“So there are wizards here? Wait… never mind that. That falls into the category of I’m curious but it isn’t vital to my existence. So is Verden more like heaven or hell?”
“Neither. It is a mortal realm just as your Earth was. It is a planet that floats amongst the stars of this material plane. It is primarily inhabited by mortal tier beings and is ruled over by the eight gods who were birthed from this plane. Or it was ruled over by those eight gods,” Ild’engel said.
“Again, that is probably all cool background lore and world building, but what I really need to know now is why I’m here and what I’m supposed to do. Can you tell me that? I’m already getting hungry,” Kyle asked in frustration.
“Interesting. I wasn’t sure how subject you would be to the constraints of a mortal body, but it appears that you are more demi than full god now, even though you possess the mantle in full.”
Kyle was starting to feel angry at the way she spoke in riddles, riddles that didn’t explain anything to him. “C’mon, that wasn’t our deal. You are supposed to be explaining stuff to me.”
“Yes, that is true, and not because of any deal that we made. I was a sworn servant to Krig before he passed his mantle onto you. My loyalty goes with that mantle, at least for the time being,” Ild’engel said.
“Who is this Krig that you keep talking about?”
“Do you really not remember encountering him? It was right after that woman wounded you with the strange weapon,” she said.
“You mean the colossal guy in the parking deck? I thought that was all part of a dream.” Kyle scoffed.
“It was most assuredly not a dream. That was Krig, Verden’s God of War, or at least he was. But didn’t he tell you that?”
Kyle snorted. “He may have mentioned something like that, but in my defense, at the time I thought he was a figment of my imagination brought on by the fact that I was dying.”
“He was most definitely real, and he passed his mantle to you since he was dying,” Ild’engel said.
“If he was a god, then how was he dying? And what does ‘passed on his mantle’ even mean?” Kyle asked before continuing, “I mean, I knew about stories where gods died, but then there was also the kind of god that my grandma took me to Sunday school to learn about. That wasn’t the kind of god who died—at least not without coming back to life.”
A rich laughter filled his mind. He didn’t know how it was possible, but every sound that she made was just so damn sexy. “Nothing is forever, not even the gods, at least not in Verden.”
“I sorta figured as much. So we are talking more like Greek gods than the Most High kinda God? And the mantle? Are you trying to tell me that I am the heir to the war god?” Kyle asked.
Again with the laughter. He was starting to get frustrated, but he didn’t know enough to get angry. So far, the voice inside his head was the only one he had been able to understand. The family whose house he was in had been speaking gibberish, as far as he was concerned. Of course, that in and of itself was concerning.
“Not his heir, you are the reincarnation of the war god.”
Chapter 4 - Not So Mundane
“Reincarnation, like I am gonna become him again?” Kyle asked, suddenly terrified. He didn’t want to lose his identity, even if he was gonna become some kind of god.
Ild’engel answered, “Not at all. Your personality remains the same, for better or for worse. The gods of Verden are different from mortals. They are a purer representation of the concept or aspect of reality that they represent. Mortals are comprised of a number of different essences, but are far more limited in quantity if not variety.”
“And essence would be?” Kyle shrugged his shoulders to drive home the point of his confusion. Of course, he didn’t know if the voice inside his head could even see what he looked like.
“Drawing from your memories, think of essence as mana. It is the building block of the universe and powers everything. It has been refined into eight different types for use in Verden, but there is also such a thing as raw essence. Fire would be an example of raw essence. The eight known types are judgment, death, earth, sea, sky, love, deceit, and war.
These eight essences govern the reactions and relationships in Verden. And every mortal has some of each in them, even if they can’t access them all. Right now, you are a demi-god. Your physical form died in your world, but by Krig’s might, your soul was sent here and a new body, an amalgamation of your body and his, formed. More than that, your soul was imprinted with his mantle. So, eventually, with enough essence and hard work, you will be able to fully manifest it.”
“Okay, so this isn’t my body any longer?”
“Of course it is. There is no one else who could lay claim to it, but both Krig’s body and yours were injured. So, a new body was made as you materialized in Verden. I’m sure that you noticed that you are much larger, or were you nearly eight feet tall on Earth? My review of your memories suggested otherwise.”
Now it was Kyle’s turn to laugh, except his laughter was out loud. “So that is why everything seems so small.”
The laughter must have been louder than Kyle intended because the front door opened. The woman from last night poked her head inside. He felt bad, as she seemed afraid to come into her own house. It wasn’t that much of a home, a fifteen by twenty-foot single room dwelling with the kitchen in one corner and beds on
