‘The trouble with gods is they’re all trying to be individuals,’ the God of War said, ‘And individuals don’t make great armies.’

‘If you squint your eyes you almost look like an army though,’ Sparrow said.

The pair of them stood in front of four columns of gods which were gathered in the centre of the arena, sand shifting under nervous feet. Guitars and racquets slung on the backs of the gods of music and sport. The god of metalwork hefted a giant hammer above her head.

‘March scum!’ the God of War shouted.

The gods moved towards the portal eagerly. The columns disintegrated into a mass of individuals pushing to get through the small portal at the centre of the arena. The feathered God of Chickens scratched the Dog of Archers in the face. The God of Annoying Sounds let out a variety of excited howls that got her bashed over the head. It was chaos… but eventually, all the gods were through.

Sparrow started for the portal, but felt the God of War’s meaty hand pressed against his chest, Sparrow looked up at the broad-chested, bearded man whose lips moved into a zen-like smile.

‘Many think that war is only about destruction.’ He said, ‘But those who have experienced it in the way of a soldier would agree that that is not true. War binds u. Brings us together in a way that little else can. Through the communion of sacrifice and hardship do you find your true brothers and sisters in this universe. That is why so many soldiers cannot return to ordinary life. They’re not just changed by the horror and survival of war - they crave it.’

He looked down at Sparrow, ‘Despite what I said back there, I didn’t join to fight the horde. I joined to get closer to you. We are about to become brothers in blood Sparrow, I will show you what I know of strategy and the art of war. But… it will not come without a price.

The god gestured to the sky which flickered with the light of Teo Aeo’s twin suns and the million stars that lay beyond them, ‘Like all proud creatures I wish to expand my influence across the stars. You see that one?’

The god pointed towards a cluster of stars shaped like an elephant.

‘That’s Taurus?’

‘Yeah, the fifth star on its leg has an inhabited planet on it full of life not so different from us. Should we win this war Sparrow I would like for you and I to visit there and live for a while as you do, travelling the roads, having adventures, perhaps even a little begging.’

Sparrow bit his tongue as the god continued.

‘And once I’ve got the planet all figured out I’m going to start exerting my influence, growing followers and worshippers.’

‘Won’t they have a God of War there already?’

‘They do… for now.’ He grinned, ‘But that is all in our futures… we must win the battle for Teo Aeo first.’

He stepped through the portal and Sparrow followed.

The blue light rippled around them, and their feet stepped into knee-deep mud. A musky scent filled Sparrow’s nose as he breathed deep.

There was a nose lying on the ground in front of him. Little drops of blood were starting to clot on the end of it. They reflected the flames that loomed in the darkness.

‘What’s going wrong here Sparrow?’ The God of War said.

‘We’re getting slaughtered.’

‘Yes… but how?’

The god touched his head and a glowing string of light followed his finger. The god touched Sparrow’s head and the string of light connected their neurons.

A bolt of electricity the shape of bloodlust exploded through Sparrow’s mind… but beneath it was a more subtle explosion. Tactics. Figures. Formations. Win-loss percentages read from dusty scrolls.

Sparrow pointed at a little cluster of bow-wielding gods that had clustered around the God of Archery.

‘The horde are cutting them to pieces. They’re standing at the base of a hill so the horde’s beasts are able to run down at them making it hard for them to accurately take them out.’

Sparrow ran his finger up the hill.

‘The God of Fire up there leading a charge is very brave, he’s chasing the horde down the hill.’

‘Look closer.’

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‘Oh, the horde aren’t retreating… they’re laying a trap.’

‘Correct. They’re leading him from the high ground into a pool of waiting soldiers. They’ll push him towards the lake. They don’t like his fire.’

Sparrow pointed to a group of well-muscled gods clad in armour including the God of Blacksmiths, the God of Stone, and a Brickmason Demigod.

‘Those guys - they’re doing okay.’

‘But?’

‘But they’re going to get swamped pretty soon. They’re strong, but they’re slow. They can only take out a few horde at a time.’

The God of War whipped his hand up and cut the link between them, ‘Now begins your education. Rule number one - in the midst of chaos there is opportunity.’

The burly god flashed, and a moment later appeared beside the bow wielders. Sparrow ran towards him, launching off the ground towards the sky, when he got to the god he barely had time to grab a sword before the enemy was upon them.

The God of War moved like lightning. Slice, thump-thump, slice. A scream from the horde as two of their number dropped. Slice, thump-thump, slice.

The God of War’s movements had a musical rhythm to them. A dance. The horde took a step back and surveyed him.

A bolt of arrows embedded in the horde’s chest. A few of the horde dropped. They still didn’t move any closer.

The God of Healing was in the centre of their cluster, stretching her hands as far as she could. Wiping away blood, reattaching limbs as her sweat and blood-laden army pressed in towards her.

‘We’re going to retreat.’ The God of War shouted.

‘Retreat!?’ An archer at the front of the group screamed, ‘Just when we got them beat!’

‘Shut up.’

The God of War moved them backward - at first deeper into the hollow between the hills where the mud clung to their boots and large grasses tripped them. The horde followed a few steps behind, sometimes rushing in and testing the god’s resolve.

Every time the God of War sent them back with a flurry of stabs and slashes that intercepted the horde’s swings before they’d even made them.

The mud gave way to burnt soil as they reached the crux of a hill. In the dip beside them were the muscled crew, also retreating under the force of the horde’s blows.

‘Sparrow!’ The God of War shouted, pointing at them, ‘Bring them up here.’

‘What?’

The God of War dove towards the pack of horde that were slashing at his archers, ‘Get them, now,’

Sparrow ran down the hill towards them. His feet sunk into its side and threatened to spill him on his face.

A horde swung at him. He ducked and rolled and kicked at another that was trying to encircle the group.

An axe-carrying horde came from his left, and caught Sparrow’s shoulder, slicing a thick cut out of it depsite the stoneskin wrapped around his body.

Pain sensors stung as he was catapaulted into the middle of the group he’d been trying to reach.

One of the Gods stabbed Sparrow in the side of his chest, dropping him to his knees,. Sparrow retched as he tried to breathe.

‘Sorry!’ the god, who wore a thick coat of sheetmetal shouted.

With blurry eyes, Sparrow got to his feet. He was in the centre of their jostling, killing, group. Individually the Gods were more powerful then the horde. But the horde moved together like a machine. Striking where the gods fell over eachother. Bluffing, then slicing arms in two when the gods got in eachother’s way.

Sparrow breathed deep three times, filling his lungs before shouting, ‘UP THE HILL!’

A few gods turned, most were busy getting stabbed in the face.

‘Up the hill!’ Sparrow shouted again. Ducking a blade, then piercing his through an enemy’s chest.

‘They’ll know we’re retreating,’ said the god next to him, a sallow-faced god of engineering, ‘and double their attack, ‘we can barely withstand their attack as is.’

‘That’s why we’ve got to leave.’ Sparrow said, pulling the cloak of the two gods closest to him and stumbling up the hill.

The Gods dug their heels in, and cast him out of their circle, he landed with a thump in the muddy earth. It coated his ear which started to ring.

‘You’ll kill us all.’ They told him.

‘You’ll kill yourselves.’

A horde was above Sparrow, sword slashing towards his head. He rolled twice into another’s feet, grabbed a sword from the ground beside him and slit the back of its legs where a human’s hamstrings would be. The horde toppled forward, plunging its sword into his stomach as it went.

He spat dark blood and got to his feet again, the healing light was upon him and what had been twenty strong gods had fallen to fifteen.

‘Fine!’ Sparrow shouted, ‘ Have it your way.’

He rose slowly from the ground, arrows whistled by him and spears tried to reach him. His eyes rolled back in his head and his fingers fanned out.

On the ground beneath him. Twin tracks of flames flared up. They burned up the side of the hill like twin hedgerows or the tracks of a wide carriage. They created two walls of flame with a safe space in between them.

His hands shook as he kept the walls of flame up. The horde were jumping into it and getting burnt, swinging their swords at it like deranged firefighters.

But there was something to their craziness, Sparrow’s arms grew weary, blood rolled down his nose and…

The gods were starting to move up the hill between the twin columns of fire.

All he had to do was hold on…

The blood from his nose was running into his mouth. He could taste the warm metallic tang of it on his tongue. Sparrow swished the liquid around his mouth and spat it at the ground below.

Surely they're almost…

He peered down, the gods had stopped - midway up his flame-corridoor. Why? But then he saw why.

Four horde, burnt, sliced, and still moving were blocking their path while a legion of horde poured up the corridor to catch the backsides of the fleeing gods.