Impure: Godslayers

“Well that was eventful,” Lee said.

It was later in the evening and Ugo was leading the demi-gods through the army encampment. No one had spoken since the King had reprimanded his sons and Lee’s ill-spirited comment only made the atmosphere all the more awkward.

“Idiot,” George said as he jerked his elbow into Lee’s side.

“Ow,”

“Here is your tent. You will find food and water inside. I must apologise for we have no lodgings fit for you in the encampment,” Ugo said as he rested the torch he was holding on a short pillar.

As the demi-gods entered the large cow-hide tent, Avida turned to Ugo.

“Congratulations-on-being-made-the-heir,”

Avida forced out the words so fast that Ugo looked at her blankly for a second, as he tried to decipher what he had just heard.

“Congratulations,” Avida said once again.

Despite her deeply tanned skin, Avida was flushed as she pushed past Osy to enter the tent.

“Uh I am hungry too,” Osy commented as he opened the tent egress, that had flapped shut behind Avida.

“Osy… is it?”

Osy turned round to find that it was King Osteth addressing him.

“Yes,”

“My men have spoken at length of your godly feats,”

Osteth eyes strayed to his son momentarily. Ugo nodded at his father and entered the tent.

“…I need your help, please,” Osteth murmured whilst pursing his lips to stifle his words.

“Of course,” Osy replied.

Meanwhile everyone raised their heads, as Ugo entered the dimly lit tent.

“Where is Osy?” Lee asked quizzically.

“The King wants to have words with him,” Ugo replied.

“Great…now he gets to tell both of us what to do when we face this Wazenio…. like he is the leader,” Lee complained as he bit into a large fruit.

“He is,” George retorted monotonously as he chomped on some bread.

“Wait what about me?” Avida asked.

“What about you?” Lee replied contemptuously.

“Will I not accompany you against Wazenio?”

George and Lee looked at each other for a moment before they both guffawed loudly. Even with his mouth full of fruit, George was laughing harder than he had in a long time.

“Yes. If we find that Wazenio is in dire need of a bath, we will be sure to call on you,” Lee commented as he hooted loudly.

In spite of how endearing she found Ugo’s laughter, tears welled up in Avida’s eyes. Ugo wiped the smile off his face when he saw angry tears stream down Avida’s cheeks. He was gobsmacked when Avida brushed past him and ran out of the tent.

“Will you not go after her?” Ugo asked in a confused tone.

“Why? The food is here. When the sting of hunger drives her mad, she will come back,” Lee laughed as he reached for another fruit.

Despite his distance from the bowl, Ugo grabbed the fruit faster than Lee could reach it.

“Ay I wanted that one!” Lee exclaimed as Ugo ran out of the tent.

“I cannot do it,” Osy said.

He was stood in front of a mound with Osteth, at the edge of the army encampment. They were at the brink of the jungle, in an area surrounded by mounds. Stretching for a great distance along the jungle tree line, were rows of mounds. The unmarked graves were a silent reminder of the decades of war. The small mound that Osy was stood in front of however, had a gravestone with a peacock feather along with some crude markings carved on it.

“You do not understand I barely saw her. I saw her once a year if we were lucky. This war cost me precious time with my wife. Why would you deny me this?” Osteth implored.

“It is you who misunderstands. I fear your men have aggrandized my godly feat. It is similar to what Wazenio does only I have control over things that were once living. I can bring her body back but not her. Your wife is long gone,” Osy said regretfully.

“Do I look like I care? I had her buried here just so I could visit her every day. I would give anything to see my wife again. I need to make peace with her,” Osteth replied as he rubbed his beard in aggravation.

Osy exhaled and nodded sombrely. King Osteth sighed in relief as he placed the torch he had being carrying on a short nearby pillar. He picked up a wooden shovel with the intent of digging into the mound.

“There will be no need for that,” Osy said as a light glowed from inside his mouth.

Osy opened his mouth wide and a tiny ball of green light shot out and into the mound. Almost instantly, the mound began to tremble, sending grains of soil rolling off its surface. Subsequently, a decayed hand shot out of the mound, and the rest of the body followed. The rotted corpse stood up with glowing green eyes, too much of an eye-sore for even the hungriest carrion-eater.

Despite the unpleasant semblance of his wife that stood before him, Osteth fell to his knees. He dropped with his face right at the corpse’s feet and began bawling loudly.

“There you are, it is unwise to be so far from camp,” Ugo said as he panted next to Avida.

They both stood on a hill, next to a lone tree in the savannah.

“Here is a frui- Oh, stay absolutely still,” Ugo stated anxiously.

Avida who had been captivated by something far off, turned round to Ugo. Her brows furrowed with confusion as she looked at what Ugo was so horrified by.

“I did not think one of them would stray this close to the encampment,” Ugo muttered under his breath.

It took her a while but soon Avida’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and she made out the bulky creature in the distance. She gasped loudly and grabbed Ugo’s arm. It was a lumbering animal, not quite the height of a horse but definitely larger. What it lacked in grace, it more than substituted for in sheer might. Leaving deep set muddy footprints in the grass, the mammal slowly trudged on with purpose, as though it was scared that its four stubby feet would give under its immense body. It had a large horn above its nose, a short neck and a broad chest. Avida could now see the glint of its armour of bone and scales, in the moonlight. They were plates and bands of armour all over its body, separated only by its very thick skin. Even the muscular hump on its back was covered in a curved plate.

“It is a territorial beauty is it not? Nothing short of the finest steel can penetrate its hide, and the blow better be swung by someone or something of equal force. We have to wait till they die to strip their hide from their soft underbelly, but if we wait too long, it rots with their flesh. That is why our shields are strongest, fashioned from the hides of the impregnable Rhinadillos,”

Ugo stopped his hissing, for at that moment the beast ceased its heavy breathing and looked up at the hill. Beset by apprehension, Avida squeezed Ugo’s arm. The pain was so intense that Ugo clasped his free hand over his mouth. Despite the volume of the muffled cry, the Rhinadillo trudged on without so much as sniffing the air for intruders. The moment the beast had wondered out of earshot, Ugo pulled his arm away from Avida, who had still been gawping at the distant creature.

“What is wrong with you? You are a demi-god remember,” Ugo moaned in pain

“I am sorry sometimes I do not know my own strength …and I am a goddess,”

Avida said as she panted in relief. She looked to her left for a moment before grabbing Ugo’s arm and leading him in the opposite direction.

However, it was too late for Ugo saw his father further up the fringe of the jungle. The King was wailing on his knees, before the living corpse.

“That is my mother’s grave, tha…..that is- that is my mother,” Ugo said excitedly.

“Not exactly, you should not go,” Avida replied

Joyful tears welled up in his eyes as Ugo looked at her in confusion.

“I will explain just believe me, stay here,” Avida implored.

Ugo’s brows furrowed as he allowed himself one last look of his mother’s corpse standing on its feet, whilst Avida pulled him away.

Avida winced at the unwelcomed sight of the first rays of the morning sun.

“Your father and the three I came with left just before dawn. We have been talking on this hill all night we should go back to the camp,” Avida said.

“You should have let me talk to her,” Ugo said coldly.

Avida looked at Ugo, who avoided her gaze and looked blankly at her as though she was transparent.

“Fine,” Avida snapped as she stood up and began to walk away.

Ugo exhaled heavily as he rolled his eyes in capitulation.

“My mother passed away when giving birth to me. I have never seen her face…until last night.”

The words seemed to physically stop Avida in her tracks. She turned abruptly and walked back, sitting beside Ugo, like a puppet that was controlled by emotions.

“I never knew my mother either, or my father it turns out,” Avida said regretfully.

They both sat there for a long while, watching the soldiers make ready in the sparsely populated encampment. The savannah was filled with soldiers who had journeyed all night, from the town and the outposts around Amoro. Finally Ugo nudged Avida playfully. With a purse-lipped smile, Avida turned and gazed into Ugo’s eyes. He in turn was mesmerised by her faint gold coloured sclera.

“We sho- We should return to the camp,” Ugo stammered as he leaned in.

Avida nodded instinctively, as she leaned closer till her lips were brushing his.

“Prince Ugo!”

The couple abruptly whipped away from each other, as the soldier finally reached the top of the hill.

“My Prince…your brother, the general… he is missing,”

“There is a storm coming,” Lee shouted.

He was a mile high up the mountain. With his back pressed firmly against the mountainside, Lee slowly strafed along the narrow ledge. Closely following beside him were Osy and George. Meanwhile King Osteth was behind them all, inching his way onto the ledge from the cave.

“That is no storm. That is the march of the iron army,” Osteth yelled back over the crashing sound of the waterfall.

“He is right I can feel the tremors of their march,” George replied loudly.

A sharp wind suddenly blew, whipping George hair into Osy’s face. Osy cried out as he slipped off the narrow ledge. As he plunged to his death, Osy turned into a wraith.

“Why do we not just descend now and carry on journeying on the ground?” Osy asked as he floated back on the ledge.

“No, we must remain on the mountain as long as possible. The mountain spans a great distance. This way we will only have to pass one region to get to Wazenio’s temple. Stealth is the key,” Osteth bellowed.

“We are demi-gods Osteth; we can just fight our way to the temple,” Lee yelled.

“As repetitive as I may sound, we do not want to face Wazenio in a fatigued state. We need every advantage in facing her. Our element of surprise will be lost if someone under her influence spots us. You will see mortals with misty blue eyes…if they see you, so does she,”

Avida was stood on a hill behind Ugo, with Obbo and Naka. Ugo wore the eagle feather of a General. He was armed with the Amoroan spear and shield, as he observed the small army march towards the river.

“I do not care if father taught you about combat and battle formations, you have no experience,” Obbo said angrily.

“You are no General,” Naka growled in support.

“What would you have him do, the King is behind enemy lines and General Huru betrayed you,” Avida snapped defensively.

“We do not know that,” Obbo retorted.

“Where else would he be? After defending the region for so long it is a little late for him to develop a yellow belly is it not?”

Avida’s sharp-witted retort was getting on the twins’ last nerve.

“Why is she here? The battlefield is no place for women, much less girls,” Naka sighed.

“She is a goddess and you would do well to treat her as such or so help me I will have you flogged,” Ugo snapped aggressively.

The twins’ were quite abashed at being admonished by their little brother. Yet they could do nothing for he was now there King. There was a tense moment of silence as Ugo glared at his brothers, and they scowled back at him. Finally Ugo’s brows relaxed and the congenial expression that he usually wore returned.

“Obbo lead a hundred and fifty soldiers and hold the riverside. Naka you have charge over the remaining hundred, keep the enemies at bay with your throwing spears,” Ugo ordered.

Both men smashed their spears on their shields in acknowledgement and ran down the hill.

“Forgive my brothers. Please do not hesitate to aid us; it would not hurt to have a goddess on our side this day,” Ugo said as he watched his brothers sprint down the hill.

“I am afraid I will not be too much help,” Avida replied sheepishly.

“Why? You said the mortals to the north worshipped you right and you control water?”

Avida nodded, as she wiped some sweat off the back of her neck, which was getting baked by the hot sun.

“Well we are surrounded by the damn thing, it is even in us. My grandmother used to say we mortals, are nothing but rivers of blood and fields of flesh” Ugo laughed.

Avida laughed fitfully. It had been a long time since anyone had put a smile on her face. Although she had grown to appreciate the protection of the three demi-gods, she was accustomed to being addressed respectfully, and not in the abusive manner with which they spoke to each other.

“Be careful,” Avida said as Ugo walked backwards downhill, to join the Amoro ranks.

“Shhh,” Osteth hushed.

He was leant against one of the two thick obelisks in front of temple entrance. Two iron soldiers marched past the entrance, without sensing anything was amiss. They instead looked at the mortal workmen dousing a batch of red hot freshly forged inanimate iron soldiers in a great lake. The iron soldiers were lowered down on a wooden platform, which was connected to a wooden tower at the riverbank.

“Wait…is Wazenio’s temple below the lake?” George hissed.

His eyes were firmly fixated on the open temple door, which was all but an extravagantly decorated trapdoor.

“Yes,” Osteth murmured.

“Water….again,”

Osy slapped George’s trembling shoulders.

“We need you,” Osy hissed.

George breathed in deeply and nodded. Osteth beckoned and they all followed him into the temple. Surprisingly the rocky tunnels of the temple were empty. Although it was a sharp slope, the passageways were huge and dimly lit by torches. Hence the four sprinted with ease through the shadows, until they reached the main chamber.

“We are here, ready yourselves,” Osteth whispered urgently.

He crept into the chamber and immobilised the two priests, who were in deep conversation, with a swing of his arm.

“Sorry mother, your army will be defeated. And you will soon follow,” Osteth yelled as Osy, Lee and George rallied to his side.

However the throne, which towered above the altar in the middle of the chamber, was empty.

“Welcome…”

The four looked at the shadowed figure, which stood behind one of the pillars that supported the ceiling in the chamber.

“Welcome,” the figure said as it stepped into the light.