Part 2
When Torodin and Sylvana did not show up for their wedding, the other gods became alarmed and began searching for them. Soltana was the first to come upon the imprisoned form of Sharess. She tried to use her powers to free her daughter, but they had no effect upon Torodin´s magics.And so she summoned her daughter Zitkala. The goddess of lightning zipped eagerly into the clearing."Hello, mother. Is that Sharess? What´s she doing in there? Want me to zap her?""No!" cried Soltana, concerned that the lightning would harm Sharess. "I am waiting for...""I LOVE YOU!" Soltana smiled as Skah, the simple-minded god of thunder, rode up on his herd of magical horses. Zitkala rolled her eyes in disgust and sped away."WHY DOES SHE ALWAYS RUN FROM ME?" Skah asked sadly."Don´t worry, dear. You´ll wear her down eventually. Right now I have a favor to ask of you. My daughter Sharess is imprisoned inside this rock...""I WILL SMASH ROCK.""No! No, don´t do that. Please, just stand very close to it and yell."Soltana covered her ears as Skah obligingly gave a great bellow that rumbled all across the world. The magical rock encasing Sharess crumbled into a pile of dust, leaving behind a stunned and bewildered Sharess."Thank you, dear," Soltana said to Skah. "You may go now.""YOU´RE WELCOME." Skah rode off in pursuit of Zitkala."I don´t know why she runs from him," said Sharess. "He´s awfully cute, and he adores her. And I happen to know for a fact that he´s really good...""Sharess, really!" Soltana snapped. Her daughter´s selfishness was making her very angry. "Tell me what happened here. Where are your father and his bride?"Sharess began to cry. "Oh, mother. It was awful. Sylvana died. And then Othniel told father I made him fall in love with her...""What? Is that true?""I didn´t mean any harm," Sharess protested."You most certainly did. But we´ll deal with you later. What happened to Torodin?""Othniel offered to bring Sylvana back to life if father would be his slave for a century. He agreed, and then they all just vanished."Soltana frowned. She did not like the thought of her gentle brother serving Othniel for a century - the lord of death would surely corrupt him. She had to stop this before it was too late."What are we going to do?" Sharess wailed.Soltana glared at her. "You are going to find a quiet place alone where you can think about what you have done. I will find you later and we will discuss your penance.""But what about the others? Can´t I help?""You´ve done enough," said Soltana. She turned herself into an enormous white dove and flew off, ignoring her daughter as Sharess burst into tears.
Soltana flew to the Underworld. She found Othniel, Athelstan and Torodin in the Soultaker´s throne room. Torodin wore a spiked collar, attached to a heavy chain that Athelstan had wrapped around his wrist. The Torturer laughed and jerked Torodin to his knees as Soltana approached and shifted into her human form.
"Dear sister," Othniel said sweetly. "It has been too long."
Athelstan leered. "Much too long."
Soltana glared at them. "Release Torodin at once. You have no right to enslave another god."
"We have every right," said Othniel. "We had a deal."
"And it´s time you delivered your part of the bargain," said Torodin. "Where is Sylvana?"
"Oh, that´s right. I almost forgot. Sylvana, dear. Come here and greet your beloved."
Torodin´s face lit with joy as he saw a figure moving in the shadows. He would cheerfully endure any amount of pain and humiliation if he could have Sylvana in his arms again.
Then the figure came closer, and Torodin cried out in horror. Sylvana was alive, to a degree. But her eyes were glazed, and she moved stiffly. She was nothing but a walking corpse.
"What have you done?" Soltana cried in horror.
"Do you like her?" asked Othniel. "She´s the first of many. I´m going to call them zombies."
"No!" Torodin cried. Athelstan laughed heartily as the enslaved god burst into tears.
"Our agreement is still valid, brother. For one century, you must do exactly as you are told."
"No, I won´t allow it. This thing is an abomination." Soltana called upon her powers, destroying the living corpse in a blaze of light. Torodin watched sadly as the spirit of his beloved blew him a misty kiss before drifting off towards the heavens.
"That wasn´t nice, sister. You broke my new toy."
"Brother, be reasonable. The others will never let you keep Torodin. Surely there is something I can offer you in return for his freedom?"
Othniel scratched his chin. "Hmm. Tempting offer. But no thanks. I like things the way they are. Come along, slave. I have a few nasty artifacts I need your help to create. Oh, and you know that big lizard Athelstan made -- the basilisk? I thought of a really wonderful power you can give it."
Soltana watched sadly as Torodin followed Othniel away without a word. The Shadowlord´s spirit had been completely shattered by the death of Sylvana. She was startled when she felt a hand brush her cheek, and stepped back when she saw that Athelstan had approached her.
"What do you want?" she asked angrily.
Athelstan smiled. "Othniel might not be willing to deal, but I am. I will free Torodin from his oath of servitude to me, for a price."
Soltana studied Athelstan closely. "I am not afraid of you, brother. You may have hurt me once - don´t think you will live to do so again."
The Torturer grinned. "Much as I would enjoy the attempt, I had something else in mind. The creation of three new gods, to be precise."
"What sort of gods?"
"Does it matter? You are desperate to free, Torodin, I can tell. He and Othniel have more in common than you would like to admit. And after a whole century together... Well, I can tell you, the Soultaker´s influence is very strong. Torodin would never be quite the same."
Soltana winced. She knew that Athelstan spoke the truth. "What do you want from me?"
"Actually, it´s your followers I want a sacrifice from. The life essence of every one of your priests -- just a small bit of it, mind you. I´ll need to borrow from all the ones who serve you now to create my children, and a bit from all of your future priests to sustain them. What say you?"
Soltana hesitated. "You ask a great deal."
"So do you."
The Lady of Mercy realized she had no choice. She knew her followers would gladly accept this sacrifice, even though it would leave them more vulnerable to their enemies.
"Very well. Release Torodin from his oath to you, and you may have a portion of the life essence of all my priests, now and forever."
Athelstan laughed. "Done, sister."
Soltana watched in horror as the promised life essence poured into the room, a cloud of light that shimmered and pulsed. As Athelstan began casting, the energy swirled and began to form three separate shapes. Gradually, the dust settled and three new gods stood before them. Istaqa, the goddess of hatred, batted her long lashes at Soltana and laughed. Handsome and cultured Kos, god of evil, bowed to her. And Chakra, god of murder, went down on one knee.
"Every death," he said softly, "will be in your honor, Lady of Love."
Soltana felt tears spring to her eyes as she saw what evil she had helped to bring to the world. But she controlled herself, not wanting to give Athelstan the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
"Now for your part of the bargain. Release Torodin."
"Very well. He is free of my service. But then, he always was. His servitude is to Othniel alone."
Horrified, Soltana ran off after Torodin. She found him and Othniel surrounded by a pile of evil artifacts they had created.
"Torodin, my brother, help me find a way to free you. There must be a way."
Othniel smiled at her. "Face it sister, you have lost. Torodin, send her away."
Soltana could only watched sadly as Torodin used his powers to send her flying back to the Halls of Truth. Estereal raced to her side.
"My love, what has happened? Are you all right?"
"Yes, my dear. But I have done great evil." Sadly, Soltana told him all that had transpired, and how she had failed to save Torodin.
Estereal summoned all the gods (except Sharess, who was banished from the company of all immortals for one hundred years), but none of them could find a way to free Torodin. Estereal ordered them not to make any more bargains on Torodin´s behalf, for further deception would be their only gain. The gods resigned themselves to Torodin´s loss, except for Jvelto and Azkal, who waged many wars against their evil brothers during the next century.
In the end, however, all their fighting changed nothing. Torodin served Othniel as a slave for a full century. As Soltana had feared, Torodin did become corrupted. When he at last returned home, she was saddened to see the changes in him. Torodin was still kind, and there was much that was good in him. But there was a darker side that had not been there before, and as the years past he even showed occasional streaks of cruelty. Soltana was horrified when the Shadowlord began recruiting evil priests along with the good ones, for he had never done so before.
"My brother, think of what you do."
"I have thought about it," said Torodin. "My priests must be tougher to avoid the traps of our enemies, and having some evil among them will give them an advantage. I won´t see them trapped as I was. I won´t see them fall in love either, for love only brings sorrow. From now on, my servants and my children are forbidden to marry."
Torodin´s angry looked softened a bit when he saw Soltana´s dismay. "Dear sister, you sacrificed much in your attempt to free me. How can I repay you?"
"Forgive our daughter, Sharess. She deeply regrets -"
"No! I will never forgive her."
"But..."
"No, my sister. I am sorry. I will never tolerate her in my presence again. But I will repay my debt. To make up for the strength your followers have lost, I will give them greater ability to hold the forces of magic. You may grant them greater powers, so that they may protect themselves. And I have one more gift for you - something I stole from the Abyss..."
Soltana was confused as Torodin bent to kiss her on the forehead. Suddenly she felt new power and knowledge pour into her.
Torodin smiled. "Now Othniel is not the only one who can raise the dead. I have stolen that power for you, Soltana. You and your followers will be the only ones who can conquer death."