“Now.” Naru’ma pulled herself up, walked past Tigna with slow steady steps, and stopped before Jalen.

Tigna followed behind her. “They were meant to be our sacrifices but—”

“But he turned out to be more troublesome than you can handle. I know that much. It is the reason why that I am trying to understand.” She stared long and hard into his eyes, seeming to slip past and see past the human facade. Then Naru’ma gasped, backing up, and nearly tripping over.

“What’s wrong?” Nola caught the elderly terisari.

Shocked, Naru’ma held her staff close to him, and it rattled erratically, its many beads emitting a golden luminance. “Good, it confirms what I glimpsed to be true.”

“What is going on, Naru’ma?” Tigna asked.

“It’s obvious,” Nola said. “Jalen is a descendant of the gods. Like our war chief, Vrask. ”

Naru’ma slammed her staff down, and its rattling stopped. “Not a descendant, Nola. You have much to learn. He is one of them. He tried to hide his divine presence behind a weak vessel. But it was that weakness that gave me a window to peer inside and witness the most beautiful sight.”

“What did you see?” Nola asked.

“Many things, my apprentice. I saw the radiant Sun Sister, Luwana, having a conversation with him. I saw great oceans of her life essence residing in him, its sheer mass too great for my feeble mind to comprehend.” Naru’ma dropped to her knees and bowed her head, which spurred all the terisar within eyesight to follow suit. Tigna was the last to drop, and the chief did so reluctantly, carrying a scowl on his face.

“Oh great god,” Naru’ma spoke in a praising tone. “Please allude us to your identity, so that we can worship your divine presence accordingly.”

Jalen cupped his chin, wondering how to handle this predicament.

“What the fuck are they doing?” Aldo asked. “You know, I haven’t understood a lick of what they are saying.”

He raised a brow. “Really? Oh, that makes sense now that I think about it. Come closer. Let me rectify it. You can’t live amongst them without understanding their words after all.”

When Aldo drew near, Jalen patted him on the back, letting some of his life force sip into the man. It wasn’t much, just enough to give Aldo true speech.

“There,” he said when the work was done. “You should be able to understand all languages now.”

Then he turned his attention to the professing terisar, who still had their heads bowed with devoted reverence. He initially thought that Naru’ma’s story about their gods was pure make-believe, probably originating from superstitions and coincidences. However, there was some truth to their belief in their deities. This universe, for instance, existed close to the universe where his life force resided. The close proximity facilitated a bleed-over effect of his life force sipping, albeit in small amounts, into this universe.

That explained Naru’ma’s seer abilities. Her attunement with his life force probably meant she could talk to non-sapient objects like the sun, trees, and the earth, gleaming from them the history of how they came to be. After all, everything in this universe came from his life force. He could see how she would mistake these elements for deities, especially the sun, which no doubt bewildered the terisar with its otherworldly radiance.

“You probably wouldn’t know about me,” he said at last. “My divine name is Erebus.”

“Erebus.” Naru’ma drew out the syllables, savoring the name. “Indeed, we do not know of you. Please enlighten us to your story, so we shall preach of your existence to the unenlightened.”

He rubbed the back of his head. This was becoming a tad too ridiculous. Where would he even start? What would he say? One thing was certain though, if he spoke of what he did, his story would contradict their account of their gods. He looked to Aldo for help.

“Don’t look at me,” the man said, shrugging. “This is way above my fucking pay grade. In fact, I’m beginning to think all of this is one giant acid trip, man.”

The terisar gazed up at him, their attention ironclad.

He sighed. “In the beginning, there was no light, no darkness, only nothingness. Then I birthed light into the cosmos. Where there was no light, darkness emerged. Where there was light, the very earth upon which you tread was formed.

“The sun bathed the earth in its radiant embrace, revealing the sky you see above, the blanket of water that nourishes you, and the trees that shelter you. Yun, my partner, molded the animals you feed on, and the very ancestors that birthed you.”

There. Short and sweet.

He let them ponder his words.

Oh, fuck, he thought. I forgot to mention the moon.

Nola raised her hand as he expelled a long breath, not envisioning that he would hold a TED talk today.

“Yes?” He nodded at her.

“If what you say is true, then it means you are the true creator. What role did Luwana and Raakar play?”

Murmurs of agreement flowed amongst the terisar about her question.

“Luwana is the sun,” he said, wincing internally. There was no reason to shatter their beliefs. “She watches over you during the day, passing over her duties to Raakar at night.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

This terisar seemed to find his words satisfactory, as they nodded along.

“Then where were you?” Tigna asked. “We know of the other gods because they speak to our oracle, Naru’ma. The gods have never spoken your name.”

“That is because they did not remember me. When I left, your gods were children. It was eons before the first of you walked the earth.”

“I shall add to his legitimacy,” Naru’ma said. “Luwana spoke to him with a tone of subservience. Like she was speaking to her father.”

More murmurs of approval broke out amongst the terisar. Naru’ma used this moment to send them all away, citing that Jalen needed to rest. Aldo snuck off with two female terisar who came to talk with him. Many terisar hung around on the outskirts, eager to converse with him, but Naru’ma’s swinging staff chased them away.

Nola offered to show him to his bed quarters. And Naru’ma relented with a chiding look directed at her.

“Tell me about this, Vrask,” he said while they crossed a bridge, alone now.

“We call him Vrask, the conqueror,” she said. “Leader of the Deathclaw Tribe and war chief of all fifteen tribes in the forest. People say he is the first son of Luwana, tasked with leading our people to prosperity. Is that true, Jalen… sorry, Erebus?”

“Jalen is fine. That remains to be seen. I plan to meet him as soon as possible.”

“I can arrange that with Naru’ma’s help. We are to journey to the Deathclaw village next week with our sacrifices for the Rite of Reckoning. I’m sure your presence would be welcomed and can hasten our journey.”

At the end of the walkway, a house clung to the trunk of a tree. It was small but cozy and adequately furnished, albeit with a bed made of piles of soft hide. Nola lingered at the doorway after letting him in.

“Will you invite me in?” she asked.

A flicker of recognition passed between them.

He laid down on one side of the fur bed, giving Nola a sidelong look. “What do you think?”

Nola needed no further confirmation, sauntering in, her hips accentuated by her gait. She stood before him and took off her leather top. Her movements were mechanical, but the hungry look she gave him made up for it. Like everywhere else on her body, except the palms of her limbs, her breasts were furry; small, and topped with large nipples. Next, her skirt came off as his eyes traveled from her chest down to the contours of her sex.

“Come here,” he said.

And she obliged, crawling atop him and pinning his hands above his head. “This is my apology for striking you in the head.”

She placed her hand on the side of his head and licked his neck, her tongue rough and electrifying. Then she ground on him, her sex smearing his pants, eager to devour him, it seemed. It was a hassle, but he managed to remove his pants. Immediately, Nola grabbed his erect member and sat on it.

She growled. “Oh, merciful Sun Sister! You are big.”

Deep in the throes of pleasure, she sat up and began to work on him, swaying back and forth like a seesaw. She was tight and wet and heavenly. He gasped, grabbing fistfuls of her breasts, then proceeding to knead her long nipples.

“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly, after minutes locked in intense motion. “I’m close.”

Her riding became more frantic as she bounced up and down his pole. The motion, plus the grip of her sex, sent euphoric bliss up his spine. Nola’s release came, her face twisted up into an orgasmic grimace. Her sex clamped down on him, her nectar dripping down his balls.

“You liked that?” he asked.

“Yes!” she exclaimed.

“Now it’s my turn.” He flipped her over and admired the soft curves of her body. “Get on all fours.”

“Like this?”

“Yes.” he grabbed the twin peaches of her rear. Her long prehensile tail wrapped around his arm in response. “I’d been admiring this ass from afar. Especially when that snake attacked and you jumped around.”

“I can’t believe you jus—oh!”

He slipped his member inside her. Although he did it at a slow pace, it seemed the length overwhelmed her. He grabbed her waist and pistoned her into the bed. She had her orgasm. It was time he got his.

❊ ❊ ❊

The melodic calls of birds woke him from his slumber the next morning. Nola lay draped around him. So, in the process of getting up, she blinked awake, then stretched and yawned, her predatory teeth bared for him to see.

She showed him the ways they prepared in the morning. They got their water from a catchment system of woven baskets, made from a special leaf that repelled water for lengthy periods. Their food consisted mostly of dried meat and fruits. The fruits, though alien in appearance, he enjoyed. Then, as they discussed the day prior, she left to meet the oracle and discuss their journey to the Deathclaw tribe’s village.

By the time he finished refreshing himself after eating breakfast, Nola had convinced Naru’ma to push the journey to Deathclaw forward. They set off before the sun reached its apex. The group consisted of Jalen, Nola, Naru’ma, who moved surprisingly quickly, and Tigna. Aldo was nowhere to be found, his assigned house being empty.

“Where were you, Nola?” Tigna asked. “We celebrated a feast at my house. We shared wild pork.”

“Uh, Jalen and I had much to discuss,” she replied.

“About what? You barely know him. Ah, did you converse about the gods?”

“You may be mighty, Tigna, but you are as blind as a newly hatched bird,” Naru’ma said.

He spent the next few days conversing with them about the history of their gods and their way of life, and the nights sneaking off with Nola for some fun. Tigna caught on the third day. The hatred radiating from the chief, enough to attest to that.

On the fifth day, the houses in the distance marked their destination. The village of the Tigna Claw Tribe appeared small compared to the colony that greeted them. The grand network of structures, above and below, hung off hundreds of trees, connected by a network of suspended bridges and winding walkways. Vertical gardens of greenery, vibrant flowers, and fruits clung to their trees. The air was busy with activity as the terisar moved back and forth, their colorful fur vying for his attention. The scents that permeated the air were truly exotic, with a spicy incense that tingled his senses.

“Hear me, my furred brethren, for I bring great news!” Naru’ma ran ahead of the group and spread her arms far, her voice carrying very far. “A god has descended from the heavens to Avani, to grace us with his divine presence. Hear me now, for this is your chance to be enlightened.”

He expelled a long breath.

The terisar turned to regard Naru’ma, their expressions more confused than anything else. Regardless, they drew near in droves.

Naru’ma carried on to the city center, a market where terisar traded their wares. Wherever she passed, they stopped to listen to her. Nola glanced at him and shrugged, then took his hand in hers, trying to comfort him. Despite being annoyed by Oracle’s loud preaching, he decided to take advantage of this opportunity to lure in the war chief.

“Erebus, the Great Maker, the Bringer of Light and Darkness, the Father of the Sun Sister, Moon Brother, and all that lies within our sight, has deemed us worthy to bask in his presence. Cease what you are doing and be enlightened about the true workings of our gods.”

Hundreds of terisar gathered in the city center with many more looming in the distance. Naru’Ma preached emphatically, her hands swaying like lunging snakes as she retold the tales of his creation. He had to hand it to her. She had absorbed everything he said since he came here. Regardless, unlike the terisar of the Tigna Claw Tribe, these people didn’t take too kindly to her words. Confusion, disdain, disbelief, and outright hostility were the emotions swirling among the crowd. Yet Naru’Ma preached on, undeterred by the crowd’s animosity. Nola attempted to stop Naru’Ma before the terisar got physical, but a deep voice boomed from afar, a sea of people parting to let a towering, muscular terisari with the deadliest glare emitted from his piercing green eyes through.

“God, you say? Let me see this god for myself.”