The Sons of Gods

Chapter 2: Separation

Sorin packed his belongings into the rucksack. He never owned much, not that he yearned for material possessions. He did not care for fashion and wore whatever roughspun tunics Magnus had provided to him. Magnus also usually wore a tunic, but it was much finer quality and contained the Warbringer family crest upon it. The Warbringer family crest consisted of their famous Niuweidao swords crossed and wreathed by flame. Magnus had explained to Quin that he could not wear a tunic wearing the Warbringer family crest unless Quin passed through the Warbringer family academy. Although Magnus was Sorin’s master, Sorin was not officially a member of the Warbringer academy.

The Warbringer academy was originally founded by Goth Warbringer himself. His family had maintained the academy ever since. Although the Warbringer family had decreased in strength since their ancestor had gone missing, the academy remained prestigious. Times were dubious for a period, but Magnus and his brother Zane had been talented and reached the stage of Exarch’s at a young age of one hundred and fifty. They took over running the academy and restored some of the lost prestige of the Warbringer family. With two young promising Exarchs at the head of the academy, it was only a matter of time before the Warbringer family produced an Inquisitor.

What made the Warbringer academy different from other institutions in Cestead, the city of guilds, was that they accepted anyone with talent. If a student could not pay for tuition, they would sign a contract that would require them to pay off the tuition after joining the dark pantheon’s various armies. It made the Warbringer academy have numerous applicants and plenty of young geniuses who came to have loyalty to the academy.

“Are you ready to depart, Sorin?” Magnus said as he entered the small room that had been Sorin’s bedroom.

“Yes sir,” Sorin replied as he hosted his rucksack onto his shoulder. The sack felt as light as air to him. Sorin had been energized by Quin surpassing him and making it to the 9th Degree that he had meditated to collect spirit at almost every waking moment. This may have led to him not meeting his brother again, but it had gotten Sorin to the 10th Degree before this fateful day of departure.

“Good, take this,” Magnus said and outstretched his hand. In it lay a small amulet with strange nonsensical carvings etched into it. Sorin took it and felt spirit embodied in the object. “It is an escape talisman. When you break the chain of the talisman, it will transport you in a direction of your choosing. Depending on the talisman and how much spirit is embodied within it, it can transport you a few hundred meters to tens of thousands of kilometers. In this case, it will transport you approximately one thousand and five hundred kilometers. It may sound like a long distance, but I could cover that distance in several days. I want you to break this if Lief defeats me and comes after you. Do not hesitate and activate it immediately. It will give you a head start and enough distance to lose him in dark pantheon territory."

“Magnus, we could just leave and this would be unnecessary,” Sorin replied while already putting on the talisman. He had tried to convince Magnus to leave the mountain with him several times already to no avail. Magnus always said the same thing and repeated it now.

“I made an oath as a warrior that Lief and I would finish our battle. Even more importantly, my god Vesperos, the Unending Dark, that I would protect you and slay your brother," Magnus said with conviction. Sorin knew it was pointless to convince Magnus with words, which is why he and his brother had come up with the plan to stop Magnus and Lief mid battle.

“Remember to run fast Sorin, and get as much of a head start through the mountains that you can. Not many beasts roam these mountains so it should be relatively safe. Once I defeat Lief, I will follow our path and quickly catch up with you," Magnus instructed.

“What will we do once we leave the mountains?” Sorin posed the question that had been nagging at him as the day of departure drew near. Despite this day being the day that Sorin and his brother Quin would be separated, perhaps forever, Sorin was excited to leave the mountains and see the world.

“You have studied the maps so you should know the way even if I am not with you. Once leaving the mountains, we will be on the edge of the Forest of Thieves. With my strength we can easily pass through. Filchra, goddess of Theft and Thieves, had a cult centered there. The stupid bastards who reside inside attempt to rob anyone who passes through regardless of their pantheon affiliation," Magnus explained.

“If they belong to the dark pantheon why would they attempt to rob us?” Sorin asked, perplexed.

“It's their nature as thieves. Some followers of gods do not necessarily care what side they are on as long as they embody the nature of their god. Sometimes we just need to tolerate them and their ways because in the long run they will support the dark pantheon when it comes to war. Once war restarts in full, they will leave their forest and begin raiding the light pantheon with impunity," Magnus answered the question.

“I suppose that is fair. Flawed, but fair," Sorin acquiesced.

“In the Forest of Thieves, we can locate a beast of Acolyte or 10th Degree Initiate strength for you to slay so you can ascend. Then we will travel south to the coast and skirt around the Fen of the Necromancer Wuthum," Magnus continued.

“Necromancer Wuthum? Who is that?” Sorin asked. He was ever curious about the outside world.

“Necromancer Wuthum is a worshiper of Mortis, the god of death and decay. He currently resides in a fen that has now been named after him. Wuthum is High Archon who has not left the fen in approximately 250 years. He was active as a High Archon for the dark pantheon at least twice that long. Although Wuthum is aligned with the dark pantheon, he no longer engages in active combat and refuses too. No one knows the reason why he decided to leave the battlefield. Some dark pantheon representatives were sent to retrieve him to report back to the battlefield. None of them returned and it is assumed that Wuthum killed them. Any others that have strayed too close to the center of the fens were killed by either him or the undead in the forest.”

“Although the dark pantheon leaders could send a High Archon or higher to take care of Wuther they do not do so for a variety of reasons. Mostly it is because they do not hold enough sway to force a High Archon onto the battlefield. Very few are strong enough to challenge Wuthum to force him to come to the battlefield. Those that could assume that Wuthum has gone into a secluded meditation to ascend to the next Rank. Many at high Ranks do this so it would make sense. What does not make sense is not proclaiming that he is going into seclusion to the dark pantheon higher ups and then killing all those who venture into his Fen. Taking this into account, the dark pantheon leaders decided to leave Wuthum where he is and ‘assign’ him the task of being a protective buffer to the northern no man’s zone," Magnus made air quotes as he said assign.

“It sounds like avoiding Wuthum would be the best avenue," Sorin nodded.

“After skirting the edge of the fens, we will head onward to Cestead, the City of Academies. There we will rejoin with my family at the Warbringer academy and begin to train you at an accelerated pace. The faster you grow in strength the safer you will become. Of course, not too fast. Neglecting your fundamentals would be disastrous," Magnus mused.

“I am excited to see your home, sir. You speak about the academy you ran with your brother so fondly," Sorin replied.

“I do miss it. My brother Zane should be handling the administrative duties so it will be in good hands. I do regret having to leave the academy without saying anything. I was out hunting beasts in the forest to the north when I received the call from our god to come to you. I did not have a chance to return to the city as I rushed to you. I will probably receive an earful from my brother when I return," Magnus said with a smile that slowly faded into a frown.

“If I do not manage to defeat Lief Stoneheart you will need to make the journey yourself. I have made many advances since I last fought him, but one can never be too careful. Use the escape talisman if it's necessary. Use it to escape the mountains and begin the journey to Cestead. Avoid danger to the best of your capability. You will need to sneak through the Forest of Thieves and travel around the Fen by yourself. Once you reach the Cestead, show them your swords. The Warbringer family crest is embedded into the hilt. That should get you into see a member of the family. From there you can explain that I was your master then they will accept you as a student. From there, Zane will continue your training. He will do as well as I ever could," Magnus instructed.

“I wish to continue training under you sir. There is no better teacher for me," Sorin proclaimed. Sorin was attempting to convince his teacher to leave without a battle without explicitly saying it. It did not work as Magnus immediately picked up on the trick. Magnus grew silent and gloomy like he did when irritated or angry. Sorin knew he pushed Magnus too far.

“Depart at once Sorin. I will catch up to you once I have Lief Stoneheart’s blood on my sword. I will wait to give you time to depart before attacking,” Magnus’s tone brooked no argument.

“Yes sir, may Vesperos guide your sword,” Sorin bowed his head in respect and then left. He began to travel the path that Magnus had highlighted for him to follow. After a few kilometers of traveling, Sorin deviated from the route and began to take a different path that would lead him around the village towards where he expected the battle between his and Quin’s master would take place.

The plan that Sorin and Quin had come up with when they last spoke burned in Sorin’s mind. Together, Sorin and Quin would convince their masters to go their separate ways without bloodshed.

While Sorin was attempting to loop around the village to the expected battlefield, Quin was departing with his master. Under Quin’s relentless arguments and pestering Lief Stoneheart, unbefitting to his name, had given in and conceded to leave the mountain village without a fight. Quin’s argument was that it was better to air on the side of caution. With Quin’s level of spirit reaching the 10th Degree recently and Sorin’s being at the 8th Degree months before, Quin was able to argue that he had more talent than Sorin and therefore would be more likely to win the war in the long term. Quin’s safety was far more important than snuffing out his rival.

This argument was partially a lie on Quin’s part. Although he had surpassed Sorin when they last met, Sorin was spending more time honing his skill with the blade and not spending as much time on meditation to absorb spirit, but Lief did not know this. In reality, Quin had no idea which of the two of them was more talented.

Quin and Lief were departing mountains towards the southwest with intent of traveling to Cremoor. Quin was split between trepidation and excitement for the journey. Quin was worried that Magnus Warbringer would arrive and attempt to fight his master. In that situation, Quin could only hope that Sorin would arrive and they could complete their plan to separate the two Exarchs. Quin did hope that him and Lief leaving directly would avoid the whole state of affairs.

On the other hand, Quin was excited to see a city with a far larger population than the small mountain village. Due to the isolation of the village, there were not many people in the village. The isolation was a double edged sword however. There were no travelers that could boost the village population, but there were no beasts due to the isolation of the village. The combination of the two made the entire village completely unexciting.

Another thing excited Quin about their destination. Not only would Quin get to see a massive city, but the city that his mother grew up in. Quin never knew his mother and Lief was relatively tight lipped about her. One thing he did share was where she grew up. Lief always stated that his mother was a beautiful and devout follower of Solarius. That devotion was shown through her relatively high rank for never taking the life of a person or beast.

The fact that his mother had never committed acts of violence to ascend baffled both Lief Stoneheart and Quin. The only reason Lief knew this was because it was a widespread story in the city of Cremoor that had many scratching their heads. Quin knew that he would never get away with the same admirable lifestyle that his mother had, but still believed that he should conduct himself in the same manner of believing that life is precious.

Quin and Lief were only a few kilometers into their journey away from the village and passing through a clearing in the woods when Lief spun around and drew his massive warhammer from his back.

“Get back Quin! Ready the protective talisman. It appears that Magnus still thirsts for conflict after all these years,” Lief shouted.

Quin cursed at his rotten luck. He hoped the Sorin may have convinced Magnus to leave like he had with Lief. He also had hoped that they would have left before Magnus came to fight.

“Lief Stoneheart, you cowardly vow breaker! We made a pact to finish what we started. And what do I find? You running away with your tail between your legs,” Magnus roared when he emerged from the trees. Magnus was striding confidently toward them holding two jet black Niuweidao swords.

“You are making a mistake, Magnus. You should not have come to fight. You know my power increases exponentially when I am protecting those weaker than myself,” Lief proclaimed. Lief quickly shrugged off his pack and tossed it into the underbrush. Quin began to run and get distance between him and Lief. He knew that any rampant spells or abilities from the coming battle could kill him in a second.

“I know of your Order, Lief. Yet I am confident in overcoming you regardless. Besides I am no honorless man, I will not attack the boy till I have dealt with you. Now enough talk," Magnus stated, then began to dash towards Lief.

Lief shrugged off his cloak, revealing a set of golden white plate armor. Knowing he had no time to dawn his helmet from his pack, he raised his warhammer and charged to meet Magnus head on. The two met each other in the center of the clearing.

Lief swung his warhammer in a devastating arch. Magnus, who only wore a set of leather armor dodged the attack in a quick burst of speed and a bloom of darkness that disoriented Lief. This allowed Magnus to get behind Lief and launch a few quick strikes at Lief. The strikes bounced off Lief’s armor, but left marks on the breastplate. Lief countered with a backswing that caused the air to tremble.

Once again, Magnus dodged in an explosion of darkness and then appeared behind Lief to launch several more attacks, further damaging Lief’s armor. Lief had the advantage in power and defense, but was clearly lacking when it came to comparing speed with Magnus. The entire fight devolved into a game of cat and mouse between the two warriors. Magnus would slowly chip away at Lief’s armor until he pierced flesh or he would get a lucky strike on Lief’s exposed head. However, if Lief managed a single blow against Magnus, then Magnus would be grievously wounded. A few more exchanges happened between the two warriors with similar results before the dynamic shifted.

“Enough playing around Magnus," Lief proclaimed as Magnus dodged once again. Lief spread his arms wide and his body began to radiate golden light. The light quickly gathered around Lief Stoneheart before exploding a moment later in a blast. Magnus had seen the light gathering and had leaped backward in retreat. Magnus’s retreat was not fast enough to escape and he had to raise his blades in a cross as the explosion of light approached him. Magnus activated one of his abilities, just as Lief had, and a dark barrier of shadow sprung into place around his body.

The radiant explosion clashed with Magnus’s shadow barrier and the barrier shattered after a brief moment. The radiance continued onward to slam into Magnus and send him sprawling backward. Magnus immediately leapt back to his feet primarily unscathed except for a few hairs being burned.

“So be it Lief," Magnus replied with a grin. Lief turned to Magnus and readied his warhammer. Lief’s armor and warhammer had taken on a golden glow that pulsed at regular intervals. Magnus rolled his shoulders to stretch out his joints. His eyes faded to black and black shadows began to emerge from his body into a coat that shrouded his entire body except for his face. The shadows trailed behind Magnus and seemed to ripple in a nonexistent wind.

Magnus charged and a battle with a ferocity exponentially greater than the previous erupted. Magnus launched attacks that could be barely seen by the human eye. Shadows erupted from his cloak and lashed out at Lief causing dark marks across his armor and small cuts on his face. Shadows shaped like hands grasped at Lief’s legs, slowing his movements to a crawl.

Lief however fought back with unmatched power. With each pulse of the golden glow of his armor, the shadows were extinguished and forced to regrow. Every strike of Lief’s hammer corresponded with the pulses and erupted with golden explosions that tore up the earth. Although no hits struck Magnus, the explosions were clearly having the effect of wearing him down.

Quin looked upon this battle with awe. He had never witnessed his master unleash his strength or use his abilities that manifested through the power invested in him by their god Solarius. The battle was difficult to watch, even from the distance that he had retreated too. Each explosion unleashed by Lief Stoneheart was sending out shockwaves that were uncomfortable to endure for someone as weak as Quin. However, Quin refused to look away from the battle. Quin would manifest his first abilities when he ascended from Initiate to Acolyte. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would obtain abilities similar to his mentor.

It was this daydreaming that caused Quin to not see that on the opposite side of the battle, Sorin was emerging from the woods at a run. However, Magnus and Lief, who were far more sensitive to their surroundings, immediately noticed Sorin approaching the battle. Lief, who had not promised against harming Sorin, immediately capitalized on his presence. Lief’s warhammer glowed and he swung it through the air in the direction of Sorin’s running form.

“Sorin! No! Escape from here!” Magnus cried out in a panic. However it was too late, Sorin did not have time to react as a glowing light shot from Lief Stoneheart’s hammer. The light arced through the air in a trajectory that would undoubtedly strike Sorin. Sorin’s eyes widened in fear and he attempted to dive away from the glowing bolt, but he was far too weak and slow.

“Sir no! Please don’t kill him!” Quin cried out after the attack had been launched and he noticed Sorin. Quin left his cover and began running towards his brother despite knowing that he could do nothing to prevent the death of his brother and only family member on this earth.

At the last moment before the beam struck, Sorin was roughly shoved to the side and cloaked in a shadow that wrapped around him and protected him. The bolt exploded, but the shadow absorbed the blow. Sorin was thrown dozens of meters from the blast and tumbled through the grass before striking a tree that brought his flight to an abrupt end.

Sorin had the breath pushed from his lungs and was covered in scrapes and bruises. He pushed through the pain and pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked towards where he previously stood. There stood Magnus who had saved his disciple’s life. Magnus stood unmoving where Sorin had been. At the center of Magnus’s chest was a gaping hole which blood poured from like a crimson waterfall.

Sorin gazed upon the wound in horror. He could not believe his actions would have such horrible consequences for his teacher. Sorin raised his eyes to Magnus’s face that was a mask of pain. He met his master’s eyes and in an instant, Magnus conveyed more words and emotions than he ever could using his words. Sorin recognized each and every emotion that flickered through his teacher’s eyes. Pain from his wound. Anger at Sorin for not following his orders. Disappointment in Sorin’s judgment that led to this moment. Resignation for what had happened. Sadness over what Magnus knew would be his death. Resolve as Magnus steeled himself to save the young foolish boy who was the son of his god and the future of the dark pantheon.

“You know your mistake. Don’t dwell on it, learn and never make it again," Magnus spoke as blood bubbled around his lips. “Leave and let my sacrifice fuel you. Vesperos will guide my soul and we will meet again some day."

Magnus’s words were soft, but carried over the distance to Sorin’s keen ears. Sorin recognized them as the last words of a dying man, but could not accept them. With a heart filled with horror, he scrambled towards his mentor as if his very presence could save Magnus from death. He made it only two steps before Lief thundered up to Magnus at a pace far surpassing any previous speed he had previously displayed. Lief roared and swung his warhammer at Magnus.

Magnus dropped to avoid the hammer despite his grievous wound hampering his movements and let go of his swords. A massive amount of shadows poured from Magnus’s cloak until none were left and coalesced into a long sleek dagger. Magnus stabbed this dagger down into Lief’s thigh where it cut through the armor like butter. Lief roared in pain and kicked out his injured leg. The leg caught Magnus in the jaw and sent him sprawling onto his back. Lief then planted his injured leg on Magnus’s chest to prevent him rising. Magnus gasped in pain as the weight of Lief settled on his wound. Magnus raised his gaze up to Lief.

“You gutless coward using a boy as bait," Magnus spat at him.

“Glory only goes to the victor," Lief replied callously. Lief then swung his hammer in a massive downward arc.

Magnus shut his eyes knowing he could not escape. His lips twitched as he planned to start a prayer to his god Vesperos for the wellbeing and escape of his disciple. Magnus did not even get a chance to utter the first word of his prayer as Lief’s hammer connected with Magnus’s head. Magnus’s head caved like a rotten fruit and splattered across the ground. Lief’s hammer struck the ground upon killing Magnus and caused a tremor to shoot through the ground and leave cracks in the earth that spiderwebbed outward.

“No! Magnus!” Sorin cried out. He was so shocked that he could not manage to put his thoughts together into a true cry of sorrow that amounted to more than those two words.

Lief stepped off of Magnus’s corpse, revealing a bloody mess of a body, missing its head. Lief’s right leg was covered in blood on the thigh where Magnus had stabbed him. That red gore was matched by the crimson liquid on Lief’s boot where he had mercilessly pressed Magnus into the dirt. Lief’s warhammer was covered in specks of brain matter, bone fragments, and flesh that dripped from it. The gore did nothing to cover the light emitting from the hammer, glowing pulses that steadily grew and faded.

Lief turned towards Sorin and raised his hammer. He began to charge towards Sorin, intent on finishing his god’s commands. Sorin, seeing the charge, recognized the danger that he was in. Lief was moving far slower due to his leg wound, but would still reach Sorin in mere moments. The danger had temporarily shocked Sorin out of his grief. Sorin fumbled with his pocket to retrieve the escape talisman.

“Sir! No! You said you would not kill my brother!” Quin threw himself in front of Lief’s stampede. Lief was forced to slow and pivot to maneuver around Quin to get to Sorin. Although the pivot was done on his left leg, it still slowed Lief enough for Sorin to pull the escape talisman from his pocket.

“Dammit Quin, I can end this! Move out of my way!” Lief roared as he had to spin around Quin again as Quin blocked his path again. Lief was still several paces from Sorin.

Lief swung his hammer and unleashed the same ranged attack that put a hole in Magnus’s stomach. The beam launched from the hammer and raced toward Sorin. Sorin in that moment that the attack was launched, infused spirit into the talisman and pictured moving towards the east. The talisman crumbled into dust and Sorin vanished. The air snapped and rushed to fill the space that Sorin previously filled only to be ripped to pieces when Lief’s attack smashed into the unoccupied ground, leaving a small crater.

“No!” Lief shouted and cursed. If Quin had not stepped into his path, he would have launched the attack a mere second earlier and the beam of radiant light would have severed the boy’s head from his shoulders.

Lief was furious. He had the chance to eliminate the spawn of Vesperos on top of killing Magnus Warbringer. The feat of defeating Magnus Warbringer was impressive and had led to him obtaining a vast amount of spirit, but killing the son of a god would have been a feat that would have had him written down in the history books. Solarious would have granted him a boon that would have catapulted him ahead in power and assured any of his future ascensions.

Those were just the personal benefits. If Sorin had died, the light pantheon would have a demigod to lead them many years from now while the dark pantheon would be leaderless. Sorin’s death would have saved millions of lives and perhaps led to the eradication of the dark pantheon. Lief’s thoughts of what could have been were interrupted.

“How could you!? You promised we would leave without a fight! You promised that you would not kill Sorin," Quin shouted at his master. Quin was relieved that Sorin had escaped, but was still furious at his teacher.

“I promised no such thing Quin," Lief growled as he directed his anger towards his disciple. “I stated that I would leave the mountain with you without initiating a fight. We were attacked and they paid the price."

Quin sputtered and attempted to object. His teacher was nitpicking what he said and twisting it to suit his argument. Quin knew that Lief very well knew why Quin wanted to leave the mountain without conflict.

“Besides boy, you just potentially cost millions of lives in the war to come. We would have had the undisputed upperhand in the war with you at our side and Sorin dead, but you just cost us that. That boy could be anywhere now due to the escape talisman, if I went searching I may never find him depending on the grade of the talisman. Your interference caused this," Lief chastised Quin in an angry roar.

“Giving into your whims to leave the mountain without a fight was a mistake to begin with. I should have fought and killed Magnus before dispatching Sorin as our god commanded, but my heart was weak and I gave in to your requests," Lief lectured. “I will not give into you against my best judgment again. You are inexperienced and driven by emotion."

Quin lowered his head to show he had been thoroughly chastised. He understood Lief’s point, but that did not stop the anger in his heart at his teacher. He also felt shame as it was his plan that brought Sorin here. Quin’s thoughts were interrupted.

“Help me dress the wound, then we depart at once. Searching for Sorin is a waste of time," Lief spoke. Quin, as always, diligently followed Lief’s orders.

A thousand and five hundred kilometers away, Sorin fell to the ground, suddenly appearing in the foothills of the Abil mountains. He fell to his knees and stared up into the sky as tears began to roll down his face. Only one thought was in his head. How did he cause it to go so wrong?