As silently as he could, Gage stood up. His heart hammered in his ear as he crept down the hallway. He raised his hand behind him towards Eshu. First making his hand into a fist to signal the dog to sit, then an open palm facing the dog to stay. Two of the three signs the dog ever bothered to listen to.

Step by step, careful where he placed his feet. After what felt like an eternity, he made it to the door. The light inside the room was still wavering. He drew in a deep breath and held it, steeling himself to look through the opening.

As a silver blue orb whirled through the doorway he stumbled back, “Waaugh!” yelling in surprise, eyes wide. It stopped to hover in the air, barely a foot from where he had been standing. The halo of ethereal light around the sphere blazed brightly as it suddenly yelled back! “AAHHHGH!”

Gage crashed backwards down the hall, “The HELL?!” He yelled out as Eshu, taking up position behind him, began yapping and growling at the light. Just as it had lit up, the light dimmed to a much more tolerable level.

“Oh, you speak English. Marvelous! I never really had the opportunity before.” The orb did a little loop in the air before whizzing down the hallway to stop before him. “I am Ma’tuk. It is absolutely divine to meet you. Oh, um, my Lord. Apologies for the lack of decorum, at first, I thought you spoke Waughya from that rather hearty hello you gave me.” The voice was light as it spoke, like the wind blowing just strong enough to hear, but with more volume behind it.

Gage stared at the orb, err, at Ma’tuk? Eshu was still growling beside him. Shakily he raised a hand and put it to Eshu’s fur. He began petting the tiny protector to calm him. “Wha-what?”

The orb zoomed back a foot or so, dimming for a moment before lighting back up again. “Um, well, my Lord. I do sincerely apologize for being late. The paths of natural energy are still very much in chaos since the Recreation. I could not find the right... feeling? Oh dear, I am probably among the last to find their charge.” It rambled on for a moment, its voice growing slightly quieter and quieter, its light dimmer. With a flare, it blazed to life once more, “But found you I have, my Lord!” Followed by a quick spiral upwards and a bouncing side to side as it floated back down.

Gage began to blink rapidly, both against the light and his own confusion, “S-slow down, okay? Ma’took, was it?”

The orb spun rapidly in place. “Ma’tuk, short and quick, my Lord.”

“Maa’tuk?”

“Ma’tuk. Watch my lips. Well, I suppose I don’t have any. Listen to my lips. Wait. No.”

“Ma’tuk!” His tone flecked with slight annoyance.

“That is it! My Lord! You are most clever!” It once again swirled up into what Gage was starting to call its ‘happy dance’, bob? Its happy bob.

“Ma’tuk, listen to me, please.” The orb slowed, floating gently in place. “Thank you. Now...” He trailed off as he looked to the side, chewing on his lip for a moment. “Okay, so let’s start from the beginning, yeah? What are you, Ma’tuk? And? And why do you keep calling me, ‘my Lord’?”

“Ah! Ah? Oh... I see. You do not know? This is unsuspected. Hmm, well. I am Ma’tuk, the Archon. An Archon. Your Archon, my Lord, as I have been charged with the task of helping you to Ascend.” For the first time since Ma’tuk had arrived, its tone was calm and serious.

Gage stared at Ma’tuk, confusion twisting his face. “Ascend? What on Earth are you talking about?”

“You truly...? I mean, I just assumed that. Oh, this is most perplexing!” Ma’tuk’s blue hue turned a darker shade for but a moment before it continued. “My Lord...”

“Gage.”

“My Gage.”

“No, just Gage.”

“Gage, this I know, but you do not. So, I will say it in full. Ah-hem-hem.” The orb cleared its… throat? The light intensified, added ethereal whisps of light that started floating around it as the following words reverberated around the room.

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Those-Who-Came-Before,

In ancient lore, they soar;

Those who are No More,

Whispered secrets of yore.

Fury from the sky, a burning eye,

Worlds torn asunder, in a silent cry;

Mountains crumble, oceans dry,

Under the Cataclysm's ravenous sigh.

Those-Who-Came-After, in shadow's wake,

From the ashes, their destiny to take;

Rise they shall, for survival's sake,

In a new world, their throne to make.

With heart and hand, unite the land,

Forge a future, bold and grand;

In the dance of time's shifting sand,

Lead the way, a power... untanned?

The light slowly faded, leaving Gage seeing spots in his vision as he sat there stunned. Even Eshu was quiet, pressing himself behind Gage with a slight whine. “I... I don’t... Wait, did you end that as a question?”

"Yes! Who uses a word like ‘untanned’? What does that even mean? Did they mean untamed? They were being torn asunder between a great expenditure of power and a wayward celestial act. So, I suppose we can forgive them.” Ma’tuk started bouncing around the room, checking out the remnants of Gage’s home. It even went and looked at the items he had packed away for the journey as it babbled as much to itself as it did to Gage.

“Ma’tuk. Ma’tuk! What does that mean?” He pushed himself to his feet, grabbing hold of the orb as it zipped by out of desperation. His hands never touched the central core of light, instead cupping the aura around it. He marveled briefly at the soft feeling under his hands, like the touch of water.

“What? Oh yes. Lay-god's terms. All the old gods are gone. You are now on a planet that is an amalgamation,” It giggled, “That is a fun word. An amalgamation of five or six different worlds. In order for balance to be restored, gods must rise anew! And you are one of them! I am your Archon, and you are my god...-ling? Godling!” Gage’s hands dropped to his sides and Ma’tuk began bobbing around him with an occasional happy spiral. His head began to throb again and slowly he sat down. Eshu sat next to him, staring at him. Absently he pet the dog’s head, before letting his hand drop. A wet nose shoved itself under his hand and gave it a small flip. When he didn’t respond, a paw swiped his arm a few times before a soft chuff was exhaled in his face.

“Wha-? Oh, Eshu. There’s a good puppers. It’s okay.” He started stroking the dog’s fur. After a few minutes he spoke again. “Okay, okay, so Ma’tuk. Running with this, I guess, what am I the god of?”

The orb paused bouncing and zooming about before gently floating down in front of him. A variety of shades of blue whirled through its features. “You know, I do not... know?”

His face went blank, staring dumbly at Ma’tuk. “So let me get this straight. I am supposed to be a god, and you are supposed to be my mentor. But you don’t even know what I am the god of?”

“Of course not!” The orb huffed before shifting side to side, “That is not how gods work. You are thinking about it like you have been around for thousands of years already!” it paused and considered him. “You have not been around for thousands of years already, have you?” Gage only shook his head. “Right, of course not! The gods were powerful in their own right. They became the ‘god of something’ by doing the things they liked and being associated with that thing. Spend all your time surrounded by, by... em, oh! Corgis! You become the god of corgis! If you happen to excel at utilizing fire as well, then well, fire corgis!”

Taking a breath to calm himself, “Okay. Okay, I can get that. Then, I have powers? Or, will get powers?” Eyeing Eshu, he imagined the little dog with fur made of flames sleeping in the fireplace or urinating on a tree and having it combust into flames.

“Yes! No? Definitely possible. See, the divine essence of Those-Who-Came-Before dispersed all over this new world. Much of it connected with many individuals out there. It is raw, throbbing, undulating, convulsing, oozing!” The blue color went slightly purple, “Ahem...”

...

...

...

“POWER!” It continued, “It will become shaped based on how you use it and who you are. Two individuals could have an affinity for fire, and both could use it much the same way. But if one of them is a very vindictive person and the other is cheerier, it could mean the difference between an Inferno and a Hearth, yes?”

Gage sank back to the floor, cradling his head in hands. “This... this is a lot to take in. My head hurts, and... is any of my family still alive? Did any of them survive?”

Eshu laid his head on Gage’s knee. As he did so, a comforting warmth started on his shoulder and spread through him. Lifting his head to look, Ma’tuk had shrunk down to about the size of a golf ball and was resting just above his shoulder. “I am sorry, I really do not know. All I know is that I am to help you. I want to help you in any way that you need. I do not promise they are well, but I do promise we can try and find out.”

The three of them sat there silently for some time, bathing in Ma’tuk’s comforting light. Finally, Gage broke the silence. “Alright then. We can do this. Let’s become a god... because that’s something you say every day. What about this?” He gingerly touched the back of his head, wincing as he brushed against the wound. “Can you heal this or something?”

Ma’tuk whizzed around behind him, causing the light to dance about the room. “Hmm, mhm. Yup. Okay. Oh, that looks bad. Uh-huh. Uhhh... nope!” It danced back in front of Gage. “Buuut, maybe you can? Eh? EH? EH! You want to try?”

A sigh escaped from him, and he couldn’t help but smile at his Archon’s enthusiasm. Eshu jumped up, yipping as the mood in the room lightened. “Sure, fine. Let’s do some magic! Yeah?”