ã€ŠNew Godsã€‹


 Prologue Day 0

    As I opened my eyes I knew something was wrong, all I could see was white. This was a big change from my dark bedroom I had fallen asleep in last night . Moving to sit up, I realized that I couldn¡¯t feel the ground below me. Panic took over me and I began thrashing to find the ground, but no matter where I stretched I couldn¡¯t feel anything. It didn¡¯t feel like I was falling, there was no wind. I was just floating in an endless white void.

    After my panic began to fade, fear quickly crept in. Where am I? How did I get here? Questions flooded my mind, halting any real thoughts. I tried to calm myself, taking deep breaths like dad taught me. As I relaxed I looked around once more. There was nothing around me, I was still wearing my white shirt and fuzzy pajama pants I wore to bed ,but I was the only thing I could see. I ran my hand through my short, dirty blond hair, a habit I had taken up when I was nervous. I gave one more hopeful glance around and then gave in to my last option.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I shouted. Fear and hope clashed in my mind. I wasn¡¯t sure what to expect.

    ¡°Hello,¡± a calm voice came from behind me. If I was on the ground I probably would have jumped ten feet in the air, I had just looked behind me and there wasn¡¯t a thing in sight. I turned my head and a blinding golden light shot into my eyes. I had to turn away. It was so bright, tears leaked out my eyes.

    ¡°Who''s there?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I am.¡± The voice said. The voice could only be described as neutral, not masculine or feminine. Just an emotionless voice.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± I inquired.

    ¡°It matters not who I am, but rather who you are?¡± The voice replied. Avoiding my questions, not a good sign.

    ¡°I am Phanes. Do you know where we are?¡± I asked hoping they would actually answer me. I tried again to turn and see who I was talking to, but the golden light blinded me once more.

    ¡°That depends on where you want us to be.¡± The voice answered. I¡¯m going to take that as this person wasn¡¯t going to be helpful.

    ¡°I want to be back home,¡± I said more to myself than the voice. I want to be back in my bed safe and comfy, not in the middle of nowhere with a person that I couldn¡¯t even look at.

    ¡°Hmm¡± the voice paused as if trying to think of what to say ¡°well Phanes I¡¯m afraid that can¡¯t happen. You see I¡¯ve chosen you out of everyone in the world to fulfill a very important task.¡±

    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± I asked worried about what he could possibly want.

    ¡°I want, no I need you to become a God¡± The voice said with a serious tone.

    ¡°A God,¡± I said in disbelief. A dream, this had to be a dream there was no way this could be real.

    ¡°Yes¡± The voice continued ¡°I believe you are capable of creating a fantastic new world.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You can¡¯t be serious¡± Could this be a prank?

    ¡°I am. It¡¯s now time for a new world to be born.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what about my family, my friends, the world I came from. What will happen to it?¡± I yelled. The voice gave no answer. I waited, feeling my anger grow by the second; finally I turned around determined to see who this voice belonged to. I turned and the golden light flashed brighter than before, I thought I was going blind and then everything went dark.

 Day 1

    I woke up slowly, thankfully this time I could feel something solid beneath me. At first I thought I was back in bed and everything had been a dream, but as I shifted to get into a more comfortable position I found that this wasn¡¯t the case. I opened my eyes to see a blue sky with a white sun resting at the center. I stared at the sky for a moment trying to figure out what was happening. Maybe I died, is this what happens when you die? I sat up as the thought played in my mind. All around me was desert, the dry ground showed no sign of life. The ground was flat as far as I could see, no rocks, no hills, nothing. I stood up hoping to see something. Did I really die? This could definitely pass as purgatory.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I called out, hoping there was someone here. Even that voice would have been better than nothing, but no answer came. I turned and called out again but still no answer. I started walking in a random direction. I don''t know where I was going but I couldn¡¯t stay still. There was too much happening with nothing to focus on. The constant movement helped me move forward with my thoughts. I couldn¡¯t risk spiraling right now.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I don¡¯t know how long I was walking, it felt like hours, but the sun never moved. Finally I just sat down on the dry ground. Even after all my walking I wasn¡¯t tired or hungry. I wasn¡¯t hot from the sun either, now that I think of it my eyes didn''t hurt from looking at it. Lying on the ground I closed my eyes, I wasn¡¯t tired but I needed some time to figure out my situation. I don¡¯t know where I am, how I got here, or how to find someone to help, I listed off. Some being apparently made me a god but didn''t explain what that means or how to do anything.  What would I be doing if I had been home? I gave a small chuckle if I had been home I would probably be at the movies with my friend Trevor. We had made plans earlier in the week to go see the new action movie. Now I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯ll ever see him again. A small pain started in my chest. I missed how he always had something to say, he was always so lively. Now I¡¯m stuck  somewhere where there was nothing. A small tear slipped from my eye and fell down to the thirsty ground below. Suddenly I was very tired; maybe I needed a nap. My last thought before I drifted out of consciousness was of home.

 Day 2 part 1

    When I woke up the sky had turned green, or at least that¡¯s what it looked like. When I saw the green canopy above me I sat up quickly and nearly fell. I couldn¡¯t believe what had happened as I was sleeping; a whole tree had grown beneath me. I was currently situated on one of the higher branches. It looked like it was six or seven feet to the ground. I had no idea where this tree came from or how I was going to get down. I guess I¡¯ll have to jump. I grabbed on to the branch and carefully lowered myself closer to the ground then dropped the rest of the way. I managed to land on my feet, the drop must''ve been shorter than I thought, there was no sting from my landing. Now that I was on the ground I was able to take a better look at the tree.

    The tree was huge; its trunk was so thick I wouldn¡¯t be able to wrap my arms around it. I couldn¡¯t see how high the tree reached so I started backing away. The farther back I went to the taller the tree seemed to be and the more out of place it looked. Nothing else had changed besides the tree growing. All around me was flat desert, no sign of life anywhere, and the sun still waited at the center of the sky. Finally I could see the top of the tree; I estimated it to be 30 feet tall and 10 feet  in width. After seeing the top I quickly ran back to the base of the tree. I looked at the branch I had woken up on. Maybe if I get back up there I can climb to the top and get a better look around. However that branch was the lowest on the tree and out of my jumping range.

    I made my way over to the other side of the tree hoping a lower branch would be present. As I circled the tree I didn¡¯t see any low branches, but I found something else on the opposite side, a large opening in the tree. I was amazed the opening was shaped like a large doorway and gave a clear view of the hollow interior of the tree. A soft blue light showered the tree¡¯s inside. I stepped closer to the opening and listened for any signs of life.

    When nothing could be heard I took another step forward and called out, still no response. I was a bit disappointed at the results of my search but it did look like it would be safe to go inside the tree.

    Stepping into the tree I saw that the blue light was coming from glowing mushrooms that lined the edge of the small space. The mushrooms looked oddly familiar but I couldn¡¯t remember where I had seen them before. In the center of the room was a ring of the glowing mushrooms, in the center of the ring sat a large egg. I¡¯ve never seen an egg that big before, it had to be one foot tall. I once read that ostriches laid the biggest eggs in the world but this didn¡¯t look like an ostrich egg. The mushrooms gave it a light blue hue and it had a pattern on it that looked like scales. I approached the egg, noticing that the room wasn¡¯t as big as the tree itself. It only looked about 6 feet wide and was only a little taller than I was. I watched the egg for a moment waiting for any sign of it hatching.

    When nothing happened I reached out and carefully tapped its shell. The egg was warm and the marks I saw were actually dark grooves in the shell. I rested my hand on the egg enjoying the warmth. Then I reached down with my other hand and picked it up, it was surprisingly light for its size. I carefully carried it out into the sun to get a better look, I had to walk out of the shade from the tree then set it down to bask in the sunlight. Now with better lighting I saw the egg was actually a pale green instead of the blue caused by the mushrooms. I sat down facing the egg and laid my hands on it.

    ¡°So now it¡¯s just me and you,¡± I said to the egg. Even though I knew the egg or whatever could be inside it wouldn¡¯t respond, it was comforting having something to talk to.

    It finally dawned on me that something had to have laid the egg and I started to worry about how it was going to act when it found me holding its unhatched child. I stood up, deciding to put the egg back where I found it, as I reached down to pick it up I saw a small bump come from inside it causing the egg to roll onto its side. I stepped back as the egg continued to roll around the ground as whatever was inside it fought for its freedom.

    Finally after a moment of struggle I heard the first breaking of the shell. I couldn¡¯t see where it had broken. The egg became silent after the first breaking; I took a step forward trying to see what was coming out of the egg, but then the creature inside let loose a whole new spurt of energy into its breakout. I saw a crack form on the top of the egg right before the creature inside thrusted through its prison. A small arm covered in pale green scales that matched the egg¡¯s stuck out; the hand on top was clenched in a fist as if the creature was celebrating its new found freedom.

    The fist dove back into the shell and continued the assault. I was shocked by what I had seen; I have never seen anything like it before. I started backing away. I didn¡¯t know what was breaking free but I didn¡¯t want to be there when it came out. Before I could get any farther back the shell finally shattered and in the broken pieces sat something that I thought was impossible. A real live dragon sat staring curiously at me; its head was cocked to the side like a confused dog. I froze, unable to process that the beast in front of me could be what I really thought it was. It looked exactly as I had imagined. Scales covered its body, reptilian eyes the color of emeralds, and the pair of miniature leathery wings on its back completed the image. I have always been interested in fantasy and mythology, even as a kid I wouldn¡¯t listen to a story if the word magic wasn¡¯t in it so seeing a dragon in real life was both my greatest dream and worst nightmare. Just last week I had read a tale about a dragon that had supposedly terrorized England; he would set a village on fire then eat any villager that would try to escape.

    As I remained frozen in place, the small green dragon stood and shook itself clean of any egg shell still on it, not unlike how a dog shakes itself dry. After cleaning itself the dragon began shakily walking towards me. It looked like it wasn¡¯t used to its legs yet. That was all I needed to start moving. I started backing away from the approaching monster. When the dragon saw me backing away he must have thought it was some game because its mouth opened, giving a great view of its pointed teeth in what I hope is a playful smile. It started crawling faster; its four legs began working perfectly, increasing its speed and decreasing the distance between us. I turned and began sprinting towards the tree but a few steps in I were tackled from behind and was forced to the ground. I closed my eyes afraid to see how the dragon would end me, but instead of attacking me it simply stepped off me. I opened my eyes and saw the dragon now sitting in front of me it''s emerald eyes staring into my blue eyes. It stared at me as if waiting for something.

    ¡°Hello¡± was all I could think of to say. It wasn¡¯t easy to think of something to say with a dragon staring at you.

    ¡°Hello,¡± the dragon answered in a child-like voice. The reply was surprising. I stared at the dragon not sure if it had actually spoken or I was just hearing things. I carefully raised myself off the ground making sure I wouldn¡¯t be attacked and got into a more comfortable sitting position.

    ¡°Did you just say something?¡± I asked the newly hatched dragon.

    ¡°Yes I did¡± it replied I judged from the voice that it was a boy. Again we stared at each other, him waiting for me to say something and me trying to think of what to say. The last time I had read  about dragon hatchlings it had said that they wouldn¡¯t be capable of speech for at least four months after they were hatched, but then again that was just someone¡¯s imagination of a dragon.  This in front of me looked to be the real thing.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Are you¡­ Are you a dragon?¡± I finally asked. I didn¡¯t think it would really know what it was since it had only just hatched.

    ¡°Yes I am¡± He answered simply, this confused me even more.

    ¡°How do you know that you¡¯re a dragon?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± He said ¡°All I know is that I¡¯m a dragon and that I came from you¡±. This only added to my confusion... I knew for certain that I had never laid an egg before.

    ¡°What do you mean you came from me?¡± I inquired. I really hope he will start giving me some answers.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. All I know is that I came from you and that I¡¯m a dragon.¡±  Was that the only answer he had to offer?  I let out a small sigh; it seems that he really is just a newborn. The young dragon took notice of the large tree behind him and ran up to explore its opening. I watched as he vanished inside the long tree before lying down on my back. This just got a lot more complicated, not only do I have to figure out how I got here now I have to learn where this dragon came from or even how it¡¯s possible for him to exist.

    ¡°Hey what¡¯s this?¡± The dragon brought me out of my thoughts. I sat up and saw he had some of the glowing mushrooms in his mouth. He spat the mushroom down on the ground; now that I saw the mushroom on the ground in the sunlight I realized where I recognized them from.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Fairy Mushroom!¡±  I shouted, scaring the young dragon. I had read about them in an encyclopedia about magical creatures a few days ago.

    ¡°A Fairy Mushroom, What¡¯s that?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a type of mushroom that grows during a special ceremony held by the fairies.  They are supposed to drive away evil spirits.¡± I informed the curious hatchling.

    ¡°Oh then I guess I should go put it back¡± He asked looking a bit guilty.

    ¡°No, they should still work even out of the ground.¡±  I clarified. The book said people would often sell them as charms to travelers. I picked up the mushroom to take a closer look at it. I couldn¡¯t believe that these were actually the Fairy Mushrooms I read about a few days ago. Though after witnessing a dragon hatching and having a giant tree growing underneath me I guess anything is possible in this place.

    ¡°Does this mean there are fairies flying around?¡± the Dragon asked.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Was all I could say. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any. You¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve talked to since I came here.¡±

    ¡°How did you get here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m honestly not sure¡± I told him of my encounter with the golden light and everything that had happened till now.

    He looked confused for a while then asked ¡°So what¡¯s a God¡±

    ¡°A God is a very powerful person who usually is worshiped and is in charge of molding the world.¡± I answered.

    ¡°So then if you¡¯re a God then you can make the world however you want it?¡± The dragon asked.

    ¡°Um maybe, honestly I wouldn¡¯t even know how to start¡± I hadn¡¯t even considered trying to change anything or even taken the golden light seriously about me being a God.

    ¡°How did the other Gods create your world?¡±

    ¡°Well they started by creating other Gods to help¡±

    ¡°Well why don¡¯t you start there?¡± He said excitedly. I thought about it, it would be nice to have more people around but I don¡¯t know how I could do that . In Norse mythology the Gods came from a giant¡¯s body parts, in Greek mythology all the Gods started from the earth titan Gaia who gave birth through her own conception and in Egyptian mythology the gods rose out of a sea of chaos. None of these were options for me and I couldn¡¯t remember any other ways gods were created. I turned to the young dragon to see if he had any idea as to how I could create another being.

    ¡°Do you have any ideas on how I can create a God?¡±

    ¡°No, but I think you should create a God who can do something about the ground. It looks too boring to explore.¡± He told me. An earth god would be the most useful there, but I still didn¡¯t know how I could create it. This was crazy. I was actually trying to come up with ideas to create Gods. I looked at the dragon and noticed how his eyes really were the color of emeralds. As I looked at his eyes I remember how the emerald was usually related to Gods of earth and life, so were diamonds. A new idea popped in my head and I couldn¡¯t hold back my grin.

    ¡°Did you think of something?¡± He asked, taking notice of my change in mood.

    ¡°Maybe, I have an idea,¡± I answered. The Fairy Mushroom from inside the cave was still in my hand, it would work best for my plan.  I covered it with my other hand and closed my eyes for the magic I was about to try. Transmutation, it was a scientific magic that is most common with alchemists. It worked on the understanding that if everything is made up of the same matter then with magic one thing would become something else. It was like how in the Bible Jesus was able to turn water into wine. In my mind I pictured the mushroom. I imagined the mushroom breaking apart into billions of particles then coming back together. Only this time instead of being a mushroom it was made of a diamond. My hands grew warmer and for a moment it felt as though the mushroom had vanished from my hands but then came back and was noticeably heavier.

    I opened my eyes and the heat from my hands disappeared, the hatching was staring at me with his mouth hanging open. It was a sight that probably would have been funnier if not for the dozens of pointed teeth. I slowly opened my hands to see if I had really done it and there it was a perfect diamond in the shape of a mushroom.

    ¡°It worked!¡± I cried out amazed at what I had just done. The dragon came closer and saw the newly changed mushroom

    ¡°Wow, How did you do that?¡± he asked, just as amazed as I was.

    ¡°Magic¡± I said at a loss for words. Did this mean that I have really become a God?

    ¡°That¡¯s nice but how does this help create another God?¡± He inquired. I had almost forgotten about that. In all the excitement I forgot why I was even trying my experiment.

    ¡°Well I want to use this diamond as the core for the Gods life energy¡± I explained.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know what you mean but go for it¡± The young dragon cheered. I placed the gem on the ground and stood up careful not to step on it. I backed away from it as did the dragon. I closed my eyes once again and lowered my head with my hands pressed together as if I were praying. I pictured the diamond on the ground. I imagine a small light growing inside it. Thinking about it, I pictured the hills that surrounded the town I lived in, I recalled the meadows covered in flowers from my mom¡¯s calendar, I saw the mountain ranges we studied in geography and many more. Every scene that I have seen of the Earth I sent out into the gem and the more images I sent in the brighter the light inside it would grow.

    As I continued to send the images into the gem the light grew to surround the gem and went even farther, it began to take the shape of a human. The last image I sent in was a picture of the earth titan Gaia in the Greek mythology book I¡¯ve had since I was a child. Having nothing more to give the gem I stopped my concentration. I opened my eyes and as I expected a woman now stood before me.

    She had long brown hair that hung down to her back and dark  skin; she also looked taller than me at 6 foot. She gave me a warm smile that felt very comforting; her warm brown eyes gave a sense of serenity. She thankfully had a long green dress on that looked like it was made of hundreds of different flowers and plants.

    ¡°Hello,¡± She said, her voice low but tranquil. ¡°I am the Earth Goddess you have created. Can you please tell me your name father?¡± I was shocked when she called me father, but I guess since I created her I was technically her parent. Great, now I¡¯m a God and a teenage father.

 Day 2 part 2

    ¡°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.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°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.

 Day 3

    I wasn¡¯t the first to wake up in the morning; I¡¯ve always been a deep sleeper. So it wasn¡¯t surprising that Lance had to come and wake me up.

    ¡°Good morning young master,¡± he said, smiling down with his confident smirk. ¡°I was told to come and wake you up¡±

    ¡°Who told you that?¡± I asked as I stretched. I was still a little groggy and confused. No one else was in the tree with us.

    ¡°Tara did, she has something she wants to show you¡± Lance informed me.

    ¡°Alright let¡¯s go¡± I said, moving to get out of bed only to be stopped by Lance.

    ¡°Not before eating breakfast¡± he told me and handed me a small red thing. It looked very similar to an apple. For the first time I remembered that I hadn¡¯t eaten since I had arrived here and my stomach let out a small cry revealing my hunger.

    ¡°Where did you get this?¡± I asked, taking a bite. It was an apple; it tasted just like the ones I would get in the fall. That was when they were the sweetest and juiciest.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you as soon as you''re finished¡± Lance said taking a seat on the bed, I tried to eat quickly not wanting to keep Tara waiting. Unlike the apples back home these didn¡¯t have the core that couldn¡¯t be eaten. After I finished Lance and I made our way outside. I was amazed at how different it was, not most of the dead ground was replaced with luscious green grass with a variety of flowers spread out around it.

    ¡°That¡¯s where I got your breakfast,¡± Lance said pointing towards a tree that had grown a few feet away from the tree we had slept in. This tree was by far much smaller and looked to be an ordinary apple tree.

    ¡°Wow, did Nesso and Tara do all of this while I was sleeping?¡± I asked if I would have wanted to be there when they had started working.

    ¡°Yes, it took them 3 hours, 17 minutes and 33 seconds to do all of this,¡± Lance said. He was very specific but that was expected from a God of time. We began walking towards the tree when I spotted another new addition. A hill had risen towards the right of the apple tree. Hovering above the hill was a dark grey cloud that was releasing a great torrent of rain.

    ¡°I see Nesso is using his powers well¡± I mentioned.

    ¡°Yes, though he still hasn¡¯t said anything he seemed very pleased about his roaming sky water¡± Lance said.

    ¡°You mean the cloud?¡±

    ¡°The what?¡±

    ¡°That big grey thing that the water is coming from, it¡¯s called a cloud.¡±

    ¡°I see, thank you for informing me. We weren¡¯t sure what to call it¡± he said, sounding a little embarrassed. I guess they don¡¯t have any information on things that are not connected to their elements. We made our way over to the apple where I saw Tara and Nesso sitting in the shade. Nesso was leaning against the tree with his arms folded and eyes closed; he looked like he was asleep. Tara was looking up at the tree¡¯s leaves lost in thought. Only when Lance and I were next to her did she notice us.

    ¡°Morning Phanes, did you sleep well?¡± she asked with a warm smile.

    I sat down next to her before answering ¡®yes I did, do you?¡± Lance remained standing behind me

    ¡°Yes, I really liked sleeping on the soft grass,¡± she told me. I saw Nesso had one eye open and was watching us.

    ¡°Did you sleep well Nesso?¡± I asked hoping he would finally speak. He opened his mouth as if he was going too but he then closed it and simply nodded. I saw his teeth were pointed like a piranhas.

    ¡°You¡¯re so quiet Nesso¡± Tara said her voice showed her disappointment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Nesso when you¡¯re ready to talk you can¡± I said. ¡°Now Tara, is there something you want to show me?¡±

    ¡°Yes he should be here soon,¡± She told me.

    ¡°Who,¡± I asked the only person who wasn¡¯t here was Evan.

    ¡°Evan¡± she said with a mischievous smile as if she had told an inside joke. Before I could ask anything else a large flapping sound distracted me. It sounded as if a large bird was flying over the tree. I jumped up as Evan came into view. He had grown to the size of a large dog. The growth was amazing, I knew dragons grew to large sizes but I didn¡¯t think he would grow so fast.

    ¡°Hey Phanes¡± he said, his voice now deeper like a grown man.

    ¡°Evan is that you?¡± I asked in disbelief. He proudly raised his head to full height and gave a sharp toothed grin in response.

    ¡°We were surprised too when we first saw him.¡± Tara said. Evan''s looks had changed as well his scales had deepened to match the leaves on the trees. His wing also had grown to be as big as I was 5 foot ten inches. Lance stepped forward and began petting the dragon.

    ¡°Soon he¡¯ll be big enough to ride on,¡± Lance said, looking at me.

    ¡°Humph, I can carry Phanes if I wanted to,¡± Evan said. I never even thought of riding Evan though it would be pretty cool to see my own world from the sky.

    ¡°Before we get into that there is something else we need to discuss¡± Tara interrupted.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked

    ¡°Well, if my knowledge is correct you need two more gods to complete your world.¡± She exclaimed. I thought about what she meant, with everyone here we could do a great job shaping this world. Tara could continue growing life throughout the world, Lance would control the flow of time, Nesso would create rainfall and drinking water, and Evan would do whatever he can to help. That¡¯s when I remembered the four basic components of life. Four elements are necessary in all life, earth, water, fire, and air. Without all four elements the world would be doomed.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We need a Wind God and a Fire God.¡± I said and gave a brief explanation on the 4 Elements of life.

    ¡°So what are you waiting for?¡± Evan asked, ¡°Let¡¯s get started¡± . He didn''t lose his enthusiasm when he grew.

    ¡°Hold on, I need to think of what to use for the core,¡± I reminded the impatient dragon. The best gem for a fire god would be a ruby. Rubies were the most common gems used in fire ceremonies and were often found in temples for Gods of fire. I wasn¡¯t sure of what to use for the wind God. I guess topaz would be the best; it had some affiliation with the wind element, all right now what to use for the core. I looked up into the tree hoping for some inspiration and an apple caught my eye.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Hey Tara can you get me one of those apples?¡± I asked, pointing at the tree. Tara began to stand but was halted by Nesso. The blue god had once again moved without our notice and was standing next to me. He reached up and plucked an apple out of the tree. He placed it in my hands then silently went back to his seat against the tree.

    ¡°Thanks¡± I said. Tara gave me a small shrug and I went to work. I tore the apple in half, one side was bigger than the other but they would do. Taking one half in each hand I turned the bigger part into the ruby and the smaller into a topaz. I took the gems out farther past the tree¡¯s shadow and set them down next to each other. I sat down and began working on the topaz first.

    I thought of air and its great force, I recalled how whenever there was a storm outside me I would listen to the wind wailing against the house. Wind was very powerful, it created tornados and was always a sign for the approaching storm, but it also had a very calm side to it. The gentle breeze on a summer day came to mind and the dance performed between the wind and a discarded bag. As my thoughts trailed into the topaz the yellow light that had sparked within it grew to the shape of a human, but I didn¡¯t look, I instead went right to work on the fire God.

    Fire was known as the most dangerous of the four elements. Many creatures and Gods affiliated with fire were bloodthirsty and violent, I almost reconsidered even creating a god that could be like that, but fire was also necessary for life. In Greek mythology the titan Prometheus gave primitive humans fire so that they could begin to grow and learn. With fire humans grew wiser, cooking their meats and crafting the first tools. Fire was the beginning of technology and was used to advance humans farther up the food chain. While fire was destruction and chaos, it also represents strive and ambitions. My thoughts flooded into the ruby causing the red light within it to grow farther into a human shape. After giving all I had to the two gems I opened my eyes to welcome the two new Gods before me.

    Two gods stood before me, one was a man and one was a woman.  My best guess was that the girl was the wind God and the man was the fire God. While the light from the gem had taken a human shape like before, these gods had a very noticeable difference about them. They were made entirely of what looked like energy; they didn¡¯t have skin like the others. The woman was made of a yellow energy that didn¡¯t have any distinguishing features except for two green ovals where her face would be that represented eyes. She stared at me with her head in an angle in confusion.

    The man was made of red energy and had more features to him. The energy that made up his body was curved creating the appearance of muscles across his arms and torso. Also his face had more to it than the wind God¡¯s. He had a mouth that was pulled back in a sneer revealing two large fangs that resembled a vampire¡¯s. His eyes looked almost human except that his pupils were slanted like a cat. On top of his head flames mimicked a head of wavy hair.  He glared down at me; his ferocious appearance along with his muscled form gave him a very intimidating presence. His appearance reminded me of a mythical creature from Arabic lore.

    ¡°Ifrit¡± I mumbled without thinking.

    ¡°What?¡± the fire God barked, I stepped back worried that he would become violent. ¡°Is...Is that my name? He asked using a softer tone.

    ¡°Um well it could be. It was just that you reminded me of an Ifrit.¡± I explained.

    ¡°What¡¯s an Ifrit?¡± the wind God spoke up. Her voice was soft but was carried by a small breeze, the first I felt in this world.

    ¡°An Ifrit is a type of fire demon that is usually depicted as having sharp teeth and a head of flames. ¡° I informed her. She gave a slight nod then looked towards the other Gods surrounding us, I noticed that she was actually levitating off the ground instead of standing. The fire God followed her example and began glaring at his surroundings.

    Lance stepped forward ¡°I¡¯m Lance¡± he introduced ¡°and this is Tara, Nesso, and Evan, you¡¯ve already met Phanes.¡±

    ¡°Ifrit,¡± the fire god said. I guess he decided that will be his name. I looked at the wind God and wondered what her name could be, she also reminded me of a mythical creature.

    ¡°Sylph¡± I said, I figure she would like to go with her brother¡¯s idea and be named after a mythical creature.

    ¡°I am Sylph¡± she said, it sounded more like a question than a statement.

    ¡°I like it¡± Ifrit said though he sounded kind he continued to glare at the other Gods. He seemed to glare at Nesso the most.

    ¡°Then I will be Sylph,¡± the flying God said. Her excitement was causing her to drift higher; I now had to lean back to look at her. The sound of wings flapping started behind me and Evan joined Sylph in the air. Evan floated in front of the goddess unsure of what to do. Sylph let out a small giggle that traveled on the wind like a whisper and flew up till she was above the green dragon. Evan gave one large flap of his wings and rose above the wind goddess. The two flew higher spinning together in a game only those who could fly would understand.

    ¡°What is he doing with my sister?¡± Ifrit growled, I could feel the heat from him.

    ¡°They¡¯re just getting acquainted,¡± I told him, hoping to calm him down before he set the trees on fire. The two flyers were now just specs against the sky, but we could still see they were steadily getting closer to each other. Ifrit let out another animalistic growl and reared his arm back as if he was going to throw a baseball.

    ¡°Wait¡± I shouted but he paid me no heed. He moved his body as if he threw something and out of his hand sparked an arrow made of fire. The flaming arrow shot up in the sky heading right for Evan and Sylph.

    ¡°Look out¡± Tara warned but there was no way they could hear us from their altitude. Lance stepped forward and snapped his fingers. The fire arrow slowed down on its ascent moving at a snail¡¯s pace through the sky. Nesso then jumped up and pulled his hand back in a fist. His arm shot forward changing into a water missile charging towards the arrow. The missile ran through the fire arrow, leaving behind a small cloud of steam, and continued through the air crashing into Evan. I saw the dragon fall a bit before regaining control of the flight; he didn¡¯t seem hurt, he and Sylph began making their way back down.

    Ifrit turned towards Nesso ¡°what are you doing?¡± he yelled murderously. Nesso gave no reply but only stared back.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Tara shouted ¡°You could¡¯ve shot them out of the sky.¡±

    ¡°It was a warning shot telling them to come back down¡± Ifrit defended himself. ¡°It would¡¯ve just flown over their heads, not hit them like his shot¡± he pointed at Nesso. Who walked forward and stared angrily at Ifrit, as if challenging him to say more.

    ¡°You got a problem?¡± Ifrit asked the fire on his head growing dangerously hot. I quickly jumped between them and tried to push them away from each other but the two Gods were too strong.

    ¡°Come on guys, Evan and Sylph are on their way down. No harm no foul¡± I said. Nesso let out a small grunt and backed off.

    ¡°Fine but water boy, better watch where he¡¯s aiming,¡± Ifrit warned before walking away. Evan and Sylph landed next to the tree, the former was slightly wet.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Evan asked. I answered before anyone else.

    ¡°Nothing, we were just trying to get you guys to come down.¡±

    ¡°Oh well next time just shout¡± Evan replied and then shook himself dry.

    I chuckled at Evan¡¯s animalistic behavior ¡°Alright everyone let¡¯s get to work. We have a world to make.¡±

    Over the next few hours we spread out and shaped the world. It turns out that Sylph was better at manipulating and creating the clouds than Nesso, so she was in charge of watering the ground before Tara would grow more grass and trees. Tara wanted to create a few mountains and caves but I told her to wait until we were farther away from the tree. Nesso was hard at work creating a lake by the apple trees; Tara had made a large hole in the ground before we had spread out. Ifrit followed us as we widened the grass meadow, staying close to his sister but well out of the way of any rain clouds. I didn¡¯t know where Lance and Evan were most of the time, Lance had said that he had something to take care of and Evan volunteered to help. They reappeared to let us know that we should head back soon since the sun was going to set in an hour.

    We covered a lot of ground but I believe that there was a lot more ground to cover. When we reached the tree Nesso had completed his lake and was swimming in the clear blue water. He rose to the surface and climbed out as Tara and Sylph explained the progress they made. After they explained we started making plans for tomorrow, Sylph and Evan somehow got the idea that creating a castle out of clouds was a good idea. Once Lance told us that the sun would set in a few moments we all opted to go to bed. While Lance, Tara and I got up to head back to the tree, Nesso went back into the water signaling that it would be where he was sleeping. Evan said he would be sleeping outside. He said that if he grew any more in the tree he might not be able to get out. Sylph also said she was going to sleep outside and Ifrit immediately followed. After making sure no one needed anything to sleep I returned to my warm bed and quickly fell asleep.

 Day 4

    The next morning I woke up earlier than I expected, the sun had just risen over the horizon. I thought about getting some more sleep but I just wasn¡¯t tired. I got out of bed and began stretching when I noticed Tara. While she was sleeping last night flowers had sprouted up around her. The flowers surrounding her and the pale light cast from the Fairy mushrooms reminded me of the scene in snow white when she was in the coffin before her handsome hero came to rescue her. She let out a small snore that ruined my image of a perfect princess. I checked over at Lance¡¯s bed and saw that he was already gone. Once I got outside I saw Lance standing near the lake. I began walking over to him but a small rustling drew my attention towards the side of the tree.

    Ifrit was seated by the tree staring down at a sunflower. I hid myself behind the tree silently watching what he was doing. He carefully raised his hand over top of the flower, letting it linger for a moment. He then lowered his hand and gently tapped the flower¡¯s petals. Instantly the flower burst into flames. The fire god let out an audible sigh and with a sweep of his hand extinguished the flame. He just stared at the burnt flower for a moment, his expression revealed his disappointment.

    ¡°Good morning Ifrit¡± I said, letting my presence be known. He gave me a small glance before continuing to stare at the flower.

    ¡°I thought this would look better if it was red¡± He explained without me asking. I stepped forward and took a seat next to him.

    ¡°If you have an idea for the flowers you should say something to Tara. She is the only one who could change the flowers.¡± I told him. He gave a small huff and stood up glaring at me.

    ¡°Yes I know Tara can create flowers and trees. My sister can make clouds, and blue face can create lakes and rain. Why am I the only one who can¡¯t create anything that can last?¡± he vented angrily.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s how the elements are. Fire isn¡¯t an element that can last forever, without something to burn fire will just die out.¡± I explained calmly, ¡°Besides Lance and Evan can¡¯t create anything either¡±. The fire God was not happy with my answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about them. Lance created the flow of time and I¡¯m not even sure if that overgrown salamander is a God.¡± He turned and left after that, leaving me no time to respond. Ifrit did have a good point; he didn¡¯t have the ability of creation like the others. It seemed a bit unfair; after we finish more of the world today I¡¯ll come up with a way to help him. He also had a good point about Evan. Was he a god or just a dragon? I guess it wouldn¡¯t make a difference; dragons could live for many years giving the illusion of immortality. I left my earlier concerns behind me and went to see what Lance was doing. I found the time God picking apples near the lake.

    ¡°Oh good morning young master¡± he said to me, surprised to see me up this early ¡°I was just coming to wake you for breakfast¡± he told me by handing me an apple. I took the small fruit with thanks and took a bite. The sweet taste of the fruit was still delicious, but I wasn¡¯t that hungry. A small splashing came from behind me and I heard Nesso walk over to us.

    ¡°Good morning Nesso¡± I greeted Nesso. The water God gave a small grunt in response.

    ¡°Still as silent as always,¡± Lance noted.

    ¡°So Nesso do you have any ideas of what to do today?¡± I asked, the water God shook his head no and wouldn¡¯t look directly at me.

    ¡°Is something wrong Nesso?¡± I questioned. One God was already upset with me. I didn¡¯t want to be on another God¡¯s bad side. He gave a jerky nod, his face darkened turning almost purple. Before I could say anything else he jumped back into the lake and remained below the surface. Lance let out a small chuckle beside and had a suspicious smile on his face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the others to wake up before we make any more plans,¡± he said, changing the subject. We began making our way back to the tree. I couldn¡¯t shake a weird feeling from how Nesso and Ifrit had been acting. I understood Ifrit¡¯s feelings about his lack of creative abilities but I didn¡¯t know what I could do for him. Nesso was just acting plain weird; I had no idea what could have caused that kind of behavior. My thought was interrupted by a small tap on my shoulder. Sylph was floating beside me, a mischievous smile played out across her mouth.

    ¡°Good morning Sylph¡± I said, drawing the attention of Lance who also greeted the wind goddess.

    ¡°Morning¡± she said with a giggle then pointed to the sky. I looked to where she was pointed but there was nothing to be seen.

    ¡°What¡± I began but was cut off by a large wind blowing into me. The wind grew stronger and I was blown off my feet. I whirled past an astonished Lance and was sent up by the wind. The wind pushed me higher and higher away from the ground. I let out a cry for help but the wind pushed back any sound I made. I whirled around to look at the sky and couldn¡¯t believe what I saw. A large cloud shaped as a tower floated above me. I stared at the immense tower before me; it looked as big as the Eiffel tower in France. A green streak flying around the tower grabbed my attention. It moved across the tower, readjusting any parts of the cloud that threatened to break off.  Once the tower looked to be in order did the streak slow down and I saw it was Evan. He had grown again now he was the size of a horse with wings larger than me. The wind forced me closer to the tower shaped cloud. Evan noticed me and flew towards me.

    ¡°Hi Phanes, what do you think?¡± he asked, proud of his work.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing. When did you have time to do this?¡± I answered

    ¡°Well we started work last night¡± Sylph said, rising up next to me. The wind was now only pushing enough that I wouldn¡¯t fall.

    ¡°Yeah and Ifrit helped by giving us some light from his fires¡± Evan added.

    ¡°That¡¯s great you guys did a great job.¡± I told them, amazed at how far they had gone.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Sylph said, sounding a little embarrassed at the praise ¡°but we still have a problem. No one can stand on the clouds¡±

    ¡°No one could live here without falling down,¡± Evan commented.

    ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡± Sylph asked. This was definitely a problem, they needed a material that was light enough that it could float on clouds but strong enough to support people. I think I¡¯ve read about something like that in a book but I couldn¡¯t remember the name of it. Maybe I could just create something with those properties.

    ¡°Alright let me try something. I need to get closer to the tower¡± I told them.

    ¡°Alright¡± Evan said and swiftly flew below me. The winds then stopped and I fell down onto his waiting back. It was a nice fit between his neck and his wings. The dragon flew me over to a cloud that looked like a drawbridge they had on castles. Now closer to the cloud I put my hand inside the cloud. I let out a small gasp; the cloud was cold and wet. It felt like I had my hand in fog, not at all like the soft fluffy pillows people imagined them to be. Getting over my initial shock I got to work and concentrated on the cloud. It was larger than anything I had changed before and it was also the first time changing it into something I had never seen before. I pictured the large cloud in my mind hoping that my memory of it from a moment ago would give me an accurate perception. I watched the white tower change little by little from being made of clouds to a pink stone that I hoped would stay in the air. The new material looked almost like marble but was a pale pink in color. I watched the tower change inside the floors but the large cloud below it would remain the same, giving the image of a tower sitting atop a cloud.

    I felt the cool cloud surrounding my hand turn solid, trapping me to the tower. Like I had hoped the tower was now made out of a pink stone that showed no sign of falling out of the sky, my now trapped hand looked to be my only mistake. Sylph was flying above us examining the newly transformed tower.

    ¡°Um Evan, I have a bit of a problem here¡± I said. The dragon who had been taking in the tower looked back at me. Immediately he began laughing, his trembling back shook beneath me.

    ¡°Cut it out, it''s not funny¡± I called. The dragon laughed a bit more before quieting down.

    ¡°Well what do you think was going to happen if you stuck your hand into something you were changing?¡± he questioned letting out a series of chuckles.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it¡± I admitted ¡°I need to find a way to get out of it¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a God aren¡¯t you? Just do what you think is best¡± the dragon pointed out. He was right, I am a God. I can get out of this wall no problem. I stared down at my hand determination plastered across my face, but as I looked at the problem, my determination changed to frustration.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. I wasn¡¯t trained to be a God.¡± I shouted letting out my anger.

    ¡°Well you like changing things, change your hand into a cloud and then change it back.¡± This was an interesting idea, but it still had its flaws. I have never used transmutation on myself or any living thing. I might be able to do it but then there was a risk of my hand. The cloud could drift away leaving me handless or even if it stayed my fingers could switch around and be out of place when they change back.

    ¡°No to dangerous¡± I decided. I didn¡¯t want to break the wall since Evan and Sylph had worked so hard on the tower. If my hand was smaller I wouldn¡¯t have this problem. This gave me a new idea. Something that Gods in every mythology had been capable of, shape shifting. I could change into something smaller that would be able to squeeze out of the hole and then I can change back. I let out a triumphant grin out the resolution. Now I just need an idea of what to change into. An animal would be the easiest to get out of the hole, something small. I closed my eyes and tried to think of a small animal. The first animal I thought of wasn¡¯t ideal but it would work.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I imagined myself shrinking, getting smaller and smaller. I felt odd warmth across my body and my hand came free of the hole. I opened my eyes and saw my transformation had been a success; I was now a small white mouse. I was still seated on Evan who now looked gigantic from my small size. I guess that the dragon couldn¡¯t feel me through his tough scales because he twisted his neck to see what had happened to me. I waved to get his attention but he didn¡¯t see me. He turned his entire body around and turned to the hole my hand had been caught in. I lost my balance and was thrown off of the dragons back. I fell through the sky flailing for something to grab on to. The warm sensation spread through my body again and I was back in my original form. I let out a shout for help hoping Evan or Sylph could help me in time but the ground was fast approaching. I saw Tara and Lance not too far away but they weren¡¯t close enough to help me. As the ground grew closer I braced for impact, but nothing came. Shocked, I looked forward and saw that I was hovering a foot above the ground.

    ¡°That was a close one¡± a voice called. Lance and Tara were running to me. Lance reached me first; he looked like he was trying not to laugh at my situation.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I stopped your fall¡± he told me. He carefully turned me so that I would land on my feet and then with a click of his wristwatch I fell down the last foot. I managed to remain on my feet though I wasn¡¯t very steady.

    ¡°How did you-oof¡± I began to ask when Tara reached us and cut me off by tackling me into a large hug.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever do that again¡± she scolded as if I had done it on purpose.

    ¡°Did Sylph take you up just to drop you back down?¡± Lance asked

    ¡°No it was an accident, I¡¯m fine¡± I reassured them. Tara let me out of the hug but still held me at arm¡¯s length.

    ¡°Then what were you doing up there?¡± she questioned.

    ¡°Evan and Sylph needed my help on something they were working on and I got a little stuck¡± I revealed.

    ¡°If you were stuck you wouldn¡¯t have fallen out of the sky¡± Tara said skeptically. I told them of the tower made of clouds and my embarrassing mistake that ended with me rocketing towards the ground. By the time they stopped laughing Evan and Sylph were coming down towards us.

    ¡°Hey how did you get down here so fast?¡± Evan asked oblivious to my fall. I gave another brief description of what happened.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t hear you call¡± Evan apologized.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay you couldn¡¯t have known,¡± I told him. Evan looked better knowing I didn¡¯t blame him.

    ¡°So you guys built that castle in the sky you were talking about¡± Tara said changing the subject. ¡°I would love to see it¡±

    ¡°Yeah well it¡¯s more like a tower but if we can get Nesso and Ifrit we can all go up and check it out¡± Sylph said. Everyone liked the idea so Tara and Lance went out to find the other Gods. While they were gone Sylph brought up an issue.

    ¡°How are we going to get everyone up there? I can¡¯t carry them all on the wind¡± she told me. She was right. I doubt Evan can carry more than one person at a time. We needed an easy way for people to travel to the floating tower. I thought of a legend where a goddess had connected the home of the Gods with earth through a bridge that could work.

    ¡°I have an idea, could you show me the location of the tower¡± I requested. Sylph pointed to a small cloud high in the air. The tower was well camouflaged from the ground; no one could tell the cloud held a large structure on it. I focused on the cloud trying to think of how I should do this. I rubbed my hands together though and a small red spark shot out between them. As I continued to rub my hands, different colored sparks shot out of my hand. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. The exact colors I was hoping for. I began rubbing my hands faster and the sparks came out faster and brighter. I focused on the far away island.

    ¡°I hope this works¡± I muttered under my breath and whirled my arms as if I was throwing a ball to the cloud, but instead of a ball it was beams of light. Seven beams of different colored light shot out of my hands and arched up to the cloud. The light source fell from my hands and sank into the ground creating a perfect rainbow bridge connecting the ground with the floating tower.

    ¡°Wow, how did you do that?¡± an astonished Evan asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible,¡± Sylph cheered.

    I smiled back at them ¡°Well it looks cool but I¡¯m not sure if we can walk on it¡± I carefully stepped onto the rainbow half expecting my foot to go through the light, but it felt solid. I walked on it a few steps and began jumping on it to make sure it was sturdy enough for everyone to walk across. The bridge looked like it would hold. Each color was about a foot long so everyone could fit without worrying about falling off.

    ¡°Alright everything looks good¡± I revealed to Sylph and Evan.

    ¡°Thanks Phanes this is great¡± Sylph praised me.

    ¡°Great, now we just have to wait for the others,¡± Evan said. I took a seat on the rainbow bridge and watched as the two flying gods spent their time doing aerial tricks in the sky. The way they moved looked almost like a mesmerizing dance.

    ¡°We¡¯re back¡± a voice called. I had been so caught up in watching the dance that I hadn¡¯t noticed that Lance and Tara were back with Nesso and Ifrit.

    ¡°That¡¯s new,¡± Tara said, referring to the rainbow bridge.

    ¡°Oh yeah I just made it so we can all go up to the castle¡± I explained. I stood up and called Evan and Sylph to come down. Once everyone was ready we set off to the tower in the sky. Sylph and Evan flew on the side of the bridge. I was on the latter¡¯s back to give the others more room on the bridge. It took us a while, 13 minutes and 34 seconds according to Lance, to get to the cloud. When we made it to the cloud we found a bigger problem, my bridge had only made it to the cloud, not the actual tower which was another 10 feet away.

    ¡°How are we supposed to get over there?¡± Ifrit asked irritated, while the others admired the large structure. Sylph flew forward and into one of the many windows on the tower. Within seconds the large drawbridge was being lowered down. It lined up perfectly with my bridge allowing easy access to the castle. Sylph flew out and made a pose.

    ¡°Welcome to my tower in the sky.¡±

    Once I was inside the tower I saw it looked a lot bigger on the inside. The inside of the tower didn¡¯t really have much to look at, after passing the drawbridge we entered a large corridor that rose all the way to the top. A spiral staircase snaked across the walls leading up to the highest floor. Next to me Tara let out a small disapproving sigh.

    ¡°Is something wrong Tara?¡± I asked

    ¡°Well I¡¯m just not really comfortable being this far away from the ground.¡± She admitted. Sylph who had overheard floated above us.

    ¡°Well let me give you a quick tour then we can head back down¡± she offered. Everyone agreed and Sylph went about showing us the tower. The tour probably would¡¯ve been short even if Sylph didn¡¯t hurry, there were only ten rooms and all of them were bare. The corridor was big enough for Evan to fit but none of the room¡¯s doors were big enough for him to fit in so he had to fly out in the corridor. Oddly enough the top room, the one that Sylph said was going to be her bedroom, had a large opening that could easily let in a dragon.

    When questioned about this Sylph answered ¡°It¡¯s so I can easily fly into my room after a long day¡± but the fact that she couldn¡¯t look at us when she said it revealed this as a lie. I noticed Ifrit had maintained a frown during the whole tour which grew deeper at the sight of the bedroom but I didn¡¯t say anything to him. He was still kind of scary to me and the talk earlier had made me worry about him even more. After the tour was officially over we made our way back down to my rainbow bridge. As the others began their descent Evan took me for a tour above our world. I felt bad leaving the others like that but I really liked flying with Evan and now that I had a better view I saw we had a lot of work waiting for us.

    The large tree where it all began sat in the center of the lush field of grass surrounded by dead ground. A lone rain cloud was drifting across the outer fields keeping the grass alive. Nesso¡®s lake fitted in nicely with the apple trees growing next to it. I looked over at the rainbow bridge and saw that the others had made it to the bottom. An uneasy feeling grew in my stomach when I looked at the group.

    ¡°Evan take me back down to the bridge¡± I requested ¡°quickly¡± the dragon obliged without a word. Turning around my uneasiness grew worse and the closer we got to the group the worse it got, the erratic motion in the group revealed an argument was taking place. Back at home I usually wouldn¡¯t get involved in drama. I would give people their space and let them work it out themselves, but now I felt like I had a responsibility to help however I could.

    Evan and I arrived in time for Ifrit to shout ¡°Here¡¯s what I think of your grass¡± and shoot a stream of fire across the ground burning all the grass before him.

    ¡°Stop¡± Tara cried out, obviously hurt from the destruction of her work.

    ¡°Ifrit¡± I called as I jumped off of Evan. I couldn¡¯t believe he would act like this. When he saw me the fire on his head grew larger and his face changed into a mask of hatred.

    ¡°You¡± he said venomously pointing at me ¡°it¡¯s your fault. You made me this way. You made me so that I couldn¡¯t create anything.¡±

    ¡°No I didn¡¯t mean for you to not be able to create anything¡± I told him which was true I didn¡¯t know why he wasn¡¯t able to create like the others.

    ¡°It¡¯s still your fault¡± he shouted and swung his arm sending a wave of fire directly at me. I couldn¡¯t move the hatred I felt from him had made my legs go numb. I heard the other Gods yell as the flames came closer. Just before the flame hit me a lone figure jumped in the way to block the wave.

    ¡°Tara¡± I shouted as the flames slammed into the earth Goddess. When the flames hit Tara it looked like they had hit an invisible wall blocking them from going past her. After the initial force of the fire attack passed the fires died down, leaving Tara standing with her back to me. Nobody moved even Ifrit looked surprised at the goddess¡¯ sacrifice. Tara turned back to look at me. Her face was now covered in soot and gave me one more warm smile before shattering into a shower of golden sparks. I watched the sparks fade away a cold numbing travel through my body, floating in the center where the sparks were was the diamond mushroom I had used to create Tara. Ifrit was the first to recover from the shock

    ¡°That¡± he said pointing at the diamond ¡°That¡¯s what allowed her the power to create.¡± he walked forward till he was in front of the mushroom. I could only watch as he grabbed the diamond out of the air. He carefully looked it over before placing it in his mouth and swallowing. The effect was immediate: his color changed from red to an earthy orange and one of his eyes was now brown.

    ¡°Yes¡± the fire God cheered as he looked over his new body ¡°This is perfect, I can feel the power flowing through me.¡± He looked at me with a triumphant smile and said ¡°I¡¯ll be back but next time it¡¯s your core I¡¯ll be taking¡± he began to walk away. Nesso charged forward; his lower half was now a stream of water pushing him forward. Ifrit waved his arm and a large wall of earth rose up blocking the water god¡¯s path. Nesso couldn¡¯t stop fast enough and crashed into the wall breaking into a puddle. Thankfully he wasn¡¯t hurt and quickly began to reform.

    ¡°Till we meet again,¡± Ifrit said. Fire erupted across his body and he rose off the ground. He shot across the sky leaving a trail of dying flames behind him.

    ¡°I got him,¡± Evan said and began to rise off the ground.

    ¡°No!¡± I yelled ¡°Let him go¡± I didn¡¯t want anyone else to get hurt. Evan silently landed on the ground but continued to stare at the fire arch. I couldn¡¯t believe this, a small pain started in my chest, Ifrit had tried to kill me and Tara had saved me. She sacrificed herself to save me. This was  entirely my fault. My vision started to darken and the world spun around me.

    ¡°Phanes¡± cried a male voice I had never heard before. His voice was deep and smooth. He probably would¡¯ve sounded nicer if he wasn¡¯t so panicked. Before I could see who it was I blacked out.

 Day 5

    I woke up back in bed. Sylph was seated at the bottom with her head down. I tried to sit up but I had no energy. My movement brought Sylph out of her thoughts and she floated over to my side.

    ¡°Hey¡± she said in a soft voice ¡°How are you feeling?¡± memories of what happened to Tara came flooding back.

    ¡°Terrible¡± I groaned. I looked around to see if anyone else was around but we were alone. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Lance just left to get you something to eat and Nesso is outside¡± she told me.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Evan?¡± I asked my fear growing.

    Sylph didn¡¯t answer right away ¡°He went after Ifrit.¡±

    ¡°What¡± I quickly jumped out of bed. ¡°I told him not to go after him¡± Sylph placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°Relax, you need to rest. Evan promised he was only going to see where Ifrit went, he won¡¯t attack¡± she tried to put me back on the bed but I stayed up.

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have gone out on his own¡± I said but my legs grew weak and I had to sit back on the bed. We sat in silence for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± she said ¡°about my brother¡± she let out a sob. ¡°I knew he wasn¡¯t happy about his powers but I didn¡¯t think he would go this far.¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯m the one who should be sorry¡± I said and grabbed her hand. ¡°I spoke with him earlier but I didn¡¯t know how to help him. I still don¡¯t¡± I admitted.

    ¡°No it¡¯s my fault¡± a voice spoke up. Lance stood in the opening of the tree holding several apples in his arms. ¡°I was the one who got him angry by saying how great it was to be able to create something¡± he stepped forward and handed me an apple. Sylph also took one and Lance put the rest on my bed. We ate in silence, none of us knew what to say. Finally our meal was interrupted by the sound of Evan landing outside. We ran outside to greet the green dragon.

    ¡°Hey I found him¡± Evan spoke first. Nesso ran up from behind the tree to join the group.

    ¡°Good now we can go and take him down,¡± Lance said anger clouded his face.

    ¡°You can take us to him right?¡± Sylph asked

    ¡°Yeah¡± the dragon answered, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why he even ran away in the first place.¡±

    ¡°He needs to train¡± I explain it was common in the fantasy novels I¡¯ve read ¡°When someone gains a new power they need time to adjust and learn how to use it. He just got lucky making the stone wall.¡±

    ¡°Well he¡¯s definitely been practicing,¡± Evan told me.

    ¡°What was he up to?¡± I wondered what the fire god did with his new power.

    ¡°He had this really big mountain that was shooting out this really hot red water¡± he described moving his arms to show the actual shape. It sounded oddly familiar, a mountain shooting out hot red water.

    ¡°A volcano¡± I realized.

    ¡°A what?¡± Sylph asked.

    ¡°A volcano, it¡¯s a type of mountain that shoots out lava. That¡¯s the red water you saw, it¡¯s made from melted rocks.¡± I explained.

    ¡°Oh so it¡¯s like when fire and earth mixes¡± Sylph summarized.

    ¡°Right. Evan you said that Ifrit was there¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± the dragon began, ¡°but I couldn¡¯t see him that well. He was bent over like he was trying to hide something. After I saw him I came right back here.¡±

    ¡°So now what do we do?¡± I asked though I already knew what they were going to say.

    ¡°We are going after him,¡± Lance spoke up. ¡°We need to attack before he does.¡± Nesso grunted in agreement. I was surprised at how angry Lance was, I didn¡¯t think he was the type to get violent like this.

    ¡°Well we need a plan first,¡± Sylph reasoned. ¡°Like who''s going¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going¡± Lance volunteered.

    ¡°I have to go¡± Evan said and Nesso stepped forward signaling his volunteer.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not staying behind¡± Sylph spoke out and they all looked at me. I didn¡¯t answer right away, this wasn¡¯t right. The more people who went the bigger chance we would lose someone and then Ifrit would be even stronger.

    ¡°No, me and Evan are the only ones going.¡± I decided and was met with mutual disapproval.

    ¡°I have to go, he¡¯s my brother¡± Sylph yelled.

    ¡°I have to go to avenge Tara¡± Lance said.

    ¡°No I¡¯m the one who has to stop him¡± I told them, I knew it was true.

    ¡°But¡± Lance began.

    ¡°Enough¡± I shouted. My voice grew louder than I thought was possible, the pain in my chest started up again worse than before.

    ¡°This is my world and you all are my creations including Ifrit. If one of my creations is causing trouble then it is my responsibility to stop them.¡± I told them. This was the way of a God, I had a responsibility to take care of this world and that is what I plan to do. No one looked happy but they didn¡¯t offer any more resistance.

    ¡°Good now Evan, get ready to go¡± I instructed the dragon. He quickly began stretching for the long flight. Sylph stepped closer to me.

    ¡°Phanes I won¡¯t ask you to let me come with you but please help my brother. He feels like he was born different from everyone else¡± she pleaded with me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can¡± I promised her but this might not be settled easily. Once Evan said that he was ready I jumped onto his back and looked at the gods before me.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m heading out, please don¡¯t follow us. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I gave my short speech and was about to take off when Nesso stepped forward. He didn¡¯t have to speak for me to know he didn¡¯t want me to go.

    ¡°Nesso you have a nice voice. ¡° I told him ¡°when I get back I hope you will let me hear it more¡± the water God¡¯s face darkened to a dark indigo as he nodded. After giving one more goodbye we took off.

    Evan flew swiftly and we traveled in silence. I watched as the giant tree shrunk in the distance and then turned my attention to what was ahead.

    ¡°Alright Even when we get there I need you to just drop me off and retreat to a safe distance¡± I told the dragon. I didn¡¯t want him to get involved in the fight.

    ¡°What? No, you need some kind of help¡± he argued.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but this is something I have to do on my own¡± I said.

    The dragon let out a small growl as the volcano came into view. ¡°Fine¡± was all he said. The volcano was as Evan described it a large mountain with molten lava flowing out of the top, creating streams running down the sides. I spotted Ifrit resting at the base of the volcano. Evan flew down and landed in front of him. I jumped off and patted Evan on the back signaling his departure. The dragon gave one last look at Ifrit and took off into the air. I turned and faced the god who had not only attacked me but destroyed Tara. The pain in my chest flared stronger when I saw him but another feeling pushed it down. I felt stronger when I looked at him, was this the feeling of a God?

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°So you came¡± , Ifrit spoke first. He sounded almost like he didn¡¯t care like I was here. This was the last reaction I expected.

    ¡°Yes I¡¯ve come to talk¡± I revealed.

    ¡°Talk? Talk about what?¡± the fiery God questioned as he rose to his feet.

    ¡°I want to know why you attacked me,¡± I stated.

    ¡°Because you and the other Gods had the power of creation and I didn¡¯t¡±

    ¡°So you were jealous of us,¡± I reasoned. He stared at me for a while with an odd look.

    ¡°Yes, I guess I was.¡± He said sadly ¡°I felt different like I didn¡¯t belong with the Gods.¡±

    ¡°You should have told me this sooner. I might¡¯ve been able to help you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so that was the way I was born¡± looked at the fire god now with sadness I had failed as a God.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I truly didn¡¯t mean for you to be born that way¡± I apologized and the fire God looked away so that I couldn¡¯t see his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s too late for apologies¡± he said and turned back with a cruel smile ¡°I have no choice now.¡± he raised his arm and a spear of fire burst into existence.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I called?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± He said with cold eyes ¡°and then I¡¯m going to eat your core, absorb your power and start all over with new Gods.¡± Once he finished telling me his plan he threw the fire spear directly at my heart. My body moved before I told it to and my hand rose up towards the fire weapon. The power I felt grew, it made me feel like I could do anything. This was the first time I had truly felt like I was a God. As the fire spear was about to hit me I summoned an invisible shield out of reflex. The fire burst across the shield before dying out. I turned to the shocked attacker.

    ¡°You had your chance Ifrit¡± I told him ¡°Now I have no choice.¡± I launched myself to him faster than he could react and punched him square in the face. The fire god shot back several feet from the power of the blow. I was amazed at how strong I was, but the fire God recovered quickly. With a small hand movement he shot several large rocks at me. I managed to duck out of the way for most of them but one hit my arm. If I wasn¡¯t a God my arm probably would¡¯ve broken but it was still intact and only stung a little.

    I jumped into the sky; twenty feet in the air. While I was in the air I recalled a scene in an anime I loved. Electricity began to spark across my body condensing in my hands. I raised my hands together as small sparks began to shoot out of them.

    ¡°Lightning Pulse¡± I cried out and sent the two orbs of lightning flying at the fire god below me. I don¡¯t know where the name came from but it sounded good. I began to fall down as the orbs reached the god he dodged one but the other hit him directly. He let out a large howl of pain that made me cringe as the lightning shot through his body. He was still standing after the attack died down and looked at me with his eyes full of hate. As soon as I touched the ground I jumped to my left narrowly avoiding a wave of fire charging at me. As I slid from my jump I spun myself on one leg and did a full roundhouse kick. I was amazed at my new found flexibility and balance. A large gust of wind formed from my kick crashed into Ifrit pushing him farther back but he still recovered. He began to charge at me leaving a fiery trail behind him as his body burst into flames. Remembering what he had done to Nesso I gave a quick wave of my arm and the ground in front of me rose to create a wall.

    I heard the impact the fire God made on the other side of the wall and cracks formed on my side. I guess being a god gave me some sort of danger sense because I moved once again without thinking. I jumped to the side right before the wall burst as Ifrit forced his way through. Once he saw me to the side he waved his arm and a section of my earth wall broke off and crashed into me. The chunk hit me directly on my side and continued to push me back. I gave it one hard punch and it broke into dust. Ifrit was breathing heavily at this point while my only injury was my side and the pain in my chest that started to flare up again. I decided that it was time to end this and charged at the wounded God. My hand began to glow with a holy white light which reminded me of another attack I had seen.

    ¡°Heaven¡¯s Judgment¡± I called out as my light covered fist connected to Ifrit¡¯s chest. A beam of white energy shot out of my hand and shot Ifrit back through the earth wall which crumbled from the destruction. The beam sent Ifrit flying only for him to land near a stream of lava. I took my time approaching the god, I could already tell that the battle was over and I had won. Once I reached Ifrit I was glad to see he was still alive.

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± he asked bitterly ¡°kill me already¡±. I looked down at the defeated god and realized something.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you,¡± I told him. It was true no matter how angry I was about what he did to Tara I still didn¡¯t want to kill him.

    ¡°You have no choice,¡± he said miserably. He was right the others wouldn¡¯t accept him back after what he did and even if I tell them not to they would definitely come after him. I didn¡¯t even move but my powers took effect. Behind me a large chunk of the ground in the shape of a spike rose into the air.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± I said and began lowering the spike. Before it moved any farther a small red thing dashed in front of me. It was a young girl no bigger than a pencil that wore a dark red dress. She had light pink hair and brown eyes that looked at me with anger. Two orange butterfly wings sprouted from her back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt daddy anymore¡± she called out. Her voice was high and musical.

    ¡°Daddy?¡± I said in confusion.

    ¡°Titania¡± Ifrit spoke up in a stern voice ¡°get out of the way.¡±

    ¡°No¡± the fairy said with determination clear on her face ¡°I won¡¯t let this man hurt you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Wait Ifrit is this your daughter?¡± I asked hoping he would explain what was happening.

    ¡°Yes¡± he said ¡°I created her with the powers I got from Tara. She taught me something, I was wrong to blame you for my inability to create anything. When I created Titania I realized how little control you had on how we turned out.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier?¡± I asked, ¡°We didn¡¯t need to fight.¡±

    ¡°Yes we did,¡± he told me. The fire God surprised me by standing up ¡°I still needed to pay for what I did and this was the best way¡± he stepped forward and pushed the fairy out of the way. He stood in front of me waiting for the final blow. I lowered the earth spike but in the opposite direction. I put it back in the large hole it had risen from and stepped closer to the fire God.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you¡± I told him and there was no way I was changing my mind. As God stared down at me I saw relief in his eyes. I smiled up at him and quicker than he could react stabbed my hand into his chest. Titania let out a high scream and Ifrit stared at me in shock but I didn¡¯t focus on them. I was more interested in the cold gem I grasped within the fire God¡¯s body. I pulled out the gem and with a small tap sealed the hole I had made in Ifrit. The fire God changed again his body and eyes returning to their natural colors. Ifrit inspected his body in shock and looked at me in confusion. I simply revealed the mushroom shaped diamond in my hand.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need this anymore¡± I told him as I inspected the gem. It made me sad to think this gem had once been part of Tara. As I looked at the gem I saw a small glimmer of light. I moved the diamond closer to see if what I saw was true. It was, inside the gem a small light was still glowing.

    ¡°Tara¡± I let out a small whisper and clasp the diamond. I closed my eyes and remembered the short time we had spent together. I thought of how I first created her and her warm smile that always made me feel safe. I recalled how excited she was whenever she talked about creating the world. I remembered how worried she had been when I had fallen from the tower in the sky. These memories and more flooded into the diamond fueling the light making it grow bigger back into the human shape I remember. I felt the mushroom diamond slip out of my hands only to be replaced by two more hands grabbing mine. I opened my eyes and stood in front of me was Tara. I grabbed her into a huge hug and felt her hug me back.

    ¡°Thank you¡± she whispered in my ear.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡± was my reply.

    After me and Tara finished our warm reunion, Ifrit stepped forward to apologize about what he did.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize¡± Tara told him ¡°I saw what happened while I was in you and I forgive you¡± Ifrit looked very grateful but didn¡¯t say anything more. Titania flew up till she was level with Tara¡¯s face.

    ¡°Are you my mommy?¡± she asked innocently. Tara began to blush vividly.

    ¡°Well um I guess you could say that¡± she told the young fairy. Titania cheered and gave her mother a miniscule hug. I let out a small happy laugh at the mother and daughter, glad to see them getting along. I was about to call for Evan when the pain in my chest began to worse than before. I fell to the ground gripping my chest in agony. Tara Ifrit and Titania surrounded me trying to see what was wrong. I couldn¡¯t answer them. The pain made it impossible to think, it felt like something was trying to rip itself out of my chest. Finally the pain surged to an unbearable level and I let out a horrifying scream towards the sky. Out of my mouth shot out a purple beam, the beam rose into the sky and began to take form. As more and more poured out of me the pain began to diminish until it was gone completely.

    With the pain gone I could see what had come out of me. A large black dragon stared down at me with emotionless purple eyes. This dragon wasn¡¯t like Evan, it looked more like the Chinese dragon as it had a longer body and a large mane. This dragon was also about five times as big as Evan. I stared up at the giant beast in utter astonishment; I had no idea what it was or what it was going to do. Tara was still next to me also staring up at the dragon. Ifrit had backed away and was trying to comfort a terrified Titania. The dark dragon pulled back his lips in a vicious smile. It took his sharp talon and tapped the ground to the left of us. Where he tapped a large hole opened up. The inside of the hole was completely black and I couldn¡¯t see where it led.

    ¡°Soon¡± the dragon growled in a deep ominous voice before flying into the large hole. After the dragon¡¯s tail entered the hole it closed up and looked as if nothing had happened. We all simultaneously released the breath we were holding. I could hear Evan approaching as fast as he could.

    ¡°Phanes¡± Tara spoke up next to me ¡°What was that?¡± she asked, her voice and body shook in fear. I didn¡¯t answer right away because I didn¡¯t know. I heard Evan land behind me and I knew he, like everyone else, was looking at me for answers.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that was¡± I admitted ¡°but it is gone and we are safe¡± I stood and helped Tara to her feet. I then walked over to Evan and jumped on his back.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back home¡± I said ¡°we all need a long rest¡±.

    Everyone seemed to calm down a bit after but I could tell they were all worried, as was I. I didn¡¯t know what they thought it was but I could tell that it was up to no good. It was something we would have to deal with but we will do that later. For now we can all go back to the tree. It was going to take some explaining for anyone to trust Ifrit but I¡¯m sure that I can handle it.

 Epilogue

    It¡¯s been about a month since we have returned to the great tree that we have now named the Tree of Life, due to it being the first sign of life in this world. Everyone was overjoyed to see that Tara was alive and healthy but the same couldn¡¯t be said about Ifrit. As soon as we landed Nesso and Lance charged at the fire God but I stopped them with a little gust of wind that sent them flying into the Tree of Life. After explaining what had happened at the volcano they calmed down but they still didn¡¯t trust him. I had planned to keep the dark dragon¡¯s appearance a secret till I knew more about it but they had seen it from the tree. We told them what we knew about the dragon, which wasn¡¯t much. After the small explanation I told everyone it was time to rest and we all separated to our respectable resting places.

    Since then we have made great progress on the world. Nesso has started creating a large ocean a few miles away from the Tree of Life, he would have been halfway done by now but he comes back to the tree once a week to take some apples. Tara once mentioned that there was another reason for his visits but she wouldn¡¯t say what it was. Speaking of Tara she and Lance were now living in a newly grown forest south of the tree. They had officially announced their relationship as a couple last week. Ifrit and Titania returned to the volcano but Titania didn¡¯t stay. She moved into the forest with Tara and the two were planning on creating a whole race of fairies soon. Ifrit remains in his volcano training; he says that the next time we fight I was going to be blown away. He¡¯s already come by once to challenge me but without Tara¡¯s powers he couldn¡¯t land a single blow on me. I thought he was going to be angry at his defeat but it seemed to only make him want to train harder.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Now that I have become aware of my Godly powers I have been spending my days practicing. I found that I could pull off any type of magic I had read about and now I was able to truly help shape this world. I had spent a whole week with Sylph decorating her floating tower. She really liked the bean bags I had shown her; she made me put them in every room. Sylph was the first to accept Ifrit back and was thankful to me for sparing his life. Also even though Evan claimed that he would still live with me in the Tree of Life, he spent most of his time with Sylph in the tower. Now that everyone had moved out I had changed the inside of the tree to be similar to my old bedroom. I mostly just recreated some of my favorite books and put them in a bookcase and changed the grass to a light blue to match the carpet I used to have. It made me think of the home that I was taken from and I realized that I wasn¡¯t upset about it anymore. Yes I missed my friends and family but now I had a new home with a new family that I was going to work hard with to create a great world.

    Everything seemed to be so calm that we had almost forgotten about the dark dragon but it was still around. I saw it every once in a while just two purple orbs glowing in the shadow. I had tried talking to it but every time the eyes would blink out of existence. I feel like something big is coming, trouble that I can¡¯t even imagine. I¡¯m concerned that the dragon will try to attack us soon. I don¡¯t know what he is capable of but whatever he tries I and my new family will rise to face him head on.