Mighty Hammer Down

by David J Guyton

  Chapter 16

  Uritus took out his anger on the items on the shelf, causing them to crash violently to the floor. He tried to calm himself by closing his eyes and concentrating on a new plan, but rage flowed inside his veins and kept him from thinking clearly. At his feet were countless magical relics from a forgotten age; some shattered, others intact. None of them mattered much to him now that he had lost what really mattered. He rested his head against the empty shelf before him and did his best to assemble his thoughts into a workable plan.

  There wasn't even anyone to punish. There were certainly plenty of Mages left in Medora, but the Purple Mages who had aided him were almost all slaughtered. All of them did their best to regain control of the situation, but their attempts were futile. Some of them were destroyed in a blink, their souls completely obliterated when they were cut with the sword of Arius. There was nothing left of them but a memory and a few corpses.

  He found himself walking away from the shelf and towards the door. His frustration at his lack of power was consuming him. He knew that he needed to move on and make the best of the situation, but it was difficult now that his plans were ruined. There was still the Medoran Empire which was to be handed down to him upon his father's death, but that wasn't quite good enough. He thirsted for more.

  He made his way to the throne room where he intended to pray for forgiveness from Inshae. He had no idea what his god thought of his feeble attempt, but he hoped that he would see that he did his best and not punish him too harshly. He had never seen anyone punished anyway, so he was not all that concerned. The only people who really suffered were the people who he himself decided were unworthy. The Mages worshipped him with almost the same respect as they had for Inshae.

  When he got to the throne room, he felt an odd feeling. He closed the door and locked it, wanting no interruptions from the nosey Mages wandering the halls. The room seemed more silent than usual. He felt as if he was being watched, but after he inspected the shadows, he determined that that was impossible. He knelt in front of the small altar at the side of the room and began to pray to his god.

  The silence became heavier. He shook his head thinking his ears were not working properly, but nothing changed. He refocused on his prayers and tried to ignore the strange feeling. Curiosity took him, and he opened his eyes to make sure nothing was abnormal. Something was different. He pulled back his hood so that he could better see what was going on. Everything in the room seemed to be swaying, the light flowing in a dreamy haze around him. He followed the strange current with his eyes to the opposite wall. There, hovering above the floor was a giant form, much larger than a man, darker than the blackest skies. His black robes swayed gently in a wind that Uritus could not feel himself. His eyes rose to the face, and he saw that he was looking upon his god for the first time.

  "Inshae, my master," he said as he bowed his head to the floor.

  The voice came into his head, not into his ears.

  Rise

  Uritus stumbled awkwardly to his feet before his god. He stared across the room at the empty eyes, not knowing what to say. Finally he uttered a few words. "Have you come to punish me, my master?"

  The room shook with an unheard laughter.

  I have not come to punish you. Although you have failed in controlling the god of war, you have succeeded in other areas.

  "But master, without him we may lose the war."

  Your war is of little importance to me. I support it only because it fits into my plan for now.

  "I am here to serve you, my master. Your plan is my plan."

  Good. There is no reason to punish you then.

  "Did the ritual work? Did killing one of the Tirinius bloodline kill Arius in the world of the gods?"

  Your ritual worked if your intentions were only to slay a god. If you meant to control your puppet god of war, then you have failed. But these are your troubles, not mine. It matters not if the god of war is Arius or Tirinius, all that matters is that you connected the world of the gods with the world of men.

  "If I accomplished all you needed, then why have you come to me?"

  I did not say you accomplished all I needed. You are to serve me for eternity. While the gods are now able to walk the earth, we cannot yet fully control things in your world. Other artifacts will need to be found to enhance our power.

  "Tell me where the artifacts are and you shall have them all."

  Oh you simple humans. To you everything is so easy. In reality I cannot give you the information you seek.

  "Why not, master?"

  Because Oderion has made laws which we all must obey. No god is able to harm another god. Providing you with the location of such artifacts would be the same as handing you a weapon to kill your enemy. You have already witnessed what one artifact can do to a god. The golden sword was able to kill Arius, an immortal. Aside from the laws of Oderion, I am unable to provide you with the artifacts because I do not know where they lie.

  Uritus paused a moment in thought. "Are you able to harm the new god of war?"

  Rommus Tirinius is still just a human. There may come a time that he unlocks the secret to immortality, but it is not likely. If my powers here were stronger I would attempt to destroy him, but I do not know what damage I could do to him. I have been able to loosely influence events here in your world ever since you found the sword of Arius, and I attempted to cause him suffering when I saw him alone in the woods. He was able to resist me.

  "If he is mortal, then there is nothing to stop the Mages from killing him. If we cannot control him, at least we can eliminate any threat he may be to us in the future."

  Yes, it is in your best interest to kill him, if it is indeed possible, but it would still accomplish little. There is still one more of the Tirinius bloodline walking the earth.

  "Tannis. Of course. We intended to use him instead of Rommus since he has a great knowledge of military strategy, but he was far too difficult to capture. Rommus had no guards hovering around him to stop us, so we chose the easier prey. I suppose I can be thankful that I did not bestow such a great power on Tannis Tirinius. He might take the world down with him if he became the god of war."

  Do not look for success in your incompetence. Rommus Tirinius is still a threat to you. You must kill him, and you must also kill his father. Only after that bloodline ends will you finally annihilate one of the gods of light and shift the balance of power to the dark gods. You had better hope that you can accomplish this before he has time to father a son of his own.

  Uritus smiled. "I wouldn't worry much about that. I took his woman, and he is left with no one. He is heartbroken and dejected. It will be some time before he has a chance at having a child. Besides, he is not interested in having children if I remember correctly."

  It makes no difference in the eyes of the gods. If his bloodline continues on for a thousand years, we will be there when it ends. You, however, will not. My plan will not fail; it is only a matter of waiting for its success.

  "No, master, your plan will not fail, but I will be the one to see it through. You will see. I will not fail you. And when I succeed in destroying the god of war and shifting the power to the dark gods, I hope that it will prove my devotion to you, and that you will grant me immortality. Then together we can eliminate the other gods and crown you as god of all things."

  The room shuddered again in silent laughter.

  Such an honor has not been given to any mortal in thousands of years. It is not so easy to win my favor, nor is it easy for any god to accomplish.

  Uritus rubbed his chin as he added a few pieces to the puzzle in his mind. "You have walked the earth before then?"

  Of course we have. You humans make the mistake of only recognizing the truths in front of you. Just because you have not seen a god does not mean we have not stood on the very ground you stand upon. We were shut away from this world thousands of years ago by Oderion and his minion the god of time. It is too complicated for your human mind to understand, but
Oderion used Tachion to travel back to the time before the gods walked the earth?just as he did when he created this world?and rewrote our history. To the eyes of most, we have never been to this world, but some know the truth. You cannot undo the memory of a god, much to Oderion's dismay.

  "You're saying that you existed here, but in a reality that is separate from the reality that we humans experience now?"

  That's a simple explanation that I would expect from a human, but probably as close as your mind can come to the truth.

  "And what of the mortals that you made immortal? Why have I never encountered one?"

  When Oderion realized that his time trick did not completely separate the gods from this world, he had to erase all of the evidence he could. Some things he could not erase, like my temple in northern Vindyrion. Without that connection to this world, humans could not die and pass from this world to the next. He also hid the artifacts of the gods such as the scales of Terinopus and the sword of Arius. The immortals were shut away so that they could not exist in the same realm as the mortals.

  Uritus watched the hovering figure sway before him as he thought. "Master, what did the immortals do to win your favor and receive the gift of immortality?"

  They did nothing to win my favor. I made them immortal because they are of the bloodline which is connected to me, just as the Tirinius bloodline is connected to Arius. By granting them eternal life, I ensured that no man shall ever use my artifact against them. This would kill them and also kill me in the world of the gods.

  "Yes, like we did to Arius. I understand. What artifacts are connected to you, Master?"

  I have only one. Even the dimmest human could guess that it is a robe. Have I overestimated your intelligence?

  "No, master, I assumed that. You must forgive me, for I do not like to assume things and then pretend they are fact. I am eager to learn and to follow you, but I have never been in the presence of a god before."

  And the others? Are they devoted as well?

  "Yes master, they are. They have obeyed my every command, all to serve you. I have eliminated the Mages who have given me trouble, and now I am left with only truly devout followers. They will obey your every command without question, as will I."

  Good. Then we can begin setting my plans in motion. You will begin by finding as many artifacts as you can, including mine. I do not know the locations, but I do know of a book that will help to guide you. It is hidden in the tomb of the third Emperor of Medora. It can be found beneath his head, as if it were a pillow. The book was ancient long before he was born, so it will be fragile. Your language has changed some since it was written, so you will have a hard time understanding it, but in it are the locations of the artifacts, along with other secrets.

  "What shall we do with the artifacts when we find them?"

  You will keep them hidden here, under constant guard. The only exception is my own. You will wear the robes when you find them, and I will then be able to use you from time to time as my vessel to speak to the men of this realm. I cannot show myself in your world or the gods of light will thwart my plans before I can carry them out. The robes will protect you just as the armor of Arius would, and no man will be able to harm you. It will also enhance your power, and grant you new powers as well. All of the artifacts hold secrets and powers.

  "I am honored, my master. I assure you that we will find these items, and we will keep this mission a secret from the other gods and from all men of this world. We will then eliminate the gods one by one." Uritus looked to the floor as thoughts rushed into his head. "Master, isn't giving me the location of this book against the laws of Oderion?"

  The laws are strict, but say nothing of providing you with information leading to information that might harm a god. Aside from that, I am hardly playing by the rules if I am planning to destroy the other gods. This is a risk I am willing to take in order to assume control of this world and my own.

  The skull face of Inshae turned and appeared to look over his shoulder. The unfelt wind seemed to blow harder on his robes and sent the tattered ends fluttering violently. He turned back to Uritus as his form began to rise in the room and fade slightly.

  Another god approaches. They have discovered that Arius is missing and they are suspicious. I must go now. I will return when I am able. Do not fail me.

  Common sounds rushed in and filled Uritus's ears as the figure before him vanished. He could once again hear the men outside in the halls and smell the burning candles in the room. All of his senses seemed to be tuned only to Inshae's presence when he was there, and it was disorienting to return to reality. He walked over to his throne and threw himself down heavily upon the soft cushions. With his head in his hand, he went over all the information he had received, and started to formulate his plan.

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