The Phoenix, 2022

The Godschosen by Alexander Reisig Ival: god of life, peace, righteousness, and law Valas: god of death, the four hells, and temptation Eaos: god of pain, suffering, bad luck, and curses Idoine: goddess of souls, direction, different species, and wisdom Aarhus: god of fire, war, and anger Adera: goddess of the sea, storms, and wind Monet: goddess of land, nature, and hunt Barala: goddess of the moon, night, and magic Quetexel: god of trickery, questions, education, madness, and stupidity Ventak: god of the forge, iron, and craftsmen Prelude Wandrown Harkepur had grown up an orphan, with no family, no money, just himself. The Archmage Holdwin raised him in the village of Cottonbranch. Holdwin has told him stories of heroes, dragons, monsters, and magic. However, one story was never told to Wandrown; who were his parents? In Wandrown’s sixteen years of life, he never understood who his parents were and what had happened to them. Finally, however, Holdwin has approached Wandrown and has told him to pack his essentials and scraped together what gold he had left. Wandrown now stands outside of the local blacksmith to purchase the necessary equipment for the journey.

Chapter 1: A Mysterious Task Wandrown studied his gold pouch, counting each piece. Finally, he sighed; Holdwin had become quite distant and quiet.

It had become alarming, but Wandrown trusted Master Holdwin’s wisdom. Wandrown shook his head, “save your, petty thoughts for later.” he told himself. He grabbed hold of the handle of the blacksmith’s door and entered. He was met with a gust of hot air. His untidy blond hair was swept backward, and he began coughing. Wandrown was a tall youth and somewhat muscular, with a pair of light blue eyes, the mark of a North Lovanan, where he’d hailed from as a child.

The blacksmith, Storg, laughed, “Ah ha ha, ye never get used to that, do ya boy?” Wandrown chuckled, and Storg placed his hammer on 51