Rathlands [Monster Hunter] [ENG]

Chapter 12 (Akalash POV)

Akalash was flying north. Far below him, he knew the war was still raging. He could feel, even in the high and pure skies, the stench of the Divine Plague rising to his nostrils. Gamala had struck, as he had said he would. The metallic dragon quickened his pace slightly, glancing down. Through the thick gray winter clouds, he caught a vague glimpse of the spectral fog of the Fury smothering the Rakurians. He was of course too high to hear them distinctly, but he could make out the suffering cries of the whole swarming mass, which was enduring martyrdom under his feet. He could also imagine the prayers addressed to him or to Kirin, the desperate pleas, the groans of agony...

"Suffer the consequences of your actions, Nordics. Let this be a lesson to you, in the future. The sentence of a hero is indisputable. I will not come to your aid this time. "

After being roused from his long sleep, Akalash had the reflex to head south. He had sensed that he was'nt the only one awake. And he had not been wrong, for Gamala, was indeed awake too.

The Hero did not like these names and their heroic appellation, but he was forced to use them. He preferred their true and original names, but since no mortal should remember them, Heroes were forbidden to use them. The other gods had set these rules. Because Heroes were Gods who, concerned about the welfare of mortals, had agreed to take on a heavy responsibility: that of making Justice.

When the Gods saw that the Old World was in turmoil everywhere, they knew that the time had come for the monsters to accomplish the ultimate revolution: the overthrow of humans. The monsters who had been living apart from the humans became bold and destroyed village after village. Those who had pledged their allegiance to the humans turned against them, breaking the bond between them and their tormentor without remorse. And when there were only a handful of men left, entrenched in fortress cities on Earth, the Gods themselves appeared. Under their command, the united monsters destroyed the most tenacious cities. Akalash remembered that time, when he was still hailed as Kushala Daora... The Gods then let the monsters make this world their own, leaving behind some useful human knowledge, and withdrew from mortal sight. But, fearing that this New World would end up like the old one, corrupted and devoid of Justice, they decided to send three of them to this Earth to watch over its balance. Thus, Gamala, the Misery Spreader, protector of honor, Akalash, the Steel Warrior, defender of oppressed peoples, and Falkav, the Silver Slayer, executor of evil-doers dangerous to this balance, descended in turn. Together, but also separately, they had the duty to help, in case of extreme necessity, the people to which they were affiliated. When a punishment of divine order was delivered by one, the others had to comply with this decision. They were gods. They made no mistakes. So this rule did not bother anyone. Alas, because of this desired closeness to mortals, the three Heroes had to give up their divine names and adopt others. At the same time, the mortals gave them names. They also had to give up the glory of their actions as Gods delivering humans. Thus, the sacred books that were transmitted to mortals did not mention them, except to evoke in a vague way their role of heroes... The Gods belonged to History, while they remained simple legends.

When they did not intervene directly, the Heroes slumbered and watched over the world through their dreams. Some real facts were added to the usual dreams, and thus they were informed about recent events. However, it was not infallible, and many elements of medium or low importance escaped their minds.

Nevertheless, most of the facts of this new history were known to the heroes, and even to the invisible Gods. States were born on this continent of Solhatar, where they had been sent. Those who had not wanted this revolution and had survived it fled together from the other nations and created their own country: the Brotherhood of Scavengers. Most of them were originally ex-monsters, associated with the Riders, the slavers, but as time went by, this small enclave between the Nordic Mountains and the Skypiercers' lands welcomed other monsters.