《The Power of Blood》


 The Deal (Prologue)

    <table><tbody><tr><td>Betrayed by your kin, slaughtered for your power. We offer you a new start in a new world, and the safety of your family in their next life. Yet this offer shall not be without price. We warn you, as the world will be far more dangerous than the one your soul currently inhabits. However, the rewards that can be obtained from this world are likewise incomparable to those your world can offer. Should you accept our offer, revenge will forever be lost to you as you shall become our Champion. Do you accept?(Yes) (No)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    As Reduran stared at the window floating in front of his eyes, blood lay seeping into the stone around him. Darkness so thick, even his Dwarven eyes could not pierce it lay over him, as if a blanket comforting a child. Yet the darkness was not comforting fro Reduran. He could no longer feel the iron in his blood, nor the metal veins flowing through the stone. He could not feel them, and the lack of their constant presence terrified him.


    From birth, Reduran had always felt the metal around him. He was a dwarf, and on top of that he was a Crimson-Axe dwarf. Metal was his heritage, controlling it and shaping it had been his everyday life from dawn till dusk. And now he could no longer feel it''s presence. For he was dying.


    The Crimson-Axe clan was a smaller clan, however each one of it''s members was worth 100 dwarves. Everydwarf had a connection to metal, be it to the degree where they could mine it slightly better to being able to control it without requiring the assistance of mana. The Crimson-Axe could connect with metal so well, even the iron in blood could not escape their control. Highly regarded, Reduran lived the life of a prince for 214 years. Now middle-aged, the dwarf had a family of his own and a reputation as the best blacksmith in thousands of years. He was even being considered for the title Paragon!The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Unfortunately, that was when the Gods decided magic could not be allowed to exist. Some human mage had built a tower too high and attacked the Gods. The mage lost, but the Gods were angry. Dwarves were nothing if not pious, in their own way, and quickly a genocide began. Unfortunatly, one of the Crimson-Axe''s political enemies took use of this situation to brand them mages, due to their unnatural control over blood. And so, the Crimson-Axe clan began its fall.


    Another ten years pass and Reduran lay dying in his own blood. Blind, he knew his wife lay with his children somewhere close, yet not close enough that he might lay next to her in death. All he could feel were the tears leaving his eyes.


    ''So many dead... For no reason... OH GODS WHY!? WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO DESERVE THIS?! Please... somebody...save my family... please.''


    However, he knew nobody would answer his silent prayer. The gods did not care for mortals, no. They were so high and mighty they would smite all that may pose a threat to them without caring for the innocents caught in the crosshair.


    It was at this moment that he recieved the message. Never having seen such a thing, his blood-deprived brain had trouble understanding what it was that was being said. Yet, by some miracle, he managed a moment of clarity.


    ''My family... will be safe... Any deal... is worth that.'' And so, the (Yes)option was pressed, through a force of will and desperation. At that moment, the dwarven body that housed the soul of Reduran Crimson-Axe died, and the souls of his family that floated above their corpses waiting, as well as his own, did not go to the domain of the God who had forsaken them, but rather elsewhere.

 Chapter 1: Rebirth

    A bright light was softly carresing Reduran''s closed eyes, calmly waking him from a deep slumber. Strangely, the anger and pain that had been his steady companions just moments before seemed to have dissapeared. Rather, Reduran felt more at peace than he ever had before.


    "Ah... It awakens brother." came a voice, a strange genderless tone to it.


    "That it does sister" came the voice once again.


    Now the calm had fled from Reduran''s heart and instead fear took it''s place. However, never one to give in to fear, the dwarf steeled himself and looked calmly towards the voices. The result was a strange feeling of weightlessness, and a slow pan of vision over to the voice.


    In front of Reduran sat a strange being. He or she, as it was impossible to tell, sat on a crimson throne, seemingly made out of some melding of blood and metal, at least that was the feeling the dwarf felt when he instinctivly scanned it. Hair, half golden and half red was tied into a long ponytail, matching its strange eyes which lacked pupils and seemed to be made out of the same material the throne was.


    Yet still, that was not the strangest part of the being. No, it seemed to be some sort of biological golem, a melding of flesh, blood, and metal far too perfect to have ever been crafted by mortal hands. The perfect melding of creation thatmade up the being''s pure white body enthralled him, and he felt something inside him cement. What that thing was, he did not know.


    The only thing that prevented him from indulging in his instincts to rush over and gush over this glorious being lay in the fact that it lay nude, yet lacked any genetals whatsoever. It was quite... strange.


    "By the stone itself! What ARE you?"


    The face smiled slightly, then quickly regained it''s previous total lack of emotions. "We are the ones who brought you here, small one." came the voice, with a strange stablility to it.


    Its face quickly scowled, the eyes somehow growing cloudy. "Now brother dear, that is no way to treat a guest! Let me take care of this you oaf!" This time the voice was... bubbly and excited.


    Utterly confused, and still slightly in awe, Reduran stared at the being.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "Our dear Champion! I am the Goddess of Blood and Flesh, Caema."


    "And I am the God of Warand Metal, Diomek"


    "Hush now dear brother, I am talking."


    Seeing this being arguing with itself, Reduran finally woke from the stupor he had been in. As soon as he did, rather than focus on the bickering of the two(or was it one that was insane?), he glanced around his surroundings. Unfortunatly, that was also when he realzied his current lack of a true physical form. He seemed to be strangely transparent and was floating slightly off the ground, a light mist surrounding him.


    At this moment, the hardy dwarf was panicking slightly. It had become clear that he was not rescued from his death and that something else was going on. Something perhaps insidious.


    Then the two introduced themselves as gods. The hated, cruel, evil gods. His misty form shook in anger. "YOU PISS NUGGLING, TROLL LOVING, MAGGOT EATING, SON OF A WHORE GODS!" the dwarf sputtered. "I''M GONNA-"


    At this point the gods had a scowl upon their face, and with a swipe of their hand the rowdy dwarf''s mouth was sealed shut. "Calm down you idiot!" came the bubbly voice, a hint of anger obvious. "We''re not those irresponsible fools from your previous world. Seriously, they were pathetic. I can understand your anger. However, insult us again and you will face far more punishment than this."


    Reduran shook in anger, clearly still seething at the injustices he had suffered through for many years.


    The Goddess continued, "We made a deal with you, a dying soul angry with your world through the system. We will move onto that later, however for now there are a few things you must know." She sighed, " Your family is safe. They have already been introduced into the cycle of reincarnation. We have guarenteed their next lives will be as bountiful as possible. However, we could not give them the deal we have given you. They are gone and will never remember you again."


    As the dwarf listened, he calmed down slightly, the anger in his eyes fading slightly.


    "You may not remember, but we made a deal with you. You, delver of stone and ruler of metal shall be our Champion and in return we shall protect your family. What that entails we shall discuss once you are... calm." She tilts her head slightly. "You are now in a different place from any you would normally end up on. The home of the system, a world far different from that of any soul that exists elsewhere. Here, gods did not create the mortals but were created throught the faith and the machinations of a force called ''The System''." A smirk comes across her face.


    "Gods however, need to be worshipped to live in this world, so we need Champions. People to spread our cause. As to why we have chosen you... You''ll know later." A smirk crosses their face.


    "Before I can delve into specifics, we need you to become intigrated within the system. As a Champion this will take time. I know you must be awefully confused, but please just wait a little bit longer."


    Looking up into the eyes of that being, it finally hit Reduran that his family was... safe. That he wasn''t dead. Seeing the sincerity reflected within those beautiful orbs, he sighed and sat defeated.

 Chapter Two

    Reduran and the god... or perhaps goddess... sat in an awkward silence for close to an hour before a notification rose in the form of a blue box to sit about 3/4 an arms length away from the dwarf''s face. In this period of time, Reduran had come to terms with his situation and filed it away within his mind, in the form of the ever-so-convient list.


    1: I am in a new world, universe, or it might be one of those plane things those tree-hugging elves adore so much.


    2: Gods exist here, yet they are ''different'' from those who ruined my home.


    3: I am a ''Champion'', because of some deal I made with this being in front of me. 4: My family is safe.


    5: Some box called a ''System'' holds some sort of power over every being in this place(plane?)


    6: MY BEARD IS GONE


    However, simply filing away those facts had filled him with numerous questions. What is a ''System''? What is a ''Champion''? Why me? How do I ''spread'' a cause? Why is a non-dwarf so damn attractive? WHERE IN THE STONE IS MY BEARD? Questions plaugued his mind, yet he could ask none due to the power of the God in front of him still sealing his mouth from doing so.


    "Ah!" Began the deeper voice, the one that seemed to belong to the God of Metal. "The being awakes, dear sister!"


    A small chuckle escapes the same lips, with the strange bubbly and excited tone the Goddess of Blood seemed to evoke whenever she spoke. "He does do so, dear brother. I do realize dwarves are new to you, but you really must stop refering to him as a ''being''. It is likely making him mad. Dwarves have rather short tempers after all."


    Hearing this, the dwarf''s eye twitched, and he found himself able to speak once again. His voice, deep and strong yet somehow quite pleasant, was quickly released. "Our TEMPER is only for those who offend us, o''la. So how about ya get me some damn answers, eh?" His ghostly form shook slightly, fog rolling off of it towards the throne of the God.


    Instead of being offended, the bubbly Caema simply laughed lightly. "Yes, that would be a good start I do believe. Brother, do you wish to start or shall I?"


    "Sister, it would be more prudent for you to interact with the... Dwarf. I seem to have offended it."


    "He, Diomek. Now then, Mr. Dwarf before we get things under way, why don''t you tell me your name? And what ola means, for some reason the system has deemed not to translate that, yes?" A flawless hand was placed under their chin while she, as the Goddess of Blood and Flesh was undoubtably female, studied the etheral form of Reduran.


    The Dwarf sighed with defeat, he was never good with these kinds of people. Thankfuly, years of life with his wife had taught him to just go along with the flow as resistance tended to be futile and were often followed by a banishment to the forge for a few nights. Reduran met the immaculate eyes looking upon him with unbridled curiosity. "My name is Reduran of the clan Crimson-Axe, within the caste of nobility, fourteen generations of ancestors verify my claim. As for your question, it is o''la, not ola. The word means... It is hard to explain... this may be the best explaination; a being who is powerful but very strange. It is how we Dwarves address new beings, as by bein''able to think they possess the potential to be powerful. Even those tree-humping Elves and scat-loving Goblins were once addressed this way. It is tradition. Now, can I ask my questions?


    The God/Goddess'' eyes widen with suprise. "That is... suprisingly lacking the xenophobic tendencies that Dwarves are supposed to have, sister. Are you sure this is a dwarf and not the soul of a short and stocky human?" The being''s eyes narrowed suspiciously.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ??"Yes, brother," their eyes return to the glazed look that always appeared when a conversation between the two was commencing "He is from a different world, one where the culture would obviously have developed different." Reduran felt the attention return to him. "Yes, Reduran we can answer at least a few of your questions now, as long as they aren''t about the world you will be reborn on, or what exactly the system is."


    ''First things first,'' thought Reduran before he sputtered out, "Right. NOW WHERE IN THE STONE IS MY BEARD! My face is as naked as a babe''s bottom! Why?"


    At this, the gods simply stared wide eyed, before a smile cracked their face and a melding of th two tones quickly broke into laughter. Wiping a tear from their eye, the deeper voice stated, "Perhaps culture is more universal than you believe, sister."


    "You may be right brother, for that is not what I expected. Now, I suppose we must answer the question now." They indicate towards the fog." You are not in a real body for the moment Reduran, it is butfog given form. Your beard is too complex for fog to properly form without much more power than your soul can provide. It is also why you lack the form earned from your hard work as a blacksmith."


    Something was off in that sentence. She shouldn''t have known he was a blacksmith, she hadn''t even known his name. "How do you know I''m a blacksmith? If it is because I''ma dwarf, you wouldn''t be so sure... Is it that ''Champion'' buisness? Requirements of some sort?"


    A smile blossomed, along with a small amount of shock, upon their face. "Yes, that is correct. I suppose we should start from the top then. My brother and I have been cursed by the belief of mortals into this body, as our sects both slowly died out... before merging. How and why is not important, not yet, however we needed a champion who will celebrate both of our religions while keeping them seperate, so we may free ourselves from this cursed body. However, only creatures of the metal such as golems understood my brother, while I needed a being of flesh. None qualified amoung our few followers, so we had to look... elsewhere. So, by expending the majority of our power we summoned a being who had a connection with metal greater than any other yet still was of flesh and blood. Our power reached you, and the System impaled you with its talons and dragged you to this world. That is as simple as I can make it, and many details are missing, I know, however we would be here for far too long if I explained everything. You must explore the world on your own to fill in the holes."


    With this burst of new information, Reduran understood much more. However, there was much he still did not. "Then... What is the system? How do I ''spread'' ya cause?"


    With a sigh, the goddess continued "You will learn of the system through once on the world. We are forbidden from explaining it. However, we can answer your other question. It is quite simple really. You must show the people your power, save lives and become a hero or go on a genocide and make them fear you. Dark or light, good or bad, you must make people believe in us, and preferable worship us. However, we are taking a risk by giving you so much freedom. A god''s personality is dictated in part by what they are believed to be. Should you show me as evil... I will join the pantheon of dark. I hope you do not... But we have no choice."


    With tears in her eyes, the goddess stared at him. Somehow, he could tell the god was watching from behind her, as strong as before. "We have little time remaining, now that the system has bonded with you. You will be reborn soon. We have time for one last question."


    Slightly shocked, Reduran could only dumbly ask, "Reborn? What do you mean reborn?"


    "Enjoy your second childhood Reduran!" Came out the deep voice of the god. Terror filled Reduran''s eyes as he slowly started to fall through the ground.


    "WAIT! NO! DAMN YOU! WHAT ABOUT MY BEARD! A BEARD DOESN-" the Dwarf''s mouth sunk below the floor, and everything went dark soon after.