Twilight Of The Old Gods

Ania walked around Eraldsfen before heading towards the temple. Along the way, she noticed that more and more of the villagers were looking at her with respectful gazes and bowing their heads at her passing. The Temple had found a sudden surge of worshippers visiting it once they settled the ordeal with the men from Korden.

She was pleased more of her people had found comfort in the warm embrace of Exile's protection. But she knew it could not last. The people from Korden would eventually notice that something had gone wrong. With Eraldsfen being the closest village, they would definitely fall under their suspicion.

'I wonder how we can deal with this...' Ania sighed as she smiled towards a group of village girls. 'How will the Goddess of Korden respond to what we did? I hope we did not make things worse for Lord Exile...'

The sunlight made the blue streaks in Ania's hair appear quite vivid. It was a beautiful sight to see. Especially as it was quite rare for people to be born with hair like hers. In the whole of Eraldsfen, no one else had even a single streak in their hair. Ania heaved a helpless sigh as she thought about the stories her father used to tell her.

Those with multiple colours of hair were supposedly gifted in magic, according to those stories. It would be great if it were true, as it would mean that she would be more capable of spreading Exile's name for him throughout Skardia. However, Ania had never even felt slightly magical. Since she had lived in Eraldsfen her entire life, she had never even seen someone who could use magic.

But her father would often describe battles against sorcerers and witches that would take place during his raids. However, a part of her suspected it was just nonsense that he made up to make the stories more enjoyable. She had to admit that it was entertaining to hear about. 'Maybe I should ask Lord Exile about it... He is a god after all.'

'Or would that be too rude of me?' Ania frowned as she wondered if it were appropriate to ask the gods such nonsensical questions. That was when her ears picked up the sound of Bjorn talking to the worshippers in the temple. He was in the middle of some long-winded story about the gods of old. Ania shook her head as she entered the doors and stood in the back. So as not to disturb his speech.

"That was when he blew his mighty horn to signal the attack! The Fallen trembled beneath the sound as the Skardian gods led the offensive!" Bjorn's eyes were wide as he made theatrical gestures with his hands. "That's right! It wasn't the elves known for their wisdom. Nor the Warbeasts who love fighting the most! Neither was it the other gods of the human realms! It was Skardia! And our gods that marched alone to stop their invasion!"

Ania smiled as she remembered being told this story when she was young. It was one of her favourites and instilled a sense of pride in her for being a Skardian. However, as she grew up, and the gods failed to answer her prayers. She came to believe that they were only stories. Just like everyone else. However, this story now had an additional question behind it.

'Was the War of the Fall the reason the gods had disappeared?' Ania frowned as she recalled it was one of the last stories in the history of the gods. If the war really happened, then was it possible that the Skardian gods had all died in battle? Assuming that was true, then another god could kill even Exile.

Ania chewed on her lip as she considered the implication of that heretical thought and how it corresponded with the people from Korden. She had only just found a god that had taken care of her and now another one was possibly trying to kill him off! She could not pretend that she understood the ways of the gods, but a deep hatred took root in her heart for DonnaThaGreat at that thought.

'Is this why he's caught up in the heavens? Is he already fighting a war and trying to keep us out of it?' Ania could not help but mull over the things Bjorn had been saying recently. Maybe it really was their duty to remove Exile's enemies in the human lands. Ania's attention was drawn back to Bjorn's story as it was reaching its climax.

"The battle was bloody, and many gods fell that day! Some would return to the fields of battle, while they lay others to rest eternally." Bjorn shook his head as a single tear ran down his cheek. Even a blind person could see how much love he had for the gods! "Despite their great strength, they could not hold the line. The gods from faraway lands who were supposed to be their allies never came. Without reinforcements, the Fallen pushed the Skardian gods back! They did not fear war, but neither would they stay to fight a losing battle... The mighty horn was sounded once more, signalling the retreat."

Bjorn waved his hands helplessly, as if it were a crushing defeat. "However, Allevia stayed behind. She had always been a kind goddess that sought to improve our lives. When she saw the mountains of corpses, her comrades who would never grace the world again and thought of how the Fallen would treat us... A fury erupted from within, the likes of which she had never shown before!"

"It is said that no god witnessed what she actually did. Her fury was like an unbridled storm that lasted for a brief second... The heavenly skies darkened beneath the blanket of black clouds... Then! A blinding flash of light appeared before the scent of burning flesh could be smelled by everyone who was present! She killed hundreds of Fallen in that one mighty blow."

The worshippers leaned forward, perched on the edge of their seats as they listened. Bjorn's performance was enthralling, and many of them had never heard the story in its entirety.

"However!" Bjorn's voice became loud as he held a finger up to the sky. "That was also her downfall. They already weakened her from the battle, and she spent the last of her strength to deliver that crushing blow. Since she had stayed behind, she was swiftly surrounded and torn limb from limb in a mad frenzy. Although she returned by the grace of the gods, that fury was never seen again..."