Hanging Softly Upon the Cheek of Night

The wind writhed in the reeds outside the small log cabin near Ninyama Village. Standing partway up the slopes of the Shirayama Mountains, the village housed many buried secrets. But none so true as the secret carried by the man-god who lay wakeful inside the cabin.

Breaker breathed in. His chest expanded, lifting the frail form of the sleeping redhead beneath his arm. The woman had pale skin, not unmarred by scars. She was no warrior, but she’d seen her share of pain and madness.

Breaker breathed out. She gave a sigh as his contracting lungs lowered her body. He rolled his hips and slipped silently out of bed, but still she woke with the absence of his touch.

“Are you going to her?” McKinley Parish’s voice stabbed him in the dark.

“I am leaving you in prayer. My Thayne
Am’aleh has summoned me to her side.
I cannot breach her faith in me again.”

“This vacation was supposed to be about us...” Kinley yawned. “You’d better make me cheesy eggs for breakfast,” she mumbled sleepily, her head hitting the pillow.

He dressed in black trousers, a laced-front shirt, and his infamous metal boots. The summons had come in the familiar form of a deep-rooted yearning for his goddess’ touch. Am’aleh in her true form was a woman woven of water, and the slightest brush of her shimmering skin brought more pleasure than most mortals dared experience. Josh touched her deeply on frequent occasion, and had grown almost addicted to the bliss of worshiping his Thayne. Only, the cravings came and went with her whims, not with any form of regularity.

Josh navigated his way across the cabin despite the darkness, noting the outline of the pot-bellied stove, the table, the icebox, and other furniture. He paused by the door and finished buttoning the cuff at his right wrist, covering the adamantine bracer fused to his forearm. He had gained the permanent affectation in previous service to his deity.

The crisp mountain breeze teased his close cropped brown hair and played with the collar of his shirt, but the chill did not touch his bones. The demigod had long since learned to ignore such mortal discomforts. He did not feel the frostiness in the air that nipped at his cuffs as he strode away form the cabin, did not wince at the sharp edge the wind created as it changed direction. He did not bend to the elements; he was the Breaker.

The stars and sliver of a moon twinkled down from a canvas of ink, their radiance reaching through the wispy clouds that roiled to disrupt them. Tree branches groaned and leaves chattered, the vegetation sparse enough at that elevation that each bough had an individual voice. Stones skittered downhill and twigs crackled underfoot as Breaker made his way to the little stream that eventually ran to the sea. He sat at the creek’s edge and gazed into the translucent, shuddering shallows.

At first it seemed as though the breeze might have touched the stream. But then the waterway ran backwards, curling up on itself like a drying piece of bark. With the sound of a beer mug filling up the living liquid took a shape, that of a slender woman with a generous figure. Her hands took form, narrow and aqueous, and then seemed to help mold her face. She had keen azure eyes and a slightly pointed nose, and blue cherub cheeks. A gown of water clothed her, identical to her body and yet different in texture and shade.

Am’aleh looked up at him and smiled.

“Hello, my champion. You arrived quickly.”

“I have not interrupted your stay with
Your woman without good reason, champion.
When you chose this village, I touched your thoughts.
I needed you to be here on this night.”

Her shimmering skin called to him like a siren’s song, like a drink in the desert that might fade if he dwelled too long. Every fiber of him wanted to embrace her, to hold her, to indulge in the pleasure that was her affection. He remained steadfast. He had decided to be intimate only with Kinley, and he intended to maintain his decision. Breaker sat down cross legged, and Am’aleh flowed into a seated position as well.

The wind chased wayward leaves between them, and the moon peered curiously through the clouds. The lights of Ninyama Village flickered distantly, less potent than the scattered stars above.

“Why would you not merely entreat me here?
Why influence my mind to bring Kinley?
What reason could you possibly have for
Leading me around like a blind pony?”

Her laugh was as musical as he remembered, like raindrops on green leaves. She shook back her liquid mane and looked at him with sparkling eyes wide.

“You are as old a soul as mortals know
But you are so young in the realm of gods.
I was not certain everything would work.
I did not wish to lift your hopes in vain.”

“Wherefore would you lift my hopes up so high?
With what would you buoy my spirits like a
Child at their nameday celebration?
That they may burst like a rising bubble.”

His words were calm, and yet they carried a trace of irritation. Surely Am’aleh did not consider him a youth whose feelings would be hurt over a disappointment. Breaker arched an eyebrow, and then smoothed his forehead, hazel gaze boring into the deity.

“Do not be so upset with me, Breaker.” She said, her smile open and eager.
“When I tell you what I have planned, you will
Shower every inch of me with kisses.
You will wish to worship me as before.”

Josh shook his head. The wind gave a swirling bite, as if emphasizing the injury it caused her.

“I pray to you, but I lay with Kinley.
She is not just my mortal lover now.
She is my only lover, only love.”

The breeze did not stir. The stars did not twinkle. The trees did not sway and the brook did not babble. For the world did not turn when Am’aleh wept, and a tear had tumbled down her cheek.

“Your words wound me, your warrior spirit
Is too strong even for a Thayne to bear.
I will tell you simply then Josh: I brought
You here so you may meet some of the Thaynes.”

Breaker blinked. The breath froze in his lungs and the thoughts in his mind crystallized.

Meet… the Thaynes.

For many years that goal had consumed Breaker like a python devouring a deer. Standing on an equal footing with the creators of all that was known; what else could a man like Breaker hope to strive for?

What more?

Breaker leaped to his feet as Am’aleh rose in a wave. His hazel eyes danced like exploding stars as he smiled and swept her off her feet, swirling her around in a circle. She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist like the tide, curling her translucent body up to kiss him.

Touching her gave him everything he needed; everything he craved. With her in his arms, he forgot the mountaintop village glowing in the distance. He forgot the brook that babbled merrily past. He forgot everything but the taste of her lips and the shape of her body. Like in his practice of martial arts, he became truly like water - almost one with it.

Am’aleh broke the embrace and climbed down from her perch in his arms. The breeze trifled in her transparent tresses and swirled about her skin as she stepped uphill toward the lantern-like village. She tilted her head to one side and extended a hand.

“We must away, for the meeting draws near.
Come now to the Sacred Crystal Cavern.
Only there may we summon Gingitsu.”

He took her hand and they ran together, up the mountainside, through the gathering mist, toward Ninyama Village. His boots beat the hard rock while her bare blue feet pattered, barely seeming to touch the soil. He drew even breaths while she breathed not at all. She glowed in the moonlight, and he exalted in her presence.

“Wherefore do we seek the guardian fox?” He asked as they ran like hawks climbing thermals.

“He is more than just a clever trickster,” Am’aleh explained.
“Gingitsu guards the mortal bridge back home;
The only portal which goes to our realm.”

Her tone took on a mote of shyness, as haunting as the wind whipping past their ears.

“The Realm of the Thaynes is a diff’rent place.
Time passes strangely there; deceptively.
This meeting may last days or mere minutes,
Depending upon the needs of each Thayne.”

Breaker ran through the mist; the mist ran through Am’aleh. The village grew larger, the details of its intricate Akashiman architecture becoming clearer to his powerful gaze. The wooden walls, the vaulted pagodas, the verandas piled high with rolled tatami mats. On the far side - the westward side - the entrance to the secret cavern loomed.

“What is the nature of this great meeting?” The demigod asked.

“We unite to speak on many topics,
But that which I wish to discuss is you.
I shall entreat them to meet you tonight.”

Breaker stopped a stone’s throw from the sleeping village, pulling Am’aleh up short. She felt like she might fade to nothing in a moment, so light was her touch. His brow creased in concern as he cupped her face, a callused thumb caressing her cheek.

“Are the other Thaynes not expecting me?”

She touched his hands like a kiss of morning mist.

“Thaynes do not arrange to meet with mortals.” She sighed like a summer breeze.
“At least, none but me, oh my champion.”

“Am I like such a mortal? Tell me true.”

“You are not, and yet you are not like us.
But when they meet you, in flesh, in our realm
I feel certain that you will win their trust.
I know in my heart you will leave a Thayne.”

Breaker lingered a moment, exhilarated by her words, and then her body evaporated into steam which faded to nothingness.

I am with you always, my sweet Breaker. Her voice said in his head.
Look for me within the great cavern’s walls.
And Breaker… do not harm any townsfolk.

He stole into Ninyama like a moonshadow, metal boots somehow silent on the rustic roads. He flitted between lantern posts, hugging the pools of shadow like long-lost siblings. The fresh scent of woodsmoke spilled from some of the chimneys, but it seemed the village slept. No one challenged him as he passed beneath the massive stone arches which led to the cavern, but he paused in the lee of the arch as he noted someone breathing just ahead.

The nekojin’s breath was so tempered, his heart rate so slow, that Breaker nearly failed to detect him. The demigod peered out of the shadows and saw the cavern’s guardian kneeling in the middle of the path. He wore a black hakama, the skirt-like pants of the samurai, as well as a stiff kimono jacket. A sheathed katana nestled in his arms like a newborn baby.

“Whoever you are,” the kneeling warrior called into the darkness, his pointed ears alert, “you’ve already interrupted my meditation. You may as well step out and speak your piece. Unless of course you wish to bring harm to this town or this temple… in which case, my blade shall next rest in your body.” His eyes had not opened. His heart rate had barely changed.

Breaker exhaled. Am’aleh had forbidden him from harming villagers, but a Spirit Warder was not a villager. This neko clearly had training in both martial and arcane arts. It would not matter; Breaker could attack him, and knock him out or choke him unconscious quickly. But that would go against Am’aleh’s wishes, if not in letter then in spirit.

He stepped out of the shadows, and the warder’s eyes snapped open.

“Do not fear me, oh sacred guardian.
I stand before you unarmed and peaceful.
Look upon me beneath this silver moon,
And say that you know of my many deeds.”

The samurai snapped to his feet and bared an inch of steel. Just an inch; no more, but enough to check the reflection for attackers sneaking up behind. His amber eyes flashed to the demigod.

“I am alone; I bring you no violence.
Now speak, and say that you know who I am.”

“I have heard of a man with Y-shaped scars on his cheeks,” the samurai said slowly, and then slid his steel out of sight and relaxed his posture. “He is called the Breaker; Joshua Cronen. At my dojo, we sometimes learn from students of his who have traveled to Akashima.” He paused a moment, and then raised a dark brow, a smile ghosting on his lips. “In the stories, you are ten feet tall.”

“Stories are often so far from the truth,
All the while residing right next to it.
If you know me, you must know of my quest.”

Josh took a gentle step closer to the neko, like a rancher approaching a spooked stallion.

“I may have heard a thing or two about your lofty ambitions,” the samurai admitted, remaining a picture of stillness. “They say you wish to become a Thayne, and that you are close to this goal.” He scoffed. “They say you bested Myra the Lore Guardian in single combat.”

“Then what they say is true. I was chosen
By Am’aleh some years ago. I seek
To join her in the great Realm of the Thaynes.
My path leads me through you; I must enter.”

Josh lowered his hands, his voice plain, his face open. The samurai tilted his head to one side, his topknot swaying. His arms remained tensed around his sheathed sword.

“Even if you are who you claim, on the mission that you claim, why should I shirk my duties and let you pass?” His chin jutted in the moonlight, proud and confident.

“Does fear not motivate you in the least?” Breaker’s tone corroded the very air.

The samurai reacted as if struck by a spray of sand, shielding his face, but when he lowered his arms determination still shone in his amber eyes.

“I fear not death nor pain, and so I fear no man. If you slay me here tonight, I will have fallen doing the work of my people. And you would need to slay me in order to cross my path in violence.”

“And should I wish to cross your path in peace?”

The wind blew down the cavern’s mouth and shrivelled at the silence between them. Breaker could smell the neko’s sweat, tasting the catman’s potential for violence. Nothing stirred except the samurai’s hakama skirt and the collars of Breaker’s shirt.

“Then you would have to offer me something in return,” The Spirit Warder said at last. “If I am ever asked about this night, I should at least have a good story to explain my actions.” Breaker smiled and spread his arms.

“Ask what you will, my reach goes far and wide.
Though I think I may have a suggestion.
You spoke of your dojo, who teaches there?”

Pride flashed in the neko’s yellow eyes as his lips formed the answer.

“My son is the acting sensei at my dojo. He teaches every day and every night to those students who come. What are you offering?”

“Let me pass and I will attend your school.
I will teach your son and his class my arts.
I will remain ‘till the school blooms fully.”

“Wait,” the samurai said, his whiskered brow arching. “How did you know that we have fallen on hard times? And how can I take you at your word?”

Breaker’s Y-shaped scars dimpled, his hazel eyes twinkling merrily. He remembered a hundred conversations, sorting through them for the correct source, the correct student, the correct sign.

“I can answer both your questions at once.
Your dojo lies off the road to Tsiru.
Your son’s name is Akami Adachi
Which would make you Hinata Adachi.
Your school trains beneath the sign of the crane.
My students who taught you told me of you.
They speak of many dojos and senseis,
Of many warriors they encounter,
But I remember their talk of your skill.
I do not wish you harm, Adachi-san.
But I must pass through this threshold tonight.”

The nekojin - known throughout Akashima as Adachi Hinata - swallowed audibly. His heart rate had finally increased; it thundered like a galloping horse. His knuckles flexed around the hilt of his sword, and his powerful feline legs tensed. His ears, which had remained still as sentinels throughout the encounter, laid back alongside his head.

The samurai unsheathed his blade and struck in a single motion, a blow set to rend Breaker’s head from his shoulders.

“Ehh-eusss!” Hinata uttered his kiai, making a cut that could sever a corpse.

Clang! Breaker’s forearm muted the sound; his bracer had stopped the katana cold. A shard of his shirtsleeve fluttered away, shorn off by the razor sharp blade.

“Hist! Your village sleeps. Do you seek panic?” Breaker growled beneath his breath.

“My apologies,” the nekojin withdrew his blade and sheathed it. “I had to be certain. I know of few men fast enough to stop my blade. But a demigod…” his words trailed off in awe as he stepped aside. “Pass in peace, Joshua Cronen, and may we meet again.”

“We will meet at your dojo one day soon.”

Breaker bowed carefully, eyes never leaving the warder, and then whisked past him into the cavern. The broad, dark corridor he ducked into had a musty smell, like a cellar swept out every so often but never quite properly cleaned. Breaker looked left, and then right, spotting the shape of a woman floating in the air.

To find him you must break a crystal globe. Am’aleh’s voice was fleeting, so far from a water source. Her image faded, but Josh followed the path she had led toward. He progressed deeper into the cave, the vaulted ceilings becoming uncomfortably low and the walls pressing in. He searched through many rooms; most contained documents that had been extracted from the dig site, sealed behind magnifying glass. Breaker did not pause to read any, although he knew they contained great wisdom. His search through the temple had a single minded intensity.

He came to a particular room, his powerful eyes seeing despite the gloom. Piled within a great minecart were dozens of crystal balls. The cart sat on rusted rails which led off down a winding tunnel. The walls were earthen, and the musty smell increased, crawling into his nose.

Breaker’s boots rang out as he walked over the beginning of the tracks toward the cart. He picked up a crystal globe, seeing his inverted reflection in it. It was not entirely transparent, and yet he felt he could see through it, and he sensed an innate magical energy radiating from within. For a long moment he held the ball at arm’s length, and then he dropped it on the rock floor.

Clack! The globe did not break, or so much as chip. Breaker frowned, and placed a boot on top of it, allowing the enchantment within the metal to make it weigh a hundred pounds. Nothing happened. He shrugged, and then spun. His leg lashed up high and down in a scything axe kick. His heel struck the ball like a warhammer swung by a giant, like an anvil dropped from an airship, like a comet cast by the gods.

Cra-aack! The globe shattered, and out sprang thousands of glittering shards. Breaker covered his face, barely quick enough to save his eyes from the shrapnel. When he sensed the storm had stopped, he looked again, and Gingitsu had appeared before him.

The silver kitsune’s nine tails framed his face like an elaborate hair arrangement. He wore similar garb to the samurai outside, but all in flowing silvers and reds, as ornate as a paper rose. He looked at the demigod down his long nose and licked the air. Breaker sniffed him back. He smelled of whisky and lavender water, an odd combination. While Josh marveled at the oddities of his appearance, the Lore Guardian opened his silver snout and spoke.

“Who summons me while I am still sober?
The gall thou hath! Art thou a disrober?
If not what cause have I to be here, now?
I left a hoor who had teets like a cow!”

Breaker blinked several times, baffled by the guardian’s boisterous personality and swagger. Gingitsu produced a flask and sipped deeply form it, and then offered the strong-smelling vessel to the demigod.

“Well now you have called me, we may as well
Drink up and be off on our way to hell!”

Josh accepted the flask and took a long swig, and then passed it back to the fox’s padded paw. It vanished within the voluminous robes, and the kitsune’s tails shifted to caress the sides of his face.

“Of what do you speak, guardian of spirits?
I called you here this night to guide me to-”

“The Realm of the Thaynes? Aye, I know it well.
‘Tis the very same place that I call hell.”

Breaker arched an eyebrow at the trickster. Perhaps the Thaynes called the souls of those they deemed worthy to their realm. In that way, it might be thought of as a hell. Or perhaps Gingitsu was only called to their realm to be chastised. In any event, it hardly seemed like a reason not to complete the journey.

“Speak not in poems, I have not the time
To sit around and listen to you rhyme.
What is the price to travel to their realm?”

The fox paused in massaging his cheeks with his tails and moved a step closer, the smell of whisky and lavender growing imposing.

“There will be no price, we are in cahoots!
But for safety’s sake I should wear your boots.
No mortal may cross with metal carried,
Unless you wish to end the night buried.”

The kitsune seemed relatively sober, and downright serious. Breaker peeled back his damaged right sleeve, revealing the adamantine bracer fused to his forearm.

“But what of this? I cannot remove it.”

Gingitsu waved a careless paw.

“No worry! Adamantine is immune
To forces which make other metals swoon!”

The many-tailed Lore Guardian gestured emphatically at Breaker’s feet. The demigod considered for a moment, and then unfastened the buckles which held his legendary boots in place. He passed them to Gingitsu, getting the fox’s flat thonged sandals in return. Gingitsu fastened the boots to his feet and danced a little jig with tails waving.

“These like me well, I say let’s not tarry.
Come on now, Breaker! Hop on this ferry!”

The fox turned and raced off down the tunnel, boots clanging, tails whipping in his slipstream. Breaker nearly lost his sandals in his haste to keep up. He tore down the musty tunnel, following the silvery blur of the Lore Guardian’s fur.

The air grew thick and murky as the demigod ran, slowing his gait. His vision became dark, except for sparkles of light which exploded out from the walls and clutched at him, dragging him back. It was the mortal world, attempting to hold him as he passed to the Realm of Thaynes.

Breaker pushed onward until he ran right into the end of the tunnel. His fists hammered mightily on the rock wall, and then he shoved forward and fell right through to the brightness on the other side.

A soft blue light bathed Breaker’s body, and as he stood he realized it was the sun. Or was it the moon? He could not be certain. The sun’s radiance would not have allowed him to look straight at it… and yet, the moon had never seemed so large. Whatever celestial orb it was, it shone its aquamarine glow down on everything beneath. Gingitsu stood nearby, looking back over a shoulder with a tail stroking his chin.

“Welcome, Breaker, to the Realm of the Thaynes!
Let us hurry; to be here gives me pains.”

The fox scampered across the surface of a free-flowing clear green river. Breaker followed cautiously, expecting his sandaled feet to sink through the shallows, but finding that he too could walk on water in this strange place. He crossed the stream and ran carefully after Gingitsu. They raced over purple sandstone cliffs, past bright yellow trees standing in thick groves, and across lush red grass thriving in the blue light.

Differences beyond the colors abounded. Insects trilled from the loam and bushes, but they all seemed to play together, their sound symphonic. Creatures like birds flew from tree to tree, but rather than the air they flitted through reality. Spectral trails flowed off of most things like shadows, likely a manifestation of Breaker’s ability to see magic. His heart seemed to beat differently, faster, in time with a distant pulsation.

Gingitsu rounded a broad bank of golden forest and paused on a crimson hillock, diving down to lay prone and gesturing for Breaker to join him. Josh crawled to his side and peered over the embankment at the clearing below.

Four figures met in the spongy orange meadow, only one familiar to Breaker’s eyes. Am’aleh’s flowing form of water stood in a square with three others, aqueous hair swaying in the breeze.

On her left stood Hromagh, the Beast God. Josh knew him by his chiseled musculature, his lion’s head and mane, the curved ram’s horns which extended from that golden brow, and the snow-white paws of a Salvic bear. He looked at least ten feet tall, towering over the ocean goddess beside him.

To her right was Khal’jaren, the Sage God, recognizable by his four arms. Strange insectoid eyes peered out from beneath the hood of his long dark robe. Two of his hands were pressed together in prayer, while the other two clasped a quill and scroll, as if taking the meeting’s minutes.

Across from Am’aleh stood Y’edda, the Sky Mother. She was a rosy-cheeked young woman wearing a long cloak of sleek feathers. Her mischievous smile betrayed her as easily as her choice of garb, for it glowed across the open meadow like a beacon from a lighthouse.

Gingitsu held a paw to his lips, and then cupped it to his pointed ear. Breaker nodded and listened carefully, using the full reach of his godlike perception. He could just barely pick up their voices over the song of the breeze and the harmonies played by the insects.

“Now that we four have met upon this night,” Khal’jaren said,
“Let us speak of the calamity which
Once more threatens the world of Althanas.”

Y’edda nodded and placed a hand on Khal’jaren’s tiered shoulder. The Sky Mother lifted her brows, crumpling her smooth forehead.

“I have sensed a coming breach in the sky.
A celestial object which may crash
Into our much belovèd Althanas.”

The other Thaynes nodded, and the sage made notes on his endless scroll. Hromagh smashed his paws together, and reverberations rattled through the ground and Josh’s spine. The Thaynes all stood unphased.

“I too have felt stirrings, deep in the ground,” the Beast God roared. Breaker clung to the ground and glanced over at Gingitsu, almost certain his eardrums would shatter. The silver kitsune had plugged his ears with two of his tales, and gave the demigod an expressive shrug as he took a shot from his flask. Josh covered his own ears, able to clearly hear Hromagh through his hands.

“A heat which has not seen the light of day
For many centuries brews fit to burst.
Soon fire and molten rock shall rain the ground.”

“We know this is not without precedent,” Am’aleh said, so softly Josh nearly missed her melodious voice.

“We expected this eventually.
Now the time has come to put our faith
In those who have been faithful to us all.”

“You speak of your champion the Breaker.” Khal’jaren accused, ceasing his scribbling and crossing his free arms over his narrow chest. The sage god’s voice was drier than his parchment, but carried across the open field.

“You put too much stake in such a mortal.
Joshua Cronen will never save us.
He is a twice blinded fool with no sense!
How could he hope to preserve our great race?”

“You know well as I the power he wields.” Am’aleh shot back, and the sage scribbled on.
“I could speak of the Faith United’s deeds
At length. But you have seen what I have seen.
You know he is our greatest hope for life.”

“Why? Because he commands some small army?”

“Because he will protect those who believe.” She said simply.

The wind blew through the trees, a sound like a horse’s whinny, and Josh looked to Gingitsu with a question.

The Lore Guardian was gone.

Breaker rolled over on the hillside, checking behind him, but the silver fox had vanished along with Breaker’s boots. Fortunately the sandals he’d gotten in return fit comfortably. The demigod turned back around and found the orange meadow empty. The gods had departed while he distracted himself with worries.

He was alone in the Realm of the Thaynes.

Breaker searched the immediate area, but found only crisp fallen leaves and purple squirming crickets. The Thaynes and the Lore Guardian had all vanished by their own magical forces.

Am I a fool, lurèd here to my doom?

He paced in a quick circle, sandals drawing shifting patterns in the orange grass. The wind made the trees groan, but they harmonized with the insects in an almost comforting manner. The place was a complete contradiction; unsettling and yet familiar, bright and yet gloomy, clear and yet misted. The blue wash of the sun-moon cast strange shadows that never quite seemed to fall where one would expect.

No; Am’aleh would not let me die here.
She has some plan at work within this world.

The demigod set off following the slight slope downhill. At first he covered great bounds of space with every step, crossing the clearing and almost flying through the forest beyond. But as he neared the deep, dark purple ocean, his steps shortened until he barely seemed to move at all. The fine green sand crunched beneath his sandals like broken glass, but his pace became so slow he felt he would never reach the gently lapping waves.

He churned away, seeming to run in place, almost seeming to move backwards at times. Eventually he grew tired and paused to rest, bending down and leaning his hands upon his knees as he drew a long breath.

The ground beneath his sandals rumbled, opening in a spray of sand as the massive figure of Hromagh burst forth. The Beast God’s feet landed on the beach with a thunderous boom! His curved ram’s horns glistened in the soft blue light. His muscular body shifted and stirred even in stillness. The mane surrounding his lion’s head rippled in the breeze, and blew back with force of his roar as he spoke.

“Joshua Cronen! You stand accused of
Portraying the false image of a Thayne.
Mortals worship you like one of my kin,
And yet you still stand so far beneath us.”

The Thayne beat his white-furred paws together, sending out a shockwave which nearly knocked Breaker to the ground. The demigod fought for balance, still covering his ears against the deity’s gargantuan roar.

“What say you to the charge that I have laid?”

Breaker lowered his hands tentatively. His sensitive ears ached with a lingering ringing from the sheer volume. He approached the towering Thayne slowly, but with growing confidence.

“I say you have no right to make such claims.
I am like you. Once upon a time all
Thaynes were as I am now, or weaker still.
Only through worship have you gained power.
Only through your followers are you gods.”

A mighty paw pointed, and golden lion’s eyes glared accusation.

“Speak not such heresy, filthy halfling!” The Thayne roared, and then attacked.

Hromagh struck like an onager, like the tail of a whale, like the boom of a great ship whipped ‘round by the sail. A growl rumbled from deep within his chest as he swung a clawed paw in a continent-shattering haymaker.

He struck only air, for in moving like a moonshadow, Breaker was not there. The demigod side-stepped and swayed, dodging and ducking as the Thayne swatted again. Hromagh moved with great speed, and yet the length and breadth of his limbs made them slower and predictable to the immortal prizefighter. Each blow could have easily killed the demigod, and yet as the onslaught continued and Breaker fell into a rhythm, Hromagh began to miss by more and more. The momentum of the Thayne’s punches off-balanced him and he stumbled, green sand spraying from beneath his clawed feet.

Breaker swooped in like an eagle and clasped his arms around the Thayne’s massive middle. He lifted, tipped, and turned, and suplexed the deity down on the soft ground. The slam shook the entire beach.

“You were a fool to face me hand to hand,” Breaker growled in the Beast God’s ear.
“Thayne or not, none beat me in close quarters,
Even in your home of Phantaria.”

Hromagh roared and lashed out with his great pate, sending the demigod flying backwards, over the green sand, past the orange grass, to smash against the yellowy trunk of a broad tree. He bounced off and slumped to the ground in a heap, winded and stunned. His spine ached from the impact, and his legs felt strangely distant. The pain instinctively receded to the back of his mind, and he stood as swiftly as he’d fallen.

“You are a fool for having traveled here.” The Thayne roared as he came to his feet and charged. They crashed together like two mountains colliding, Breaker smaller and slighter but no less determined. He stuffed the deity’s attempt to bull him over backwards and rolled between those long legs, popping up behind Hromagh and jumping on his back.

“You will not leave this sacred place alive,” Hromagh roared.
“Am’aleh will bring back your broken bones!”

He tore Breaker off of his back and hurled him into the purple shallows. The lurid, warm water clutched at him like a thousand hungry hands. The demigod rose, dripping mauve and spreading his arms wide in a gesture of defiance.

“Use your godly might! Strike me down, Hromagh!
You will never defeat me fighting fair.
I have practiced too long and hard to lose.
Am’aleh says Thaynes see truth in all things,
So you must see the truth of this in me.”

They circled on the sand for a long while, steam gushing from Hromagh’s furry nose and ears, blue light pooling in the dimples beneath Breaker’s Y-shaped scars. The lilac waves lapped and waned at the verdant shore.

The Beast God’s fury subsided slowly. His great lion’s frown swept up into a smile, and a laugh that nearly uprooted the trees boomed forth from his chest.

“Did you believe I tried to defeat you?” He chortled. And then with a snap of reality and a hiss of scalded sand, he vanished.

In the same instant Hromagh vanished, the polarity of the unnatural pull Breaker had been feeling reversed. Like an undertow hidden in thin air, it threatened to pull him into the waves that suddenly seemed wicked with intent.

The demigod threw himself to the green sand and crawled away from the choppy waters like a worm in the mud. It felt like he crawled for an hour or more before the invisible force dragging at his body subsided.

He panted and rolled onto his back, gazing up at the pink sky. Fighting a Thayne and fighting the tidal forces of Phantaria had nearly been enough to exhaust his endless endurance. For the space of a moment he closed his eyes, daring to relax and rest.

“Joshua Cronen; rise, you stand accused,” a thin voice rasped. The warrior spun to his feet so fast the heel of his sandal carved up a section of turf.

Facing him was Khal’jaren; the sage god. The insectoid Thayne stood of a height with Cronen but was built like a bunch of rails cobbled together with rope. His wiry hands clutched his scroll and quill in perfect stillness, but his bulging eyes seemed to vibrate when Breaker looked directly into them.

“Of what am I accused, oh wise sage Thayne?” Josh demanded lightly.

“Why, of slaying one of our number.
Or do you not remember Draconus?”

An eel forged from hot lead writhed its way into Breaker’s stomach. He had slain the Thayne Draconus for daring to threaten Am’aleh, whose domain the sea deity had shared.

“Of course I recall, how could I forget
One of the greatest battles known to man?” A small smirk played across Breaker’s lips.
“Were you there? Did you linger, watch, record?
How can you blame me for his death, when you
Could have stepped in to save his life?”

The sage god’s robe swayed as he shook his bony skull from side to side.

“Only you and Am’aleh watched him die,” the Thayne said sadly.
“Unless you count your friend, the Telgradian.
It is of no regard; you are guilty.”

“Phaw! I could not have slain great Draconus
Without the permission of other Thaynes.
How many of you were at odds with him?”

Khal’jaren’s second set of hands broke their prayer pose in order to reach up and stroke his chin.

“You do not grasp the nature of the Thayne,” he said at last.
“All of us are at odds with each other.
We have shared this world for countless seasons.
There will always be bad blood in places.”

“Enough to merit the death of a Thayne?”

The sage considered, tilting his head from side to side, and then scrawled a single word on his parchment and resumed his prayer pose.

“So it would seem to all of us, and you.”

His form became smoke, and drifted away lazily on the breeze.

“Wait! Do not go! I have more to ask you!” Breaker raced after the fleeting breeze, clutching at grey wisps even as they thinned to nothing. His sprint carried him to the edge of a cliff, which seemed to appear from nowhere. He skidded to a halt, nearly sliding off the edge of the precipice.

A hawk-like scream tore from the purple heavens, followed by the swooping figure of a woman-sized bird of prey. Y’edda settled on the cliff next to Cronen and preened her coat of feathers as she took her humanesque form. Her plumage became a fine feathery cloak overlaid by locks of red hair, and her pale eyes bored into him like twin augers.

Breaker spoke first.

“Tell me not; I stand accused of dire things.” He shook his head in jest, but Y’edda could only frown.

“You are accused of wicked things indeed,” she said,
“You stole the heart of my sister, Am’aleh.”

Within a moment Breaker matched her frown. Once again, he stood accused of a crime he could not deny. Once again, he would have to find a means to defend himself… without lifting a hand.

“I stole nothing, Am’aleh toyed with me.
I know I never could claim her true love.”

Y’edda shook her crimson mane, feathered cloak flapping in the wind, and stepped closer.

“You misread me Breaker. You performed well.
Now that you have taken her heart, have mine.”

She stepped ever closer, arms rising up to encircle him. Her lips pursed as she leaned forward, as beautiful as a woman could be, ready for a kiss.

Tearing himself away from the sky mother made leaving the green beach behind seem a simple task. She was a powerful lodestone, drawing him like a lump of forged iron. Breaker gritted his teeth and steeled himself away from the temptation of the endless pleasure he knew waited in a Thayne’s embrace.

“Do not tempt me, O Mother of the Sky;
I would hate to ruin you for others.”

A wry smile lit his lips.

“Ha! You cannot break what is endless, dear.” She reached out again.
“But you are a handsome man. I see what
Both of my sisters saw in your young eyes.”

“Both of your… of whom do you speak? I nev-” and then he remembered. It was so long ago, when Am’aleh had first accepted him as a worshiper. She had sent him to Fallien with a nigh impossible mission. He had completed it, lying with the Fallieni Goddess of the Moon in the process. Suravani had shown him as much rapture as Am’aleh, but he had seldom heard from her since. He had yet to return to the sandy shores of her homeland.

“You see? You have not always been faithful.
How can we trust you to join our ranks when
You cannot stay true to a single Thayne.”

Breaker grimaced, but slowly the expression grew into a smile.

“I am true to no God. I stand alone
On Althanas, but I would stand with you.”

Y’edda cocked her head to one side, a modest breeze ruffling her downy cloak. As the feathers settled they became plumage once more, and the massive bird of prey gave Josh a final glare and then leaped off the cliff.

The situation presented an impossible opportunity.

Breaker had not become the most feared fighter on Althanas by failing to act in such scenarios.

Y'edda leapt off the cliff, and almost like one body, Breaker leapt with her. He left the rocky ground so swiftly that the trickster’s enchanted sandals stayed behind. Josh did not care. His arms and legs cinched around the massive bird of prey as she spread her wings.

The raptor-Goddess let out a fearsome shriek that threatened to shatter his eardrums, but Breaker clung on in determination.

They plummeted downward. Rusty-hued grass raced up to meet them, as deadly and unforgiving as the earth in the realm of mortals.

Y’edda spread her wings and caught a thermal. She shrieked again beneath the strain of Breaker’s weight, but her mighty wings sent them both soaring out over the strangely colored lands.

Rather than threaten to tear him from his perch, the strange slipstream compressed Josh against the Goddess. They flew like one great winged beast until she arced downward into a copse of fir trees with silver branches and golden needles.

“Release me you disrespectful mortal!” Y’edda screamed as her lips reformed, morphing back into a cloaked woman.

Breaker did as she had bidden, meeting the goddess’ glare with a smile.

“I have sat astride the finest horses, a griffin, a dragon, and a ter’ak,” he commented, “but I must say that you make the finest--”

“Call me a steed,” she warned, stepping closer, “and I’ll have Hromagh hold you down while I cut the tongue from your mouth.”

Josh stroked his chin. “It is strange,” he mused, “that you Thaynes are visiting me only one at a time.”

“Is that what you think we’ve been doing?” Hromagh boomed from behind him.