The Accidental Archmage - Book Five Edmund Batara (classic children's novels .TXT) 📖

learns who’s responsible, another war is going to erupt in that part of the continent. The mood in the pantheon of Kemet is patently murderous.”

Tyler could say nothing. He was in shock. Confusion, concern, and fear all mixed in a nasty cauldron of emotions.

Magical coma?  What does that even mean?

“Zeus was right. These are troubled times, and dark clouds have gathered on the visible horizon,” continued the deity, not noticing the mage’s reaction. But despite his dazed mind staggering under the emotional impact of the deity’s disclosure, the mage couldn’t fail to notice the use of the word visible by Odin.

“Can we go see her? asked Tyler, recovering some of his composure.

“I don’t see why not. But Skaney is itself at war. Hellas too. Kemet and the Dual Monarchy are also starting to be affected. You might have heard of the unholy and widespread blight which has affected the northern human realms.”

“A quick trip? You could do that, I know,” said Tyler, his mind focused on visiting Asem.

“I’d like to accommodate you and your companions, but Kemet is a long way from here. Quite the drain on my power, and I am in the middle of a war, as I said. My abilities are being tested. And what help could you offer? She’s already under the best healing hands this world could offer. You, on the other hand, have to make sure she has a familiar world to wake up to,” remarked Odin as he sat down under one of the trees. The mage followed.

“Reminds me of the time I met a young and inexperienced mage,” remarked Odin with amusement.

“A young and inexperienced mage who nearly died. If not for those elementals, I wouldn’t be here.”

“I was hoping you would meet them and elicit their help. Apparently, it did happen,” smiled the deity.

“You knew? And expected it to happen?”

This is a day for shocking—no, appalling—revelations, thought the mage. I feel so used. Again.

“Ah, only Fate could be so knowledgeable about what the future holds. For men and gods, you roll the dice and wait with dread or bated breath what its fickle tumbling would reveal,” answered Odin. “Though Huginn and Muninn helped. A fortunate chance encounter revealed the presence of those beings in the area. I sent them to keep watch on the mountains around Scarburg.”

“Those crows of yours? You brought them from the First World?”

“Ravens, Havard, not crows. Not the original ravens, of course. A mischievous boy with a bow, a hungry eagle or three, misfortunes of chance. But they always have the same names,” explained Odin. “Now to the problem…”

“Wait. Let my mind settle down first. This has been a day for unwelcome surprises,” requested Tyler. If Odin noticed the insolent inference, the deity apparently let it pass.

“Loved that armor though, it’s so…” the mage stopped himself from saying Gucci, a millennial slang his friend Karl was very fond of, thinking it made him sound cool. “I mean you look snatched.”

Damn it, Karl! Another of your favorites.

“Snatched?”

“A term meaning you looked good, excellent,” hurriedly explained Tyler.

“Mortals. Making things so complicated. It really doesn’t change, does it? I guess some group in your society came up with such things. It was the same in the past – first, it was the priesthood with their contrived terms, then royalty trying to emphasize their difference from peasants, then the wealthy, the young, secret societies, and so on. It’s all in the mind anyway. The need to shit and piss doesn’t distinguish between a king and a lowly woodcutter.”

The mage laughed. The deity before him could be earthy in his descriptions.

“But if you’re asking about the armor, it was mainly Ptah’s design. I told him what I wanted but emphasized it should look different. I knew he had another dimensional gate or viewing portal hidden somewhere. He’s the god responsible for your friend’s appearance in this world, if you want to know. I did mention before that I requested the pantheon of Kemet to help set it up. After he finished, the set went to Hephaestus, and then to the Sons of Ivaldi, the makers of my spear.”

“No wonder it looked similar to what I saw in entertainment materials, fantasy actually.” Tyler was going to say science fiction, but again caught himself in time. He remembered the aversion of Adar’s deities to the word science.

“By that, I assume it meets your First World standards? Appearance-wise, at least.”

“Surpasses it, actually, I never thought I’d see such armor for real,” emphasized the mage.

Odin grinned. “My thanks, First Mage.”

“By the way, how’s Jorund?” asked Tyler.

“Embroiled in the fighting. We had to utilize einherjar to help with the plague, though we’re on a war footing now given the quarrel between that pair of mad and temperamental jotnar. No telling what would happen. That reminds me, what did you do to that fellow Jorund? He’s starting to remember parts of his past! Mainly those adventures with you! Another mystery. But it stood him in good stead. I think he learned something from those battles. Jorund is turning out to be a better einherjar than most, and by that, I meant he uses his brains. Ah, if I could only get those fellows in the House of Gimli to lead the einherjar, what a force that would make!”

“But enough of my worries. Most of the monsters and creatures we found when we first arrived are now back as the undead. Mortals can’t handle them, and now, as it was before, we fight again for our place in this world,” continued the deity. “It’s the same in Hellas, though not as bad in Kemet. Some stirrings in the Dual Monarchy, but I heard their problem was manageable, well within mortal limits.”

“That bad?” asked Tyler. Hearing such a dire statement from Odin was yet another shock.

“Worse. Before, we could claim a portion of the land at a time and campaign accordingly, pushing back our opponents one stage at a time. Now, they’re all back. All at the same time, with abilities intact. Memories too.”

This really is a