I was still, and my mind was racing in the wake of my failed attempt to manipulate the water in front of me. I stood over the water and considered what to do next.
----------------------------------------
So... this is weird. Let me see if I can identify the differences between what I'm trying to do here, and what I did in my realm.
I'm trying to control water, and before I controlled the air. I'm in the world of my birth, a world that doesn't seem to be as divinely morphic as my home dimension.
Is my body language different? Sort of. I'm actively moving around this time. Is that the difference?
----------------------------------------
After noticing a handful of differences I could act upon I decided to modify my approach and try again. I stood still and centered my mind around a new mental image. Instead of envisioning the water bending to my will I envisioned the air forming a silver curtain around me, becoming the same sort of manipulable air I had played with back in my home-realm.
I was perfectly still while my mind zeroed in on that picture. And then I rose my hands to the sky and unleashed a burst of chaotic divine energy in a circle centered around me. Unlike some of the past times, I had used divine energy instead of a named divine power what I did just now created a visible effect. Silver ripples of energy lept out of my hands and into the air, traveling a few centimeters out before fading into nothingness. And then I focused my vision on the air around me.
And nothing happened. The air didn't change color. A minute passed and there were no signs of anything magical having taken place. Two minutes passed and I was beginning to grow bored due to how utterly ordinary the scene around me was. And when three minutes passed I began to accept the obvious: this experiment only served to remind me that different dimensions functioned differently.
"Well, that was disappointing." I said aloud, annoyed now by the fact that I had gotten so excited earlier when I had dared to hope that this would be easy. My companion, the shadow spore who had just become a shadow spore, walked until it was right beside me, and then began to speak.
"'Disappointing' Lord? Please excuse my ignorance, but why was... whatever just happened disappointing?" The thing asked, its voice gentle and filled with curiosity. It placed one of its long arms on my shoulder, for reasons that were unknown to me though my instinctual and magical connection to thing suggested that this was its attempt to comfort me in some way. I turned and looked at the thing's face, staring into its featureless ovally head before responding.
"Yes, my friend. Disappointing. And it's not 'what happened', but rather what didn't happen. You see, I am... experimenting with my godly powers and attempting to unlock new ones. What you saw me do just now was fail, not once but twice, at doing so." I explained, adopting my usual honesty as I spoke to the creature beside me.
A silence fell between us as the thing contemplated my words. But that silence was soon broken by the creature.
"Lord... do you feel like explaining what you were trying to do?" It asked, curiosity seeping out of its tone. I thought about it for a second, and then quietly nodded.
"You want to know? Well, sure! The first thing I tried to do was manipulate the water of the river. I was hoping that I'd be able to pull the water out of the river and will it to coil around my arm." I told my strange servant, a smile gradually appearing on my face as I spoke more and more. And then I was struck with a flash of inspiration. I opened my mouth and continued to speak, taking this chance to demonstrate my idea.
"You see, Shadow," I continued speaking, while absent-mindedly referring to the thing as the name of its species. My companion didn't complain or wince at this name and instead listened patiently to what I had to say, which I noticed and grinned internally at.
"What I would have done would look a little something like this." I said, before pointing my hand to the ground and harnessing my experience with my Earth Control power to activate it from memory.
An instant after my hand flared out, power was expelled from it and aimed at the ground beside me. Sand, soil, and rocks began to defy the gravity that kept them near the river and instead flow towards my outstretched hand.
When the floating particulates and detritus reached my hand they wrapped protectively around it and soon they completely surrounded it. When my hand was completely covered in a sandy, rocky glove, the stuff went on to protectively hug the rest of my arm. As a result in a matter of seconds, my left arm was completely covered by the natural byproducts of a forested lake, wet sand, soil, and countless tiny pebbles.
At that precise moment, I received a welcome notification: the system alerted me to the fact that I had just acquired my second of three needed communities to pass the second trial of dark sainthood. That made the grin on my face from my successful execution of Earth Control even wider. I looked over at "Shadow" and began to speak once more.
"Just imagine this," I said, before gesturing with my right hand to my left arm. "But with water. Or rather, imagine this." I said, before adjusting my arm and myself so that I was in the exact same pose as when I failed to manipulate the water. Shadow looked at me, its blank, canvas-like head twisting in my direction and studied me for a few seconds. And then it spoke to me.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Lord... did you not fail twice?" It asked, evidently equally curious about my second failure as it was about my first. I chuckled and nodded at my candid companion.
"Why yes, I did. But explaining my second failure might be a bit harder than explaining my first." I said to it. It silently waited for me to try. I sighed and began to explain.
"Well right before I teleported here and had you evolve, I was in my home. A god's home is a private dimension where its worshipers go when they die. It is the seat of their power, and while in it they can do things they can't do elsewhere. I knew that and experimented with my powers in there. It turns out that I can manipulate air, while I'm at home. And not here. Which I found out just moments ago." I explained. Shadow nodded at me, evidently accepting my explanation.
And then I studied my servant for a moment, studiously looking it up and down. "Are you hungry?" I asked it. To my surprise, my minion turned to face the river and then nodded. I patted its back and motioned for it to go get food in and from the river.
----------------------------------------
A few minutes later I was seated on the thin shoreline of the river. I was seated not far from where the goblins who had once spied on me had hidden from my followers and I, which wasn't far from where I had once accidentally killed a bear. I watched Shadow perform an action that was both it hunting and also scavenging for its next meal.
My servant was in the river, its shield or perhaps parasol-like hands near the surface of the water. Thin strands of hyphae jutted out of the limbs and into the water. My enhanced vision allowed me to see them in motion, searching throughout the river for food. Some of the hyphae were in the ground, munching on nutrients in the watery soil, and some weren't but were instead lazily hanging around, hoping for a fish to come within range.
While my eyes patiently tracked and learned from the subtle actions of my friend and minion, a healthy portion of my mind was analyzing every second I had spent in my divine realm after the events at the Parthenon. I played them over and over in my mind, as even though I was pretty sure that my failure to successfully control the elements was due to the fact that I was outside of my realm, I wanted to be certain that was what it was, which required me to study myself and my recent past.
Physically I was up to some well-spirited mischief that involved the first group of the forests' inhabitants I had ever become aware of. In what felt like the ancient past I had gained an awareness of the Tremor-Sense power. At that time I learned of the existence of creatures that burrowed under the earth but during my time in this forest I haven't had any encounters with them.
But now I was gaining mastery over the earth, and I had followers who dwelled underground. And in this moment, to kill time and make new friends, as well as satisfy a little part of me that had always wondered what burrowing bugs and other subterranean animals looked like, I decided to diversify the sort of creatures I had met. Some of the same sorts of burrowing beasties that had lurked underground when I first came to life were burrowing under my follower and I right now. And I was in motion, working to meet them.
While my follower was busy gathering its next meal I was engaged in an unusual pattern of behavior. Every few seconds I would slightly lift my feet off the ground and then bring my feet down onto the very ground I was sitting on.
Each time I brought my foot down I sent faint vibrations using Earth Control deep into the kilometers of dirt, soil, and rocks underneath Shadow and I. And with each vibration, I transmitted into the world of subterranean beings beneath us the more creatures began to gain an awareness of us.
----------------------------------------
In the sand, soil, and rocks beneath Shadow and I there was an entire ecosystem of creatures. Each time I brought my foot back onto the sand I was sitting on top of Tremor-Sense went off and showed me not only the countless inhabitants of the forest but also all the varied sorts of creatures that lived underneath this magical place.
Long ago I had gotten my sonar-like ability to the point that I could see the species of nearby beings whenever I focused on the mini-map it provided me. As I looked at it at this moment I could see all manner of delightful sounding things living whole lives underneath the ground.
With a glance at the map, I could see fierce-sounding names like Firespitter Beetles or Pitfall Spiders. I could also see curious but less intimidating sounding names like Earthworm or Farmer Ant which also drew my attention. I wanted to meet these creatures. To greet them, and learn about their lives. And this was the perfect time to do just that.
From now until the day of the election in Namira I didn't have much to do, so this was the time for me to practice my powers, make this place a holy site, and gain new allies throughout my birthplace.
At this moment I was reminded of my younger self and how my own enthusiasm to make friends had accidentally gotten some young mice killed. That memory wasn't a great one, but it was because of it that I was careful in how I was trying to draw the creatures I wanted to meet towards me.
I didn't want to ensorcell them, which had been a disaster when I lasted tried it. I wanted them to come of their own free-will, in so far as they had free-will.
I wouldn't repeat the mistakes of my younger self. So I patiently tapped my foot onto the floor, over and over. Each of my taps sent out little vibrations, alerting anything nearby as to my presence. The small part of my mind devoted to this idle curiosity of mine reflected on the traits that ensured my safety as I did this.
----------------------------------------
I am lucky my adventures have granted me such an odd assortment of feats, skills, and powers. Things like Ally to Vermin" ensure I won't be attacked, and other things like "Beast-Lord" ensure that anything that comes my way will register that I am a god. And even if anything did attack me, there's a forest on both sides of me. I can use any number of plant-based abilities to defend myself, in addition to all sorts of combat-related powers.
It seems like my quirky adventures and the wacky assortment of abilities they granted me are really useful in an arboreal place like a forest... How lucky is that?
----------------------------------------
Each tap of my foot drew little beasties and bugs closer and closer to me. And that made me grin, a grin that grew wider each time my foot touched the ground and my Tremor-Sense was updated.