Dethan remain silent as she relayed this, but all the while his mind was racing. A war between the gods? This did not surprise him. They had always been a contentious lot. But things must have fallen desperate if she was coming to him for help.

“I will give you these gifts and you will not squander them or you will pay dearly for it,” she said. And suddenly a suit of plated armor appeared at his feet. It seemed to be made of hedonite, a black, shining stone known for its lightness of weight. It was far too fragile to be of use in an armor.

“Do not let the look of it deceive you, for this is god-made armor, forged by my own hands and imbued with my strength. It will protect you against any weapon. It will make you invulnerable. Invulnerability coupled with immortality will make you nigh invincible. But be warned. You can die if your head leaves your shoulders by way of a god-made weapon, and my enemies will make gifts of such weapons to stop your progress. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mistress,” he said.

“Good. Then there is this.” A sword appeared at his feet. It too seemed to be made of the black hedonite. “This is a mighty weapon. In your hands, be your intentions true and just, it will cut down your foes, of which there will be many. It can pierce god-made armor, no matter how strongly imbued. This was forged with the strength of six gods. All of our faction together.”

“Mistress, may I ask which six gods?” he asked, knowing there were twelve gods over all and this meant they were split exactly down the middle.

“Our faction consists of Hella, the goddess of fate and fortune; Meru, the goddess of hearth, home, and harvest; her brother Mordu, the god of hope, love, and dreams; Lothas, the god of day and night; and last is Framun, the god of peace and tranquility.”

“So you war with Xaxis, the god of the eight hells; Grimu, the god of the heavens; Diathus, the goddess of the land and oceans; Kitori, the goddess of life and death; Jikaro, the god of storms; and Sabo the god of pain and suffering.” He swallowed. That Kitori had sided with five of the darkest gods did not ring true to him, and she was the queen of all the gods and demanded much respect.

“Your thoughts do you justice, low beast. Kitori has been swayed by these other gods. I believe she is held hostage more than she had sided with them. They together have the power to subdue her in spite of her great powers. And that is part of your goal. By gaining me, and these other gods that side with me, worshippers, I believe I will be able to rescue Kitori from their influence. Such a coup would no doubt turn the tide of this war. And there is something else …”

“Yes, my mistress,” he encouraged her. His mind was racing. If she was rescuing him from this fate worse than death then things were as dire as they appeared. He would fight for her, as he had done in the past. This in spite of the rage he felt toward all of the gods for the suffering they had subjected him to. Especially if it meant freedom from this torment. It was the only choice really, because there was nothing he could do in the face of their power. But perhaps … perhaps he could convince her …

No. He would not try to manipulate his goddess. That was a slippery slope and he would not risk angering her. But he would ask … he would beg …

“There is a great weapon that can be used against Xaxis’s faction.”

So, it was Xaxis leading the faction, Dethan thought. That figured. Xaxis had been trying to wrest power from the other gods for time immemorial.

“This weapon is surrounded by a great city, a city that guards the mouth of the eight hells.”

“Olan?” he asked.

“Olan,” she agreed. “I need you to conquer this city and to wrest control of this weapon.”

Suddenly she looked over her shoulder, as if she heard someone coming. She turned to him quickly. “This is Xaxis’s territory and he is beginning to sense that I am here. I must leave before I am captured by him. But you are freed. I will bring you above the hells and you must begin your work. But be warned, you do not go freely. You are cursed ever after, a memory to make you remember where you have come from and where you will return should you fail me. Every night, at dusk, you will conflagrate and burn until the juquil’s hour. If you perform well for me I will consider lifting the curse. Do you understand?”

Dethan’s fists clenched in anger, but he controlled the emotion with an iron will. So he would be made to suffer this same hell again and again even while he worked for her honor and ends. But the rest of the time … the rest of the time he would live in reprieve, and that was far better than what he suffered now.

“Yes, Mistress, I understand. But … if your humble servant might ask … my brothers are great warriors. If you were to rescue them from this torment as well they too could fight for your faction.”

“Your brothers, unlike you, are not here in the hells. However, like you, they are made to suffer in the territories ruled by the other faction. I have risked all coming here and cannot do so again. The only reason I was able to come at all is because the others have distracted Xaxis in order to free me to do this. Your brother Garreth is chained to the very mountain where you found the fountain, freezing solid again and again. The territory is controlled by Diathus. Jaykun is chained to a star and, like you, burns again and again. This is Grimu’s territory and I have no access to the heavens. Maxum … I do not know where Maxum is. He was given to Sabo to be dealt with and Sabo never shared with us the punishment he meted out. Probably so no other god could do what I am doing now.” She looked over her shoulder again and this time he saw true anxiety on her features. “I must go now. Fight, warrior, as you have never fought before. Find an army. Fight to bring my name to the people. And never forget who has set you free and who can set you down again.”

“No, Mistress, never.”

“The fires will see to that. Remember, dusk every day. It will do you well to make sure no others are nearby when this happens or they will be consumed by the flames as well. Now we are off.”

In a flash of speed and burning light that sickened him, he found himself standing at the mouth of one of the entrances to the eight hells, easily recognizable by the dragon’s head carved into the massive stones surrounding it, the mouth of the creature leading downward to the fiery pit. He could assume this was not the entrance in Olan. Weysa would not put him in the heart of the very city she wished him to conquer. So it was one of the four other entrances placed upon the face of Ethos. One he knew was under water. One, like the fountain, was set high on a mountain, and since it was not cold but more summery climes around him, that left the largest opening, the one in Hexis. His armor rested at his feet and he hastened to pick it up. He was still seared and wounded, and had no clothing so he stood bare and naked, knowing nothing of the world around him.