The Sons of Gods

Context

There was one god to begin with. It had no name, no gender, just power. With a mere wave of Its hand, It created the universe to oversee.  It shaped planets, stars, and the very fabric of existence into a cosmic tapestry that whispered the secrets of creation and echoed with the eternal dance of forces beyond mortal comprehension.  It then created life on a planet in the center of its universe. It created great beasts with the strength to topple mountains.  It created small creatures that very few could see.  Creatures of all shapes and sizes roamed and thrived.

Over time, the god grew discontent.  Perhaps it was a form of loneliness or curiosity about itself, but the god created creatures in It's image to see how they would function in this world It had created.  Mankind was born.  It watched as mankind evolved, and It was shocked to see the contrast of light and dark within mankind.  Since this darkness was in mankind, who was made in It's image, then this darkness must have been within It as well.  It dove within itself and found it to be true.  Afraid, the god decided to sever the darkness within It and cast it out.  So It did.

The god ripped and tore.  With each motion, it tore out pieces of Itself.  The process was not perfect and damaged the god.  To make matters worse, the darkness that was torn out of the god still possessed It's power.  The darkness congealed and formed Itself into a new god.  For the first time in the entire universe, there were two deities: one of pure light and one of pure darkness.  They gazed upon each other.  Each one half of a whole.  Each half knew that they should have never separated because there could be no darkness without light, and no light without darkness.  Despite this, they could not help themselves as they began to battle.

They fought.  Each entity was equal in strength.  The universe was destroyed and reformed countless times.  Despite their knowledge that there could be no darkness without light, and no light without darkness, some primal urge prevented them from stopping their battle.

The endless battle raged on, destroying and reforming the universe countless times, until the two gods were drastically weakened and began to fracture into dozens of pieces.  Each fractured piece formed its own entity with its own diminished power. These new entities became the dark and Light Pantheons.  These gods, with drastically diminished power, moved to collect believers and worshippers from mankind on various planets to strengthen themselves.  Through these followers, the gods continued their war on each other.

Prologue:

Loma was a Disciple in the The Order of Light following Solarius.  Solarius was the god of Light, Might, and Wisdom who led the Light Pantheon.  Her strength is not what made her special, nor was it her potential.  It was the fact that she was startlingly innocent.  Even the worst liars would be able to deceive Loma.  However, such an event never occurred.  Upon gazing upon Loma, no one could bring themselves to be anything less than honest with her.

Loma was a gentle soul who could never hurt a single person nor animal and never had any thoughts of doing so.  Everyone she met felt the urge to protect her and her innocence.  In addition to this innocence, what drew attention to Loma was her rank of Disciple.  In order to obtain the rank of Disciple that preceded the rank of Initiate and Acolyte, one must slay other living creatures in the name of their god.  However, Loma had never left the city in which she was born, let alone slain a person or beast.

Many speculated the reason for her ascendance into the rank of Disciple without shedding the blood of others, but no one ever figured out the reason.  Therefore it was commonly accepted that Solarius, the leader of the Light Pantheon of gods, must have conveyed this power upon her for her devotion to spreading his word in the world.

Loma spent half her days in the temple dedicated to Solarius, lost in prayer and meditation to gather spirit. The other half, she devoted to helping the city's various charities.  She was especially fond of teaching at the Solarius School of Wisdom, where she had been raised as an orphan.  It was the charity she loved the most.  She empathized with the children due to her being raised in the very same school.

It was a day like any other when Loma received her first divine message from the god that she followed so fervently.  She was praying when a suffocating presence descended upon her.  She felt like she would be crushed at any moment, yet somehow was the most comfortable she had ever been.  It was at that moment she realized that she was in the presence of her beloved god.

"Loma, it is I, your god Solarius," a deep heavenly voice resonated in her mind. Loma would have fallen to her knees in reverence if she were not already praying in that position. Loma opened her mouth to speak to her god, but she simply did not have the strength at her current Rank of power.

"Loma, I have chosen you for a sacred task," Solarius said. Loma could not believe her ears. A sacred task? She was not worthy of such a bestowment. Why wouldn't the great Solarius, the Guiding Light, choose someone more important? Someone like a High Archon or a Soulforge Ascendent?

“You will carry my child and give birth to him.  He will bring about a new era and lead the followers of the Light Pantheon on a crusade that will eradicate the Dark Pantheon until there is not a single believer of the dark left.  He will purify the Earth with his might and blood," Solarius proclaimed.

Loma was left in shock as the pressure of the god's presence dissipated.  Loma went to speak and voice her protests, hoping her god would hear her, but she was stopped as she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.  Loma collapsed in pain and writhed on the ground, her mouth open in a wordless scream.  Once she recovered, she knew that it was too late to voice any protest.  Solarius had used his power to place his son in her womb.

Utterly mortified that her beloved god had violated her without consent, Loma began to weep uncontrollably.  She knew the catastrophic consequences her child's birth would unleash - the rebirth of a holy war between the pantheons that had not raged so fiercely for thousands of years.  The Dark and Light Pantheons had been at a stalemate for the past several hundred years.  Besides the occasional battle in no man's land at the center of the continent, there was no war.

The innocents on each side had simply lived in peace, worshiping whom they chose.  They needn't worry about a follower descending upon them to kill them in a holy crusade. The birth of a god's child, especially Solarius's child, would bring about a war that had not been seen on Earth for thousands of years.

The thought of such blood and destruction on her hands were more than Loma could bear.  She broke down in tears.  For three days and three nights, she ate nothing and drank little.  In a moment of weakness, she attempted to plunge a dagger into herself to prevent such a catastrophe from being unleashed on the world.  When the dagger touched her skin, it shattered, leaving her unharmed.  She tried other methods but found herself nearly invincible. Solarius had blessed her and would ensure that no harm would come to Loma or his child before Loma gave birth.

It was at that moment that Loma plunged into the depths of despair.  She had no strategy to avert this looming catastrophe.  She could not tell her fellow followers, as they would surely rejoice at the news of their god's son gracing the Earth with his presence.  Late at night, Loma prayed for a solution.  She did not pray to her god, but prayed into the open world.  She hoped for an answer.

That answer came.  The shadows and darkness thickened as Loma felt a pressure descend upon her similar to when her god had spoken to her.  However, this pressure held no calming aura.  The aura was filled with darkness and fear.  Loma trembled and cowered.

"You asked for this.  You prayed for this.  So stop your sniffling," a voice hissed. "Speak my name if you wish to receive the assistance you seek."

Loma could not speak; she was too terrified.

"Say it!" the voice screamed in demand.

Cowering in terror, Loma finally whimpered the name “Vesperos.”

“'Good girl,” the ancient voice hissed.  "You recognize true power when you feel it."

Vesperos was the archenemy of Solarius and Dark Pantheon’s lead god.  Loma knew that speaking with Vesperos would be the ultimate form of blasphemy.

"I present to you two options if you wish to avoid the disaster that you envision.  The first option is that I grant you the cover of darkness, and you flee to the east. There, you can meet your end at the hands of the Dark Pantheon followers.  Solarius's son will never be born, and the peace you believe in will continue, at least for a little longer." Vesperos spun his words in a deep and ancient voice that seemed to contain a hiss.

Loma frantically shook her head at this prospect.  Meeting with Vesperos had rekindled her will to live.  She wanted nothing to do with the Dark Pantheon because it felt so vile to her.

"The second option is that I once again grant you the cover of darkness, and you flee to the Abil Mountains.  There is a mountain village located between the territories of the Dark and Light Pantheons, where few travelers venture.  There, you can live a life of peace and give birth to your son where no one will ever find him.  He will live out his life and die of old age in obscurity.  However, if you choose this option, I reserve the right to call in a favor of my choosing upon you reaching your destination," Vesperos proposed. Then Vesperos's voice dropped to a whisper and felt to be an inch from Loma's ear. "Do you accept?"

Loma dejectedly shook her head in agreement.  This would be the best outcome.  There is nothing that Vesperos could demand of her and her minor power that could inflict as much harm as Solarius being able to raise his son into a righteous avenger that would reignite the eternal war between the pantheons.

With Loma's acceptance, Vesperos granted her two powers.  The first cloaked her in darkness and would conceal her from all those who wished to seek her.  The second granted her the speed to move like no other.  Upon receiving these powers, Loma knew they were temporary and would vanish when she reached or strayed from her destination.

Clad in shadows and with her meager belongings, Loma left that night.  She traveled out of the city she had never left and through forests she had never thought she desired to see.  She pranced through meadows and creeks as she made her way towards the mountains in the distance. Despite no one noticing her presence or trying to stop her, and despite the speed she was granted, the journey still took a few weeks. During this time, she confirmed that she was truly pregnant as her moonblood did not occur during the moon cycle.

Finally, Loma reached the mountain village Vesperos had commanded her to travel to.  Upon reaching it, her cloak of darkness fell, and her speed evaporated.  She was weary as she traveled the final mile to the village.  There, she purchased a small plot of land and a cottage where she planned to spend the rest of her days, aiming to preserve the fragile peace of the world.

Upon entering the cottage she had purchased, Loma found it strangely dark for it being midday.

"It is time for me to call in the favor of a sweet girl," a hissing voice came from the darkness. Pressure slammed into Loma.  She knew she was in the presence of Vesperos yet again.

"It may be taboo among gods to directly strike down the children of others, but that does not mean I cannot counteract and enrage that pompous light-wielding prick."  Vesperos mused.

The shadows in front of Loma stretched and formed into the outline of a man.  The man outstretched his hand and pointed at Loma.  Loma was wracked by pain.  She collapsed.  It was the same pain that Solarius had inflicted upon her.  While she writhed, she looked towards the doorway as if she could escape.  As she looked on, a bolt of light descended and transformed into the silhouette of a man.  The man of light ran into the building and threw himself at the man of shadow. The two figures fell to the ground and started to pummel each other.

“You dare violate the mother of my child, Vesperos!  You know the agreement," the voice of Solarius emerged from the light silhouette.  A cackle emerged from the dark silhouette as it fought off the light silhouette.

“You mean the mother of our children, Solarius!  You should be glad!  That means the children are guaranteed to be born, as neither pantheon would dare kill her now," Vesperos laughed. "I did not violate the agreement because I did not harm her!"

"I will destroy you, Vesperos!  I will tear you to shreds for what you have done," Solarius bellowed.

"You have been trying to do that since the dawn of time, Solarius.  Why should I be concerned now?"  Vesperos questioned.

Loma had regained her ability to move and quickly came to the realization that she had been deceived and ensnared by Vesperos.  Carrying Solarius's child meant that she could not be harmed by anyone following the Light Pantheon.  Vesperos had stated that she was now carrying his child in addition to Solarius’s.  This meant that neither pantheon could harm her, and she would have to bear both children to birth.

If the child of the most powerful Light Pantheon god sparked a war of unimaginable carnage, the birth of twins—one from the Light Pantheon and one from the Dark Pantheon—would result in the Earth's destruction.

Loma fell into despair at the thought.  She could not die and would give birth to the two calamities that would destroy the Earth.  War was unavoidable.  She looked up to find that both of the gods were gone.  They had vanished, leaving her alone with her mistake and the burden of two children.

Far away at two different ends of the Abil mountains; two very similar conversations were being held.  Vesperos and Solarius had each contacted a powerful follower and had given them a task.  Travel to the Abil mountains and retrieve their son.  Kill their son’s twin at all cost.  They could tell no one to ensure the balance between the pantheons.  And most importantly, ensure that their son survives.

Both followers left hastily and rushed towards the mountains without saying a word to anyone else.  At the Abil Mountains, Magnus Warbringer, an Exarch in the Shadowbound Disciples, met with Lief Stoneheart, an Exarch in The Solarius Order of Might.  At the base of the mountains, these powerful men fought with all they had.  They were equally matched and traded blows back and forth.  They fought for a day and a night, neither backing down in their holy quest that had been imparted upon them.

Eventually, they reached a standstill.  The men had developed a deep respect for each other's skills as they were both severely wounded and could not continue the fight in their current state.  They made a deal at that moment.  They would put their fight on hold for approximately seventeen years.  They would allow each boy to be born and reach the age of seventeen in the village.  At such an age, the boys would be strong enough to withstand the shockwaves of their battle.  Then, they would continue their battle as the gods decreed.

Sheathing their weapons and swearing upon their respective gods, Magnus and Lief climbed the mountain to meet the woman who would bear the children of not one god, but two.