Opus Deorum: The Work of Gods

         Gamblun stood looking at the wall of the mountain in front of him. His troops ran around busily readying for their attack but he paid them no attention. He had waited almost eight hundred years for this day, the day he would end the rule of the five gods who held power over this land. He knew that without prayer from the humans they would hold no power, his goddess had told him this and asked him to perform this task for her. He gladly accepted. Gamblun hated the other humans since he had seen the destruction that they were capable of in the world before and had vowed to destroy them as his master had before him. That old fool had met his end during the battle that sparked the end of the old world. It was by the the most gruesome battle Gamblun had ever taken part in, he loved every second of it. His master, a being named Lucifer, had led an assault on the God that had ruled the world and would have succeeded had he not faced his brother Gabriel in combat. Lucifer was slain and his armies wiped out. There was no mercy from the other side and Gamblun did not blame them, He would have done the same.
         After the battle though, the God abandoned the world after seeing how many had risen against him. This had opened the door for the other gods to seize control and they had wiped the world clean of human life saving only a select few to continue on into the next world. Gamblun chuckled at the thought that he was not supposed to be one of them. The goddess Kalista had chosen him to be her servant and in return he would be given the gift of eternal life, which he had already had in the old world but he accepted just in case his blessing would wear off as the world started over.
         As Gamblun came back to reality from his daydreaming he felt a light breeze blow in from across the ocean in the east carrying with it the strong scent of lavender. He took a deep breath and basked in the smell. It was the scent of the goddess Kalista, his goddess. She would be here soon to ensure that he did as he had failed to do nearly eight centuries ago when he had led her armies against the humans in an attempt to erase their presence from Celonia. He had come close to succeeding but the humans had somehow escaped and sealed themselves away, but now he knew where they were and as he looked at the mountain he could almost see them moving around inside. He let out a sigh and turned to greet his goddess.

         Kalista appeared suddenly in a thick violet mist, her strong lavender scent filled the air and then quickly vanished along with the mist. The soldiers, along with Gamblun, stood staring at her. He long black hair hung half-way down her back, dark violet lips matched the color of her eyes and she wore her usual black dress that seemed to shimmer and give off different shades of purple as it caught the light. She was accustomed to it. As a goddess of death the humans feared her unlike the love that her sister received. It was better that way she had always told herself, love is for those who need companionship and she needed nobody but herself. Or perhaps they stared at her for her unmatched beauty, either way she didn't care. With a quick turn of her head she flipped her black hair out of her face and smiled as she walked toward her favorite human, Gamblun. He had served her well for many, many years and never failed her, except once eight hundred years ago. She knew that he had felt love for her, she could tell by the way he looked at her and spoke to her. It mad her laugh, love is for the weak. As she neared him she called out, "Dear Gamblun, how long until my troops breach the fortress?" She stopped a few feet in front of him and awaited an answer.
"We will attack at sundown, my lady. With the sun at our back when we enter the cave-dwellers will be blinded and we will defeat them quickly." He replied without hesistation.
"Very well, You have always been a smart one Gamblun. That's what I love about you." Kalista smiled and pinched his cheek lightly as she walked away to look out over the ocean.

         As the day neared it's end the troops seemed to slow down so that they could renew some energy for their battle that was soon to take place. Gamblun heard one of them come running up behind him and turned to see what the fuss was about.
"General!!" the soldier yelled as he stopped trying to catch his breath, " I've spotted a ship on the horizon. I waited for a moment to see if it is moving closer but it doesn't seem to have moved."
Gamblun stood puzzled, How could this be? he thought to himself Are there others that escaped the attack? How could they have gone unnoticed all this time? He quickly collected himself and waved at the soldier signaling for him to go back to his post. He looked out east and just barely on the horizon he could see the tip of a ship's sails. Just faintly but they were definately there. Not more than a few seconds after he had looked a bright blue beacon of light shot into the sky, disappeared and then quickly shot back down into the ocean. Gamblun gasped. He knew that beacon, he knew who created it and a chill crept up his spine. That was the Captain of Muddy Waters. The one who had saved the humans from complete destruction and one of the few left from the time before. "Oh Captain," he said quietly to himself, " What are you up to?"

* * *

The Captain stood staring at the soldiers running around on the mountainside as he readied himself to enter the secret cavern where the humans now lived. He wore his old combat uniform, a solid black suit that covered his entire body including his face. He had modeled it after the uniform that warriors called the ninja had worn in the old days, in the time before, only his had also covered his eyes. The fabric was thin and he could easily see through it. His trusty diamond blade was strapped to his back and in a pouch tied to his waist was a small blue crystal that he used to store energy. His plan was to swim down deep, to the bottom of the ocean and enter the mountain from a small tunnel that led deep inside. Though it was all filled with water he wasn't concerned, he had mastered water magic and could pull oxygen from the water directly into his blood. It was a neat trick and though simple not one other person could perform it, it was his secret passed down from his master in the time before. He turned to his first mate, "Kain, you know that you must leave once I am in the water. Go back to the island and I will send for you when it is time for you to return." Kain nodded and held out his hand to shake his captain's before heading to the helm. The other crew members watched intently as they had not witnessed their Captain's magic in over eight hundred years and they new the miracle that was about to take place. He looked at each one in turn and nodded at them, a silent farewell in case he did not return.

         The Captain turned back to face the mountain and took a deep breath, the scent of lavender clung lightly to the air and he chuckled Kalista, oh how surprised you will be. He gathered his magical energy and, with a trick he had learned from his master long ago, formed a beam of light around him, he reached deep into his magical energy and began to push it downward. He felt the effects of gravity lessen until it seemed as if he were floating then he bent his knees and launched into the air. He went up high, past the clouds and then quickly shot down into the ocean. He needed that speed to plung him deep beneath the water, to the bottom of the sea.
         The Captain quickly reached the bottom and released the magic that propelled him as he swam toward the tunnel that was directly in front of him. He had not entered it in a long time but he knew it was a very long way to the inside. Once deep in the tunnel turned back and then went up. It was there that he would go to wait for his goddess so that she could tell him what to do. As he swam into the tunnel the world went dark, he would have to feel his way from here but he was confident that he would make it. He had to, for the sake of the human race, for the sake of the world. Today he would free the humans from their underground prison, today he would show Kalista what he was truely capable of.