Now the Third Age of the world was marked by the birth of the Younger Gods. Yet when they awakened to their divinity, their father was absent from them. Yea, Keos had removed himself from the face of Luquatra, and he forsook his children that he might nurse his wounds and gather his strength for the day that he would rise again in glory and power.
And the number of the Younger Gods was five, for they had sprung from the Breaking of the Hand of Keos, and they retained a portion of his strength. And they awoke to a world of chaos and blood, for Keos had forsaken his worshippers and they did war one with another. And the Younger Gods took pity on the people of Keos, and as they succoured the Terrans, they gained worshippers of their own and began to usurp Keos’s stewardship over t’rasang.
Thus it was that the five Younger Gods divided the people of Keos, flattering his worshippers and claiming many for themselves. Yet the majority of the Terrans remained true to Keos and continued to worship him in his absence, for when Keos rose from his isolation, they believed he would seek communion with the faithful and that many would be raised to become Bloodlords – and so it came to be.
But the unfaithful were not rewarded. Yea, Keos did visit the Younger Gods in his wrath, and he instructed them to submit to his will and bring their worshippers back into his fold. But the Younger Gods spurned Keos, for they were proud like their father and they asserted their own divinity. Yea, and they claimed that Keos was a maimed God and that his power was diminished. And as their evidence, they pointed to the forge at Thoir Cuma, which had ever been a sign of Keos’s strength, and they showed that it had been cast down and a temple of Tàcharan had been raised in its place. And thus did Keos fail to establish his supremacy over them.
Yet Keos did not rage as he had in the past, for his time in isolation had made him more thoughtful and more cunning. And he returned to the pits of Daogort, to that same place where he had once isolated himself, and he shaped its underground chasms into a great amphitheatre, and he invited the Keokum to visit him and declare either their allegiance to him or their independence from him. And he also invited the Dragons, the Nymphs, the Giants, the Eidolons and the Faeries. Yea, he invited all the creatures that had spawned from the Breaking of the Hand of Keos.
For five years Keos gathered them in. For five years he ministered to them, plying them with food and drink, flattering them with gold and silver, that he might persuade them to remain for the great Council of Keokumot. Yea, and he did persuade one of the Younger Gods to visit him and then to stay with him.
And at the end of five years, the amphitheatre had swollen with those loyal to Keos. And many who stayed for the Council hoped to influence the God of Earthblood, though they would not swear their allegiance to him. And many more remained because they perceived Keos was a Fallen God. Yea, and they sought to take advantage of him in his weakness, for they praised him by day and mocked him by night.
And when five years had expired, the Great Council was achieved. And the doors of Keokumot were sealed that all might deliberate their allegiance or independence.
But the Council was for naught, for Keos had already discerned who among them were false and who were loyal. And he had brought an army of golems – yea, even five hundred thousand golems, which had been formed during his isolation – and the golems barred the gates of Keokumot. And the faithful filled the amphitheatre with the bones of the disloyal. And none that remained contested the dominion of Keos.
And from the schism at Keokumot were derived five new races, which were the Draken, the Sirens, the Ogres, the Demons and the Devils. And these five warred with their sister-races, which had rejected Keos. And the Third Age of Luquatra became known as the Age of Blood.
A translation of a fragment recovered from the ruins of Speur Dún:
‘The Council of Keokumot’ from the Book of Terra, translation by Sodar Weir
Chapter Forty-Two
Annev jogged up the crest of the hill overlooking his village and slid the lantern off his shoulder. He bent forward with his hands on his shaking knees and gasped quick, deep breaths while staring at the grass beneath his feet. The air carried the scents of early spring: cool morning dew mixed with the richness of damp earth and a soft, temperate breeze.
He slowly straightened. The sun had already risen above the treeline of the Brakewood to the east, though its pale light was yet to fall on the clustered buildings and small plots of farmland sitting in the secluded, forested valley.
The light did catch the Academy spires, though, rising above the rest of the village. As the largest building in Chaenbalu and the only structure more than two storeys high, its towering spires and bleak grey architecture stood apart from the humbler surrounding buildings, soaring higher even than Sodar’s chapel at the eastern end of the village. As Annev stared at the place that would be his new home, he found he had mixed feelings about reporting to Tosan. For one thing, he was mentally and physically exhausted; the strange events of the past day and night had taken their toll in more ways than one, and the long run back home had drained him. At the same time, he was elated to have completed Tosan’s task on his own terms, and so to finally become an Avatar of Judgement. Yet it was bittersweet, because it meant his time with Sodar had come to an end.
Annev’s gaze fell away from the Academy’s walls and landed on the tiny dun-coloured building he had always called home. He’d have to return there to gather his things before he could move into the Academy, and he welcomed that prospect. There was even time to collect the supplies he had left at the standing stone before heading home to eat and sleep. The headmaster would wait for him – Tosan had given him until sunset, and the day was only just breaking – though Annev knew he would neither eat nor rest until he had spoken with Sodar. The priest would want to know everything that had transpired since they last saw each other, and Annev had his own questions for the priest. This time he wouldn’t relent until Sodar answered them.