Chapter 6: The Gods

Azrel

8 YEARS AGO

"Do you remember last week's lesson?" the tutor asked.

Azrel sat legs crossed on top of a mountain temple. The large open windows allowed the breeze to come in freely. The pillars of the room were intricately decorated with ruins and ancient symbols. The entire room was bejeweled with red stones that gave the room a ruby colored glow.

“Azrel.” His tutor scowled at him. “Last week's lesson?”

"Yes, the political climate from a hundred years ago does thrill me." Azrel kept a steady voice, but his slight smirk gave him away.

"Well, what does thrill you, Prince Azrel." The tutor circled around the boy as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

Azrel's tunic blew around him with the wind. He looked out the window at the monastery below; he watched the other monks mill about the courtyard. The mountains and trees always distracted him during his lessons. The trees were blooming a bright pink this time of year.

"Tell me again about the creation of the world?"

His tutor looked at him quizzically, adjusting his glasses. "Again? Don't you know the story by now?"

"I like when you tell it. It motivates me in my other studies." Azrel muttered.

The tutor sighed but sat in front of his young ward matching his pose. "If I tell you, you will have to promise not to miss your next naval history lesson in lieu of sparring with the other students."

The light glinting off of the tutor's glasses, making it seem like his eyes were glowing white light.

Azrel was silent for a moment but then lowered his head, nodding.

"Alright, look to the sky as it will help tell a tale." His tutor then fell on his back and looked up at the monastery ceiling.

Azrel followed his lead. The top of the ceiling was covered in a mural painted hundreds of years ago but it was still as bright as the day it was made.

"More than a thousand years ago, the world was created. The gods Bram and Straff took the forms of great crows. The sun was too close to the earth, and so for a hundred years, the gods spread their wings and covered the earth in darkness."

As he spoke, the swirling colors seemed to come alive. Azrel saw the crows descend and put on a play right before his eyes.

"When the darkness was over, and the world was safe, they used their beaks to poke holes in the ground, and from them came humans."

A human form sprang forward from the ground, new and full of life.

"The crows watched over them and protected them, but they were still too fragile and weak. So Bram transformed into a human so that he could care for them."

Azrel watched the god Bram descend from the sky and become a dark-haired man. Bram, as a human, walked around the world helping people.He gave them food and protected them. The people thanked him and declared him king. He sat atop a throne of dark glass.

"But darkness came. Not everyone wanted a god on the throne of the human world."

A great battle played before Azrel's eyes. Bram was leading the charge and he used his powers to turn into a hybrid beast; half crow, half man. With his power, he cut down the opposing forces and once again brought peace to the earth.

"But by winning the war, Bram had lost his humanity. So in an effort to save him, Straff took a feather from her wing and dropped it to earth where it became a human woman."

Whenever this story was told, Azrel always imagined the girl to look like his mother. Her dark hair was always perfectly kept, and her eyes would match the glowing ones of the god-made human.

"The human girl served as a anchor for Bram, and he was able to regain control of his powers."

Bram and the woman approached each other, one bird and one human, and they danced around and took each other in their arms.

"They fell in love and eventually had a son who they named Dermnith, the first official king of the world."

The kingdom was built from nothing, but then Azrel watched as an entire city was made from the same dark glass as the throne. It was a utopia of the early world, but Azrel could still sense the danger that lurked just beyond the paradise.

"When Bram finally got too old to protect the kingdom, he passed most of his power onto his son. Straff plucked another feather from her wing, and a woman was made, the cycle reborn."

Azrel blinked, and the story was once again back to a simple painting. His mentor was sitting up, and the young prince moved to sit, still in a daze.

"It is said that your family are the descendants of the first gods thousands of years ago."

"My father has never turned into a bird." Azrel seemed disappointed.

"Well, that does not mean it is not true. We pray to the gods still for guidance. You must always remember to pay your respects."

A bell tolled slowly in the distance. Azrel saw the courtyard below him clear. The crows that lived on the mountain took flight into the setting sun. Azrel thought suddenly that the crows were remnants of the gods’ powers and took it as a good omen.

"Come, young prince, let us get ready for dinner."

"Yes, I will in a minute. I think I will pray first."

The older monk nodded and left him alone. Azrel fell back and stared at the ceiling. He pressed his folded hands to his eyes. Behind his closed eyelids, the colors of the mural swam and blended together. His world turned back, and under his fingertips, he felt the river and his blood. He was back in his own time, and his sister was in danger, but he only had a moment of consciousness before he fell again.