War of Mortal Gods

by Kipjo K Ewers

  His midnight blue eyes, devoid of irises, intensified the stern gaze he emitted, mirrored and backed by his loyal subjects flanking his left and right.

  “I present to you all Lord Horus, God of Sky and Kingship and Mistress Sehkmet, the Eye of Horus and Goddess of War, the current rulers of the planet Earth and its territories.”

  Aside from the Volorions, everyone else looked at the couple with unimpressed gazes.

  “Now that the introductions are completed,” Grand Kan Fatra Kumzi dryly spoke first. “Why have you requested an audience with us human?”

  With a calm smile, Horus took a step closer to the screen to begin the proceedings.

  “Fellow World Leaders, I and my wife have brought you altogether because we share common interests. We all possess powerful empires, we all desire to expand that power, we all dream of the destruction of the Dominion Council, which continues to impede that power, mostly your own.”

  Horus’s introductory statement brought various mixed reactions to the screen. Grand Emperor Zoran was the first to verbalize what he was thinking.

  “Powerful empire? Isn’t that an exaggerated statement coming from you, human, considering no one has ever heard of you until now? Also, isn’t your backwater planet still in conflict due to multiple leadership?”

  Zoran’s questions meant more to insult than inquiring, did not chip Horus’s diplomatic visage. Sekhmet’s own began to crack as her eyes narrowed with murderous intention toward the Grand Emperor.

  “I’ve never seen a human star eater before,” Regent Maleen interjected. “Never knew it was a possibility.”

  “I and my mate’s abilities extend far beyond that of star eaters, Regent Marleen,” Horus calmly explained.

  “Boast of your physical capabilities to your heart's content, a ruler you are not,” Zoran scoffed while turning to Vbzarma’s screen, “High Prime, what type of farce meeting have you dragged us into?”

  “Why don’t you curtail your tongue, Zoran, and allow Lord Horus to speak,” Vbzarma shot back.

  Zoran’s eyes went cockeyed with disbelief that Vbzarma would both insult him while defending the likes of a lowly human. Lord Hoovii decided to inquire.

  “So, what grievance would you have with the Dominion Council?” Lord Hoovii pressed.

  Horus turned to him and bluntly answered.

  “They murdered my wife, who now stands before you and imprisoned me. Now that I have returned and resurrected her, we wish to see all of their heads on pikes after their disembowelment.”

  Horus’s revelation brought an eerie skeptical silence to the meeting. The expression on each of the world ruler’s visage was that they believed they were speaking to mad people.

  “Echoing all of our wishful dreams will not impress us, human,” Grand Kan Fatra Kumzi snorted, breaking the silence.

  “No Grand Kan Fatra, we are the ones that will make those dreams a reality,” Sekhmet said, interjecting herself into the conference.

  “Human, if you wish for this ‘meeting’ to continue and remain productive, instruct your heffa there to stay silent,” Grand Emperor Zoran ordered Horus. “Tis bad enough, you have a filthy Pandorian whore on here.”

  “You, Gregorian vuck!” Regent Maleen growled while slamming her fist on the arm of her throne. “For that insult, I should raze your entire vucking planet! I shall feast on your …!”

  Sekhmet stepping forward, held up a silencing hand to Regent Maleen. She halted her rant, wondering what the human was up to. A sinister grin formed on Horus’s wife’s lips as her eyes trained on Zoran.

  “You would dare disrespect a living goddess in front of her husband?”

  “Religion of any kind is outlawed on my world with the penalty of practice being death, human,” Grand Emperor Zoran shot back, “It was a distraction to the population’s duty to the empire, my empire. So, your title means nothing compiled with the fact that you are a lowly muck raking human and a female.”

  A subtle smiling Sekhmet allowed the Grand Emperor to finish his insult before raising the glow emitting intensity from her eyes.

  The act was chillingly instantaneous as an unknown force yanked Grand Emperor Zoran out of his throne, throwing him to his knees, and proceeded to slowly strangle him.

  His posture was that of a boa constrictor squeezing the life out of him before it swallowed him whole. His eyes bulged from their sockets while his skin pulsated a bright reddish color trait from his species when they were under distress.

  The reaction to the attack from Sekhmet projected from several light-years away caused mixed reactions both in the room and on the screen.

  Vbzarma and his sons were visibly uncomfortable that Horus’s wife possessed the same abilities.

  The Grand Kan sat unmoved with a face of granite, while a wide-eyed Princess Kai muttered something in her native tongue, suggesting powerful witchcraft.

  As expected, Regent Maleen leaned forward with a sadistic grin looking closer along with her daughter, who also moved closer to the screen with great curiosity.”

  Imperial Lord Hoovii sat there watching with an unpleasant look upon his visage while his Council screeched in both sides of his ears in their native tongue that had the accent of howler monkeys. With a grunt and a hand raise, he silenced them.

  Horus maintained his composure while mentally screaming in his wife’s skull.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Sekhmet?!”

  “Proving a point,” she shot back, “Watch closely.”

  Prince Togar walked over, gazing down upon his father, suffering at his feet, …but not with concern.

  “Prince Togar, your thoughts this whole time were the unbridled hatred you have for your father.”

  Togar slowly turned to Sekhmet, who effortlessly read his thoughts.

  “A hatred stoked by your father’s brutal execution of your mother, which he forced you to watch,” she continued. “Executed for a false crime so that he could replace her with his current wife. But the greatest wound is when he took your title as crown prince and gave it to your newborn brother.”

  Several guards ran into view, yelling in Gregorian, coming to the aide of their emperor, only to have their necks snapped with a thought from the goddess of war.

  An emotionless Togar watched as they collapsed lifeless in unison, smacking the throne room floor with sickening thuds. His attention returned to Sekhmet as she continued to converse with him.

  “You dream night and day of vengeance. To spill your father’s blood, claim your birthright, take his wife into your bed, and to rip your child brother limb from limb as he did your mother.”

  “Yes,” Togar acknowledged with a nod.

  “Because your brother has not reached the rightful age, he cannot firmly take the title crown prince, which means if your father dies here …the throne is yours.”

  As Togar’s gaze slowly turned back to his father, Zoran gurgled his speech with horror imprinted on his face.

  “On this day, I shall give you the throne. Your rule will be bloodless, unmarred from treachery. All you need do is kneel and swear fealty to my husband and me, recognizing us as your new gods. Do you swear to worship and give tribute to us until your end days, Grand Emperor Togar?”

  In one swift motion, Prince Togar took the knee, reverently bowing his head.

  “I do, goddess Sekhmet.”

  Zoran groaned his wails to his son, who refused to look at him.

  “Grand Emperor Zoran.”

  His eyes, which were the only things he still controlled, slowly turned back to his executioner. Sekhmet gazed upon him with the same ominous smirk that became her trademark before something gruesome took place.

  “Here on my world, the punishment for disrespecting a god …is death.”

  His high-pitched blood-curdling screams vibrated the audio systems as Sekhmet took pleasure in shattering his bones and popping several parts of his circulatory system.

  His bottom jaw flopped down as thick blood poured from all of
the orifices on his face. Sekhmet finally released him, allowing his body to drop face-first onto the throne room.

  As the yellow blood began to pool around his body, the new Grand Emperor rose to his feet. He turned to the sound of heavy boots and footsteps rushing into the throne room as additional guards and members of his father’s council entered, huddled together with mixed reactions and emotions.

  “You saw with your very eyes from the observation and council chambers,” Togar spoke with authority while gesturing to his father’s body. “My father’s abolishment of our faith and religion has caused our gods to turn their backs on us. Now, he has offended gods from another world and paid the ultimate price. Because my younger brother is not of age to take the right, I am now your new Grand Emperor.”

  One of the Council members, an older Gregorian male wearing white and red robes and a gleaming silver chain with a round gold pendant with Gregorian etchings and a rectangular gem in the center of it, stepped forward seething.

  “Lies and treason!” He hollered, pointing, “This traitorous welp and that human witch murdered your emperor! Seize him and …!”

  His orders turned to screams as he fell to his knees. Clutching the sockets of his eyes as they were burnt out of his skull by a white flame. The act caused the guards and other council members to jump backward in fright.

  Togar turned to the screen to witness Sekhmet once again come to his aide, further stoking his confidence.

  “Chancellor of State Vrockmani, as of today, you are relieved of your duties,” Togar declared, looking down at the newly blinded chancellor. “I give you my word that your daughter, the queen, will be well looked after once you and my younger brother are removed from this life.”

  He then turned to everyone else in the room with his hands slightly raised.

  “As you all have now witnessed, the gods are with me; who else would challenge my rule?”

  Everyone else still alive quickly assessed the situation strictly based on the pile of bodies in the room and promptly fell to their knees, prostrating themselves.

  “Hail the eternal reign of Grand Emperor Togar the second! Hail Horus…”

  “Do not hail,” Sekhmet ordered. “Give proper praise.”

  Those on their knees quickly looked at one another and corrected themselves as they roared in unison once again.

  “Praise be to Lord Horus and Goddess Sekhmet! Praise be to our new gods!”

  Amid the commotion, High Prime Vbzarma glared at both his sons with a subtle warning to not even think about doing what Togar just did. Both men stepped back a bit with their hands up as the coup concluded.

  Grand Emperor Togar turned, falling once again to his knees with head bowed.

  “I swear this to my new gods. My soul is yours; my people are yours; my world is yours; my legion is yours.”

  Horus stepped forward once again, taking control of the meeting.

  “Attend to your affairs, Grand Emperor Togar. We shall call upon you later to discuss matters privately.”

  Togar rose to his feet and acknowledged with a bow.

  “One more thing, Emperor Togar,” Sekhmet interjected. “Your father’s corpse is not to be buried in the Grand Tomb; discard his body in the forest for the beasts to feast upon so that he may never find his way to the next world.”

  “It shall be done, my goddess.”

  “Grand Emperor Togar, one quick question.”

  Everyone turned to the screen as the request came from Imperial Lord Hoovii.

  “The deal that your father and I were conducting which you were privy to. Will you be upholding it?”

  Togar quickly glanced at Horus and Sekhmet as if they were his parents. With a nod, they gave their approval.

  “I shall honor the deal,” Togar answered with a smirk. “As long as we sit down to discuss some slight alterations.”

  “Of course,” Hoovii nodded.

  Togar turned to bow to Horus and Sekhmet one final time before his screen closed out, leaving the remaining rulers with mixed expressions.

  Grand Kan Fatra Kumzi once again was the first to speak.

  His tone was laced with sarcasm.

  “Impressive display of abilities. Was your intention for the rest of us to submit to your will and pledge our undying fealty?”

  “Although I found that very entertaining to watch, I agree with the Grand Kan,” Regent Maleen chimed in.

  Horus’s eyes slowly scanned three of the screens before him, filled with disapproving looks, and got down to business.

  “Lord Hoovii, your frost sales have been waning because the Dominion Council has deemed your narcotic illegal and banned it throughout the universe. Regent Maleen, you, much like Lord Hoovii, are forced to conduct your skin trading business, which has been a traditional part of your people’s way of life for eons, as if you were a lowly criminal.”

  Horus made sure to lock eyes with Fatra as he continued.

  “And you Grand Kan…have never forgotten the day the Dominion Council took the Antecqua territory from your grandfather because several worlds that were under your rightful rule went to the Council beseeching their independence from you.”

  The princess gave her father a side-eye while the visibly irritated Grand Kan blew extra air from his trunk.

  “So, you know our grievances with the Council,” Lord Hoovii said, taking over. “And you, a self-proclaimed god, has come to remedy our ailment?”

  “By joining us in a campaign to rot the Council from the inside out,” Horus said bluntly. “And then burn its remains.”

  “Impressive play on words,” Fatra Kumzi gruffed with a laced sarcastic tone. “How do you intend to do this?”

  A soft smile formed on Horus’s face before he answered.

  “It has already been put into motion.”

  “The four leaders uneasily shifted where they sat as Horus calmly clasped his hands behind his back.

  “There will be an event taking place rather shortly; I cannot tell you when nor shall I tell you where. But when it happens, you will know the authors of its creation. It will then spread like a disease-causing each function of the Council the fail and shut down one by one.”

  “If your plan is effective enough to put a permanent end to the Council, what need do you have of us?” Regent Maleen inquired with narrowed eyes. “Seeing as how you are gods.”

  “You speak truth, Regent Maleen,” Horus nodded. “We have no need for any of you.”

  A disgusted sneer formed on the Regent’s face; however, she kept her tongue steady, remembering Zoran’s grizzly fate. Her daughter sheepishly stuck out her tongue before running to cower close to her mother.

  “But when the Council falls, and it will …chaos will run rampant throughout the universe. The one truth that the Council did teach is the necessity of order. As four out of five of the largest most powerful empires in the universe not under the heel of the Dominion Council, I am extending the opportunity to be a part of the new order.”

  “Why?” Lord Hoovii bluntly asked.

  “Because the universe is vast and endless,” Sekhmet said, stepping in again. “And though my husband and I intend to rule it, we have no desire to become a Shepard to it. What time would we have for our marital duties if we took up such a yoke?

  But with the universe divided six ways, order will be maintained, order that we will dictate.”

  “There’s still a stipulation somewhere in all of this,” Fatra Kumzi grumbled.

  “The stipulation is a reasonable tribute to the ones who brought you to the table,” Horus answered with a forceful tone. “And an understanding that although you will rule your territories the way you see fit, we stand above all of you and your future bloodlines.”

  Fatra remained rooted where he sat, unfazed by Horus’s words. Regent Maleen leaned back in her seat with her lips moderately parted in disbelief. On Lord Hoovii’s screen, his eyes widen to their limits while his Council screeched and howled in both his ears.

  Fatra
subtly shifted his eyes to High Prime Vbzarma and his sons’ screen. He observed that they remained both quiet and passive, entirely out of the Volorion royal family's character.

  His eyes shifted back to the sound of a fist pounding a table as Lord Hoovii shot to his feet with his canines reared.

  “The Nowaru nation will never be subservient to …!”

  “Sit down, mortal!”

  Horus’s voice was rolling thunder while his eyes blazed, similar to Sekhmet’s earlier. A shaken Lord Hoovii felt a powerful force shove him violently back down into his seat while his advisors screeched and scattered away from him in fear.

  Princess Kai’s jewelry rattled as she leaned back, clutching her pearls while Princess Syrtria cowered again, burying her face in the skirt of her mother’s dress for comfort.

  The fleeting scowl on the god of kingship’s face vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced with a calm sternness.

  What he said next was delivered with an even authoritative tone.

  “Allow me to make my intentions clearer. The purpose of this discussion was never meant as a request to any of you. It was intended for you to make a choice. Either choose to become a part of the new order I will be bringing to the universe or be crushed by it. And in case you doubt our capability, remember that you witnessed a regime change by my wife’s hands before your very eyes.”

  Sekhmet’s lips formed a savage smile as Regent Maleen made an uncomfortable shift in her seat.

  “Make no mistake, the Dominion Council will be brought down, trampled and salted, something none of you were capable of accomplishing nor possessed the gumption to attempt in eons since their creation. Considering how much you will gain once it is done, what is being demanded of you is quite reasonable. You all should be gratefully groveling before us with gratuitous gratitude.”

  Horus paused, waiting to see if someone else would refute his words. He continued after half a minute of silence.

  “There is a saying that ‘Pride cometh before a fall,’ each of you must decide if you will allow your pride to break your neck, or if you will take the knee and rise becoming wardens of a universe under my rule.”