Blood Wars

by Edmund A. M. Batara

  “Huh? I haven’t met or killed any crocodile or whatever those creatures are.”

  “That’s the title of the champion you defeated. The one you threw off the bridge,” the mage reminded him.

  “Oh. So that was his title? Crocodile, huh? Must be big and nasty-looking beasts,” the einherjar replied as he stood up. “We don’t have them up north.”

  “Fanged. Lots of fangs. Reptiles. Lives in the water. Cunning hunters. But not too bright.”

  “Wrong name,” said Tyndur as he hauled baskets nearer and started putting food and drinks on the table. “That guy looked like he needed a bath.”

  The trio’s laughter echoed through the hall. Then Viracocha turned and joined them.

  “Astrid is fine. She just needs to rest now. What’s so funny?” the Incan asked.

  Tyler told him. Viracocha looked at the einherjar.

  “That’s not funny. He did need a bath.”

  Laughter again erupted. Viracocha looked at them with a mystified face. Tyler noticed.

  “Don’t try to understand it, Wilan. We’re just letting off steam. Coming back from a near-death encounter makes one appreciate the humor in small things.”

  “I see. Seems like an excellent way to get in a laughing mood. I should remember that.”

  Viracocha’s reply elicited more hysterics from the three, mystifying the deity even more.

  “I can’t understand what the laughter is all about,” he mentally mentioned to Tyler.

  “Don’t mind it. It’s humans letting go of post-battle stress. An after-battle exercise. But don’t say out loud what you just asked me. It’s bound to continue the streak.”

  The deity looked at the two companions.

  “Anyway, I suggest you two rest. Just choose any room. Comfortable beds. Water for washing up. All there. I need to have words with the mage. Astrid is sleeping soundly. She’ll be fine when she wakes up. And don’t worry about safety. We are safe here. I doubt they could find us. That corridor only exists when the temple wishes it to appear.”

  Tyler looked at Viracocha.

  “The temple wishes it to appear?” he asked in the form of a projected thought.

  “Hehehe. That would be me.”

  “This is one of your temples?”

  “Actually, no. It belonged to my son, the sun god. But he abandoned it. Though some vestige of his power remained, focused on keeping a certain dimensional portal closed. That stupidity is right beneath us.”

  “Huh? Dangerous? You mentioned stupidity. That doesn’t encourage any confidence on my part.”

  “Let’s wait until your companions are resting. But yes, it was stupid. Locking an Elder structure in a dimensional space, separating it from this world. Idiotic act.”

  Chapter Lore and Notes:

  Battle chants – It is not known whether the Aztecs used battle chants, but they have been recorded to rush into battle shouting the names of the places where they come from.

  Teotl ixiptlas – Nahualt. The term refers to honored sacrificial victims. Mr. West misinterpreted the use of the term. His opponents are not referring to themselves. They were actually declaring his fate to their gods.

  Notes on Thaut – Egyptian deity. Also called the “god of knowledge and wisdom”, he is believed to be an inveterate seeker of knowledge. Egyptian myth credits him with having a collection of books containing all lore.

  Chapter XIII

  Vindictive Bastards

  The two companions rested after the meal though Asem insisted on staying beside the Valkyrie. Tyndur went to one of the rooms and after a few minutes, they could hear the crash of snores. The priestess laughed and brought out beddings from another side chamber.

  “They’re in a good mood, “observed Viracocha.

  “Laughter does make for excellent therapy,” smiled the mage. “We have to thank you for that little episode.”

  “Now I am the comic relief. That’s a role I haven’t played yet,” said the deity with a smile. “Are you ready to go with me? We do have to leave them for a while. A quick glance at something and then off to a place better meant for talking.”

  “Let’s go,” replied Tyler.

  Viracocha stood up and walked to a corner of the room. The curious mage followed. A small door formed in the solid rock, revealing steps leading down. Magelights lining the stone stairs lighted up the narrow passage. They walked down.

  “This walkway is not magical, is it?” Tyler asked.

  “No. The door is magical though, and not only as an entrance,” replied the Incan.

  After a series of landings and more stairs, they arrived at an empty chamber. Facing them, at the end of a narrow passage, was a wall of stone. A large circle, the double-lined edge of which showed strange symbols, was engraved on it. The rest of the wall was full of inscribed sigils and miniature friezes. Even being at the other end of the hallway, the mage could feel the enormous power which was contained in the stone partition.

  “Inti’s folly,” remarked Viracocha with a sigh.

  They stood there for a while, observing the wall and its peculiar decorations. Tyler noticed the sides of the hallway were bare. A marked contrast to the barrier.

  “Ready to leave?” asked the deity. Tyler nodded and closed his eyes. He felt some slight disorientation and soon had a crisp and refreshing breeze caressing his tired body. He opened them and found himself gazing at a panorama spread out below him. The ruined settlement, with the temple at its rear, was to his right and the churned landscape of the battlefield was in front. He could see the collapsed hills with its jumbled and shredded forest cover. It extended for a mile or two from the crumpled remains of the ridge of low hills. They were in a small dell on top of the tall mountain to the left of the abandoned city. The mage could sense a powerful energy barrier enclosing them. The clearing was a pleasant one, flowers abounded, short grass covered the ground, and a few large boulders with flat surfaces were discreetly positioned, serving as seats.

  “Nice place. Didn’t know you were into nature,” wryly commented Tyler as he sat down on one of the modified stones. Viracocha remained standing.

  “Mother’s places always provide the best areas for quiet reflection and clear-headed thinking. Nature makes you appreciate what and where you are. It’s one reason I like visiting the deities of the Keltoi tribes. A few were able to cross over, some died in the wars, but they still retained respect for Mother’s creations.”

  “Mother?”

  “Adar, Havard. I refer to the world as Mother. She did nurture us and provide for us. It’s only fair we try our best to be as respectful and grateful to her.”

  “You’re back to your normal way of talking? You were a bit gruff back in the temple.”

  “An effect of the distorted energy field around it, I’m afraid. It plays havoc with our minds and cohesion as magical beings. If I stayed there long enough, my Wilan persona starts to take over. A cranky old mage,” the deity laughed.

  “I guess you’re going to tell me about your son’s idiotic act.”

  “Of course, you need to know about it even though I don’t like expositions, if you remember. I’ll try to make it as brief as I can.”

  “Can I ask questions?”

  “Of course. It’s in your interest anyway. Behind that dimensional gate is an Elder structure. Inti locked it in a dimensional plane, but since he couldn’t enter it nor move the edifice, he chose to uproot a large part of the terrain around it when he cast the spell. Tore down mountains and then rebuilt them to enclose the settlement. That created a distortion in the magical field. Localized but still dangerous to magical beings. Normally, the energy closes in time any opening or tear in the ambient energy in an area. But Inti’s act tore a permanent hole. While that dimensional space exists, the distortion will remain. Even I don’t know what the effects are and that should show you how foolish Inti’s act was. It did take a lot of energy from him, greatly weakening him. A magical configuration like that and the other work requir
ed would take a deity at least a millennium to return to full strength, especially since he clearly didn’t know what he was doing. Then the Aztecah attacked.”

  Shit. I knew it.

  “But why lock it away?” Tyler asked.

  “I am not certain about his intentions. Fear of the unknown? Fear of somebody being able to use it against him? Ignorance? A knee-jerk reaction of a deity who thought he knew everything? Who knows?”

  “You’re not interested in it yourself?”

  “No. Definitely not. One, those things do not like deities. Two, exploring and learning about them is not a deity’s task. Otherwise, the three Elders who came before would have told us about them. Three, I don’t want nor need any more responsibilities. I have paid my dues, Havard. Exploring the wonders of this world is enough for me. Aside from fighting malevolent entities coming from other planes. That I take seriously. It’s the least I can do for our Mother.”

  “Talking about Elders, was it you who advised me to burn Yayauhqui? Doesn’t that violate the rule against non-interference by major gods?”

  “Guilty. But I do have a few things in my favor. The rules or geas bind the pantheons. Almost all of them, in fact. Me? Remember, I was exiled and removed from the Incan pantheon. I moved to this world on my own. I was not there when they confronted the Elders. An imbecilic and pointless move, by the way. But I take care to only bend the rules, not break it. Breaking them will get the pantheons interested in my immediate dissolution for fear of an Elder visit. And that Aztecah demigoddess? She was already dead even before you faced her.”

  “Dead? What was she then? A zombie?”

  “I don’t know that term. But she was half-undead, I should say, being half mortal. The magical portion would have returned to the energy field of this world. From what I learned, she was sacrificed by her lord, the Black God of the Aztecah. No names, of course. We wouldn’t want to attract attention. Yayauhqui was a minor figure, so her lord had no compunctions about offering her to the new-found patrons of their pantheon.”

  “Patrons?”

  “A group of mysterious beings. Extremely powerful and have access to some strange and unique knowledge. I haven’t been able to find out who they are. Their shields, barriers, and protections defeat any scrying magic and my other efforts. Somehow, after sacrificing the witch, as you adequately described her, they were able to reanimate her as one of the three champions of the Black God and in the process, imbue her with powers more apt for a minor god. A formidable minor god.”

  “You know, Supay did brag about their group acquiring the knowledge to remove and hold captive human souls.”

  Three champions? Of one dark god?

  Viracocha stood stock-still at the mage’s statement. Then he sat down slowly on one of the stone seats.

  “Ah, Havard. I wish I knew about that earlier. That explains a lot of what I have seen and learned. The possibility of entrapped souls was so profane and evil that my mind rejected the notion. The existence of such knowledge raises the stakes. A lot higher. This matter is unknown to the pantheons. Nor would they believe that such a thing is possible. Most of the evil beings who practiced it were destroyed back in the old world. If any Hidden Ones were able to migrate to Adar without a gate or portal, the effort would have seriously depleted their resources. And upon reaching this world, they would have concealed themselves, not wanting to risk again the destructive attention of all the pantheons.”

  “But you believed it, didn’t you?”

  “I am Viracocha, Havard. Through the millennia, I have seen and learned things these deities could not even imagine. I don’t claim to know everything. Most of everything, I guess. And if there is one thing that is consistent throughout the ages, that would be the fact that knowledge should come at the right time and place. This interference by unknown entities threatens to upset the balance of the world.”

  “Won’t you at least inform the other deities about it?”

  “Time-consuming. I have to keep watch here. I may have the opportunity to talk to some pantheon heads, but I fear it would just be an exercise in futility. A cliché expression, but it sums up matters nicely,” replied the Incan.

  “Can’t you directly involve yourself? Your help is urgently needed. You saw how powerful that witch was in battle.”

  “I can’t even if I do want to engage in an old-fashioned rumble. A pantheon is involved. Lines tend to blur in conflicts such as these. I am also acting as the head of the Incan pantheon. Not that I am its titular head but these are my children. Refusal to give advice and guide them in this terrible situation were not options for their father, a wandering and exiled staff god. And so many of my children are already gone,” Viracocha said sadly, shaking his head. “I cannot risk breaking the rules. Action against me might also involve them.”

  “But as far as champions are concerned, the mighty ones are those directly chosen by the deities themselves,” he continued. “That witch for example. The rest are merely a cut or two above the best human warrior. A bit of magic boosted their physical traits and then equipped with enhanced weapons and armor. But there is one thing you must know – the Aztecah pantheon has four major gods, though only three have temples in their capital. No names again, but these are the Black, the White, the Blue, and the Red major deities. Oh, they still fight among themselves and conspire against each other as other pantheons are wont to do.”

  Four major deities? Allowing for three champions each, that makes twelve! Well, less the witch, but that still makes eleven! I am so screwed.

  “If you think I would be dumb or mad enough to fight eleven Yayauhquis, then color me gone. One nearly put paid to my life. Not to mention Astrid’s condition now,” acidly commented Tyler.

  Viracocha simply laughed. “Nor do I expect you to tangle with all of them. They’re enough to handle a major deity. Once a battle is joined, an Aztecah god or two will join the fray eventually. A bound and helpless position on top of one of their temples would be your fate.”

  “That’s still an impossible task, Viracocha. A bevy of champions of such abilities. Aztecah gods of overwhelming levels of power. They still have their minor gods and demigods or demigoddesses. A massive army of fanatical warriors. An aggressive strategy of war. Let’s not forget the mysterious patrons who defeated the staff god’s attempts at observing them.”

  “You forgot a weakened Incan pantheon, a wavering Etruscan ally, the ability to steal a god’s power, the creation of undead beings, use of a strange yet potent energy form, and a discouraged Havard,” added the Incan.

  Tyler looked at the deity and wryly grinned. “Yes, I guess that sums it up. The Etruscan part though was unknown to me. Isn’t there another ally?”

  “The Keltoi tribes. But comparatively few and fearful of being wiped out in open battle. They believe their forests will protect them. I doubt it. Their support had been limited to some warriors, volunteers mind you, and food. Right now, they’re not significant in the bigger picture.”

  “What do we do now? We’re outmatched. You even burned your temple.”

  “No, not burned. Cleansed and then sealed it. They won’t be able to break into it. For now. If my power diminishes, then the temple is theirs. That abominable magical substance was dangerous. Though it gave me an idea.”

  “You’re going to feed me to the wolves.”

  “Not unwillingly, I won’t. But consider this – they know of your existence. The Aztecah win here and it adds to their already formidable and nearly unstoppable might. They’ll hunt you down afterward. You’re the perfect nextltaoalli. The ideal teotl ixiptlas. That is if their patrons let them have you.”

  “That first word meant a sacrifice. I heard them shout teotl whatever. What does that mean? I know it refers to being personifications of their gods, but the context eludes me.”

  “Teotl ixiptlas. It’s one of their religious concepts. Living images of gods. It refers to their preferred candidates for sacrifice rituals. For a time, they’ll treat you like
a king or a god in preparation for a nextltaoalli. It could be a few days or for months. In the meantime, the victim knows that sooner or later, a withered old man will have his heart in his gnarly hands on top of one of their temples. With no knowledge of when the fateful day will occur.”

  “That’s terrible! Mental torture on top of death.”

  “A cultural thing. A religious belief. The Aztecah, deities and people alike, fervently believe in it. In the past, when human captives were scarce, you would find them sacrificing their own populace. Some of whom welcome it as a singular honor. But don’t be too shocked. Some conquerors back in the old world made it a habit to depopulate cities, leaving no survivors and creating mountains out of the heads of the inhabitants. Tortured first of course.”

  Tyler kept quiet. The methods may have changed, but the cruel and inhuman theme seemed terribly familiar on the Earth he left behind. The deity stood up and looked on the valley below.

  “Another thing, a distressing and alarming matter,” Viracocha added. “I have heard rumors of minor deities, nature spirits, and demigods or demigoddesses being taken captive. Nothing is heard from them again. The Aztecah turn them over to their patrons. There is something of immense evil at work here. There are only a few possible reasons for such an occurrence and none of them bode well for this world.”

  “I don’t suppose you’d care to share that knowledge?”

  Viracocha turned and sadly smiled at him. “No more than what you will need. Like the fact that some of my son’s essence is being kept by our enemy’s patrons for some unfathomable reason. You’ll need that power to open the dimensional portal. Inti must have been getting paranoid all these long years to make himself the key.”

  Duck shit.

  “In the center of the temple-city of Tamoanchan, the religious center of their empire, sits a religious complex. Four great Aztecah temples, bordered by sixteen lesser teocallis. Of the four, one towers over the rest. I was told that their patrons are making use of that edifice. I believe you’ll find my son’s essence there, trapped in a small transparent orb. It won’t be hard to miss. It’s the only one in front of a circular stone structure inside a vast room. Around the chamber, in stone niches, are more of such spheres. Break them if you can. Let the trapped energies find peace.”