Scott J. Karr
Introduction
The war was devastating. Not even a single village was spared from its destruction. The armies of every known kingdom marched against each other, not one was about to show any mercy to another. No alliances were formed or even offered and before long, what had begun as a simple conflict of beliefs quickly became a slaughter. If you had asked any soldier of any army how the war had begun, he would not have been able to tell you the true tale, for it had been lost as quickly as any friendships between the kingdoms. Not even the kings and monarchs could recall how the conflict started. The only thing they did know was the so-called purpose of the war. They were at war to prove which God was the greatest.
For longer than any of them could remember, they had known of the many different Gods that ruled over them, but not once had they been told which God reigned over the others. When the question was finally brought up, each kingdom claimed that their God was the ruler of the other Gods. Due to the fact that every kingdom worshiped a separate God, no two kingdoms could agree on the matter and before long, the seeds of war began to sprout. The kingdoms began to march against each other, while the Gods themselves watched high above them. It was not uncommon for the Gods to intercede or make their presence known to the humans, but this time, they decided instead to watch, much like a child might watch two stray animals fight. Although they would not voice it, they found the entire idea rather amusing and wished to see how it would turn out, rather than interrupt it. A few even began to squabble amongst each other, their pride or vanity causing them to make the same question the humans had. But, unlike the humans, they already knew the answer of who ruled them, and most of the squabbles were reduced to hushed whispers of boasting amongst each other.
As the others watched with glee and unwavering curiosity, one God felt pity. Unlike his brethren, he saw his followers not like toys, but more like pets and it brought him sadness to watch them fight and die so needlessly. Going against the silent vow they had made not to interfere, the God chose the three best warriors of the army that worshiped him and gave them each an elemental power. Believing the best could only be judged by skill alone, he chose the strongest, the bravest and the smartest of the entire army.
To the strongest, a behemoth of a man named Gor, he granted the elemental power of fire. For the bravest, a stunning beauty named Nyra, he granted the elemental power of ice. And to the smartest, a leader and strategist named Lox, he granted the elemental power of the earth itself. Had the God chosen the three with the purest of hearts rather than the strongest of skills, things would have likely become better than worse. For as it turned out, the three he had chosen were in fact the three with the blackest of hearts and it did not take them long to show their true nature after receiving their gifts.
The mindless brute Gor, as it turned out, had grown to enjoy giving pain to others. Although originally satisfied with simply killing his enemy, once he gained his power, he wished to kill everything living around them. As for Nyra, her hatred had always stemmed toward men, her kindness reserved only for women. As cold as she was beautiful, she made men beg at her feet before killing them without mercy. Lox, however, was by far the worst of the three. Having come to the conclusion long ago that the Gods were too petty to rule, he ultimately decided that he would be the best man to do so in their place. His false worship of his God was revealed the moment he was given his gift and denounced the God’s name and rule to the entire army. Lox’s philosophy was simple - follow him or die before his feet. It was Lox alone who was able to control the beast that was Gor and temper the living anger that was Nyra, making them his loyal and obedient generals. And for that reason, it appeared for a time that he was unstoppable.
Lox dared the Gods to stop him as the three of them marched upon battlefield after battlefield, destroying anything that stood in their path. Ultimately, Lox’s dare was answered, as the Gods finally realized that their intervention was unavoidable. Using their powers together, they repaired the damage to the kingdoms and the lands that Lox had destroyed; trying their best to erase all that had occurred. Even the God of the Underworld and Death herself agreed to help by releasing the souls of Lox’s innocent victims so that they may finish their lives as intended. As for the three themselves, the Gods decided that merely sending them to the Underworld was not enough.
Most of them were angry at Lox’s attempt to ridicule their power and convinced the others that the only course of action was a punishment worse than death. It was decided then that they would be cast far underground, beneath the Earth’s surface, to the place that belongs to neither the Earth nor the Underworld. The place that some call Purgatory is where they were banished, a barren and lifeless land. Although the Gods knew very little of this land, they did know two very important facts. The first was that Death and Epoch, the God of Time, had no dominion there and therefore, they would be unable to age or die. And second, that they knew of nothing else that could live there, which allowed them to believe the three would wander the barren wasteland for eternity, finding no rest, no pleasure, no comfort and no release. In the end, as the three make their way across this Purgatory, unaware of where they are or where they are going, we find that the story of Lox and his campaign against the Gods has come to a close. Our story, however, has only just begun.