I gazed at the Specter before me. My how the tables had turned, now hadn't they. Though, in all truthfulness, I had not suspected that I had this much power stored up, and even now, it was hard to stabilize it, and be sure not to draw too much from the land and people. After all, the last thing I wanted was to accidentally kill some of them.

But I was strong; that much I could sense all on my own. Strong and change, and i didn't just mean the horns. It was like I had achieved some kind of bench mark, or maybe ascended? I didn't know what to call it, but I did know that I had a stronger and more omniscient bond with these lands than I ever had before. It was like I could feel the pulse of life here.

And right now, it was this new sense that was fueling my anger the most. Oh, I was annoyed with all the trouble the Specter had caused me and my friends, for sure. But it was the damage that I could not literally feel in this section of my territory called the Dark. It was like an open and infected would, and I began funneling energy into it on instinct alone, try as best I could to heal the damage caused.

The Specter needed to pay for his stupid, selfish behavior. Being an off shoot of the self-important Aeros was no excuse in my opinion. I had just told him that I was going to consume him, and I meant it. After all, the energy that he was made of was rightfully mine, right? All that Aeros had abandoned was mine to look after, and as far as I was concerned, that included the discarded energy that made the base of the Specter's spirit. Not to mention all my people and creatures he had absorbed in his endless thirst for more power.

But just killing him left a sour taste in my mouth. I had killed before and had not liked it one bit, and now that the immediate danger had passed with the Specter all but cowering under my current power rush, I did not see it completely necessary to wipe him of the face of the planet.

And that is where my cheeky plan came into being.

I reached out a hand, which seemed paler to me, making me wonder what I actually looked like at the moment. Seeing my movement, the Specter abandoned all pretense and tried to turn tail and flee. He did not get far. Lagdon was there but he was not needed, with just the force of my will I extended my copper energies and locked the twisted shadow in place. He would be going no where any time soon.

"Stay away from me, which!" Snarled the Specter. Apparently he still had bravado left, even after his little escape attempt. But his snapping like a cornered dog was not going to save him now.

I stepped up to the shadow, hand fully extended, and motioned as if I were gripping the insubstantial substance in my small fist. I could feel the intense volume of power some how held in this gaseous shape. It sizzled and pulsed and made me wonder why I was not more afraid of this creature right now. Then again, he was the one frozen in my grip.

I wasn't really sure what I was doing. I didn't have any kind of magical tutor, and so far all but the simplest of spells seemed to elude me. But for some reason, I was supremely confident that I could accomplish the task I had set for myself, which was: Remove all excess power from the Specter and issue a suitable punishment upon him. I did not know how I knew I could do it, but I did.

"This power is not yours." I said, my voice more commanding that I usually used, but it seemed appropriate in the current situation. I watched as the Specter's glowing eyes widened, about the only movement he could do in his current state. "I will be taking it, and putting it to its intended use."

With the barest of thoughts from me, I began drawing the power the Specter had stolen, from it, and pulled it into myself. He roared, but I ignored him, focused on my work. For now, I added the power to my own base source, but as I always did, later I would send it to where ever it was needed most. Probably to be used to fix the mess he had made of this forest to be honest.

Now he was left with only the power that had formed his consciousness in the first place: the energies left over from Aeros. It was still a rather vast amount, and I could have taken this as well. And as a being made of energies, if I took enough, he would have died. It was scary how simply I could kill him given the absolute effort we were putting into it, not too long ago.

But I didn't want to kill him. Mostly because I didn't want to feel bad about it, but also because it did not really feal like it was a punishment. He could not feel punished if he didn't exist any more. No, I had a better, more amusing plan for the ghostly brute.

I started manipulating his power source, bend, molding, and sealing it.

"What are you doing?" He shouted, and I saw Lagdon tense up, ready to intervene if needed.

Slowly, the Specter's shape began to change. I funneled energy in, while simultaneously taking some away and containing the rest, picturing what I wanted in my head. He shrunk, and his shadowy substance condensed and solidified as I worked.

After a moment, while everyone watched with bated breath, I lowered my hand and gazed down at my handy work. On a rotted log nestled in the freshly growing grass sat a small, black furred, purple eyed, cat. He panted and shook, getting to four cute little paws, fur on end, and glared up at me.

"What is this?" He shouted, his voice deep and odd sounding coming from a little kitty. Then I watched as a thin, shiny, copper collar appeared around his neck, complete with a little copper bell.

I smiled at my own work, quite pleased with myself.

"Return me to my form!" Snarled the cat. and I watched as he scrunched up his face, as if concentrating. The collar glowed a feint orange and the little cat hissed, wincing in pain. "What have you done to me girl?!"

"You won't be able to use your magic anymore." I stated, narrowing my eyes down on him. "Maybe, one day, you can earn back your own magic again. but you will defiantly not be allowed to take from others any more."

"Earn? allowed!?" He spat, and launched himself forward, claws extended.

But before he could reach my face, Lagdon's hand flashed out and the cat was caught by his scruff. the massive hobgoblin raised the creature up to eye height and examined him for a moment. "Fascinating..." He said, one eyebrow raised. Then a cruel smirked crossed his handsome face. "I can touch you now, Specter." he said dangerously.

"Specter? No." I said with a smile. I reached out and patted the cat's head while he glared, little white fangs exposed. "I think you look more like.... Mittens! That will be your new name."

A look of horror crossed his cute little face, and he suddenly went limp in Lagdon's grip. I think I finally sunk in that he no longer had his freedom. From here on, unless I deemed him trustworthy enough to release him, he would live his life in a metaphorical cage. Maybe he would have preferred death. But then it wouldn't have been a punishment.

"This is so wrong..." Said the cat now known as Mittens. His eyelids grew heavy, head nodding, and then he peacefully fell asleep, his body exhausted from the effort of his metamorphosis as well as the forcible extraction of his accumulated power.

Kishi's nose cam in and she sniffed the unconscious animal. "You are too kind Mistress. He should not have been aloud his free thought and movement either. best to lock it in a box."

I chuckled at the fox's venom and reached out to take the cat. But it was then that I made a bit of a mistake. Now that the battle was done, our enemy was defeated and rendered powerless, and all my friends were safe and relatively unharmed, I aloud the power I had collected to go back where I had taken it from.

But then a wave of exhaustion rushed over me, making me sway on my feet. Alarmed, I stumbled forward, and Lagdon wasted no time, catching me with his free arm before I fell to the dirt. "Oh." I gasped, realizing my mistake. I had used a lot of power and by sending what I took back, I was essentially drained now. I barely had the strength to keep my footing.

"My Lady?" Worried Lagdon, holding the cat as far from me as he could, as if he still thought it posed a threat.

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"Sorry." I said, my voice a little slurred. "I probably should have waited to send all that power back..."

It looked like Lagdon was going to say something, but the snapping of branches had us all freezing. What now?

Reihekiu let out a strangled noise of alarm that had us all spinning to look into the forest behind us. I faintly registered that the decay was still being over run with new greenery, but most of my focus was on the three beings that had some how snuck up on us. I mean, they were massive! How did they keep quiet till now.

They were three monsters, and one was horrifyingly familiar to me: The swamp beast that I had suspected might have once been the land god of the swamps. But he was not raging as he had been when Kishi and I had encountered him before. Now he simply stood still next to the other two, all three gazing down on me with unreadable faces.

And I meant looking down. Like the swamp monster's massive, green body that looked like a mix between a moose and a gorilla, the other two were also giant. Next to the swamp monster stood a majestic stag like creature. He was a moon glow white, with long, thin antlers, a golden topaz like stone imbedded in its forehead, and rich brown eyes. He was stunning to look at, but at the size of a house, was bigger than any deer I had ever set eyes on.

And at the far left was another massive monster. this time an eagle like bird, also white in color, but not nearly as vivid, some of its feathers were in light shades of grey and brown, making it look more muted. Its eyes were a glaring orange color and its beak was a deadly sharp weapon, obsidian in color. Its skinny- relatively speaking- legs were a pale brown and the toes were tipped with talons as long as my arms and so sharp that I saw that it had cut through a small boulder it was seated on.

"Greetings, little goddess." Boomed a voice that made me flinch, even as I fairly hung in Lagdon's arms. I did not think I could pull the power needed to fight these creatures at the moment.

"He-hello..." I said rather lamely, hoping that they just wanted to talk. Though, about what, I could not have guessed.

"I am Victorine." I heard one of them say, but it was not like the spoke using their mouths. They were using a kind of thought projection, I would guess. The deer like monster pawed the ground with winter white hooves, and I assumed that meant that it was he who had spoken. "This is Gouldar, and the feathered one is Fartha. We sensed the awakening of a land god and have come to great you."

"Oh, um- thank you?" Awakening? what did he mean by that? wasn't I already the land god?

"I don't think she understands." said the bird in a soft and pleasant female's voice, her gorgeous orange eyes danced with amusement as she gazed down on me. She was the smallest of the three but was still twice the size of Lagdon. "Just moments ago you accessed the true powers of a land god, and awoke as one. One can not be a land god, in truth, without having these powers."

The stag nodded his majestic head, while the swamp beast- Gouldar?- didn't even move a muscle. "We had sensed the stirrings of our former lands when Aeros passed from this world, and felt the touch of another being influencing them. I am sorry that we did not move to assist you."

"It was rather cruel of us..." Agreed the eagle, Fartha. "But we are old, and often do not bother to take notice of things any more. So long have we wasted away here, in these dark woods."

"I am sorry, but I still don't understand." I said, still exhausted, but now relatively certain that they had not come to attack us at least.

"Lady Enna," Said Reihekiu, dragging her still wounded body to us, her own feet having about as much trouble holding her up as mine did me. Kishi sidled up to the woman and she gratefully leaned against the foxes sturdy side. "these were once the land gods who governed over parts of Aeros' territory. that is to say, your territory." she corrected.

A mix of emotions flashed over me then. I felt bad for them, or course, as I had heard that Aeros had basically stollen the lands of others to create the large domain I now held. But I also felt a possessive fear that I had not known I had before now. I was worried that these being wished to take back what had once been theirs. Arguably, it would make my life much easier if the Dark and what lay beyond was no longer my problem. I had not even made contact with much of the lands that were mine to protect, and, theoretically, it should make me feel relived to not have to worry about them any more.

I could just rest on my laurels, looking out for my foxes and goblins, and let these other gods take up the mantle they once held. But I found myself very much not wanting that. I didn't want to hand over any of my lands, even if I had no connection to the vast majority of them at the moment. But, they were mine, and I was very unaccepting of changing that.

This time it was Victorine the stag that laughed, his voice like a gong in my head where Fartha's had been like a smooth summer breeze. "No need to pull such a face, Goddess. Even if each of us wished to wrest these lands back from you, we could no longer hold them."

I blinked, just getting more confused. "Why not?"

Now his voice grew sad. "We were all old- especially Gouldar- when the great dragon took all of these lands for himself, and have not grown any younger in the time since. We are strong still, yes, but we no longer possesses the skills needed for a land god to do their jobs."

"What Victorine means, is that we can no longer connect with the lands as we once did." Explained Fartha, ruffling her feathers. "It is a very rare ability, and it is one required if one ever wishes to be a land god."

"Wait, i have this ability?" I asked. Clearly the lack of magical energy was making me stupid, as it was clear that I did given that I had been using it these past six months, give or take. "What I mean is, I thought anyone with enough power could do it."

"And you believe that you have this immense power then, little human?" Laughed Fartha good naturedly. "I do not know from what lands you hail, but I can grantee that no human is born with such immense power. Some gain it with time, but I doubt you are one. You are young. Besides, even as uninvolved as we have been, we would have noticed if a being of great power entered in these lands. no, the ability is what is need. Though power is always a great bonus, and usually the two arrive hand in hand."

"What she means is that you are an oddity, Enna the land god. You had the ability before the power. And that is where our negligence comes into play..."

"When we sensed that a being so weak was trying to take on the burden of such a vast land, we should have roused ourselves, and came to render what aid we could. We may have been forced into retirement, but it is what a good land god would do, if only for the sake of the lands they once presided over. So, we do apologies for not presenting ourselves till now."

"Okay." I said as the three massive creatures actually bowed their heads to me. "Well, I found some good friends, and I made out alright... so I am awakened now?"

"Yes, your mind and spirit has fully embraced the role of land god. Had you not been in such a weakened state, I am sure you would notice a much greater awareness for all the lands you now watch over. And a power boost as well, I should say." Victorine said, seemingly eying me up and down, making me wonder once again how I looked at the moment.

"And so, we have come. We wished to acknowledge you as the land god, officially... and ask that you allow us to stay."

Now I was surprised. "Why would you not be able to stay?" I asked, genuinely confused. Even Aeros had not kicked them out, even if they all now lived in the Dark and got a huge demotion.

The three- even the statuesque Gouldar- exchanged confused looks. "Well, we are fairly powerful beings, many would not want such to live in their lands when they are so new to their office. We may not be able to preform the duties as land gods anymore, but that does not mean that lesser being will not still think of us as such..."

"Aeros did not care, as he was so powerful that we were but gnats to him." Stated Fartha, making me wonder just how freakishly powerful was that stupid lizard, really. "He took our lands with ease and told us to either make our selves scares or hide away here, in the Dark, where he did not need to deal with us. But, you are not the dragon, and even our small influence could affect your power base."

I understood now. Much of my power was from my devoted followers. They're prayers and devotion they direct to me are what fuel my personal strength. I knew from the beginning that I had no power under my own merits. But if some of those followers, who's ancestors once worshiped these three as gods, then turned their hearts to them... well, it may weaken me. The 'lesser beings' did not realize that the power they directed to these three was wasted.

But I smiled and shook my head. "It's fine, you can all stay." It would change something in me, on a fundamental level, if I exiled them just to hoard more power for myself. It was not the way I liked to operate, and I wasn't about to change myself into a being like Aeros or the Spector- er, I mean, Mittens.

An idea came to me then. "In fact, if you would like, I would ask that you return to the lands you once hailed from." I said, causing the former gods to look shocked. "I could use some people keeping an eye on the far flung parts of this place, and you all know them best. Its a win for us all! you get to go home, and all you have to do is send word my way about the comings and goings. I am told I am more hands on than most gods, and your help would be greatly appreciated. Besides, I don't like the thought of removing people from their homes, so long as they follow my rules."

"And, those are?" Asked a rather flabbergasted Fartha.

"Keep the peace. I do not want any unnecessary fighting amongst my people. We are all trying to live a good life here, and I am doing all I can to make life easier for everyone. I think its a rather small ask, to just not try and kill each other while I am doing it. Basically, I need you to spread the word as it were, and make sure its being followed. Maybe you can even think of your selves as 'Demi-Land-Gods'? like you are the landlords of the parts of the nation that I can not reach personally in a flash. It will save me from having to make rash decisions remotely if something happens."

"You mean, we can go home?" Asked an incredulous Victorine. "And all we have to do is make sure nothing is going amiss, and send word to you from time to time?" He said it like i had told him he could have a million dollars so long as he made sure to buy the neighbor kids a candy bar with it first.

"That right." I said, but keeping my eyes open was beginning to be a very hard thing. I had not felt the need to sleep since coming to this world, but now i felt like I could sleep for a week. "Sorry, but I don't think I will be awake much longer..."

And before the words had really gotten out of my mouth, I felt my knees give out beneath me. But I never hit the ground. Instead I was pulled against a firm chest as Lagdon cradled me in his arms. I would have been embarrassed, but for the first time in a long time, I was unconscious.