Chapter 1

Axlan’s Point of View

Let me tell you a story about gods and monsters. Namely the former and how they disguised themselves to seem less like the latter. This story isn’t just a story, you see. It was the truth. Reality that became a rumor. Myth. Legend. But it was true, you see.

Humans always had this funny way of playing off what really took place. People in power threw dirt over it to try and get the masses to follow what they wanted to believe. Sheep and wolves. An endless game of tug of war.

Yet I will always remember where this story started. With the goddess of spring and her undying love for everything and everyone around her. Including her love for her lonely heart.

The air was brisk for an early spring morning. All the animals in the forest had quieted down. Became part of the dull drum of the rest of the world. This was my everyday life, although I knew it was illegal to be doing what I was doing this time of year. It didn’t matter.

Food was scarce and the crops weren’t ready. My family would die if I didn’t hunt right away. The goddess of spring had forbidden the hunt at the start of every spring. Knew that it would be detrimental to the animal population if everyone hunted at this time of the year.

No one dared cross the infamous goddess.

Renowned for her beauty and grace. Kindness. Trilling laugh. I never met her personally but she seemed faker than most people. No one was that pleasant. Not even the wealthiest of men. Everywhere I went, people would admire her. I would only scoff.

A twig broke a few yards in front of me. Knocking on an arrow, I swung the bow in that direction. Aimed true at the large deer in front of me. This would be enough meat to last us at least another two weeks if we worked with it properly. Get some of the women of the lake to lay the meat in salt.

My mouth watered as I let the arrow fly. With a gentle buck and hiss, the large deer fell. It only took me three seconds to get to it. No time to waste with hungry mouths to feed.

***

As always, I tried to avoid the main road of our village. There were guards everywhere. Another little addition of the goddess. She claimed they were here to keep the peace but most of them took bribes in the dog fighting rings.

Animals were sacred my ass.

So, I took a side road. Dodged behind the bakery. Waved at a pleasant-looking girl on the other side of the discarded road. Braced for the sweet smell of cooking meat. Just for someone to walk into my line of sight. Two of them.

Then three.

All of them wore armor. Had the crests of a wolf on their chests. An odd symbol for the goddess of spring but no one seemed to question it. Some speculated that she was more than just a joyous goddess of flowers and fun. That she was more. Those rumors were always quickly dealt with by the other reigning gods.

“Look what we have here boys. Someone brought us a fresh meal. How kind of him.” The older of the three mocked.

I grit my teeth and readjusted the deer on my shoulders. They were the kind of guards that took bribes. Blackmailed most of the citizens in town. The worst kind of man. At least my dear sister hadn’t gotten married to one of them. Had chosen a nice lumberjack.

“Please get out of my way,” I said. Knew they wouldn’t but tried regardless. These brutes listened to no one but themselves. And the clinking of coins.

“Make us, mongrel.” The shortest of the three spat. I narrowed my eyes at him and heaved the deer from my shoulders.

The carcass gave a sickening thud on the dirt. It was going to take my mother an age and a half to get the pelt clean because of it. But I needed my hands free to deal with these cunts.

When I didn’t back down, they all came at me at once. I was quick to draw my bow. Quicker still to fire off a single arrow before the first guard got to me. My bow clanged to the cobbled road whilst my arrows remained steady on my back.

His brother-in-arms cried out from the pain. Yet I was already busy unsheathing my hunting dagger. Gripped it backward in my hand.

When the man finally collided with me, all I had to do was swing my arm backward. The dagger caught him between the links of his armor. Another piercing scream ran through my ears. Sang to the wild side of my heart.

It only urged me to move faster. Drive the dagger in deeper.

With the second man clutching his side in pain, the third looked at the situation. I could see him assess it. Assess me.

His eyes sparked but not at me. At something behind me.

When I twisted around, I noticed them. Back up.

Not the kind of guards that would take bribes but the kind that would drag me to the goddess herself. Their words were already free. Eyes glinted with vengeance.

I had downed two of their brothers, you see. So, my punishment wouldn’t just include hunting in the off-season.

Death. Maybe even torture.

Holding up my hands, I dropped the dagger not too far away from where my bow was. Spat on the ground in front of the men. My last act of defiance.

“Fine. Fucking take me.” I hissed and they rushed in.

Being dragged through the streets of your home city by guards held a bit more humiliation than I had initially thought it would.

People looked down at me with pity. Some turned to whisper about me. All of their eyes burned holes into my flesh. Made me feel exposed. Wrong.

Gone was the silence of the forest. The cover it provided.

Here, I was on display, all the way to the temple far on the hill overlooking this paradise. Or would be paradise, if it wasn’t for the shitty part of town that I came from.

The cobblestones that ran to the temple were pristine. Washed twice daily, it encouraged more people to go visit the goddess of spring inside her home. Encouraged more offerings, even from the poorest of souls.

There, I knew, she had much to learn about.

Goddess of spring. Someone pure and kind.

 A front. That’s what it was.

Just an image. Because if she truly was this kind person, then wouldn’t she rather have the city cleaned twice daily and not just her cobblestones? Not just the road that led to her wealth and glamor?

Once we reached the large golden doors to the temple, most of the eyes that were previously on me, vanished. No one dared look at this scourge of a man on his way to meet his maker. On his way to face the music he had composed himself.

No one would listen if I told them I had done it for my family. That we were going hungry and barely had enough food to keep one of us alive.

Not all four. Never all four.

They would simply ask why I hadn’t gotten out to find work. The thing was. I had. Multiple times. I did odd jobs here and there. Tried to bring in as much money as possible but with my father’s illness-

“She is in session. What is the nature of this visit?” One of the guards asked that stood beside the golden door.

Like the door, their armor was made of golden metal. Gold fused with steel. Or something of the sort. If I had one of those, I could feed my family for a thousand years, if we worked with the money well enough.

Yet here the spring goddess was, squandering it on her most elite guards.

Never looking after her people.

“He hunted in the sacred forest. The punishment-“

From behind the doors came a soft voice. Bells that chimed throughout the day. Soft. Lilting. A breath of fresh fucking air.

I wanted to vomit.

“Let him in. I already caught wind of this infringement.” The voice swept across my ears in a gush of heat.

Every muscle in my body tightened. Became a nervous coil.

And just like that, the golden doors opened. The sound of moaning men and women hit me next. Enveloped me.

My cheeks burned a glowing red the moment I noticed the scene in front of me.

Bodies wormed together. Naked. Writhing like snakes in grass. Even the smell was unlike anything I had ever smelt before.

At the head of it all, a goddess made of moonlight itself.

The picture of beauty. Long almost white hair, draped in curls and braids. A golden circlet atop her head. Flowing golden gown.

Yet, I still felt the same. She seemed fake. Especially when she gave me her serpentine smile.

“I have been expecting you,” She murmured and stood. “Come. Join me.”