FanStory.com - The Chronicles of Bethicaby amahra

Background
The gods of good and evil are pitted against one another as Gangus's army of nearly twenty-five-thousand is set to battle the notorious Nordoxz and their demonic allies.

ATTENTION READERS! In chapter 18 (part 3), Dinary cut the huge emerald gem from the forehead of the stone dragon, triggering it to come alive. The dragon took chase to reclaim the emerald stone.

At the end of Chapter18 (part 4), The soldiers made it out of the cave, but Dinary stayed behind to battle the dragon--killing it but nearly losing his life: The thudding sound of the dragon's fall brought the cavern roof down upon the creature, striking Dinary as well. Greatly injured, Dinary crawled out of the cave where, hours later, he was found (by two of his men who had doubled back) lying several hundred feet outside the cavern in a pool of blood. "He's alive!" one shouted. "Bless the gods."

Note: 'begods' is a play on 'bejesus'

TODAY'S CHAPTER:

Chapter 19 (part 1)
War of the Gods

Barthod was a powerful Shaman to the Nordoxz emperor, Vaganor. However, the Shaman's access to unclean spirits was greatly limited. To gain more privileges in the dark realm, he needed permission from Nelchael, the god of the Underworld.

The Shaman sat with his legs crossed under him, chanting in front of a mystical fire. Suddenly, he fell dead, and then his spirit rose before a throne of fire, where he bowed before Nelchael, who sat upon the flames. The god appeared to him as a preserved corpse. His grayish-blue skin covered a skeletal frame, with every bone in his face outlined under the skin. The balls of his eyes were black as coals and were sunk deep within his eye sockets.

Clothed in a black robe, with his face buried deep within its hood, he majestically sat as the fire crackled around him and smoke hovered above his hooded head like a dark cloud.

Barthod trembled as he spoke. "Oh, great god of the Underworld, I come before you with a matter of great urgency, My Lord."

"Urgency...there's always an urgency. What is it now?"

"That blasted human, Lord Abram, has performed the impossible, Your Greatness. He has somehow persuaded six leaders of the largest tribes of Bethica to join him and has forged a powerful army--nearly thirty thousand, My Great Lord."

Nelchael cast his eyes down and sighed, then flashed them up at Barthod. "That should be of no surprise, you fool. He has made that his goal since he and his tribe set foot into your world."

"You're not concerned, Great Lord?"

"Of course not. Except for my interests, I have no solidarity with you mortals. You are constantly getting into mischief with one another and then crying to us to get you out."

"But Great Lord..."

"Why should I care what you do to one another?"

"Ah, Great Lord..."

"You've been vexatious pests since your creation."

"I...I quite agree, My Lord. And a thousand apologies. But ma...may I just say...?"

"You've faced Abram before."

"Yes. Bu...but we faced him alone and barely defeated him."

"And?"

"And...My Lord?"

"Just what am I to gain by making his defeat more accessible?"

"Why...Bethica, My Lord."

"Bethica? Bethica belongs to Raziel. I'm the god of the dead, not the living."

"Precisely, My Lord," Barthod said with a boyish grin. "If we wipe out the races, we...your servants," he said with a slight bow of his head, "will be the only mortals left in Bethica. We will certainly not serve Raziel. And their many souls will expand your kingdom so greatly, its walls shall burst at its seams."

Nelchael slowly raised his chin. His black eyes glittered. "Hmm...I see your rank rising in my service like a giant wave, Barthod," he said, resting his back against his throne. "Go on."

"Getting rid of Gangus is just the tip of it, Your Grace. We'll destroy the gifts of their gods--the Qu'Venar's Magi; and that strange metal Lord Abram has been supplying them? Well, we'll make them as useless as wooden toys."

"You intrigue me."

"I exist only to please you, My Lord," Barthod said, humbly bowing his head.

"What is your request?"

"That you grant me deeper passage within your darkest realm...to summon greater, more powerful spirits, and Bethica shall be yours."

Sparks of fire appeared to waver in the black balls of Nelchael's eyes, and a smirk shaped his deep purple lips. "Granted!" he said boomingly.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, Great Lord Nelchael," Barthod said, bowing several times. "You have made me..."

"However," Nelchael said, his deep-set eyes blaring. "There are many chambers in my kingdom. They house many things. Some are set aside for those who disappoint me."

"Oh, Great Lord...."

"...and I assure you--regardless of the outcome of your mortal war, my world will surely expand--either with Gangus and his breed of allies as you've promised...or you and yours if you fail."

His black globes burned into Barthod's eyes.

"Great Nelchael, My true Lord. Without Lord Abram and those divine gifts, his army will be as lost children, and we will crush them."

"See to it then!"

The Shaman's spirit quickly disappeared from the presence of Nelchael and returned to his body. As Barthod lay on the white marble floor, he felt a sudden surge of energy swell within him--as if he were no longer alone in his skin. The room appeared brighter, followed by a sense of euphoria. He sat up and flashed a sinister smile.
*****

Meanwhile, back on Volari territory, Dinary, after weeks of recuperating, stormed into his father's study, causing Gangus to jump.

"Dinary, you're as bad as your mother. You scared the begods out of me. Doesn't anybody bother to knock anymore?"

"I'm sorry, father, but I was just anxious for you to know the Qu'Venars and the Aenwyns are joining us with eight thousand men."

"Splendid, my son. But how did you persuade the prince? I spent thousands on a banquet fit for the gods and nothing. You go there and..."

"It wasn't quite that simple, Father."

After Dinary told Gangus of the journey to the Haunted Wastelands and all he and his soldiers had encountered, Gangus was furious.

"WHAT! A DRAGON! He had you risk your lives...my son...my heir for a bloody stone!"

"Now, Father..."

"A bloody stone!"

"Father, it's all right."

"No, it is not all right. For months, I sat here, calm--thinking you were simply talking some sense into the prince, and all the time you were out there on cursed soil risking your life..."

Gangus closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his gray hair. He mumbled through clenched teeth, "Sword-demons, poisoned, disappearing floor, a dragon? Dear gods."

"Father, we need the Qu'Venars and the Aenwyns. We're talking, eight thousand men. There was no other way."

Gangus looked at his son with tenderness. He grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "If I had lost you..."

Dinary embraced his father, then gently pulled back and stared at him. "But you didn't. Besides, the dragon didn't have enough fire to roast a pig, let alone me," he lied.

"Bless the gods," Gangus said, teary-eyed.

"More than that, Father. I am the son of the bravest warrior that ever lived."

"Oh, son," Gangus said, momentarily looking down at the floor.

"No, Father, I mean it. The king and prince didn't believe they were sending us to our deaths. They and their people are highly impressed with your being the leader of the only mortals to have ever crossed the Endless Ocean.

"So that was it."

"Yes...and...of course, my being your son and being younger and stronger...bringing back the emerald and all..." he teased.

"All right, all right, settle down," Gangus said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, the door flew open. "Dinary," Brehira said loudly, running to him. Her eyes were glassy, and she flashed a bright smile. "I was in the garden when the servants told me you were here." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. She pulled back and examined him from head to toe. "Well, what happened...did the prince agree?"

As Dinary was gathering his thoughts, Gangus eased behind Brehira and shook his head at Dinary. Gangus didn't want Brehira to know what the prince had made Dinary do to get his aid; knowing her temperament, Gangus didn't trust Brehira not to use her divine arsenals against the prince, sabotaging his aid.

"Yes, Prince Norr and the Aenwyn king have agreed to give us four thousand men each."

"Eight thousand...just like that?"

"Well," Gangus said, walking up to them. "Our son can be very persuasive, my dear."

"But, I mean, what exactly made him change his mind?" she said, looking wide-eyed at Dinary.

"We...ah..." Dinary stammered. "I sweetened the deal about more weapons and..."

"Yes, yes, exactly..." Gangus agreed sharply.

"But we had already offered that...didn't we?" She glanced at Gangus, then turned back to Dinary. "Yes, I remember we were..."

"Honey, our son is probably tired from his travel. Ah, could you see to it that...ah..."

"Oh, absolutely, dear," she said, turning to Gangus. "I'll have a servant prepare his favorite stew and take it up to his room." She started for the door, then hurried back and kissed Dinary on his cheek. She then turned and hurried out of the room.

Gangus walked to the door, peeked out, then closed it.

"Whew!" Dinary blew, wiping his brow. "Glad we dodged that arrow, but I hate lying to Mother."

"Well...hopefully," Gangus said, smirking, "by the time she finds out, the war will be over. Then she can blast his bloody hide to the Underworld."

End of Part One

Image: by Dantegrafice from Pixabay

Main Characters
Lord Gangus Abram Leader of his clan
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

The gods
Raziel (Ray-zeal) God of gods
Dahlia (Doll-lee'ah) Goddess of Domaria--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) ( Humans) A kingdom ruled by women'
Nekani (Neh cah knee) (Humanoids) Felion Race'