He wouldn't tell us his name
Hey!
I'm your host, Ran, Sarn's son from the Curse Breaker series, and as promised, I'm here to introduce you to our ex-war God, Guerren.
If his name is kind of familiar, that's because his name contains the French word for war, guerre. And you’re probably wondering why. There's a really good reason for this and I'll tell you I promise.
I was going to digress for a moment here, but I forgot what I was going to say. So let's go back to his name. Why does Guerren’s name have the French word for war in it?
Because he wouldn't tell us his name. I'm serious. Since we couldn't just call him ‘hey you’ Melinda had to come up with a name for him. But she was mad, so she just took the word for war in the only other language she knows and that happens to be French because that's what learned she middle school and high school.
Why did she take French in school? Melinda only had the option of taking French or Spanish in school, and the French teacher told her French had less verbs. So Melinda took French. Our scribe was only 13 at the time, and she wasn’t particularly interested in memorizing lots of words, so she chose French. But she still had to learn a lot of words so that plan failed.
Back to Guerren’s name. Since he wouldn’t tell us his name, and we had to call him something, so that's where his name came from. Unfortunately, Melinda assumed that at some point Guerren would tell us the actual game, so she can change it in the books. But we're now two and a half books into a trilogy with him having that name, and he has yet to divulge any other names to call him by.
At this point I think he might actually like the name, Guerren. So if you run into him, and he tells you another name, that probably isn't his name either. Just nod and smile if you find yourself in that situation. He's a tricky guy, so you should be tricky back.
But his search for an army to command might just help us save the world, so he's sort of a hero if you squint hard enough at him or offer him an army. That is what he wants.
What is an ex-god? Well, way back before I or the country I live in existed, there was a war between gods and angels, and you can probably guess which side lost. (Hint: it wasn’t the angels.)
Fun fact! The first scene of Gateway to Hell, book 1 of the Rogue Gods Trilogy, starts with the last battle in that war because you guessed it. Guerren was there, and he fought on the wrong side. He gets his butt handed to him by an archangel.
I was about to stop spoiling chapter one, then I thought about it, and why not just show you?
(This is a picture of a different chapter since I already showed you chapter one’s art from the paperback Kickstarter edition. Guerren is now gazing deep into your soul.)
Rogue Gods #1: Gateway To Hell
Fallen But Not Forgotten (Chapter 1)
Long Ago, The Last Battle For Heaven
Guerren’s heart pounded as the ground under him crumbled away faster than he could outrun the cracks splitting it apart. Orangey light shone through the gaps and hot geysers of sulfuric acid shot upward then fell in a burning rain on the soldiers running for their lives.
“We need to get out of here,” Shalimar shouted from somewhere nearby, but plumes of smoke obscured everything to the left and the right.
Lava fountained out of the ground in front of him as he skidded to avoid it. “I know, but nothing’s working right now.” Guerren tried again to flash himself away from here, but the world didn’t dissolve into a shower of sparks, and he stayed right where he stood, covering his eyes with his arm, and hoping his specially made armor would shield him.
“You dared to defy the will of God, your creator. He can forgive that and let bygones be bygones, but you must kneel now and swear you will serve Him. There’s only one God,” said a booming voice from above. He was probably an archangel, judging by his pompous tone.
Ash rained down on Guerren as he backed away from the lava spurting skyward in front of him. He could kneel and throw his lot in with this God who claimed to have created everything, including Guerren himself and all the pantheons of pagan gods. Plenty of his relatives had.
I’m a war god. What would this Creator God do with me? The thought of kneeling before the archangels he fought against made the fire inside him burn hotter and brighter, and he thought he might just have one more fireball left within him. After all, he was a god of war. “I don’t surrender to anyone. Come down here and fight me.” He shouted at the angel silhouetted against the gray sky.
“Have it your way. Just remember. You chose exile.” The archangel extended the rod in his hand, and violet lightning exploded from its tip. It streaked toward Guerren, but it missed when he dodged. Instead, it struck the ground, and it disappeared in a shower of rocks.
Something reached out of the abyss below and wrapped around Guerren’s ankles as he searched for something to grab onto. But the ground was gone, and the creature yanked him into stygian darkness.
“Remember, you had a choice, and you chose the way of pain. It didn’t have to end like this,” said the angel from above, and he sounded sad.
***
Next week, we’ll continue with chapter 1 and see what Guerren does next.
Don’t forget to follow the Kickstarter, so you know when it launches. Guerren is on the right. You’ll meet the other two characters in an upcoming newsletter!
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