Read an Excerpt
Gods of War
By Storm Kesocascay
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Storm Kesocascay
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-3440-3
Chapter One
"Our stories we told our children, our songs we sung in prayer, our legends we have hidden but will one day reveal, lie in the stars that cover our night sky" Long before our Earth formed out of the battles of the large monsters that live in our night sky, there existed the creatures of no names. There where fifteen of them, each embodied a different element of magical power, power beyond any mundane's imagination. We called them "Fekkri'res" in our language. Some other races call them "Dios", "Tanrilar", "Kamigami", but common mundanes call them "Gods".
These creatures fought each other for territory, power, even mates. They looked like creatures that crawled out of a mad-man's worst nightmare; dragons, all of them, but in varying styles. One was a dragon that could only levitate and was covered in tenticles. Many races call this creature a "Gorgon". Another was a dragon that was entirely mechanical. This one was the ultimate; the only god with a sane mind.
He brought all of the other gods together and explained his plan. He wanted to create something using the energies that the other gods were releasing in their petty wars. He wanted to create beauty out of carnage.
He bound all of the gods' energy into a seal which has a law they called the Divine Covenant, also called the Accords, written in their language, a language few mundanes hope to comprehend.
He gave the duty of making sure that the Divine Covenant was protected and followed to his youngest son; Arylos Kesocascay, who became our God of War and the Father of Magic. Arylos took the charge and began breeding creatures known as Black Dogs who functioned as his army and made sure the Accords were kept.
With his duty of protecting and enforcing the Accords, Arylos was given the charge of ferrying the souls of the dead to the Void, the place of the After Life. Arylos shared this duty with the other Black Dogs.
Eventually, Arylos became so absorbed in his magic, he needed freedom. So, he took a knife and cut out his heart and replaced it with a gathering of magical energy to keep him alive as he continued to produce energy from his body. He then took his still-beating heart and locked it away in a chest he called "Si'na hito no kagasare" also translated as "The Dead Man's Chest" and sealed it away in an unknown location.
Arylos was not the first Black Dog to fall prey to their own magic; Arylos's elder brother, Narymous cut out his soul and gave it to a demon sometimes called "Satan" for him to eat and, with his soul, Narymous gave his left arm and replaced it with a mechanical limb. With him, a close friend of Arylos's whose name is unknown gave his left eye for freedom.
These body parts formed the first of magical objects called "Kogotoni'res", sometimes called "Talasmans" or "Horcruxes", which funnel the magician's unused energy away from the magician and into the dismembered part.
This would have saved the god who united all of the others to create the Divine Covenant. He gained so much power so fast, he went mad and threatened to destroy the other gods and the new Reality they were creating.
Arylos, pained to do so, fought this god along with the support of the other gods and banished this god to a dimension he built that he called "The temple of the Elements".
Arylos sealed him in and built the Void, his own dimension, around it to bury this god inside. Arylos then set the inner part of the Void afire, trapping the god in what Arylos called "Hell Fire", fire that rivaled the unreal heat of Dragon Fire.
As the god screamed in pain, Arylos had cast a spell to bind the god within this place and not allow him to die so his soul could be scorched by Hell Fire for the rest of time. Arylos also erased all of his names save two; a religious name that the future Kaiyumae would call him, and the shorter name "Aryas" to ensure that none of Aryas's residual spells would free him.
Though Arylos's intentions worked for the best and Reality was built around Aryas, trapping him, little did Arylos know, his magic on Aryas was short-term and one day, he would rise.
Chapter Two
The Curse lifted, The barrier broken, The lost God released.
Marik Kutaise was working late. He found enough evidence that would let him discover the greatest scientific discovery of all time: the existence of Aryas, the Kaiyumian supreme god.
The old man, who was in no way could be fit for science, was tall, yet thin with snow white hair. He spoke Common, Kaiyumian and the language of the gods: Roar of the Seekers. Over eighty years old, the deep-throated language was, over time, too much for him. He lost a good majority of his voice, yet refused treatment.
He was about to make history. It was July 2nd of 1882 Atlantian years. It was late at night and most of his fellow scientists were either sleeping at home, or going home.
One of his scientists stayed, however. Her name was Lurana Setakal. The two worked late at night, using sign-language to communicate in order save Marik's voice. The two dedicated scientists worked through the long, tiring night reading dimensional samples, skin samples of Time Travelers, reading old legends and performing very dangerous dimensional experiments.
As the sun was beginning to rise, Marik signed Lurana to take a break. Lurana, with her young beauty of sun-kissed skin and long red hair, hesitated, but accepted and left.
Marik remained dedicated. He eventually just sat in a chair, thinking where, if he were Arylos, could he hide the Void. He thought and thought. He eventually gave up and decided to take a break.
He stood and walked and placed his finger on a scanner. As it was scanning, the power went out. The emergency red lamps turned on, leaving Marik bathed in red light, yet still with limited vision. He tried the emergency door release, but it did not budge. He tried, knowing full well his voice was going out and that he was in a soundproof room, to scream. Yet, when he opened his mouth, it was like a nightmare; he heard absolutely nothing from his throat. He put his hand to his throat and tried to speak, not even the flesh of his neck moved. He tried to scream in horror, but nothing. He was trapped.
He slammed on the glass, but it was layered thick, it would not move nor make a sound. He tried again to break it, but heard a growl behind him.
He stopped. Turning his head slowly, he saw nothing, except for a dark shadow. Marik walked towards it, and stopped. He waited for what seemed like an eternity, and then a voice sounded from the shadow. "You were right, Marik," a voice sounded. The voice was dark and old. "You would make the biggest discovery by finding me." Blood red eyes appeared on the shadow then, eyes that looked mechanical and screamed anger and madness.
Marik stared in horror, yet in recognition. He was staring into the eyes of Aryas. He ran towards to the door again trying to break it, as he heard an evil laugh and the sound of something slime-like try to pass through the wall. The voice sounded again, "What's wrong? I thought you dedicated your life to finding me," the voice said darkly. "There is no way out. I killed the power supply."
Marik, understanding his fate, stopped and turned to face Aryas. What stood before him was a sight of horror; a large slime-like monster taking the shape of a dragon. Marik nodded and mouthed; "why me?"
"Why you?" Aryas laughed. "Because, if you did find me, then Arylos would capture me and send me back to my prison, and I do not have the time to deal with that meddling brat of a son. I have my priorities, I don't care if they are against the Accords; there is work to be done. Though I am not fully free yet, it is good to start preparing for my plans. A little pre-production planning, don't you agree?"
The shape fully formed and lunged at Marik, the silver glittering claws slashing into Marik's frail body.
Marik tried to scream for help, but could not, but a high pitched scream sounded behind him. Aryas stopped attacking him and dropped him to the floor, hard. The last thing he heard was a woman screaming in agony. What have I done? Was Marik's last thought as he plunged into eternal darkness.
Chapter Three
The ancient Black Dog
Arylos Kesocascay woke with a start, his red hair flinging over his eyes. He just dreamt of a man named Marik Kutaise being murdered, Arylos felt the sweat roll down his back as he tried to gain control of his mind again. It took many minutes and many exercises to calm him down. One of these exercises included telling himself who he is, sometimes aloud, others to himself.
My name is Arylos Salifira Kesocascay, he told himself mentally. My age, here on Earth is twenty years of age. My real age is undetermined, yet I am far older than twenty years. I am the Kaiyumian God of War. I protect the humans and keep the gods from fighting each other. I am the leader of the Black Dogs, keepers of the Accords.
When he was finally able to take a breath without shuddering, he continued to his feet. He came over to a mirror and saw what he told himself. He was twenty years of age, yet he appeared far younger, perhaps seventeen. He ran his fingers through his hair and examined the man staring back at him; Blood-red hair paired with blood-red eyes that hide more than they show. He began eyeing his hair, one of his strangest physical features. His hair spiked up near the ends and some parts of his hair bore very faint orange highlights giving his hair the appearance of fire.
He eyed his body form. A thick upper and lower body form yet had a body built for speed, though it did not appear so. His black eyebrows added contrast to his red hair. He tried to smile a friendly smile, but failed miserably. He decided to change from the white jacket and pants he was wearing to something more flattering.
He removed his shirt and winced at the sight. Not his imperfect form, but a scar that stretched across where his heart lied. He caressed his fingers over the scar and tried to feel his heartbeat, but felt nothing.
A Mutt. He called himself. A Mutt is a malformed creature and comes from the Kaiyumian word "Mütëyon" meaning "Mutation" and is marked on those who have an incurable malformation.
This was one of his defects; he had no heart. He cut it out long ago to save himself from madness. As a result, he lost all sense of sanity, emotion and became disfigured and the power he gained kept him from dying.
He decided not to weep over the past. His heart was lost and with it, everything he valued.
He finished dressing into his common clothing; a long red cloak with a blood red and black shirt with dark black jeans. The inside of the cloak was lined with black and the outside was soft leather-like cloth colored red. The joke he made of himself was that he would look like Count Dracula if he did not have red hair and if he had fangs.
He stepped into his living room which was covered with machinery of all kind. As he walked, he admired the computers he had built with his own two hands.
He sat down into a comfortable seat and waited there quietly for the machines to respond. He waited a few moments before clapping his hands speaking to a machine he called JARVIS.
His voice was rugged and sounded nothing like a twenty year-old man. It cracked and seemed to resonate like many voices speaking at once, but that resonating effect was really subtle. He also spoke with the normal Kaiyumian accent; saying everything in syllables. "Wake up JARVIS. Daddy's up; time for work."
The machines flickered to life and started projecting holographic images in front of Arylos of which were fully interactive. An image file of an attack squadron was flashed. Arylos took his hands, crumpled it up and threw it into a holographic trash can.
He repeated this process many times as the machine JARVIS began to activate.
"Good morning, Sir," JARVIS said in an English butler-like accent.
He began narrating Arylos and continued to flash files at him. "Your technical conference in Kamakura was a total success and might I congratulate you on your winning of the ARMOS Military Award of Pride and Honor in Samatami." JARVIS said. "And might I say how relieved I am to finally see a public video of you with your clothing on, Sir."
Arylos let lose a small chuckle as the video of him in Kasora showed up. It was a weapons trial and Arylos was charged. He was a major weapons dealer for the military, but others saw his weapons as in humanitarian. In the past trials, Arylos would lose it and take off his cloak reveling a multitude of weapons and sometimes he would do more than the cloak.
Kasora was one trial he did not lose it like he normally does.
JARVIS is a computer Arylos built to assist him in his weapon manufacturing. Without JARVIS, Arylos would have to plan, test and built by hand, one thing he liked doing, but it would cut productivity. Now, he only creates swords by hand. The rest of his weapons are computer made.
Arylos built JARVIS just a few years before the Sentoraya war ended in an effort to end the war quickly and spare the lives of young Kaiyumae soldiers. The name JARVIS was short for Jareno Aumu Rikare Ve naka Setoko which was Kaiyumian for Ultimate Weapon Creator And Manufacturer. JARVIS is Arylos's pride and joy. With JARVIS's help, Arylos is getting a patent on a high powered weapon who's only purpose is to wipe out an entire landmass when defeat is inevitable. Arylos hopes to build this weapon, but wishes for it to never be used.
Arylos caught himself staring into space and accidently threw away a file he needed, which JARVIS generously retrieved.
"What is wrong, Sir?" JARVIS asked. "You're acting strange."
"Stranger, most likely," Arylos responded rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"I wonder, Sir," JARVIS began. "Do you ever feel alone? I remember Miss Minourae and-"
Arylos let out a deep, inhuman growl at the name Minourae. "Don't, ever, say that name." Arylos growled deeply in a voice that sounded slightly like a monster from Hell, but it was no use.
He began to envision the time when he and his past lover, Minourae, stood watching the sunset while holding each other's hands. They began to look at each other in the eyes. Arylos's head began to come closer to Minourae's. The closer he got, the more he closed his eyes and the more she closed hers. They began to near each oth-
Arylos's vision was cut off by JARVIS yelling at him. He shook his head and said to JARVIS; "I'm fine. Just never speak of her again."
"I am deeply sorry, Sir." JARVIS said in an apologetic tone of voice. " I just wonder if you will find someone new or remain a lonely man for the rest of your eternal life. You have all of this time, why not use it?"
"May I remind you, JARVIS," Arylos said obviously becoming furious. "That she was the only woman who-"
The sound of high-pitched mechanic grinding cut him off. Arylos grimaced and turned around. All that was there was a mechanic arm working on circuit boards and it was obvious that a wiring mistake took place and one of the circuits blew. The arm looked at Arylos, jumped up and made a beeping-like noise.
Arylos began shouting at the machine. "I swear; if you cannot function like I programmed you, Butter-Fingers, I will tear out your goddamn mother board, empty you of your wires, throw you in a corner and use you as a wine-rack!"
The machined lowered its apparent head and made a grimacing sound. The machine Arylos fittingly called "Butter-Fingers" was a machine Arylos made to work on the assembly line.
Arylos took himself back. "Ok, now you're making me feel bad. I'll let you off this time because it's early in the morning and, you know I absolutely hate it when children make that noise after being chastised. I'll give you points for noticing my weakness." Arylos tried a make-shift smile.
Butter-Fingers jumped up and made a approving noise. When Arylos began to turn back to JARVIS's screens, he heard a familiar laughing-like noise come from a machine he knew was not Butter-Fingers.
"Peek!" Arylos shouted. Another machine jumped up at the name. "You shut-up!" Arylos shouted at Peek. "He's your brother. Have a repeat of last week when you doused me in water when I was not on fire, I'll donate you to a city college!"
Peek lowered his head and moved back to the assembly line that was for ammunition, still laughing lightly.
Arylos shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Now you see why I don't want children, JARVIS?"
"You treat them like so, Sir." JARVIS responded. "And, technically, they are."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Arylos began to ignore JARVIS.
"I've heard this before. Now, turn my favorite song, 'Zips', up high and let's work!"
On his cue, a heavy rock song which came from the Nippon areas called "Zips" by Arylos's favorite artist T.M. Revolution, began playing and Arylos stood and began doing a light dance and sung to a few lines before saying "Ok, now we can work!"
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Gods of War by Storm Kesocascay Copyright © 2012 by Storm Kesocascay. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
