Chapter 43: Epilogue

The two lone riders, sitting astride their black horses, looked down in silence on the valley below.

In front of them, the Derimar jungle stretched toward the horizon, an almost unbroken sea of vegetation so deep green it was nearly blue. The humid air covered the rainforest in a thick white mist, lying like a blanket over the distant hills, with only the highest mountains protruding above it.

The only thing marring the natural beauty was the small village on the valley floor, its huts clustered like giant bamboo anthills. Surrounding it, and stretching to the dark edge of the forest beyond, were a multitude of shallow, brown rice paddies, filled with green plants thriving in the humid heat.

Holding the reins tightly in his iron-clad hands, the rider on the left wore heavy black armor covered in spikes, his entire body concealed. Around him, a stench of death permeated the air, as if he was alive, yet already dead. To his right, a young woman sat on her horse, wearing a blue coat embroidered with silver and gold over black pants, fastened with detailed clasps of glimmering bronze. Behind her, an expensive blue cape fluttered in the wind. Her long blonde hair was styled in multiple braids, woven together and encircling her head, atop which she wore a golden headband, as if it were a crown.

Slowly, they began to ride down the slope toward the valley floor. At the sight of them striding into the village, silence fell over the streets. Mothers rushed to gather their children, ushering them into the nearest huts and closing the doors behind them. Fathers and young men watched in silence, their expressions more telling than words could ever be. Standing in small groups in the corners, they watched the arrival of the Knight Eternal and the Dark Flame in silence, slowly chewing stimulant-filled leaves and occasionally spitting the remains onto the ground.

No one made any move to attack. No stones were thrown, and no cries of resistance rose into the thick jungle air. The peasants who had survived the fighting were already broken, resigned to receiving their new overlords.

For the past few months, the Agerians had rolled across the savannah of western Derimar like locusts. Once the army had crossed the Cold Edge, nothing was able to stop it. Fueled by Mardocar’s strength, they took what they wanted and sacrificed what they could, leaving only blood and pain in their wake, and just enough survivors to sustain the occupying armies of the Empire. Now, they had begun making inroads into the eastern jungles.

A middle-aged Derimar woman stood in the street to meet the two riders, wearing a simple, rough tunic, her graying blonde hair tied into two thick braids down her back. Careful not to offend the new arrivals, she lowered her eyes in deference as the agents of the Agerian Empire stopped before her.

“Mother,” Soria greeted the woman, her voice as cold as her eyes.

“Welcome, Dark Flame,” the older Tolmar said, her response stilted and formal, as if she were unsure how to talk to her own daughter. “We have prepared the communal hut according to your wishes.”

She turned to the Knight Eternal, bowing her head. “All that we have is yours, my lord. Glory be to the Lion.”

“Glory be to the gods,” Sir Pelam replied, his voice a menacing growl from within his black helmet.

“Now bow before Mardocar, god of strength and genocide,” he continued, adressing the villagers assembled behind the Derimar Flow Walker. “Bow before Patera, god of healing and torture. Worship the gods of the world, and your flesh will become a sweet sacrifice to them.”

As he spoke, two beings appeared in the sky, towering above the village, larger than any man and shining as brightly as the sun, their faces more beautiful than words could describe, their clothes white as snow and adorned with ornaments of the purest gold and clearest rubies.

Patera clapped her hands, her giddy voice echoing menacingly across the village, the strength of it ruffling the palm leaves that covered the roofs of the huts.

“This is going to be so much fun!”

Author's Note

Thank you for reading Echoes of Fallen Gods! If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider giving it a like.

Now that you've finished reading this book, you might also be interested in the companion short story Defender - Variel's Story.

Now also available as a free audiobook: https://www.youtube.com/@LordsOfTheStars