The holy Anchor of Ocidon, Fiorino Stormwave woke in his office and immediately moved through his High Temple giving orders right and left as he headed to the vault situated under the altar. He opened the well hidden door and entered. Trembling he lifted the sheet and looked at the painting below. He gulped and lowered the sheet again. Yes it was as he remembered. Praise Ocidon!

Locking the vault once again he hurried to ensure that everything would be ready for the second blow in the war of the gods. It had to be strong and decisive.

Goran the wily, General of Ocidon’s guard was grinning fiercely, joy burning in his breast. It would seem the time was now he would be alive to see the start of the war of the gods. The High Temple of Vortexius Blackbeard would be difficult but he was sure his forces could crack it. He was only worried that his forces would be too weak to defend the temple afterward.

* * *

Belatrix Anchor of the Deep woke in front of the altar of his temple and hurried to check that painting in the temple’s secret vault. It was, he had remembered right! Praise Ocidon! Then Belatrix too spat orders left and right and prepared his forces to move out.

* * *

Meanwhile in Drakoton Harr’kardos the merchant and priest of Vortexius Blackbeard was leading his men through the streets while Lucretia’s people looted his house bare of treasures.

Certain of surprise Harr’kardos led his men, all seventy, in a charge into the temple of Ocidon. Captain Haz’asfad having been forewarned was ready but his forces were inadequate and he was slowly forced back as the priest of Vortexius used his magic to aid his men.

It all fell apart for Harr’kardos when Captain Hunter led his thirty two marines into the back of his little army while Captain Fisher blocked any chance of escape with her people.

Si’Tran the high priest was allowed a visit to Ocidon’s throne room where he noted one change then he woke to fling himself sitting in one of the pews of his inner sanctum and the sounds of fighting.

Captain Haz’afsad personally removed Harr’kardos’ head from his shoulders and found himself in a quandary. The intruders were fellow worshipers but they were an organised armed band owing loyalty to another power. A power allied to his god, but...

Then High Priest Si’Tran shocked him and with his words of welcome. What he said let him and all who heard that the prophesised war of the gods had started and that they had fought in its first skirmish.

* * *

Robin and Danny with another four of their siblings were ducking in and out of the low lying clouds as they overflew the pirate fleet. Then what they had been awaiting occurred, the pirate’s air force took to the air and flew towards the islands. Mother had been right they stayed close to the ocean, flying barely high enough to be out of range of a heavy crossbow.

They waited until they were out of sight of the fleet then following Mother’s orders they put themselves between the sun and the flying mages and dived down out of the sun, their best offensive spells ready to cast and their sea wyverns horns sparking and glowing with their accumulated charge.

They attacked in pairs, three sets of two wyverns one following the other, each pair targeting one mage and his steed.

The only survivor of the first pass was the wyvern born mage and both were hurt, the wyvern had lost altitude and was barely skimming the surface when one of Mother’s giant sea snakes struck flashing from under the surface, its fangs cutting through the wyvern’s scales as if they didn’t exist.

All that remained was the empty ocean.

* * *

Mary lounged in her chair and smiled and shared a few words with her ‘folk as they passed and stepped through Ocidon’s gates to his scattered temples, sometimes only four but often more. The largest contingent went to the High Temple in Ocean’s Glory. She noted with interest that most of her experimental lasers went there.

She had a sudden thought and grinned crookedly and signalled to Captain Robin Goodfellow to stay behind with his ‘folk. Robin who had been looking forward to action somewhat reluctantly moved to stand behind Mary.

“Oh don’t worry Robin, you’ll have your fun but I intend to send you and a few other ‘folk to burn that beep’s shrine in the city state of Folding Deep, make sure your laser’s charged.”

Captain Goodfellow grinned, relieved, “you can count on us Mother.”

« They will need one of my priests to make it official, Faaron how would you like to accompany the nice tigers? »

Faaron who had been watching the proceedings glumly while rubbing his much broken nose brightened up and eagerly volunteered to accompany the ‘nice tigers’ as he scurried to join Captain Goodfellow’s squad.

* * * INTERLUDE 1 * * *

The vast space seemed to carpeted with clouds while the walls and ceiling were indeterminate but luminous, lounging on a grey low cloud was Mirabelarque current Chairbeing of the New Gods, on xyrs right sitting in an armchair made of snow and brushing icicles out of his long white beard was the Frost King God of Winter and the Northern and Southern Ice Fields. Also present were Azurea, Delminia, Vortexius Blackbeard, Feltax and Creevar.

“We are here to mourn the passing of our colleague Dragoor Magma Heart, god of Summer and Volcanoes who was foully slain by the gods of Diavlo for his unfortunate miscalculation while holding the post of chief god of that unfortunate world.”

“Well we don’t have to avenge him as those gods died with their world,” said Vortexius.

“Yes indeed. But Frost King you have to do something, Parthia is following the path of Fragatta. We, none of us could remain here if Parthia becomes another iceball from pole to pole,” grumbled Azurea.

“Correct, and if we bugger up another world like we did Fragatta and Diavlo the High Gods are bound to take notice and we’ll all be fucked,” stated Delminia goddess of Pleasure and Lust.

“Well I just think I’ll follow Azurea’s example and grab a few beings who specialise in weather and climate change and plant them around the poles but I won’t wipe their memories,” said Frost King.

“Good luck that Frost,” said Azurea with a nasty grin as she recalled with a shudder the memory of that God that had been waking as she escaped with her loot and had led to all that nervous giggling.

“What about Tarifax and Ambuila, are Azurea’s dungeons doing us any good there?” asked Feltax.

“They seem to be doing some good on Ambuila, Tarifax seems to be degenerating into a hell of never ending swamps. Life might be difficult but its not in danger of extinction.” Said Mirabelarque.

“And just what are you up to Creevar? Trying to mend bridges with the Old Gods, are you planning to jump ship?” demanded Azurea.

“Just trying to survive sister dear,” smirked Creevar.

* * * INTERLUDE 2 * * *

The death of a massive stroke of Dr Charles Macquarie from the Smithsonian institute whilst working on the island of Maui was on the morning news. According to the news presenter he had been studying some tiny dinosaurs.

“Oh beep, what idiot gave that to the press, I wanted the naturalists to go potty not the mob!” exclaimed Mary to herself as she made scrambled eggs for breakfast.

“What was that dear, and what did you have to do with those dinosaurs Mary Jane Silvestre?” asked her mother.

“Oh beep!”

“And why are you always saying beep, I admit it’s nicer than before but it is odd?”

Mary sat down across the breakfast table from her mother and placed a bowl with the eggs on the table between them, took a gulp of coffee and started, “well it started on Fiji when I started seeing these blue screens and Bluey started communicatin’ with me, then...”

When she finished her explanation she waited nervously for her mother’s reaction.

“Honestly Mary why haven’t you said anything earlier, I wondered where those blue screens had come from. Your story is very far fetched but the creatures do exist though they haven’t found the Deinonychus yet or the Saber Tooth. First thing though is to call in and take a day off, the riots are a good excuse, and then we are going to see that new lawyer you dug up and we’re dragging your father along too.”