Struggle With the Goddess

Anak and Tzipora clung tightly to Rimanqu's fur as he galloped through the city streets. They had at last reached the gate, when the barrier collapsed and the dark clouds rushed in. Now, they were proceeding with all haste towards King Gel-ad's palace.

"Shouldn't we be heading towards the tower?" Tzipora looked with concern at the beam of black light piercing the darkness, twisting and winding ever onward. As if an optical illusion, the twisted path appeared to lead both up and down, and Tzipora found it impossible to follow with her gaze going upwards without inevitably leading back downwards. Its incomprehensible pathways made Tzipora shudder with an unfamiliar, cold feeling. She averted her eyes quickly, and the sensation vanished.

"We have a different role. The tower will be dealt with by others. Triac told me the king must not get involved." Anak explained as they rounded a corner. Rimanqu reared up, sliding to a halt, and nearly throwing Anak and Tzipora from his back. Lining the streets, rows upon rows of spear and shield wielding soldiers stood at the ready, behind them stood men in strange robes, wielding staffs. They were priests of the gods. Shora stood at their head, bearing her girlish appearance.

Anak's eyes widened in recognition when he saw the staffs. "Demon balls." Cursed Anak at the sight. Despite the threat of the masses of Ischurian warriors and the freakish thing with a monstrous tongue and dead eyes disguised as a little girl, these familiar staffs felt more worrisome. They were of the sort wielded by the spirits in the underground labyrinth, meaning a new form of magic had taken root in Ischuros, one he was still unfamiliar with. Anak leapt to the ground, staff in hand, and locked his gaze onto the girl. "What are you?" He questioned Shora apprehensively.

A tinkling laugh erupted from the goddess' throat, "You must be that luminary of the slaves the rumors effuse endlessly over." Shora smiled broadly, nearly biting her tongue. "I am Shora, goddess of sanity, sophistry, and wealth. It is my distinct pleasure to finally see you for myself." She curtsied cutely, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"A pleasure? And I suppose the soldiers are just for decoration?" Anak kept a strong posture, staff planted in the dirt. He looked out over the swathes of armed warriors who all bore expressions of malice or wariness, their hearts and minds firmed and ready for combat.

Giggling once more, Shora ran her tongue over her face, as if trying to lick her tiny lips with the impossibly large appendage. "If you turn aside and depart, leave us be, they won't be your problem. You know, us gods were very interested by your story. Let all your grudges go, these people held as slaves, this hatred for your king. Take on our patronage, wield our power, forget the petty affairs of your inferiors. Why fight for slaves when you could fight for gods?"

Anak snorted in disdain, "The greatest God, the God of Life, Love, and Creation himself, fights for slaves. How could it possibly be beneath me?" He pointed the end of his staff at the robe adorned priests in the back and addressed the army backing Shora with a shout. "I do not believe my name has faded from your memories in just these months! You know well what I can do; it is in your best interest to run."

The troops exchanged glances, but seemed assured in their numbers as they did not budge.

Shora's shoulders dropped and her eyebrows narrowed as her cute demeanor vanished. "What do you know of that god?" She icily spat, envy evident in her expression.

"Well..." Anak shrugged, "I know him personally."

"Wha-" Shora was momentarily struck dumb. She shook her head vigorously, collecting her thoughts. "Just what are you talking about?"

Anak smiled broadly, "We've made a sort of... promise to each other. Even now he remains with me."

"With you?" Shora scoffed, "We will see. Everyone, attack!" Shora gave the order and the troops behind her roared in unison. The spear wielding warriors charged head on towards Anak as the priests in the back began mystical chants, preparing spells.

"Tzipora, get clear." Anak calmly stood tall, his confidence stronger than ever with Triac's support. Tzipora rode Rimanqu to a narrow side street in attempt to circumvent the blockade, galloping past a large, ornate building; most likely an aristocratic house. Unfortunately, as they neared the corner of the house, a regiment of soldiers marched out to block her way from a formerly imperceptible position. They pointed their spears towards the girl on the back of her vulpetir threateningly.

"Don't move!" A soldier commanded shakily, eying Rimanqu nervously.

Tzipora gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry I won't. That's his job." She taunted and Rimanqu dashed towards the regiment, claws extended from his front paws, snarling with with his toothy snout. He unleashed a barrage of claw swipes, hoof kicks, and powerful bites, leaving dismembered, bloody warriors lying in his wake.

While Tzipora and Rimanqu bloodied the flanking forces, Anak stood strong as a flood of warriors neared his position. Focusing his will into his staff, Anak felt a warmth well up from within his heart and run along his hand, like a supportive brace. Raising the staff up high, he shouted and slammed it into the street. After a second the earth began to rumble and fissures formed in the road, where masses of charging soldiers fell screaming into the depths, never to return.

"So what do you think?" Anak smirked. "Am I alone?"

Shaking in disbelief, Shora asked in a wavering voice, "Was that... authority? Real authority?"

Anak leveled his staff at her, his head held high "You're telling me you don't have any? And you call yourself a goddess." Anak shook his head mockingly, and Shora bellowed in rage.

"You disrespectful bastard!" She spat, seething, "I'll show you exactly what it means to be a goddess!" Shora leapt up high, her form twisted and bloating mid-air as she changed to her toad shape. Landing heavily, the earth beneath her split as well, only causing even more soldiers to fall.

"Does it mean being a moron?" Anak dodged a fissure that had managed to stretch to his position. "You just lost over half your forces to yourself."He aimed his staff at the toad-shaped goddess. "Or does it just mean being hideously deformed?"

Shora lashed out with her long tongue as a response, landing a blow upon Anak that sent him flying. Anak crashed heavily into a nearby building, leaving the wall behind him in a state of total rubble. Raising his head with a groan, Anak saw a small slave boy trembling with fright in the far corner. Feeling something soft beneath him, Anak looked to see the corpses of a noble couple, crushed by the wall and his body. It seemed this boy was serving in a noble household when Anak had come crashing down onto his masters.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. My name is Anak, what's yours?" Anak stretched out a hand to the boy and spoke with a gentle tone.

"Anak?" The boy stopped shaking and his eyes widened, taking in the entirety of the one who'd crushed his masters with a wall. "It's really you!" The boy cried out with exultation. "Where have you been? People are saying you ran away! Did you really?" He began prattling non-stop.

Gesturing for the boy to cease his inquisition, Anak interrupted. "Hold on, please. There's no time. I'm fighting this toad monster thing-" Anak stopped before he went off on a tangent.

"A toad monster?" The boy didn't fail to seize the lull for his own questions. "Awesome!"

Anak smiled at the boy bemusedly. "Yeah... But you have to run, alright? It isn't safe."

The boy nodded in understanding and took off through the door on the opposite side of the hole in the wall. Seeing the boy leave, Anak leapt through the hole back into the street.

"Toad goddess!" Anak bellowed as he emerged out of the dust lingering from the shattered wall. "Did you expect to defeat me with a tongue-lashing alone?" With this line, Anak leapt back into the fray of soldiers, priests, and the goddess.

Back on the narrow side street, Rimanqu galloped ever onward, flesh of shredded and trampled foes clinging to his claws and hooves. Tzipora clung to his antler, taking her perch on his broad shoulder with a proud posture. "To the tower, Rimanqu!" Tzipora called out with the ecstasy and adrenaline of battle, forgetting her fear and apprehension when gazing at the tower before in the midst of the chaos.

Rimanqu snorted in acknowledgement, rearing back on his hooves before leaping forward, claws digging out trails in the stone street as he sprinted at full speed.

In the skies above the tower, Lisma hovered on a golden cloud, firing cutting, explosive arrows at Rygald who was taking cover behind walls upon walls of bones. The arrows shattered the walls one by one with ease, and Rygald was forced to retreat behind the tower for a moment's reprieve.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Rygald muttered, "I didn't want it to come to this." He closed his eyes, and began chanting, "Aride mygcrom." One, twice, three times. For each time he repeated these words, a robed, skeletal figure would float out from the fissures around the tower, a green radiance spilling from their eye-sockets. The new arrivals began chanting mystical words themselves, gesturing with their hands, which spread a green fog-like essence with each flourish.

The green fog spread across the battlefield, lying low to the ground like a swamp's miasma. Wherever it touched an undead, they would glow with green radiance and fight with augmented strength. Lisma was still avoiding their strikes, but even with 'Impossible Luck' it was getting narrower and narrower.

Urmu looked on with a steely gaze. He flinched when a flash of necrotic lightning shot from the hands of one of the robed undead, grazing a hair on Lisma's head. The soldiers behind him shuffled nervously. Urmu kicked himself mentally for displaying his nerves and yelled back towards the regiment, "Don't lose heart! Reinforcements will soon arrive."

Suddenly a scratching and pounding echoed out from the street behind them. Urmu and the soldiers turned to see a vulpetir heading their way full-speed. "Hold the perimeter! Ready your weapons!" Urmu shouted his commands. He had no idea what such a vicious wild animal was doing loose in the city, but wild vulpetirs were malicious and always sought out a fight where there was one. They had to be ready for combat.

However, as the creature drew closer they noticed a figure standing tall on its shoulder and clinging to the sharp antler like a forest queen. It slowed as it approached, before sliding to a stop in front of them.

Tzipora glared down from above at the commander of the regiment in front of her. "Urmu." She coldly greeted.

Mouth agape, Urmu stammered out a reply. "Tzi-Tzipora? You tamed a vulpetir?" He asked dumbly.

Tzipora shook her head. "He was already tame. I just removed his collar." She stroked Rimanqu's fur with a sandal-footed massage.

"That's not..." Urmu shook his head. "Whatever, it's not important. Why are you here? I thought you escaped... you should have stayed away." Urmu lamented as he drew his ornate staff. "Now I'll have to recapture you."