Aura whispers words of encouragement to his flame until it carefully jumps into his awaiting hand. The light reveals a relief carved into the surface of three of the four walls. “Look at this,” Edmund gestures. “It is the history of the Pantheon-”
“Well, I didn’t find shit in that chamber. Just a skull.” Argnier stomps inside, tossing a human cranium in his hands like a ball. “Anything interesting here?” He looks from the relief to Edmund. “What does it say, Far Eddie?”
Edmund holds the flame close to the stone. “I don’t think you are ready.” He takes a deep, drama-filled breath. “There are ten gods.”
After Edmund’s words drop like a heavy steel ingot, only the faint flickering of Aura’s fire minions can be heard.
“My parents spoke to all six gods the night before I was born,” Aura whispers. “What do you mean there are ten?”
Like Calder, she is unamused at their companion’s jest.
“Let the little fire things bounce off the wall.” Edmund excitedly pats the stone.
Aura motions the horde, which dances against the wall, lighting the embossment.
“Perfect.” Edmund’s tone turns more formal, as if he is lecturing them. “Look here at the carving. There are nine depictions of each god. First is Makt, the God of Power and patron god of Skalor. Second is Ingvar, the God of War and the other patron god of Skalor. Next, we have Gullveig, Goddess of Order and patron goddess of Pradacia. Then, Briny, Maeve, and Freyr are the patron gods ofTreland. Astrid, Goddess of Strife in Astria.” His hand traces the figures, looking down with diamond-encrusted eyes. “Noxumbra and Reidar in Steinlund.”
“I’m confused.” Aura massages her temples. “Are Freyr, Makt, and Reidar not evil demon gods?”
“Excellent question, cousin. I believe the answer is more complicated.” He taps Freyr’s sigil. “The only logical answer is that someone or something banished these three from the pantheon. Even I have read the discrepancy in the old tomes referencing ten gods, but this,” he taps twice, “is further proof there were once ten gods.”
“You keep saying ten gods, Far Eddie, but I count nine.” Argnier has nine fingers up as he mumbles the names.
“Aura, my favorite cousin, if you will be so kind.” Edmund gestures higher up the wall.
She corrals her army of colorful lights and instructs them to hop higher. The flames flicker beneath a being far larger than the others. Onyx gemstones fill the eye sockets of a god, smothered in the darkness.
“Fellow companions, meet Volund, the God of Death and King of the Abyss.”
31
CALDER
October 7, Year 21, 10th Era
Makt’s Temple, Skalor
Aura’s hand flies to her mouth while Argnier scratches his chin.
Calder stands behind the Princess, his hand clutching her shoulder. “The King of the Gods? But I thought Gullveig was the head of the pantheon. Your Gothi have stressed that knowledge.”
Edmund remains strangely silent as they all gawk at Volund’s depiction and his sigil.
“Throughout my life, I have been fascinated by the gods. It was a sick, twisted courtesy that my fathers agreed to punish me by sending me to a Gullveig temple. However, I have only heard of this rendition of the pantheon in ancient tomes written over a millennium ago.”
“How does this help us defeat Makt?” Aura leans against Calder’s chest, and somehow, the burning need to hurt someone returns.
Maintaining his silent anger, he responds to the only person who matters in his misery-filled life and envelopes her in his arms.
“We know for certain that Freyr and Makt are still alive, albeit unworshipped, which indicates they are not in their respective afterlives. Wildly, this states Makt’s afterlife is the Palace of Virtue.”Edmund leans against the wall, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his robes.
“The peasant afterlife?” Calder asks.
Aura swats at his arm. “That’s not true! Other souls can ascend there, too.”
“It’s a little true, cousin.” Edmund scratches the peach fuzz that clings to his chin. “Most who believe in the Palace of Virtue or worship the God of Power are peasants or greedy lords. It is said that the Palace of Virtue is where one can assume the role of a king for eternity. Whatever that means.”
Edmund shrugs. “It’s fairly compassionate. Not unlike Freyr’s basic afterlife, the Hereafter, which allows farmers, craftsmen, hunters, and other folks to find eternal peace, living exactly as they did in life.” The Gothi scoffs at such a notion.
