The Accidental Archmage_Book Three_Blood Wars Read online

  THE ACCIDENTAL ARCHMAGE

  Book Three

  BLOOD WARS

  An epic fantasy on another world –

  With a modern twist.

  By

  Edmund A.M. Batara

  @ soloflyte

  February 2018

  All Rights Reserved.

  1st Edition

  This book is a work of fiction.

  Names, characters, places, interactions, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, unless otherwise indicated.

  Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All Rights Reserved by the Author. 2017.

  ASIN

  B078GBPVXY

  Thank You.

  To my family.

  My wife, Julette-Marie, and my daughters,

  Amina Francesca, Katrina Fae, and Ana Bettina,

  for all the support and joy you have given me.

  To my sister Amy.

  For being so supportive.

  To my readers.

  Kindle readers of the series

  and those at the website where the first drafts (Books 1, 2 and 3)

  of this continuing story were posted

  – for the encouragement and constructive feedback.

  To Donna Rich

  ([email protected])

  For being such an efficient and helpful editor.

  Your patience with a new author is highly appreciated.

  Contents

  Dedication

  The Accidental Archmage Series

  Author's Notes

  Additional Author's Notes: Book Three

  Aztec Proverb and Notes

  Aztec Warrior Capturing an Enemy

  PROLOGUE Celebration

  Chapter I Back to Fossegrim Forest

  Chapter II A Deadly Learning Curve

  Chapter III A Death in the Family

  Dionysus's Old Map

  Chapter IV Men, Fell Creatures, and Beasts

  Chapter V The Sons of Ares

  Chapter VI When Gods Beg

  Chapter VII Way Over One's Head

  Chapter VIII Departures

  Chapter IX A Storm Breaks

  Chapter X Baiting the Jaguar

  Chapter XI Of Etl and Ground Tepolli

  Chapter XII Teotl Ixiptlas

  Chapter XIII Vindictive Bastards

  Chapter XIV Wishing for a Rumble

  Chapter XV Regime Change

  Chapter XVI A Godly Tantrum

  Chapter XVII Joining the Festivities

  Chapter XVIII Arrival

  Chapter XIX Fun and Games

  Chapter XX Temple Heist

  EPILOGUE

  Story End Image Atlatl Spear Thrower

  Image and Quotation Credits

  About the Author

  Other Books by the Author: The Accidental Archmage Series

  A New Series by the Author: ARCANUM ASTRAY

  Book End Image

  The Accidental Archmage Series

  Author's Notes

  Incidents of people disappearing in plain sight are well-known in recorded history. One of the earliest known accounts was in the 1700’s.

  The most recent disappearance was in 2007. Various theories have been advanced to explain these phenomena; this story is not such a theory.

  Endnotes appear at appropriate chapters. There are mythological terms and names used in the story. Footnotes are not appropriate for eBook formatting and I believe footnotes are more distracting than endnotes. Story immersion may also suffer if the reader is left to search by himself the meaning of the terms and names used. As some terms from Book One again appear, the definitions are repeated in the endnotes.

  The story is told from the main character’s perspective. His own thoughts are italicized. His conversations with Hal, an entity introduced in Book One, as well as mental discussions with other characters, are italicized but with quotation marks.

  Enjoy.

  Additional Author's Notes:

  Book Three

  The Aztec Empire, or properly referred to as the Triple Alliance, on Earth was one of the largest during its time. Created from an alliance of three city-states, it dominated that part of the world. However, some argue that in terms of territory, the Incan Empire was bigger.

  By the time the Aztecs were established on Adar, the alliance of peoples from three city-states had grown to a confederation of five nations. It now included their erstwhile enemies, the Tarascans and the Tlaxcalteca. Other Mesoamerican tribes who found themselves in the strange realm became tributaries of the new empire. Fear of an unknown new world do make strange bedfellows. The new alliance was still dominated by the Tenochtitlan elite, though tribal distinctions have already been eroded by intermarriages and a common religious belief.

  Aztec Proverb and Notes

  Ye onquiza naoalli:

  anoce onquiz in naoalli.

  (The sorcerer* passed there.)

  *the devil

  – Nahuatl Proverbs, Conundrums, And Metaphors,

  Collected By Sahagun, Translated by Thelma D. Sullivan,

  Estudios De Cultura Náhuatl

  The Aztec gods and goddesses are, as far as we have known anything about them, an unlovely and unlovable lot. In their myths there is no grace or charm, no poetry. Only this perpetual grudge, grudge, grudging, one god grudging another, the gods grudging men their existence, and men grudging the animals. The goddess of love is a goddess of dirt and prostitution, a dirt-eater, a horror, without a touch of tenderness. If the god wants to make love to her, she has to sprawl down in front of him, blatant and accessible.

  – D.H. Lawrence, Mornings in Mexico, 1927 (Public domain)

  In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec world, one key word for poet was “tlamatine”, meaning “the one who knows”, or “he who knows something”. Poets were considered “sages of the world”, who mediated on human enigmas and explored the beyond, the realm of the gods.

  – Edward Hirsch, poet and educator.

  PROLOGUE

  Celebration

  Masters of the world, their empire so wide and abundant that they had conquered all the nations and that all were their vassals.

  Friar Diego Duran, quoted in the Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, written by Deborah Nichols and Christopher Pool, 1st Edition, Oxford Handbooks, 2012.

  CELEBRATION

  The Aztecah Empire.

  Region of Aztlan.

  The Temple-City of Tamoanchan.

  The Teocalli of Tlaltecuhtli.

  The two figures walked along the temple hallway. Orbs of magical energy lit their way. The entire temple was made of stone. A majestic multi-layered tapered ziggurat reached towards the heavens.

  “Whose turn is it again?” asked one figure.

  “You’re becoming forgetful in your mortal form, brother. It’s Tlaloc’s month,” answered the other.

  “Ah, nearly planting season again, I presume.”

  “It is. Here we are,” replied his companion as they reached the exit. They were on top of the temple, and before them lay the majestic view of the colorful and impressive expanse of the enormous complex. There were streets paved with stone, gardens in every corner, and smaller but still grand temples in front of them. The entire landscape gave the impression of an orderly, powerful, and deeply religious people. Wide st
raight lanes defined the design of the complex, reflecting the structured lives of the populace. Every building in sight was either made of stone or faced with the same material. Their colors were bright and distinctive. An aura of discipline, power, and enormous strength filled the air.

  The two stood at the very heart of the feared Aztecah Empire. Around them was a vast religious complex. It was a city solely devoted to the Aztecah gods—there was nothing like it in the entire world. Twenty temples formed the center of the complex. Four on each side, creating a square, and four in the middle. The ones inside the square were larger than the enclosing structures, already huge as they are. Among the four inner temples, one was more massive than its immediate brethren. No mortal was allowed inside the tall and gigantic edifice. The remaining space bordered by the sixteen temples was enough to accommodate more than a million people.

  The two beings stood on top of one of the three other temples inside the square. They watched the festivities being conducted in front of a nearby teocalli – or “god house” as the people call the huge temples – specifically, the teocalli of the deity Tlaloc, the Aztecah god of rain, lightning, and thunder.

  Hundreds of thousands of the faithful were already gathered and rejoicing, all dressed in their most beautiful clothes. Festive and happy noises filled the air. A multitude of bright colors greeted one’s eyes. In front of the temple’s steps, which led up to the flat and wide platform at its apex, were elite warriors of the Jaguar and Eagle military societies.

  The warriors formed double lines at each of the three sides where the multitude gathered, keeping the happy crowd from disturbing the ongoing ceremonies. More warriors lined the steps up to the top of the temple. Lined up in numerous rows, hands bound, were thousands of prisoners. In each row, captives were connected by a thick rope which was coiled around each person’s neck and continued to the next one in line. The cords which tied their hands were also linked in the same manner.

  At the top of the temple was a group of people with elaborate headdresses and attires. A sizeable flaming brazier was merrily burning in the background. Lighted orbs on posts surrounded them; they were arranged in a semi-circle around a raised stone dais slick with blood.

  As the two observers watched, a man garbed more elaborately than the others raised an obsidian knife and plunged it into the chest of a victim tied to the dais. He then meticulously cut open the breast amid a shower of blood and tore out the still beating heart. All that, while the bound man was screaming in agony. The organ was presented to the sky, and then after some words from the killer, it was thrown into the flaming brazier. The dead man was untied and tossed down the steps of the temple. When the body landed, nearby warriors took hold of it and continued throwing it down. A row of captives was already lined up to feed the waiting brazier. The steps leading up to the sacrificial platform were wet with blood and pieces of human flesh.

  “Won’t he get tired?” observed one of the watching beings.

  “He will. He’s only human, after all. But you have to give it to Tlaloc’s favorite tlamacazqui, he gives it his best try,” laughed the other being.

  “At least our pets won’t be hungry for many moons,” replied the other.

  “That spell our demanding patrons gave us does prevent spoilage.”

  “Did they get their share of the latest victory? I know they’re hungry. Too hungry, to my eyes.”

  “Don’t talk that way. You do know what happened to the last one they deemed disrespectful. Though we still don’t know what they did to him. But yes, they got their share. Five minor deities from our enemies. Four Incan and one Etruscan.”

  “They’ll be happy then. For now. What if we finish off our present foes?”

  “It’s a big world out there,” answered the other.

  A GATHERING OF BONES

  Hellas.

  Kriti.

  On a hilltop above the City of Dori.

  Deimos looked at the encampment. It had grown larger in the past few days due to the large number of people enlisting in the army. Many were bandits masquerading as mercenaries. The city of Dori itself had increased its contribution by assigning many of its defending soldiers to the gathering force.

  Unfortunately, calls to allied cities had resulted in token contributions. A far cry from the numbers initially committed. So far, only around two thousand had arrived; a strength which included more mercenaries. Cannon fodder.

  Some allies had to decline as Dionysian festivals were in full swing in their cities. Their rulers were keen to avoid resentment from soldiers who were looking forward to the festivities.

  Deimos was starting to feel angry. Their recent crushing defeat had made the mortals warier. The ignominious way Ares was defeated added to the reluctance of Dorian cities. Not to mention that the Champion and his minotaur pet were quickly disposed of by the High Mage and his companions. He cursed the reticence and fickle minds of mortals, kings and ruled alike.

  Phobos, on the other hand, was deeper in the Dorian Hills, organizing and mobilizing beasts and spirits who followed the battle-god. Deimos was keen to use them. They could soften up the defenses, keep the men in line and act as the vanguards of the attack. And there were a lot of them.

  More importantly, some beasts and beings could be diverted to harass the Pelasgoi, hindering their ability to help Akrotiri. It might draw off some Pelasgoi troops from the city. They have proven to be doughty warriors; strong enough to be deemed the backbone of the city’s defenses. He decided to do so immediately, so he called one of the army’s couriers.

  “Thy will, my lord?” asked the courier. A keres. A winged abomination made out of the bones of a man and a reptile. The creature is but one of the many variations. One of the contributions of Eris.

  “Send this message to my brother,” he ordered. As he watched the creature fly away, he couldn’t help but feel that there were plenty of gaps in his understanding of the entire grand play.

  The goddess refused to come out from her domain near the gates of Hades but lent some minions to the brothers. She did mention more aid, but she will not grace the battle with her presence. Even her minions appeared to be busy.

  The brothers were surprised. Eris was a goddess who basked in the death and tumult arising from battle. For her to say no was strange indeed. However, the brothers knew better than to pry. The displeasure of the goddess of discord was not a matter to be courted.

  As for the patrons of their father, their representative – a dark hooded and masked man – disappeared the same time Ares got dumped with that mountain of stone. That man was an evil entity. The hideous and fearful aura that surrounded him dwarfed the power of the gods of terror and horror. Deimos was sure that his true nature was blacker than the pits of Tartarus. His brother concurred. Both of them were surprised at and apprehensive about their father’s involvement with them.

  They both knew their father’s intelligence and common sense sometimes desert him. This appears to be one of those times. Fortunately, the being had left behind some of its fast travel parchments. Those would help. But he feared what commitments his father had made with such dark and evil creatures.

  He turned his gaze to the tents below. A Champion. Or Champions. It’s high time anyway for the gods of fear and terror to have their own.

  Chapter Lore:

  Aztecah – Nahuatl. Meaning “people from Aztlan”. The name of the empire of the Aztecs on Adar. In this story, the more common word “Aztec” will at times be used to refer to the Aztecah. This story adopts the Nahualt version as the name of the Aztec Empire.

  Tamoanchan – A word believed to be either Mayan or Aztec in origin. In Aztec legend, it is believed to be the place where man was first created. In this story, the word is adopted as the name of the massive temple complex at the heart of the Aztecah Empire.

  Aztlan – Nahuatl. The term refers to the legendary home region of the Aztecs. According to myth, the term means “paradise” but there are other opinions on the matter. Even th
e location of Aztlan is a debated topic among scholars. The Aztecs, according to legend, were originally a grouping of seven tribes. Used in this story to refer to the primary territorial region of the Aztecah Empire.

  Teocalli – Nahualt. A term which meant a temple. Literally, a “god house”.

  Tlaltecuhtli – Nahualt. An Aztec god of earth. Literally means “earth lord”. In this story, he is considered to be one of the three primary Aztecah deities.

  Tlamacazqui – Nahualt. A priest.

  Keres – Greek. Mythological creatures personifying violent death. They roam battlefield by the thousands, feasting on the flesh and blood of the slain. These creatures have been mentioned as allied or have rendered service to Eris, the Greek goddess of discord. In this story, they are given various forms and some do serve the goddess.

  Chapter I

  Back to Fossegrim Forest

  Tyler stood facing the woods. His passage to Fossegrim Forest was instantaneous — a lot different from the way Dionysus handled it. The last image he saw was Viracocha smiling at him. With a slight nod, the deity raised his right hand, palm out, and then he was somewhere else.