Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis [14]
The two were rivals and generally despised each other, but now they sat side by side. Svanses was also the goddess of revenge. Akaria, furious over her twin sister’s death, had allied herself with her foe.
Volindril, Goddess of Spring, had once been beautiful, with golden hair and green eyes, but now she was faded, pale and sad and frightened, cloaked in sorrow, grieving.
The god who raised his mug to Aylaen was Joabis, God of the Feast, pleasure, wine, and practical jokes. Joabis had been invited to join Torval when the god took over the world, for Torval was fond of feasting and merriment. Joabis was fat and jolly and no one took him seriously. Everyone thought him harmless, though those who had imbibed too much ale in the night often cursed him in the morning.
Two gods, brother and sister to Torval, sat at the end of the table. Gogroth, who was god of the World Tree, and Freilis, Goddess of the Talley, ruler of the Nethervarld, the realm of the dead. Gogroth had planted the World Tree at Torval’s command. The tree’s branches extended into heaven. The tree’s roots reached deep in the Nethervarld. Torval’s vast hall was made from the wood of the World Tree. The Norns, the three sisters, sat beneath the World Tree, spinning the wyrds of men.
Freilis, clad in dark armor and carrying the Sword of Retribution, ruled over the dead. She stalked the battlefield, taking the Talley, sending the souls of the heroic dead warriors to join Torval in his hall, there to feast with their womenfolk throughout eternity and, if need arose, join Torval in heavenly battle. Freilis took to her realm the souls of children, men and women who had died of illness or old age, and the souls of those who died dishonored. The latter were chained to rocks, to be tormented by her daemons that embodied their crimes.
Then Aylaen knew who was missing: Sund, the God of Stone, foresight, and history, thought and contemplation. A friend of Torval, Sund had been invited to help govern creation because of his ability to see through the tangled wyrds into the myriad futures of gods and men. If Sund was gone, the gods were blind.
As blind as man.
“Where is he?” Aylaen asked in sudden fearfulness.
“Sund will be here,” said Torval firmly.
Vindrash said nothing to contradict him, but her eyes flickered. Her face was pale.
Aylaen sensed her fear, and her own soul shrank in terror.
“Why did you take Garn from me?” she cried out. “Why did you send winter’s cold to ruin my springtime?”
“We did not,” said Vindrash.
Aylaen heard the wind howling outside the Hall like some awful beast, smelling fresh blood, trying to batter its way inside. She felt again the bite of cold, and she looked at those seated around the table, and there was the goddess of the wind and the goddess of the snow and the god of night. All wore armor that was battered and dented. All carried swords. All except the god of the feast, who chuckled drunkenly and quaffed his wine.
Aylaen stared at the gods in horrified realization.
“Why are you here? Outside the storm rages and the dark night reigns. What is happening?”
“Simple,” said Joabis, pouring himself another drink. “We are getting our godly asses kicked.”
Torval swore at the god in anger. “At least some of us fought our foes—”
“And two of you are dead,” said Joabis snidely.
“Sund is not dead!” Torval roared, louder than the wind. “He will be here.”
Taking off his helm, Torval flung it on the floor. His iron gray hair fell about his face. He looked very old and very tired. “Sund will be here.”
Vindrash came to her husband and rested her head upon his shoulder. He grasped her hand and held it fast, pressing it against his wrinkled cheek. The other gods looked down at the table or into their mugs, anywhere except at Torval. All except Joabis, who poured wine into a mug.
She recoiled from him in disgust, and he smiled and drank the wine himself.
“If you ask me, my dear,” Joabis said in a confidential whisper, his breath stinking of wine, “the old man’s biggest fear is that Sund is not dead.”
From outside the Hall came the sounds