Gods and undead
Mahir jumped from Rahir's shoulders playfully as soon as they entered the house. Mikel rubbed his eyes, he didn't believe what was in front of him. Rahir's life had been quite different from what they had expected from him. The violent, hot-tempered man managed to seduce somehow the lady he fought with. She welcomed the group, and as she turned to salute them, they all had a view of her round belly.
For five years, Rahir had a family. He sat at the dining table and slammed his fist on the wood, "So! Have you deserted? Are you joining the cause?"
Mikel sat with round opened eyes, "The cause?"
"Yes! The Razgons are running away from the East due to the increase in the heat. They tried to shelter in Akshren, but the government didn't tolerate them. This is how it all started."
"The confederacy of Rekh city-states refused shelter to the refugees. But why?" Gabron said with shock.
Rahir's wife sat on the lap of her husband, she was fierce and resolved as she explained the situation, and her frustration was easily understood in her tone.
"Because we are the curse people. Our land suddenly became warmer, and it was said that the god Archanium wanted to punish us. When we fled, the undead started to ravage our camps, so they said that the god Zarkhaïm didn't want us as well. The government of Akshren claimed they wanted to protect their people against Tridjan's wrath if we came to shelter there. They said the three gods are against us now, as we didn't pray to the gods in the past."
Jäwell raised an eyebrow at this revelation, he had no idea who Tridjan was, and he didn't like it. He knew he was the one represented on the statues in Akshren, he had seen them many times, but he didn't know the intentions of this so-called god, and he was afraid he would turn to be a second Archanium. Sarin saw Jäwell's concern, and he didn't feel reassured.
The prince asked in a whisper, "Who do you pray to?"
"To the first humans, the Jessadians," She answered directly.
Rahir laughed and commented, "Guys, you should learn about them. They have horns and hooves. They have the strength of bulls, and they are smarter than humans!"
Sarin and Mikel both had a look in the direction of Jäwell to judge his reaction. He tried to keep a neutral expression to not show his concern. In his existence, he never heard about Jessadians enjoying being prayed to. They were humble and discreet. They appeared in the legends about the death of the warriors, but Jäwell never heard humans mentioning them as a kind of angels. He was concerned by what happened to these lands.
Falin was admiring the cocoon Rahir had built with his wife, and Rufon was sleeping on the couch peacefully. There was a huge contrast between the barracks they had been living in and the warmth of their home. He surprised himself to be envious, and he realized he would have probably enjoyed the same thing. They had been fighting for a long time, resting was not so bad now.
"How did you manage to understand how to lead the undead to a target? I saw your method to light fires to attract them to the ones you want to attack. Who told you about this?" Jäwell asked with a dark look.
"The shaman Gawanda did it. He knows a lot about undead and night creatures. He taught us how to survive."
"Is he living in the city?"
"Yes, he has a tent outside the walls, but he doesn't receive visitors."
Jäwell didn't care for her warning, he stood up and walked to the doorway, "Which direction?"
She raised her arm and pointed a direction, "Take the exit near the herbal shop, and you will find him a hundred meters on the right."
Jäwell didn't waste time, he quickly walked away, not listening to the voice of his companions trying to warn him that the night was falling and that it was better to stay inside. He almost ran to the exit of the town, and he found the tent without difficulty. In this desert, there was only one, standing out of the sand in the landscape.
As he came closer, Jäwell held his breath, he was expecting an undead, or maybe even a demon. Someone had given information to humans that they were not supposed to have concerning the Ombrae, but what annoyed Jäwell was that this person spread lies about Zarkhaïm.
Jäwell knew it more than anyone else, Zarkhaïm loved humans. He would have never cursed them or rejected them. Jäwell could feel his blood boiling, he was about to open the tent in one frantic move when the tent opened by itself, inviting him inside.
"You search for me, prince of darkness?" A voice echoed in the darkness of the tent, Jäwell walked inside fully, and he saw a figure, enlightened by a fireplace in a corner emitting a dim light.
The man in front of him was no human, he had tusks, and his skin was blue. The line of his jaw was pronounced, almost animalistic, and his ears were long and pointy. When the man stood up to move the wood in the fire, Jäwell noticed how tall he was compared to him, he was easily four heads higher than him. Jäwell had no doubts anymore, the man was a troll. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword and looked at him.
"Why are you here with them?" Jäwell almost barked, not even hiding his identity now that the troll called him prince, he knew the man already saw the Ombrae.
"I am saving these fools, they would have died for a long time without my knowledge." The troll answered calmly, sitting back to his bedding near the fire.
"Who are you, Troll? State your true intentions."
Jäwell could not be more aggressive, he was wary of the troll in front of him, as he knew these creatures could be liars. They were known to be incredibly selfish. Yet, the man chuckled, amused by Jäwell's fierce tone.
"She was right about you. You are a wild one."
"She?" Jäwell opened his eyes in disbelief, "Zuline sent you?!"
The troll laughed heartily, "Indeed she did. I met Zuline in Rika's desert. She kindly asked me to come here as she heard angels sent by Archanium were making difficulties. She wanted to stop them and lead their victims out of their grip."
"Why have you lied about Zarkhaïm and the Jessadians!? Zarkhaïm never cursed these people!" Jäwell was furious beyond words, the memory of his family was attacked with these lies, but the troll only kept smiling.
"I lied, indeed. The Razgons needed something to believe in, and after the angels led the undead on them, they needed to believe in something else than gods. They needed something they could identify with. I thought Zuline's story was an inspiring one. The tale of a tribe who revolted against the god of the light and being eternal nomads helping lost souls to find their path."
Jäwell blew out a long breath, he pressed his fingers over his temples and tried to gather his thoughts. Archanium was behind everything happening here, as usual. Judging how the undead were afraid of the sun, Jäwell could easily guess they had met Archanium before, and the encounter had nothing pleasant.
"Why the undead are not joining the Ombrae? Why didn't Zuline come to search for them already?" Jäwell breathed, having a headache.
"Zuline can't act directly against Archanium, not after what happened in Ombrae. I tried to contact the Jessadians living there, but they had other priorities, I was on my own."
Jäwell tightened his fist, "I will send someone to take them home as soon as I come back on the throne. They can't stay here going on a rampage."
"I agree, they can't. Most of them are losing their consciousness."
Jäwell placed a hand over his arm, still painful despite the years of trying to heal it, "Yeah, I know. They became quite feral."
The troll chuckled, amused, he took a cup of tea and gave it to Jäwell, "My name is Gawanda. I am at the service of Zarkhaïm and the shadows."
Jäwell took the cup and drank the tea without thinking, after the first sip, he realized there was a little bit more in the tea. His eyes started to close immediately, he whispered a few words before he fell asleep on the floor near the warming fire.
"How? No drug can do this to me," Jäwell tried to ask with his last resources.
Gawanda laughed, "Zuline gave me things. Don't worry, my friend, everything will be off very soon."
Gawanda stood up and placed a special fabric over the fire to hide the light. Outside, Jäwell could hear the low growl of the undead coming out for their night hunting, he recalled Gawanda carrying his sleeping body on the bedding while the troll started to chant some incantations. Jäwell saw a portal of shadows opening as he was losing consciousness, he suddenly felt a sense of urgency when he perceived the figure on the other side of the shadows.
"Zuline…"