“The gods are awake,” Devryn repeated, his tone ladled with disbelief.

“That’s right, boy,” Maren replied. “Deep down, you know what I’ve told you is true. Stop being so thick headed and come to terms with it.”

Devryn was silent. He certainly didn’t believe Maren’s story just yet, but he had to admit that it was quite plausible. It was the only thing that explained her powers.

“Come on, boy,” Maren prodded. “Tell me you’re with me.”

Devryn ran a hand through his hair. “This is a lot for me to process right now, okay?”

“Oh, spare me the trash,” Maren complained aloud. “I can’t believe that you’re still unwilling to change your beliefs; even in the face of rock solid evidence.”

Devryn didn’t take the old woman’s criticism. “Hey, cut me some slack. This whole thing is still a bit confusing. You said the gods are the reason behind your abilities, but none of them could do what you do. They could control the elements but they weren’t psychic.”

Maren smiled. “Ah, nice observation. When I said I got my power from the gods, I wasn’t talking about any of the gods that you know of.”

Devryn frowned. “There’s more than one Pantheon?”

“Of course not,” Maren replied. “There can only be one Pantheon, but it’s members are not necessarily limited to just four.”

“I don’t understand,” Devryn said. “Are you saying the Pantheon can expand?”

Maren nodded in affirmation. “That’s why I had to tell you about the Earth’s role first; it creates whatever it wishes. As of this moment, there are no longer four gods in the Pantheon. Many others have recently been born.”

“What?” Devryn said. “That can’t be.”

Maren chuckled. “Of course it can. The Earth does as it pleases, always remember that.”

Devryn bowed his head. “How am I even considering this?” he muttered. “The gods can’t be real.”

“The gods are real, Devryn,” Maren said. “They do exist. They’ve always existed.”

Devryn sighed. “Alright,” he admitted. “I think I’m beginning to buy what you’re saying.”

“That’s good, boy,” Maren said. “That’s very good.”

Devryn cut her off before she could say more. “But I’m still in the dark here. How many new gods were born? Which one of them granted you your abilities? And why did you have to use them on me? I mean, they’re other people in this caravan, why did you single me out?”

Maren frowned. “You younger ones are always so impatient,” she muttered. Then, she took a deep breath. “Anyway, I’ll start with your first question. I don’t really know how many new gods the Earth birthed, but I’m quite sure they exceed the numbers of the original Pantheon.”

Devryn rubbed his chin. “So, you’re saying that we’ve got at least nine gods now?”

“Yes, boy,” Maren answered. “And mind you, these new gods are much different from the original Pantheon. They may be divine, but not all of them share the same ideologies with the first four. Not all of them care about us humans.”

“How do you know this?” Devryn asked.

Maren smiled. “This brings us to your second question, boy. I know about these recent events because my patron god tells me of it. Though he is still quite young, he can feel the intentions of his newly birthed siblings.”

“Does this patron god of yours have a name?” Devryn asked.

“His name is Cerebrus,” Maren answered. “God of the Mind.”

****

Ryker kept his eyes peeled as he walked through the trees, and onto the travelling path. Gregor walked behind him silently. So far, they hadn’t come across anyone.

“It’s all clear,” Ryker said aloud.

Gregor nodded. “Yeah, it is. Whoever Aria saw here is probably long gone by now.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Ryker said. “And she was probably overreacting; she gets like that sometimes.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Gregor shrugged, “I guess we’re heading back to camp then.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Ryker said as he walked back into the trees.

“Um, Ryker?” Gregor called. “Can I ask you something?”

“What’s that?” Ryker asked.

“It’s about your sister,” Gregor replied slowly. “I dunno, do you think—”

Ryker cut Gregor off before he could complete his statement. “Quiet,” he hissed. He took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, “Do you smell that?”

Gregor looked around in confusion. “Smell what?”

Ryker took another deep breath just to confirm. “I smell smoke, don’t you?”

Gregor sniffed the air for a few seconds. “Yeah, you’re right,” he finally said. “That’s definitely smoke.”

Ryker frowned. The smoke couldn’t have come from camp; the caravan was too far away from where they stood. He turned to Gregor and whispered, “There’s got to be someone in the trees.”

Gregor had a worried look on his face. “Do you think it’s him? The guy Aria talked about?”

Ryker shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be. It could also be someone else.”

“Or it could be a whole bunch of people,” Gregor added.

Ryker grit his teeth and cursed himself for not bringing his sword with him; he’d been so sure that they wouldn’t run into anyone.

“Could be a whole bunch,” he repeated. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

“You’re saying we should check this out?” Gregor asked, the fear in his voice evident.

Ryker nodded. “Come on. We’ll move as quietly as we can. Whoever we find may not even be hostile.”

Gregor grimaced. “If you say so.”

“Good man,” Ryker said with a smile. He turned sideways and began leading the way through the trees, relying on his sense of smell to guide him to the source of the smoke.

They’d walked for only two minutes when Gregor grabbed his arm and whispered, “Hold on. I see someone ahead.”

Ryker froze in his tracks. Indeed, there was a figure sitting a few feet ahead with their back turned towards him. Smoke wafted upwards from a small fire close to the seated figure.

It took a few seconds for Ryker to see that the person ahead of him was a girl. The green dress she wore blended with the trees and grass.

“That’s definitely not what Aria ran into,” Gregor said.

Ryker hushed him. “Shh, keep it down. We can’t assume it’s safe just because it’s a girl.” He slowly continued his walk forward and gestured for Gregor to do the same.

The girl ahead of them seemed to sense their presence, even though they’d been stealthy. She turned around hastily and got to her feet. “Who are you?” she asked, taking a couple of steps backwards.

Ryker took the girl in. She had a fierce look on her face.

“I’m sorry we snuck up on you,” Ryker said. “We’re not thieves or anything like that.” He paused for a second. “We’re with a caravan that’s heading to Baynir. We smelled smoke a few minutes back and decided to come check out its source.”

“That’s right,” Gregor added. “We’re sorry if we startled you. We’ll be on our way now, if that’s okay.”

The girl remained silent for a few seconds. “Hold on,” she finally said, “You said you’re heading to Baynir?”

Ryker nodded curtly. “Yeah, that’s right.”

The girl seemed hesitant. “Do you think I could travel with your caravan?”

Ryker offered a warm smile. “Of course, you’re free to join us.” He paused for a moment. “What’s your name?”

The girl offered a weak smile. “My name’s Gwyneth.”

****

“Cerebrus.”

Devryn said the name with a certain distaste. “And I thought the other four had horrible names.”

“Silence, boy,” Maren hissed. “Don’t make light of things greater than you.”

Devryn made a face. “So this Cerebrus is the reason why you can break into my mind?”

“Yes, he is,” Maren answered.

Devryn scoffed. “Point taken.”

Maren smiled. “The young god is also the reason why I’m on this trip.”

“I see,” Devryn said. “I was wondering why an old woman like you would want to undertake such a long and stressful journey. I guess I’ve finally gotten my answer.”

Maren snapped her fingers. “Be serious, boy. We’ve gotten to the most important part of our conversation.”

Devryn nodded. “Okay, old woman. I’m listening.”

Maren narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you think it’s strange that Cerebrus would grant me his power, seeing that the same course of action almost left the world in ruins a thousand years ago?”

Devryn paused for a few seconds. “Um, I guess it doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”

Maren suddenly grabbed Devryn’s hand. “It’s because he has no choice! There is danger approaching and he needs me to do something about it before it’s too late!”

Devryn was a bit rattled by the old woman’s sudden outburst. Slowly, he withdrew his hand from the old woman’s grasp. “Calm down, Maren. What danger are you talking about?”

“Remember what I said about the new gods?” Maren asked. “Not all of them are like the old Pantheon. Not all of them have good intentions towards us humans. In fact, Cerebrus has confirmed that a sibling of his is up to something nefarious.”

“Okay, okay,” Devryn said. “There’s a rogue god trying to harm us; I’ve got that noted. But how are you sure that your Cerebrus isn’t in league with this rogue one?”

Maren waved her finger in the air. “It doesn’t work that way, Devryn. A god can only connect with a mortal that they truly resonate with. Cerebrus and I are similar at our core. If he had chaos within his essence, then he certainly wouldn’t have been able to connect with me.”

Devryn sighed. “Okay, I’ve heard you. So why did he send you on the road? What exactly does he want you to do?”

“He wants me to meet someone,” Maren answered. “Cerebrus isn’t the only god who knows of the danger we may soon be facing. Some of the other gods—old and new—are also aware, and they’re trying to do something about it. Just as I was chosen, the other gods have chosen their Champions as well. Cerebrus wants me to meet with one of these Champions.”

Devryn paused for a moment. “Apart from the rogue one, would it be safe to assume that the rest of the new gods are on the side of humanity?”

Maren shook her head slowly. “Though he isn’t sure yet, Cerebrus believes that some of the others may also be against us. And that’s why my mission is of the utmost importance. The god whose Champion I’m supposed to meet is wholly in support of humanity. Cerebrus wants me to ally with this Champion as soon as possible.”

Devryn nodded. “Makes sense, I guess,” he muttered. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Alright, which Champion are you meeting up with?’

“I’m meeting with the Champion of the newly birthed Chronos,” Maren said, “The god of Time.”