Impure: Godslayers

“All my sustenance comes from the sun, so if I was starved of its rays and I depleted all the energy I have stored maybe then I would be forced to eat. In fact I do not even need mortal blood like some of my siblings. I cause them to sacrifice one of their kin a night because…. I can. It is not the act but the principle behind the act. These mortals must understand their place…beneath our heels,” Tzio said.

Avida nodded as she ate the succulent dish on the table in front of her. She had been in the temple for some months and cherished being treated like a goddess once again. Constantly attended by mortals whose sole purpose was to wait on her hand and foot, surrounded by opulence and acting without vindication. Tzio sat at the other side of the table on a pile of cushions. He was a well-built man with a youthful face and a head full of cloud white hair. He wore a long garment around his waist, which hung over his sandals. Avida was no longer captivated by the definition of his abdominals, because he was always topless. However the sight of the blood red tattoo, of a wingless serpentine dragon that was sprawled on his back, never ceased to amaze her. Even from here she could see the tail of the dragon wrapped around Tzio’s right arm.

“Is the meal to your satisfaction?”

“Finding it hard to eat with all this talk of blood,” Avida replied after swallowing her food hurriedly.

“You are a delicate one are you not, which is all the more reason to doubt my siblings’ fear of you? You are as a daughter to my brother, why would you betray him because of some immortal juveniles. We have the godly weapons, we are older and stronger and you are on our side, are you not?”

“Yes, of course,”

“Good,” Tzio said.

“Father,”

Tzio turned to the man who had just spoken. Even though he referred to Tzio as his father, the mortal looked a lot older than the god. At first one would have mistaken him for a priest for he wore their colours, but his garment was form-fitting and he also wore trousers.

“Full,” Tzio called.

“Father, Drazo’s Priests are back,”

“Show them in,”

Subsequently, three men entered the room. The familiar sight of Drazo’s priests sent a fearful chill down her spine that ruined her appetite. It was not that she was scared of the mortals, but she was anxious about what message they were tasked to deliver.

“Greetings Tzio, Light of the East, I bear ill tidings. Drazo is getting infuriated with you. He warns that if you do not return his daughter, he will be forced to claim her… personally,” a priest said as he bowed low.

“What did you say?” Tzio asked as he sat up.

The priest coughed nervously. It was impossible to tell if Tzio was angry, for he always had an arrogant smirk on his face and his voice was a constant high pitch, emotionless whisper. However, there was something menacing about the way his eyes widened, revealing his faint gold sclera.

“He will be forced to-”

“No, before that,” Tzio interjected.

“He warns that-”

“Yes there it is…. What right has a foreign god to warn me in my own domain,” Tzio said.

“Wel-”

“Leave us. You shall have your answer soon,”

Drazo’s priests all turned to leave.

“Not you,” Tzio said.

“Wha-”

Before the first priest could speak, Tzio stretched out a hand and open his palm. A shaft of concentrated light shot out of his palm and ripped straight through the priest. Then just as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished. With a hole in his chest which was in the shape of a palm; Tzio’s palm to be exact, the priest dropped lifelessly to the ground.

“Avida I think I have a solution to your problem,” Tzio said as he lay back on the cushions.

“What?” Avida muttered as she pushed her plate aside with a trembling hand.

She looked at the charred shape of Tzio’s palm on the far wall as the corpse was dragged out of the room.

“If you would be my wife”

“What – oh…I do not know what to say,” Avida gasped.

She was yet to recover from one shock, only to be taken aback by Tzio’s offer.

“Say yes. I have hundreds of mortal women begging for my attention so I know I am handsome,”

“Yes… you are but marriage it is…. I have never really thought of it.” Avida replied.

“Father, dawn approaches,” Full said.

Tzio nodded as he stood up.

“My mortal mother was pregnant for nine years before she gave birth to me. I supposed yours was as well?” Tzio asked.

Avida nodded hesitantly. Tzio spoke as he walked towards Full.

“I have hundreds of children; their mothers carried them for nine months, all of them more mortal than god. Hundreds of children but only three sons… With you I will have sons, much more numerous and powerful than the ones I have already,”

Tzio held Full’s beard. He evaluated his son’s face like a merchant scrutinising a prized stallion. Full’s eyes met his father’s gaze momentarily before looking down sheepishly to the floor.

“Oh Avida I need sons…urgently. So I would not spend too long thinking, for you would not want to test the lengths of Drazo’s patience… or my generosity,”

Ying walked into the room.

“Osy they are waitin- oh sorry,” Ying giggled apologetically.

“Do I amuse you?” Osy asked as he secured his boots.

“Your hair it’s so woolly”

“Oh I nearly forgot,” Osy said as he stood up.

He groaned painfully as he ran his finger through his dripping thick frizzy locks. Subsequently Osy turned into a wraith and the flowing hair twirled freely down his scalp. It was an amazing sight for the wisps of his hair were quite literally plaiting themselves. Ying was however petrified by his skeletal wraith-like face, until he reverted back to his solid form.

“It is alright see, I did not mean to scare you,” Osy gasped as he stepped forward.

“I was not scared just...I was not expecting it,” Ying said inquisitively as she also stepped forward.

She was captivated by Osy’s thin long plaited hair.

“Here I brought this for you. It may be warm at day time but it gets pretty chilly at night, especially on horseback.”

Osy smiled as he took the long coat from her and put it on.

“Let me,” Ying said as she got even closer.

Even with Osy’s hand on it, Ying clutched the buckle at the collar of the coat. She leaned even closer until she finally fastened it.

“See it was not that hard was it?” Ying said as she looked up at Osy.

With their gazes locked, Ying gently pulled Osy closer to her. She giggled timidly as Osy stroked her nose with his affectionately. Their lips locked for one blissful moment.

“What is taking-”

The couple withdrew sharply from each other as Lee came barging into the room.

“Oh…we have to go,” Lee said as he scowled for a moment before leaving the room.

As they reached the valley several miles beyond the city walls, the three riders dismounted their horses.

“Stick close to me, put your hoods on and squint your eyes, lest they betray your divinity,”

Osy and Lee did as Mang instructed and followed him through the crowd, while pulling their horses behind them. Yet between the droves of people all chattering loudly and the wisps of smoke from their lit joss sticks, Osy and Lee found it all too easy to mingle with the mortals.

“Plan on giving me that look all night?” Osy mused.

“You knew I wanted her and yet you cornered her in the room,” Lee hissed.

“Cornered her? She came to me. Besides I do not think she was really attracted to you,”

“Please. I am a demi-god and she is a mortal….She should be grateful at the mere fact that I looked in her direction and I am rather dashing,”

“You may be older than her, but you are immortal. You look so much younger,” Osy explained.

“Age… Please Helga in Freydal was in her thirties and married. Well her husband was dead but- ah forget it Ying is nothing,” Lee said dismissively.

“It is very unwise to insult Ying in such close proximity to her father.”

“Alright she is not nothing.…”

“I am not sure -not nothing- is the right way of saying whatever it is you were trying to say,” Osy sighed.

“You know what I mean, she is beautiful and very innocent, and well at least she acts innocent around me,” Lee laughed.

“Enough. We have more pressing matters,” Osy growled.

As they reached the front of crowd, the boys looked up in awe at the great temple structure. A hush came over the crowd as a Priest began to speak from a balcony on the middle floor of the building. A bound girl was dragged on to the balcony and her screams for help echoed in the valley. Lee and Osy looked around in absolute shock as the crowd remained quiet and in reverence, no one lifted a finger to aid her.

“We have to do something,” Lee said as he stepped forward.

Osy yanked Lee back abrasively; causing his horse to bray loudly.

“Silence him and his horse; people are beginning to notice,” Mang hissed.

Subsequently he turned to address the suspicion of the people around him.

“They are from far away, very unrefined. They think the sun rises all by itself,” Mang laughed.

Meanwhile Osy struggled to calm Lee.

“How can you stand there and-”

Osy clamped a hand over Lee’s mouth.

“You must endure… the time is not right,” Osy whispered haughtily.

The screams cut short and the boys simply gawked at the beating heart in the outstretched hand of the priest. Subsequently, Tzio flew on to the roof of the pagoda and with him came the rising sun from the cliff edge beyond the valley. Osy and Lee looked in shock as some mortals fell to their knees in veneration of the wondrous sight.

“This is madness,” Lee muttered.

“We need to stop this,” Osy murmured in agreement.

The three boys along with Mang and Ying sat around the fire in the courtyard. The multi-inclined roofs of the neighbouring building floated over the short walls of Mang’s compound.

“According to Mang, Tzio’s godly feat allows him to draw power from the sun. In fact the mortals believe that he commands the sun. Like farmers raise livestock to feed, they believe the sun rises on his behest so that he may feed. So we must face him at night time. He will still be strong but we would at least stand a chance this way… It will be suicidal to face him in the day. But that still leaves us one problem. He has three sons.” Osy said.

“Only three sons?” Lee laughed.

Mang nodded as George looked to him for verification of the statement.

“So what? I took care of Ragnaghast, I can take care of them,” Lee retorted dismissively.

“I do not know who this Ragnaghast is, but the three brothers are not to be taken lightly. They are called Full, Half and Crescent. They are so named, because it is their duty to gather the sacrifices from all three cities every month. Each of their victims is sacrificed at different times of the lunar cycle. Each brother wields a specific weapon, one carries a flying guillotine, one possesses two blades, and another uses a scythe. On several occasions armies have mistaken these priests for ordinary citizens, and in all of the cases, only one soldier was left to tell the tale,” Mang cautioned.

“They are not our targets. Full, Half and Crescent may be immortals but they are middle aged men. Tomorrow is their next collection of mortal sacrifi-” Osy began.

“Yes they are not involved in the sacrificial process, but do you expect them to stand by and let us slay their father?” Lee interjected.

“No that is why we will capture them,” George said.

Osy smiled knowingly at George.

“Now Lee, you will stay here and protect Ying,” Osy said.

“What …why?” Lee snapped defensively.

“We need to capture them silently, not start a fire,” Osy retorted through gritted teeth.

“So what am I the designated fire-starter…I can be silent!”

“Yes just like you are now,” George sighed in exasperation.

Suddenly there was a bang on the gate.

“In the name of Warlord Shen open this gate,”

“Soldiers,” Ying hissed in horror.

The banging persisted as everyone in the courtyard looked at each other wide-eyed and stunned by their apprehension.

“Remain seated I will handle this…and keep your head down and squint. If they find out you are not mortal they will alert Tzio. Their faithfulness to Tzio is undeniable,”

As the banging persisted, Mang ran to the gate and nodded to Ying, who ran into the side building of the house. Mang inhaled deeply and relaxed his furrowed brow before he opened the gate.

“Can I help you captain?” Mang said with a wide smile.

The Captain barged Mang aside and walked into the courtyard. His men streamed in one at a time through the narrow gate and encircled the courtyard.

“It is my job to patrol this section of the city and I have never seen these individuals,” the Captain said as he walked towards the three strangers.

He looked at the boys with utmost scrutiny. Suddenly the Captain grabbed George’s jaw aggressively and examined his face. Subsequently he turned and grabbed Osy’s plaited locks and pulled his face up bellicosely.

“What is wrong with your eyes? Why are you all squinting,” the Captain demanded.

“We are – eh-em” Osy stammered.

“-Not accustomed to the Yu cuisine it is too spicy and had us in tears,” George replied astutely.

The Captain pushed both their heads away. George and Osy both scowled maniacally but managed to curb their frothing anger.

“Well? Who are they?” the Captain asked interrogatively as he approached Mang.

“They are my relatives…” Mang said hesitantly.

He paused to see if the Captain was naïve enough to believe him, but judging from the incredulous smile on the Captain’s face, Mang knew that there would be trouble.

“My distant relatives?” Mang squeaked in desperation.

“You must think me a simpleton. One of them is from the southern lands and the other is a westerner. If I had not served on a merchant vessel, I would have been your fool today,” the Captain retorted

“But-”

“And he looks more like he is from Lu city to me,” the Captain said as he pointed at Lee.

“Spies?!!” a soldier called out.

“No, no but they are just children,” Mang complained.

“Children as spies? That is a trick employed by the Warlord of Dong city. Three of you get up and follow me,”

As soon as the Captain spoke he strode authoritatively towards gate, only to find the three strangers were yet to move a muscle. The Captain’s brow furrowed in fury, and he brandished his sword and he nodded at his soldiers. The soldiers raised their spears in one accord as they began to tighten their formation around the three boys.

“Please-” Mang began to beg until he saw Ying shuffling across the courtyard.

Mang ran towards her and snatched the small bag she had being clutching. Even as the Captain saw Mang approaching him, he raised a hand causing the soldiers to stop their advance. The Captain sheathed his sword and took the bag that Mang was offering him. The bag was heavy with currency and jingled in the Captain’s hand as he fidgeted with it thoughtfully.

“I want your relatives gone by tomorrow, you hear me?” the Captain barked.

“Yes,” Mang said as he bowed gratefully.

With a scowl still plastered firmly on his face, the Captain headed out of the gate. Mang anxiously waited for the soldiers to march out after their Captain before shutting the gate firmly. The stress of the ordeal was more than Mang could take in his old age for he leaned unsteadily on the gates, struggling to catch his breath.

“Thank you for your aid,” Osy said.

“Well I think we now have a deadline for your plan,” George said as he nodded at Osy.

“Tomorrow this all ends,” Lee affirmed aggressively.