The Wars of the Gods

by

Khalenden Filagish

The Ring Series:

I Dawn of Man

II Nine Black Rings

III The Holy City

IV A Call to Heroes

V The Guile of Hecate

VI Kali’s Gambit

VII Curse of Empire

VIII The Marriage of Sif and Thoth

IX The Rise of the Clergy

X The Hand of Hephaistos

XI The Patience of Heimdal

XII Rage over Reason

XIII The Theft of Magic

XIV The Flametide

XV The Dark Contract

XVI The Shadow of the Dragon

XVII The Kangrisorn Wars

XVIII For the God of Love

XIX The Lady of Pain

XX Nergal Denied

XXI The Gate Opens

XXII To Do And Die

Ironically, this book describes the creation of the gods, in the sense that the way they appear to man are mostly formed in this period. Though this volume is by far the most speculative of the books, it does provide the reader with a detailed account of the origin and subsequent changes in the way each god has been viewed by men. In the game of the gods, Diancecht, the 'inventor' of man, fails to take the full advantage of his creation, whereas other gods are quick to catch on to the potential inherent in the human race.

This book describes the rise of Inanna following the creation of the Sun and the tricking of the Ancient Races. Khalenden belittles the heroic feats necessary to steal the Black Rings from the Ancient Races by pointing out that the heroes were in fact no more than game pieces whose remarkable successes were due to the direct hands of the gods. All through the book, the elves are demonstrated to be well-meaning fools bringing up a cuckoo in their nest.

This book describes the rise of the city as a sacred place where all trade is done. The trade between man and man, and the trade between man and god. Once more, the title is ironic as Khalenden shows the reader that what the priesthoods claim to be holy communion is no more than a sordid business transaction. The volume focuses on the city of Suada as it grows to be a temple complex-cum-capital unrivalled in Bandagora.

The central point of the book is the period when Emperor Sertovian appeals to heroes to recover the lost Black Rings. Though similar to book II, it focuses on the role of heroes in general. They are seen as more powerful than pawns, but still only game pieces, yet another instrument through which the gods can exercise their power.

By inventing spells, a speedy and effective improvement to the cumbersome rune magic previously available to men, Hecate manages to augment both her own power and that of magic. She, at the outset a minor goddess herself, needs assistance in her scheme, and so enlists help from other lesser gods only to fool them in the end. The volume also derides the elves for losing magic as their prerogative. The author asserts that from the point humans took control of magic (with the Book of Enchantments), the doom of elves is only a question of time.

In this volume we leave Bandagora and visit Haskeem (The Land of the Sun), to see a failed attempt by Kali to induce mankind to renounce magic (and Hecate) as a heresy. It is an odd appendix to the history of Bandagora, but it is an important study if one believes that man’s discontinued practice of magic is crucial to the survival of elves. It also represent an upping of the ante, as the gods now do not limit themselves to struggling for positions, but aims directly for the destruction of one another.  Excerpt

This book bemoans the failure of man to create a well-functioning society. It tells the story of the First, Second and Third Empires (in the book they are called the Settlers, the Builders and the Rulers respectively) paying the most attention to fall of the Third Empire. The underlying, but unspoken, assumption of the volume, is that if humankind could develop a social structure allowing each person to realize his potential, then the gods would lose their power over men. Obviously, the gods would never permit this to happen, and so imposes a hierarchal order upon men, mirroring the relation between the human race and the gods.

This book tells of a longstanding alliance between the two gods, and how they in their appearance have switched sexes. The focal point of the book is Kartria, and it demonstrates how centers of learning may compensate man for his brief life. Again, no gift of the gods is ever imparted without an ultirior motive. Once more the title is ironic, as the gods of knowledge split all research into two seperate branches. Sif orders endless experiments without ever stopping to organize the knowledge gained from them. Thoth decrees that only books may be consulted without not so much as a glance at reality. Thus the marriage in heaven in effects severs all gathering of knowledge into two parts, each equally sterile without the other.

In a long sweep through time, this volume picks up the thread from "The Holy City". It shows of how the gods reward men who dedicate themselves to one or a few gods. Slowly these powers have increased while the average man’s access to the gods has diminished, making the clergy a strong intermediary and interpreter of the gods. In this final volume of the "Ring Series", the author sees the beginning of the human common calendar as a fitting marker, symbolically denoting the change from the gods’ former ‘manifest presence’ to the present ‘charade’, where man is allowed to believe he has control.

The Rune Series, volumes 10-22

In the later volumes, the gods play a less direct role, being more insidious but no less in control. It may be that the author is afraid of the reader missing the point, for the text becomes more lecturing and less storytelling. Some have speculated that he started out with great enthusiasm, but now that the centuries have past, he simply wants the job done. Others see the "Rune Series" as written with greater academic rigor with more emphasis on clarity and thoroughness.

The most part of this book is dedicated to the collapse of the Island Concorde. It also shows how metalwork has become an important factor in the stability of nations, especially Pandesa and later Penboyn. It describes how good armor made possible the emergence of chivalry and to some degree a lessening of the call for heroes. The net result of these changes is that social mobility is lessened, making it harder for challenges to the status quo, either by individuals or groups, to succeed.

The book tells of the founding of Rit-Kilaan (originally The Far Lands, later The High Lands) as a country dedicated to the worship of Heimdal. Its point is to show how a power struggle between Inanna and Heimdal takes the form of theological debate among the more or less fanatic followers. The title is ironic in the sense that though the priests of Heimdal claimed that the god was waiting, in truth he managed to found a country dedicated to himself that lasted for more than 700 years. Interestingly, this volume shows clear signs of having been written long before the Troll Wars, yet it displays no doubts as to whether the predictions of Ardsil would come true.

In this volume the author laments the fact that humans are emotional puppets of the gods rather than creatures who think before they act. The history of Harastar and later Ontaine is told, with the focus on the purges of wizards in late fifth century and the conquests in the sixth. To the author, it is no paradox that magic is to blame. Had it not been for the wizards, the author speculates, Druso might have succeeded and Ekla not been burned alive. The wizards, greedy in their hunger for power, display a hubris that is resoundingly punished by the gods, still jealous of Hecate's rise in power that seems to continue. The machinations of Ares and Modi are revealed in such a way that Ontainians appear as little better than orcs.

One of the most controversial books, in which the disappearance of The Book of Enchantments is purported to be orchestrated by Loke. Indeed it did seem that Kartria lost control of illusion magic and to a lesser degree necromancy, weakening Hecate and strengthening Loke and Nergal. It contains vivid passages of the theft which the author admits is conjecture (something he does nowhere else). It also contains several gleeful pages about the "Unseen Attacker" spell, which now is barred from the common human wizard.
Note: This book is only known in a Dacrian translation found in a dragon’s lair on Osbane. It has not been possible to affirm the version’s verity with magic.

This volume describes the orgy of destruction commonly known as the Nomad Invasions. The rise of Varenna and Gorghis is attributed to Agni. Though Agni is also revered as a god of horses, the power of the tribe, the Zingari (the "Children of Fire" or simply "Sparks") ‘burnt out’ with the death of Gorghis. In an elaborate discussion the author asserts that the common explanation, that the nomad army fell apart when the victories and the subsequent loot stopped, is not wrong, but must be understood as a veil for Agni to operate beneath. And like fire, she uses people leaving them behind as no more than empty hulks.

A controversial book which until a few years ago was considered obscure from a human viewpoint. It continues the unflattering description of the Ontainians from "Rage over Reason" with a heartbreaking account of the destruction of Lenhviel. This destruction led some of the surviving elves and sympathizers to make a contract with Anshar, dedicating themselves to the destruction of the sun, in return for some clerical powers and control over devils.
Unlike the other volumes, the tone is ever commiserating, never derogatory, even when Khalenden claims the elves of Lenhviel repeat the mistakes humans have done over and over, believing themselves equal partners with a god.
Note: No real copy of this book is known to man, but the historian Andrevan claimed he somehow got to read it and dictated the contents from his memory shortly before his death. No one doubts Andrevan’s honesty, but many believe he was fooled.

This volume deals with the work of Plutus, and the influence of the merchant class. Focusing on the recovery of The League of Cityports from the Nomad invasion, its draws a line through the founding of Nordacria to the ‘unholy alliance’ between Pandesa and Ontaine, the latter allowing the Pandese Empire a covert foothold at the Inner Sea. The cometary rise of Enders is mentioned and discussed briefly.
The point of the volume is to demonstrate how friendship and family ties are replaced by money as the glue holding the nations of man together, diluting moral standards in the process.

This book is a showcase for the author. The concept of ‘Holy War’ or ‘Crusade’ fits like a glove to the fundamental premise of his work. Chessmen move across the board and attack each other mindlessly. Gods chuckle in delight and grunt in dismay while thousands meet their deaths like lambs to the slaughter. If the reader disregards the heavy sarcasm saturating the volume, he is presented with what is considered one of the most truthful account of the wars. The author does not hide the fact that he is pleased that the Ontainians lost the wars.

In what is considered the weakest of his work, the author sets out to prove that not one god is unselfish. He goes through the list of gods, and if any god appears benign by action or sphere of control, he questions this god’s motives by suggesting possible reasons relating to the interdivine power struggle. His case in point is the goddess Freya, whom the author holds responsible for the Salaqi "Two Hundred Years War". The explanation is plausible, but makes many assumptions about the ‘minds’ of Freya and gods in general that seem ad hoc and which most human philosophers would not accept. Most scholars consider this volume interesting as it seems to offer the most insights on the mind of the author.

This book traces the history of the Iron Fist secret lodge from its origins at the Ontainian conquest of the city of Pandesa to the first few years of Emperor Hardaukar III’s rule. Its aim is to show the growing influence of Lilith in the Pandese Empire and its neighbors. Khalenden feels confident that the Pandese Empire will dominate Bandagoran history in the future, making it even more alarming that many young men now owe their loyalty to a cult of pain where they once held their faith

Note: The titles of three last volumes are tentative. Through divination performed in 1115, it was surmised that volume 20 had been written, volume 21 was being written and volume 22 was to be written.

Presumably about the Ring Saga. If Khalenden is truly a drow, then the title implies an odd detachment to what is commonly understood as the drow failure.
Divination suggests that the volume deals with the callousness of the gods as the trold folk hordes overrun central Bandagora. Though generally fighting to preserve the status quo, each god fends for itself, offering little or no help to their loyal subjects.

One must assume that this volume is about the present. Apart from that, the contents are anyone’s guess.
In 1116, the sage Ufrian of Triale insisted that he had evidence that the 'gate' mentioned in the title is one of time. Powerful persons, even deities, from both the past and the future will arrive in Bandagora to battle. Prometheus, Ufrian claims, fights for his ascendency. If the god wins his place among the other gods, he would command the ability to reach back into history and change it. Worse, Ufrian continues, the explanation that many sages had never heard of the Horned One before the list of portents were known, is that he does not exist - yet. According to theories published by Ufrian, the Horned One has been exiled to the far future, close to the end of time. He will arrive if and when his mad followers have gathered the power to breach the wall of time and bring him back.

If this is the final book, one would expect a summing up of human history and a discussion of the human condition. Men are doers, in contrast to elves, who are thinkers. A few scholars claim to note a softening in Khalenden's view toward mankind as he nears the final volumes, a faint note of recognition creeping in, pity often replacing scorn. In any case, this book may have only a passing mention of current events.

To some scholars, the fact that the Wars of the Gods ends in the near future has been interpreted as Khalenden’s expectation that the sun will be out, and man cast in eternal shadow. However, there is no direct evidence in the work that Khalenden believes this. Others hope to see in the future a new glorious age of mankind, signaled by the ascension of Prometheus. To these suggestions, Ufrian has added the somber prophecy that there might not be much more to write about in the future. Civilization as we know it will cease to exist, sun or no sun.