When Gods Slumber

By John Blackhall

The rulers of fate have fallen. Ancient powers are set loose upon the mortal world.

The divine city of Axis once ruled over creation as Gods slept. That was, until the city fell to ruin.

Zirnitra longs to become a student of the fates. Unaware that Axis nears its doom, she is swept under the wings of an unlikely ment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackhall Books
• Release date: Jul 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9781739446017

Book preview

PART ONE

THE STRANGER

1

ERYN

YEAR 3029

Present Day

Eryn pushed herself through the icy water. She swam lengths between the rock formations beyond the sandy shores of Riruta. A lone magpie, left behind from its flock, sat watching upon a black rock a little further out to sea. Eryn never dared swim beyond that rock for fear of strong currents. She had experienced them once and knew the stories of those who had died all too well.

Eryn channelled her focus into the act of swimming. Her muscles roared with a near limitless fuel. She threw her arms plunging again and again into the ocean’s surface, pushing against the water’s will, using its power for her own. The motions were smooth, swanlike — they did not reveal the vigorous pumping in her chest, the fiery reactions in her cells and the thrumming of her muscles.

She cut through the waves like a sword. The water swelled and fizzed against her skin. She savoured the silkiness of the water, the momentum. She savoured the sensation of it all — a simple push of her hands and a flick of her feet were all it took to propel her forward.

They called these waters the ‘Sea of Lights’ because where the blue was deepest, shards of crystal punctuated the surface like glass icebergs. The crystal was called Korum, energy in solid form, said to have fallen when the Axians did. At night the crystals glistened far out over the horizon, humming with energy. When Eryn swam, she almost felt like she could touch that power.

She turned in the water to swim one last length back to shore. The bird that sat on the rocks just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

She pushed off from the black rock and admired the view of her quaint little town. A long sweep of golden sand stretched all around the bay. Above her, the Library’s stained glass windows glinted in the morning sun, nestled precariously half-way up the eastern cliffs. On the beach below was a slither in the rocks that led inside the cliffs.  The market square, a short walk west, was filled with specks of colour as people hung bright bunting between stalls in preparation for the festival. Then there was the jumble of houses scattered up the hill towards the train station which ran only two slow services a day.

Fields of ruta flooded the land beyond town for miles. The flowers had swallowed what were once tarmac roads and pillars of concrete, but now the hills shone green and yellow with grass and petals in the sunrise.

Eryn lifted herself up out of the water and onto a flat stretch of rock. She towelled her mousy brown hair and stretched into her white shirt and pale blue jacket. The cotton felt soft and light and shielded her from the gentle wind. She sat dangling her toes into the lapping water and drank thirstily from a flask. She lay back and stared into the sky. It was a cloudy morning, but a faint warmth slipped through the grey.  She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

She jolted upright when her wrist crackled with a lash of pain, like the whip of a lightning bolt: there one moment, gone the next. She pulled at the bracelet Uncle Cole had given to her, hand-made with shells from the beach and old crystals from his gemstone collection.

She looked for some sign of a sharp unpolished edge in the bracelet’s stones, something that could have caused that flash of pain. The bracelet sparkled as she turned it in the sunlight that broke through the clouds. She found no rough edges and her skin showed no marks, not even a scratch.

***

Eryn worked in the markets most days, selling Uncle Cole’s fresh catches, but not today. Today was for hot food stalls and travelling merchants, one of the few days of the year she could enjoy celebrations with her uncle.

Cole was a father to her in all but blood. She had no memory of her late birth mother from distant O’Nokhu, who hadn’t the means to raise her, but the memories made with beloved Cole made up for that a thousand-fold.

In the markets, crowds bustled and the smell of sweet, sticky, glazed meat on sticks filled the air. Wooden stalls surrounded the square, each piled with wares or wafting with flavourful delicacies. A small stage had been constructed in front of the clocktower, an excited audience already gathering around it. The sound of children carried on the wind from the beach, where they splashed and played in the shallows of the sea, and couples leapt small bonfires ceremoniously as was tradition on Belos’ day.

Eryn waited for Cole near the steps down to the beach. He was late, probably held up by some stall owner’s bartering.

There was a shuffling of objects on stage as it was prepared for the High Reader’s speech. Applause erupted from the crowds, and those not mid-barter flocked to the stage.

Libuse emerged, a long white-gold coat trailing behind her, rippling in the cool sea breeze. She stepped up to the microphone, and she needed no words or music for the crowd to fall into eager silence. She smiled out, eyes beaming with an opal blue of the ocean, and hair like sunlight falling in curls over her shoulders.

Today, we celebrate all things that are light. Libuse launched into speech with no need for an introduction. We celebrate the blessed brother Belos, as scripture tells the Axians once did. He is a single side of creation’s coin. He is flame and he is hope. He is the light that shines from the fragments of Origis, scattered across our ocean to guide our ships through the night. Today we thank him for all that his light gives.

The crowd cheered.

Libuse raised a hand to quiet them, her bright tone shifting. However, there is something else I must speak of on this day. Many of you have travelled far to celebrate with us. Many of you have seen that there is a great threat to this country, but it does not come from across the sea as they would like you to believe. It comes from greed. From Argentum.

She paused. The silence was filled with whispers and muttering from the crowd.

They claim to protect us, to serve us. Because they gave us the power networks to keep this country alive, they think they can own us. They put walls around Vys, our capital, in the name of safety. They march their Enforcers up and down all of Prahya, but is it safety they offer, or control? With one hand they claim to empower us, with the other they silence us. Libuse gripped the edge of the podium. They burn our Libraries to the ground, they keep our Readers prisoner. Why? Argentum may deny it, but these are not mere rumours. It seems the protection they offer comes at the price of freedom. If this is allowed to continue, then I fear the flame of the Readership may be suffocated. There may be no more light to celebrate.

Eryn looked around for some sign of Cole, still nowhere to be seen.

The change in this year’s speech was unsettling. There was a tension in the air. Shouts came from the crowd, clear that many of them agreed with Libuse’s words. Eryn had heard the rumours too but didn’t know what to believe. She just wanted to enjoy the festival with Cole.

Her bracelet jolted a flicker of momentary pain up her arm. She winced and clutched her wrist. It was gone again, with no sign of any reason for it.

So, on this day, in the light of Belos, it is time we gather against our oppressors. I ask you to join me, and together we—

Libuse stopped abruptly. Blood sputtered from her mouth. Her face turned pale. Crimson spread outward from her chest, seeping into the pristine white robes as she choked, the point of a knife glinting at her chest. The audience burst with screams.

The knife withdrew, splattering more blood into the air. Libuse crumpled into a pile, revealing a man behind her in black Reader’s robes adorned with silver symbols. The right half of his face was hidden behind a bone-white mask, broken down the middle, its jagged edge bisecting his features.

The man stood there, seemingly not fazed by the crowds who witnessed him commit murder. He returned the knife into the sleeve of his robe. A grin flashed across the visible half of his face. He stepped over Libuse’s body and leaned into the microphone.

I have a simple message, he announced, his voice as sharp as his smile, do not resist.

The crowds ran in all directions to get away from the stage, afraid of what might happen next. They met lines of Enforcers, men and women clad in silver armour, marching in from every street, closing in the square.

Eryn spun in circles, searching for Cole in the chaos. People who tried to push past the lines of silver troops were shoved to the ground. The Enforcers drew their swords to threaten the boldest from the crowds, marching forward, penning people into the square.

Stalls tumbled down and set alight, catching on ceremonial candles, as people tried whatever they could to escape. Eryn’s eyes stung as she squinted through the smoke. She could barely tell one figure from another. Glimmers of silver marched at them from every direction, blocking every possible escape. Nothing broke their formation. One Enforcer struck a woman who ran at them, screaming, and she fell crumpled to the side of the road.

Eryn scrambled beneath the stage to hide. There in the shadows, two young children, a boy and a girl, had done the same, each no older than five, maybe six. They crouched there in the dark and held each other, the High Reader’s blood dripping between the wooden slats above. They looked up at Eryn, frozen, eyes wide with fear. There was the smell of urine. A sodden patch of damp spread over the boy’s trousers.

Eryn raised a finger to her lips. Hush. The children didn’t respond, paralysed by shock. She crawled beside them, deeper into the dark where she hoped nobody would find them, then put her arms around the boy and girl. They were shaking. She held them close.

It’ll be okay, she whispered. I promise.

She pulled at the stones and shells of her bracelet, feeling each one between her fingers. The smooth surface of the cowries and familiar grooves and markings Cole had engraved on the stones were comforting. Where was he?

Screams rose as people tried to resist, and the Enforcers barked orders across the square. They questioned people in small groups, then marched them out of sight.

Eventually the square grew quiet. There was nothing but the crackling of market stalls set aflame against the distant crashing of ocean waves. Still, Eryn didn’t dare to move, or let go of the children for a second.

Voices drew near: rough accents from Vys Rahad. The stage shook above them as heavy boots thudded up the steps.

Her own breaths seemed loud in the dark hiding place, so she tried to slow them, but her heart raced. As she struggled to stay quiet, she only felt more breathless.

Who’d have thought a High Reader had what it took to join the Resistance.

She breathin’?

Not any longer she isn’t.

Well, the blessed Brothers didn’t do her no good today, eh?

They all laughed, until a sharp voice cut them short.

Enough.

Eryn peered between the wooden planks of the stage. A tall figure, broad and strong, leisurely circled the High Reader’s body. He nudged Libuse with his foot.

Having fun here, are we? Is this mission a joke to you?

N-no, commander! said one officer, hesitantly.

Then do your damn jobs. The man spat as he spoke. Find the girl. Or perhaps you’d prefer yourselves locked in Bedlam with the rats?

There was a terrified silence after that.

Now!

Yes, commander!

Go! The man roared, and the group hurried off the stage. You, the commander barked, pulling one Enforcer back before they reached the steps. Take her away and tidy up the mess.

The commander’s footsteps drew away before the Enforcer could reply. Libuse’s body was dragged off the stage.

Eryn squeezed the children tightly in her arms, and it was as much of a comfort to herself as it was to them. It seemed as if it might never be safe to come out from the dark place, never safe to stop hiding.

What would happen if the Enforcers found them? Why would they kill the High Reader? Was it because she was speaking out? What was the Resistance they talked about? Argentum’s Enforcers were acting as police in the capital, but that was far north of here and under very particular circumstances. Maybe there was some kind of rebellion, but Cole wasn’t part of that. He was just a fisherman. She was just a market girl. They had done nothing wrong.

There was a quiet mumbling as the Enforcers gathered in the square. Eryn pressed herself against the ground to get a better view. They were searching through the rubble, flames now burnt out.

Keep searching! the commander barked.

The boy beside Eryn let out a dusty cough.

Shhhh… Eryn urged, holding him tighter.

What was that? the commander snapped. You! Search under the stage!

Eryn saw the outline of a soldier march quickly towards the stage. She gripped the children closer still.

It’s ok, it’s ok, she lied. They were done for.

The Enforcer crouched down. His face was a shadow against the light. He took out a small torch and shone it under the dark rafters of the stage. Eryn squinted as the torch flashed over her and paused, blinding. She didn’t need a fortune telling to know an unhappy fate awaited them. There was no running. They’d been found.

The torch clicked off.

Nothing, the Enforcer called back to his comrades.

Eryn restrained a sigh of relief, trembling.

Commander! This way! a voice called from afar.

She listened as the commander and his band of troops marched away. All except one — the man who’d peered under the stage with his torch. He waited until the square was empty, and his commander’s footsteps were far away, then gone. He drew closer to the stage, and Eryn held her breath. He crouched again. She couldn’t see his eyes, but the silhouette looked right at her.

The man outstretched a hand, and Eryn glimpsed a tattoo on his wrist where a dim light fell between the slats of the stage. It was a perfectly inked circle with a curved hourglass shape inside it, overlaid with a triangle — two sides longer than the other — pointing downward.

Cole must have drawn that symbol into the sand a thousand times when she was a child. Back then, she hadn’t spared it a moment’s thought. It was something Cole had always done, absentmindedly. She had also seen it on old spines along the bookshelf in their dusty study at home, though she hadn’t questioned what it meant until now. Sometimes it was drawn crudely in the margins of the shopping list when Cole sent Eryn to pick up groceries from the market. It was the symbol on Cole’s arm. An almost identical tattoo he’d said was nothing but a design.

The name’s Ethan. His voice was low and urgent. If you want a chance of leaving this place alive, you’ll come with me, Eryn.

Eryn hesitated, unsure whether to trust this soldier and confused why he would help her, or how he knew her name. Cole’s symbol surely couldn’t be a coincidence.

Come on, he urged, conscious of the brief window of opportunity they had to escape unseen. Do you want to get out of here or not?

Why should I trust you? Eryn whispered.

The Resistance. He paused. Your Uncle?

The symbol. That must be what it meant. That man, the reader in black robes, he had said something on stage about a message: do not resist. Could it be, Cole was involved in something…

He really didn’t tell you anything, did he?

As Ethan spoke the shout of another Enforcer came from afar.

Come on, he urged, there’s no time!

None of Eryn’s doubts mattered in that moment. She had no choice but to take him by the hand. Ethan helped her out from beneath the stage. She started to encourage the children out too, but Ethan stopped her.

Leave them.

They’re children.

They’ll be found when this is all over.

They have no idea what’s going on. It’s not safe here.

Ethan grumbled. Just don’t let them slow us down.

She took the children, and Ethan guided them behind the cover of a fallen market stall, then along a dark alleyway leading to the cliffs. They reached a dead end where the buildings met craggy rock, wooden planks boarded over the surface.

Ethan drew his sword, wedged it between the planks, and tugged hard to tear one away. It splintered off, revealing a dark passageway through the rocks.

What are you doing? asked Eryn.

Getting us an escape, he said, tearing down another plank. The wind whistled through the cliffs, as if trying to pull them inside.

Where is he? My uncle?

Boarding a ship to the capital as we speak. They got to him first.

We have to go back for him! You have to help him!

It’s too late for that. You escape. You alone. Ethan tore down the last plank. The passageway was pitch black, with no sign of a way out or any telling of where it led to on the other side.

But I don’t want to escape, I want to find him! Eryn stepped away.

You know that’s a bloody stupid idea, don’t you? Ethan grabbed her by the arm. Argentum have Enforcers everywhere. Your uncle will be heavily guarded, if he isn’t gone already.

You’re an Enforcer, surely there’s something you can do—

Do you expect me to fight off an entire squadron on my own? If anyone finds out I’m acting against Argentum, I’ll be a prisoner just like everyone else.

We can’t just leave him behind.

You must. Cole knew this was coming, briefly enough to get me a message. He insisted I make sure you’re safe. Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder. We move to Rivona, stay at the Grand Library. We’ll contact the Resistance and figure out our next move.

Resistance?

Another airship rumbled low across the sky, casting them under a shadow.

Reinforcements. Ethan muttered. I’ll explain on the way. Come on, it’s now or never. He stepped into the dark, gesturing for her to follow. The two children gripped her by the hand on each side, looking up at her wide-eyed.

Eryn swallowed. A deep breath.

We’ll find a way to save Cole, he said, but now is not the time to fight. For now, we run.

2

ERYN

YEAR 3029

Present Day

The tunnels slowed the pace of their escape as they moved carefully through the darkness. Ethan led Eryn and the children through a series of caverns. As he walked, his armour jostled and clinked, and the metallic sounds came back echoing from all directions.

Large holes had formed in the cliffs like honeycomb, each one a window out to sea. Shafts of light fell from them onto the rockpools – just enough for Eryn and Ethan to navigate the dark, guiding the children as they went.

Many birds had made the place their home, ducking and diving through those rocky windows. Some flocked in formation, others fluttered wild and stray. The Festival of Belos marked the end of the bright warm days. It was too late for them to fly south for the winter now, but perhaps the cliffs would provide some shelter.

Eryn trembled as she scaled large steps of rock, hoping they put more distance between them and the Argentum forces with every moment. On reaching a large ledge of rock, taller than Eryn, Ethan climbed up first. Then one at a time, Eryn lifted each of the children and Ethan raised them safely onto the ledge. When it was her turn, Ethan outstretched a hand.

Here.

Thanks.

Eryn took his hand and pulled herself up the ledge.

What’s it like? The capital? She asked.

You never seen it?

Only on the news.

It’s alright, Ethan shrugged, you’ve got more of the old world tech up and running there thanks to Argentum, but that ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Michael was always a selfish bastard but he treats the place like he owns it. Given all the tech running on Korum he pretty much does.

Then how come you’re working for him?

Cole needed a man on the inside. Ethan paused, and for the first time he seemed apprehensive. Who better than Michael’s own brother, eh?

Eryn’s mind flickered to memories of the Argentum family on the television, many years ago now. There was Michael, yes, the cold-blooded businessman with a face about as unreadable as Ethan’s. It was the news of his wife Judith’s sudden death. A son about Eryn’s age stood beside his father in the Cathedral of Cernos, messy black hair and eyes red from tears. Behind him, a man who might have been Ethan placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder.

So… why are you helping me instead of your brother?

Michael and I fell out years ago. It was no great loss. We don’t speak. We were never close. Ethan took a deep sniff of air. That’s not the reason of course. Perhaps when we meet up with the Resistance… you’ll understand.

They reached another ledge to climb. Again, Eryn went last and Ethan stretched out a hand help her up.

Eryn had pulled herself halfway up the ledge when the entire cave shook. She slipped from Ethan’s grasp and fell flat on her back. Dust fell from above and chunks of rock tumbled onto the path they’d trodden just moments before. The dancing birds fled, screeching. She winced in pain, but not from how she’d fallen: she clutched her wrist as a tingling sensation burned at her skin where she wore Cole’s