2. Hero of the Lost Temple
High up in the mountains, there was once a temple. This temple was no ordinary temple,
but was once used as a temple to warship the god of war, Aristopholes. The temple was kept far
from the towns of mortals because Aristopholes believed wars should be regulated, and not run
rampant all over the land. Only a select few were chosen to know of the temple. One day, the
goddess Osiris visited one of the men at the temple and bedded him. Of this meeting a child was
conceived, Miral.
Miral was left behind with the man, and Osiris went back to the land of the gods. Miral’s
existence was kept secret from the gods by Osiris. The father of Miral was left to raise him alone
at the temple with the aid of the monks. Those monks began to train him in the art of war. Miral
was a quick study of concepts of strategy, and also began to excel in the many forms of martial
arts. He was a very honorable young man, and never fought when he knew he had the clear upper
hand; he preferred the challenge.
One day, the husband of Osiris discovered the night of Miral’s conception. In a rage, he
decided to go to the temple and kill this man and the child born from their meeting. Miral was
out in the mountains doing daily training when Ramu unleashed his wrath. Many of the monks of
the temple were killed, along with Miral’s father. Convinced that the baby was more than likely
one of the younger monks that he had killed, Ramu left to return to the land of the gods as
quickly as he came.
When Miral returned, he came across the bodies of many fallen monks. In a panic, he
began to search all throughout the temple to try and find his father. After searching many rooms,
he found his father lying dead. One of the surviving monks, who had witnessed the whole thing,
3. came to Miral and told him of how Ramu had come and killed most of those who inhabited the
temple. The monk then told Miral that Ramu must had finally learned of Miral’s existence, and
Miral finally discovered that he was a demi-god. Miral then decided he was going to get revenge,
and kill Ramu. The monk tells Miral to seek out the town of Anubia, where he will find an old
monk who can help him find the temple of Ramu. Miral packed up some belongings, and set out
on his journey to avenge his father.
When Miral arrived at the town of Anubia, he noticed several strange things. None of the
people he encountered carried any weapons. None of these people even looked like they knew
how to wield a weapon. He began to ask around to where he might find this monk he had been
told about. After asking many people, he was pointed to a small hut on the outskirts of town.
When he arrived at this hut, he felt an odd presence. An old man walked up beside him and
asked if he is lost. He said he is seeking a wise old monk to which he can learn the location of
the temple of Ramu. The old man revealed himself to be Mephala, the monk Miral had been
seeking. Mephala, he discovered is a demi-god like him, and was also once a monk at the temple
to Aristopholes. From Mephala he learned that the temple to Ramu is found at the heart of the
Venusian mountains. He also explains that a journey there will be pointless because no mortal
can kill a god. Even as a demi-god, Miral would stand no chance. Mephala then tells him of an
old weapon created by the king of gods himself, Mullich, The weapon is actually two swords,
and are called the Blades of Absolution. These were the weapons created in an ancient battle to
eliminate the evil gods of the past. Miral discovered that the location of these blades is in the Pit
of the Fallen. He decided to travel there and obtain those swords.
After journeying for many days and nights, Miral finally made it to the Pit of the Fallen.
He dwells on the last words that the swords would be guarded by an ancient guardian, the great
4. basilisk. Not wanting to waste any more time, he bravely began to descend into the pit to fight
the might serpent and obtain to prize.
Once Miral had reached the bottom of the pit, he discovered a small shrine. In this shrine
he saw a pedestal with two glowing swords sheathed and floating in air. Knowing that those
were surely the swords of which he sought, he began to walk towards them. Suddenly, out of
nowhere, a large tail whipped from his side and slammed into him. The blow sent him flying
through the air until he crashed into the nearest wall of the shrine. As he rose to his feet he knew
it had to be the basilisk. Not frightened by this new foe, he drew his sword and waited for it to
lung at him. Remembering his training at the temple, he knew that the basilisks of old age had a
single weakness. The basilisks had thin skin just below the base of the neck. So he waited till the
basilisk lunged at him and jumped onto its back. With the beast thrashing about, he drove his
sword into the base of the neck, killing the mighty beast. With the beast dead, he walked to the
pedestal and grabbed the two swords.
After climbing from the pit, he proceeded to head to the Venusian Mountains where he
would finally be able to challenge Ramu and avenge his father. Miral knew he would have to
come up with a strategy. A god would not simple just lie down and die. So he thought about how
he could get close enough to use the Blades of Absolution. Then it dawned on him. Ramu would
not know that Miral had acquired the blades. He would simple taunt Ramu until he came close
enough to quickly whip out the blades and cut him down. He soon neared the temple and decided
that this plan was the best he was going to be able to come up with. He covered up the sheathed
blades around his waist with a cloak and went into the temple.
5. Once he was in the temple, he approached the altar where people prayed and began to
call to Ramu. For a while there was no response. Then Miral decided to shout how Ramu had
failed to kill him, and that he was the son of Osiris. It did not take long before a response was
made. Ramu appeared almost out of nowhere with a look of rage on his face.
Knowing that his initial taunts were successful, he now only had to lure him in close.
After talking back and forth with rather harsh words, Ramu began to shout at Miral. Miral
continued to taunt and mock Ramu until he finally lost his temper. Ramu in a fit of rage flew at
Miral with blinding speed. Knowing this would be his only chance, he stood his ground waiting
for the precise moment to strike. Finally, just as Ramu just into reach of the blades, Miral flung
open the cloak and unsheathed the blades. Recognizing what was at Miral’s waste, Ramu tried to
stop his lunge, but it was too late. The blades were already flying through the air and cut through
Ramu with relative ease. There was silence for several minutes as Ramu slowly vanished. When
gods die, they don’t get an afterlife. A god just fades away when they parish.
With the death of Ramu, Miral headed outside to prepare for the journey home. As he
looked at the lake next to the temple, he saw the reflection of his father in the water. All the
reflection of his father did was give a nod, like everything was finally at peace. Seeing
affirmation of his father, Miral knew he had got justice for his father’s death. With nothing left to
do, Miral decided to head back to the temple where he had grown up. He would take up the title
of protector at the temple of Aristopholes.
