-NALE-

  Nale Vitham sharpened the bones of his dead god.

  The whetstone squealed as it slid smoothly over the edge of the blade he was creating. The sound echoed in the cavern.

  It had taken Nale three months to prepare for the coming battle. The first two months were spent completing the drawings on the wall. Now the white stone walls around him were covered with ancient markings which were imbued with mana.

  Nale had initially balked at the chance to learn the language of the gods, but he had come to understand its importance. Only he could do this. Only he could save his world.

  The sword was ready. Nale stepped back and lifted it off the anvil. Even in the dim light of the mana crystals, the blade seemed to gleam.

  It had power. Of course it did. The bone from which it had been carved belonged to Shelil, one of the strongest of Nale's gods.

  "Shelil," Nale whispered. "Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

  It was time for the etching. Nale placed the bone blade down and picked up his chisel. He placed it against the bone and raised his hammer, but he was interrupted by a shuffling sound.

  He turned and saw Vaku entering the cavern. The little man was the only Chintari in Nale's army permitted to enter this chamber. Nale trusted him. It wasn't because Vaku had any particular skill or talent, but because Vaku possessed the most important thing: Hate.

  Vaku had almost as much hatred for the Order of the First Light as Nale did.

  Almost.

  "Sir!" Vaku exclaimed, then threw himself on the floor in prostration.

  "Get up Vaku," Nale said. He placed his chisel on the bone blade and started hammering. He heard Vaku shuffling behind him.

  "The Order is about to move, sir." Nale stopped hammering. He turned and looked at Vaku. The little man had a gleam in his eye and a mad grin on his face.

  "It is time," Vaku whispered.

  Nale nodded. "It is time. Prepare the people. Do not be late."

  "Yes sir," Vaku said.

  Nale returned to his etching, but he noticed that he did not hear Vaku retreating.

  "What is the matter, Vaku?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

  Vaku hesitated then spoke. "I...I wish to join you sir."

  Nale straightened up and looked Vaku in the eye. "Your mana is not fit for battle, Vaku. We have talked about this. Your death would be in vain."

  Vaku squared his shoulders. "I am already dead sir. I died with my children. Now I wish to drag along the First Light scum with me."

  Good, Nale thought. Very good. He wished everyone in the army was like this. Some of the others had run when the Holy War had begun. They refused to stay to defend their gods. They had allowed the First Light, with their trickery, to confuse them into fighting each other. Now almost all the gods were dead, but Nale was determined to rebuild. Even if he wasn’t the one to do the actual rebuilding, he would lay the foundation.

  That was what this mission was about.

  Nale picked up the blade, and placed the flat end on his forehead. He believed he could still hear the voices of the dead gods. He heard Shelil talking to him right now.

  "Very well," Nale said. "You will fight with me, Vaku. Shelil tells me so. We will fight and we will win."

  Vaku started to tremble. Tears welled in his eyes. "Yes sir," he said. "Thank you so much sir."

  Nale nodded and turned away. This time he heard the excited patter of Vaku's retreating footsteps. Nale continued etching. It was time. Everything had led to this moment. Everything was progressing as Talil had said. Victory was assured.

  "I'll kill them all," Nale said, snarling as he worked. "I'll kill all those liars."

  He hammered the markings exactly as Talil had instructed him to. Nale had already obtained power beyond anything he had before. Talil had taught him the secrets of mana. The god had taught him a technique called Lingula: the magic of language. Talil had shown him how to use the magic to take his revenge. The markings etched on the cavern walls would transport him to the Freighter that was carrying the Order of the First Light. The markings on the weapons would give him the power to kill them.

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  If all went well, Nale would return as a hero. If not, he was prepared to die to achieve his goal.

  The etchings were done. Nale lifted up the blade once more. On its surface he had scrawled the word soul. This soul blade was to be his most important weapon. It would allow him to carry the mana and souls of his people into battle.

  He crossed the cavern to where his armour and the rest of his weapons lay. Nale slowly put on the armour taking care with each piece. Each piece was carved from the bones of his dead gods. Each piece was etched with Lingula.

  Most of the armour pieces bore the words for protection and might. Nale felt strength flowing into him as he placed each one on. His vambraces bore the word inferno. Nale was relishing the opportunity to use that word in particular.

  Some of his people had offered to help him dress up. Nale refused. Doing it by himself made the process slower, but helped him appreciate every moment.

  He lifted up his helm and lowered it over his head. He had carved it to resemble a wild beast, because that was how he felt: like a beast on the hunt, ready to devour its prey.

  Now for his weapons. Nale would carry three swords. The first was a long black blade with a silver edge: the void blade. The second was shorter, red, and about the length of his forearm. He had named that one the flame blade.

  And the last blade was the soul blade. He carefully placed each of them into their respective scabbards. He was ready.

  Nale left the chamber.

  -VAKU-

  Vaku was ready to die. He had been ready for a long time. As he stripped himself of his clothing, he felt a delirious joy flow into his heart. This was a good day.

  There were about 50 other people present in the chamber with him. 50 heroes. They all stripped down to their underwear and waited.

  The Holy War had decimated their numbers. There used to be more than a thousand of them living in this mountain. They had worshipped their gods in peace and had not disturbed anyone. Then about a year ago, another mountain clan attacked. That clan had its own gods, and those gods had been foolish enough to allow themselves to be tricked by the Order of the First Light.

  Vaku’s people had fought back and soon other mountain clans got involved. The Holy War spiralled out of control.

  By the time anyone found out the truth, all but one of the mountain gods had been killed. The mountain clans had their populations drastically reduced.

  All because of the lies the Order of the First Light told. There were still some mountain clans out there fighting under the influence of the lies.

  It's not their fault, Vaku thought.

  Their minds are so corrupted they cannot see the truth. Everything had played out how the Order of the First Light had wanted. And now they were on their way to take Chin as their home. Vaku would not allow it.

  His family had died in one of the attacks. Vaku still carried that pain. Now he would bestow that gift and anger to his people's greatest warrior.

  Some of the people in the cavern were talking. They seemed nervous and were probably trying to alleviate that feeling through conversation.

  Vaku didn't need it. He kept his eyes firmly glued on the entrance of the cavern, waiting.

  ‘There.’

  Nale strode into the chamber, like an imperious king. He was dressed head to toe in a black bone armour that seemed to drink in the light around them. An ash shawl streamed from his shoulders. The shawl writhed in nonexistent wind as if it had a life of its own.

  The chamber fell silent when Nale entered.

  Nale walked around the room, staring into each person's eyes, as if daring them to flinch.

  Many people looked away. Some even broke down crying, but Vaku gritted his teeth and held Nale's gaze when it was his turn. He felt his knees threaten to buckle under the intensity of the moment, but he held on.

  Finally, Nale walked to the center of the room. He drew his blade; the one Vaku had seen him carving.

  "It is time," Nale said. And that was all. No speech. No rousing declaration. None was needed.

  They all knew what they were doing. They had given up their lives long ago.

  Each person dropped to their knees and bowed their head. Nale walked to the first person. Vaku knew him. An old man called Paplu. He had been a direct servant of the gods. Paplu’s sons had been combatants. They were killed in the attack that took Vaku’s family.

  "Do you believe?" Nale said to Paplu. Paplu looked up. There were tears in his eyes.

  "I do," he responded.

  "Shelil bless you," Nale said. He plunged the blade into the man's heart.

  Paplu gasped and fell forward. Nale caught his body then slowly withdrew the blade and placed the body on the floor.

  The blade began to vibrate. Nale walked to the next person. A woman called Sona.

  "Do you believe?"

  "I do."

  Nale slew her. The blade vibrated even more. Nale repeated the action over and over, and the blade vibrated even more, so much so that it began to hum.

  Finally, it was Vaku's turn. He was the last of them.

  "Do you believe?" Nale asked.

  "I do," Vaku whispered.

  He barely felt the pain as the blade stabbed through his chest. It just felt like a faint heaviness. He grabbed Nale's arms as a soft moan escaped his lips. He felt something being dragged out of him. Was that his mana? He had never been able to sense it.

  Good, he thought. My anger is accepted. He looked Nale in the face. The man's eyes burned red.

  "Kill them all, sir." Vaku said. "Kill them for us."

  Nale withdrew the blade and placed Vaku on the ground. The small man held on to life, just long enough to see Nale pull out his black blade and raise it in the air.

  The etchings on the walls, the ones Nale had used two months to complete, began to glow purple.

  A roaring sound filled the caverns. The air around the black blade seemed to simmer. Then Nale gave a loud cry and cut out a portal in space.

  Vaku tried to give one last word of encouragement, but his mouth was full of blood. Nale stepped through the portal, and it closed behind him.

  Vaku died with a smile on his lips.