The spring sun was overhead and shining down with wondrous warmth. All the world was abuzz with new life, the death of winter having passed away. Even the wind was full of a pleasant warm feeling as it rushed through the now green trees. Birdsong could be heard all around in the forest and the bubbling of a waterfall wafted from the distance.

I was sitting down on the bank of a river at my human size. The lovely crystal waters were sparkling in the sunlight. When I looked down into the water I could see fish swimming here and there while insects flew about just above the surface. It was so peaceful and calming. The only sign of human activity was a dirt road that led through a small part of the forest into a large open field.

Behind me past this field was the a quaint little town, the name of which I couldn't remember at the moment. The people there did worship me after all so it didn't matter I suppose if I could remember its name. It was a pretty large town at that, the population size at least a couple thousand people. The walls were half stone and half wood. Each cardinal direction had a sturdy metal gate that helped protect it from outside attack and there were tall towers stationed to give a place for defenders to stand.

The hustle and bustle of people had always made me nervous so I was sitting out here alone. I hated the feeling of being watched and for some reason even now I felt that tingling sensation. That horrible skin crawling feeling that something was looking right at you from somewhere you can't see.

With a sigh I closed my eyes and looked through my goddess vision. In the forest behind me there were several small humans coming my way. They were all children probably no older than five or six, even shorter than me in this form. That would explain the feeling I was having I suppose, though it felt a bit creepier than that. I opened my eyes and waited for them to reach me.

"There she is!"

One of the small male child's voice suddenly came from the trees behind me. They had gotten to me faster than I had predicted.

Seeing as my peace and quiet was going to be interrupted I stood up on the riverbank. Once up I quickly brushed off the sand from my clothing and turned around to face the children. For whatever reason Miya was still asleep inside my head so I could focus all my attention on the incoming kids.

As I turned around the children came out of the forest's edge and onto the riverbank. There were four of them altogether, two girls and two boys. One of them I recognized as Billy. The other three I didn't know the names of, just that they were Billy's friends.

All four of the children ran over to me and formed a semi-circle around me, clearly excited to be in my presence. Their clothing was simple but in good repair, proof that even though they were peasants their parents could at least afford to clothe them.

"Play with us goddess!" they chanted.

I sighed and shook my head playfully, putting my hands on my hips as I just barely looked down at them.

"Goddess was having a nice relaxing day by the river you know. Its not nice to interrupt people's alone time."

The children all looked up at me with pouting faces and tried to make puppy dog eyes at me. This caused me to relent and shrug my shoulders.

"Alright fine. What do ya'll want to play?"

One of the girls clapped her hands. "We wanna play tag!"

A classic. I suppose I could take some time to do this. The only thing I had to do today could wait until later, though I really should have done it before coming here. It was something about the ten commandments. Though I didn't know what that had to do with this town.

I put my hands on my hips again. "Well first tell me your friend's names Billy."

The black haired Billy pointed to each of his friends in turn. First to the blonde boy, then the pink haired girl, and lastly the blonde girl.

"This is my best friend Sam. This is his friend Gilly, and that's Pam."

Each of the children waved their hand to me in greeting when they were pointed out and named. They sure had good manners.

"Ok then lets play tag" I said with a smile. "I'll be it to start with. When I close my eyes you have twenty seconds to run away ok?"

The children all nodded and giggled with excitement. They had no idea that I could easily destroy them with my super speed, though that wouldn't be very fair to them. Luckily their goddess was a fair sport and wouldn't use all her powers to decimate them at a children's game.

I turned back towards the river and closed my eyes, also covering my face with my hands. Then I began counting from one to twenty, the sound of giggling children fading away as the seconds did. Soon all that remained was the rushing of the river.

"Twenty!" I finally said. "Ready or not here I come!"

With one movement I dropped my hands from my face and whirled around to face the forest. Now with my eyes open I looked back and forth for the children. Of course I could use goddess vision to cheat and find them, but in fairness I'd refrain from using divine powers like previously decided.

The odd thing was the children were nowhere to be found. Surely their little legs couldn't carry them that far that fast. I mean I couldn't even hear them anymore. The forest was empty of human life and not even a bird could be seen fluttering about in the trees.

I was about to turn on my goddess vision out of concern when a horrifying suddenly assailed my ears and made my heart jump in my chest. It was the sound of a child's scream. Not just any old scream either: but one of pure terror.

"I'm coming!" I shouted.

Thanks to my excellent hearing I knew which direction the scream came from and turned to face it. In an instant I sped off with super speed towards the child and the world around me became a blur. I arrived to a section down stream where lay a bizarre and deadly scene.

Before me on the riverbank were Gilly and Pam, laying flat on their back on the sand as a monster loomed over them. Their clothing was dirty and there was some blood coming from Pam's forehead. Both of their faces were expressions of pure terror as their wide eyes stared up at their attacker.

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As for the threat it was a mind binder that could make your head hurt if you looked at it too long. There on the beach was a huge snake, at least fifteen feet long and very thick. It was built like a python but colored in pale browns and tans. The weirdest part about it was the fact that it had two heads! One was where it belonged where the other was in the place the end of its tail should be. Both heads were that of a viper with dripping fangs the length of a human hand.

I was momentarily stunned in shock. "Holy shit!"

The two girls turned and screamed when they saw me.

"Goddess!"

Their cry broke me out of my trance and I leapt into action. Just in time as well as the snake had just initiated its strike. Both its heads came to bear with snapping jaws lined with sharp teeth. I made it there just in time.

"No you don't!"

With a leap I dove between the two heads and the children, the heads snapping down on my arms instead of their necks. Due to my goddess nature the fangs didn't even penetrate my skin. This allowed my momentum to carry the creature with me through the air, dragging it along and away from its prey.

We both landed on the sand and I quickly rolled over top of it and spawned two ice spikes in the air. Then with a flick of my fingers the pointed ice blasted into the necks of both snake heads, almost completely severing them. The result was a death hiss in stereo as the monster died a quick death.

The grisly deed was done, one I wasn't too happy about having to do. There hadn't been any choice however. Whatever this thing was it had no place so close to the town. I shuddered to think what would have happened if I hadn't been here.

"Thank goddess!" I said standing up off the body. "Are you two girls ok?"

I turned around to check on the two children and was met with a shocking sight. My heart began beating faster as fear bubbled up inside me. The children were gone, the moonlit shore showing no signs they had even been there.

Moonlight? It was night! Wasn't it just the middle of the day?

No it was night for sure. Looking around it was clear to see the darkness covering everything, the only light coming from the moon above. Its pale light cast even darker shadows among the trees.

The fear was growing into terror. Something was coming.

Suddenly I was thrown off my feet and onto my back as a thundering boom shook the ground. I landed with a grunt, my head spinning from confusion and fear. What the absolute fuck was happening? Before I could even finish my though another of the booms came, then another!

"Ok fuck this."

Without thinking much about it I was using my terror to fuel anger, the fires of emotion building up inside me and forming into rage. I stood up and grew to my goddess size to get a better look around me. It was then the rage puffed out like candle.

Now standing well above the trees of the forest I could see for miles into the distance. The river below barely wide enough for one of my feet as I took a step backwards in shock, the splash of cold water focusing my senses.

There walking towards me was another goddess! Not just any goddess either but an adult! She was a fully adult woman that stood well over twice my height, at least four-hundred feet tall. The trees barely reached my shins but to her they were barely past her ankles! She was so enormous that humans probably looked like ants.

Her hair was flowing, long and a light shade of blue. It flowed through the air as if blown by a wind that wasn't there. Her skin was pale and her eyes were a deep purple. On her forehead was a third eye that moved independently from the other two and seemed to be filled with sinister intent. There was silver and gold jewelry of all kinds decorating her body that sparkled in the moonlight. The only clothing she wore was a long flowing dress that faded between prismatic color and deep blackness. She wore no footwear, seeming to prefer to feel her bare soles touching the ground. In her right hand was a long shepard's crook made of black obsidian.

She was walking my direction which meant towards the town as well. At her size just one of her steps could take out half the town! It didn't seem like she noticed or cared about this fact either as her footfalls continued without altering her path in the slightest. No one would survive if she stepped on them and it fell to me to protect the townspeople. She may be an adult goddess but that wouldn't stop me! It couldn't.

As I was prepping myself for the coming fight I noticed something else. I couldn't move! It was like I was paralyzed, rooted to the spot, unable to even move a single finger. Even my mouth wouldn't budge leaving me unable to speak. Now I was really terrified and was having trouble keeping myself from outright panicking.

The titanic woman stopped walking, her world shaking steps finally ceasing. Her feet had landed right in front of the town, her big toes barely brushing up against the town walls as she looked over at me with all three eyes. There was no sound as she spoke, her mouth itself not even moving. Her voice was clear and low as it pierced my mind, though somehow fleeting like the ripples on a pond.

"Jenna. Goddess of Light and Knowledge. Friend of humans and enemy of evil."

I was straining against my paralysis, beads of sweat forming on my forehead as my eyes twitched from the exertion. My lips quivered as I tried to cry out, though my chest was tight from fear.

"You have no reason to fear me" the woman continued. "Though it be wise to do so. I am named Hala: Goddess of Dreams."

Dreams? I'm in a dream! No wonder everything was so weird and I didn't remember how I got here! That explained the behavior of the children too. That would mean I was experiencing sleep paralysis then. But wait, this means this other goddess trapped me in a dream! This is really bad! Now I'm freaking out all over again!

Hala made no moves towards me and remained standing on the other side of the town. Her eyes were not angry or full of hostility, though that third eye sure was in a very creepy way.

"I can see your mind moving young goddess. Rest assured I mean you no harm, though you likely deduce I could do so easily if I willed."

This bitch! She's got me right where she wants me. I'm totally unprepared for this kind of mental attack. When I get out of this I'm practicing against this sort of thing just like in the movies.

She continued clearly not able to read my mind.

"I've never seen a goddess like you before. While it takes a great deal for me to look into another goddess's dreams I took the effort on you my dear child. You're not of this world your dreams tell me. Very fascinating indeed. A newcomer to this world that will shape it in interesting ways."

She then began turning around and lifted her foot to begin walking.

"We shall meet again. Perhaps only in our dreams."

As I watched her turn around and take her first step the earth shook again. At the same time I felt my body start to respond to my commands again, her influence clearly fading. For now only my mouth was under my control again so I shouted after her.

"Hey wait! Get back here!"

This Hala goddess didn't respond or even turn her head. She could clearly hear me but was just ignoring me.

"Damn it!" I cried after her. "I need to talk to you! Goddess to goddess!"

Still she didn't respond or reply. Her thundering steps carrying her away into the distance where she faded away into the darkness of the night. As she finally vanished the world around me began to disappear as well as if the wind was sweeping the sand along the seashore.

I awoke with a start, sitting up in a jolt of panic. It was dark and I looked around in a tizzy as I felt over my body with my hands to make sure I was in one piece. My body was shaking and I was covered in a cold sweat. As my fear cleared everything started coming back to me.

While there was no actual need to sleep as a goddess I had decided to try to sleep alongside Miya for a night as she was feeling lonely. Because of my paranoia of leaving my body in a vulnerable state like that and having my massive limbs smash things around me I had relocated to the forest outside the town of Vemdelen. That's the last thing I remember before the apparent attack from the other goddess.

Hala the Goddess of Dreams eh? Whatever her intentions had been they clearly weren't openly hostile thank father. However they did give me quite the scare! It was obvious that should she have wanted to she could have actually messed me up in a bad way. Scary!

Thankfully her influence had completely vanished and I had no idea how to sense other goddesses anyway. They were probably just really powerful souls. She had affected me remotely and it seemed without her wanting it there was no way of me ever contacting her again.

I let out a deep sign and calmed myself down with deep breaths. It would be preferable to never have to go through that again. It did however give me great information: there were in fact other goddesses still alive in this world. I'd have to prepare for my inevitable meetings in person lest me being taken unawares end in tragedy for myself or my worshipers.