Realm of Gods

Even though Zduhach, Milena, and Dragomir had each entered through a door in a separate dimension, they all fell out through the same opening in the trunk of an old oak.

The door behind them disappeared as they hit the ground. But the ground wasn’t hard. The grass was green, every blade the same length, as if the ground had been woven from cloth rather than grown from soil.

The oak had ten symmetrical roots. The branches on the lowest level were the thickest but all of the same size. Each tier above was proportionally thinner than the one below.

Not a single leaf was torn, yellowed, or blemished.

The wind blew every three seconds as if someone controlled it.

The sky had no burning star, yet everything was clear.

To the right of the enormous oak grew exactly ten rows of lilies of the valley, each containing exactly five flowers, all the same size.

Milena had the cleanest landing, coming down on Zduhach’s back. She stood up and placed her hand on the oak. The tree bark wasn’t rough. In fact, it was smoother than her skin. It was a warm brown color and it smelled like spring.

“Where are we?” she asked.

The birds kept singing as if welcoming the guests of honor.

“This is Prav.” Dragomir looked into the distance. “The realm of gods.”

The Little Table, Zduhach’s arrows and Milena’s shoes were all there, despite having been missing before.

Zduhach mumbled, touching his back. He set one foot on the road. It wasn’t dusty or rocky, nor was it made of hardened soil. Instead, its surface was dark bluish-gray and strangely hard. The sole of Zduhach’s boot made a sharp tapping sound against it.

Thin lines ran across the road like cracks. Except they weren’t cracks at all. They were too precise, as though countless tiny stones had been pressed together and somehow bound into a single surface.

“So, what do we do now?” Zduhach crouched down, inspecting the road with an arrow. The tip of the arrow couldn’t pierce the surface.

“First of all, we stop poking at stuff.” Dragomir stood up as well, adjusting the Little Table on his back. “We should look for that Golden Egg that Milena saw.”

As he walked along the road, he expected them to follow. But Milena leaned against the oak, yawning.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t feel tired at all.”

“When was the last time you slept? You haven’t rested since we left Arkona.”

“It’s fine, I can handle it.” Milena pushed away from the oak, ready to set off.

The three of them made their way forward. Dragomir was afraid to bring up the price they had to pay.

“So what did you guys sell to Veles?” Zduhach asked nonchalantly.

“A maiden’s secret.” Milena winked at him.

Dragomir side-eyed her. She looked well enough for him to pry a little. “I went all in,” he said finally.

“Well I was allowed to come here for free!”

“Oh? Is that because of that half-god status of yours?” Milena’s gaze was glued to the road under her feet.

“A maiden’s secret.” Zduhach winked at her.

“It doesn’t work that way…” Dragomir said with a deadpan look.

“But I did end up doing business with that guy anyway!”

Milena and Dragomir stopped. “You what?” they asked at the same time.

“I bought the ability to sleep!”

“To sleep? Do you want to forget me so much?”

“Huh?” Zduhach blinked. “Oh crap!” He slapped a palm against his forehead. “I messed up!”

“Just great, we enter Prav and I already lose an ally…” Dragomir sighed. “But we don’t know how forgetting me is going to affect a half-god.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we will figure something out,” Milena joined in.

“Do you really believe you’ll get stronger if you sleep? Do you trust everything your mother says that easily?” Dragomir remained wary, eyeing every symmetrical tree and every stone structure that looked like a sculpture.

“Of course! Who should you trust if not your parents?”

“Careful with that. Not all parents want the best for their children.” Dragomir stopped.

Zduhach stopped, too. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Hey,” Milena interrupted them. “Don’t you feel like the road keeps… getting longer… and the horizon somehow moves further and further?”

“Yeah, it does feel weird.” Zduhach squinted. “You’ve been here before, so where exactly are we going, Debilmir?”

“Forget everything you know about time and space. They don’t work the same way here as they do in Yav.”

“What does that mean?” Milena asked but suddenly their road was cut off by something that wasn’t there just two seconds ago.

The road connected directly to a door. A door in the center of a huge house. The house wasn’t wooden, and its roof certainly wasn’t thatched with straw.

It looked… clean. Painted. And the roof was made of many thin, brick-like pieces laid over one another.

“Oh, look. Our first destination.” Dragomir knocked on the door and gulped.

The trio waited. Milena and Zduhach stood behind Dragomir, unsure of what to even expect.

The door opened without a creak.

“Heyyy, Dragomir!”

A large man welcomed him.

His size was the first thing one would notice. Then his bare upper body. He wore only heavy-looking pants with a wide iron belt around his waist.

And finally, as if that weren’t enough, he wore a boar’s head like a hat.

“Radegast! Glad you’re doing well!”

Dragomir and Radegast gave each other a quick manly hug, patting each other on the back.

“Come on in, and bring your friends along!” Radegast gestured. “Please, leave your boots here. I just cleaned the house.”

Milena and Zduhach exchanged glances.

“I mean… he looks decent?” Zduhach scratched the back of his head.

They all left their boots by the door as instructed and entered the house.

Inside, everything looked perfectly clean. Everything had its place. On the wall, there were swords and axes on display.

Radegast reached for a bottle of mead atop a stone fireplace.

“Please, have a seat,” he said, pointing at the armchairs. He occupied one near the fireplace. Dragomir sat right next to him, while the other two sat across from them.

Radegast then took three glasses and filled them with the mead. “To good health!”

Zduhach and Milena kept quiet and observed.

Dragomir took his glass and raised it. “To good health!” He gestured with a small nod to his companions.

The two of them raised their glasses, too.

Then Dragomir finished his mead in a single gulp. “Arrghh, that’s good stuff!”

“So how has your life been with that curse of yours?” Radegast smiled.

“Ah, you know. I’ve been better. My father didn’t recognize me, this woman over here beat me up with her shoes more times than I can remember. Not just fun and games, haha!”

“So this is your lover?” Radegast’s gaze traveled from her raven hair and face all the way down to the fingertips wrapped around her glass.

“I prefer being called by my name. But you can call me Princess.” Milena finished the whole glass, too.

“Hahaha! She’s funny!” Radegast nudged Dragomir with his elbow.

Zduhach sniffed the contents of his glass. “I don’t smell any poison, so I guess it’s fine.” He sipped a bit.

“You can smell poison?!” Milena smacked his arm. “Warn us before we actually drink something!”

“Hahaha!” Radegast wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye. “You’ve come across some great people in your life, Dragomir!”

“I know, I’m very lucky.” Dragomir poured himself another glass of mead. “Say, Radegast. Do you still have it?”

“Have what, my dear?” Radegast still couldn’t stop laughing at the duo across from him.

“My axe.”

“Why of course I do! You know that I like collecting weapons! Do you want it back?”

“Yes, I very much do.”

Radegast then stood up and disappeared in another room.

Milena looked Dragomir in the eyes. “I saw this guy at the Golden Egg.”

“Yeah. He’s the God of War and Hospitality. Radegast the Warlord.”

“What a stupid domain. Although, he does appear to be quite hospitile.”

“Do you mean hospitable?” Milena corrected him. “Why are you so friendly with him, Dragomir?”

“Shhh!” Dragomir hushed her as Radegast returned with a massive two-handed axe. Its broad iron blade was slightly curved, the long wooden haft darkened with age.

“Here, I’ve been taking good care of it.” Radegast handed it to Dragomir.

Good care? Right, look at all the rust.

“Are you going to fight me with that now?” Radegast’s voice trembled.

“Of course not, don’t worry.”

“Yeah, I was hoping so. Here in my house, you’re my precious guests after all!” He sank back into the armchair. “But once we’re out, I’ll show you no mercy, you bohatier pests.”

Chapter 21: END