Tales of a Dead God

Chapter One: We Are the Runners

The sun had just hit the highest point in the sky meaning it was finally noon. An exhausted young rider looked up to catch the time of day to see just how much longer they had on this pointless journey. He looked back down and straight forward to see his brother a few feet in front of him whistling a soft tune. This of course annoyed the boy because how on earth do you find time to be careless when the bloody sun is beating down on you and you haven't eaten a proper meal in a week. The boy huffed and signaled his horse to speed up to catch up with his brother.

"Noah, how can you be whistling when it's too hot to even steer the horse," The youngest whined.

"Oh come on Theo. It's not that bad out here and besides whistling is a good distraction to keep up the spirits," Noah answered back kindly.

"Yeah well, it doesn't work for me. I'm hot, tired, and hungry and we've been riding for at least a week. I thought you said that this would be a short trip?" Theo impatiently vented.

"Nico said somewhere around a week to a week and a half." Noah looked across at Theo frowning a little. He squinted his eyes as the light was quite blinding. "Could be worse. We could be traveling straight through a snowstorm." Noah gave a lazy smile causing Theo to dramatically throw his head back and groan. Noah only rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.

Theo for the most part was okay company but had his moments of being childish. Once, when Noah was finally old enough to go with his father on the annual hunting trip many of the men of the city took, Theo threw a fit like a toddler as to why he couldn't go. It was times like this Noah wanted to smack some sense into his brother but also understood what it was like to be his age as well. Noah wanted his brother to be able to have an actual childhood and not have to grow up as quickly as he had to. So the childish moments were tolerated.

Theo stared back at his big brother. "Nico is also full of shit."

"For the most part yeah, but he knows his stuff when it comes to travel." Noah chuckled at the reaction to his explanation. "Besides, it shouldn't be too much longer. Probably another hour or so."

Theo didn't say another word. He lifted his hood on his cloak to keep the sun from beating on his neck so fiercely and kept on. The wilderness around them was a sight to behold though. One that Noah seemed to appreciate more so than Theo. Large mountain ranges rose up towards the heavens in the east and green fields dotted with colorful flowers ever so often for as far as the eyes could see to the west.

A gentle warm breeze blew through to fields dancing with the tall grass and flowers. Some say that these beautiful flowers hold special properties used by some healers. Others believed these flowers held more than healing properties and were used in secret. However, magic had been a long-forgotten practice of the past. While many believe magic to never have existed, fields like this hold great secrets and sometimes let out whispers of a bygone era.

To the east was the Empyrean mountain range. They stretched from deep in the Northern Kingdom to the Southern Kingdom creating a natural border for a fair bit of the Eastern Kingdom. Some of the oldest giants rise into the skies as if to touch Heaven.

"Those stories are real, you know?" Noah shook his head a bit lost in thought to see Theo staring at him.

Stories of Gods calling those mountains home. The brother's mother had a large family book of old stories that had been passed down for decades. One story she would tell would be that of the Gods who resided within the Empyrean Mountains. They were the protectors of the mountains and did so strictly. So much so that the Empyrean Range was given quite a nasty reputation. Those who trekked across were never seen again. It was believed that the Gods killed any who set foot in their home. Then again it was just a story.