Brand stumbled as his surroundings shifted placing him several feet away from his Tower of Ruin. He saw Vara’s fire collide against the tower’s edge filling it with holy flame before snuffing it out. Nearly all of the heat converted to mana in that instant charging the tower with more magic than anyone mage could possess and none of it could be used until he stepped inside.
“What the hells were you thinking!?” Astrid exclaimed. “You might not think much of the gods, but they don't need your respect to kill you.”
Astrid sat on the ground panting. It probably took every last once of mana she had to teleport Brand. Both he and Uhtred always had some of her magic mixed with their own just in case they needed to be teleported to safety.
Uhtred was nearby with only his head poking out of his shadow with a scowl on his face. Brand didn't look forward to convincing them both to stay out of his way. Luckily the shadow man beat him to it.
“We can kill her,” Uhtred stated as a matter of fact. “With Brand taking point and my one-shot magic weapons, we can do it.”
Brand and Astrid steered at Uhtred dumbly not believing his words. "Are you on demon root?" Astrid asked while Brand observes his friend with his magic perception just to make sure it was him.
“She uses fire,” Uhtred continued looking towards Brand. “Lots of fire I admit, but it's still just heat. You can convert heat to mana perfectly, so that bitch,” Hatred filled Uhtred voice, more than Brand had ever seen in the striker. "She's just a fat beast core begging to be drained."
“Yeah,” Brand said with surprise. He didn't expect Uhtred of all people to want to face a god.
“You're both crazy,” Astrid said. “How am I the reasonable one right now? Ragnar and Vara the Mother of Flame are completely different monsters.” Astrid pointed towards the burned-out part of the city. “She can do that with every swing, forever! We can't wi-”
Astrid's eye dulled with pleasure as Brand fed her a portion of the mana he'd collected. She then jumped up with wide eyes and twitchy limbs that pulsed with strength. “Let's slay us a godess!” She exclaimed brimming with enough mana to be considered an apex mage three times over.
Brand turned back to the goddess who had released another blast of flame only for it to dissipate faster than the last. “Astrid, sing that spell song that speeds us up.”
“With this much mana, I can slow Vara down too.”
“Good. And don't bother with defenses other than overpowered heat shields. I’m covered and anything you try won’t matter so focus on not getting hit. Uhtred, time your spells to keep her off balance. Don't bother holding back if I'm in the way.”
Brand then stepped forward with his mana openly spiraling around him and growing faster by the second. He expanded the tower of ruin to encompass him and connected with its mana feed to throttle even faster. As his strength soured to new heights, so did his Ironsides spell. He imagined not even the paladin could so much as scratch his skin
At this point, Brand was burning through more than the combined mana of an entire city every few seconds while still increasing in throttle speed over time. He even feared using most spells would destroy the city if not properly contained by his tower. The striker had no control just direction and intent like a curtain goddess heating the air enough to melt mundane metals. Knowing this, he conjured an ax using the spell forms on his body and exploded forward.
Vara stood her ground not bothering to take a defensive stance, but it didn’t matter. The goddess reacted just before the ax blade could draw blood moving as if Brand were in slow motion. She swatted him away with her sword as if shooing a child.
Her lazy counter smashed Band’s weapon into his face and sent him flipping backward several feet before smashing into a mound of stone. Brand shot to his feet immediately with his face covered in blood but there was no wound. It had healed in and instant by the endless mana he was receiving.
“It doesn’t matter how strong you think you are!” Brand bellowed as he charged once more. He poured mana into his weapon crafting the most powerful gravity spell ever attempted knowing not even a god could withstand it.
********
Vara scoffed at the arrogance mortal charging her. Seeing how he didn’t burst into chucks at the swing of her sword meant he was an apex cultivator. He wasn’t the first one to think himself a match for a god, but like the many she faced during Ragnarök, he’d fall with a single well-placed slash. Although, he was thrice as fast as any mortal Vara had ever seen. In fact, he moved nearly as fast as she did closing the distance with speed the goddess though reserved for the lesser divine.
With a silver toothed sneer, the man conjured a second ax and sent it spinning with a throw. Vara simply sidestepped letting the weapon pass her by. Her sword then erupted spilling condensed streams of fire as she swung it intending to burn right through whatever defenses this man had to bear. He ran into the wave of fire with no hesitation banishing it like the unseen barrier circle before.
“Fine then,” Vara thought. “I’ll just cut you down.”
Right before making her move, Vara heard a melody permeate the battlefield then felt herself slow down. It was one of the fey’s accursed spell songs, one she had no defenses against but her own godly might.
Without the speed to perfectly counter, Vara held her sword out to shield herself from the coming ax blade. She thought it would be easy like swatting away a withered branch but this man, this mortal nobody, laughed in delight when Vara’s blade was forced back nearly cutting into her chest.
With her arms trembling from the effort, she sunk into the ground almost to her knees under the incredible weight. It was as if her husband somehow granted this man his divine nature. Why else would the weight of a mountain be pressing down on her now?
“What are yo-” Vara’s question was cut off with a scream when the ax she previously dodged followed the jerking hand gestures of the mortal in front of her.
The blade slammed into her back cutting through her divine armor and flesh like nothing she'd experienced before. Cracks formed around the bloody gash gushing mana and blood. The wound seemed to widen as foreign magics invaded her body eating away at her like parasites. It was more than painful; it was a violation that dulled the goddess’s battle-hardened resolve.
Taking advantage, the silver toothed mortal conjured another ax driving it into her stomach with a sideways slash. The pained screams that followed shattered windows with Vara's unrestrained cries.
In a desperate attempt to defend herself, Vara released her godly wrath in earnest. Flames shot out from her body, but for many onlookers, it looked more like an explosion that would have wiped the city from the face of the world if not for the strange barrier that once again caused her power to vanish.
Vara fell to one knee with flames bursting from her mouth with every labored breath. She looked forward with eyes blazing not believing what she saw. Her attacker was completely unharmed. It seemed all her display of power did was force him back a few feet.
She roared, now taking this battle completely seriously. Mortal or not, this man was a threat that needed to die. And if she wasn't careful, she’d be the one defeated.
*****
Brand charged his axes releasing a massive gravity spell as soon as they met Vara’s sword. He immediately released his magic not having the strength to hold such mighty weapons and reapplied the powerful spells as soon as they were needed. He did this dozens of times keeping peace with the angry goddess.
Every time he parried one of her strikes or forced her back with one of his own, she grew more furious and her elegant movements becoming slightly more wild and unrefined. The goddess also seemed to grow slower as the seconds went by. The endless waves of heat she emitted give Brand all the mana he needed to steadily increase his throttling speed closing the gap in their strength. The only problem was, despite his newly found power and speed, harming Vara was like trying to smelt metal without a flame.
Brand had scored several hits against her, but every time he only left shallow cuts that cracked as his fortress aura tried its best to break her down. Unfortunately, the goddess was made of tougher stuff than her avatar.
Absorbing massive amounts of heat as he spun around Vara’s blade, Brand banished his ax conjuring a spear in its place. The change in weapon caught the goddess off guard long enough for him to stab into her thigh with a powerful thrust that would have easily shattered diamonds. The blade cut through her armor easily, but stopped just beyond her skin drawing very little blood.
Vara knocked the spear aside with her sword charging forward with newly found strength. Brand realized he couldn’t avoid her blade any longer and channeled massive amounts of mana into his Ironsides spell hoping it would save his life but knowing it most likely wouldn't.
Then, to his and Vara’s surprise, Astrid popped into existence right next to the goddess’s side using her own mana now present within Vara thanks to Brand cutting into her.
With an enchanted glove shining with mana, Astrid threw a fist connecting with Vara’s chin releasing a thunderous bang. Then she was gone, displacing the air with a popping sound.
Astrid appeared once again behind the goddess raking her daggers across her back. Vara pivoted, slicing behind her, but Astrid was gone once again. With her back turned, Brand leaped at the goddess hoping to score a lethal blow but she was ready for him.
Flames released from Vara's sword, the thrust spinning her faster than Brand could have predicted. His hands were above his head bringing down an ax that would strike all too late exposing his stomach.
“I’m fucked.”
Brand’s life was saved again as he was teleported towards Astrid just in time to avoid being bisected. Without missing a step, Vara turned and charged until a massive green orb slammed into her drenching the goddess in a liquid that hissed as it melted the stone around her.
Uhtred’s Acid Lance couldn't damage one hair on the goddess’s head, but the spell’s glue-like properties succeeded in slowing her down enough for Brand and Astrid to continue their attack.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Brand threw several more axes one biting into the goddess’s shoulder before trading several more blows. As he did, knives stabbed into Vara's Chest, thighs, arms, and back as Astrid threw several daggers with the added power Brand was feeding her. She teleported the blades just after releasing them, homing in on her mana that Brand injected into Vara's body every time he cut into her flesh. The daggers did very little damage, but it didn't matter. Whether it be 100 cuts or 1000, they would bring her down soon enough.
*****
Unlike his most trusted adviser who sputtered incoherently, Ragnar sat speechlessly. Knowing there would be an attack on the Harvest Festival, he used scrying magic to get a bird's eye view beforehand. He was eager to see if the phantoms would truly deliver on the VIP deaths they promised. To the king's shock, they did so much more.
Phantom Lord, without any support, manage to kill two of Vara's apex magic users after murdering nearly half of her priesthood along with several South Bastion traitors and vellian nobility.
If there was any doubt that the phantoms weren’t apex magic users, it was now gone. Phantom Lord was by far the most powerful cultivator Ragnar had ever seen. No one in his entire army could possibly stand against him and that was before he began fighting on equal terms with a goddess.
Even Ragnar, with his incredible focus, would never dare to challenge the gods. Even a god of wine was deadly if he meant to be and Vara was a full-blown god of war. Yet somehow, the phantoms fought Vara even making it seem like she was on the defensive.
Every few seconds more blades would appear out of nowhere stabbing the goddess in random places. She'd even received a few in her face and neck leaving small cuts as they broke against her skin. Simultaneously, Shadow Phantom appeared releasing devastating attacks that would surely kill any simple magic-user no matter how well defended. Against a goddess, the spells managed to buffet her like a strong wind allowing Phantom Lord to make several strikes against her drawing blood on each one.
“My gods, he’s drawing blood,” Ragnar said to himself in shock.
Never once did he imagine any mortal capable of such a feat. A group of powerful mortals was only meant to battle avatars while a group of avatars could possibly harm a god or turn a battle in their favor. That's how it had been during Ragnarök. That's how it had been in every holy war recorded throughout history. The only explanation was that Phantom was a demi-God himself with an especially powerful nature. Perhaps Phantom Lord’s change in skin color was part of some transformation to increase his strength. If it wasn't, well, Ragnar just didn't know what to think.
*****
Amra smiled as a dagger stabbed into her mother's wrist causing her divine flaming sword to fall. Brand was quick to act, teleporting within arm’s reach of Vara to attack. Amra frowned as the flaming sword reappeared in the goddess’s hands clanging against Brand’s axes as she defended herself.
The force of the weapons colliding sent a ripple through the air that the shadow goddess could feel even from atop the building she sat on. It's sent cracks throughout the structure making her wonder if she'd have to find another seat to witness her mother struggle against mortals.
Amra couldn't help but laugh to herself. She had no illusions about how much stronger her mother was than her, but to be losing against mortals was just embarrassing. Although, Amra doubted she could do any better against The Phantoms, especially against Brand.
Whatever ward he was using to contain Vara’s divine flame was in a class of its own. Amra, like most gods, didn't know much mage craft, but she knew no fire shield could hold up against such heat. If only he wasn't faithless and a bit greedier, she’d grab him up immediately making him a Shadow Bandit.
For now, Amra would stay hidden thanks in part to her divine nature of secrecy that the strikers couldn't see through. For now, she'd continue as Uhtred’s girlfriend enjoying her front-row seat to history being made.
*****
The doors to the fairy court burst open with a cold wind spreading a thin layer of frost over everything it touched. A moment later, the chilling wind coalesced into a white-haired young woman draped in matching furs. As she stepped to the side, her footprints left shards of ice jetting from the ground letting everyone know the North Wind had arrived.
A moment later, massive elephant-sized animals slowly entered behind her. Gigantic lions, foxes, bears, panthers, and more spread out across the room growling at nearby elves as they passed. A man entered with them followed by an entourage just as strange as he was.
The leader of this group was a massive man who towered over the elves. His shoulders were broad, fingers clawed, and canines like that of a beast. Whenever he blinked, the pupils of his eyes shifted from the slit shape of a cat to the dark circles of a wolf. His most eye-catching feature was his missing right arm cut from the top of his shoulder. This man was not a man at all. He was the god simply known as The Wild Hunt and he wore a rare smile that couldn't seem to leave his face.
Following behind the hunter were his avatars. In fact, every beast in his pack was an avatar. Some remained as beast kin while others shifted becoming massive monsters.
More beast kin gods entered as the Northwind took her place at her husband's side spreading ice as she moved. Behind her was a mass of black and red in the shape of a man. His sharp teeth still chewed on the remains of some unfortunate child who lost their way in the forest. But Uhor only devoured bad children, they tasted better.
After the aberration of cruelty came a naked green-skinned goddess of love. Next to her was one of archery, birds, and husbandry. They all kept coming until the elven court was filled to the brim with divine guests.
“Vili, can you for once not bring your entire pack with you?” Oberon asked using The Wild Hunt’s given name.
“I don’t go by that name anymore,” Vili replied.
“Well choose another because I’m not calling you The Wild Hunt. It's too long.”
“That’s not important right now,” Vili laughed. “Please tell me you have eyes in South Bastion.”
“We do,” Titania replied. “We have secret druids watching the battle as we speak.”
“So do I,” Vili said and was echoed by many gods present. “My sister-in-law is fighting that human of yours. Why didn’t you tell me he was so powerful? Whatever mage craft he uses could turn the tide of the coming war with the Aesir.”
“About that,” Oberon said consciously.
After Oberon explained that Brand was no longer in his employ, Vili stomped forward growing larger with each step and a burning sensation where his arm should be. By the time he stood at the bottom of the fairies throne, he was no longer a man. The god was now a massive one-armed bear that loomed over the throne.
“Get. Him. Back. Here. Now.” Vili growled slowly making every work a threat.
Thorny vines shot from the wooden floors a clear threat from Titania. “Be careful now Vili,” the goddess whispered. “Your Aesir is showing. Besides, there is no need to worry. If Brand survives this fight he plans on getting in contact with Hel. One way or another, he’s with us.”
*******
Hel playfully bounced her son on one knee while staring into a mirror connected to one of her more ambitious necromancers. Through this man, girl, the goddess really didn’t know or care, she could see important happenings in the words of the living. Alfhiem was especially interesting today.
While Colborn shouted with excitement at the flashing lights and violence, Hel gently ran her fingers through his flaming head of blue fire recognizing someone she hadn't seen in four years.
“I wonder which one of your daddies that is?” Hel thought. “Bitarr, or whoever he was wearing.”
Either way, the battle she saw was amazing to say the least. Vara had slain hundreds of thousands of her undead army during Ragnarök but now had to fight with so much effort against a group of mortals, and Hel was sure the dark-skinned one was mortal.
The only thing special about that man was his skin color which had been passed onto a lesser degree to their son. The magics he used now were also without a doubt mortal. Hel just had no idea what magic could possibly combat a god she herself could only battle to a draw a millennia ago.
******
Tanya had to fight down the urge to run into a battle she knew was far above her station. The fact that Bitarr had to save her and Asta from Vara’s flame was evidence enough. But standing by when she finally found Brand after four long years was painful. But what could she do; He was facing a god.
If Tanya were human, she might be helpful. Vara’s flame only burned her chosen race if she wished it. That’s how Garland survived without sustaining so much as a sunburn. Every human in the path of the flame was unharmed most even having their wounds healed.
“Tanya, is that really him?” Asta asked. “This could be one of Bitarr’s tricks.”
“I’m floating right here,” Bitarr said.
It had reverted back to a formless cloud now that the sun had set and had yet to find a suitable fear to become. Most of the city had evacuated from its center so there weren’t that many options.
“That’s really him going blow for blow with Vara." Bitarr continued. "I never thought your boy’s mage craft could be so overpowered. I haven’t been using that body right at all.”
Tanya ignored Bitarr’s rambling only giving the faraway battle her attention. She refused to miss a single moment even though her eyes could barely keep up with fighting in the heart of her city.
******
Hugi lept from mind to mind trying to find a good vantage point for the battle. Everyone watching now seemed to be mentally shielded or blessed. Soon, the god would need to take physical form; something he didn’t like doing outside of his home.
Hugi finally found someone suitable. He was a necromancer probably being Hel’s eyes on the battlefield. As family, her blessing wouldn’t fend him off as long as he didn’t try anything malicious.
Hugi tied a metal thread around the necromancer’s mind connecting it to himself before leaving to find a dreamer. He found one within seconds jumping into an old woman sleeping on the edge of the city.
She was dreaming of spending time with her children in a wooden cottage. Hugi silently stepped over the happy moment and opened the only door leading outside. Just outside was nothing but an endless sky with no ground to be seen. Hugi stepped off the edge falling along with a jötunn mage who dreamed of flying.
Hugi groaned. He could feel himself heading in the wrong direction. It felt as if he was falling towards Vanaheim so he looked for an exit.
Just by trying to Hugi splashed into an ocean that appeared out of nowhere and swam to a nearby chore. It was filled with young dreamers that were unaware that they shared the same mindscape.
He continued through a forest exiting to a busy city street then to the surface of an unknown moon. After passing through the dreams in nearly all the realms, Hugi finally found himself in Jötunheimr walking through the sleeping mind of his father.
Hugi manifested standing on his father’s chest like some kind of child’s toy. He took a moment to stretch his wiry body having been without one for some time then stomped as hard as he could sending a shudder through the mountainous castle they were in.
“Wake up Utgard!”
Utgard only yawned waking a nearby village and forcing Hugi to strike him once more.
“Did an acorn drop on my head,” Utgard said sleepily.
“Stop messing around and wake up. You’ll want to see this.”
Hugi jumped onto Utgard’s head placing a hand to his forehead. He fed the mental thread still attached to the necromancer back in Alfhiem into his father’s mind letting him witness the battle as if he were there.
“Who are the gods fighting Vara?” Utgard asked after watching for some time.
“I don’t think they’re gods,” Hugi replied. “From what I could tell, their minds are mortal.”
“It's about time!” Utgard laughed. “I always thought magic had more potential than a few party tricks. We should invite those kids over and-”
Utgard sat up suddenly with excitement sending Hugi falling. From what he saw the battle was only just getting started and neither Vara nor this silver tooth mortal looked to be slowing down.
******
“You know I started thinking there may be something wrong with me for not having faith in the gods! But now that I see how fucking weak you are, maybe I’m the only one with his head on straight!”
Brand poured more mana into his gravity spell forcing Vara to her knees. He didn’t know how heavy his weapons were, but the ground continued to sink downwards after Vara rooted herself to the area. The goddess could do nothing but fight with all her strength to keep blades from cutting into her.
She held onto the ax’s shafts as they press down, her flaming sword amongst the rubble at her feet. There was simply no time to reach for it. Brand loomed over her making sure the goddess could do nothing but struggle in vain. This fight was over, it was only a matter of time.
“What are you doing!” Brand shouted as the mana around Vara began moving around her faster. It was almost as if she was-. “You bitch! Only mortals throttle their mana!”
Vara began pushing back growing stronger faster than Brand could increase his gravity spell. Worse than Vara’s increasing strength was her speed. Brand was barely able to keep up with her now. If she grew faster, he’d be killed in no time so he took a deep breath releasing a torrent of red energy from his mouth while his teeth shone offering even more power.
“Spiral Fortress!”
Condensed fortress magic slammed into the goddess spreading bloody cracks across her face and body, but she never relented. Vara just shut her eyes and continued to throttle even as Astrid made a pincushion of her back and Uhtred rained dozens of spells on her. They all caused her pain, but did nothing to stop her from gradually growing stronger.
Seeing the inevitable, Brand ceased his breath attack and channeled all the mana he could into his Ironsides. He wasn't sure he could survive what he was about to attempt. This spell was one he never used due to his minuscule mana pool. That wasn't a problem at the moment, but he still wanted to make sure not to rip his body to pieces in the process.
“Striker’s Onslaught!”