Bet Between Gods - Prologue

Prologue – Netherworld

The young man was hopelessly lost. He had left to meet his uncle in the capital of the Glorious Empire, Arcadiopolis, but had never actually travelled to the said city before. He had so far enjoyed a calm, all around relaxing life in the family villa on the outskirts of the Heartlands and had never had the actual need to visit the capital. Usually it was either one of his parents who ventured down to Arcadiopolis and back home again, but this weekend had been different. His father, Senator Aurealius, had caught a surprisingly strong fever and his mother was too busy both working and making sure that his father was comfortable and resting above all else. From what the young son of Aurealius could remember, his father had never been one for staying in bed. The last time his father had been ill, his sister had found him trimming the bushes that grew outside the family estate instead of letting the servants handle that. Needless to say, his father had gotten a heatstroke from that and collapsed down, mumbling something or another about how refreshing it was to have ants crawling over his nose when they had dragged him back inside. When he thought back to that day some years ago, he was certain that there had indeed been some ants involved. Now that his father was sick once more, his mother had decided that it was high time the son of the family would visit the city of pristine marble and start representing the family in a fitting way. The route down south should have been straightforward enough but a storm that suddenly brewed out of nowhere and swept over the entire northern region before disappearing beyond the horizon, had left the carriage he was riding in stuck in a deep puddle of mud. This particular segment of the road was still unpaved, but plans were afoot to fill it with the same smooth stones that were in use on most of the roads down south. The storm had also managed to somehow injure the only horse pulling the carriage which had been evident enough when the carriage had suddenly trashed from one side to another before coming to a halt as the horse had started to whinny loudly. Had it been a loose stone or a branch, neither he nor the coachman could say for sure, but whatever it had been, it had resulted in the horse twisting its leg. The young man had cursed like never before in his life, contemplating on their ill fortune with the coachman before both of them decided to head to different directions in search of help. The area they had arrived in and got stuck in was one of the vast farmlands providing food for the nearby towns and cities, and without a doubt some of its production went straight to the capital city as well. As to where said farmlands were located exactly, he could not say for sure either. Seemed to him that there were many great things he could not be sure about today, the idea of which managed to make his already sour mood turn absolutely foul.

It was then that he noticed a lone farmer sitting idly by a campfire. Open fires, especially one so close to the field of wheat almost right next to both of them, were banned in the Glorious Empire in fear of bushfires that could turn into rampaging wildfires that then could destroy vital infrastructure as well both the livelihood of farmers and the continued welfare of the citizens. Bread was, after all, made from wheat and without the other, there could not be the first one either. Unless it was imported but everyone in the Glorious Empire knew that bread that arrived from elsewhere was rubbish in comparison to their own produce. He was about to yell and order the man to put out the fire and help him immediately, in the name of his father’s family line and what not, but the words got stuck in his throat as the man suddenly lifted his wrinkly, frail looking arm and gestured him closer while talking in a way that reminded him of his own grandfather.
"Do come closer, sonny, and don't you worry about Old Bob's fire here. Just keeping the cold out of me bones, that's all. Might be reminiscing a bit of me past as well, retelling a story for me friend here." The old man said, patting something next to him that was also sitting on what appeared to be an old log fit for construction material. One that had probably been left unused after the sturdy looking barn nearby had been built and finished some years ago.
"How did you-"
"Hear that you were there? Ah, well. This marrow here told you were coming. I could also hear you hollering over from the road after the storm had passed. Ye also be heaving a bit there, so either you climbed that hill there or you have taken a fancy of smoking the old pipe. Nothing wrong in that, mind you."
The young man blushed slightly, feeling remarkably dumb now for keeping such a loud racket.
"Never mind that. Look, do you know anyone who could help me? My carriage is stuck and the horse managed to break its leg as well. I am in dire need of a new one and I'd rather get going before the sun sets again." The young man said, taking a look around then. To his dismay, he could not see any horses nearby. Only the simple barn, at least five fields of wheat, and then some cabbages even further away.
"Perhaps you would have one for sale?" The son of Aurealius said then, shaking his head at the idea of what he was about to do. Purchasing a horse from a peasant of all things, most likely a mangy one as well. He would be the laughing stock of the day when he would finally reach the city gates, but he knew that would only last for the duration of that single day. Or so he hoped. The farmer, who was most likely called Bob judging from what he had just heard, finally turned around to face him, revealing a much older form than what young Aurealius had first thought he had seen. From between the long and shaggy beard that came together with just as shaggy and unkempt moustache, shone through a grin which in turn revealed that the old man was missing a fair amount of teeth. That combined with the weather-torn hat the farmer was wearing that had to be almost as old as the farmer himself, was enough to make the young noble think that perhaps Bob was not a farmer at all but instead a witch from the north disguised as a man. Or then the old man was a wizard, but wizards rarely kept pointy hats from what he had learned from the anti-magical propaganda.
"For sale? Well, there is one I would be glad to get rid of. Always trying to eat my friend here and always complaining that that we never should have left old Spree. But that's only because he liked the pumpkins more than he likes marrows!" Bob said, shaking his head while giving the thing sitting next to him a few friendly pats. Young Aurealius now noticed that what he had at first thought was another old man sitting in a hunched position, turned out to be an oversized marrow that would have easily won the grand prize many times over in the yearly autumn fair held near but not quite inside the city walls of Arcadiopolis. He lifted his eyebrows and shook his head in turn.
Lost his mind he has, the poor old man.
"I am willing to pay as much as you want for it then, no matter its temper or... Opinions. As long as it can pull a carriage." The young man said, loosening a knot attached to his belt that kept the slightly oversized tunic from falling off his slim body, and pulled free a coin pouch that was seemingly filled to the brim. Much to his shock and surprise, Bob started to laugh with a rasping, wheezing tone before shaking his head.
"Oh I have no need for money lad, for I feel it is my time soon. But I would very much like to ask for something in return for old Clip-Clop."
"Clip-Clop?"
"Aye, the horse. Are you paying attention or not, sonny?" Bob said while chuckling, followed by a fit of cough that subsided after few minutes. "Oh. That's the old bugger knocking at the door already."
"Well I shan't keep the afterlife from claiming you then, Old Man. Just name your price, point me to the right direction and you and your... Friend, can enjoy the fire a bit longer."
Bob seemed thoughtful for a moment before smiling, shaking his head once more. Young Aurealius was getting impatient.
"I want you to listen to a story, lad. A story that might help you understand and deal with what is about to happen a bit better. Be it a warning, be it something that you might one day add to them fancy history books even. Something, me thinks, that should not be forgotten." Bob said, smiling kindly now and making a spot for the young man to sit upon the log by lifting the overgrown marrow to his own lap. "Offh. You've grown quite heavy. It's no wonder poor old Bob's back is aching when I have to carry you around, oh yes."
While the farmer was busy talking to the marrow, the young to-be-head of the Aurealius family pondered for a moment. In exchange for this story, not only would he gain a new horse to pull the carriage, but he would not need to part with his money either. Then again he did want to get to Arcadiopolis as soon as possible. Greed that he had inherited from his father, even though he claimed the opposite to his sister when it came down to that, took control of his thought at that point. He walked over to the log and took a seat on it, carefully brushing away any dirt, grime and little insects that might spoil his pristine tunic or crawl inside it.
"Fair enough, you have a deal. Bob, was it?"
The old man smiled and nodded his head.
"Aye, you are paying attention after all. Good, good. Now tell me sonny, have you heard the news regarding what is happening over yonder, waaay up high in the north?" Bob said, pointing over the horizon as if it were. Young Aurealius offered a nod in turn, turning more serious as a shiver went down his spine.
"The Demon Lord of Nordberg. I've heard of him. Parents say that he will never be a threat to the Glorious Empire or to Emperor Solarius, that he is just an "aspiring warlord who will quickly be put down like the dog he is". Father said that, not me." He said, feeling like it was important for some reason to add the last bit about the words being borrowed.
"What do you feel then?"
"I feel that others should see him as a threat but I... I'm not sure, to be honest."
"So you don't feel that he is, what they say, evil?"
"No. No. He is definitely evil, just that..." Young Aurealius said, spreading his arms and waving them around as if searching for the correct answer. Bob stared at him with a cheeky smile upon his face that made the young man frown a bit.
"That... That, I don't know, that it feels like there is something more to it than just plain chaos, destruction and supposed slaughter if the rumours are true."
"You'd be right to think so. He is much like his father. I should know, heh, for his father saved my life. Two times even!"
"You have to be joking. There is no way that you could have... Oh." Aurealius the Second said as it dawned on him. "What you said about Spree. You..."
"Meant the actual village of Spree that the darn goopy-goop took over? Oh yes. I was there, lived on the outskirts I did. Saw the tower of his father go kaput as well! Real shame for it kept the sun away from me backyard during the afternoon it did."
The young man looked genuinely surprised. But also interested. Perhaps he could learn from this man what truly happened then, something that even the royal academics and scholars did not know. Something that perhaps the divine emperor himself was unaware of. Old Bob had certainly managed to gain his attention.
"Is the story about that then? What happened to... Spree and the other places that are now devoured by the great wasteland?"
"Sort of, kind of. What I am about to tell you sonny, is what happened before that. What lead to everything you see around you. You seated comfortably? Good, good. Now, you best take into heart what I am about to say, no matter how ridiculous or hmm. Insane it might sound. Because these things did happen you know!" Bob said, lifting a finger and pointing at the young man's face which made Aurealius the Second to pull back in order to get away from the finger that had dirt under its fingernail.
"If that means I get your hor-"
"Clip-clop!"
"Fine, Clip-clop, then I'll listen. And keep my opinions to myself."
Bob smiled and gave one final nod of approval before pulling a pipe from his trousers that seemed to be made from sackcloth or other such material, touching the fire with it in order to light it then, and placed it between his lips. As the smoke that smelled slightly repulsive but also at the same time kind of sweet started to flow from the pipe and from between Bob's lips, the old man begun his story.

***

A dark creature was sitting on the side of a river, located deep beneath the earth where the only intruders were the roots of the most ancient trees high above that dared to explore the depths of the world. The creature was searching for something that it could eat and possibly pummel, not necessarily in that particular order. What it was attempting to do was to fish, but unlike the waters high above it, the rivers down here did not exactly work like one would at first think. Fish did swim in these rivers, that was true, and one could fish from them. What was different in fishing from the rivers of the Netherworld compared to more traditional fishing "upstairs" as the master of the creature sometimes called the world above, was that if you did not catch a fish on your first attempt, it would be gone. Permanently. Some of the rivers that slithered through the underground caverns could go on for miles, while some like the one the creature was sitting next to, were only few meters long. What was common to all the rivers and other bodies of water that did manage to enter the Netherworld from the surface, was that they always turned into an endless waterfall at some point. Waterfalls that then carried anything that was unlucky enough to slide along the stream of water over a ledge or another, sending it hurtling towards the centre of the planet itself. Due to the magical nature of the Netherworld however, it could take years for something to fall down before something or another finally happened to that something. That is, of course, if one was not lucky enough to land on yet another ledge or jutting stone which would provide a swift, though painful death. The creature was all but ready to give up, but before it got up on its feet it saw something that glimmered in the water. A surprisingly plump fish in the colours of silver and blue that reflected the orange glow that in turn originated from the streams of magma flowing deeper in the caverns, was about to find out what it felt like to fly instead of swim. Or in this case, fall down. Striking faster than one should be able to, the creature stabbed its pointy fingers right through the fish, lifting it from the river then. The fish struggled for a while, wiggling and writhing before turning limp. The creature examined the fish against the light coming from a nearby stream of magma, smiling as it took in the exquisite colour composition.
"Pretty fishy. Too pretty to be down here."
For a moment the creature thought about where the fish might have originated from. The creature and its brothers, for most of them had been created in such a way that they identified themselves as having a male gender, had learned from their master and creator about the different regions of the world above, and had a general idea of what sort of life each different kind of region contained. But the sea that surrounded the regions up above was so large and vast that it simply had to be impossible to be aware of every single species of marine life living in its depths. The creature raised its elbows then and let them fall back down, letting the wonder caused by the beauty of the simplistic being, along with the question of its origin, get washed away by the feeling that had originally sent him to search for food. The creature revealed its sharp, almost needle like teeth, biting the fish in half then. The bite of the creature was strong enough to break bones down to shards as well, but it was a rare occurrence when something with actual bones in its body drifted down to Netherworld. Little did the creature have time to enjoy its catch, when suddenly a roar shook the entire cave system. The creature lifted its long, floppy ears to listen. After that it turned its eyes that glimmered yellow in the darkness but which had a visible black outline to them towards where the water started to fall. The creature pushed itself up and started to run then, jumping off the edge. Straight into the emptiness below that dominated much of the Netherworld.

Molten rock and living fire poured down from countless places alongside the huge cavern as the creature kept falling. At times fire met with the cascading waterfalls as well, causing clouds of steam to form that then drifted in the nothingness before meeting with the dark stone which at times resembled ice, making the smooth and almost crystal-like cliffs and stones seem even stranger as the steam slowly returned into drops of water, clinging to the black surface.
As the creature raised its head, it could see the magnificent stalactite that ruled over everything else in the black rock cavern along with the dim glow coming far below. Around the giant piece of rock hanging from the ceiling of the cave which seemed as if it was ready to fall down at any given time and split the world in half, huge and small pieces of rock were spinning in a most organized, yet still chaotic way. There was something almost hypnotic about those spinning boulders which so defied the natural laws of gravity. And that was where the creature, Kryan as he was called, was heading to. He spread his arms and legs as if he was embracing the hot bursts of air coming from below, tensing his muscles then. Two leathery wing like membranes suddenly burst from both sides of Kryan’s body, causing black liquid which resembled blood and shreds of his old hide to start falling down as the wings made their way through flesh and skin. The membranes connected between the arms and legs of the dark creature as if driven by their own will, eventually forming a connection between his fingers and toes as well. Soon Kryan was balancing on the currents of hot air much in the same way one could see gulls balancing above the ocean, making his way through the chasm towards the spinning boulders that danced above nothingness. Before he could land on one of the stones, his attention got drawn upwards when he heard a hissing that did not originate from water meeting fire. Another creature that could have very well been his identical twin had appeared from one of the many caves above him, floating down towards the boulders just like he was.
"Blacktooth! Go away! Lord ordered me to come, not you!" Kryan said, closing the gap between the two by letting his bat like wings carry him upwards on a warm current of air. The other creature, Blacktooth, grinned in a manner that made Kryan think more clearly about what the roar had actually meant, and to who it had been aimed towards.
"Wrong Kryan. Lord asked us all to come. Has Kryan forgotten the difference between the silent growl and the loud roar of our Master?" Blacktooth asked from Kryan. The black creature fell silent, turning his attention towards the floating stones again. If Kryan had needed any more convincing that their master had indeed summoned them all and that he was by no means as special as he thought, then he would have only needed to look around him as more and more black creatures where either rising, falling down or gliding from caves everywhere towards the floating and spinning boulders. Kryan instead folded his wings and in a way that resembled a diving sparrow, tried to gain distance to the others of his kind. He had always liked a bit of a competition, and what better thing to compete about than who was going to be the first at the temple of their master. He managed to land on one of the huge spinning boulders with Blacktooth close in tow who then landed almost immediately after him upon the same boulder, much to the dismay of Kryan. For a moment he pondered about pushing the other black creature down and let the stone carry him away, but instead he did so to a third black creature that also tried to land on it.
“No space, find own rock!” Kryan said, pushing with both hands and managing to steer the third creature away from the stone. He then grinned as he heard Blacktooth laughing, stomping the stone twice with his clawed feet that had three toes each. The boulder answered to the stomping by suddenly breaking off from the other spinning stones, aiming itself towards the depths down below which made both of the black creatures to dig their feet and hands into it lest they wished to fall off. With what could be considered blazing speed, the stone started to plummet. Soon the Stalactite was nothing but a mere stick in the distance the deeper the stone went and eventually it disappeared from sight as the stone managed to slide from between a series of natural, arching bridges of stone while somehow managing to make sure that neither Kryan or Blacktooth banged their heads against them. Even when the rock was so far from the magical stalactite as it was now, it still continued to make a mockery of the laws of nature by defying gravity as it suddenly started to fly upwards again, then down, before going from left to right and back again as it almost elegantly managed to avoid a series of magma streams that made it seem like there was a living wall of fire blocking access to the next segment of the Netherworld. Finally the stone came to a halt and the two creatures stepped off it, suddenly standing in front of an entrance to an immense cave. The rock behind them disembarked and started to fly back to the stalactite in order to continue its eternal spin around it, while other platforms of stone that carried more dark creatures on them started landing behind the duo. Kryan did not pay this much heed, other than offering the creature he had pushed off the stone earlier a grin as the creature in question offered him a rude gesture in turn. He then turned back towards the entrance leading deeper into Netherworld that was far larger than any other cave he had encountered so far. Though the cave seemed to lead to nothing but darkness, and in a way that was actually the case here, Kryan knew better. He knew exactly what awaited on the other side and, like many of his so called brothers, grinned when what seemed to be a minor earthquake originating from three sources at once came rolling from the darkness, followed by three distinctive voices that all spoke the same words at the same time.
"Come forth, my children."
The sound of multiple feet striking against the dark stone beneath their claws was the response of the creatures as they hurried into the darkness, towards the one that had summoned them.

The creatures came to a halt almost as if they had shared a single mind, as the darkness they had been walking through for a short while suddenly pulled itself apart in order to reveal immense stairs of stone that had been crafted with great care. The stones were not of dwarven handwork, nor did they belong to ruins of an ancient elven city. The steps of stone that were as black as the night sky high above the world, had been the creation of the creatures themselves. The very first thing their master had ordered them to do after they had been given life. Each of the creatures had carved a single step of stone and inscribed it with runes of power that their creator, their father, had whispered to their ears. Where once there had been only unruly stone that lead to a pair of gigantic doors, now stood two rows of ornate staircases. In the middle of the stairs, there were six enormous steps, each of them decorated with a single rune that changed with each step. The six enormous blocks that had been carved from the Netherworld itself also lead to the two gigantic doors, making it look like the doors had been positioned on top of a stepped pyramid.
The doors at the top of the stairs were immense. So large in fact that if a pair of stone giants were to suddenly come up with the idea to carry either one upon the shoulders of the other, they could have passed through the doors with ease. Kryan turned towards the multitude of yellow eyes behind him, revealing his perfect teeth that glowed in the dark. Sets of similar teeth answered his grin and were enough to break the illusion of floating eyeballs and dismembered maws floating in the dark. As he turned around, he and all the creatures  started running up the stairs like a wave of darkness with him and Blacktooth close in the lead. When the creatures finally reached the gigantic doors, some of them panting and some of them laughing while helping the rest of their brethren up the final steps, they all started gathering before the massive doors. The creatures took a deep bow as if they had again shared a single consciousness, mumbling what seemed to be a prayer of some sort. For a moment all was silent except for the bellow of the falling lava, a sound which seemed to be present wherever one ventured in the Netherworld. The pair of huge doors broke the silence as they started to slide open, revealing slowly a humongous hall behind them that was illuminated with what seemed to be lanterns  holding unholy and dark flames that despite their absolutely black colour, did create light.
"Enter, my children."
The creatures were more than eager to enter the temple of their creator, but managed to maintain as much of an order as they could while keeping their enthusiasm under control. As they entered the space beyond the doors, the floor beneath them answered to their steps by creating swirling patterns. Eight huge statues, two series of four different kind of statues that was, which paid homage to the dark creatures could be seen lining the walls of the hall as well. Each of them glaring down upon the black beings that now embraced the home of their master with their own presence, but none of them quite like the black creatures themselves. The statues that resembled them the most were the first pair, but instead of being black the two statues on both sides of the path that lead deeper into the temple seemed to be brown. The next pair of statues seemed to be entirely red and had horns that curved down crowning the heads. Horns that reminded the black minions of the skulls of rams and other horned beings that the waters of the rivers sometimes brought with them. The second to last pair of statues had a green touch to them and compared to the heads of the red and brown statues, had a pointier chins along with having much more sharper claws. This pair of statues also had almost lizard like tails that curled behind them, and in comparison to the smooth tails of the last pair of statues, were jagged and rough. As to the last pair of statues, the only difference along with the smooth tail were the fin like extensions that pushed forth from the cheeks of the statues, along with their chins. Between these statues, what at first could have been mistaken as smaller statues, turned out to be representatives of different races wearing dark cloaks, some of who were whispering to each other in low tones. Humans, dwarves, even a few elves. But when it came to the creatures and the previous inhabitants of the world above, the black skinned beings that were the size of dwarves that most of them were now passing, dominated the temple with their sheer numbers.
When the first beings of darkness passed the enormous blue statues, the temple ended in a round, circular room with a remarkably unimpressive throne standing idly in the centre. The creatures started to then split into four groups which then spread to even smaller groups, until every single creature was standing in a ring. The reason why there were statues dedicated to the four different tribes of their cousins that lived above ground, and none for themselves, was that they needed none. Nor did their unholy god need statues of his own children. Not when there were so many of them present.
"You children are here, your Unholyness! Master of Shadows! Formation of all that is not sacred! We, the black minions, bow down to you, so that we may have your blessing!" The dark, unholy minions born from the flesh of their god, shouted in unison. For a moment everything fell silent, even the breathing and whispering that originated from the other worshippers of the dark deity. Then, the sound of stone sliding and scraping against stone was heard as something begun to form in front of the throne. A black orb placed upon a pedestal soon stood where there had mere moments earlier been nothing. Then the orb begun to open as if it were made of something else entirely than the dark stone of Netherworld. Yellow, Green, Red and Blue orbs rose from inside it and floated still for a moment before they begun to spin wildly around each other. They started to merge, colours mixing into one another, creating magnificent vistas that the dark floor and walls reflected as if they were suddenly surfaces of a gigantic crystal. The chamber begun to shake, and what would have been enough to make a lesser being think more about one's own personal safety, caused the unholy minions to start slamming their feet and fists against the ground in rhythm which made the temple shake even more. The thing that had been four smaller orbs suddenly exploded in air, dark tendrils of smoke pushing forth from it that soon devoured the entire temple before pulling back and allowing visibility once more. What now was standing in the middle of the minions made many of them to shudder in awe and respect.

A huge, black scaled dragon with three heads, all of them with different coloured scales, looked down at the minions gathered inside the chamber. Or at least it was something resembling a dragon. Huge wings with what seemed to be clawed hands at the end of them stretched and arched, fanning the remnants of the smoke around. Large, yet somehow hazy front legs that seemed to be existing in two planes of reality at once started to weave something between them. Back legs of the unholy but without a question divine being took shape and clawed their way into the flooring, causing runes to appear in the flooring, walls and ceiling of the temple that then started to shine in an unnatural way. The three heads of the dragon entity, Greenish, Red and what appeared to be a mixture of silver and blue, opened their mouths to reveal massive teeth. Sharpness of which made the needle like fangs of the minions pale in comparison. The heads lowered and arched around what turned out to be a golden orb that the front legs of the god were weaving, spitting a green cloud of toxin, red ball of flame and mixture of ice and snow into the orb. It expanded in size many times over before the dragon let go of it, causing it to fall and splatter into a pool of golden mist which covered most of the circular floor. The unholy black minions all turned their heads towards it, and what they saw in it was enough to make some of them shudder in repulsion and feel something they had not felt in so many years.
Fear.
In the middle of the pool, they could see a glimpse of gold. A vision of huge pair of tusks or horns that were not quite as impressive as the multitude of horns that decorated the three heads of their lord and father. Red eyes that were filled with absolute malice towards anything living, eyes that were suddenly darting from one minion to another before looking straight to the six burning eyes of the unholy god himself.  The dark god waved its arm and the vision disappeared, only to be replaced by another one. Fire, magma, sand filled plains, and thousands of roaming creatures wearing armour that had long since disappeared from fashion where the surface dwellers lived. Creatures that had no skin. Creatures that had no flesh.
"Minions of mine." The dragon hissed. The black minions turned their attention from the pool of mist to their master.
"Yes, Lord Taegan?" They asked in chorus, voices filled with fear and adoration.
"Prepare yourselves and start fortifying this temple." The Unholy god, Taegan, hissed with three voices at once as all three heads belonging to this form of his spoke.
"While I start looking for a solution."