Chapter 1

The gods were as cruel and petty as they were powerful.

They seemed to delight in pointing out the flaws in humans. To hold them to standards that were near impossible to reach and cast them aside without guilt when they inevitably failed. No where was this more clear than in the case of Maiden Emma. A young paladin of the goddess Mira.

Mira was the goddess of maidens and purity. And her paladins reflected that. All were young virgin women and followed her edicts, and were given power for it. Power to strike down wickedness and perversion wherever it came up.

Maiden Emma was the greatest of these women. She could strike down a man without even touching him and her beauty won the hearts of the people around her.

One day, Maiden Emma was called upon by her goddess to travel to a village that had been overrun with bandits. Maiden Emma had to go at once, demanded the goddess, as the men there had sullied a local temple and were insulting her. Of course Maiden Emma rode out to face them, armed with her power and her determination.

However, once she arrived she quickly learned that a single paladin, even one as favored as her, was no match for a force of nearly thirty fighting men.

She fought bravely, taking down bandit after bandit, but even with the help of her power and her sword she was eventually overwhelmed. To surrender one's life as a maiden was proper of a paladin Mira when captured, but she refused to be beaten. Surely, her goddess would understand that she just wanted to live, no matter the cost. Her famous beauty helped her then. By the time the paladins of law arrived, as they had also been chasing the bandits, she was barely alive and was now just Emma.

She went back to the temple of her goddess, to pray and recover, but her way was blocked by the very sisters that she had once led. It mattered little to her goddess how she had lost her chastity, or that it was taken from her, only that she had lost it. And was therefore no better than any other woman that had broken their vows.

Emma was devastated. The only family she had ever known now refused to even look at her and the goddess she devoted her life to now thought she was no more than a common whore. She was all but forced out of the city, as they were strongly tied to the temple and couldn't have her around to tarnish their image. She thought fleetingly of ending her life but shook it off just as quickly. She had refused to be broken by those men and would not be broken by this.

So she traveled north. Into the mountains far beyond the lands of her old gods and into the lands of new ones. The All Mother and the all creator (bit pompous but who was she to judge). She took work as a merchant's guard, difficult work to get as it was uncommon in this area for women to be fighter's, and traveled widely for many years. She remained alone for most of this time, as the men in these lands were more strict then the ones she knew and did not want a wife that not only could fight but had also been ‘spoiled’ like she was.

She did not think that she had been however, and would not let it hold her back. She eventually found a man that thought the same. He was a quiet man from a small village even farther north. He was with a small group that came down to the city (really just a slightly bigger village) to stock up on grains and hay to see them through winter. She saw him from afar and liked the gentle way he led the horses that pulled his cart and the quiet way that he spoke with the various children that were running around, excited for their first trip to the city.

She made her way over as his group was leaving and tried to convince him (very skillfully and deftly) that his group of a dozen strong farming men needed a guard to protect his hay from bandits.

He said that they had spent their little gold on supplies and would not be able to afford such a strong and capable guard. She assured them that she was heading that way anyways, though there was nothing past their village that she knew of, and it would make sense to travel together. He looked at her in a way that made her think that he knew more about her then she had said. And frankly told her so a second later.

“The only southerners that come up north are traders and their guards and the only ones that come to our villages are deserters from the king's army trying to get away. We don't want the trouble of having the king's guard marching through our town.” He spoke calmly and without threat and she met his gaze evenly.

“I'm not running from the king and if I was, Martin,” the trader that had hired her, “would have given me up for the reward weeks ago.” Martin cared about money and money alone, he would have likely sold his own mother if he could have got a gold piece for her.

The man thought for a moment and nodded. He, as well as everyone else, knew Martin and knew to avoid his stall unless he had something that you couldn't live without. And to be prepared to pay double for it if you couldn't. “Then let's go. We need to be back before nightfall. My name is Tobius by the way”

They reached the village after night had set. The farmers' wives came and strutted around them, clucking about the hour and the quality of the products they had procured. She found lodging in a local inn that was more of a storage room for the village then an inn but it would do.

She found plenty of work among the farms as they prepared for winter. Chopping and stacking wood, mending fences and rethatching roofs. She was helping farmer Dan muck stalls when Tobius approached her and asked. “I thought you said you were just passing through.” She clarified that she had never said that and it was never mentioned again.

After that talk with Tobius the villagers seemed to accept her more. They didn't have an official leader of the village but Tobius often handled things whenever they got into groups or needed to deal with large issues. In such a small town there was often little to do but work and gossip and the villagers enjoyed doing them both. She quickly found out that Tobius was widowed, his wife dying during childbirth, and that he lived alone in the house he had built for them.

Emma thought it was a tragedy that such a nice man would be alone like that and set about fixing it. She would go over to help him with his farm and more often than not would stay long after the work is done. She found her guess of his character to be even better then she had thought as Tobius was a strong and quiet man of honor. A man that knew not to push her but still to hold her when the memories became too much for her to hold alone. A man that had endless patience for her and knew to wait for her to come to him. And so she did.

They were married the following spring and Emma was soon with child. Months passed and despite an old northern superstition of southern women being unable to birth in the cold weather, they were blessed with a healthy baby boy.

A few years passed and Emma had her second child, a beautiful girl, and Tobius couldn't have been happier.

Unfortunately for them, their story doesn't end there. For the gods are as cruel and petty as they are powerful and none so much as the God of fate. And he had plans. Not for the parents no, but for the young boy that would change everything.

Chapter 2

They walked away from the burning village.

A man that was too tall. A small girl held in his arms. And a young boy with dark eyes.

The too tall man easily plowed a path through the snow and held tight the girl that was quietly sobbing into his chest. The man stopped. The boy wasn't following.

He stood in the snow, staring at the village, the only place he had ever known, as it burned. He didn't shiver. The heat from his anger kept him warm.

The too tall man placed a hard hand on his shoulder and warmth seemed to seep into the boy from it. "She didn't sacrifice herself so that you would be caught frozen." His voice was quiet and calm but as unyielding as steel.

"Why would they do this to us? What did we do to deserve this?" The boy nearly spit the words out.

"You had more than they. And to an animal that is reason enough."

"They were humans not animals."

"Disrespectful boy! You would say that your father was the same as those men? Your mother?"

"No! My parents would never-"

"Then listen well,boy. There are humans and there are beasts. Your father who died protecting the village and your mother who died so you may escape, they are people, humans. But humans can fall. It is what makes them human. Those creatures out there, that use their strength to kill and capture those who have none. Who steal and brawl over slivers of gold. Who lust and torture to satisfy dark desires. Those are no longer men. Those are animals."

The man looked at the village with a look of hatred somehow even stronger than the child's. "You've lived on the borderlands your whole life, boy. Tell me, what do men do when there is an animal hunting in your village."

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Confusion then understanding danced across the boy's face. "The men come together and kill it." He started toward the village with hard eyes only for the strong hand on his shoulder to spin him and push him back toward the forest.

"Killing beasts is hard work my boy. These ones in particular. Not the work of a child." The man looked down at him with an eager expression, as if waiting for something. "It's man's work."

"I'm not a child." Said the boy, stomping along. "I will kill them. I'll get strong and I'll become a man. I'll be the greatest man that has ever lived! Then I'll hunt every last animal down till there is none." He glanced at the girl held in the giant's arm. "So that this can't happen again."

The man's smile was wide with pride and it was hard to keep the joy from his voice as he asked. "And how will you manage that? You have nothing. Only the clothes on your back and a child to drag you down. Once we reach the city don't expect any more help from me. Your mother and I had a deal, that's all."

The boy didn't disappoint. He spun to face the man and spoke with such ferocity that he was almost shouting. "So what!? You think we need you to help us?! My father raised me to stand up for myself and my family. I'll figure it out alone! I'll get an apprenticeship with the smith in the city. He came through town once and said I had the shoulders for it. I'll get him to hire me or I'll go someplace else. I'll take care of her AND I'll get strong. I'll work and I'll grow and one day I'll hunt every one of those beasts until none of them dare to attack anyone again!" The boy stood gasping, nearly foaming at the mouth over his outburst and the man stood with fire dancing in his eyes.

"Yes." The man spoke easily. "I see it now. You could very well be the greatest man to ever live." The boy thinking he was being made fun of stepped toward the man threateningly.

The man held out a hand in peace. "Our interests align in this way boy. I want the beasts purged as much as you, perhaps even more so."

The boy deflated as his sudden anger drained away. "Why? Who even are you? Why did our mom send us with you? And why didn't you help in the village?"

"Why? Because beasts like that are nothing more than failures of men that have been led astray by gods and that sickens me beyond reason. As to why your mother sent me with you and why I didn't help? That answer is simple. I did. Your father and the men in the village had the conviction to to hold off the beasts and i gave them the strength to do so. The women had the knowledge to take their children and flee into the wilds. I gave them the fortitude to survive until the king's guard arrives.

Your mother and I had a…special relationship. Your mother was once a powerful person under the boot of a false god, but her power was taken from her years before you were born. She never let it stop her however. I have watched her for a long time, she clawed herself from the arms of the abyss and never surrendered again. She was aware of my presence the way that one knows when they are watched from the shadows.

And when the beasts came and some of the village women were captured she couldn't run with you. Couldn't let them suffer as she had. It was then that she knew me and called to me. She became my paladin, my sole worshiper. And swore to kill as many of the beasts as she could. In return I would take you to the city."

They walked in silence for a while as the boy thought of the man's answers. They had entered into the forest surrounding the town and were following a narrow game trail. The man in front and him behind. The boy realized something. "You never said who you are."

"Smart boy," praised the man. "I didn't."

The boy suddenly had a sick feeling. "Are you a demon?" He had heard of those from Edmond, the traveling priest that came through town every month, evil and powerful beings that made contracts for people's souls.

The man laughed loudly, causing the sleeping girl in his arms to stir. The sound was strange given the night he had. "What is a demon but a weak beastly God? What is a god but a lawful demon? Both sell power for souls and both leach off the faithful." He laughed again as if what he had said was funny.

The boy tripped over his own feet as the thought came into his mind. "You're a god?!"

"Smart smart boy. That I am. And that I am not. Not like the gods you know. I am a different sort, one that both exists and does not. Older and more powerful yet also much much weaker."

"That doesn't make sense. You either are or you're not. How can you be powerful and weak at the same time?"

"It's a matter of perspective, boy. In the eyes of the grand church's gods I am weak indeed. And yet in the eyes of your mother and the people in your village I am the most powerful being in existence."

"That still doesn't make sense. How can you be that powerful and still let everyone die?"

"They died because they were out manned, undertrained and ill equipped." The boy stopped to argue but the man turned and a firm hand landed again on his shoulder. "The only way to have saved your village would have been to wipe out the beasts completely. And that is something that I cannot do. Other gods exist outside of the mortal world. They feed off of their followers' souls and use that power to change the world around them. I am different. I take no soul. I exist only within the world. Specifically," A long finger poked into the boy's chest, above his heart. " within you."

The man stood to his full height and spread his muscled arm, the other one holding the girl, wide. "Behold boy, the God of Man."

Despite his size the man didn't look very impressive. He didn't glow or float or anything magical. If anything he looked like a common man that you might see anywhere, if quite a bit taller and broader. "How could you not kill those guys if you're a god? Is it because they're also people?"

Anger flashed across the man's face."I told you, boy! Those men out there are nothing more than beasts. Animals! Unworthy of anything except death. I didn't kill them because it would only create more of them." The boy's confusion must have been obvious because the man continued in a calmer voice. "Humans are uniquely powerful. They have that power because they have the will to fight for themselves. Humans have spread across this land not despite the dangers, but because of them. A dwarf will starve to death debating with his clan on if they should sell gems for food. An elf will dance away the centuries without noticing the forest burn around them. Man is the only creature that lives under the burden of his own mortality and yet does not let it stop him.

Instead he uses it to push himself to greater heights. To conquer that which cant be conquered. To build things that will outlive them by centuries and they can do it all without divine blessing or demonic power. It's what makes them such popular targets for those parasites that call themselves gods. Those sirens call to the beast in men and use their stolen power to make men greedy, violent addicts that sell the souls of their own people to fuel the gods' ambition.`

“And you're different because you don't have ambition? You just said you wanted to wipe out those you called animals”

“The gods your people worship take your power and use it to wage pointless war against each other in their realities. They are separate from you and use you as tools. I am different because I came from you. I only exist with the context of humanity. That is why I want the animals dead. I want you to be at your best. If you are all wiped out then I too shall fade. I am the very soul of man made manifest and I will not allow my people to be used any longer.”

After such an impassioned speech the boy was silent and they walked on, deeper into the woods. The light of the burning village fading behind them.

The boy turned the conversation over in his mind trying to wrap his head around the information that went against nearly everything that he had been taught growing up.

He was walking in the woods with a god. A God on earth, which wasn't supposed to be possible after the All Creator sealed the gods away. His mother knew this God and never told him, or the fact that his mother became his paladin and turned her back on the Holy Mother. That meant that her soul wouldn't go to the holy land and that he would never see her again even after he died. That thought hit him particularly hard as the church taught that death wasn't the end for those that walked with the light. But if the man wasn't lying, and the boy was strangely certain that he wasn't. Then there was no holy land, and he never would have seen her again anyways. The church said that after death unclaimed souls became energy that was used when new souls were formed. The boy cheered up at that. It sounded better than being used by a false god to fight a war anyways.

He was ripped away from his musings as he tripped over a root in the darkness. His anger came back in a massive surge. He shouldn't be here. He should be home in bed getting rest because his father had promised to teach him how to ride Old Farmer Dan's horse once he got big enough and he finally did so only last week. Instead he was out in the cold woods in the dark. He wanted to go home. But there was no home, not anymore. It was destroyed, taken by those…animals.

He clenched his fists until they shook and barked out to the man. “Hey! You said you gave my mother power to face those guys, right?”

The man turned back, looking interested. “In a way I did. I made her know who she was, what she could do. I firmed her grip and settled her nerves. She would have done it anyway but I gave her the power to go beyond her limits.”

“So you gave her power. Give it to me too.”

The man's smile grew wide. “You want me to give you my power? That would make me the same as the others. All I do is enhance what is already there. I take the human spirit and supercharge it. I will not do it for nothing though and I can not imagine what you could give me. Your mother, at least at the end, swore to my cause.” If the boy had been older or wiser he likely would have seen the path that the man was leading him down. Would have seen the smile and the knowing eyes. But he was a boy. A boy that had lost nearly everything he knew and wanted to hurt those responsible.

The boy dropped to his knees and touched his forehead to the dirt. He tried to remember the oaths that the church taught him for swearing one's soul. “I solemnly pledge my soul to your will. Your cause shall be my guide. Your duty shall be my purpose. My power shall be you-”

The boy was cut off by a firm hand patting his head. “Now now,” Said the man, “I will have none of that.” Despite his words the man's grin nearly split his head and his eyes were alight with a strange glow. “Did I not tell you that I take no soul? That I give no power?”

“You do! Otherwise mother wouldn't have sworn to you. To be your paladin-” The boy jumped to his feet. “That's it! Make me your paladin. I will serve. I swear it.”

The man looked down on the young man before him. “You would serve a god with no followers? A god that you will be mocked for if any even believe that he exists? A god that wouldn't even save his only paladin? A god that will give you nothing your whole life and upon your death will cast you into the ether without a care?”

“Like you said, the village was always doomed. We could have never defended against a group like that. You were the only god that even showed up. No other god came to help, despite the offerings and oaths we had given. Despite what you say you do give power. You gave my mother the power to give everything so we could be safe.

I think I get it now. You only give help to those that are willing to fight without it. And so I will. I will train and grow, I'll get stronger and learn how to fight and when the time comes,” the boy stuck out his hand, “you will point me at the enemies of man and I will end them. Deal?”

The god took his hand without hesitation. “Well then, young master paladin, I am eager to see what kind of man you become.”

As they walked on the boy took the lead. Holding branches and making sure they stayed moving toward the city. He didn't question the sudden weight of his sister in his arms, why he could suddenly see better in the blackness of night nor why he no longer felt the cold. He simply marched on.