“Guuh...” A soft groan left him as he struggled to push himself up from the makeshift bed. It was dark back where he was in the house. The air was dry and warm. Eshu was laid out not too far from him, the dog lifted his head briefly to look at him before just laying back down. Ma’tuk on the other hand, hadn’t moved. The little orb floating about an inch off of a pillow it had selected. It’s light was dim, like a shade had been drawn over it.

He pushed aside his grogginess, ran a hand through his hair and stood up. As silently as he could muster, he grabbed himself a Ledge bar, a bottle of water and a few other items before climbing up out of the hole. The sun had already made its debut and had climbed high into the sky. Quickly he spread out a blanket, then using a few rods he set up a shade-structure over the hole. Hopefully it would help keep the interior cool, but also give some seating in the shade outside as well. He sat at the edge of the hole, his legs dangling in, and enjoyed his makeshift breakfast. He slowly chewed on the bar and taking the occasional sip of water as he took in the scenery around him.

The sand spread out around him. It looked like his home was currently situated in a flat expanse. To the south and the east the sand rose up to create a ridge of large dunes. To the west was more flat and shifting sand. As he looked north, it looked like the sands perhaps got a little rocky, hopefully giving way to canyons. If he was lucky canyons meant shade and perhaps even moisture. If he counted the ice that was still in the freezer and the water he had managed to save, he and Eshu would have maybe a few weeks of water if they were conservative, if they stayed here. Food would more than likely run out before then.

Now if they were to travel, mostly either at night or dawn and dusk, he wouldn’t be able to carry as much water with him, but enough to last them perhaps a week. Hopefully by then, they could reach the canyons and the shelter they provided. He had the tent and a few blankets he could take along, that would provide them with shade during the day. It would be hot, but manageable. If he spent their down time brushing Eshu, it should help keep his coat thinned out. Ma’tuk had said it had done something to the freezer to keep it cool even without power. Whatever had been done had seemed to work. Maybe it could do something to keep the inside of the tent cool during the day.

They would have to leave. That wasn’t a question. If they stayed, they would eventually not have anything left to survive. Even if everything Ma’tuk had said was real and he was a godling, thing... He had still felt hunger and thirst. Technically gods did eat as well. Norse, Greek, Chinese, Egyptian mythologies all had plenty of stories that revolved around just food alone.

His line of thought shifting to his new life, he let out a sigh. Ignoring the drop of sweat that prickled his skin as it rolled down his back, he closed his eyes and began to breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He cycled the air with steady breaths. He fell into it quicker this time, feeling the pulse roll through his body. The energy of the day before echoed it. Rolling through him like a wave with each breath. It felt... weaker. Less than the day before. He had used a lot of energy to heal himself yesterday, it seemed.

If he pictured it like a pond, it had been drained but something was filling it as it was not as low as it had been when he had gone to bed. As he thought about it, he formed the image of it in his mind. Rough and natural sandstone walls rose around him. He was in a roughly circular bowl that was the dead end of a canyon behind him. The ground was rocky, sandy dirt that sloped slightly down towards the back of the canyon where there was a small pool. From over the lip above it moisture did wet the rock wall down to the pool, showing something was flowing into it, though it could barely be considered even a trickle. He could even see where the water was supposed to rise to before overflowing and continue down the canyon as a creek.

The image had barely solidified when he heard something faint, like an echo from further down the canyon. He turned to listen more intently. “My Lord!”

He stumbled backwards, gasping for breath as his head hit the sand. His eyes were wide open now, staring up at the shade blanket he had put up earlier. “My Lord! Your companion has been trying to eat me!” Sitting up, he looked at Ma’tuk who was now hovering in the air before him over the open hole. “I am lucky to be alive!”

“Hold on now, what happened?” His mind barely understanding what the orb was saying.

Ma’tuk flashed a yellow green of annoyance. “Eshu! As majestic as he is, is a menace! I was simply resting there when I felt something warm blowing against me. I awoke to that maniac inches away from me, just staring at me. As I flew up, he tried to eat me! He chased me all over the house, pouncing and yapping.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

For the first time in days, Gage began to laugh. Starting with a chuckle, Ma’tuk looking shocked only sent him over the edge to fall back onto the sand behind him and roll with laughter. “Ma’tuk! He was playing with you! He hasn’t eaten anything random since he ate some weed someone had lost in the park. He did not enjoy being high, so he asks before he eats anything that I didn’t give him.”

Pushing himself up once more, he had to hold back a laugh. The orb had somehow changed from giving off a feeling of shock and outrage, to offence. “He does not want to eat me? Why not? I am a delicious creature of the divine!”

Holding his hands up in surrender. “I guess I can feed him to you, if you really want. But before I do, may I ask a few questions in your final moments.”

The light it gave off sputtered for a moment before calming. “Very well, my Lord. How can I help?”

“Well, I suppose to start, how can I tell your emotions now? Yesterday you were just a floating ball of light. I guess I could tell when you were excited and what not from your tone of voice, but just now I could see the look of shock on your face only you don’t have a face.”

A light, or look, of elation crossed its orb. “Ah! My Lord Gage, that would mean our bond is deepening. You are becoming more used to the flow and feel of energy. This of course will not work with everything, but since I am your Archon, it provides a more direct link.”

After a few moments, he nodded. “I guess that makes some sense? I was doing that mediation again, and it felt a little easier this time. I don’t think it took as long and I actually managed to do a sort of representation to measure my Breath.”

The orb went still, its normally bluish light shifted though this time it didn’t shift back. Ma’tuk was now a pinkish red. More like a combination of Gage’s own pink hair and the reddish hue of the sandstone walls of the inner space he had made. “It is quite beautiful, my Lord.”

“You can see it?”

It did its happy bob about for a moment, “Vaguely, my Lord. I started as an unaligned Archon, but since I have ‘attached’ myself to you my very essence is changing and aligning with yours. This can mean many things and can lead down many different paths, but it is a great step forward!”

Ma’tuk continued to ramble, its tone excited at the prospects of the future. Gage on the other hand had become distracted. Looking past the orb, a shape had taken form against the sand. From the dunes to the south, “Ma’tuk.” He reached out a hand and stopped the orb from zooming back and forth. “Look. Am I seeing things or is that...” His heart was hammering in his chest, and he rolled back from the hole so that he could stand and look out.

There was indeed a humanoid shape in the distance. It still looked a ways out and was slow moving, but it looked like it was moving in his direction. “Oh! Yes, indeed my Lord! That does look like a person! Oh. Ah.” He looked over to the orb, who suddenly seemed embarrassed. “Perhaps there is something we should discuss before they arrive, my Lord?”

He frowned at that. “What would that be, Ma’tuk?”

“Well,” the orb sunk down a bit to hover closer to the sand. “Perhaps, it would be wise, to maybe not mention that you are a god?” It looked like Ma’tuk was trying to make himself as small as possible.

He knelt down next to the orb. “Okay. Honestly, I feel better about doing that then I would saying ‘I am a god’.” He chuckled and the orb seemed to relax a little, lifting from the ground and growing more towards its natural size. “I have never been that kind of important before, and I will be honest, I am not really used to the idea yet.” He paused a moment and offered his hand out to the orb. “What should I say instead? If anything?”

It floated into his hand, looking much happier and relieved. “I would suggest still associating with yourself. You still need to spread word about yourself so you can be worshipped.” Gage shuddered slightly at the thought, but Ma’tuk continued. “You will need it to grow in power.”

“So, what? Act like a cleric or a priest or something?”

The orb twirled, “Yes! That would be a good start.”

He mulled it over in his mind. “Well, I would feel weird about ‘Hi, I’m Gage. Have you heard the word of Gage?’ Right? Would it be okay if I gave myself... my godself, a different name or title or something to refer to?”

“Hmmm.” Ma’tuk seemed to be considering it, slowly making a small loop around his hand. “I suppose... but you should still leave some sort of connection. You cannot start thinking of yourself as a separate being. That would be... dangerous.”

“Alright then,” He smiled. “Then I already have an idea. It is something of a character I had come up with a few years back. He was pretty dear to me, so I think it could work for this. For my godself, Kin and for my current self, Gage’kin. I feel like I am confusing myself.” He let out a slightly shaky breath. “Right, but yeah. That way anyone who devotes himself to Kin.” At Ma’tuk’s slight flash, “To me, then they can take the name ‘Kin’ and add it to their name. What do you think?”

The orb shifted about, once again thinking it over. “It should work, for now at least and... uh oh.” It stopped moving and Gage turned to look in the direction the orb was peering. The person that had been walking towards them had collapsed into the sand.