Champion

Chapter 20

Galen had always been the planner. It had been his idea to seek fortune and fame in the abandoned village. Extremely intelligent and powerfully magical, he had been able to conceal his own aura from Astinus for the last six winters. Within a month of the eight's flight from justice Galen left for Exitibus, preferring the much larger city to their small town, and seeking distance from Astinus.

Within two months of their departure, Lucius had received word that the eight had set up shop on the trail through Snow Gap Pass. It was far less profitable than Wolfsvale had been, but they were better able to hide their actions from the clergy while in the mountains. They had learned an important lesson about secrecy from their near capture.

With the added necessity of traveling to the mountains to pick up their pilfered goods, Lucius now had to spend two weeks of his time merely traveling the roads. So after a few months of this, he convinced Francos to move to Lexia. It wasn't a difficult discussion. Both men had found it increasingly challenging to come up with excuses of why they were now missing worship services, and claiming that they were attending in Lexia would be more believable if at least one of them lived there. Lucius and Francos combined their money, and had just enough to open a small shop in the port city. This enabled them to dedicate more time to fencing the stolen goods, ensuring significantly better prices.

In the two winters since they started, the enterprise had become more profitable. Lucius and Francos had begun to incorporate greater quantities of honest trade goods into their merchandise. They had talked and decided that in a few more seasons they would stop dealing in the stolen goods all together. Broast and his men would be unhappy, but it was not as if they could complain to the merchant guild over the breach of contract.

Lucius thought about the suppliers of his legitimate merchandise, and how much he could charge for them. It would be expensive to go legitimate now. He and Francos were not ready. Maybe if they could find some new supplier that had something that everyone wanted and no one else could make, but that was unlikely. They were still breaking into the business, and the best selling products were controlled by a group of traders that regulated their traffic with an iron fist.

He remembered what he had heard of the stranger's story. He had killed five men from a great distance with total surprise. If Lucius could figure out what weapons or magic the stranger had that could do this, perhaps he could find a craftsman that could reproduce it. He would have something that no one else did, and he would be able to name his price for it. But how could he get the man's possessions from him?

Lucius thought again about the three wanted men in the mountains. He had an idea...

***

"Any conversation about what a Champion does should first begin with what a Champion is. And that discussion is truly complicated," Astinus began once the trio had returned to the temple.

They were sitting around a small fireplace in what David assumed was Astinus' office. Relaxing in a comfortable chair, David was ready to learn what this whole Champion thing was all about. He had hoped that Astinus would know more than Laurena did about the matter, and it seemed he might.

"Eros is one of many gods and goddesses throughout all of creation," Astinus began. "Nearly two millennia ago, all of the deities shared the same realm, but perhaps the term shared is a poor choice. Many of the gods and goddesses were petty and jealous, squabbling with each other over worshippers and power. Eventually The Creator, the first god and creator of everything - to include the other gods - grew tired of their antics and the damage they were causing to his favorite realm. He separated them, casting them from their former home and sending each of them to a different realm in his creation. This was not done in cruelty, but as a way to create peace between the gods and to protect their former realm from inevitable destruction. Each god and goddess was given their own realm to watch over, and their most devout followers were allowed to accompany them.

"We are the descendants of those who followed our god Eros to this world. He gave this land as a gift to those who had come from a similar place in the last realm, and our ancestors named it Erosius in his honor. There are other lands in this realm, where other followers who lived in different places than our ancestors were taken. Only in the last few centuries have we begun to explore the seas with ships, and so far we have only found one other land of his followers.

"Unfortunately, just because The Creator separated the gods and goddesses, does not mean that he stripped them of their powers. Deities gain their immortal power from the beliefs of their followers, and if enough people in any realm believe in them, they can enter that realm and challenge the god or goddess who resides there. Unfortunately, if two powerful deities were to duel in this, or any other realm, then it could potentially be destroyed in the battle. All the gods and goddesses feared that if any of them destroyed one of The Creator's realms, then he would at a minimum destroy the offenders, and quite possibly destroy them all.

"Because of this, a powerful god of battle created a set of rules that he convinced all the other deities to agree to. No god or goddess would ever directly fight another deity. They would instead choose one mortal amongst their followers that would fight in their stead. This mortal would be given a portion of their deity's divine power, and would protect their realm on the deity's behalf. They would be primarily responsible for stopping another god or goddess from gaining enough worshippers to challenge for control of the realm, but if they failed in that task then they would have to face the mortal Champion of the challenger for control of that realm.

"You may be asking yourself what does it matter who controls which realm? The answer is that it only matters to those who are in that realm, and to any god or goddess who loses their realm. Each deity has their own priorities, and so each realm is a reflection of that. If our realm fell to the god of War - for instance - the peace, prosperity, and love we have known for two millennia would end. I do not wish to imagine what our world would look like then.

"However, for those of us who truly love our deities, their loss would be far worse. If a god or goddess loses enough worshippers, they lose their powers and their immortality. They become mortal, and eventually grow old and die; their presence lost for the rest of eternity."

With these heavy words Astinus paused, to let the significance of what he said sink into the stunned minds of David and Laurena. After a few moments he resumed his story.

"Over twenty winters ago the last Champion felt the presence of another deity encroaching into this realm. So she traveled to where this feeling drew her, and discovered an invading force. She was a very powerful sorceress, but not a very accomplished fighter. For almost five centuries she had defended Eros' realm by promoting his religion of love and compassion throughout the land. She felt that when people realized how much Eros loved them, and how wonderful that love felt, they would have no desire to look elsewhere for divinity.

"Once she realized that this group of invaders had been seduced by a Goddess of War, she threw herself into destroying them utterly. She refused to allow any part of War to gain a foothold into this realm, and would do whatever was necessary to stop them. Unfortunately, in her zeal to defend her god's realm, she forgot that she was no fighter or tactician. The force arrayed against her was so great that even her divinely gifted magic ran out, and she was struck down that night near the end of the Great Battle.

"However, even though she died, the invaders were defeated. She had caused enough destruction to break their will, and they fled the field that night. The fools sailed from our lands in fear of a woman they never discovered they had killed," Astinus said with a pained chuckle.

"So that is what it means to be a Champion and how the last one left us. I ask that neither of you share this story with anyone else. Without a Champion to defend our realm, knowledge of other deities and the powers to be gained from their worship could cost us our world and our god," Astinus requested of them. Then he gave David a wan smile. "At least, until you are ready to defend us young man."

"Now if you two with forgive me, I must ask that we call it a night. It is late, and I have much to do before the service tomorrow evening," Astinus told them.

"May we join you for worship Priest Astinus?" Laurena nearly begged. "I can help you with the preparations and the service, and David has never seen the worship of Eros."

"Certainly my dear," said Astinus. "I would welcome the help, and I am sure many of our young men would welcome it too," he added with a chuckle. "I shall wake both of you in the morning for breakfast, and Laurena you can help with the preparations while our Champion here relaxes until the service begins."

*** Revelations and Reservations ***

130720MAR13 DW

Wolfsvale, Erosius

Morning came too quickly for the sore soldier; it had been far too long since he had ridden a horse. Groaning as he dragged himself from bed, David stood and tried to stretch the soreness from his abused thighs. He dressed in his uniform and fleece jacket and strapped his M9 to his leg. His gear was stacked neatly in the corner of his room, and he made sure to lock the door and pocket the key on his way out. He trusted Astinus for the most part, but in the wrong hands his weapons could do a lot of damage on this world.

Making his way toward the smell of freshly cooked food, he met Laurena and Astinus in the temple's kitchen.

"Good morning Champion," "Good morning David," they each greeted him.

"Good morning to you both as well," he replied. "Am I in time for breakfast?"

"Certainly. We were going to let you sleep in, but instead you've woken in time to join us," Astinus replied.

Taking a seat at the table with them, Laurena handed him a plate with eggs, toast, and fruit on it.

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

As they ate their breakfasts, they discussed their plans for the day. Astinus and Laurena would be busy for most of the morning, preparing the temple for the children's worship service that afternoon, and the adults' service that evening. While he held services five out of seven nights a week, he only held the children's service two afternoons each week. Those days usually brought in many of the families from the farms outside the town.

"I often have a few of the oldwives in the town help me with the modified service for those that have not yet seen their eighteenth winter," Astinus explained. "But with Laurena here I will have her teach it today. She is much closer to their age than I, and will be able to explain Eros' love to them in a way that they might better understand," he said while smiling at the young woman in gratitude.