Wraeth Of The Gods

Chapter 2

I do not own Praey For The Gods. All credit goes to No Matter Studios.

The light hurt her eyes. She squinted as she stepped out of the cave. She was on a snowy mountain pass, with a cliff to her left and a large drop to her right. As she looked out over the empty expanse of dog that covered the ground, she saw an ice statue in the distance.

She stood in what looked like a war room. A small, nervous looking man approached her.

"Ma- ma'am?"

"What is it?"

"Our troops up north took down another god. We're making good progress. Only about ten more before we can end this nightmare."

"It won't ever end."

"What?"

"I said it won't end! No matter what we do, we'll never get back everyone who starved, or froze to death, or was crushed! And we don't even get rid of them! They just turn to unbreakable stone, and we'll have to look at them until the day we die!" She pushed past the man and left the room. People talked of her breakdown for days to come.

"So that's what you are…" she whispered, her voice raspy. She turned and walked away. At one point she stopped to eat some berries from a bush nearby. She continued on, walking past frozen bodies as she went. Eventually, she came to a flat, empty area of snow. In the center of it, there was a protrusion of stone and what looked like gray grass. She climbed up to the top for a better view. The grass felt strangely like fur. At the top, she found a bell.

'Ring the bells.'

She grabbed the handle and pulled back, then slammed it forwards. It reverberated with an echoing "gong" sound. The ground started shaking beneath her. She quickly leaped off and rolled into the snow as the protrusion rose from the earth. The ground continued to shake as it rose. What she thought was a hill was actually the head of… The Satyr God. It shakily stood up, in all its glory. An icy wind blew through the hole in its stomach. It's empty eye sockets stared down at her, a scream caught in her throat. It roared and raised its club.

She needed to move. She sprinted to the right as fast as she could, and the club slammed down behind her. Maybe if she could climb it, she could ring the bell again and defeat it. Gathering her courage, she sprinted towards the god of death and winter's skeletal leg. The fur was easy to grab and climb, and she made good progress up the leg. Then it raised its leg. She held on as she flew even higher into the air. Then the god stomped down. She was thrown off, and fell on her back in the snow. Pain jolted through her body. She was so cold. It would be easy to just lay there and die quickly. She couldn't fight this.

She was on a training ground, practicing with a grappling hook. She aimed for a large target, bet missed and smashed into a wall, falling to the icy ground. She groaned. A muscular man approached her.

"Get up! You won't defeat a god like that! Get up and try again!"

"I can't… it hurts…"

"Do you want to save our home!? Do you want to kill the gods!? Do you want to avenge your father!?"

"Yes…"

"Then get up and try again!" She slowly but surely pushed herself to her feet, lined up her shot, and fired.

No. She couldn't give up. She leaped up and rolled out of the way as the club slammed down yet again. She looked around for something she could climb to get on the Satyr God, and saw a stone structure she could climb. She ran towards it, dodging blows from the club as she went. She grabbed a pillar and started climbing. As the top, she pulled out her grappling hook, aimed it at the top platform, and fired. She clung to the side, then pulled herself up and behind a wall. And not a moment too soon, as the god roared, breathing out frost that chilled her. She ran to the edge of the platform, and saw a bell there. She quickly rang it.

'Gong!'

The god clutched its head and fell to its knees, seemingly weakened by the sound. She took a deep breath and leaped. She had overshot the jump, and missed the head. She plummeted downwards, but just barely grabbed its back, nearly yanking her arm out of her socket. She looked around and saw she was right next to a bell.

'Gong!'

The god didn't react, mainly focused on getting to its feet. She rang the bell again.

'Gong!'

This time, the Satyr started shaking, trying to throw her off. She held on and managed to ring it a final time.

'Gong!'

The bell disappeared, and she felt energy rush through her. Clinging to the beast as it shook, she scrambled up its back and onto its neck. She spotted a bell on its right shoulder, and ran there after gathering her energy.

'Gong!'

She was nearly thrown off, but held on and rang the bell twice more.

'Gong! Gong!'

She ran to the head. She had almost completed her goal. She crawled up the fur to the bell that had started this.

'Gong!'

The beast shook again, and she felt her hand slipping.

"Just a little more…" She muttered. Her hand slipped and she fell. She tumbled down its back and fell towards the icy ground. Was this it? She thought of her training. As she fell passed the god's back and fell down the legs, she imagined a target on the creature's backside. The world seemed to move in slow motion as she lined up her shot and fired. Her aim was true, and she clambered up into the hole in its torso.

She gathered her strength and climbed up its furry back. Soon she reached the head, and rang the bell a final time.

'Gong!'

The god stumbled to its knees, and she was thrown off. As she fell, the god was covered in golden light, and turned to stone, eternally staring at the sky.

"Thank you…" Was the last thing she heard before she hit the ground and blacked out.

A wolf stood nearby, and its face turned into what seemed to be a smile.

Yeah. I know I said I'd update this monthly, but I just had to write the second chapter first. That was intense. I tried to convey the feeling of climbing these massive beasts that seemed invincible, and I think I did a good job. Next chapter, we'll see the Devourer God fight and some minor exploration. See you in August!