Blood of the Fallen. Book 1: Swords

The Devil Within

Thousands of years ago, the old gods could no longer dismiss Araghast’s eccentric and crazy behavior. The god council agreed to terminate the chaos god to avert another disaster. And so, before they left Gaeus to colonize new worlds, sixty or more gods slashed and hacked Araghast to pieces; throwing his carcass on the other side of the dimension gate where Cerberus and other monsters awaited their meal. The gods locked the gate and headed for the stars. They left Gaeus in the hands of their lesser creations.

But Araghast had a secret, even kept it from Damkina, his lover. He had cracked the code of the prophecy tree, which granted him the ability to see the future. Araghast knew of the assassination and prepared for his resurrection beforehand. He created two beings which can do his bidding. A chimera on one side and a humanoid in Gaeus. The chaos god then killed Cerberus and replaced the three-headed monster with his chimera. His illusion spell gave the three headed chimera the appearance of Cerberus.

The chimera ate his deceased body and stored Araghast’s essence in its stomach. For thousands of years, the Chimera had only one task - to push the dimension gate to create a brief opening the size of a lion’s tooth. It pushed for millennia; the gate held and never budged. Until one day, the gate opened for a brief second. A tiny crack through which the Chimera spat Araghast’s bones - to the world beyond the gate, Gaeus. The Chimera roared in victory as the gate closed once more.

The humanoid picked up the three bones - the three horns of his master. The servant clutched it with joy and reverence. He unfurled a parchment containing Arghast’s will and read, Return to this place in two thousand and seven years to meet the chosen. He skipped and jumped with glee as he left the gate. The three horns cradled in his pocket. Two thousand is not a long time.

Two thousand and seven years later, in the 9th month of harvest. The humanoid gave the horns to the chosen human. The horns sprouted calcified roots; cutting the human’s flesh and burrowing deep into the human’s mind. The chosen’s skin changed to a bloody red color. His eyes pulsated and glowed with the trail of dark matter. Araghast rushed into his soul.

“Master,” the humanoid genuflected.

Araghast extended his right hand and began the ritual of siphoning. His black cloak twisted alive as dark matter swirled on his palm. He uttered his name. Crimsoned hieroglyphs formed in the air and whirled in front of him.

The god shouted in ancient tongue and the hieroglyphs slithered upwards to the skies. Its colors bled and mixed with the rumbling storm clouds above.

Araghast turned to his humanoid. He placed his hand on the servant’s shoulder, “Well done, Retlub. We will surprise the gods when they return.”