It had been another long year in The Heavenly Realm, much of which Solis meditated through to steadily grow his power. He was still leagues away from the others, and after being saddled with so much work at his new station, the poor god was burnt out and in desperate need of a change of scenery.

Ever since he found out about their existence, Solis thought the human beings were supremely interesting. At first, they seemed like little insects; they had hives- families, they worked the land and built dwellings, and were impressive architects and inventors, of course, in part thanks to his peers. So curious about how these humans lived, and how vastly different it was from the Heavens, Solis gave no notice and immediately descended to The Mortal Realm, a place that mirrored the home of the gods and was known to the locals as Láchender Mün… the laughing face.

After traversing the mountains past The Ether’s Gate, Solis’ first interaction with humans came as he arrived in a small town. Aware that his godly status might dissuade the mortals from speaking with him, and not wanting to frighten them, Solis had made sure to don a disguise which he hoped was the human equivalent of his heavenly body. No glow, no otherworldly beauty… and he made sure to stow away his halo, of course. Also, at the last minute, he decided to also remove his godly robes as well, thinking they were much too conspicuous in a land of mere mortals.

So, there he stood, at the center of town, watching the humans go about their day with great interest. A few young women hurried past with healthy blushes and lingering looks, and Solis was pleased, thinking this must be a sign of acceptance into their culture.

He found he had an immediate fascination with human offspring, and would have liked to inquire about their function in a mortal society past what he knew of human genetics, but very soon a group of men approached him and demanded to know his business in their town, a place they called Churchton, which seemed to heavily worship the God of Wealth, judging by all the statues. Solis couldn’t help but wonder if Caishen was really blessing these people with good fortune, or if he’d even heard of them at all.

“Who are ‘ya? Why are ‘ya here?!” Someone yelled.

Solis was surprised that these humans were so aggressive!

“My name is Solis,” he replied good-naturedly. “I am here to see you.”

He watched as some of the humans shuffled awkwardly and avoided his gaze. There really was no reason for them to be frightened… he stepped forward, hoping to clear up any misunderstandings about why he was there.

“I am very young and curious about this place. I have many questions, which I am hoping you can help me answer.”

An older man raised his chin and his voice only wavered slightly as he said-

“But, son… that still don’t explain why ‘yer naked as the day ‘ya were born!”

Solis paused, realizing that the men before him were all wearing various articles of clothing. He had to smile, finally seeing a similarity between this place and The Heavenly Realm.

“Oh, indeed. Is it also not appropriate in this town to be naked?”

A few men huffed with laughter, some others scowled, but finally, the old man who had spoken raised his eyes to the heavens and seemed to utter a prayer, before fetching a large sheepskin blanket and draping it over Solis.

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The young god’s heart was so warm at that moment, feeling as if he was being taken under the wing of a benevolent, learned teacher.

The old man sighed and waved the rest of the crowd off.

“Better come with me,” he shook his head. “Perhaps a drink or two’ll shock some sense back into ‘ya…”

As the sun began to set, Solis followed the man into a packed building that smelled of many things, all of which made the god’s nose itch. He sat at the barstool; a fascinating piece of ingenuity, to be sure- and listened to the chatter of the patrons as the old man served him a drink.

Solis’ impression of the men was that they were freely enjoying themselves. It was loud, boisterous, and a bit shameful, some of the things they said. Surely not something you’d ever see anywhere in Heaven. The young god took it all in.

“So, what is it ‘ya wanna know?” The old man leaned on the bar in front of him, having to shout slightly over the noise.

Solis, who had been intensely scrutinizing the pitcher of drink in front of him and the myriad of bubbles that floated to the surface, looked up and smiled wistfully.

“Everything!”

At some point later on in the evening, Solis found himself congregating at a large table, listening intently to the slightly slurred advice of the half a dozen distinguished gentlemen present. He took great care to commit every word to memory…

“When a lass fancies ‘ya, she’ll be real coy about it! Barely sayin’ what she means-”

“But don’t forget! Women like an in-the-market sorta man. You know, he could have his choice of pickings-”

“I see,” Solis nodded intently. “So, the goal is to be widely desired while working under the assumption that the other party is being deceitful.”

The men all paused, several pairs of eyes blinking at him, then one of them huffed and reached clumsily for his drink.

“Yeah. Sounds about right!”

Solis returned to his own drink with a smile. Now he would be able to better relate to the humans! Their mating customs were so unique…

The next morning saw the young god waking in a dizzy pile from underneath one of the tavern’s tables. He sat there, blinking for a long while, trying to remember what he’d been thinking just moments ago. It was lost behind a hazy curtain, and his head was throbbing painfully.

Satisfied he had experienced the full extent of what this town had to offer, Solis was about to leave and continue on his journey. He was stopped by the tavern owner’s daughter coming down the stairs, seeming hesitant and shy. When she held out a pair of trousers and a heavily worn white blouse that looked a bit too large for him, the god beamed at her.

“Thank you very much! I have none of your currency, though, so how should I repay you for this kindness?”

The young woman tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and blushed, then leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Solis nodded, agreeing. He dressed quickly behind the bar and then left with a little wave in the women's direction. He figured he’d find the thing she’d asked for around town, so he went off to get it. After a lot of confusing conversations with the villagers, Solis learned, in fact, that the thing she desired was not for purchase, though no one seemed willing to explain to him how else to get it. He gave up with a defeated sigh, having apparently made enemies of half the townsfolk with his inquiring…

It was not easy being new.

Still, shockingly, his departure from Churchton was met with a small goodbye party. He thanked the men for their help and their wide array of stories the night before. Solis was overjoyed when a few young women came over to say goodbye as well, their children running back and forth between his legs or clinging to their mother’s necks helplessly.

Solis found his heart was very weak to human babies. He started crying when one of them reached out a little hand and squeezed his nose with a stunningly strong grip. He would have to make it a point to return to this town someday and pay these nice people back for their generosity.

Until then, he would continue on. This realm seemed to have so much to offer, and Solis was thrilled to discover it all!