There are celestial bodies in the sky that, unlike the stars, do not remain motionless but move in a predictable pattern, similar to the sun and moon. Ancient peoples believed these wandering lights represented their gods and called them Travelers. The Greeks, following this tradition, named these celestial bodies Planetes Asteres, from planáo meaning “to wander or travel” and aster meaning “star” or “celestial body.”

  The first to record these bodies in writing were the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians. They named each one after their deities. One of these planets, peculiarly red, became synonymous with massacre, blood, and violence; they named it Nergal, after their god of war and pestilence. Later, the Greeks renamed this star Ares, and the Romans called it Mars.

  It was on this planet that the god Ares had established a small kingdom of war gods who had defected. They were not in hiding, since they had reached a non-aggression pact with Lel. As long as they upheld it, there would be no orders placed on their heads. They could not remain on Earth, so they settled on a nearby planet—one that evoked their violent past.

  Long ago, after Lord El rose to power, the divine pantheons—who had begun forming alliances among themselves—started creating guilds. These guilds were classified based on each deity’s function or domain.

  There were guilds of gods of the skies and weather, the sea, the heavens, fire, marriage, forging, animals, civilization—and of course, war.

  When Lord El negotiated peace between several divine kingdoms and the decision was made to establish a monotheistic faith—Christianity—to avoid further conflict, many gods of the war guild protested and rebelled. Needless to say, they were crushed with relative ease, and all rebels were expelled from Lel.

  The rebel gods lost everything—their privileges, their resources for a comfortable life, and of course, all their totemas were deactivated and rendered “dead.” Unable to return to their original realms, they created wandering kingdoms throughout various parts of the multiverse. Planet Mars was the last place where they had settled.

  There were internal conflicts within these war gods. Some remained in this wandering realm, while others defected again—some returning to Lel, others joining Athena’s ranks. Its inhabitants included not only gods, but also malakim, nefilim, and even behemoth.

  Nergal, the one who had united all deserters since their rebellion and established this nomadic kingdom, had been assassinated in a coup. Ares, the Greek god of war, now led them.

  However, unlike Nergal, Ares sought a better relationship with Lel, and they managed to reach a non-aggression agreement, granting them permission to settle on Mars. Since some of these gods had cultic roots tied to the planet, emanations of faith granted them extra strength—even though their totemas remained dead.

  Still, Ares longed to return to Lel with full rights and privileges restored, including the reactivation of their totemas. But the negotiations had not made any progress… until recently.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Anat had promised Ares relocation rights for certain war gods if they brought her the heads of specific rebellious goddesses. Although the goddesses were renowned among Lel, it was clear they could not defeat all the war gods—especially Ares’s elite squad: the Keres.

  However, Ares was a coward, and although the idea of killing those two goddesses had tempted him at first, now that he knew they had joined Orniskem, he trembled in fear. Never once, in all his years on Olympus, had he been able to defeat Athena. And she too had an army ready to fight.

  Ares needed to decide whether to attack those two goddesses and declare war on Athena—risking enormous losses—or worse, his complete defeat. This was the trial Lel imposed upon him if he wanted to return.

  Abundant ambrosia, thermal baths, beautiful nymphs—recovering all of that was a massive temptation. On Mars there was only a red sky and constant sandstorms. No plants, no animals. The gravity was so low it felt like being underwater. And although they had created some comforts inside the planet by using alternate dimensions, it wasn’t the same.

  Olympus was so beautiful… and he hadn’t set foot there in centuries.

  The god Ares returned to Mars in an enormous chariot drawn by two magnificent dark horses. He returned from Lel, and after being informed of the whereabouts of the goddesses Tannit and Morrigan, his expression had turned grim.

  The chariot landed near a massive mountain on the planet, which they had named Areopagus, in honor of a temple in the human world, also built atop a mountain. Although in the original Areopagus Ares had been declared guilty of murdering one of Poseidon’s sons, he still loved the name: “Hill of Ares.”

  The Greek god discreetly opened his left hand to reveal a circular golden object. He stared at it, then abruptly closed his hand and shut his eyes. Once the chariot stopped, he stood up and opened the carriage door.

  “My lord Ares, what a joy it is that you have returned to us,” said a man who had been waiting for him, accompanied by a squad of malakim armed with flaming swords.

  Ares stepped out of the chariot with poise and elegance. His skin was olive-colored, and his hair and eyes were as dark as the night. He had a strikingly handsome face and a prominent Greek nose. He wore a crimson Thracian armor and carried his Thracian hoplite helmet in his left hand. On his back he bore a massive spear, and at his right side, a sheathed sword.

  “Gather all the Keres in the combat hall immediately, Zalmoxis,” Ares ordered as he walked toward his palace, the malakim bowing to him.

  “At once, my lord,” said the man named Zalmoxis.

  The sky was red and a sandstorm was raging, worsening Ares’s foul mood as he approached his palace. It was a three-story building of white and gold, supported by numerous Greek columns. The entrance featured a massive mahogany portico guarded by two malakim.

  As Ares approached, the malakim bowed and opened the door.

  Inside was a gigantic chamber with a long crimson carpet. The enormous room was surrounded by Greek-style columns, and neither the walls nor the ceiling could be clearly seen. The red carpet and torches burning on the columns gave the sensation of being in an isolated place—like a labyrinth of pillars.

  “Prepare my bath,” Ares ordered a group of maidens at his service. The women nodded.

  Inside the bath was a massive pool fed by faucets shaped like horses and birds. The water was warm, since Mars was a peculiarly cold planet. Ares remained there, deep in thought, pondering the path he should take.

  What if he brought Athena’s head to Anat? Would the reward not be even greater? Perhaps even being declared the annunaki of Olympus, now that his father was preparing to retire?

  Ah… how beautiful those days in the great bath of Olympus had been—where Ares could violate any nymph he desired, and as Zeus’s son, no one dared scold him. But not here—here every member was counted, and he needed to respect them for that. He couldn’t afford another mass exodus of his forces.

  But still… he wanted to regain his former life.