The Sons of Gods

Quin raised his head to spot gray stone spires rising into the sky like pointy fingers. At the top of each spire was a blazing orange fire. Although the fires did not shine brightly at the moment due to it being in the middle of the day, Quin could imagine the fires guiding travelers like a beacon from kilometers away. There were dozens of watchtowers in a ring rising into the sky. If Quin squinted he could see small windows or ports spiraling up each tower so someone could gaze out of the towers.

“It's amazing. The towers rise into the sky like the mountains back in the village,” Quin said while gazing upon the spires.

“Haha, they certainly do have quite a bit of height to them. Nothing like the mountains however. The city is famous for its watchtowers and their sheer magnitude. Not only are they beautiful to gaze upon, but they are a masterpiece when it comes to defending the city from sieges. They have endless places for spellcasters and archers to reign projectiles down upon the enemy. Additionally, although I have never seen it, there is a nasty piece of spellwork that is laid upon the towers. In times of a siege, it can be activated and either coat the whole city in a protective bubble using every single watchtower to power the shield for months or individual watchtowers can be activated to use some powerful attack magic upon our enemies. Their reputation is well founded since the city has never fallen since their construction,” Lief spoke enthusiastically.

“Amazing. Although I do not wish for the city to ever come under attack, I would love to see the spires in action,” Quin responded.

“Hmm, perhaps someday in the future we will. With you on our side however, the Light Pantheon will probably go on the offensive once you grow into your power. I do not see the Dark Pantheon going on the offensive if we have the son of a god leading us,” Lief mused.

“Must we truly go to war because of me?” Quin mumbled, but it did not escape Lief’s ears.

“We do not go to war because of you, Quin. We go to war because the Dark Pantheon has committed endless atrocities in this world. We go to war to deliver salivation to those in their lands. We go to war because our gods command us and as their followers we obey,” Lief said with some sympathy in his voice.

“Besides! How else are we supposed to carve our names into history? To earn glory for our families and god!” Lief spoke with enthusiasm attempting to cheer up Quin. He said the proclamation with a big laugh before slapping Quin on the shoulder. As usual, Quin stumbled under the blow.

Quin was about to speak up bitterly about how his only family on this green Earth was Sorin whom he left behind and would probably have to kill one day. However, he was interrupted by the sight of Cremoor coming into view as they left the trees.

“There it is! Cremoor! The city of watchtowers! Oh how I’ve yearned for the sight of Cremoor Towers, the sight of my home!” Lief shouted with gusto. Quin’s mouth was open in awe.

Quin had left the trees and into open plains that ran for a distance before arriving at the massive city. The city had walls that soared into the air unmatched by anything in its surroundings except for the towers. The walls and towers were made from the same gray stone and completely encompassed the city.

The walls had battlements with guards barely visible in the distance walking about them on patrol. Several siege engines of varying design were also mounted upon the walls. Quin was far from an expert on siege weapons, but he could at least pickout several trebuchets and ballistas mounted to the walls. The other weapons of war atop the walls numbered in the dozens, but were foreign to him.

To the right and left of the city was empty plains before returning to the Frostwood Forest. Behind the city was a steep cliff dropoff that led to a large sparkling sea. Quin could make out a few boats in the distance. That must have meant that the city had a harbor at the base of the cliffs.

Quin turned his attention back to the city. The size was unfathomable to him. The village had a population of approximately one hundred and Quin could not comprehend how many people must live inside of the city of this magnitude.

“Hahaha. Get your gawking done early or everyone we introduce you too is going to think you are a country bumpkin. Oh wait! You are!” Lief roared at his own joke. Quin rolled his eyes, but not before self consciously snapping his mouth shut. He wouldn’t look very dignified if he was catching flies on his tongue.

“Whatever you say sir,” Quin emphasized sir to make it as patronizing as possible. This just made Lief laugh harder before continuing to walk forward. Then Lief turned serious.

“About your hair, Quin. We need to get our story straight. It's impossible to explain without a god's intervention,” Lief said.

“What do we do then, sir? Do I have to hide it till I am strong enough to reveal myself?” Quin asked.

“No, no. Nothing that drastic. We are going to claim you are a Chosen One. This will attract attention to you, but not nearly enough to alert the dark pantheon to your presence as the son of Solarius. In fact, it will help us cover up any oddities about you,” Lief explained.

Quin knew what Lief was talking about and was surprised he didn’t think of this easy explanation himself. Chosen Ones were followers of gods that had an extremely large Divine Conduit and a massive affinity to a specific god due to their worship of that god before they were old enough to gather spirit. Many attempted to form this sort of relationship with a god before they reached the age of sixteen and could begin gathering spirit, but very few managed that kind of devotion in their hearts and minds. Therefore Chosen Ones were rare, but not unheard of. There were usually a few thousand if not tens of thousands in each pantheon at any given time.

These followers were usually chosen before they could even gather spirit and this led to them developing some sort of characteristic that changed their appearance to better match their god. This characteristic that the Chosen Ones developed usually marked them as a talent to be protected, but also someone to be targeted by the opposite pantheon. When a Chosen One was able to survive and grow into a powerhouse in their respective pantheon, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Quin could easily claim that his hair that almost radiated golden light during the day and definitely gave off a soft glow at night was due to him being a Chosen One. It would also explain his fast development and his talents. Overall, it was the perfect cover story.

“I should have thought of that,” Quin murmured. Lief laughed and clapped Quin on the back. With the story decided the two made their way towards Cremoor.

Eventually the duo arrived at the walls where a massive gate was set into the stone wall. The gate was raised to allow traffic to flow through the gate. There was a reasonable amount of people waiting at the gate to be allowed in by a group of four male guards.

The guards were dressed in uniform. The uniform consisted of nearly full body silver metal armor. They were armored with boots, chestplate, gauntlets, and a pauldron. Atop their heads was a helmet that masked each of their faces. The only way to tell the guards apart were the varying weapons and their chestplates. Two of the guards had longswords, one had a warhammer like Lief Stoneheart, and the last had a spear.

The second object of interest that set them apart was their chest plates. On each chestplate was a symbol brightly colored onto the metal. Quin instantly knew each symbol as Lief had drilled each symbol into him a long time ago. Each symbol was the symbol of a god or goddess. The two sword wielders had the symbol of Seraphis, Goddess of Celestial Realms and Birds. The symbol was a pair of beautiful white wings enveloping a heart. Seraphis quite literally guarded the gateway to the heavens where the Gods and Goddess of the light patheon resided. It struck Quin that it was incredibly fitting for followers of Seraphis to be guarding the gates of Cremoor.

The soldier with the spear had a symbol with an unlidded eye. This meant he was a follower of Veritas, the God of Truth and Absolute Honesty. Another excellent choice for a guard Quin mused. Quin assumed the guard had some sort of ability to detect lies. This would make questioning whoever planned to enter the city a piece of cake.

The last guard, who wielded the warhammer, had the symbol that was a golden triangle with radiant light shining from each point. The left point of the triangle was painted a brighter yellow than the other two. The triangle was an identical copy of one that resided upon the armor that Lief Stoneheart was wearing. Quin immediately knew that the guard wielding the warhammer was a worshiper of Solarius and belonged to the same Order that Lief did, the Order of Might.

Lief stepped forward and removed his helmet in order to speak to the guards. The guard that followed Veritas stepped forward with his hand outstretched and opened his mouth to speak. However, before he could speak, the follower of Solarius basically pushed the follower of Veritas to the ground to get past him. The follower of Solarius dropped his hammer with a loud boom and flung his arms wide with a massive laugh.

“He's alive! Lief Stoneheart, you son of a bitch! You've been gone for ages!” The follower of Solarius roared.

“Justin? Is that you under all that armor?” Lief replied with a laugh. Lief strode forward and put his arm up as if for arm wrestling. Justin met him and thrust his hand forward to clasp Lief’s hand. Then the two then pulled each other in and clapped each other on the back which caused a massive din as they were both slapping each other’s armor with a gauntleted hand.

“You disappear for seventeen years without a word and all of a sudden you come back with a kid?! You scoundrel, what have you been up to? Who’s the unlucky woman and where is she?” Justin joked good naturedly. He then turned to Quin and studied him before Lief could reply. “Ohhh, I understand now. No wonder you rushed out of the city with no warning.”

Justin had appeared to reach a form of conclusion without any explanation needed. Quin turned to study the other soldiers who during the discussion had removed their helmets and were studying Quin. They nodded along with Justin’s unspoken conclusion.

“What? Is there a problem with me?” Quin voiced, unsure of what was going on.

“You are correct Justin. I rushed out to save little Quin here when he was just a small lad. I received a divine revelation from Solarius that there would be someone important in the near future in the Abil Mountains and I had to go looking for him. I found Quin in the mountains and took him under my wing. Solarius sensed his coming and used my status as an Exarch to contact me with the mission to help guide the boy. It was the perfect opportunity for me to gain myself a student to advance myself and help the Light Pantheon by saving ourselves a genius,” Lief proudly explained.

The whole explanation was technically the truth, but omitted several key details that would give away Quin’s identity. Quin nodded along confirming the story that Lief was telling as they had decided earlier. Lief had told Quin when walking to the town that they would have to speak as close to the truth as possible as it was standard for a follower of Veritas to be on guard duty. If they began shouting lies to the guards, the follower of Veritas would see through them and begin to really question them.

The story seemed to be bought easily enough by the guards despite the time frame being strange if they contemplated it. It wasn’t odd for a god to instruct an Exarch using a divine revelation, which was the god expending a great deal of power to send a message to a follower, about something occurring in the world. However, it was odd for a god to tell an Exarch about a Chosen One who hadn't been born yet or was a small infant who could not comprehend a god let alone worship one enough to be chosen. Not only that, but Lief left immediately without saying anything. Quin was hoping that the guards would not notice this discrepancy when his fears were instantly alleviated.

“Hahahaha, that is so you Lief Stoneheart. Always charging off on the next adventure without even a word to the Order about your absence or willing to wait for the opportunity to arrive. You are definitely going to get dressed down this time. Based on the boy’s age you probably sat in those woods for years before he was even potty trained!” Justin laughed.

This caused the other guards to laugh. Quin noticed Lief must have been channeling his acting skills because he turned a little red in the face due to embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. That or he was truly embarrassed by this eager and reckless reputation being exposed in front of his disciple.

“You really are lucky to obtain such a student destined for great power. I suppose it's only a matter of time before you Ascend from the Rank of Exarch.” The follower of Veritas said.

Quin picked up on the follower of Veritas’s meaning. Lief had taught Quin the different Ranks and that the sixth Rank was peculiar. The sixth Rank, the Rank of Exarch, had an ascension criteria that was always something pertaining to teaching the next generation. Although Lief had not reached the pinnacle of Exarch to receive his specific ascension criteria it could be assumed that mentoring a Chosen One, let alone a Demigod, would allow Lief to ascend upon reaching the final level of Exarch.

“I am truly blessed by Solarius to have the opportunity to take Quin under my wing. I could not ask for a greater disciple than him,” Lief voiced.

Quin could feel that his master truly meant it and felt a great deal of warmth for the man. Lief had his flaws as shown by him trying to kill Sorin despite Quin’s wishes. He hadn’t succeeded, but he had done it for the good of Solarius, the Light Pantheon, and for Quin himself. Lief Stoneheart’s heart was in the right place and Quin could not bring himself to feel any more bitterness towards the man. Besides, Sorin was a vast distance away from him and Lief. Lief could not possibly do any damage to Sorin from such a distance or that was what Quin thought at least.

“I suppose we should let these two weary travelers inside. The Abil Mountains are quite the distance and I would wager these two could use some rest in a real bed,” One of the worshippers of Seraphis voiced. The other guards voiced their agreement and stepped aside to allow us to pass.

“May the favor of the Gods of the Light Pantheon protect you,” Quin voiced as a way of thanking the guards for allowing them to pass. As one, the guards brought their right gauntleted fist to their chest in a synchronized thump over their hearts.

“And may the Gods protect you, Chosen One,” The guards voiced in unison. The action baffled Quin briefly before Lief ushered him past the guards and into the city. As they began to walk through the gate into the incredibly thick city walls, Quin turned a questioning gaze towards Lief.

“Being told a blessing by a Chosen One holds a significant weight and not just in the religious sense. There have been documented records that being blessed by a Chosen One can increase the size of your Divine Conduit. Granted those Chosen Ones were significantly stronger than you, but those followers can hope for such a boone. With your true identity, I wouldn’t doubt that you may have increased the size of their Divine Conduits through such actions even if it was just by the smallest margin. I know for certain that my mentorship of you has increased mine by leaps and bounds,” Lief spoke in a low voice to not be overheard by those we left behind.

“I had no idea a few words could have such an impact,” Quin voiced his surprise.

“Remember what runs in your veins. You hold great power Quin. Did you doubt my words that you would be the key to the Light Pantheon winning the war once and for all? We do not even know a fraction of your power yet,” Lief said.

Quin opened his mouth in a half hearted protest about not possibly being all that important when the duo had stepped out of the portcullis of the walls and into the city of Cremoor. Quin was stunned and stopped in his tracks. Before him was a sea of… well… everything.

Buildings rose into the sky far above the height that some hills reached. People as populus as water in a river clogged the streets. Accompanying the people was a massive din at a volume that rivaled thunderclaps. Quin was baffled he didn’t notice the noise from outside of the city or while passing through the gate. Colors from painted buildings and the clothes from the mass of people formed a canvas with more colors than a rainbow after a mountain rain shower.

“Hahaha, pick up your jaw from the floor you country bumpkin or you’ll find yourself eating dust,” Lief shouted over the noise to Quin. Quin snapped his jaw shut.

“Why couldn’t we hear this outside the walls?” Quin tried to ask, but his voice was not loud enough to be heard. This caused Lief to cock his head in an indication to speak up so Quin tried shouting the question. This time Lief heard him.

“Enchantments on the entrance to the city. There are many on the city walls and gates for the protection of the city. One of them isolates the noise of the city from passing through the walls so the defenders in and on the walls can hear each other as well as threats from the outside. That specific enchantment can be turned off however in case of war and the guards need to hear the other defenders inside the city,” Lief explained while surveying the crowd. Quin went to ask more, but was interrupted.

“Don’t ask me too much about enchantments. I only have the smallest of knowledge about them. It's not my expertise. If you are interested, I am sure we can find a tutor to teach you about them later. Now, follow me lad, or we will never reach our destination.”

Lief began to stride forward and push his way through the crowd. Quin followed close on his heels in order to not lose him or be crushed by the crowd. The crowd began to part a bit in order to let the massive figure that was Lief Stoneheart through. Lief parting the crowd also drew attention to Quin. Quin immediately drew the crowd's curiosity with his shining hair that stood out in the sunlight. The crowd began to discuss and murmur in conversation. Quin caught snippets of the conversations around him.

“Mommy! Why is his hair so bright?” A young girl voiced to her mother.

“My goodness, I would give any amount of wealth for hair like that.” A bald man in a silken coat voiced to another man who was equally well dressed.

“Could he be a Chosen One? I wonder which God he follows.” A guardsman who was on patrol voiced to his comrade.

“Focus on walking lad, we don’t want you tripping on your own feet in public. It would be embarrassing,” Lief refocused Quin’s attention as Quin’s head was on a constant swivel. Between the noise and the sights, Quin was getting overwhelmed. Quin took a deep breath and focused on following Lief and ignoring all the gossip going on around him.

After several minutes of pushing through the various streets, Quin and Lief entered an area that was less crowded. It appeared to be a far wealthier portion of the city based on the dress of those around them and the lavishness of the buildings surrounding them. Quin deduced it was a shopping district as the surrounding buildings all appeared to be shops selling anything and everything.

The amount of wealth was shocking to Quin. Each and every shop had glass windows that showcased various wears. Quin knew of only one building in the village he grew up in that had glass and that was the general church that was used to worship any god that the villagers desired. That normal shops could afford such a luxury baffled Quin until he saw what was sold inside. It was not food or basic hardware like the shops or stalls in the village.

Each shop seemed to have a speciality of sorts. One shop seemed to only sell dresses while another sold expensive looking swords. Another store advertised anything you could need to buy for a mount, in particular horses. Prim and proper looking customers browsed past shop windows and entered whenever they saw something that caught their fancy. Quin found himself straying from the center of the road toward the right side of the road to get a better look at some of the shops while they walked.

Lief noticed Quin straying from the middle of the road before following him to the side. Lief watched as Quin indulged his curiosity and smiled. Lief reminded himself that Quin was still a young boy with the innocence that came with, despite the blood of Solarius flowing through his veins. Lief followed behind Quin as he strode down the avenue gazing into every shop with a bit of wonder. Then Quin stopped abruptly in his tracks and his face turned bright red. Lief followed Quin’s gaze to a storefront.

Lief began to laugh at Quin’s reaction when he saw what he was looking towards. It was a shop that went by the name of ‘Madam’s Delights for Ladies’. It was a store for ladies who wished to purchase undergarments that would surprise and please their husband or suitor. There was nothing particularly deviant or overly scandalous displayed in the windows, but it was enough to make an inexperienced country boy blush like a virgin on their wedding night.

Lief was amused by Quin’s reaction and would definitely tease the boy about it later. What Lief would neglect to tell the boy was that lacy articles of clothing in the window were far more tame then what was kept in the back of the store. Lief would also not mention that Quin’s reaction was a perfect mirror of his own when he found his first loves wearing similar garments on one of their trusts late at night.

Lief’s laugh made Quin go even redder. Quin forced himself to move forward and ignore the store to avoid further humiliation. Lief caught up to Quin and gave him a little nudge on the shoulder and a laugh to make sure Quin knew that Lief had seen his reaction. This caused Quin to go bright red again and stumble. Lief laughed a final time and walked ahead of Quin slightly while he was stumbling. Quin, despite his embarrassment used this opportunity to glance back at the store and see a few women leave the shop with bags with the store’s name sprawled across them. They were giggling and confidently walking out of the shop while swaying their hips in a hypnotic manner.

Quin forced himself to look forward in order to avoid being caught gawking by Lief or any other passerbys. Quin never had any interest in the girls while living in the village. Granted few of the village girls were his age or particularly attractive. These girls that he had seen around the city and especially leaving that shop were of a whole different level of attractiveness. Quin was starting to think that living in this city might not be so bad.

Quin and Lief eventually left the shopping district and began to walk through the residential district. The houses varied in size and extravagance, but everyone Quin walked past seemed to be happy and accepting of their lot in life. Every few blocks, Quin would spot some guards in armor or some sort of livery adorning the symbol of their god or goddess. Something that Quin noticed is that most of these groups seemed to have a smattering of followers of different gods.

“Lief, why do the guards not work in groups that consist of those who follow the same god? Wouldn’t it make for a more united front if you were working arm and arm with those who hold your god to the same level of esteem?” Quin asked.