Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign

CHAPTER 3

A Lost Power





Lasidious and Celestria’s Home





Lasidious, God of Mischief





Celestria, Goddess of Beasts





FELLOW SOUL ... just before he fell, George heard Sam yell for him to get down from the base of the statue, but before he could comply, the shaking started, and his footing slipped. To compensate, George placed his hand on the chest of the bronze man, but that wasn’t enough. He was unable to grab hold of anything because the piece of the Crystal Moon he removed from the dragon’s back. It had occupied his grasp, and he did not want to let it go. The opportunist never let go of anything with potential value.

To George’s surprise, the floor had swallowed him, and the last thing he heard as he fell into the darkness was Sam screaming his name. As he tumbled head over heels, the hole closed, and he saw the light inside the temple fade away.

Since then, his heart raced. His pathetic life continued to flash before his eyes, and his little girl, Abbie, would be his only unselfish thought before he expired. He could only wait for the impact.

The Hidden God World

Ancients Sovereign

“Do you think Bassorine has figured it out yet, my love?” the goddess, Celestria, questioned while fondling the morning scruff on her lover’s chin.

Lasidious enjoyed her touch for a moment before he backed away. “I’m sure he knows by now I’ve pulled a fast one,” he responded as he circled the heavy stone table at the center of the room.

The gods’ home was warm, despite being created deep beneath the mountain range known as the Peaks of Angels. Celestria had softened the hardness of the rock walls with many elegant touches, and like the Temple of the Gods, the light filling their home originated from within the rock, but only in key locations.

Lasidious grinned. “If I know Bassorine, he’s thinking my actions are nothing more than a minor inconvenience. But I would wager he’s happy. The crystal’s disappearance will start wars, and you know how he loves to battle. I’m sure he’ll confront me in front of the others to appease his ego, but I’m ready for him. As planned, I’ll crawl under his skin to kindle his anger before I strike. He won’t know what hit that thick, scarred-up face of his when I’m done with him.”

Celestria circled the table toward Lasidious. She was the definition of elegance. Her eyes could have stolen the blue reflected from the clearest ocean and made it her own. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and swayed across her back as she walked. If an imperfection was to be found anywhere on this woman, it would not be found on the outside. Every curve and gesture was flawless. Even her voice, an angel’s voice, was sweet and soft to the ears. She was worthy of being called goddess.

Lasidious continued to speak as he watched her move. “I have everything under control.”

“Do you?” Celestria replied. “I worry we’ll be discovered, my pet.”

The Mischievous One frowned. “You worry too much. We only used the opportunity the others provided to find a mortal who craved power and brought him to Grayham. You know the Book of Immortality wasn’t created yet when I snatched George from Earth. How could we be expected to obey a rule that didn’t exist?”

Lasidious sighed. “Be assured, I won’t break the laws on its pages. I’ll handle the mortal as required. I won’t do anything other than give George a reason to seek the power he desires.”

Celestria smiled. “You’re a clever god,” she purred.

Lasidious enjoyed the verbal pat on his back and then returned Celestria’s smile. His eyes turned bright red, and his teeth elongated to sharpened points.

“Stop that!” Celestria snapped. “You know I hate it when you make that face. You’re not handsome when you do that. I like my cute, little devil-god when he looks striking.” She stroked his face. “You’re not kissable when you look so mean.”

Lasidious shifted from one foot to the other as his appearance returned to normal. When his eyes were not glowing red and his teeth were not pointed, his appearance was debonair. With short, sandy-brown hair, blue eyes, and a chiseled chin, he was a tad less than six feet tall. His athletic build pleased his goddess and Celestria loved every inch of him.

The Mischievous One pulled Celestria closer, a frown creasing his brow. “I’m sorry. You know I love you. I won’t do it again. Well … not while you’re looking anyway.” Replacing the frown with another smile, he added, “I hate the story we told the people on the worlds. Why the Collective ever agreed to glorify Bassorine is beyond me.”

Celestria cupped Lasidious’ face with her hands, and gave him a long, soft kiss. Looking him in the eyes, she placed his hand on her belly. “Like it or not, he has the power to destroy us, my pet. I, for one, have no death wish ... nor does our baby.”

The goddess pulled away and adjusted a decorative setting on the table. “It’s too bad that exalting Bassorine was one of his conditions before he agreed to the creation of the Book. Fortunately for us, you masterfully manipulated him, my love.”

Lasidious sighed. “But he still has the sword, and we both know what will happen if he figures it out. He would take it all back.”

“But he’s afraid to risk it. That’s why you’re going to provoke his rage. You’re the only one who can make him angry enough to try to reclaim the power he lost.”

The goddess returned to Lasidious and touched her mischievous partner with a seductive playfulness. She leaned in and whispered as she pressed her body against his. “Have I told you today, I find you amazingly handsome? What a delicious couple we make.” She smacked her lips and tickled his ear with her tongue.

Lasidious trembled as Celestria continued. “I’m glad you’re unable to lie to me. We’ve found a way to trust one another, my sweet. If I was in Bassorine’s boots, I would not be as forgiving for the trick you played.”

Lasidious looked at her belly, smiled, and then frowned again. “You know I would lie to you if I could. It’s not natural for me to be so honest … even with you. Like I’ve said on a thousand occasions, I would never have drank your potion if it wasn’t for your intoxicating beauty.”

After a brief period of reflection, Lasidious continued, “Who am I kidding? Being with you is the best thing for me. Drinking your potion has given me not only you, but our baby as well. I can’t wait until our baby is strong enough to tip the scales of power. It will be awe inspiring to rule the others without voting.”

The goddess smiled. A dark intent was hidden behind her luscious lips. “Sometimes we must give in order to get, my pet. You’re fortunate that I found you irresistible, or I would not have required you to drink my potion.” She patted her belly. “With our baby’s power and the beasts of the worlds who serve me supporting us, we’ll be unstoppable. The Council of Dragons will be a powerful army against the others when our child is strong enough to force them into battle. We will rule without opposition.”

Lasidious nodded in agreement. “The last vote we had, I was worried the others would discover you were with child.” Pulling a chair from under the table, the Mischievous One took a seat and placed his ear against her belly. “I sat through that entire meeting nervous to the point of making myself sick. If they ever find out, you know the Book will punish us. The consequences of being made mortal are more than I care to deal with. I don’t wish to be banished from Ancients Sovereign. To perish before our son saw the end of his first season would be so … so ... so permanent.” Lasidious paused. A look of concern appeared on his face. “What if our other plan fails?”

Celestria sighed, “If our initial plan doesn’t succeed, the alternate is secure.” She reached down and rubbed his back. “I also don’t want to lose what is ours.” Grabbing her lover’s chin, she lifted his head and found his eyes. “Our baby will wield power far greater than the others. We needn’t worry about that. Why else would we have spent thousands of seasons plotting. We have nothing to fear. They’re solid.” She bent down and kissed Lasidious. “Have faith, my love.”

Lasidious frowned. “How can you be so sure?”

Celestria caressed Lasidious’ hand. “Neither the Book nor the others will be able to do anything to stop us once we succeed. With our power passing into our child, he’ll defend us from the Book.” She squeezed his hand. “Until then, we must stick to the plan and hide the baby from the others. He must live amongst the mortals until he’s old enough to rule.”

Lasidious stood from the chair, walked to the far side of the room and started to pace. “That’s the only part of our plan I don’t like. Sure, our son will defend us from the Book, but if the Book and the others choose to stand united, the battle would be lost until he’s older. Hiding him won’t be easy.”

Celestria responded with renewed vigor. “Hence the need to create diversions, my pet. That’s why you brought George into the worlds. You were right. His heart is filled with greed, and his desire for power will be easily channeled. All we need to do is influence the mortal to seize control of Southern Grayham, and war will follow. This should keep the others’ attention off my pregnancy. They’ll be forced to focus on the havoc.”

“And if he fails?” Lasidious queried.

“We’ll find another mortal. You’ve said it yourself. He’s replaceable.” The goddess changed the subject. “For now, I have news, my pet.” Celestria walked around the table and pulled her lover close. She traced the edge of his lips with her tongue. “I’ve found a family, and they believe a world under our rule will allow them to seek what they’re after.”

“But, of course,” Lasidious responded. “Exactly what are they after?”

“Lands ... titles,” the goddess trivialized. “The usual luxuries simple minds request.”

After a quick grin, the goddess continued. “I shall leave our baby with this family of witches. They are known by the surname Rolfe, from the Clan of Ashdown. The majority of their family is located in the mountain passes of Vesper, near the village of Floren on Luvelles. They were easily influenced, and a deal was struck. But they did have one unusual condition.”

“And this condition was?”

“It was to name the baby, and have him carry their surname until we retrieved the child to bring him to Ancients Sovereign.”

“Did you agree?”

“I did. I agreed only because it shut them up. Besides, if I know you, they won’t be caring for the baby long.” Celestria ran her fingers through Lasidious’ hair. “Do you not approve, my pet?”

“Mortal labels are of little importance,” the Mischievous One responded. He took a moment to taste Celestria’s lips. “Your family of witches will do fine. I could not have done better myself. Luvelles is a wonderful world. It is the best of our creations. I love it.”





Fellow soul ... as your spirited storyteller, I feel I need to tell you a few things. After Lasidious and Celestria created their home beneath The Peaks of Angels, they combined their power to form a shield that keeps the other gods from entering. This barrier of privacy quickly became a source of contention amongst the Collective.

When the Book of Immortality was approached about the matter, it responded by saying, “They have a right to privacy, as long as the Laws of the Gods aren’t broken.” The Book determined the laws had been obeyed, and it felt no wrongdoing. There was no law that stated two gods could not separate themselves from the rest of the Collective.

In response, the others told the Book that they feared Lasidious and Celestria were up to no good, and allowing them to spend their moments alone without governance was a platform for destruction.

The Book, somewhat annoyed, responded by saying, “The consequences of breaking laws should be enough to restrict their actions.” The Book, however, did give a warning, advising Lasidious and Celestria that the privilege of having a barrier around their home would not be allowed to continue if it felt a law break. The Book further threatened, “I’ll send you to join the mortals, and you’ll suffer an expeditious death while your seasons consume you.”

Lasidious and Celestria felt they had covered their tracks well enough to avoid getting caught—or at least they hoped they had. They brushed the threat off and did not let the warning stop their plotting. They knew their plans would take many seasons to develop, and when the moment arrived, everything would be in place. It would be too late for the Book to do anything. The tome would be forced to serve them.

After the Book made its ruling, Lasidious and Celestria watched some of the others pair off and implement the same practice within their own homes, but these couples never lasted. The Book’s ruling took the Collective’s eyes off Lasidious and Celestria, and it turned their attention toward more important matters.

It was in this newly created home where Lasidious and Celestria began plotting more than 11,000 seasons ago. The barrier allowed for their child to be conceived without the Book feeling that a law had been broken. Part of the plan was to keep the fetus from developing inside Celestria’s womb until the moment was right. But this was not Lasidious and Celestria’s only child. They considered every being they created to be their children, and some of them were nearly 10,000 seasons old.

Fellow soul ... I feel I must make one last point—though it will not make sense at this moment. The Book of Immortality was bound by one rule that superseded all others. The tome had to maintain a godly hierarchy above all else, but it had to do it without stripping the free will of the members of the Collective.

Enough of my rambling. Back to the story.





“Luvelles is a wonderful hiding place for our baby,” Lasidious said, gazing longingly at Celestria. “After all, this is where the others agreed to place the Source. I have no doubt we can use this to our advantage.”

Lasidious turned toward a large, cube-shaped cut in the wall that served as a fireplace. Green flames burned inside it as he stared at their wild movement before he turned his attention back to his goddess. “The decision you made to put our son in Floren is perfect. That village is full of magic. The air smells of it. Your decision offers me comfort.”

The Mischievous One rubbed his hands together. “Wonderful devastations happen in Floren often, and the moments filling its days are riddled with magical disasters. It’ll be difficult for the Collective to sense our son’s presence in such a place.”

Lasidious thought a moment longer about the Book of Immortality. “The more I think about it, the witches are acceptable ... for now. But we should keep our options open.” Facing his goddess, the Mischievous One added, “I’m so glad you were of elven descent before you ascended, or our son would not have the features necessary to live on Luvelles.”





Fellow soul ... Luvelles was a world where only elves, halflings, and spirits were allowed to reside according to the Agreement of the Gods. Any other race, if not one of these three, had to have special permission from the Head Master of Luvelles, Brayson Id, to study the arts on this world. Yes, there were beasts, giants, demons, and other beings living there, but these races were not listed on the agreement. The gods had separated and applied rules as to where each of the following races lived: elves, humans, barbarians, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, trolls, spirits, and finally, the dragons. There was also another name for the dragons that I shall describe in further detail later, but this is not the proper series of moments for this revelation.

Only four of the five planets created were allowed to contain more than one of these designated races. Every other creature could quite possibly be found on them all—though the highest concentration of demons was found on Dragonia, and many of them were good and honest beings.





“Your elven parents blessed us with the ability to make the perfect, little halfling,” Lasidious boasted.

Celestria and Lasidious laughed together for a moment before Celestria’s thoughts changed course. “Where’s George? He should’ve been here by now.”

Lasidious grinned and waved his hand across the wall opposite the fireplace. The rock turned transparent, revealing George on the other side. It looked as if the human was falling, tumbling without an end to his suffering. His hair moved as if a great wind was passing through it, and his expressions were wonderfully miserable.

“He can’t see us,” Lasidious chuckled. “I should’ve told you he was here. I wanted him to experience the sense of falling for a bit longer. He deserved the experience of an awful fright.”

Lasidious mocked the look on George’s face and then turned back to his lover. “As soon as you leave, I’ll implement the next part of my plan. I’m going to tell George about a map that was lost by the Serpent King, Sotter.”

“Oh my,” Celestria responded. “Sotter was a favorite of mine.” The goddess turned and waved her hand across the room. Flowers filling the vases vanished and were replaced with fresh flora. Satisfied, she continued. “I helped Sotter realize the opportunity to go after the throne of the Serpent King. His heart was almost as dark as your own.

“When Sotter took the throne, I knew he would make me proud. When he died, his death bothered me. That poor snake lost all his memories before he passed. That wonderful mind went to waste.”

Lasidious circled behind Celestria and kissed the nape of her neck. “It’s always hard to lose the children who make us most proud. I’m sorry for the pain Sotter’s death caused you.”

Celestria turned to look at her heart’s desire. Her sorrow for Sotter vanished as quickly as it appeared. “I know of this map. Wasn’t the reward it promised created for the dwarves on Trollcom? Wasn’t it Lictina who created these items over 4,000 seasons ago? I was told the map was supposed to lead a group of dwarves to a staff. Lictina must have been exceedingly bored if she expected to be entertained by such a meaningless journey.”

Lasidious’ excitement grew. “Sotter killed the dwarves and took the map … but the snake lost it.”

Celestria’s brows furrowed, “Really? That doesn’t make sense. Why would Sotter want a map that led to a staff? It’s not like he could hold it and speak the commands to control whatever power it possessed.”

The goddess giggled. “Can you imagine, my pet? To watch a Serpent King mumble the words with the staff tucked behind his fangs? How ridiculous.”

Lasidious drummed his hands along the table. “I was the one who told Sotter about the map. Don’t you see? Who do you think gave Sotter the idea that the map’s treasure would grant him power? I never told him it was a staff he couldn’t use. If I had, he would not have gone for it. It was greed, and his desire to force all serpents into his service that made him go. All I did was suggest he go alone ... especially since his advisors often conspired to take his throne from him. I told him he deserved power without competition.

“Celestria, you of all the gods should know everything about Sotter. What was the main weakness of the Serpent Lord? I know you remember. What was the one truth his bloodline kept from the rest of the Serpent Kingdom … the one thing that had to be kept secret to prevent an uprising? You mentioned it a moment ago.”

Celestria thought a bit. “Ahhhh ... his memory failed him, and he forgot all things short-term when he slept. I think I understand what you did, my sweet.” She grinned, closed the gap between them and then pinched his cheek. As the goddess continued to speak, her hands wandered. “You counted on that fact, didn’t you? You knew his short-term memory would cause him to hide the map and forget what he did with it. That was clever, my love. So where’s the map?” She pinched the Mischievous One’s behind. “Your devious mind is so conniving.”

Lasidious enjoyed the goddess’ pleasure. “I’m the only member of the Collective who knows the map’s location. Sotter was exhausted after killing the dwarves. I kept him awake for over 3 Peaks prior to the attack. I wanted to ensure that he slept.”

Lasidious spun around and flopped into a chair. “After the bloodshed, Sotter slithered to the Pool of Sorrow, removed a large boulder from the base of a tree and then put the map into the hole.

“From a distance, I watched the serpent slither up the tree and fall asleep. When the Serpent King awoke in the morning, he couldn’t remember why he was there, or that he ever had the map. It’s still there today, and after all these seasons, the others have forgotten about it as well … except me.”

Celestria leaned over and kissed Lasidious on the tip of his nose. “How great are you, my pet?” she purred as her hand cupped the backside of his head to play with his hair.

Lasidious enjoyed the moment, and then he looked past Celestria at George. “Are you going to suggest to the demon-cat that traveling with George will be key to the life he desires?”

“Oh, yes, yes, yes, my love. I think Kepler would make a wonderful travel companion.” Celestria grinned. “If he doesn’t devour him first, of course. I worry Kepler will test him.”

Taking a seat on Lasidious’ lap, the goddess leaned in and bit the top of his ear. “Nonetheless, I shall work on the suggestion and see that Kepler is influenced. Let’s manipulate them to meet at the pool 3 Peaks from now.”

Lasidious nodded. “If the cat kills George, then so be it. We still have another mind to influence, but we should do what we can to save this one. When the moment is right, George will be our best option for success.”

The Mischievous One rubbed his hand across Celestria’s stomach. “Just make sure you stay out of sight from the others. You’re beginning to show.”

Celestria pushed Lasidious’ head back. She responded only after a kiss followed. “I knew I chose you for a reason. You’re the smartest of all the gods.” She kissed him again, but during this moment, she added a taste of her tongue. “I’ll leave you now, my sweet. You should get the mortal underway.”

The goddess chuckled. “George is going to have a heart attack when he meets his first undead demon-jaguar. I hope the poor guy gareshes his pants.”

Celestria leaned into Lasidious again and brushed her cheek against his. She whispered into his ear, using her sexiest voice, “Goodbye, my most desirable devil-god.” With that, the goddess vanished, leaving behind the echoes of her laughter reverberating throughout the room.

Lasidious marveled at the sensuality of her departure before he turned his attention back to George. “Let the games begin. You’re about to start the adventure that will be your new life.”

The God of Mischief reached into the pocket inside his tunic and produced a picture. Holding it up, he added, “Well, Abbie, I hope your daddy is ready for this. I can’t wait until he learns about the prize hidden inside the staff … assuming he isn’t dead before he gets the chance.”