The air inside the goddess formed shelter was finally getting warm enough that it could be compared to normal indoor temperatures, the sound of dripping water faintly audible underneath the raging storm. Funny to think the only thing separating the people I was looking at from it was my own body. Awkward situations aside however it was imperative to continue forward in this first contact of sorts. These people were from a neighboring kingdom after all and I knew embarrassingly little about them.

After my somewhat booming voice had broken the verbal silence everyone jumped to varying degrees. Like anyone upon first meeting me it was very overwhelming. I assumed their beliefs and history with goddesses were similar to the people of Celeduun as that was the hint I got from speaking with my mage friends. They were visibly filled with a great deal of fear and I couldn't really blame them. To try and ease some of this fear I lowered my voice and spoke again.

“Listen. Um. I know how crazy this all is but I'm really not here to hurt you.” I said. “You prayed to me remember? Asked me to save you? Well here I am.”

One of the middle aged men came forward towards my upside down face, the people behind him pausing to watch him. His hair was a strange mixture of purple and black with orange eyes and pale skin. He looked quite hygienic under the dirt and wear of the road as his hair was somewhat styled. It was clear he possessed great bravery to be the first to approach me. His voice was shaky but quite mature sounding.

“Y-You are the goddess of this land?” He asked.

I smiled and coughed as this curled up position was interfering with my breathing. It would have been easy to just stop breathing but I wanted to appear as normal as possible to these people. There was an attempt to nod my head but as it was cranium first into the dirt it was pretty odd looking.

“Yes!” I replied quickly. “My name is Goddess Jenna and you're free to feel safe. There's no reason to fear now that I am here!”

I looked him up and down and then looked past him to the others. Some of them were ignoring me in large part to try and look after their sick and injured, the feeling of safety clearly already felt by them. Or they were just too desperate to care and were taking any lull in the danger to do what they could.

“So you're from Pheoa?” I asked. “What are you doing all the way up in the mountains freezing to death? Like there's roads with towns you know. What are you even doing here?”

The man looked back at the people and then forward to my eyes. He clearly wasn't entirely sure how to react to me considering the somewhat comical situation I was in.

“Yes we are.” He said timidly. “We had no choice but to brave the mountains as w couldn't afford to be found on the road.” He then kneeled before me and most of the others did as well. “We are deeply thankful to be saved by you oh goddess. Even in such a... strange manner.”

I rolled my eyes at the pause and his final words. Then I huffed and looked at him again.

“Yeah I understand this is awkward.” I said. “I had a brain fart I get it ok?” Once that was said I looked around at the other people again. “We can get more into what you're doing here in a moment. First there's injured and sick among you right?”

He nodded and looked back to the people himself. There was great pain in his eyes.

“Y-Yes goddess. These are those of us that survived the journey so far. Many of them are hungry as well.” He then turned back to me. “We-”

I cut him off and wiggled myself around a little bit to get more comfortable, my legs and arms thundering about and causing the snow that covered me to shift.

“Yeah I figured.” I quickly said. “Here. For my next trick...” My voice trailed off as my eyes began to glow brightly.

Inside this unnatural cave the snow had now completely melted, the ground of stone and thin earth exposed. The small amount of soil was just enough for me to perform my miracle. I remembered a magic that created super berries that I had used before and decided to implement it again here. Honestly it had become my go to when feeding people.

With some focus and some mana, hardly enough to cause any concern, I caused three berry bushes to grow up out of the soil in in the area between the man and the rest of the group. The bushes were first simply twigs and branches, but as they reached maturity green leaves sprouted until it was full. Then several large clusters of berries popped out between the leaves, their shape a plump orb with brilliant red coloration.

Everyone looked upon them with silent awe, their mouths open and their eyes bugged out. Seeing such a miracle here in the midst of a winter storm in the mountains was truly too much to fully comprehend. Nevertheless the bushes and berries were indeed real, the fruits shining in the light of my mini sun. Several of the adults among them walked up to the bushes to examine them in disbelief.

I spoke again with more confidence than before, my goddess attitude returning.

“These are good berries.” I said. “Just eating one will fill you with strength like a full meal. It will even heal minor injuries. Everyone should just get one mind you. So help yourselves.”

More of them gathered around the bushes though none one touched them. It was obvious they were very suspicious of these crimson berries. Even though they were pretty accepting of the fact I wasn't going to hurt them they didn't quite trust me either.

I let out a sigh. “Its kinda late to be questioning me now ain't it? Go on then!”

That last bit of encouragement was all these desperate people needed. Quickly the ones around the bushes picked a berry and ate it, the looks on their faces suddenly becoming the picture of bewildered joy. These berries tasted wonderful and they could feel the strength returning to their bodies as the magical power of the fruit flowed through them. They gathered up more and took them to their comrades ensuring everyone both young and old got at least one.

Their thanks and praises echoed around this somewhat cramped space a they reveled in the miracle that had saved their lives in yet another way. Even some of their more surface level wounds were healing themselves due to the goodness of the berries. Some of their number were more grievously wounded however and even this simple magic was not enough to right their ails.

My eyes stopped glowing and I called out to them.

“Take anyone who's more critically injured and have them touch me. Just anywhere really like my leg or something. I'll heal them.” I squirmed my arms around a little and more snow shuffled into the cavity. “My hands are kinda trapped at the moment.”

More praise and thanks to me followed as they followed my instructions. There were several really hurt people among them, broken legs or arms and the like. It was pretty easy to sustain such injuries wandering around in the mountains, much less in the dead of winter. Some of them also had extreme frostbite which was also not very surprising. Once they were carried over to my legs which made the walls of this cave they were quickly healed by my magic upon touching me.

Their faith in me was becoming quite genuine after these events. Clearly they did have similar beliefs and expectations about goddesses as the people I was used to and I was blowing their little minds with how I was acting. There was still a certain level of doubt in the back of their minds of course, the thought that I might suddenly turn on them always a possibility.

My attention was once again turned to the man who had first spoke to me, his own belly filled with a magical berry. This resulted in his very face lighting up as the newfound energy coursed through him. He and the woman that was clearly his wife and two children that were surely his came forward and bowed before my face. Many others followed their example which was always a nice feeling for me.

“Thank you great Goddess Jenna.” He said with his head bowed. “For the sake of my family and my village I cannot thank you enough for saving our lives. Truly you are a goddess unlike any I have heard of before. Your power and mercy are great.”

I couldn't help smiling as their worship reached me. Anyone would get a bit proud and elated when they receive worship and as a goddess I'm no exception. There was of course a time and place to bask in my glory and whatnot but now was not the place. My expression swiftly turned more serious again as I addressed this man.

“So what's your name?” I asked.

“Susser Xanter my goddess.” He replied with his head still bowed. “I like everyone here is from a village called Clifftorde.”

I did another upside down nod.

“Hello then Susser. So tell me about your village and why ya'll decided to flee it in such desperate manner.”

Susser looked to his wife and to the people behind him seeking permission to speak for everyone.

Before he could speak again another man stood up and walked forward. He was older, at least in his sixties, with short white hair and a long white beard. His eyes were blue. Due to his advanced age he walked with a cane and even with his frail frame you could see he was well muscled. Once he was near Susser he bowed to me and then spoke as he stood upright again.

“Goddess Jenna.” He began. “My name is Brecon and I am one of the elders of the village. If it pleases you I shall tell you our tale.”

I nodded back before answering. “Well we don't have anything else to do until the storm passes so please.”

With a nod in return Brecon stood tall and spoke.

“As the young Susser said we come from a village called Clifftorde in the Kingdom of Pheoa. You are doubtless familiar with the history between our two kingdoms, that is why we came through the mountains instead of by the roads. Surely if we were caught crossing over we would have been subject to persecution.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I wanted to interject and claim they wouldn't have been, but honestly they probably would have been. Instead I let him continue.

“That in addition to the threat posed by our own king's forces.” He said solemnly. “You see that is the reason we fled. Our village was a simple place where we made our living in the trade of our vegetables and the furs we hunted. Thus we found ourselves quite surprised when the king's men arrived on our doorsteps demanding tribute. Tribute of people of all things. We had heard rumors of the army coming and taking people away, never to be seen again, but it was when they came to us demanding of us our people like prisoners of war that we knew we had to flee.”

He paused to collect himself. None of the people around him made any attempt to deny the truth of his words.

“Mercifully they gave us several days to comply.” Brecon continued. “Thus were we able to flee in the night to the south, Celeduun being the only place we felt we could seek safety. We planned to live in the wilderness as to avoid contact. However we soon found ourselves lost in the mountains, a foolish journey we were unprepared for.”

I gave him a look over. “Which is when you prayed to me.”

Brecon nodded and bowed his head.

“Yes goddess. And we thank you for your great mercy in saving our lives.”

Before speaking further I closed my eyes and nodded a few times. After that I opened my eyes and looked over everyone before directly at the old man.

“Well that really sucks.” I said. “But don't worry I'll figure out someplace for you to live.” My eyes wandered with my thoughts as I went over the options. “I can't really have you go to Doovlin. I've been dumping too many people on them already. I guess you could just live in the forest. That hag might be a pain though.”

Susser looked up at my face still kneeling with great joy in his eyes.

“You truly will allow us to live in the Teforh Forest in this kingdom?” He exclaimed. “What's this about a hag though?”

The mention of a hag caused a stir among the rest of the villagers. Just the mention of a powerful and evil fey such as that was bound to cause fear in anyone that heard it. They were forgetting they were talking to a goddess though, likely due to my approachable nature as was the case with my own people.

“Eh don't worry about her!” I reassured them energetically. “Ya'll are basically refugees. I'll put the old hag in her place so she won't bother you at all. Trust me.”

Honestly the hag was the least of my concerns. I was more preoccupied with theorizing why the king in Pheoa was collecting people with the army. It could be drafting into the military or for some work project somewhere in their kingdom. What was most likely was just for population control reasons. The government up there probably wanted more people working some fields somewhere and forcibly were relocating citizens. Sadly not uncommon. Regardless its nothing I can do anything about. They have their kingdom and I have mine.

While half listening to the various questions and words of praise from the people in front of my face I noticed another sound had vanished. Indeed the storm had finally calmed down and the mountains were peaceful once again. That meant I could finally get out of this honestly embarrassing position and get these people into the forest below.

With a smile on my face I addressed the crowed.

“Hey look! The storm's stopped.”

After saying this I began the process of carefully standing up. First I just shook my body all around like a dog to dislodge all the snow that had buried even my massive frame. Once that was done I used magic to warm my back to melt away whatever was left clinging to me. Then as my body moved to stand me upright the sun flooded around the villagers beneath me. My little light went out as the now cloudy but bright sky once again graced this mountain pass.

Expectantly my immense body moving around combined with my thundering steps quite unnerved the poor humans at my feet. They were once again filled with a certain degree of panic seeing me stand up at my full size again, though now in the light of day it would be much less frightening. This was proven when I smiled down at them and took a couple steps back to remove the perceived danger of my boots.

“Well lets get down to the Teforh Forest eh?” I said more than asked.

One of the middle aged woman spoke up, calling up to me high above. She didn't know I could hear her perfectly well despite my size.

“But how?” She cried.

I let out a little giggle and lifted my left hand. Then I flicked my index finger and a portal about seven feet tall appeared in the space immediately in front of the crowed.

“Why through a portal of course!” I replied. “Go on through everyone. Trust me I wouldn't do all this for you just to harm you now.”

The various villagers spent several moments looking and having short discussions between each other. In the end however the elders that they had with them made the decision for them that they would indeed trust me. They had put their lives in my hands from the very moment they cried out to me in the blizzard and there was no reason to stop now. Call it the sunk cost fallacy if you will. Soon they began walking through the portal in an orderly fashion, helping those that needed it, until all forty-three people were through.

Once I had ensured all of them had gone through the portal I shrunk myself down to my human size and followed them through the glowing golden gateway, it closing immediately after I stepped out the other side.

We appeared in the middle of the Teforh Forest, somewhere just far enough away from any other settlement they wouldn't be likely found but not too far that help was unreachable. Since it was nearing the end of winter there were plenty of animals about for food and the snow was beginning to melt away for good. This particular clearing was big enough for a small amount of shelters and a few firepits. I would let them make their own fires but the shelters I would take care of now.

With the lifting of my hands and the thoughts of my mind I began sculpting a dozen moderately sized huts out of the very earth itself using magic. All the refugees were absolutely blown away as they watched simple homes grow up out of the earth and form all around them. As if they hadn't already seen enough mind bending miracles for a lifetime. This action also brought their attention to me which made them stunned in bewilderment at the sight of my human child sized form.

Before any of them could mention it I raised my left hand and sighed.

“Yes I'm the size of a human child now. Don't worry about it.”

They could see my nature hadn't changed and my air of authority was still quite overwhelming. Thus as instructed none of them questioned me further. Brecon and the other two elders, one man and one woman, did come up to me to give their thanks.

“I'm not sure how we can properly thank you for all you've done for us.” Brecon said looking down at me with great hesitation. “Goddess Jenna truly you are beyond compare.”

I smirked and flipped my hair with my right hand, my eyes closing for a moment.

“Yeah I'm amazing.” I replied. Then I opened my eyes wide and jerked upright causing them to jump in surprise themselves. “Oh speaking of! I have another surprise that will help us later!”

Using my mind map I quickly moved my perception over to Nova Bellumis and found one of the warriors. The one I located first was a young man aged twenty-four named Aimar. He was pretty strong with long braided deep purple hair and purple eyes. We was pretty tan too from all the time spent outside training and he'd be perfect for this task. He was super loyal to me.

With another thought I opened a swirling yellow portal and reached inside, pulling the young man through and next to me. The portal then closed and he was left momentarily confused. Thankfully he was in his human form.

Aiden quickly noticed me and bowed to the ground on his right knee while bowing his head.

“Great goddess!” He said with reverence. “Thank you for summoning your warrior! How might I serve you?”

The refugee elders were quite taken aback by the sudden appearance of this young man but they couldn't really say anything in fear of interrupting me.

I smiled down at the warrior with my hands on my hips.

“Stand up my good little boy.” I commanded. “I've a job for you.” I gestured to the people around us as he stood up. “See these people? I need you to stay here for a week or so and keep an eye on them. Then if anyone goes wrong or strange I need you to alert me immensity.” I lifted my left hand and put my index finger on my chin. “Especially if a strange or powerful woman shows up. Be careful of her and do not engage. Understood?”

Aiden bowed while standing and then stood up to attention.

“Yes Goddess Jenna!” He dutifully said. “Your will is my pleasure!”

Once my orders were given out I turned back to the village elders.

“Everyone this is one of my loyal worshipers. His name is Aiden and he'll help you out however he can while you settle in.” I then turned to Aiden. “Please introduce yourself to them. I've got things to do and must leave you now.”

Brecon seemed quite alarmed at this and looked between the warrior and me.

“You're leaving us goddess?” He asked in a panic. “Please stay here!”

Aiden snorted in a manner more befitting a canine than a person. His chest was puffed up and his face showed disgust.

“How dare you question our perfect goddess?” He demanded roughly.

I let out a soft sigh and gave him a pet on the arm.

“That's enough Aiden.” I said gently but firmly. “These people are refugees from Pheoa. You can get their full story for them. Regardless understand they're under my protection and require some acclimation to how things works around here.” I looked up in his eyes. “Be gentle ok? Oh and I'll tell your fellows where you are.”

Aiden blushed as he looked down at me and then quickly looked up and became even more stiff in his pose of attention.

“Yes goddess! Thank you!”

With this situation well in hand I gave one final goodbye to all the humans before leaping away into the forest. There was an unusual soul in the midst of the trees and I wanted to check it out before leaving completely.

My landing among the winter stripped trees was as graceful as a deer and my boots crunched down into the undistributed snow that no human had ever touched. There was no wind and yet an unpleasant odor wafted into my nose. As expected she was here. I made no attempt to force her out, instead simply standing in the open between the trees with my arms crossed over my chest.

Suddenly a dozen feet behind me to my left a wind picked up. Snow and rotted leaves swirled around in a miniature whirl for several seconds. Then the wind died and everything scattered to the ground. Standing there in the middle of a large group of skeletal bushes was the hag. Just her soul alone was enough to unsettle my stomach, so twisted with genuine evil was it.

Rillette the Beautiful she called herself, a fey creature of great power and even greater ill intent. Unlike with humans where she would appear as a pretty woman she made no such futile attempts with me. She stood in her true form in all its twisted glory. Her hair was long and matted in earthy brown, her eyes a sickly yellow and filled with hate. All over her body stinking moss and rank slime molds coated her mutated body, her shoulders and head sprouting branches that resembled horns. Her skin was wrinkled as if to show her ancient life and her face was hideous to behold.

I frowned and remained looking forward without turning around. She had appeared behind me to avoid my gaze, her cowardly nature showing its true colors when confronted with someone she couldn't intimidate or trick. She knew the power of goddesses.

“Rillette.” I said coldly.

The hag responded with a voice dripping with venom, her hatred of me not concealed in the slightest.

“The incipient goddess.” She sneered in reply. Then with a mocking high pitched voice. “The friend of children.”

I whirled around to face her, my hands still over my chest as my eyes blazed with golden fire. My mouth lifted into a smirk as I saw the creature shrink back in fear, her shriveled hands lifted to her chest as she hissed at the sight of my face.

“That's right!” I said with confidence. “You didn't forget what I told you did you?”

Rillette averted her eyes slightly to the right just to avoid eye contact with me.

“Yes.” She croaked. “A thousand years of torment followed by annihilation should ever I touch a child again.” With a look filled with burning rage she looked almost fully at my face. “I've not forgotten.”

I continued smirking as I dropped my arms to my sides. My right hand went to my hip and my left hand pointed towards the refugee camp.

“Good! Now see those people over there?” I asked rhetorically. “They're under my protection. You're not to interact with them in any way. Got it?”

The twisted thing looked in the direction I was pointing and then back almost directly at me.

“Understood.” She hissed under her breath.

My left arm dropped to my side and I smiled.

“Good. Now bye bye!”

I lifted my left hand and did a childish wave by rapidly closing my fingers in over my palm. This disrespectful gesture only made my target even angrier at me but I didn't care in the slightest. The hag took the dismissal and vanished in a similar manner in which she appeared leaving me alone in among the trees.

With a deep sigh I put both hands on my hips and shook my head while hanging in low.

“I never would've thought I'd be dealing with so much supernatural crap.” I complained. “What a pain in my ass.”

There was no point in standing here to pout about the annoyances of goddess life however. So with another small sigh I opened another portal of swirling symbols in front of me and stepped through it. My duties were plentiful after all and it seemed there was always a crisis someplace or another.