Chapter 3

A moon has passed, and Arthy has taught me almost everything on all the gods out there. There was a lot, but only ten gods stood out. Apparently, they were the most powerful and probably the most troublesome. Thankfully no one had disturbed us, and we were left to our devices. It gave me a chance to think long and hard on how I wanted to win the war. Killing a god relied on humans not believing in them. It meant that someone had to be there to turn their hearts away from them. This meant that destiny wasn't only for me, but instead, I needed an accomplice. The only problem was the prophecy never said anything about that (I asked Arthy about it). If it never said anything, how was I expected to complete it all?

Anyway, Arthy decided to teach me about all the important gods who were responsible for the attack against humanity.

Our next god is his female counterpart, the goddess of fire Malaiwu. Malaiwu’s mood ranges from anger to happiness and sadness, basically, she's an emotional oddball. Instead, she could care less about anything. But that is because her fire is uncontrollable. She never knew how to make little fires for enjoyments or how to turn them off for safety. Worshipping her was always a necessity rather than something your people would happily perform. She was hated, but it came with the job.’ Arthy paused here to deliver a kick to my leg. Sure, I had fallen asleep, but it wasn't my fault. All he was saying was boring and necessary.

'I'm awake and bored. Can't you do what you used to do with the walls? They made story-telling fun', I was whining, but if he didn't want me asleep, then he would make the story interesting. Yeah, Arthy didn't make the walls enjoyable; instead, he threatened to send me back to my parents as a failure. I paid attention to that threat.

‘The god of the earth. Surprisingly a male rather than a female, Kiluaroth. He is the male Mother Nature. In charge of the seasons, the ground, the animals. Basically, all life force on the planet. But unlike his other counterparts, Roth could never get angry. He always sees the good in people, and that is why he is the favourite of all of them. His festivals were colourful, and people would celebrate from sunrise to sundown. Only second to Anthuina

Jacilis, the god of justice. Fair in everything she did. She is called once there was an argument between gods and even humans. Famous because people all around worshipped her and aimed to be just like her. Why a woman who claims to be fair and unbiased was part of a war like this is a secret only to the gods. you don’t need to know now.’ I was so ready to jump in and ask questions about the war, but he just had to stop me before I did. 

‘Anthuina, the god of fertility. She moved mainly with humans. Ninety per cent of the time, she was found strolling amongst humans and enjoying our world. She had a lot of female worshippers. She kind of decided who was ready to have a child and how many at a time. She was mainly the god of fertility and child-bearing—a soft woman with a sweet outlook on life. People naturally loved her and worshipped the grounds on which she walked especially the women. After all, childbirth was essential to them. Even the men begrudgingly adored her to ensure their seeds were in right conditions.

Zadra was a know-it-all and an I-too-know person. As the god of knowledge both past and present, most excused his behaviour. Still, it did get on everyone's nerves, especially when he says something and it's true, he lords it over them. Unlike the other gods, Zadra didn’t have a group of humans to worship him every time. It was mostly out of the blue prayers when something like knowledge was needed urgently. Except for those times, he was a dormant god. While every god was present at the beginning of time, he was the one with the records. He kept tabs on anything that moved be it gods, humans, animals or even the insects. We did appreciate his knowledge but the attitude that came with it, not so much. He liked to put his nose in everyone's business, and if anything goes wrong, he claims Mr Holy, I told you so…

Most of the times, Bathra was caked in the blood of her victims. As a god of war, her place was often at the fore-front of wars ready to lead and win. She has never lost a battle, and even if she has, her counterattacks made it impossible for them to celebrate the win. Stealth and aggression all in one body, she was terrific. A force to be reckoned with and one you never want against you. She's better as an ally than a foe. Only the side with the most significant sacrifice wins her favour. She was never known to pick sides. 

Lovina never had a problem except for her laziness. As the god of festivals, she was to bubble with energy because of the many festivals all year round and the planning is no easy task. But no! Lovina is as lazy as they come. Always found in her realm, resting, sleeping and drinking wine., she can’t be less bothered. Even when she manages to be busy, she still somehow looks lazy. It is easy to be lazy when you have plenty of people itching to do your work.

Kasali, the god of time, he controls when the sun would rise and set. Always seen with a watch and forever mumbling about the time. Unlike all gods that were tall with domineering personalities, he was short and timid. Never spoke without looking at the floor, Arthy said he was one god who should not have been on the council. Still, because he was related to Anthuina, he had a personal vendetta. He never liked humans in the first place with their constant whining of how little time they had each day, so he was a bit pleased with the plan to kill them. He's still the only god who works, but that's because he had to regulate time. He has his fun messing with them though.' I wondered why he stopped talking for a while. He told me there were ten gods, but so far had only talked about nine.

'I told you that gods have one thing that's special to them. At least the ones who aren't part of the most significant set. I also know you think I'm a small god, but the truth is I'm more powerful than I seem. It seems that at the time of creation, I was split into two, a boy and a girl. We have the same ability; gods of calamity but I also got an extra power to change into animals, but my other ability causes people to forget me. That's why she is the only known god of calamity. There are some times in history where we have both been present, but while others remember her, they forget me.

Arthy had said he was going to tell me about the gods I should watch out for, and these were them. It wasn't every god that was interested, but since these were the top guys, the main people, no one had a choice but to follow them. Meaning that if I can defeat them publicly and show the rest of them, maybe just maybe my people can be safe. What it meant was that I had to take in every god’s weakness and fashion a way to defeat them. I was ready for the challenge.

With the challenges I was facing, I went to sleep with a heavy heart...but even in my dreams, what my future had still haunted me.