did what he was created to do, he reached into his Mindlock capabilities and tried to solve the problem before him. Hundreds, thousands of images ran before his inner eye, images of Gods and deities throughout every corner of the Outer Rim planets, Gods great and small, Gods long forgotten and Gods that still held sway over their followers. And as they passed before him the question kept repeating in his mind.
The Fallen God Page 69