“I am Phanes,” I said nervously.

“Phanes I like that name.” She said then turned towards the dragon “And what’s your name little brother?” That reminded me I never learned the dragon’s name.

“I don’t have a name” He answered honestly.

“Oh, I see. Well how about I give you one.” She said with a gentle smile. “How about Evan, I think it will suit you” I liked the name and it looked like he liked it as well. The hatchling began jumping up and down excited with his new name. The new goddess turned to me, her warm smile making me feel comfortable.

“Now it is time for you to give me a name, Father” She said with her soft low voice. I had to think about it, what was the perfect name for an earth Goddess? I thought about the names of the different Earth Gods I had read about over my years of reading mythology, one name stuck out to me the most.

“Your name will be Tara” I proclaimed to the goddess who nodded in acknowledgement.

Evan jumped forward to Tara “Now that you have a name can you show me your powers?” he asked with a child’s curiosity. I was also interested in seeing the powers of a God.

“Yes I plan to start working on shaping the world immediately.” She said,

Tara walked towards the large tree, Evan and I followed on her heels. She slowly lowered to the ground just before the large shadow cast by the tree and sat on her folded legs facing the tree. Evan crawled over to sit beside her while I opted to stay standing; we watched her carefully making sure we didn’t miss the first act of the goddess. Tara laid her hand on the shadow covered ground before her, she then began to hum. As the soft humming continued I was amazed to see that around her hand green grass began to grow. Her humming grew louder and more grass began to grow flowing like a green wave towards the tree. The grass spread across the ground around the tree; oddly the grass didn’t grow in the sunlight but stayed in the large shadow. Finally once the shadow was filled with grass Tara stopped her humming and stood.

She turned to me “What do you think?” she asked though from the look in her eye I’m sure she knew how much I liked it.

“It’s amazing” Evan chimed in as he began sniffing the newly grown grass.

“It’s beautiful” I said. It really was amazing how just a moment ago the land before us was barren and now a lush field had grown upon it.

“Thank you father,” Tara said with pride.

“Um you can just call me Phanes” I told her, I’m not that comfortable with the idea that I had a daughter.

“As you wish, but I’m afraid that if I try to grow anything outside of the shadow it wouldn’t live long” she confirmed my suspicions. If you wanted anything to grow you needed water, something I have yet to see in this world. Rain was the most important asset in growing plants.

“Well I guess I’m going to have to create a new God” I said and turned back to the place where I created Tara.

“What are you going to use for a core?” Evan asked, making me pause. I wasn’t sure; I used the diamond mushroom because it was related to the Earth element. Now I was going for a water god but had nothing related to the Water element.

“I don’t know, I don’t have anything to use,” I said.

“Well why don’t we go back to the tree and rest awhile. I’m tired from creating all this grass” Tara suggested, though if she was tired she didn’t show it. She walked to the tree with purpose in her stride; I noticed that every time she took a step on the grass a flower would sprout up. First a rose then a sunflower and they were followed by several flowers I had seen but didn’t know the names to, each a vibrant color. Evan trailed behind Tara smelling each flower as it grew. I steadily followed them inside the tree, where we all took a seat. Tara once again sat on her folded legs and closed her eyes. I wasn’t sure how well she would be able to sleep like that but I let rest. I took a seat leaning against the tree’s side; Evan came and laid himself down next to me. He fell asleep within seconds and I was left alone with my thoughts.

I thought about what I could use for the core of the water god. A sapphire was usually connected to the water element, so it seemed the most appropriate for the task. I started thinking of everything related to water and rain to use as life energy, but a small worry began to grow. I looked outside and as far as I could tell the sun still hadn’t moved. I remember what my biology teacher once told me.

“The sun is very important to the growth of plants but too much will only hurt the plants. A flower’s best environment is where it can get plenty of sunlight and then have the night to cool it off.”

If the day never ends then no matter how much water we can give it the plants will still die. I considered my options, in most mythologies the sun and the moon were being pulled on chariots and that is what caused them to travel the sky. I had no idea how I could possibly attach a chariot to the sun so I had to think of something else. As I thought I pulled a blade of grass out of the ground and spun it between my fingers. Time, the sun for centuries was the only way people could tell time had passed. They used its light to create the first clock and even people today look at it. If the sun wasn’t moving here did that mean that no time was passing, maybe it wasn’t a chariot I needed to move the sun but someone who could begin the flow of time.

Time has always been a difficult subject to study, even in fantasy writing time was an element that was hard to access and extremely difficult to control. In mythology the only god of time was the Greek titan Cronus. He was depicted as a very cruel and evil person who had consumed his children to ensure his rank as king of the universe. I shuddered at the thought of living with someone like that, but I had to take the chance if I wanted life to spread across the world. Oftentimes the gemstone opal was connected to time. I had only seen opal once; it was a small oval shaped white stone that had green highlights when placed in light.

I stared at the blade of grass in my hand, it was all I had at the moment so it would have to do. I trapped it between my hands and closed my eyes. I pictured the grass in my mind, like the mushroom I imagined it breaking into billions of pieces and it began to reform this time it was white with a green sheen to it. Once again my hands heated up with my vision and I felt the small blade vanish with the vision in my mind. I felt it return noticeably heavier and knew without looking that it had worked. Without looking I placed the stone in front of me and began the final step.

I focused on the opal grass in my mind; I saw a small grey light beginning to grow within it. When I think of time the first thing that comes to mind is a clock. I pictured a wall clock, its hand turning from twelve to twelve. Then a calendar the different months flying by and the seasons how the snow covered winter turned into the mild spring which then grows warmer throughout the summer before the cool fall winds came cooling everything before returning to winter. My final thought was of how the sun rises over the horizon and crosses the wide open sky before disappearing over the other edge and the moon trailing behind it. As my images flowed into the gem, its light grew once again taking a human shape. I ended my concentration once I had nothing left to give and I opened my eyes to see the new God of time standing before me.

This God was male; he stood taller than Tara and grinned down at me. His smile was different from the Earth goddesses'. Instead of being warm and kind ,he was more of a confident smirk, even though he had just come into existence he looked very pleased with himself. His clothes helped his confidence look right. He wore a pure white suit with a light green tie perfectly straight tucked into his buttoned jacket. His dark black hair was cut short but was ruffled up in the front as if he had run his hand through it. What stood out most about him were his golden eyes, they looked like two golden plates reflecting everything before him.

“Hello young master” he said, his voice smooth and even. He swung his arm in front of his stomach and gave a formal bow. I noticed he had a golden wristwatch on his right arm and I caught a glimpse of an old fashioned pocket watch sitting in the front pocket of his suit. He straightened up and looked down at me with his confident smile. “Could you please tell me my name, young master?” I was taken aback by how formal he was. He reminded me of a butler the way he addressed me as a young master. I began considering what a good name for him would be; the only God of time I knew of was Chronos from Greek mythology. It took me a moment before I decided.

“Your name is Lance,” I told the time God.

“As you wish” He said with a nod “Now what would you like me to do first?”

“Could you tell me if time is passing in this world?”

“It is not, young master” It was weird being called a young master but it was better than father. “Currently everything is in a still point of time, you and the others will not age either, the tree nor does the grass grow.”

“If you start the time flow, will the sun begin moving across the sky?” I wanted to make sure my plan would work.

“It will,” he confirmed.

“Then please start the flow of time.

“As you wish” He walked to the center of the tree and pulled out his pocket watch. The watch was made out of a brownish metal that I didn’t recognize.

He opened the watch and pressed the button on the top “Time start” he said as he pushed it. A very strong wind came from the watch as it blasted by me. My entire body felt like it was on pins and needles. This lasted only a moment and stirred Tara and Evan from their sleep, Tara fell onto her side her eyes opened wide in surprise and Evan jumped up into my lap glaring at Lance. After the tingling sensation passed Lance closed the watch and placed it back into his pocket.

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“Good morning,” he said, addressing everyone.

Evan was the first to respond “Who are you” he shouted. Tara stood staring at Lance oddly.

“I am Lance the God of time” Lance introduced himself. I stood holding Evan in my arms; he didn’t weigh as much as I thought he did.

“I created him to help us with the plants.” I explained. Tara’s face softened after my explanation and smiled at Lance.

“It’s very nice to meet you. I'm Tara the Goddess of Earth” She introduced me with her warm smile.

“I’m Evan the dragon,” Evan said, jumping out of my arms and running up to the new God. Tara also stepped forward and shook his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you both” Lance said with a kind smile. “I’m sorry for waking you up but it was necessary in starting the flow of time.”

“Now the sun will begin moving” I piped in and explained my previous concerns for the plants.

Tara looked delighted. “That’s great, now with some water we can turn this world into a beautiful paradise.” That reminded me that I still didn’t have anything to use as a core for the Water God. I looked at the side of the tree and how the light from the Fairy Mushrooms turned it blue. A new idea formed in my head and I kneeled down before the wooden side. I placed my hand on its smooth surface and concentrated. A small piece was all I needed, in the shape of a raindrop. My hand heated up like it did when I performed transmutation and I felt part of the wood pressing against my palm.

“What are you doing? '' Tara asked, her voice carrying her concern. I gently pulled my hand away from the wall and on it stuck a piece of wood an inch thick shaped as a raindrop. The light died down and I felt the wood stop pressing against me. I turned and allowed everyone to see what I had.

“This will work well for a core,” I told them. Tara didn’t look happy about me taking a part of the tree away but she didn’t say anything. “Tara, do you think you could heal the tree?” I asked.

“Yeah I think so” she said and walked over to examine the damage. As she helped the tree, I turned my attention to changing the wood into sapphire. Sapphires were the gem most affiliated with the water element. The use of magic was becoming easier each time I used it, this time didn’t take much concentration and was fully changed when Tara finished the tree’s treatment.

“Thanks Tara” she simply nodded in response, “All right now let’s head outside and make a new friend” I said when she finished. We all stepped outside; I noticed that the sun had moved partially from the shadow of the tree now covering a part of grassless ground. I placed the sapphire on the grass and we all made a circle around it. I closed my eyes and once again began the process of creating a God. This time a small blue light came from the sapphire.

My first thought was of the earth and how it had covered most of the ocean. I thought of all that came from the ocean. The tidal waves, hurricanes, and typhoons are all powerful disasters that all spawned from the ocean. I thought of the rain and clouds that came from after, the sheer necessity of it in all life. As my thoughts filled the sapphire the blue light grew into a human-like form. After I gave in all I could think of, I ended my concentration. I opened my eyes and there sat a blue man. His skin was all light blue and his military style hair was white like sea foam. He wore a deep blue monk robe. He had sparking green eyes that were staring directly at me.

“Hello, I’m Phanes” I started then introduced everyone else. He turned and gave a deep nod and grunt in response. He never spoke which I thought was odd, I hope I didn’t somehow make it so that he couldn’t speak.

“Your name will be…” I paused at what his name should be.

“Nesso,” Lance said. Everyone turned to him “I think it is a very nice name” he said. The name reminded me of the fabled Loch Ness monster and its nickname Nessy, so I thought it fit well for a water god.

“I’m ok with it if you are” I said to the silent God, who gave an affirmative nod. I stepped forward and gave him a hand getting to his feet.

“All right, then I guess it’s time to start creating more plant life” Tara chimed, sounding excited to get to work.

“Actually I think it would be best if we all took a nice long rest, especially the young master,” Lance suggested. “It’s been a long day and the sun will be setting in less than half an hour.” That’s when I noticed that the sun was much closer to the horizon. I couldn’t believe how much time had passed; did it always take this long to create a God?

“Lance is right, it would be best to get some rest and start working when the sun rises.” I said and everyone nodded. We all walked back into the tree for some rest, but it didn’t look very comfortable sleeping on the floor.

“I wish we had some beds,” I said.

“What’s a bed?” Even asked

“A bed is a place where people lay down to sleep” I explained

“Then isn’t the ground a bed” He pointed out

“Well yes it can be, but a bed is meant to be a more comfortable place to sleep with a blanket to keep you warm and a pillow that supports you so that your neck won’t hurt.” I continued. I miss my old bed. It was always so warm and comforting. I started feeling homesick again.

“Then why don’t you make us a bed?” Tara asked. I paused, I hadn't thought about it.

“I’m sure if you can create a God then you can also make some beds for us, young master.”Lance chimed in.

“I guess I can try but this room is barely big enough for one bed let alone five of them.” I defended myself.

“Maybe I can make it bigger” Tara said “If I fill the tree with energy it will begin to grow…”

“.. And I can make the time for the tree move faster” Lance added.

“Go ahead, give it a shot” I said. I’m glad I have made new friends here who could help me out.

“I’ll help too,” Evan called out. I smiled down at the enthusiastic dragon, if it wasn’t for him I would still be laying on the ground depressed.

“Maybe Nesso could help too,” I said. Nesso only nodded in agreement, he then walked to a side of the tree and placed his hand on its smooth surface. The others followed his actions; Evan was leaning on the tree with two paws on the tree. Tara started letting out a low hum which Evan joined in and Lance soon followed. I couldn’t hear if Nesso joined in or not but it was soon apparent that their magic was working. All around me the tree began letting out a low rumble and the sides of the tree were spreading farther apart. The gods stepped forward to keep their hands in contact with the tree. This continued until the room was about twenty feet in diameter and the gods removed themselves from the tree. The ring of Mushrooms had remained in place giving an idea of how far the room had grown.

“That was amazing you guys” I said as they came back towards me.

“Thank you young master,” Lance said.

“Thanks, it wasn't even that hard,” Evan boasted.

“To you maybe but right now I could really use some rest” Tara said, she looked like the tree had taken more energy out of her than anyone else, Nesso remained silent.

“All right, let me try and create a few beds for us to sleep in,” I told them and began my attempt. I closed my eyes and pictured my own bed, a simple single person bed with a white pillow on the top and a black furry blanket spread over it. The thought made me think of home and how I may never see it again. I forced the thoughts aside and focused on my task. I imagined the bed fading from my mind and drifting into the tree. A large thump in front of me and a gasp behind me brought me out of my concentration. There sitting in front of me was a perfect copy of my bed.

“There it is,” I said and turned to the others giving a wave “A bed.” Lance and Evan quickly made their way over to it and began inspecting it. Nesso remained where he was and studied it from afar; Tara looked disappointed at the bed.

“Is something wrong Tara?” I asked concerned

“No” she said “I just don’t like the idea of being that far from the ground. If it’s alright with you I’m going to sleep on the ground” I understood her feelings.

“That’s fine; whatever makes you feel more comfortable.” I told her.

“Nesso do you want one?” I inquired from the silent god. He shook his head no and began walking to the wall. Tara and I shared a shrug and moved over to Lance and Evan. The latter was curled up on the pillow like a cat. Lance stood next to the bed petting the soft blanket.

“What do you guys think?” Tara asked before I had the chance.

“I like it,” Evan responded, shifting deeper into the pillow.

“So do I,” Lance said, turning to me “Young master, may I have one as well?”

“Sure you can. Just tell me where you want it” I said, happy to help. Lance looked very grateful.

“How about against the wall over there” Lance pointed at a place left of the doorway which strangely had not grown with the room.

“You got it” I said and went to work creating the bed, the only difference between our beds was that his blanket was grey instead of black.

“Thank you,” Lance said before dashing over to his bed.

“You’re welcome” I called out. I then noticed how odd my bed looked sitting in the middle of the room.

“Maybe I should move it” I thought aloud.

“Why do you want to move it?” Tara asked.

“Well beds typically go against a wall, not in the middle of a room” I explained. Before I could move to start dragging the bed over to a wall a deep grunt from behind made me and Tara jump. Nesso had walked up behind us without us noticing. Nesso walked past us and picked up the pillow holding Evan. The young dragon could only raise his head in questioning before Nesso handed the pillow to Tara. The blue god then proceeded to pick up the entire bed by himself and carried it over to the wall opposite of Lance’s bed. He then carefully placed the bed on the ground and began straightening the covers. By the time Tara and I had made our way over to the bed the god had finished making the bed.

“Thanks Nesso, but I would’ve helped” I said, a bit guilty from him doing all the work himself. He only shook his head and grunted before walking away and taking a seat against the tree facing the doorway. I saw the opening gave a perfect view for the first sunset. Tara placed Evan’s pillow back on the bed and the dragon returned to his sleeping position.

“Well I guess it’s time for us to get some rest” I said to Tara. She let out a small yarn in agreement and walked over to a patch of mushrooms. She tapped the mushrooms lightly and their glow lessened till I could barely make out Lance lying in his new bed. Tara lay down on the ground a few feet from the mushrooms. I made my way into bed having to scootch Evan over so I could fit my head on the pillow. As soon as I laid down I realized how tired I really was. I could barely keep my eyes open, but before I fell asleep I had one last thing I had to do.

“Good night everybody,” I called out.

Evan was the first to respond “Good night” , his voice trailing off to sleep.

“Good night,” Tara said.

“Night” Lance replied with a yawn and Nesso let out a loud grunt. I couldn’t help but smile. This was all crazy, me becoming a God then creating other Gods and now sleeping with a dragon next to my head, but I felt like this could be a lot of fun and I couldn’t wait to work on the world tomorrow.