The Quest For The Elementals

Part Two: All Hail The King!

The King, Salimn went to a room he liked to call the idea room. There he and his chief soldiers created groundbreaking ideas on how to please the gods and seize some territories. He walked in and went to the table that was rectangular in shape but it wasn't very long as the number of the chief soldiers were only four. He would stay at the breadth of the table and face the chief soldiers as they would all together try to solve a problem or problems. No one sat opposite him and he liked it to be that way because he feared if that person that would sit there, he could take away all the attention from him. He stopped walking when hr reached his seat and looked at it and then the table and the other seats that the soldiers would sit. He pulled the iron chair and walked forward and sat on it and put his hands on the table as he tapped his foot on the ground waiting for the soldiers. It was not as if the soldiers weren't punctual but it was him that was too punctual. As the King, he felt that he had to show that he was responsible enough and that punctuality was an important way to show it, besides he just never wanted to think that anyone was better than him in anything. As he was waiting, he heard some footsteps and sat upright thinking it was the soldiers. Then some servants came in and stayed at the door, gesturing at him that they wanted to tell him something and the manner in which they gestured suggested it was quire serious. He beckoned at them and they entered. They first bowed before telling him what was on their mind.
"My King, the supreme god has fallen. We heard news that the King of the gods is no more, what shall we do?"
Salimn nodded and sent them away and as he was about to stand up and leave to shout at the chief soldiers for wasting his time, they walked in and went to their respective seats. He sat back and his anger in him diminished steadily.
"What made you come so late?" The remaining anger in him sounded in his voice but he was calm enough not to do anything what was not necessary.
"My King, the news slowed us down, we were thinking of what we would tell you. Polus was good to us, humans but we don't know how Ugustus will be. They said the manner in which Polus was erased was mind blowing. The god just went like that and they said that Ugustus has some kind of power that was the likely cause of Polus's erasure." The first one on Salimn's right said.
"That fight was inevitable. Two great people cannot rule a Kingdom. That is why there is the King and the Queen. If there were two Kings ruling just a Kingdom, it's bound to fall. Ugustus is as powerful as Polus if not more powerful. At least the gods could have given him the chance of being the King and not Polus who was so tyrannical and villainous."
"But my King, Polus, even though he was cruel to the gods was nice to us. He showered us with love and affection and we prayed that he would be the King until our deaths." The second one on his left said.
"Oh! He showered you with love by wiping out a good Kingdom that did nothing. He did that the day he set a battle between him and the gods. I could see him clearly. He fell from heaven. His fall cracked the ground. He went to one of the Kingdoms my son ruled and attacked all of them. He was drunk with power. Maybe he had drunk some elixir but he was drunk. He celebrated as he killed all of them but couldn't he had just restrained them as he knew that they couldn't beat a god of such massive stature? He's two times our size! Better, faster, much stronger than all of us. We're all his slaves and if he wipes out all of us, who will be there to serve him. I don't know. All this gods think they are so great. If only Hadir could be resurrected all of this would end."
"That will be rather impossible. Our ancestors have gone years living without Hadir. The story about Hadir and the gods have even become a folktale. My King, I'm not trying to counter your opinions but let us forget about Hadir ever coming to our aid because he'll never come back after being erased. He was erased and that is permanent." The second one on his right said.
"Wait, listen to me." The first on Salimn's right said. "Do you really think that Ugustus actually erased Polus from existence using that black thing that proceeded from him?"
"If he hadn't used that, what else could have been the cause of Polus's death?"
"He was injured. He must have been injured. When we get injured a little, blood oozes out right? And then later it stops and that part is covered and after some days, it's healed. We all know that! But gods aren't like us, humans. Once they get injured, the air in them flows out and irrespective of the size of the wound, the blue liquid like air still comes out and if not treated properly, the god fades away. I get it now." He stood and started walking around the table. "He was bleeding, let's say like that and because he couldn't treat himself as Haius, the god of healing had been erased and the air continued coming out and out and then he faded. The black substance that Ugustus was emitting was not the cause of his death. I heard the other gods when they were talking about the death of another goddess. Immediately Ugustus got near her, the poisoning took place. She was weak and then she faded. The similar thing happened to the god that tried to kill Ugustus with a spear. It didn't take long before he was erased from this very existence but why did Polus take much longer? Why didn't he just die on the spot like the other gods? If Polus were a different god, I would accept that I am wrong but he is not. None of the gods is special. Polus, Ugustus, Garius and all the rest are alike but what makes them unique is their functions and powers that they were given to them by Hadir. Please, my King study, notice, listen to what I've said all this while and tell me the flaws that lie in my point." He sat down back.
The one beside him hit the table slightly and face him. "If you said that the god of healing had been erased, then how are we still able to get healed. The gods controlled the portions they were given by Hadir. The god of time is no more but how come we see day and night. The god of wisdom is no more but how are we still able to create wise and reasonable ideas. I don't really think that that was the cause of Polus's death, this all sounds very confusing because I've not seen the change since all these gods were erased. It seems as if they are captives. We hear lies, these are false news, false news of their deaths. Besides how could a god die?"
"I like your points there. They all make sense but the mystery is far too great for we don't have the capability to solve them. This issues circles around the gods and mere humans like us couldn't solve them. If only one of us could share something like a mind relationship or something close then we would be able to solve that kind of titanic mystery but for now we have to be wary and careful. I fear Ugustus could be more dangerous and powerful than Polus and he only knows what he wants to do. If he decides to attack all of us, we'll be all dead. No matter the strength of our army, he'll still defeat us. They said that the blades of his radii could decapitate fifty men with one swish. How can we ever be able to defeat that?"
"My King, I think we'd better form an alliance with one of the gods. I'm sure at least one of them would want his leadership to end very soon." The first one on his right said.
"The gods are no different from us. They are irrational and very likely to change their minds at any point in time. Please, my King I think an alliance with the gods is a bad idea. That could make them end the human race. Please listen to me, the gods waver. They are not perfect. The hagiographic portrayals of the gods are all lies. Not one of them is perfect. All of them have their flaws and I'm afraid all this came from Hadir." The first one of the left said. The men paused for some seconds to assimilate what he had said before second one of the right stood up to speak.
"I'm sorry but I think Hadir was perfect in his own way. He created the gods and us and I think it's blasphemy to say that the supreme god of the Earth is imperfect. He needs to be treated with respect and I cannot stand here and do nothing while the god that created me is treated derogatorily, so inhumanely and contemptibly."
"Calm down, the rush of words is what we don't need now. I wasn't trying to stir up a fight but if you want to fight I'm ready for it but what I want to ask is, how could the god that you revere and worship and serve die? I mean, if we can suffer death, how come the god of death, strength, healing, knowledge, wisdom, birth and all the rest suffer it? If you can answer my question, I swear on Hadir's memory, I'll come and lick your feet and worship you." The man stammered and stammered and the shame was just too much so he decided to sit down and say nothing again. "My King, I'm not trying to say the creation of the gods was a mistake but there is a mistake that has been made from the beginning of the creation of the elementals. Some said that there was civilization before the birth of Hadir and I believe in that. If these gods had died long ago, how could they be able to affect us somehow, affect our lives, affect our homes, affect our environment, how? To me, this mistake goes back to the ancient times and someone needs to step up and solve it."
"You have a strong point. But if what you said, all of it is right then I'll suggest that we had better start digging our graves? If the gods, our leaders in every aspect are not perfect and do not forget that their Kingdom is suffering, imagine what will happen to us?" Salimn asked.
"Then let us pack all we need and flee to Harah. She can help us right? If we don't have a chance to live long and be able to see our grand children and their children, then I suggest that we had better flee to Harah." The first one on the right said.
"That opinion of yours is a suicidal one. How could she hear that her brother died and she didn't come to collect his body or even mourn him or show us that she cared about her brother?" The one opposite him said.
"Well how would you know if she didn't come to collect his body? Hadir's body has not been found till this very day, no one knows who could have taken it, that's a mystery we'll give to our children who will live a million years after that is if we still exist."
"My fellow soldiers, we have discussed enough." He stopped as he had heard something. He stood and the soldiers focused and heard it too. He went out and the soldiers followed him with their swords in their hands. He went straight into the hall and the voice became clearer. He began to run towards the entrance. The soldiers joined him and they stopped when they saw a god shouting at the other soldiers to prepare for war. They ran towards him and when Salimn had reached, he looked up at him and observed his truly enormous stature. "My god, what brings you here?" He shouted and knelt down. The god just ignored him and continued shouting at the soldiers to get the things they need for war. Salimn was annoyed at his harsh treatment and thought of how to catch his attention. "Stupid god, useless god, what are you doing here?" He began to laugh and the four soldiers joined him but they were not fully laughing as the fear in them wanted to make them cry and perhaps make them urinate on themselves. The god stopped and looked in the direction of Salimn and frowned. The King saw that and immediately started begging for his life. The god grabbed him and lifted him to his face level and asked him why he shouldn't kill him. "I recognize you, you are Adius, the god of curiosity. I have answers to the questions that bother you. If you kill me, you will never find the answers to those questions that perplex the gods."
"How could a human like you be able to solve them? Which god helped you?"
"I'll tell you but not here. We're exposed. I'll tell you everything inside, everything you need to know." Adius dropped him and told the soldiers to continue preparing as he would return soon. The chief soldiers remained while the two of them went inside the hall then to his idea room.
"Why did you build the entrance to not only allow humans but gods to pass?"
"The god of curiosity is not the first to come to my humble abode. Many gods have visited me and I've helped them in the ways I could and my measures, I've seen are more than useful to us and you, gods."
"Keep your pathetic lies to yourself. I'm the god of curiosity. If you had done what you said you have done, I'm sure I would have visited you for an answer or two. Even though Oraq was deemed the god of wisdom, I can boldly say that foolishness was the cause of his death. How could the god that was supposed to wield all wisdom on the Earth fall like a fool?"
"Maybe it was a mistake." Adius turned to him and gave him a very scary look but Salimn wasn't frightened, he still went ahead to complete what he was saying. "What if all this was a mistake from the very beginning and the consequences are beginning to affect us now. What if we could just know the past and then fix it, how would that be?"
"And what is your thought about this, human, how do you suggest we fix it?"
"I know a certain creature which was Borus's creation."
"Borus never created anything, he only gave life and brought back things that had long been erased."
"Please can you just hear me out?" Adius nodded. "Thank you. So these creature is as powerful as the thirteen great monsters that people said Hadir locked away. If we could find this monster, just maybe it could enlighten us of what happened before the birth of the elementals and it could also help us to defeat Ugustus and remove his kingship from him." Adius dragged him and put his large hand on his mouth that covered almost all of his face and pressed him to the wall.
"Are you mad, if anyone had heard it, you would have been dead by now. Be careful of what you say, people, things can hear you and you might not know who your enemy is so be careful." He removed his hand and heaved a deep sigh.
"I'm not afraid to say what I said. I'm not afraid to die. I already know that we humans won't last long so it is not a wise thing to still have faith in the gods."
"What makes you say that?" He walked over to the other side of the room and looked at the walls and the ceiling.
"We all know how Ugustus is. Deep inside, I would call you a liar if you told me that you don't hate the fact that Ugustus is the King of the gods now."
Adius turned and faced him and smiled. "You're still alive, I'm impressed. Maybe I should be the one to kill you. It seems that when you were small, you weren't taught to fear and respect the gods. Anyhow you see it, the gods are superior to you and if you don't accept that fact, you might even be the one that will make Ugustus end the human race so be careful of your thoughts and words for they are like poison, slowly they affect but painfully they kill. Where can we find that creature you spoke of earlier?"
"If you assure me that you will be on our side, I'll tell you."
Adius chuckled and went to him very slowly. "It seems you are determined to die this very day. You have no fear for me. Your intuition did not tell you that you can't bargain with a god!" He went to him and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up above his head. "You want to die? You humans are weak and it will be very easy for me to end your pathetic life."
"End it. Finish it. I've tried enough to bring you here so that we can have a deal but if you don't want to accept my deal then I cannot see why I'm still alive talking to you. End my pathetic life right now. End it." Adius brought Salimn down with force but he stopped when Salimn was almost reaching the ground. The man was screaming as Adius did that but realizing that he was not yet dead, he was wondering why he had a change of mind. Adius stood him and let go of him. "Why didn't you kill me?"
He gave him a mild slap and told him to shut up. "We'll leave soon for the place but I'll consider your deal after I know what it is."
"You've changed your mind eh? I'm not that surprised. I think I was taught that gods do change their minds, wavering like humans. How are you even different from us? You are just bigger and faster and better. There is actually nothing that separates you from us except for those qualities I said."
"Hadir told us that we were humans before he decided to create humans. We were like you before your kind was created. I don't really think that Polus and Ugustus were from Hadir. Hadir was no different from us. We shared some similarities. But Ugustus and Polus, no. They are much stronger and in every way different from us. They are drawn to conflict and negative things. I would have expected a god like Garius the god of war to be worse than Ugustus but I know deep down he's a good god even though he likes to show he is tough and wicked but he is good but Polus, Ugustus." He shook his head.
"Then let's form an alliance. Let's be a team. Let's go and meet Borus's creation and then we can get to the root of this issue. You now know that something isn't right. Ugustus and Polus don't seem to be of your kind and we can fight hard to know why."
"They are the only gods that can kill a god. Their weapons are much more powerful than ours. Hadir didn't even kill any of us. I'm sure he couldn't kill any of us. I think we really need to be a team but a god and a human, come on that is a joke. I could never be seen moving around with a mere human that would be an embarrassment. But what are those things that come out of Ugustus whenever he's angry? Those sharp things that look fangs. It would just come out of his skin without hurting him and they are very long and sharp."
"Can I call you Adius?" He didn't say anything so he assumed that he had given him the permission. "Adius, wherever or whatever Ugustus came from we can know. Just trust me, I won't hurt you." Adius began to laugh and he joined him and the two of them just continued laughing and laughing until Adius went to him and gave him a mighty slap that sent him flying to the wall and he sustained some injuries but he wasn't sure that any of his bones had broken but his cheek was sore and as he lay, it gradually became a throbbing pain. Adius laughed at him and told him that he was far too weak to make any threats and then told him that the reason he didn't kill him was because he still found him useful. He went out and made sure that all the soldiers had prepared everything he needed to please Ugustus. Then a series of loud roars was heard. He looked up and saw that a dragon was coming at him at a very high speed and when it had reached a good distance, it stopped and flew back up then a god jumped down and landed firmly on the ground.
"Garius, what are you doing here? Where did you see that creature? What happened, why do you look so tired?"
"Adius, you're doing what Ugustus told me to do, thank you brother?" He went to him, panting and rested on him until he could catch his breath. "Almost. Just almost, I would have been erased. Just almost. I had to jump out. I had fought my way through the angels and there was no way out but to just jump. I really thought I would injure myself until that dragon came by and gave me a ride here. I know Ugustus would not send angels down here to take me, I'll defeat all of them."
"Why were you jump down, it looks as if it was serious?"
"Yes, this is the reason. I didn't obey him, remember? But thank you. But really what is the need, the humans have never been useful to us, why does Ugustus even want them for battle. None of them could not even face an angel much less the supreme god of an elemental. But are they well organized?"
"Yes, I made sure. They will all go as soon as Ugustus give the order."
"I'm sure that will take a long time before he makes up his mind."
"What does that mean?" Garius didn't answer, he walked past him and told them to all go. They refused to obey until he took one of them threw him away. The others then ran away for their dear lives. "Garius, what are you doing? Ugustus will surely kill you now for what you have done?"
"He cannot. He just cannot. He cannot go near me."
"Why did you say so, don't think the land of the humans is a good abode for you. He can decide to send all the angels to fight and bring you up or he could even come by himself."
"Then let us not be on his side. Let us not be with him. Let us not be here. Let us leave. Let us flee. Let us go somewhere that is far away. Somewhere that he won't come because if he comes, he could die."
"Harah, really? You want us to flee to Harah? That is the only place we can run to. We can't survive in the Fire or the Water and not even in the Air. Harah's our only option and I'm sure that she won't think of accommodating us for some time."
"Try to keep up, Adius. Aren't you the god of curiosity, weren't you curious enough to look for another person that could provide us some shelter and protection?"
"And who could that be, who could be the person that could grant us another paradise?"
"Venuh, she is the one and I'm going to her right now."
"No, Garius. She is bad. Don't be deceived by her tricks she is really bad. She used Borus." He stopped and looked up and then at Garius and lowered his voice. "She used Borus to escape. She betrayed the love of her life. If she could do that to the one that was so dear to her, then imagine what she could do to you."
"How do you know this?"
"I just know it and I'm telling you the truth, she'll kill you and her creation will feed on you before you fade away. Be careful, Garius and don't go."
"Shut up! Only Ugustus and Polus could kill gods, you know that. Then why are you telling me, convincing me not to seek her help?"
"Don't be stupid, Garius. That goddess is the worst person that you could run to for help. Don't you hear yourself, you sound like a very stupid god right now. And I'm sure even the god of stupidity will slap you and embarrass you for being too stupid, for the stupid decision you have just made." Garius got angry and slapped him with the back of his hand. It only made Adius stoop and when he stood upright, he rubbed his cheek and glared at him. Then he bent and used his hands to hold Garius's back in a hugging manner as he pushed him. Garius was punching his back to make Adius weak so that he would be free but he just continued pushing and pushing until he hit a rock stuck in the ground and staggered and the two of them fell. Garius pushed him away from him immediately after they fell. He went to the rock, groaned as he pulled it from the ground and wanted to use it to attack Adius but he had already risen. "Garius, I don't want to fight you, if I do, you'll injure badly." Garius grunted and threw the huge rock at him. Before Adius could remove his hands from his face as he had used them to block the stone, Garius jumped and with the sole of his feet, kicked him on the chest. Adius fell. He grabbed his rock and threw it again at him and ran and took it and threw it again at him. The last throw made the rock split into different parts and it was no longer hard again so he resorted to using his hands. He stooped further and began to pummel and kick him. Adius caught his hand as he was about delivering another punch and used his leg to sweep Garius off his feet. He jumped on him and landed with his knee cap on Garius's throat but the pain wore off in no time as he caught Adius head and hit his head on his head and gave him a punch on the left side of his neck. He stood and rubbed his throat as Adius too had stood, rubbing his own neck and the gods didn't look like they wanted to continue fighting. "Garius, do what you like, she'll betray you. I know her more than you do and you have to think about what I have said. If you still want to go, you can go but when I hear the news of your death, I won't be surprised at all."
"I'm the god of war, I think I know how to defend myself. You might be hard to beat but it doesn't mean that I won't beat you on a normal day. I was just tired that's all, when next we fight, I'll remind you of this as you beg for your life." He laughed and turned and began to run.
"Just be careful, Venuh is wise but foolish. Be careful of her tricks." He stopped talking as he saw that Garius had really gone far and he wouldn't be able to hear whatever he was saying. He stood and gazed at the heavens for a while before he went into Salimn's castle.