Read Online Giants by Vaughn Heppner - Free Book Online Page B

slowly.
    “Zillith told me the same thing,” Joash said.
    Gens shielded his eyes from the sun and scanned the plains. “No mammoths,” he said.
     Herrek plucked a long blade of grass and put it in his mouth. He asked, “What does it mean that we haven’t seen any mammoths?”
    “I don’t know,” Adah said, puzzled. “But I’m beginning to believe the reason is important.”
    “What do mammoths fear?” Joash asked.
    “Mammoths fear sabertooths,” Gens said, who seemed to be watching Herrek’s reaction.
    “We must go back and tell Lord Uriah what we’ve seen,” Adah said.
    “And what is that?” Herrek asked.
     “That we’ve found no mammoths, and no sign of Elidad, other than his endless tracks leading inland.”
    Without a word, Herrek spat the stem of grass and patted Gens on the back. Gens flicked the reins and drove toward the hordes of teeming animals.
    Adah followed shortly.
    ***
    In another mile they would reach the horse-horde and reach the dire wolf pack fighting over a pulled-down colt. Already vultures wheeled overhead.
    Adah turned to Joash. “You must learn about the bene elohim, and then learn about their firstborn.”
    Why couldn’t she forget such dreadful subjects? It was as if she was trying to teach him hidden lore, but for the life of him, he couldn’t fathom why.
    She gave him the reins. Joash concentrated on the horses. They plodded on, every once in awhile bending down to take a bite of grass.
    “Prepare yourself to learn about one of the worst tragedies of the Earth. For this is the true story of the bene elohim . This is the secret story of the great rebel. This is the dreaded ‘Song of Azel the Bene Elohim .’”
    Joash tried to tell her that he wasn’t ready to hear such tales.
    Adah cleared her throat and said, “Listen as I chant.”
    ***
    Once, along with a myriad of others, Azel was Elohim’s Cherub. Yet, to these plotters came the Day of Rebellion. The war in the Celestial Realm was savage. Mighty were the spear strokes, graver still the wounds. At last the evil rebels were cast from the City, thrust into outer darkness. From there, they plotted. Many wished to implement certain schemes, others different ones. In the end, two lords rose up, two schools of thought proposed, that of Azel, and that of Morningstar.
    “Come with me to the Garden Paradise,” Azel told his brethren. “For if we cannot rule in the Celestial Realm, let us be gods and beget races below.”
    Many were swayed, and in a host they descended upon the doomed world. Using the stolen Rod of Creation, which Elohim had once wielded, Azel gave bodily forms to his brother rebels. He made it so each could sire a race after his own image. However the Rod of Creation was not a sword that any warrior could pick up and swing with skill, nor was it a smith’s hammer to be wielded by any sinewy arm. Nay, the Rod of Creation was a divine instrument, and in Azel’s hand, it turned upon him. In the changing of himself and his brother rebels, he chained all of them to bodily forms. No longer were they the princes of the air , but now they were bound to that which they could see, smell, hear, touch, and taste. They still possessed great powers, and supernatural were many of their feats, but both by their enemies, and by themselves, they were called the Accursed.
    In their rage, Azel and the Accursed conquered humanity. They drove the human cattle before them, and doomed many to a horror beyond their ken. First Born, abominations of spirit and flesh, were generated between the daughters of men and the bene elohim . The First Born, in turn, spawned the Nephilim: giants, fiends, Gibborim, necromancers, and champions of renown.
    The Dark Kingdoms arose, and but for the Shining Ones all would have been lost. For high in the Celestial Realm, those who had remained faithful to Elohim watched with growing fury. At last Balad the Blessed led a mighty host of Shining Ones to the Garden World. There they raised great