TYOFT - Lifetimes 4.

Volunell.

Lifetimes ago. From one plane of existence, he steps through to the physical world of Volunell.
He looks around, cautiously more than anything else. Especially as he scans the skies in all directions.
Satisfied with the way things are, he sets off along the hillside, then down towards a dirt road he spotted from the realm of existence he normally dwells in.
He reaches the road, and in the late afternoon sunshine of an autumn day, he heads westwards.
He walks for another twenty minutes, until he spots the town.
It's a village really, here amongst some farmland.
He quickly looks down at himself, to make sure he fits in with the locals. Satisfied he has dressed appropriately.
He makes his way into the village, that's rather rudimentary to say the least.
As civilization here hasn't exactly been around all that long. All the same, there is a tavern.
And in the fading light of dusk, he enters the village tavern. And takes a seat at an empty table.
He garners a few stares, as he's a large man, in his early forties, with a beard that's speckled with grey.
He orders a beer, which turns out to be rather good, and cold to his surprise.
Then he waits. As he does, the locals here in the village tavern wonder who he is. Not knowing that one of their gods sits amongst them.

The god Krom looks up as the front door of the tavern opens. And a figure enters. A man in dark clothing, who looks to be about four or five years younger than himself.
Not as tall as Krom, but leaner than him. The figure standing in the doorway, looks around, spots Krom.
And after closing the door behind him, he makes his way over to the table in the corner where he is sitting.
"Madau" quietly says Krom the war god after he calls out to the tavern keeper for another beer for the new arrival.
"Krom" replies Madau the death god, who along with his fellow deity falls silent as the tavern keeper walks by, and puts down a mug of beer infront of the new arrival.
"Not here yet i see" says the god, who once had a nickname of The Deathdealer.
"You know them" says Krom, who is also the god of the ork race. Something he's never entirely sure he made the right decision when it comes to that.
"They do things in their own time" quietly says Krom, who like Madau. Had other names. But they are long gone. Not used in thousands and thousands of years.
Especially not since they came here to the world of Volunell. When they were last human, before they became the gods of this world.
The two of them are quietly speaking in a language that the locals here in the tavern don't understand.
"Think they'll agree?" quietly asks Madau, who like Krom is considered one of the neutral gods in what's happened in the recent history of the world.
"Let's hope so" is the reply from the larger appearing man, the war god briefly pauses, before adding "After all, we lost".
Madau, who barely remembers that he was once called Aitra, grunts in agreement with the god, whose first name was Osaen.
As the two of them wait for those who will be meeting them this night, here in tavern of a village.
In the middle of what will be called the Southlands, thousands of years from now.

It's dark outside, when a new arrival enters the tavern. She draws the eye of everyone in here, including the two gods Krom and Madau.
The striking looking woman makes her way over to the table in the corner where two of the gods of Volunell are sitting.
She sits upon one of the two chairs on the opposite side of the table from them.
Then as the tavern keeper hurries over to take her order, she says to him "Wine, red".
"Yes lady" says the tavern keeper who hurries to get what the striking looking woman wants.
The three at the corner table are silent, until the tavern keeper puts the brass goblet of wine infront of the woman, before he heads back to the counter that runs along most of one wall in the village tavern.
"Ryn" says the war god of the orks "Ryn" adds the death god of Volunell.
"Krom, Madau" replies the Greater Dragon Ryn after she takes a sip of the wine, and finds it surprisingly refreshing.
The god, who was known as senior commander Osaen Krom, when he and the others who survived the journey the Interstellar Spaceship Kalvel 3 took to get here to Volunell, thousands of years ago.
Glances at the empty chair next to the human form of the Greater Dragon. As both sides agreed that two from either side would attend this meeting.
"He'll be here shortly" says Ryn when she notices Krom glance at the empty chair beside her.
"I hope" mutters the Greater Dragon in a language that even the gods can't understand.
And she refrains from shaking her head, at the prospect of her lazy fellow Greater Dragon, not showing up.
Which knowing him, she wouldn't be surprised at all if he didn't show up.

The Greater Dragon Kye yawns after he suddenly appears in the middle of the road that cuts through the village.
No ones about, so they didn't see his arrival. Which is a rather good thing, as he walks to the village tavern about fifty yards away.
He opens the front door and enters. And as all eyes are drawn to him, he makes sure the tavern has what he wants to drink.
Then the Greater Dragon Kye calls out to the tavern keeper "Mead". As he walks over to the corner table where his fellow Greater Dragon, Ryn. Is sitting with two of the gods of Volunell.
He nods to Ryn as he sits next to her, then says "Krom, Madau" to the two gods sitting on the otherside of the table.
"Kye" say the war god and death god in unison as they greet the new arrival.
The four of them fall silent as the tavern keeper walks over at puts a mug of mead down infront of Kye.
"This is pretty good" murmurs the Greater Dragon after he sips some of the mead.
Then Kye, who in his human form, is just as tall as the two gods sitting on the otherside of the table. Though he's even bulkier than the war god Krom.
Glances at Ryn sitting next to him, and slightly nods for her to start things off.
For he didn't particularly want to come here tonight. But he decided to, all things considered.
As Kye looks around and wonders if there's anything good here to eat.
His companion Ryn says to the two gods on the otherside of the table "So, you lot give up?".
Indicating himself and Madau with a nod of his head, the war god Krom says "You know a large number of us didn't partake in the war" followed by "Infact we hunted down and destroyed some of those who rose up to challenge you".
Next to Krom, the death god Madau, who is the god throughout Volunell has more names than any of the other gods, nods in agreement with the war god.
"That maybe so" says the Greater Dragon Ryn, who continues with "Though even with your neutrality, a fair number of your kind still tried to fight us" she briefly pauses, before adding "And how did that work out for them?".
Kye who is busy eyeing up a ham dish of some kind on one of the nearby tables.
Finally joins the conversation, with a slight chuckle, then he says "Not well".
The largest, and most powerful, not to mention the laziest of the Greater Dragons adds "Not well at all".

Both the gods Krom and Madau can't argue with that. As over a half of the gods of Volunell were destroyed by the Greater Dragons in the recent war between the two of them.
With only a hundred and twenty or so of the gods of Volunell pantheon left.
"Idiots" mutters Krom in a language only he and Ryn understand. As he, killed nearly half of the gods by himself, amongst those who rose up and tried take control of Volunell from the Greater Dragons. Who created this world lifetimes ago.
Ryn nods in agreement with Kye, then in the language, a Latin based one from Old Earth, that the four of them at the table are communicating in, the female Greater Dragon says "So, no more then?".
She briefly pauses before continuing with "No more rebelling and trying to take over this world?".
"No more" days Krom in agreement, he follows that with "Besides you destroyed all of those who rose up and tried to take over the world".
Though amongst the neutral gods, there were those who were at the edges of the fighting, and got involved in the war between the Greater Dragons and the gods of Volunell.
And they're lucky to be still in existence, and not killed by either Kye, Lau and Zai. The three Greater Dragons who destroyed the vast majority of the gods who tried to challenge the Greater Dragons.
"Good, try to keep it that way" says the Greater Dragon, whose human form is a striking looking woman, with dark auburn, almost red hair.
"Because if there's a next time, we won't be so nice" continues Ryn, who follows that with "If there's a next time, we'll just come through to your realm and destroy you there".
Kye who has been eyeing up some of the meals at the nearby tables, looks at the two gods sitting opposite him and Ryn. And he nods in agreement with what his fellow Greater Dragon just said.
Then Kye says to the war god and the death god "We don't want that to happen, do we?".
"No we don't" says Krom, the god of the ork race.
Next to him, the god of death Madau, nods in agreement with the large, muscular middle aged man sitting beside him.
As the four sit at one of the corner tables, here in the tavern of the small village.
The four of them, well most of the time, Kye doesn't say much. As he lets Ryn take the lead in the negotiations.
Continue to work out the ramifications of the war between the gods of Volunell, and the Greater Dragons.
And though the two gods Krom and Madau concede on just about everything. There's a couple of things they want to keep.
"You must allow them to communicate to me during their death rites" says Madau, who follows that with "You don't know how some of them are during that time" he then adds "Especially humans".
Ryn glances at Kye who has just got another mug of mead, her fellow Greater Dragon rolls his eyes.
But he does nod in reply to the glance from Ryn.
"Fine" says the female Greater Dragon, who continues with "You can still have that".
"One another thing" says Krom, who continues with "I want to keep my direct link to the priests of my followers".

Both Ryn and Kye share a look, then the smaller of the two Greater Dragon, says "I don't know about that".
"They're orks" dryly says the war god, followed by "Have you seen them?".
Krom continues with "I definitely need to keep having a direct link with their priests, hmmm shamans i think they call them".
"Orks" sourly says Ryn, who then adds "Yeah, it would be best considering how crazy that lot are".
Kye grunts in agreement with Ryn, while Krom isn't upset at the description of his followers. After all the Greater Dragon is correct, orks are crazy.
The four of them speak a little longer, then once the negotiations are complete.
Krom and Madau are the first ones to get up and leave after paying the tavern keeper.
A short time later, and the two Greater Dragons exit the tavern as well.
And as the two gods walk away into the night, heading east.
Ryn and Kye watch them from the side of the road that cuts through the village.
Eventually seeing the war god and death god disappear, as they step through into the realm of the gods of Volunell.
"Think they'll honour it?" quietly asks the Greater Dragon Kye.
"They will" says Ryn, who continues on with "That Krom can be trusted" followed by "He's a man of his word, well i should say, a god of his word".
"Very well" says Kye, who after a brief pause, nods to where the two gods went, and he quietly adds "Well, we know what happened to the gods of Old Earth". As he recalls a conversation from lifetimes ago.
The large, powerful, not to mention, extremely lazy Greater Dragon, then says "Well, i should say what became of their many times descendants".
The Greater Dragon Ryn nods in agreement, then after farewelling Kye, she disappears.
A few moments later, after he once again looks in the direction the two gods Krom and Madau went, Kye the Greater Dragon disappears too . . . . . .