“Then who will be the god of terror, High Mage? The god of terror personifies not only terror in battle but also what terror we have in the world,” asked Zeus.
“My Lord Zeus, we are not in the First World. Adar is terror enough,” replied Tyler.
“And the replacement for the god of fear?”
“The Greek pantheon now has a god of assassins. I respectfully present him to fulfill that purpose. Fear is healthy. It breeds caution and prevents overconfidence. For assassins, an appropriate dose of it is a crucial and important characteristic.”
“But what does a god of cowardice serve?”
“Cowardice balances bravery, my Lord Zeus. As I have mentioned to one of my companions, even the best warrior should know when fighting is foolhardy. And to that I add, even the most experienced shepherd should know better than to go out looking for lost sheep in the middle of a severe thunderstorm and risk being struck by lightning.”
Zeus laughed. “That last example may be of common sense, High Mage.”
“Yes, my Lord Zeus. But it’s common sense guided by a degree of cowardice.”
“That may be the case, I grant. But you have made your presentation, High Mage. And I have a question for the pleading goddess before us.”
“Well, Aphrodite. Does the proposal find your acceptance? Both sons live. One becomes the god of battle. One is sent to help the god of the underworld. And the misbegotten father finds a new and more appropriate role.”
Ares was visibly struggling in his chair. Whatever Zeus did to him prevented him from speaking out much less remove himself from his seat.
Aphrodite nodded.
“DONE!” declared Zeus.
At his shout, three figures were bathed in light. Ares, Deimos, and Phobos. It was if each was encircled by a long illuminated cylindrical tube of ethereal power, though Phobos was still bound by the mage’s construct. Zeus looked at Tyler and raised his eyebrows.
“Oh. Sorry,” said the mage as he released Phobos, the magical bond returning to where it came.
As the entire assembly watched, Deimos’s form slowly filled out. He also became taller while that of Ares lost some bulk and lost height in proportion to what his son gained. The third figure, Phobos, was swiftly engulfed in black smoke which disappeared as quickly, leaving no trace of the minor deity. Tyler could swear the smoke turned into many nebulous hands which took hold of Phobos and pulled him down into a black hole which appeared on the floor. The sight was eerie and chilling.
As he turned his attention to Ares and Deimos, he noticed the latter was already armored in dark red heavy hoplite gear. His face was covered by a closed Corinthian helmet, but the crest was dark gray.
“Go seek Caeneus in the Elysian Fields. Hades is expecting you. Your training begins. But in a different way. May you be a far better god of battle than your father ever was. His domain is now yours. Settle affairs on Kriti first,” Zeus ordered Deimos. The new god of battle bowed profoundly and walked out the temple, accompanied by his mother.
Couldn’t he just disappear and go his way? thought Tyler. Or I’m missing something here again about their protocols?
Zeus now turned his attention to Ares who was now slumped in his chair.
“Ares, this is a lesson in humility long in coming. Begone. Athena will show you the new domain of the minor god of cowardice.”
Ares refused to move from his chair. It was as if he didn’t hear anything. Zeus looked at Athena. The goddess walked over to Ares, held him by his shoulder, and the two disappeared.
Zeus stood up, leaning on his staff, and turned to the gathered gods.
“Now judgment has been rendered and the sentence carried out. I say kindly leave us for we have matters to discuss.”
The Greek gods started filing out of the hall. Except for three who walked towards him, Dionysus, Papposilenus, and Hephaestus. The King of Akrotiri reached him first.
“Well, High Mage! My thanks for saving my city! I do admit this was an ending I didn’t expect.”
“Nor did we,” added Dionysus as he and the god of crafting neared Tyler.
“A new god of battle. Good thing I had a supply of armor and weapons stashed away. I had to outfit Deimos immediately,” commented Hephaestus.
“You always have a stash of something,” chided Dionysus.
“That I do,” laughed Hephaestus. He looked at Tyler with a wry smile on his face.
“I do have to admit that like the tutor of Dionysus, I didn’t expect matters to be decided this way,” he said. “In hindsight, it was an excellent decision. If Phobos or Ares were executed, some may be happy about the fact now. But some time down the road, they would remember that a major god and a minor deity died at the hands of a mortal. Those are realities which give rise to apprehension, resentment, fear, and ultimately, retaliation.”
“I do try to avoid killing if I can help it,” replied Tyler. “Deaths on the battlefield are a lot different from deaths resulting from a decision made in an assembly such as this one. Especially when a mother’s tears are involved.”
“True. You have fulfilled my expectations, young mage. You have my thanks. But I have to go. I never feel comfortable outside my forges. But first, a token of my thanks. Hand me your staff.”
Hephaestus held the staff in his hands when Tyler gave it to him.
“Quite a powerful weapon, High Mage. I can sense the power of several beings already in it. But then again, your need is great and you are but a mortal. Let me add some of mine. And making it of a material other than only wood wouldn’t hurt.”
As the god spoke, the staff was bathed in a glow reminiscent of the hottest fire. Radiant streams of red, yellow, orange, and blue looped around the shimmering rod. After a while, the display of colors stopped. Hephaestus inspected his creation.
Tyler could see that the remaining gods in the temple were watching but did nothing to interfere. With a grunt, Hephaestus returned the staff to him. The mage bowed in thanks.
“My thanks… Polumetis,” said Tyler as he remembered the god’s preferred name.
The delight on the god’s face was palpable as he heard the mage speak the name.
“You remembered! You are a decent sort, High Mage. Remain that way,” said Hephaestus.
“May I ask what it does? And what has it been transformed into?” asked Tyler who now noticed that the staff had been turned into some form of light metal alloy while retaining all its ornamentations. They now looked embedded in the metal together with a new mark near the bottom. A hammer crossed with tongs with an anvil underneath.
“I made it more powerful by adding some of my power to it. ‘The more, the merrier’, as you mortals would say. The material is a new alloy I discovered. Light and ten times the strength of enchanted steel. Still experimenting though. Creates problems if I make it thicker than what I used on your staff. The wood is still there but coated in it. As to its abilities, you’ll discover them. The thrill of experimentation! Of discovery! Just do be careful.”
Oh, freak this! Again? I may just kill myself with experimentation!
“Any hint from the great artisan?” he asked.
Hephaestus smiled.
“Alright. Just two. One, the power to call forth plumes of fire from the ground. Very helpful when facing a host of enemies. Second, you can now bind with coils of fire. They won’t burn the prisoner unless he tries to escape. I thought about it when I saw your impressive way of binding Phobos. And with that, I have to go. If you need anything from me, just ask. This fellow knows how to get hold of me,” Hephaestus said as he slapped Dionysus on the back. The impact of the friendly slap made the god of wine stumble forward.
“Now, High Mage. I have to agree with these two. It was a resolution nobody expected. Though I daresay you made the right decision of not killing anybody. Polumetis was right. And remember what I said about everybody in the Greek pantheon being related to each other one way or another? That’s another consideration. Some dimwit may hold that buffoon
in high regard. Though I don’t know now what will happen to Ares’s attendants. I’ll look into that. I’m sure Athena will ask me to take care of it. But we can talk some more back in the city. You’ve got a group of incredibly overpowered deities waiting to talk to you. Good luck!” said Dionysus.
The two linked arms and followed Hephaestus.
Then Tyler saw Thor stride towards him, Mjolnir in hand.
Tyler waited for the Norse god of thunder to come closer. He doubted if the Thunderer would do something stupid. Odin and the others were watching. But he couldn’t fail to feel some degree of apprehension as the deity approached.
“Hail, High Mage. It is good to see you again. Alive and well,” greeted Thor.
“Heil og sæl, Lord Thor,” he replied.
“I haven’t thanked you yet for saving my life,” said Thor. “No, don’t protest. I know what happened. Outmatched. Near death. I hadn’t fought all those battles without knowing when how close I was to a permanent visit to Hela’s domain. Again, my thanks. I owe you a life-debt. I do hope to be able to repay you as soon as possible. I hate such debts and to a mortal mage at that.”
“You’re welcome, Thunder God, but please think nothing of it,” said Tyler. He let the unintentional insult pass though it grated in his mind. The mage knew that Thor couldn’t help what he was.
“I can’t, High Mage. A life-debt for a true warrior is one which has to be respected and repaid. Otherwise, what’s the point of being a god of battle and bravery? I do have to take my leave. The All-Father has tasked me with weighty concerns back in Skaney. Goodbye, High Mage, and may you fare well.”
“And you also, Lord of Thunder,” replied Tyler with a slight bow. Despite his need to take regular baths and a shave, the deity does have a sense of honor. It must gall him to say thank you to a mortal, not to mention a mage.
As Thor turned and left, Loki took his place.
“Greetings, Havard! And High Mage it is now? That’s a quick promotion, if I may say so! Congratulations!” offered Loki.
“Nice to see you again, Farman,” said Tyler with a smile.
“Did you get to use my toy?” asked the Norse god of mischief.
“I did. Once. At Scarburg. Thank you,” he answered. Tyler didn’t clarify that it was an earth elemental who used the artifact.
“Good! And here I was, worrying you may be a bit dense. I was even concerned that the dead bird wouldn’t be enough to bring you back to Akrotiri,” revealed Loki.
“That was you?”
“I did just say it, Havard. Don’t confirm my suspicions about that being dense part. I hated wringing that eagle’s neck. Never liked doing those kinds of things myself.”
“Couldn’t you just come down and tell me? Or holler?”
“But that would be directly interfering. Verboten. And I can’t step inside Fossegrim. I think the forest doesn’t like me.”
“Well, you did catch my attention. Especially with that ‘can’t-move-my-legs’ portion,” Tyler replied.
“What ‘can’t-move-your-legs’ part? I didn’t do that!”
“Oh. Forget it then. But you didn’t have to kill that bird.”
If it wasn’t Loki, then who? he wondered.
“What do you want me to do? Throw a boulder or a tree at you? I don’t think you would like that.”
“No, I don’t think I would. But why are you here?”
“Father told me to come along and observe. There appears to be an infection going on. But that’s another matter. Anyway, I just wanted to say congratulations! Though I wanted to see some drama. Some bloodshed! A little death here and a little divine punishment there! Your ending was a bit tepid, but it would do. It did have a lot of drama. I do have to go. Can’t have the big guys waiting! But you may need my bric-a-brac down south. And do try to use that Incan counterpart of mine. Ugly and untrustworthy. Except when his life is on the line. Like now. Ta-ta!”
Loki threw him a mock salute, smiled in his peculiar psychotic way, and followed after Thor.
Tyler was left in the hall with the three major gods and the deity Thaut. He looked at Zeus. The Greek pantheon head was deep in discussion with Odin and Viracocha. He let them be. Only a dimwitted mortal would think of disturbing them. They’ll get around to him when they have finished. He thought about Zeus’s leg.
“X? Please confirm if Zeus was among those who attacked your cave?”
“Affirmative, Elder. He was lucky he was not obliterated.”
“How come his leg won’t heal? Did I ask you to look into that?”
“You never asked me about it again, Elder. Nor did you give specific instructions to relay findings.”
Now, I would like to find a wall to bang my head. For the love of God!
“So, what were your findings?” he calmly asked as he controlled his reaction.
“The problem appeared simple, Elder. The leg was struck by a blast of Elder energy from the temple defense array. When it cut off the leg, the beam left a residue on the stump as it was seared. Considering that Elder energy normally cannot be perceived by Adar’s deities, any attempt to regenerate the leg was bound to fail as reconnection would be blocked.”
“Can you remove the residue?”
“Of course, Elder. I can remove it though regenerating the leg is a feat beyond your present capabilities.”
“That would be their problem. Would removing the Elder energy affect the cauterization? And where shall we put it once we have removed it?”
“The cauterization won’t be affected. Both Hal and I can keep the energy residue the same way we stored the remains of the barrier back at the cave.”
“Fine. We have a promise to keep. I do have to come up with a convincing story about the Elder energy. We can’t let them know its real nature.”
“We are ready, Elder.”
Tyler looked at the seated deities. Their discussion appeared to be winding down. He continued waiting. In a short while, the three visibly finished their conversation and looked at him.
“We have to discuss some matters of importance, High Mage,” said Zeus. “The five of us. Lord Thaut here represents the concerns of his pantheon.”
“Of course, my Lord Zeus,” replied Tyler. “But before that, I believe I have a promise to keep.”
“What promise?” asked Viracocha.
“A promise to Lord Zeus about his leg.”
Zeus looked at Tyler with surprise.
“You’ve found a solution?”
“Only part of the solution, Lord Zeus,” said the mage. “I believe I may have determined the cause of the failure of the healing attempts. I can attempt to remove the block, but healing and restoring your leg is beyond me.”
“Asclepius can take care of that. So, what have you found out?”
“With the indulgence of the Lord Viracocha, I was informed by him of the circumstances surrounding the loss of your leg. I believe the energy which inflicted the damage may have left its mark on the stump. Which in turn led to a failure to create a new leg for you. But I am also certain that the strange energy is one which cannot be perceived by deities though mortals can detect it. This conclusion I have arrived at after analyzing what I saw and have experienced inside the cave.”
“If the energy is removed, wouldn’t that be a danger to deities around it?” asked Odin.
“I don’t believe so, Lord Odin. From what Lord Viracocha told me, the cave was emitting its beams while being under assault. It caused deaths. But it appeared that the casualties didn’t pose a threat to those around them. Because of that, it is my opinion that once removed, the energy will just dissipate harmlessly. What remains in the leg now must be a thin film of such energy. A minuscule residue. Once removed, healing can be done.”
“Sounds plausible, High Mage,” said Zeus. “Especially when we consider that apparently the barrier which blocked the cave allows mortals in but not gods.”
“We have nothing to lose by attempting it, my lord Zeus,” said Tyler.
The two deities stood up and went to where Thaut was standing. Zeus remained seated while Tyler approached. The mage kneeled before the god and examined the stump. It was cut off after the knee and smooth skin covered the end. With his two hands, he touched it. It felt like ordinary flesh.
Shit. I am touching Zeus! The head of the Greek pantheon!
“X?” he asked.
“It’s done, Elder. Only a tiny amount. Less than that what the barrier left behind.”
Tyler kept his hands on the leg for a few minutes more and then removed his hands. He didn’t want to show how easy it was for him.
“It’s done, Lord Zeus,” said Tyler as he took a few steps back.
“Now we will see if that idea of yours did work.”
Several seconds later, a faint glow appeared in front of Zeus. It brightened and then vanished, leaving the Greek god of medicine in its wake.
“You summoned me, Lord Zeus?” asked the being. He looked like an ordinary human garbed in the traditional Greek attire.
“Try healing my leg again, Asclepius.”
“But we have already tried, my lord.”
“Oh, just try once more. We do have the three other pantheons here. They may just surprise you,” lied Zeus.
Asclepius took Zeus’s leg in his hands.
“Here,” said Zeus as he took hold of one of the arms of Asclepius, “let my power help you.”
“By your will, Lord Zeus,” replied the deity.
Suddenly, Zeus and Asclepius were hidden behind a globe of bright light. It engulfed the two, but the illumination didn’t hurt Tyler’s eyes. Then the light faded and the large orb was gone. Zeus was standing on his two legs.
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