Impure: Godslayers

The current of the river was stifled by the stacks of bodies piled high like some abominable dam. Avida crouched and let out a mouthful of vomit, as the river became a stew of blood. From atop the hill she could see the entirety of the horrific battlefield. A significant number of the iron army remained intact, for they were led by ten of Wazenio’s offspring. Eight of these giants had fallen, but not before taking Naka and a majority of the Amoroan forces with them.

“No,” Avida gasped, and cupped a hand on her mouth.

Ugo and his remaining fifty men pushed back, as the iron army began to march through the shallow point of the river. Inevitably, Ugo and Obbo were separated from their forces at the frontline.

“No, no, no,” Avida remarked in horror.

Despite his lack of experience, Ugo was far from pusillanimous and good fortune had brought him this far. However no amount of luck could have saved him from the wrath of the nine feet tall giant that he was now entangled with, and Avida knew it. Her heart sunk as Ugo was knocked so hard that when he fell to the ground, his left arm was broken. It lay flimsily at his side with his shield. Stranded alone and exposed, Ugo watched helplessly as the giant raised a leg, with the intention of smashing his skull to smithereens. Ugo yelled in fear, just as Avida screamed from heartbreak.

“Noooo!”

Her scream was so loud that she screeched over the raucous of the battle. Everyone on the battlefield stopped fighting and looked up for the source of the ear-splitting shriek. Even the iron soldiers suspended their function and craned their heads up as Avida’s voice echoed up through the savannah, up the river, and up the mountain. For one moment, all was silent. Suddenly a tower-high wave came shooting downriver. The Amoroan soldiers were quick to react as they hurriedly fought their way to the riverbank. The powerful wave swept away a majority of the iron soldiers. Similar to a hammer on an anvil, the wave it crashed to the riverbed, filling the air with hundreds of whizzing ethereal wisps.

“Hello son,”

Osteth and the three demi-gods turned round to find another figure peeking round the corner of the throne. She leaned out into the light with her chin on her open palm. She blew gently.

“No!” Osteth barked.

However, it was too late, for several ethereal wisps shot out of her mouth. As the wisps hit Osteth and three demi-gods, they barely noticed that the whites of her eyes were in fact a faint gold colour, before they lost consciousness.

Ugo woke up with a gasp, only to find himself in a tent.

“You are awake,” Avida said excitedly.

“What happened?” Ugo asked as he looked to the side, to where Avida was sat.

“You won,”

Ugo held his head and groaned in attempt to gain some recollection of events.

“Thanks to your …well-tidal wave…. You truly are a great goddess,”

Bashfully, Avida pursed her lips and batted her eye-lashes so rapidly that it was a surprise that they did not buzz like the wings of a bee.

“I must report to my father,” Ugo groaned as he sat up.

“He is not back yet. They are not back yet, and no one has been sent for them,” Avida complained.

“What? It is sunset...something must have gone wrong. We must go now,” Ugo said as he peeked through the egress of the tent.

Subsequently, Ugo grabbed the water skin that was next to his fur bed and downed its content.

“What of my brother?” Ugo said as he wiped his mouth.

“Naka died, you know this. His injuries were too grave and Obbo is readying the rest of the men for tomorrow’s battle,” Avida answered.

“There will not be another battle, my father and the demi-gods will see to that. ……I was asking about Huru,”

“He betrayed you. I cannot believe you can be this credulous. He was denied the crown and now he would rather see his brothers and people subjugated as long as he is King,”

Ugo averted his gaze from Avida as his brows furrowed in rage.

“...something must have gone wrong. We must go now” Ugo said, as he took off the large medicine pasted leaf that was on his shoulder.

Ugo groaned loudly in pain as the leaf peeled off his tender wound.

“Ugo you are in no state to go anywhere. The bleeding must at least be stopped,” Avida complained as she held Ugo’s arm.

“Please stop it. We have to go. My father and your siblings may be in terrible danger, if they have not fallen already,” Ugo replied.

“They are not my siblings,”

Ugo looked at Avida with whimsical disappointment, and she in turn scowled at him. Finally the scowl was replaced with a smile as Avida finally capitulated to his charm.

“Fine, I will go get help for your cut,” Avida said as she stood up.

“And who can offer greater help than a goddess,” Ugo said as he pulled her back.

“My godly feat allows me to manipulate water, not blood,” Avida said as she raised a brow in confusion.

“We do not have time for this. My father described the location of the subterranean temple to me and my brothers once. We could be there by midnight, but that is if we set off now. Please, just try it,” Ugo urged.

Avida nodded. She exhaled loudly as she placed a hand over the bleeding gash on Ugo’s shoulder. Almost immediately, the bleeding stopped. Ugo smiled and looked at Avida; however her face was still contorted in concentration. He looked down at his shoulder, and his jaw dropped in disbelief. The blood that had been dripped down his shoulder was trickling up his arm at a rapid rate, one drop at a time. Then the blood settled on his wound and instantly formed a thick yet soft scab. Avida beamed at Ugo as she ripped a piece of her thin garment and commenced to wrapping up his shoulder with it.

“Amazing that is all I can say about yo-I mean what you can do” Ugo said as he looked at her in awe.

“Thank you?”

Avida narrowed her eyes in misperception, for she was unsure what Ugo meant, but she was quite sure it was something positive.

“Here we go,” Ugo said as he took Avida’s hand and grabbed his spear.

They both snuck out of the camp, over the river and through the strange regions. They stayed in the thicket of the jungle but strayed close enough to civilisation so that the torches would light their way. After several hours of trudging through bushes and shadows, they found themselves in a wide spanning savannah. They crawled in the towering grasses around the surrounding villages. Finally they reached a clearing in the night, lit by torches on two large pillars. In between the pillars was a dipping cave mouth, on a mound in front of lake.

“Is this it?” Avida whispered.

Ugo looked suspiciously at workers on far side of lake and back at the unguarded temple entry.

“That is strange…it is all but deserted,”

Ugo looked on the ground contemplatively, before grabbing Avida’s hand. They crept hurriedly across the field towards the temple door. Then they sneaked through the dimly lit tunnels, until they finally reached the main chamber. As soon as they both stepped into the doorway, they were seized from either side by Lee and Osy. Overpowered, Ugo kicked and Avida screamed in dissent. However they soon stopped when they saw the misty blue eyes of their stone-faced captors. Ugo and Avida were dropped before the altar in front of the throne, on which Wazenio was sat on.

“Welcome Avida. I warned my brother to slay you when you were a baby,” Wazenio said.

Wazenio cackled loudly. She was very skinny, and her ribs stuck out like those of a malnourished dog. However she was still a tall woman with abnormally thick bones. Yet despite how unsightly her body was, Wazenio’s face was very beautiful. She had very short white hair, long lashes, high cheek bones and dark brown skin. She wore a strip of leather around her chest and another around her waist; which hung down to her knees.

Whereas Avida hung her head silently, Ugo was hissing maddeningly at his father and the three demi-gods.

“Snap out of it. Father? Lee, Os-”

“You boy king, they are as powerless as you now kneel….unable to detect the machinations by which they are controlled,” Wazenio sneered.

“…how did you know that I was to be Ki-”

“Can I kill him now?”

Ugo was startled by the sound of the all too familiar voice. Avida gasped as Huru walked out from the shadow of a nearby pillar. Ugo, on the other hand was rendered speechless as he watched Huru pick up his diamond-head spear and raised it over his shoulder.

“No!” Avida screamed.

Huru stopped in mid-strike, with the diamond point pressed firmly against Ugo’s cheek.

“You are right… I have a better idea,” Huru said with a sadistic smile.

He pulled the spear away from his little brother’s face and held it out to his father. King Osteth remained still and stared blankly, the unnatural misty blue colour of his eyes evinced that he had lost his sentience. Huru looked up at Wazenio with a raised brow. This seemed to delight the goddess as she began to cackle psychotically.

“You have no compassion to kindred blood. For your part in ending this arduous subversion, I shall make you High-King of all the regions,”

As she spoke Wazenio nodded at Osteth, who took the spear from his son.

“No King, please!” Avida remonstrated tearfully.

Ugo clamped his eyes shut, as in one sweeping motion Osteth raised the spear and struck down at him.

“No!” Avida screamed in a tearful rage.

Subsequently, an intense shockwave travelled underground causing all to lose their footing. Even Osteth tripped forward and plunged his spear into the ground, narrowly missing Ugo’s head. Meanwhile jets of water ripped through the cracks, which were spreading across the underground chamber as though it was an egg shell. In moments everyone was knee deep in water, as the lake flooded the cavern.

Stimulated by cold water crashing down on their bodies, Osteth and the three demi-gods regained their minds. There was a collective groan as fragments of Wazenio’s soul ripped out of their bodies. Wazenio jittered uncontrollably for a moment as the ethereal wisps forced themselves back into her facial orifices.

“Father,” Ugo said, as Osteth fell in front of him.

“We have to leave,” Osteth panted.

Meanwhile the entire chamber was falling apart as debris rained from above. Huru sprinted towards the doorway, only to be crushed by falling debris. Waist deep in water, the demi-gods all loped towards the doorway. Avida turned back and grabbed Ugo’s hand, dragging him with her as she ran. As he was pulled through the doorway, Ugo looked back to see his father caught in a struggle with Wazenio.

Although he was larger, Wazenio overpowered him. She swiped Osteth out of her way like a leaf, smashing his body into the wall. Yet Osteth was quick to return to his feet and lock Wazenio in a grapple from behind.

“Go now,”

King Osteth strained his words as he kept Wazenio away from the doorway.

“No!” Ugo shouted.

“We have to help him,” Lee groaned angrily.

“No, this is not our fight anymore,” Osy replied urgently.

“Osy is right,” George said as he pulled on Lee’s shoulder.

Suddenly the doorway was blocked by a barrage of debris. The tunnel began to collapse on itself, compelling Ugo and the demi-gods to sprint their way to the surface.

“You fool. I will survive this, but you will not,” Wazenio panted.

“If you are so confident in your invulnerability, why does your voice tremble so…mother,” Osteth said with a smile.

Maddened, Wazenio shrieked as debris crushed her and her son, sealing them in their watery grave forever.