God School Read online

  * * *

  Ev was taught the following in his first week of history class. Much of it he already knew, though there were a few surprises courtesy of knowledge only gods who had been around from the beginning could provide.

  The previous universe wasn’t so different from the current one. Over millennia the gods observed numerous similarities between universes. Each world seemed to follow patterns. Organisms, fashion and language were identical in each. The actual nations and cultured differed, though. No two universes had the exact same countries or history.

  Morovian civilization began in the warm Tru Republic far to the south of Mt. Orleia. Once mankind was sophisticated enough to build seaworthy vessels, they sat sail to all corners of the globe. After centuries of establishing colonies on the various landmasses of the world, they came into conflict with the only other major power that could oppose them: The Faust Kingdom at the northern pole. That continent was by far the largest on Narska, and their navy was just as large as the Trus. Both sides came to blows in a war that would span the known world. It was said its battles were fought around the clock, and that not a moment of peace was known while it raged.

  The Tru Republic and Faust Kingdom gave different names to the war. The war-loving Faustians called it the Most Glorious War due to its previously unheard-of epic scale, while the Tru people, beliving the Faustians to be a thoroughly barbaric people who threatened their very existence, christened the conflict the Barbarian Invasion of 370 PI (Post Immigration, referring to the Tru first leaving their homeland and exploring the new world). The Trus perhaps underestimated the Faustians due to their perceived lack of culture. In fact, the Faust Kingdom had a rich, proud history.

  Later, as technology advanced, pollution became widespread, and it would be many years before the countries of the world could get a handle on it. By then, numerous animal species had gone extinct and many bodies of water were too hazardous to use. The Lost Gods debated intervening, but ultimately decided humanity must solve this crisis on their own, just as they had in the previous universe.

  However, not all of them were so benevolent. These gods split off from them and formed Zero Grade. They appeared in several places and revealed themselves to humans in different cities, offering their guidance in exchange for worship. The newly-formed Divine Protector Academy managed to step in and put a stop to this, and at the end of the day convinced the human witnesses the fallen gods were, in fact, charlatans. It wasn’t that all of them represented negative traits; they simply had chosen not to follow the Academy’s philosophy.

  That was the last major skirmish with Zero Grade up to the present day. Since then, the organization had laid low, waiting for…well, no one really knew.

  * * *

  As his mole inside the Divine Protector Academy reported to him via secure telepathy, Belial sat in his office taking down the information. Specifically, he took note of the itinerary for the Academy’s upcoming field trip. He wanted every single detail.

  What day do you leave? he asked.

  Myrdon fourteen. The months of the year were Myrdon, Behrn, Hor, Ku, Remn and Aman.

  What time?

  7:30 b.n. Before Noon.

  How long will you be gone?

  Three days.

  So you’ll return on the seventeenth?

  Yes.

  When does the itinerary allow for free time?

  We’ll have time to ourselves on the second day.

  That will work nicely, Belial thought. You’ve made contact with Ev Bannen, correct?

  Yes.

  Good. All right, on the second day, I want you to get him someplace out in the open, where the refghasts can easily swarm him. After that, you know what to do.

  He pictured the mole nodding, even though he couldn’t see it. Understood.

  Good. However, Belial felt he needed to emphasize how important this was. Don’t yur this up, pooslicker. If this fails, we’re both yurred. After all I’ve done for you, you owe me everything. I own you.

  Even though no sound existed during telepathy, he imagined he could still hear the gulp. Yes, sir. I will not fail.

  You’d better not. Now get back to class.

  And with that, the telepathic conference ended. It was only a matter of time now. Soon the last of the necessary blood would be theirs, and with it, the world.

  Chapter V

  Ev’s next class was Religion 101. Unlike World History, which took place in an auditorium, this one was a regular classroom. Ev took his seat in the center row.

  Religion 101 was taught by Professor Mardley, a petite thirty-ish woman with shoulder-length red hair. Like Brandon Strong, she chose to employ an alias, so Ev had no idea as to her divine identity.

  “Just a reminder,” she said as class began. “We will be taking our field trip to Stiftung in the Murnau Islands on Myrdon fourteen.”

  Ev leaned over to whisper to Jaysin. The student body was so small the same students attended every class. “What field trip?”

  Jaysin replied, “Oh, that’s right. You just got here so you don’t know yet. We’re going on a trip to the Murnau Islands to witness their religious practices firsthand.”

  “She said Stiftung, right?” Ev turned to Maya who again sat to his left. “Isn’t that where you’re from?”

  “I don’t like to talk about it,” she said. “It wasn’t fun for me. I wish I didn’t have to go back.”

  Ev said, “You can’t simply choose not to go?”

  She shook her head. “It’s mandatory for everyone in the class.”

  Suddenly Professor Mardley spoke up, clearly annoyed. “If anyone has any questions, please direct them to me and not to one another.”

  “Sorry, Professor,” Jaysin said.

  Mardley then said, “All right, we’ve wasted enough time. Let’s get on with today’s lecture.”

  Since Ev had never been particularly religious, much of what was taught in that class ended up being new to him.

  The official religion of his homeland, Morovia, was Holoism. They worship the god Bethos. Three thousand years ago his prophet—and current assistant—Ku appeared on the continent proclaiming the rise of a new god. Nobody knew where Ku had come from. In actuality Ku had been a servant to Bethos’ wealthy family. Because of Bethos’ physical limitations, Ku was tasked with assisting him in his travels. Bethos loved to travel, and the two went all over the place.

  One day they got in a boat and set sail for unknown lands. They eventually ended up at a strange mountain jutting out of the sea. Bethos decided he wanted to explore. Well, it didn’t take long for the two to realize something was very different about the place. They felt renewed vitality and strength. Ku decided the mountain must be a previously unknown holy site. Bethos didn’t really care; the effect the area was having on him was all that mattered in his eyes.

  He made the decision to stay there indefinitely, and eventually the two discovered they kept getting stronger the longer they remained on Mt. Oleia (as Bethos named it). Not only that, but they stopped aging. The eventually came to the startling conclusion they were turning into gods.

  Centuries passed, and one day the Lost Gods showed up at the mountain. At first it looked as if they were going to come to blows with Bethos and Ku. Cooler heads—and Bethos’ charisma—prevailed, and the two sides agreed to work together. Bethos even came up with the idea to establish a school there to train new gods.

  Realizing he now had a chance to make a positive difference in the world, Bethos sent Ku to the various countries to spread his message of hope and peace. Ku brought the Eleven Commandments to everyone who would listen.

  Do not lie

  Do not kill, except in self-defense

  Do not steal

  Open your home to those in need

  Support your family

  Be there for your friends

  Give to the poor

  Be tolerant towards other religions

  Respect your government and its laws, unless those laws pr
ove to be unjust

  If you believe a law to be unjust, try to reason with the lawmakers before resorting to more drastic action

  Respect one another’s property

  The Commandments quickly took root in Morovia and the Tru Republic. However, the Murnau Islands did not accept all of what was taught to them. In particular, they altered the Commandments and cut them down to eight.

  1. Do not lie, except to women

  2. Do not kill another man

  3. Do not steal from men

  4. Open your home to men in need

  5. Support your family

  6. Be there for your friends

  7. Give to the poor

  8. Respect a man’s property

  The Murnau Islands ended up practicing an offshoot of Holoism called Principal Orthodoxy. They took out everything that might give rights to women. Furthermore, they struck down the parts that suggested it was acceptable to turn against the government. The islands themselves were a dictatorship, a fact that proved to still be true in the present.

  They also changed the nature of Ku himself. While the main body of Holoism merely believed him to be a prophet, Principal Orthodoxy taught that he was, in fact, Bethos’ son (which the good-humored principal would never let him forget) and divine as well. While Ku did, of course, possess godly powers from his time at Mt. Oleia, he never claimed to be a god. Furthering his master’s cause was always first and foremost in his mind.

  But while the Murnau Islands may have altered Holoism, the Faust Kingdom rejected it entirely. They worshipped the Lost Gods whom they had encountered in the past and so believed firmly in, even if they no longer knew their names. Actually, the Lost Gods had never given them their names. True to their name, they preferred to remain lost to the ages in order to avoid unduly influencing mankind.

  That didn’t stop the Faustians from creating over one hundred rules from worshipping them. Don’t eat chicken on the first day of the week; purify your body with oils before beginning worship; wear only sandals inside the sentagogue; do not give personalities to any of the Lost Gods. There were many such rules, but the Faustians followed each and every one of them faithfully.

  The last day of the week was perhaps the busiest for the snow-bound people. They rose early in the morning, went to go worship in the sentagogue, ate lunch (with several prayers interspersed throughout), performed acts of penance (doing good deeds for one another to work off their sins), ate dinner (with more prayers, of course), and finally went back to the sentagogue to give thanks to the Lost Gods for the good things that happened during the week.

  Their religious devotions stood in stark contrast to their loose pagan customs centuries before. In the old days, they had almost as many different religions as people, and everyone would worship whenever and however they pleased, and that often included committing violent acts against one another. Now it was all very structured, organized, and—perhaps most importantly—peaceful. The Faustian barbarism was a thing of the past.

  Ev found this to be a lot to take in. He had never given much thought to religion. Yes, his family had attended church regularly, but it had always been a cruel joke to him. His father had professed to be very spiritual, even going so far as to pray and sing hymns to the glory of Bethos. Afterwards, they would go home and Dom Bannen would sing hymns with his fists. Ev had never been able to accept a god that would allow such monstrous behavior.

  Yet now he knew there was not just one god, but many—albeit gods who were perhaps more human than myth would have him believe. Not only that, but now Ev had to become one himself. If he failed, he would be forced to return to his broken home.

  Once again he had to ask himself: Do I really have what it takes?

  * * *

  Later, Ev sat down to eat in the Divine Protector cafeteria. Despite what he had expected, it wasn’t a magical place. It was just a regular cafeteria. Evidently future gods took their meals just like everyone else.

  Jaysin sat next to him. “How’re you liking the Academy so far?”

  Ev shrugged. “It’s a lot more…normal than I expected.”

  “Oh? And what were you expecting? Talking broomsticks and magic?”

  Laughing, Ev said, “I guess you’re right. Gods are pretty human, I guess.”

  “Anyone can gain power,” Jaysin said. “See what a person does with it, then you’ll know if they deserve to be called a god.”

  That reminded Ev of something he’d been thinking about. “Let me ask you something, Jaysin. Sorry if this is personal—”

  Jaysin cut him off. “You want to know why I’m trying to become a god of money?”

  That sounded like a red flag in Ev’s book. “It’s personal, isn’t it? Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

  But Jaysin said, “No, no; it’s fine. You’re not the first to ask me. I’ll tell you.

  “See, I grew up in a pretty poor neighborhood in Chrichton City. Me and my family lived in poverty as far back as I can remember. We spent countless nights wondering if we were gonna eat the next day. We learned to appreciate money more than other people who always had plenty of it. I’m not greedy; I just know what it’s like to not have money, so I want to help those who are in the same boat I used to be.” This must be what Freya was talking about, Ev thought.

  “So you want to give people money?”

  Jaysin shook his head. “Doesn’t work that way. The rules are pretty clear about that. You can’t simply give them money. That wouldn’t be fair to everyone else. You can, however, nudge people towards financial security, point them on the right path. That’s what I plan on doing.

  “What about you? You given any thought as to what kind of god you want to become?”

  Ev shrugged. “I still don’t know what I’ll be truly capable of. Until I have a better idea of my powers, I can’t say.”

  “No hurry, mate. You have plenty of time to figure it out. You aren’t the only one, you know. My situation simply helped me to decide quickly.”

  Ev was thinking about this when Maya Brünhart suddenly sat down across from him. “H-Hey,” he said to her.

  “Hiya, Maya,” Jaysin added.

  “Hi,” Maya said to Ev. She didn’t seem to have even noticed Jaysin. “I want to apologize for the way I’ve been acting.”

  Ev put his hands up to stop her from going any further. “Hey, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  Nevertheless, she continued. “No, I feel I owe you an explanation. You see, I had a…rough childhood. What do you know about the Murnau Islands’ attitude towards women?”

  Ev said, “Just that they don’t treat you very well.”

  She replied somberly, “That’s…an understatement. To the men of the Murnau Islands, women aren’t people. Women aren’t even human. We are only objects who happen to walk and talk. We don’t have opinions of our own; we simply parrot the opinions of the men around us. In other words, we have no souls.”

  Jaysin gaped at her. He obviously hadn’t known this. “I…damn…”

  That was more than Ev could get out of his mouth. He didn’t know what to say. After a few moments, he managed to form the words “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to apologize,” Maya said. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was those men in Stiftung who wronged me.”

  Jaysin said, “Those pooslickers. But you were at least cared for, right?”

  Maya was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry. I’d rather not talk about this anymore. I really just wanted to set the record straight.”

  “Yeah, yeah, let’s change the subject. Maybe could tell us something else about yourself, Maya,” Ev said.

  She looked confused. “Like what?”

  “Uh…I don’t know…” Ev searched his brain for an appropriate question. “What kind of god—goddess?—do you want to become?”

  She perked up a little. “I’m trying to become a goddess of love like my mentor Professor Freya.”

  “How did you meet her?” Jaysin asked.
/>   “Well, she…” Her mood sunk again. “Saved me from my previous life.” Ev couldn’t be certain, but he thought he glimpsed scars on her arm under the sweater’s sleeve.

  Jaysin realized his mistake. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You couldn’t have known.”

  Ev realized talking with Maya Brünhart was its own minefield. One wrong move could cause serious damage. Regardless, he would never get anywhere with her if he didn’t try. And he wanted to get somewhere with her. She was beautiful. Maybe not to all men, but to Ev she was. Therefore, he decided to continue. “What TV shows do you like, Maya?”

  She perked up again. “Mostly nature shows. Professor Freya says if I want to become a goddess of love I’ll need to understand animals’ needs as well as humans’.”

  “That makes sense,” Jaysin said.

  “What exactly does a goddess of love do?” Ev asked. “Freya kinda gave me the basics, but I still don’t fully understand.”

  Maya explained, “A goddess of love primarily handles prayers related to family and finding one’s soul mate. She also helps people with basic acts of compassion, such as peace of mind following painful events like a breakup or losing a loved one.”

  It fell into place for Ev. “OK, I think I get it now. But how do you hear people’s prayers, anyway?”

  “We practice in the Prayer Chamber,” Jaysin said.

  Ev cocked an eyebrow. “The Prayer Chamber?”

  “Yeah. It’s a special room here that channels the prayers of everyone in the world and amplifies them so you can hear them. You start out in there. Once you become a full god, you’ll be able to hear prayers on your own.”

  Ev wasn’t sure what to think about that. “Sounds…interesting. Also sounds hard.”

  Jaysin laughed. “You’ll get the hang of it. Everyone does. Maya, didn’t you master it in record time?”

  “It wasn’t anything special. Professor Freya says I just have a natural inclination towards understanding people’s problems and helping them, and that’s what will make me a good goddess of love.”