B3 Chapter 72: Uncivilized

The deep rumble of thunder roiled in the distance. Thick, dark clouds gathered in the inky expanse, swirling above an ornate palace of impossible shapes wrought in resplendent gold and crystal. Near constant flashes of white-blue lightning illuminated its multi-faceted surfaces like jewels as they struck down at the fortress relentlessly.

Mars flew toward the conflict with spear and shield already in hand. Jupiter continued to assault the god of architecture’s divine representation. Even from this distance, he could see the scorch marks left across its surface and the weakened foundations that had opened it up to such an assault. Yet they were not the only participants in this fight.

Mars breathed in, feeling the battlefield as though it were his own body. A wizened, bearded man not too dissimilar in appearance to Jupiter himself swept toward the storm, the scales in his hand teetering dangerously. Alongside him flew some sort of massive raven whose black feathers seemed to radiate an aura of dread.

A field of wheat erupted in the pair’s path. Sharpened stalks the size of javelins shot upward to run the two foreign gods through as they moved to assist their compatriot. The raven wheeled in the air, dodging the first wave and rebuffing another with a mighty flap of her wings. Her beady eyes locked onto the source of the attack—the matronly figure of Ceres standing below, stone-faced and brandishing a wicked scythe.

“Go,” the raven rasped. “I shall manage this one.”

The scale-bearing god nodded before resuming his flight toward Jupiter. Ceres motioned with her scythe, sending another wave of grains toward the retreating foe like a cloud of locusts. But an unearthly screech from the raven rippled out, causing the plants to shrivel and whither in midair. The effect rushed toward the plants around Ceres’s feet, but the god of agriculture sliced through the very sound before it could touch more of her harvest.

Mars rushed forward to intercept the fleeing god and support his father. Yet he was forced to stop short as a massive builder’s hammer slammed into the space before him. A well-dressed man floated behind it, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Young war god,” Kona spoke cordially as though he hadn’t just tried to smash Mars into paste. “I must implore you to reconsider your current course of action. Such aggression benefits neither you nor ourselves.”

Mars snorted and adjusted the grip on his spear. “The gall to call me young. I have been asleep for almost as long as you have been alive, usurper. I relish the chance to remind you of your place.”

In reality, he couldn’t completely discount the enemy god’s point. This wasn’t a planned assault. They’d had neither the time nor the warning to prepare for one properly. Yet Jupiter had sensed the weakness of Arashim, the opening provided by the actions of his high priest below. And they would be fools not to take advantage of that.

The other god shook his head with disappointment. “You misunderstand. You see only a subject for your aggression. Yet do you not understand the roles we play as well? The order we bring? Not only the order of law that Kyraz enforces, but also” the god nodded to Jupiter’s twin. “We are the bedrock by which all the world functions. To uproot the objects of people’s worship is to destabilize all of civilization.”

Mars stabbed forward in answer. A resplendent quill manifested before Kona and began to write. Glowing words of defense and strength formed a wall in front of the god. The spear’s tip made contact, sending forth a gout of golden sparks as it cracked the barrier. Mars reared back to thrust again, his second blow managing to shatter it entirely. Yet Kona had already repositioned.

“And though civilization is my domain, maintaining it benefits us all. More worshippers as populations boom. More temples that endure within thriving cities. More wars as well. True wars, not simple squabbles and bouts of violence between brutes.” The god’s nose scrunched in distaste. “Surely you can see the value in that.”

“I see only enemies who have tried to destroy us in ages past. Tried, and failed.”

Mars pointed his spear toward the god. A thousand copies shimmered into existence around him. With a thought, he sent the assault toward Kona. The god simply shook his head.

“Foolish. I had hoped for a tactician like you to see reason. But it seems that you are as shortsighted as he who made the orcs.”

The massive hammer appeared once more. A single swipe shattered a third of Mars’s spears into splinters. At the same time, the quill wrote words of sharpness and punishment into being that rocketed toward Mars like so many daggers. The words thudded into his shield in a flurry.

“You seem to misunderstand. I am not merely the god of “civilized” fighting. I am the god of war.” Mars’s grin turned feral. “And war is rarely so pretty.”

Mars slammed his spear into the ground. A blood red shockwave rippled outward, its edges resolving into wolfish figures. The wolves scattered outward, fangs tearing into another round of bladed words as they shot his way.

A look of disappointment crossed the god of civilization’s face. He continued to exchange blows with Mars in rapid succession, the white glow of his words and weapons sparking against the deep maroon of the war god's own.

They proved more evenly matched than expected. Despite Kona being a rather prominent god among the Novarans, the worship of the Legionnaires had done much to empower Mars. This, combined with their accomplishments and the spread of that worship throughout the empire, had raised him to become one of the most powerful gods of the Roman pantheon.

Of course, they all were still at a disadvantage with regard to raw power. But not as much as expected. Though each was a major god worshipped throughout what had been Novara, the fact remained that the kingdom was only one small piece of the world. One that had seen its populace turn to other divinities in the wake of the Legion's conquest.

Even with that disparity, though, being a war god had its perks when it came to conflict, especially in this case.

As much as he hated to admit it, the god of civilization did have a point. A large-scale war of the kind he described was more beneficial for him than petty squabbles. But he had long since subsumed those other gods of battle, the ones who presided over more barbaric and tribal peoples. The fall of civilization would hardly leave him wanting. And considering the animosity of these gods toward Rome’s pantheon? Even if it did come to that, it would be worth it.

At the periphery of the battle, Mars felt flickers of other conflicts. Blindingly bright arrows of fire that sang through the air. Horses with manes of seafoam that charged forth. A goat-hooved figure that peeked out of Ceres’s fields to strike a quick blow, disappearing just as quickly. These figures and more held other gods at bay, keeping the conflict at the center of it all from becoming more complicated. All the while, Jupiter himself continued to bear down upon the vulnerable Arashim as he fended off the scale-bearer’s assault.

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Mars kept up his own assault as well. Packs of maroon wolves tore at the fine calligraphy that Kona penned into existence. His shield diverted hammer blows meant to build rather than destroy, while spears shot forth toward each and every opening with a surgeon's precision.

Eventually, the enemy god began to falter. More and more spears made it through and slashed long cuts across his limbs. Mars pressed the advantage, pushing forward to close in. He wouldn't be able to kill the god. Not while he still had followers. But he could wound him, weaken his power, and force him to recuperate away from the fight.

Mars silently leveled his spear and charged forward. The blinding speed of his steps left ripples in the void as he closed the distance. The quill scribbled furiously as walls sprang into existence. But Mars focused on the tip of his spear, causing it to burn intensely.

One by one, the empowered weapon shattered Kona's defenses. The builder's hammer fell to meet it, swinging to intercept the weapon. An explosion of white and red energy shattered space as the two met. Both Mars and the hammer struggled to overcome the other.

Then, Mars began to push forward.

Suddenly, the hammer vanished. Its form dispersed into so many letters like smoke. Without it blocking his path, Mars shot ahead once more. But Kona was already gone.

Mars looked around to find the god of civilization already nearing the edge of the battlefield. His quill sent off a few harrying attacks toward the Roman pantheon, but his pace didn't slow. In moments, he was merely a twinkle of light in the distance.

He simply snorted. Coward. Although it was perhaps to be expected. Civilization and order could hardly withstand the chaos of true battle. When a man's life was on the line, such concerns abandoned him readily.

Mars turned away from the fleeing figure. As satisfying as it would be to chase the god down, he was not their focus. That honor belonged to the blackened divine palace in the distance.

Shooting forward, Mars hurtled past Ceres and her fight with the raven god to assist his father. The goddess of agriculture was a far better match for her opponent, and between her and Faunus’s occasional sneak attacks, they seemed to be holding out all right.

As he neared Jupiter, Mars saw that the divine representation of Arashim had taken more than cosmetic damage. Golden cracks spiderwebbed across the palace's resplendent walls. The once lustrous ornamentation of the building was damaged or obscured by angry burns. Even the foundation itself had crumbled away entirely in places.

Yet Arashim was not the only one to have taken damage. Jupiter himself bore plenty of wounds across his body as well. The clouds above seemed a little less thick than they had been before, as well.

As Mars watched, the enemy god of justice darted beneath white-blue eagles of lightning to stab forth with his sword. Jupiter dodged, only to be caught in the shoulder by an ostentatious golden arrow fired from a parapet. It seemed that Arashim wasn't content to simply hole up in his palace and wait for the fighting to be over.

Mars darted forward just in time to block a second sword strike against his father, sending it skittering aside. The enemy god of justice scowled. “Damn you. I should have known that Kona would prove too weak.”

“It seems that the tides have turned against you, Kyraz,” Jupiter called over. “Submit to me, and I will ensure you do not suffer needlessly.”

Kyraz’s expression turned thunderous as he launched forward once more. Mars intercepted him, matching the wizened god of justice blow for blow. Behind them, Jupiter took advantage to redouble his assault against Arashim, calling down bolts of lightning as thick as men’s torsos. The palace groaned as stone shifted against stone.

“Enough!” Kyraz boomed. The command caused the void itself to tremble. “We’re leaving! Now!” 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Kyraz lifted his scales. A sphere of power grew to envelop their battle, as well as that of Jupiter and Arashim. Mars lunged forward to take advantage of the opening, but halted at the last moment. Something was off. And he soon discovered what.

A thunderbolt struck the palace, only for Jupiter to hiss with pain. A matching patch of singed flesh appeared across his muscular arm. At the same time, Arashim halted his assault entirely.

“You dare try and turn my own power against me?” Jupiter roared. “Impudence!”

The sky swirled as the dark clouds overhead thickened. A column of lightning descended from above, thicker than all the rest combined. Yet rather than strike their foes, this one was aimed at Jupiter himself.

The light enveloped the leader of the gods, empowering him with crackling energy. He reached forward and grasped the ethereal aura Kyraz had sent forth. Then, he pulled.

Kyraz screamed. He desperately tried to retract his aura, but Jupiter’s grip was firm. He wrenched the aura toward himself as though it were a piece of cloth until, finally, it tore.

Jupiter pulsed with energy as the power within his grip suffused him. All at once, the enemy gods began to pull back. Kyraz and Arashim fled fastest of them all, giving no thought to defense. The Roman pantheon harried their retreat, chasing their foes and launching whatever final attacks they could, but did not pursue. Doing so would only invite disaster upon what had so far been a victorious battle.

Mars hurled a final volley of spears before letting his arm fall to his side. The battlefield had gone silent and still. The only sound was the distant rumble of thunder and the sound of swaying grasses. Looking around, it was clear that most of them had exhausted themselves during this encounter. But it had not been without benefit.

He approached Jupiter. The god continued to stand tall, exuding an aura of confidence and strength. The scrap of power stolen from Kyraz remained in his grip.

“Victory is ours,” Mars informed him. “The traitors have fled.”

As they watched, the glowing piece of cloth began to dissolve into motes of electricity. They flowed into Jupiter, and his figure swelled in response. The god smiled. “Victory, indeed.”

***

Tiberius pushed himself to his feet, blinking rapidly to restore his vision. He instinctively reached for his sword and prepared to defend himself, only to find it absent. He'd stopped carrying one since becoming emperor.

Thankfully, his reaction proved unnecessary. The figures of his Legionnaire guards soon resolved in his sight, the men having evidently recovered as quickly as he had. Beyond their defensive line, he spotted the figures of the priests in disarray, many scattered across the ground or altogether unconscious.

He didn't know exactly what had happened. All he recalled was the sudden appearance of those unfathomable presences. And then… nothing.

Slowly, the priests began to rise. They looked shaky and unnerved. An evaluation of the high priests revealed similar states. Only the priest of Kona and the black-cloaked woman made to stand, while the other two lay motionless on the ground.

Tiberius met their eyes. Gathering all of the poise he could muster, he spoke. “Our business is at an end for the moment. I bid you farewell.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and headed out of the temple district with his entourage in tow. He didn't know for certain what had just occurred, but had some suspicions. Either way, remaining there felt as though it would only invite further uncertainty—or reprisal.

The crown upon his head continued to hum. It felt… different than before. More powerful than before, yet with a slightly different frequency.

He frowned. There were too many unknowns for his liking. It was best to return and untangle the day's events before trying to push any advantage further.

He glanced toward the temple of Jupiter as they walked. The priest from before stood outside, smiling at him. Beyond him, inside the building itself, he caught a glimpse of the god's statue. It looked somehow stronger than before. Its eyes now crackled eagerly with the same energy as its staff of lightning.

They hadn't made it two steps out of the temple district before he heard the rumors. Quiet voices rippled through the crowds that gathered around,

“Did you see that?”

“The gods have blessed the emperor!”

“Blessed? It felt like he might be a god himself.”

“Even the high priests were made to kneel.”

“It felt like the heavens themselves descended for a moment—”

Tiberius gave no sign that he'd heard the words. But as they headed back to the castle, a sourceless sensation washed over him. Approval.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that.