War God for Hire- Gladiator by David Burke (books under 200 pages .TXT) 📕

all around the top to keep an eye out for flocks of birds waiting to descend upon their victims.

“Lige lost an eye, and justice has been muted. Many nations where law ruled have fallen into restlessness. Mortals understand what morality is, even if its god is wounded, but without his subtle guidance, many who crave power simply don’t fear the reach of justice. To balance that though, apparently Krig also wounded Bedrag, god of deceit. The underworld was thrown into chaos and the resulting fighting was good for the cities of mortals, lest in their own chaos they be overthrown.

“The worst wound of all was the one that Krig delivered to Dod. Apparently, he shattered her scythe into six pieces. The force of his blow was so great, it spread the pieces across Verden and the associated planes. That scythe, which is much like your soul weapon, Sjaelkamp, is an aid to her performing her functions. Without it, she is unable to reap all of the dead and bring them to the underworld to await judgment by Lige.

“That has resulted in groups of undead forming all over Verden and adventurers are needed to hunt them down. Now there’s everything from skeletons and zombies to shades and ghosts. Commonly known nightmare lore like ghouls and vampires to rare or unheard-of creatures like bone storms and bloodmists. It is the reason why this city and every other one down to the smallest village, gates their walls at night.”

“This sounds awful, but how have all of these things happened? Krig only gave me his mantle yesterday,” Kyle said.

“Ah, yes, you wouldn’t realize. From when you saw Krig, it has been three years here on Verden. It took a great deal of time for your essence to be consolidated, even in this diminished form. No, the world has been torn asunder since your battle with your siblings,” Hilde said.

“You speak of me doing these things, but I don’t remember it at all,” Kyle said.

“It may be that you never do, but I suspect that you will regain portions of the memories of your former self. This is just new territory. Mortals, monsters, celestials, and fiends have all been reincarnated before, but never a god.”

“And what is your role in this?”

“As I told you, I am bound to serve Krig, or in this case his mantle and thus you. He defeated my people and as a result one of us must serve at his side at all times and a thousand of us must answer his call if he ever goes to war in the heavens,” Hilde said.

“In the heavens. Does that mean that you are some sort of spirit or angel?”

“I and my kin are different from other celestials. Most of those serve either Lige or Himmel. Just as most fiends serve Dod, Bedrag, or Begaer, as much as fiends can be said to serve anyone. My kind are formed of raw essence. You might call me a fire angel,” Hilde said.

“Okay, that sounds hot. Have to admit, I’m even more anxious to see what you look like when I manage to get you to manifest. So how do you stack up with the other tiers you have talked about?” Kyle asked.

“We are almost to their home, but I’ll give you a final run down. Mortals typically can’t exceed tier one as I explained earlier, and usually have aptitude for two or three types of essence. Wizards are mortals who have cultivated extra essence aptitudes and might have four or five. Monsters are usually tier two, and some vary from having only one type of essence aptitude to having as many as five.

“Celestials and fiends are different. They normally start out their existence in the second tier but can grow in power until they are in tier three. Most of us have at least four, and maybe as many as six, essence aptitudes.

“The most powerful of non-divine creatures are archangels and archdevils. They are always well into tier three but a couple, in the past, have reached into tier four. Currently, only the Archfiend Devos and Archangel Mikos are tier four. Both of them are proficient with all eight types of essence.

“Then there are demi-gods. These are those born of a deity and a lesser being. Despite the stories of your world that I read from your mind, those others are not usually mortals such as humans or elves. Besides being too frail, the deities are rarely physically present on Verden due to the various agreements between themselves. More often, the non-divine parent is a celestial or fiend, although some have been born to dragons and even monsters. I am not going to say that no mortals have ever borne the child of a deity, but it is quite rare.

“At any given point, there are usually never more than a couple dozen demi-gods. First off, they tend to hunt one another down. Then, if that doesn’t happen, everyone from mortal rulers to archangels and devils may seek to use them for various purposes. A true demi-god can never have offspring of their own, so that is not a concern. Demigods range in power from tier two to tier four, with most of them having a range of essence aptitudes with one being much stronger. That being the type of their divine parent.

“So, you can see there is quite a range of beings in Verden. You stand in a most fragile spot. You are one of only eight beings here who has the potential to reach tier five, but because you are so far removed from that level now, you are either a pawn or a victim to any powerful entity whose attention you attract.”

Kyle wanted to ask more questions, but they had arrived at his temporary home. The two little girls came running out to greet their father. They gave him huge hugs and spoke in extremely animated tones to him. Kyle knew other players who had