Attention Readers:
In chapter 19 (part1)
Gangus and Dinary keep from Brehira the real reason why Prince Norr has finally agreed to aid Gangus against the Nordoxz.

At the end of Chapter 19 (part 2), Barthod's attempt to kill Gangus fails, and Emperor Vaganor is furious. Barthod never tells the Emperor what he had promised Nelchael, god of the Underworld. The Shaman knows if the Nordoxz loses this war, Nelchael will collect on his bargain to expand his kingdom with the souls of the losers.


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Today's Chapter

Chapter 19 (part 3)
War of the Gods

A great distance away, Gangus watched from his balcony as his captains shouted instructions to their individual units of soldiers--engaged in fight training and fitness exercises.

It had taken months to instruct an army of that size, nearly 30,000--made more difficult due to ego clashes and the different drilling styles of each tribe. However, Gangus's leadership and past victories had garnered enough confidence for the royal leaders to insist he oversee the strategic battle plans necessary to defeat the Nordoxz and their allies. The royal leaders named their newly formed Bethican army the Thunder Guards.

Meanwhile, Barthod and the other Shamans were ramping up its side with necromancy and death magic. Barthod concerted that the battle would not be won with mere swords, spears, axes, hammers, or bows. Victory would come, he believed, by fire, wind, lightning, and supernatural gifts. And not by ordinary mortals but by those who mastered control over the elements and bore favor with the gods.

*****
Finally, preparations for the war were months in the past. The orange sun spread slowly over the battlefield. Gangus sat majestically upon his horse before his army in the region of Navar--far west of Bethica and Kylar--the Southern border of the Nekani.  He swept his eyes toward the hills where the Nordoxz army of 50,000 stood, then swept them back to his soldiers and shouted.

"You are not fighting for me, the gods, or for mere victory! Remember our loved ones and colleagues who died crossing the Endless Ocean! Remember the terrible Drake, the cannibal island of Gorr, the Ogrekins, the Minotaurs, and the nearly forty years it took to build our cities and farmlands! Are we going to let these spotted beasts run us off our land?!"

"NO!" roared the voices of the thousands.

"Then, go! Let us die if the gods will it so, and send those bloody black-hearts to the fiery pits of the Underworld!"

The Thunder Guards' bellowing war cries as the Calvary galloped and foot soldiers sprinted, activated enemy reaction. Down the hill, the Nordoxz soared toward the Guards. Out in front were the Bohaus, eating up the ground with their six legs--their noses flaring and fangs dripping with toxic saliva. Little did the Nordoxz realize that unlike the battle before, against the Volarian archers, the Bohaus were no match for the Aenwyns, who could shoot the horns off a fleeing buck and not break the rhythm of its speed.

The Bohaus thundered towards the Guards. The Aenwyns drew back their bows and aimed. The sky turned black, with arrows soaring like wingless hawks. To the Nordoxz shock, every arrow met its mark as numerous Bohaus fell dead. While the Aenwyns reloaded, the Nekanis leaped upon the backs of the Bohaus and dug in their claws--sinking their fangs into the backs of their necks and snapping them.

Dinary's necklace glowed. He had cut down several beasts with his sword, but another struck him from behind, bringing him face down in the dirt. As Dinary's necklace intensely blazed, he quickly turned over on his back and rammed his sword through the heart of the beast. Up on his feet, Dinary turned and saw Gangus with two Bohaus attacking him, he ran to aid his father, but Celio shot there before him and struck one beast with his mighty shield, knocking it to the ground, then ran his blade through the head of the other.

Meanwhile, Olatunji had shapeshifted into a Bohaus and crept behind enemy lines. He attacked and killed two allied enemies before his strange scent alerted the Bohaus, which turned and viciously tore into him. Olatunji, in half-human form and badly injured, fled and fell into the arms of Brehira, who quickly administered her healing powers.

Gangus grew disappointed. After hours of fighting, the Thunder Guards still had not kept the Nordoxz from advancing. But suddenly, from the east--with the sun at their backs, high-pitched battle cries pierced the air, and the ground turned brown with the beautiful tan bodies of the Domari female army called the Dedroyles. Three thousand women behind silver shields were swinging spears the average man had to lift with two hands--killing humanoids and beasts alike. In hours--with the help of the Dedroyles, the Thunder Guards drove the Nordoxz army into the Western Woods where the Engamars were waiting in ambush.

The Engamars wasted no time tearing into the Nordoxz army with their sharp axes and heavy hammers. They smashed heads and severed limbs while their double-plated shields protected them from every blow of enemy weapons.

Enraged by the turn of the battle, the Emperor shouted to his Shamans, "Do something, damn you!"

Barthod quickly summoned the Cavemorphs. And immediately, several seven-foot, dark-furred creatures with the head of a buffalo,  wide black manes, and twenty-four-inch needle-point antelope-like horns flashed into view--right in the middle of the battlefield. They stood on four muscular legs, and at the end of their extremities were split pointy hooves. Their large, round eyes appeared as red blazes of fire.

They had flared nostrils and long, thick fangs. They roared like bears, and the ground shook when they bolted toward the Guards with the speed of horses. Gangus's eyes flashed wide. "Holy Father of gods," he mumbled.

Dinary stood in a fighting stance. Upon his chest, his necklace beamed like a tiny sun. He'd cut several Cavemorphs to pieces but was overwhelmed by many more. The Dedroyles speared many beasts but suffered a loss of 400 women in the hand-to-hand combat against the powerful Minotaurs. Though many Cavemorphs lay in pools of blood with Aenwyn arrows embedded in their brains, those conjured beasts still dominated the battlefield.

Barthod did not relent. He led the Shamans in commanding the elements. Straightaway, a forceful wind swooped down upon the field and lifted numerous Thunder Guards hundreds of feet. The forceful drops crushed their bones--killing them instantly. Gangus commanded his staff;  its greater wind force pierced the demonic wind, and it ceased. Gangus's staff wind proved so powerful that the emperor's horse rocked and had to be steadied by several of his men.

Suddenly, a powerful spell spilled from the mouths of the Shamans, and towering Bowthorpe trees uprooted--moving laboriously toward the Guards. The Dedroyles threw spears, but to no effect. The Aenwyns shot arrows that whizzed through the branches, striking leaves but little else. Several trees shot out their roots that wrapped around the necks of the soldiers and tore off their heads. Other trees deliberately fell upon the soldiers and crushed them--hundreds at a time.

The Qu'Venar Magi shot fire from their hands that was so hot it consumed the giant trees and reduced them to ashes in seconds. The Gunji threw huge fireballs at the Nordoxz army that spooked their horses and made them rear up, causing their riders to tumble to the ground. Again, the emperor's horse was steadied by his men.

The Shaman ordered clouds to appear, and rain poured like giant buckets from the sky. The rain quickly turned into a rising flood with a current that nearly washed the Guards away. But Gangus sent a wind that parted the waters. Amazed, his soldiers found they were suddenly on dry ground again and watched wide-eyed as the staff winds whisked the Shaman waters into a nearby lake.

Tired of the magic spectacle, the emperor dismounted. He pulled his sword from his sheath and another from the sheath on the side of his horse.

"Lord Abram!" he shouted.

Gangus turned his head and spotted the golden skull crown with its burning ruby eyes rushing towards him. He watched as Vaganor came more clearly into view--advancing with sparkling swords gripped tightly in both hands.

Vaganor stopped and then walked slowly towards Gangus, as Gangus had dismounted and was walking slowly towards him. The men stopped and faced each other--standing ten feet apart.

"This war ends now, LORD!"

"As you wish, EMPEROR!"




End of Part Three



Image: by Dantegrafice from Pixabay

Main Characters
Lord Gangus Abram Leader of his tribe
Lady Brehira (Bree here rah) His wife
Dinary (Deh nah ry) Youngest Son
Celio (Seal le o) Soldier and close friend
Princess Netrekka (Neh trek kah) Dinary's Lover/wife
Olatunji (O Lah Tune Gee) Cushite Soldier
Gangus's Staff Command Tierphenjinochun (Teer fen gin o tion)

Minor Characters
Khimah (Kee ma) Eldest Son
Captain Dulcy P Dordrecht (Door check) Captain of the Cristofur
Judian (Jew-dee-in) Second in Command of the Cristofur
Kofius (Ko fee us) The Sail Master
The Drake (like it's spelled) The menacing dragon
The Gunji (Gun-gee) A magical humanoid
Barthod (Bar-thod) A Shaman
Vaganor (Veh-gah-noor) Emperor of Nordoxz...enemy to Bethica and Raziel

The gods
Raziel (Ray-zeal) God of gods
Dahlia (Doll-lee'ah) Goddess of Domari--a kingdom ruled by women
Gailzur (Gale-zore) God of War
Nelchael (Nell-key-ol) God of the Underworld
Zakzakiel (Zak zah keel) God of Peace


The Races
Volarians (Vo lar rians) (Humans) 'Gangus's tribe'
Timbakni (Tim-bach-knee) (Humanoid) K9 race, Devoted to Gangus and his tribe
Engamars (In ga mars) (Humanoids) aka, Red Beards 'Hate Aenwyns and Qu'Venars'
Aenwyns (An winds) (Humanoids) 'Adore Qu'Venars, hate Engamars'
Qu'Venars (Q' Vin nahs) (Humanoids) 'Adore Aenwyns can't tolerate the stubborn Engamars'
Nordoxz (Nor-docks) (Humanoid) 'Skin multi-colored like a serpent, Enemy to all, including the gods, except one'
Faerie (Far ree) (Another world) Origin of the Aenwyns'
Domarians (Doe mah rians) ( Amazon/Humans) A kingdom ruled by women'
Nekani (Neh cah knee) (Humanoids) Felion Race'