When Callan came back to himself, his first thought was to wonder how he was still alive.
Because he was definitely still breathing. It hurt too much to be otherwise.
Everything was dark around him. He shifted about and felt something soft and warm shift along with him. His groggy brain tried to make sense of what was pressed to his chest.
Pushing himself up, he only managed a few inches before his head struck resistance. Stars filled the blackness, and the taste of blood filled his mouth.
“Owww... figures I’d bite my own tongue. Talk about adding insult to injury...”
“Avatar?” The voice was breathy and close to his ear. Callan froze. Suddenly he had a very good idea of what—who—he was so cozied up to.
“Kivi?”
There was an immense cracking noise, and Callan squinted as light suddenly streamed into his eyes. After a moment of furious blinking, he could see again.
He and Kivi lay nestled together on the stone floor. The remnants of what looked like half a cracked eggshell rose around them, and even as he watched more pieces fell away, shattering on the floor like pieces of fine pottery.
It seemed that Kivi had managed to use Shape Stone at the last moment and form a barrier against the flames. Callan was frankly amazed, looking at her handiwork. She’d taken a cubic foot of stone and reworked it until it was no more than an inch or two thick. Even if they hadn’t been under extreme duress, Callan doubted he could have managed the same. It made his own attempt earlier look like a child’s fumbling.
“Are you alright, Avatar?” Kivi asked, looking up at him. Her hair had gone awry and was spread out on the floor above her head in a mess of tangles. “You did not sustain any significant injuries?”
“No, I think I’m alright.” Amazingly, he was. His hands still ached from Ligo’s blistering assault, but other than a few minor burns he didn’t think he’d suffered any permanent damage.
“I’m pleased to hear. In that case, can you please get off me? It is rather difficult to breathe right now.”
“Oh!” Callan glanced down and saw that one of his hands was currently gripping Kivi’s hip. He immediately let go, a flush of heat flooding his cheeks.
“Thank you.” Using two of her arms to push herself upright, Kivi used the second pair to brush off Callan’s shoulders. “You’re covered in dust.”
“Yeah, tends to happen when one brings a building down on their own head.” Despite everything , Callan couldn’t help but grin. He finally took an opportunity to look around, and the grin faded.
Most of the warehouse was simply... gone. Several of its walls had collapsed, and the roof had been burned to ash in the explosion or whatever had followed. Callan wasn’t sure how long he and Kivi had been trapped inside their stone egg, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. They would have run out of oxygen before too long, if nothing else.
But in that short time, the lud village had been irrevocably altered.
Most of the buildings around them were on fire. As Callan watched, flames jumped from the roof of one house to another, the dry pythian bark going up in seconds. Cries of alarm rang through the streets, and several nearby lud were attempting to put the fires out.
From what Callan could see, it was a futile effort.
“Hey.” At her call, his attention snapped back to Kivi. Reaching out, she took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Only belatedly did he realize he no longer had Mountainform active. It must have deactivated while he was out.
“It’s alright, avatar. It’s over. We won.”
“If you say so, Kivi.” Though between the fires and the yelling, it didn’t exactly feel like a victory. Not at such a cost.
Rising to his feet, he flicked the last of the stone shell away. With Kivi’s hand entwined in his own, they made for where the warehouse doors had once stood. Beyond it, he could see a gathering of nervous looking lud, several clustered in a tight circle around something that Callan couldn’t quite see.
As he drew closer, the reason for the nervous looks became apparent. Four priests sat in the dirt, hands tied behind their backs with rope—or in the case of one veloom woman, what appeared to be the remains of a shirt.
“Ah, honored avatar!” Tervak stepped out of the crowd of lud and rushed to Callan’s side. “It is good to see you. I had feared you lay buried somewhere in the rubble, breathing out your last.”
“Honestly, I just assumed he slipped out the back during the chaos and fled,” Shamain said, coming up on Callan’s other side. “It’s what I would have done.”
“It is what you did, Shamain,” Kivi said icily from Callan’s other side. The two women glared at each other a moment before Shamain shrugged.
“Eh, suppose I deserve that. Still, we all came out of this with our skins still attached, so I can’t complain too much.”
“Except for Aldis,” Tervak noted gravely. “And any others that fell during the battle. We will need to get an accounting of who remains in the village, but for now, the immediate matter is putting out the fires and dealing with the approaching caravan.”
“I have an idea about that second problem.” Callan released Kivi’s hand and stepped past Tervak. His eyes studied each of the cultists in turn. Most flinched away from his gaze.
Finally, he settled on a veloomian. “What’s your name?”
“Huh?” The woman—at least, he assumed she was a woman. It was difficult to tell under all the feathers—stared and blinked at him for a moment before clearing her throat. “I am Avina, priest of Zavastu, may she reign in fire—”
“Yeah, yeah, enough with the schtick. You’re a prisoner now. Want to not be one?”
“Avatar?” Tervak asked from behind him. Callan held up a hand for silence.
Avina studied him, and he stared her down in turn. Finally, she said. “I won’t abandon my faith. Better to die than give up my honor.”
“Nobody is asking you to abandon Zavastu,” Callan said, and the woman visibly relaxed. He continued, “All you need to do is carry a message back to this goddess of yours.”
“I—alright, if that’s all you want—”
“You shall do no such thing!”
Callan glanced over his shoulder, and felt his veins turn to ice. Out of the wreckage of the warehouse clambered Ligo, archon of Zavastu. He was clutching at a bleeding shoulder, and the upper half of his face was a mess of burns and scabs, making his already bug eyes stand out even more.
But, more importantly, he was still shrouded in blazing fire. Crimson wings extended from his back in all their burning glory.
“Suppose I should be thanking you, avatar,” the forfiliin said, stalking forward. “I wasn’t sure whether or not to make an example out of this village. Guess that’s not a problem anymore!” He laughed maniacally.
Flee mortal! Xeph’s voice roared like an avalanche. The temple is still active! Flee until it has time to fully collapse!
A fireball shot past only inches from Callan’s face. Ligo snarled at him. “Don’t even think about moving. Not unless you want to listen to these lud screaming in agony!”
Callan turned fully towards the approaching archon. Xeph continued raging inside his head, but he ignored the god. Ligo was right, it was either Callan or his followers. He just needed to figure out a way to keep the archon distracted for a few minutes.
“Listen, Ligo—”
“I will not!” A burning whip appeared in the forfiliin’s hands. He swung it towards Callan’s head. A blazing inferno shot forward with the speed of a rampaging truck.
Callan raised his hands to summon Mountainform once again. He hesitated. What was his Apotheosis at? Had it dropped enough to make use of his manifestation without consequences.
His hesitation lasted only a second. A blip on the grand scale of time.
And it cost everything.
Tervak leapt in front of him. The blazing weapon seared through the lud’s chest, the air filling with the steam of his boiling blood.
“Elder!” Kivi’s scream rent the air. Tervak fell backwards into Callan’s arms. He sank to his knees, gently laying the elder lud on the ground.
“It’s... It’s...” The elder reached a hand up, and Callan took it in his own. Their eyes met. Then the light went out Tervak’s expression and his hand fell away.
Followers lost. Available faith decreased by 1.
“No,” Kivi breathed. She spun on the archon, who stood watching with a smug expression on his face. “How could you? Your temple has fallen. The battle is over!”
“Nothing is over until I say it is, lud.” Ligo raised his whip again.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Anger flared hot inside of Callan. Snapping his hand up, his own weapon appeared in it.
Alert: 5.75% Apotheosis used.
Total Apotheosis is now 23.25%
A dim part of Callan’s brain noted the message, but he didn’t care about its particulars. The cost of his power no longer mattered.
The whip snaked out and wrapped around Ligo’s foot. A surprised cry leapt from the archon’s lips before he tumbled over backwards. Dust kicked up to either side as Callan hauled him closer. Blood ran down his palms as Wurmchain cut through the skin, but it was a dim background refrain to his thrumming blood.
Ligo came to a stop at Callan’s feet. His flameform winked out. The archon’s eyes were wide with terror. He raised his hands and aimed them at Callan, but nothing happened. A wicked grin spread across Callan’s face.
“You know what I think, Ligo?” Reaching down, Callan grabbed the archon by the front of his shirt. His other arm cocked back as he made a fist.
“I think your temple is gone.” *Punch*
“I think your power is gone.” *Punch*
“I think you’re an archon in over your head.” *Punch*
“I think you’re hoping I’ll be merciful.” *Punch*
“I won’t.”
*Punch*
*Punch*
*Punch*
Callan only released the archon when his fist hurt too badly to continue. Dammit, but he’d gotten used to having Mountainform’s protection.
The archon flopped limply to the ground. His face was a mess of bruises, but Callan didn’t think he was dead. He might be hitting harder than before, but he still only had four Brawn. It didn’t count for that much.
Glancing up, he saw all of the lud watching him. Even the bucket brigade working on a house in the distance had stopped to stare. Giving his fist another self-conscious shake, Callan strode through the crowd of lud and approached the prisoners.
“You.” He pointed at the veloom. “Avina, right?”
“Uh...” The cultist’s eyes glanced past Callan to where Ligo lay. Callan snapped his fingers, and her eyes jerked back to him. “Yes, Avatar.”
“Good. Avina, here’s what you’re going to do. I’m going to cut your bonds, and you’re going to run as fast as you can towards the approaching caravan.” He pointed in the direction of the rising dust. The caravan was close enough now that he could make out several large wagons, though not the people riding them. “You’re going to tell them to turn around immediately. If they take even one more step towards this village, I’ll kill every one of them, including you. Understand?”
The veloom didn’t speak. Her eyes were as wide as a forfiliin’s. After a drawn-out moment, she rapidly nodded.
“Good enough,” Callan said, motioning to a nearby lud holding an axe. “Cut her bonds.”
The lud hastened to obey. As they worked, Callan kept his gaze locked on the cultist. “When you get back to wherever you come from, be sure to tell your goddess what happened here. If she ever wants to see her priests again, any lud prisoners need to be released immediately. Once they’re returned home, I’ll give back your friends.”
No sooner was the cloth holding her split apart than the cultist leapt to her feet. She took off running so fast it was a wonder she didn’t take flight. Could the veloom actually fly? It occurred to Callan that he should have asked before hurling several of them off a cliff.
Though he supposed that had answered the question in the end.
He turned and stalked away, not moving in any particular direction. Kivi fell in alongside.
“If I may be so bold, Avatar, why did you let her leave? She was a valuable hostage.”
“Don’t worry, Kivi, we still have three more.” Callan gestured towards the other cultists, noticed Ligo still lying comatose on the ground and amended, “Four more.”
“Hmm. And what you said to her, do you really intend to...” She let the question hang.
“Kivi, look at me. I’m spent. A strong breeze could probably do me in. The village is in shambles. What do you think would happen if the cultists with that caravan actually attacked?”
“Then why—” Kivi paused. “Ah, I see. It was a bluff.”
Clever girl, Xeph noted. What is the plan now, mortal? We have defeated the cult, but this village paid a high price.
It was true. The fire was spreading faster than the lud could put it out. Already, many had given up the bucket brigade and turned instead to retrieving what possessions they could before the fire arrived at their own homes.
By nightfall, there wouldn’t be a village.
“Kivi.” The lud girl turned towards him. “Gather the villagers. Tell them to save whatever they can and let the rest burn. Once that’s done, we all meet at the village’s western edge.”
“It will be so, Avatar.”
Once word began to spread, the lud accepted the loss of their village surprisingly quick. The buckets were abandoned. Children, adults, and elders alike began to comb the wreckage for anything of value. By the time the sun was beginning to set, the village had gathered at its edge.
Callan stood apart with Kivi and Shamain. He watched as villagers glanced in his direction and whispered amongst themselves. How many of them knew who he was? Or had any idea about the god in his head?
More importantly, would they be willing to listen? After all, the plan had originally been to win their loyalty as the savior of the village.
Watching it burn behind them, he couldn’t help but wince. That plan was in literal ashes now.
Xeph apparently agreed. How should we turn this situation around, human? As it stands now, I would not expect even a tenth to join our cause.
“We still freed them from the cult, Xeph. That’s got to count for something.”
Hmm. We shall see.
Callan stepped forward. The whispers ceased almost immediately, and all eyes turned towards him. The only sound was the crackle and pop of the flames reaching another nearby home.
“Some of you might know me or know of me, but for those who don’t, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Callan, and I am the avatar of Xeph-Zul-Karatl, god of stone and mountains.”
He’d expected whispers again, or at the very least some muttering, but the crowd was silent. Finally, a younger lud man stepped forward. “Are you here to enslave us?”
“What?” Callan blinked at the question. “Of course not. I’m here on Xeph’s behalf to ask for your worship.”
That did generate some muttering. The same lud spoke up. “No god or goddess has ever asked for our faith before.”
It wasn’t a question, but Callan nodded, nonetheless. “I don’t know why Zavastu treated you the way she did. Xeph won’t demand anything from you but your faith. Before they died, we had the backing of Elders Tervak and Aldis, and have already accepted elder Shamain into our priesthood.”
He turned and nodded to Shamain. “You want to say a few words?”
“What, me?” Shamain smirked and shook her head. “You don’t want my support, lad. Half the village think’s I’m crazy, and the half that knows better wishes I was!”
“That’s—” Callan frowned, off-guard. He had been counting on the remaining elder’s support. Having her flat-out refuse to help left him stumbling.
Mortal. Xeph’s voice had an edge of worry to it. Best focus. We are losing them!
The lud had begun to whisper among themselves again. The young man from before was still watching Callan.
“What do we stand to gain by pledging ourselves to Xeph-Zul-Karatl? We’ve already lost everything.” He gestured to the ruined village. “Can your god restore our homes? Return our loved ones? My father died back there in the battle of the warehouse. What can you do about that?”
Callan opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was at a loss. These villagers had every reason to refuse Xeph, after how the two of them had failed.
“I’m leaving,” a middle-aged lud woman said. “My husband’s got family over on the Rovarian plateau. They’ll take us in, at least until we can build a new home.”
Another lud nodded. “I need a roof over my head, not a god who’ll just bring Zavastu’s wrath down on us.”
“We still have the pythian!” a man in the back called. “I don’t want to give up my livelihood. Why don’t we rebuild after the fire?”
“And what about when the cult returns?” another asked. “Zavastu won’t let this act be forgiven. We’re free for now, but how long?”
“Well, I think—”
“ENOUGH!”
All eyes turned towards Kivi. As Callan watched, she strode forward, her face set in a grimace of determination.
“Stay or leave, it doesn’t matter. But you all will swear loyalty to Xeph-Zul-Karatl here and now.”
“And why should we do that?” the young man asked. Kivi rounded on him.
“Because, Argas, the avatar risked everything to save us all. He didn’t have to stick around. He could have left and found a different village, one that wasn’t already crawling with the priests of another god. But he stayed, and risked his life multiple times so that you might be free.”
“Yeah, free and homeless!” Someone called.
“Our homes are gone, yes,” Kivi nodded, then pressed on before anyone could offer further arguments. “Our homes are gone. But Xeph-Zul-Karatl has offered us a new home. There is a temple to the west of here, which Callan tells me has room for all of us. There is food, water, and most importantly, safety. If any offer their loyalty, they may journey with us to a new home. One where we will be safe from the cult forever.”
“What about the pythian tree?” the man in the back asked.
“We can return for its resources when the plateau is safe.” Kivi glanced from one face to the next. “Don’t you see? Aligning yourself with Xeph-Zul-Karatl ensures a better world for us all. The more power the god gathers, the more they may wield against Zavastu and any others who would dare to place us in chains. Come with us, and we shall ensure that your family members are returned to you at last.”
Her eyes found the middle-aged lud woman. “Frery, which would you rather have, your husband’s distant family, or your husband returned to your arms? Or you, Argas? Wouldn’t you like your sister and mother returned to you?”
“Can you really promise that?” Argas asked. “The goddess must have thousands of followers. What is our village’s faith in comparison?”
“Perhaps nothing. Or perhaps everything. Wouldn’t you like even a slim chance that our village could be made whole once again? If so, then there is your answer!”
She pointed at Callan. “Pledge your faith to Xeph-Zul-Karatl. Do it on your honor as lud, first among the gods’ creations. Then you may stay or go as you please. But I will not allow any less. All of us owe the avatar a debt, and it shall be repaid.”
“Who are you to demand anything? What does a Daisa know of honor?” A woman asked. Kivi drew herself up to her tallest.
“I am Kivi, priest of Xeph-Zul-Karatl. I have bled and sweat in the defense of this village, while the rest of you cowered in your homes and prayed for salvation. Well, your prayers were answered. So do not speak of me knowing honor. Instead, prove that what you possess is even a tenth of my own!”
The village was silent, and Callan could feel the tension in the air like a palpable thing. Part of him wondered if Kivi had gone too far, if the villagers would be so offended they’d refuse out of principle.
Then Argas slowly lowered himself to one knee. “On my honor as a lud, I pledge my faith to Xeph-Zul-Karatl.”
“I do as well,” the man beside him said. Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd, and one by one they fell to their knees or dropped prostrate to the ground. As their village burned, the lud swore loyalty as one.
You have been awarded 64 additional faith.
Congratulations! Due to crossing the required threshold of 20 followers, your God Bond has increased to Talc — III
Next God Bond threshold: 30 followers.
Congratulations! Due to crossing the required threshold of 30 followers, your God Bond has increased to Talc — IV
Next God Bond threshold: 40 followers.
Congratulations! Due to crossing the required threshold of 40 followers, your God Bond has increased to Talc — V
Next God Bond threshold: 50 followers.
Congratulations! Due to crossing the required threshold of 50 followers, your God Bond has increased to Talc — VI
Next God Bond threshold: 60 followers.
Congratulations! Due to crossing the required threshold of 60 followers, your God Bond has increased to Talc — VII
Next God Bond threshold: 70 followers.
Congratulations! Due to crossing the required threshold of 70 followers, your God Bond has increased to Talc — VIII.
+6 to all stats
Apotheosis cost of all bounties now decreased by 40%
Conviction rate has increased.
Mountainform’s coverage has also increased.
Next God Bond threshold: 80 followers.
Callan’s vision filled completely with messages. It took all his concentration to sort through them. Inside his head, Xeph’s laughter echoed like a seething volcano.
Ah, at last, at last, mortal! Now the time for our reign has truly begun again! At last! Xeph-Zul-Karatl has returned at last!