Trial of the gods

A man sat on a gilded throne while he swirled a dark, red wine in a goblet he held in his left hand while reading from a book with an ever-changing cover. It was in one moment green, another moment a drab grey, another a piercing blue shade reminiscent of the sky on a cloudless day and then a dark patch of black that seemed to swallow all the light hitting the book. The man however never seemed to take much notice of this peculiar aspect of the book he read, absorbed in the contents. The contents appeared to be odder than the cover itself as they constantly shifted into different characters, some numerical, other times barely scribble marks but through it all the man read on with deep concentration. The room was complete luxury. The furniture was of the richest wood, the ornaments were bejewelled and glittered in the radiant light provided by the glass-encased lanterns that were fastened to the walls of the room. Much about this man was confusing, the book he read, his demeanour and most of all his surroundings were confusing. His demeanour and surroundings were confusing because he was in fact in a prison. He was a prisoner who seemed so comfortable in his cell as a king in his throne room. His cell itself was luxury unbefitting a prisoner. The only indicator of his captivity was the single door which was locked from the outside. The mysterious prisoner was middle-aged and dark of complexion, his head was completely free of hair and the only facial hair he had was a scruff of beard that was on his face which only seemed to give his extremely handsome features a roguish edge. His mouth moved, slowly mouthing something as he read on. His intent focus on the book was broken when he heard his door unlock and he turned to face it as it slowly opened to reveal his visitor. Beauty was only a word till she came to be and gave it true meaning. A heart-shaped face, with caramel skin, full lips and almond-shaped eyes of the most piercing black. He would always find himself sinking into those eyes in the past. Her hair was not styled and instead she had picked the natural fluffy afro that she knew he liked. ‘ She must want something from me,’ he mused to himself as he noticed all the little weapons of her beauty she had prepared for him and grew wary. “hello, my love. I have missed you dearly, I am losing myself with worry over your current predicament,” she said in her sensuous voice. ‘Ah, and so the hypnosis begins,’ the man thought with a wry smile. He rose and walked to where she had stopped a few paces before him. She eyed him then, her eyes flicking to his face and then his arms as an unsure look entered her eyes. She was unsure of his current feelings for her considering the circumstances. The man kept his face a blank mask until he was within arms reach of her. Her body went from the fluid grace she usually had to stiff apprehension. The man chuckled as he opened his arms to embrace her. She was surprised and slow to react but in two beats of her heart, she recovered herself and sank into the embrace as tears gathered in her eyes. When the man drew back to look into her face and saw the tears he could not tell if they were real or another one of her manipulations. “I have missed you too my heart, I wondered if you were able to keep the wolves from coming after you during my absence,” the man said his worry only partly a pretense as despite it all he still loved her. He pulled her over to his throne and with a flick of his hand another chair manifested from thin air beside his seat. He beckoned her to join him as he sat. She sat slowly and wiped the tears from her eyes and held her mouth almost as if to the silence a sob, which the man found to be a little over the top but also very charming. She had always been a champion at using the tools a woman had to break through a man’s defences both in the light and in the darkness of a private room. The man shook his head almost as if to clear away memories of nights spent with her naked under him. After she seemed to have composed herself she took his strong right hand into her own hands and held it to her chest as she murmured, “Despite your current imprisonment, you still hold great sway over the counsel my love, they would not dare to so actively cross me in fear of retribution upon your release,” she said fawning over him, stroking his ego. He simply smiled and turned to her in query,” Released? Why would they release me after the crimes they laid on my head?” it seemed like such a ludicrous idea but she gave him a grave look and replied, “The Varungu have also triggered the challenge.” The man had an incredulous look on his face. The one sentence sent his mind into chaos. Through all his scheming and planning he had not foreseen this happening and he realized that his imprisonment was at an end. The challenge had been triggered across two pantheons, it meant one thing Global ascendance was here.