《Enna is a Land God: Book 1》


 A Dream

    I opened my eyes and the first thing to register was confusion. The vast majority of the last ten years of my life had been spent with one single, constant view. And right now I was not looking at the far wall of the hospital room, plastered in colorful paintings. Mind you, my current view could be described as a painting.


    The sky was above, but its blue and white vastness was mostly blocked out by a canopy of leafy trees. The branches clacked and swished in the wind, causing shade and light to dapple across my warm skin. It was warm and cool all at once. I turned my head to the side and saw that the trees were many, and between them grew other foliage, some thistly and others covered in delicate flowers. I was laying on a forest floor.


    But how? I was very sure that illness had kept me paralyzed from the neck down and bed-ridden for the last ten years. I couldn''t even remember the last time I was even in a forest.


    Hoping to find answers, I turned my head to the other direction. And there I stared, confused and now certain that this must be some kind of dream. A very vivid and probably drug induced dream. I''d have to talk to the doctor about adjusting the dosage of my medications. After all, the little, three foot tall boy covered in fur with a bushy orange tail had to be a hallucination.


    Fascinated by the dream, I studied the boy. He was knelt in the moss, head bowed to what looked to be some kind of small stone statue before him that I couldn''t make out. He wore a loose fitted, baggy sleeved shirt of blue fabric and pants that were a brown linen. he seemed to have ginger hair to match his ginger tail, too.


    I nearly laughed at the absurdity, and was about to call out to the hallucination when, by some unused instinct, I lifted my arm toward the strange creature. But it was then that I began to breath heavy. Why? Because it actually moved! I''d been a vegetable from the neck down for ten years, yet suddenly my body could move? No way. It wasn''t possible. Even, by some miracle, I began to get feeling back to my extremities, surly I would have long lost the muscle mass needed for proper movement?


    yet, I watched- awe struck- as I moved a hand so that it was held before my eyes, fingers wiggling just to be sure. Smooth and effortless, like I had never lost the ability in the first place. Shaking and both terrified that the drugs were working, and praying they kept working a little longer, I began to shift the rest of my body. Slowly, gingerly, I moved myself to a seated position and felt tears spring to my eyes.How?


    So engrossed in the miracle that was my body was I, that I had completely forgotten the furry boy mere feet away. That was till there was a startled gasp that had me jumping. I swung my head back and saw the absolute oddest creature I had ever seen. The boy didn''t just have fur and a tail; he was covered in orange and cream colored fur. It was over every piece of exposed skin. And his face! That was not a human''s face. It was an animals face, and, if I had to pick one, I would have guessed a fox.


    He stood about fifteen feet away and was staring at me with wide blue/green eyes and a muzzle open in shock. One furry hand was holding a woven basket while the other was clenched at his side. He stood at only about three feet, not including the fluffy ears a top his head. He was a fox person.


    "A- a human?" Asked the boy making me blink in surprise. I didn''t expect him to speak english. Then again, nothing about this could be odder, so why not?


    "He-hello?" I stammered. Might as well talk to the hallucination if it was talking to me right?


    The fox boy''s eyes narrowed and I watched as he sniffed my way. The nurse had given me a sponge bath just a few hours ago, so I shouldn''t smell too bad. I hope.


    "What were you doing?" I asked, hoping to put the boy at ease. He seemed just as afraid of me as I was of him. More so perhaps, given I thought he was just a figment of my drug induced imagination.


    The boy looked back at the stone- something- he had been at moments before, before shifting his eyes back to me. I didn''t think he would answer but that little muzzle opened and he said. "I was making an offering." he said hesitantly, then elaborated. "To our land god, the great Aeros."


    "O-okay?" I said, having never heard the name nor having any clue as to what a land god was other than it mostly likely being a god over this land.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "You believe he is gone too, don''t you?" Asked the boy. His face grew sad and worried. "That he is never coming back?"


    "Er, in all honesty, I''ve never heard of him."


    Now the fox boy was back to looking suspicious. I couldn''t blame him. I was a strange woman who suddenly just appeared behind him while he was preying. I would be suspicious too. Then he looked a little worried, glancing over both shoulders and then setting those pretty eyes back her way.


    "Are you alright, human woman? How did you get here?"


    I shook my head. "I don''t know... I think I must be dreaming."


    Now the fox boy looked alarmed and more than a little concerned. he took a few hesitant steps my way and, I- so confident that this was all a product of my imagination- didn''t even flinch away. I watched, fascinated, as he stretched out a small, reddish gold, hand that looked a little more paw like than human like. He placed those little toe beans on her fore head for a second.


    "You don''t have a fever..." he said softly.


    I actually chuckled. "Until just this moment I couldn''t even move my arms. Even if I had a fever, I think I would be okay with it. So far this is a pretty good dream."


    And it really was. The air was pleasantly warm with a cool breeze, I sat on a soft moss and I could feal every inch of my body. I was tempted to stand, to run or jump, or even climb one of these near by twisty trees. But I feared that if I dared to move too much, too fast, then the hallucination would break and I''d once again, be trapped in my hospital bed, alone and sickly.


    "Um... I''m Ozzie. What is your name?" asked the boy, once again checking over his shoulders before sitting in the moss before her. I knew he spoke in a tone that meant he was seriously concerned for my mental state, but that was okay, I was worried I might have gone nuts too.


    "Enna."


    "That''s a pretty sounding name. you claim you don''t know how you got here?"


    I shook my head. "I haven''t the foggiest idea. Like I said, I am pretty sure that this is a dream or something."


    "Hmm. Well what is the last thing you remember Enna?"


    I opened my mouth to say that I''d been in my hospital bed. Where else would I have been after all? but something made me hesitate. What was my last memory? A sharp pain passed though my head making me flinch and place a cool hand to my own brow. I felt afraid for some reason, and a little stomach sick. "I- I don''t know..." my peacefulness now a little shattered, I began to feal a panic set in. If this was a dream, should I not have woken up by now? Weren''t you supposed to wake up once you started to suspect a dream was real? And wasn''t pain supposed to wake you up too?


    Needing to distract myself from the rising trepidation, I decided to ask the fox some questions too. "Wh-why were you praying to that god you spoke of?"


    "Oh! Aeros? my people are in a tough bind right now and I had hoped to gain a little favor to our side." he got a little sad, his paw-hands fiddling with the hem of the baggy blue shirt. "My family and the elders think that our god has long since abandoned us to our fate. but I figured it couldn''t hurt to send up a prayer. He may be listening after all..." He sounded about as confident in that as I was about this dream.


    "Where I come from there are people who believe in gods." I told him, eyes settling on the stone statue near by. It looked a little like a tiny stone house with a grey figurine of a small animal inside. "But I''m not one of them. And if I am wrong, and there are gods, then they are jerks."


    "Are you from one of the neighboring countries then? Pern maybe? They are the closest to us here."


    "Ah, I really don''t know how to tell you this but... I think I may be from a place much farther away. Cause, where I come from, there is no such thing as little fox boys." I added the last sentence with a feint smile as I did not want to offend the boy. But at the same time I was beginning to really worry now. This was a dream right?


    "I am not a boy!" Huffed the fox. "I happen to be six teen thank you. I am a man know. And I''m not a fox either. I''m a monster known as a foxkin if you must know." He replied rather hotly, patting one of those paws to his chest proudly. "We are hunters and live in a small village near by."


    I chuckled. I really couldn''t help it, he was awfully adorable after all. "Sorry. Well, I have never heard of a foxkin before. And where I am from monsters are just pretend. Hence why I am pretty sure this is just a dream brought on by my medication."


    "I don''t know what to tell you miss Enna. This is no dream. And as far as I know, every country has at least some monsters." Perhaps seeing the fear and rising panic in my eyes, Ozzie grew somber and gentle. "Look, I really am not supposed to bring humans to the village, but you seem in a bad way miss Enna. Why don''t you come back with me and we can see if the elders can help?"


    For the first time, I looked down at myself. I was seated on the moss in a soft white dress that flowed out around me. But my body was not the one I knew. No longer was I bone thin and weak with my condition. I had muscle on my legs and arms, my skin had a healthy glow about it too. I was not wearing shoes.


    "I-" I hesitated as the young foxkin got to his feet- that I now saw were also paws and had the added joint that his natural cousins possessed. "I don''t know if I remember how to walk..."


    Ozzie looked confused but held out one of those tiny paws all the same. "Let me help you."


    I reached out a hand and held to the the offered paw. As my fingers slid over fur and those little toe beans, real worry finally began to set in. It all felt too real. way too real.

 The Foxkin

    As it turned out, I could walk. And the sheer, wonderful, fantastical, sensation of it was enough to blow what fear I had been starting to feel right out of my mind for a time. To anyone else the simple mechanic of putting one foot in front of the other and being able to propel ones self a foot or so forward would be nothing. But to me this was a wonder and a wish I had long since abandoned as impossible.


    Over ten years I had been trapped in my own body and that body trapped to a hospital bed. When I first got ill, around my twentieth birthday, I could still move and had some freedom. The pain was bad but with the aid of medicine and, some times a wheelchair, I got by fine. but then by the time my twenty second birthday came around I couldn''t get out of the chair, and moving myself around was a major chore. Less then a year later I had to be confined to a bed, hooked to machines just to keep me alive. And then, less than a year after that I had lost all feeling and mobility below my neck.


    But now I was walking again! I didn''t even care that I was bare foot and stepping on sharp little twigs and stones. I welcomed the tiny little spikes of pain in my feet.


    Ozzie led me at a fairly slow pace through the forest. His strides were a great deal smaller than my own after all. But it was a lovely walk under shady trees while birds sang in the branches and I could start to hear a stream burbling near by.


    "This place is beautiful." I said quietly, a smile on my lips.


    Seeing my obvious delight, Ozzie smiled too. "Yes. For a long time my people have cared for the forest around here. Afterall, without its bounty we would die."


    "You said that you are hunters?"


    "Yes, that''s right. Foxkin are excellent hunters and we are good a being silent. The deer here are plentiful and healthy. but they are also why we are in a bit of a bind at the moment."


    "What do you mean?" I asked. Ozzie had looked proud a second ago but now his face had grown melancholy. I was impressed with myself for being able to read emotion on such an animal like face to be honest.


    Ozzie squinted his eyes and his muzzle wrinkled. "Well, since Aeros stopped being as involved in the lives of his people I am afraid that the land has begun to decline. At least that''s how the elders of the village explain it. Here, in our little part of the forest, we are not too bad off but in other places... well, the other races are getting a little desperate for resources and since there are deer..."


    "The others come here to take them?" I asked, and Ozzie nodded his head, eyes scanning for danger as he lead me on through the trees. "So there are many other races then? other than foxkin and humans I mean."


    Ozzie stopped scanning to look at me oddly once again. "Of course. Are you sure you didn''t get hit on the head or something Miss Enna?"


    I chuckled. If this wasn''t a dream, which I was sure of at first but now not so much, than it was an oddly detailed and convoluted on. I was pretty sure my own imagination was not that great. I could see why the foxkin was so concerned for my mental well being. I would be worried if a crazy lady asked me if there were other species of animals other than cats and dogs.


    "I may have. Last I remember is was in the hospital, unable to walk or even breath on my own. So if this isn''t a dream then it must be- well, I don''t know." I sighed, seeing that the boy didn''t know what to make of my rambling.


    The truth was that if this wasn''t a dream then that would mean that I was either abducted by weird fox aliens and dropped off on their planet, fully healed or I was dead and this was some really messed up kind of afterlife. I never did believe that there was anything after death but if I had, I probably would not have suspected this at all. weren''t there supposed to be, like, pearly gates and fluffy clouds or something?


    "Well," Said Ozzie, still looking concerned but clearly deciding to put the issue on the back burner for now. "There are many races in these lands, but no humans. Aeros was very much not a fan of them and none have been permitted to set foot on his lands."


    "No doubt making my presence here pretty confusing for you as it is for me."


    "Yes. Our current troubles are with the goblins though. The elders do not share much with the younger foxkin, but I do know that they have come down from their mountain and have been making raids on the forest near us. Its getting pretty heated."


    "I''m sorry, that must be hard for you and your people."


    I had only a vague idea of what a goblin would be from old children''s stories and the like, but I didn''t remember any that painted them as a particularly kind bunch. I was imagining green, nobly little men with bald heads and warts.


    "Ozzie!" Snapped a voice from up ahead, making me jump, and Ozzie jump. "Where the heck have you been?"


    I watched as a second foxkin walked into view. I assumed this one was female but only because it was wearing a thick canvas like dress with wat appeared to be a greenish apron around her waist. She was half a foot taller than Ozzie but had the same reddish fur and green/blue eyes.


    "Shoot, its my mother..." Ozzie mumbled to me before raising his voice to address the woman. "Ah, sorry Mom. I just thought it wouldn''t hurt to go pray to Aeros-"A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Tch!" Snapped the foxkin woman with a narrow eyed look at her son. I was impressed the lady could make that noise with a muzzle. "Aeros? And what care would he have for us? Even if he still lived here."


    Ozzie clenched his fists but refrained from back talking his mother. I guessed that, even for fox people, some things stayed the same. Mom''s were scarry people.


    "And who is this then? A human?" She asked, now setting those shrewd eyes on me. She whipped her paws in her apron while assessing her carefully.


    "Er, this is Enna. She suddenly appeared behind me while I was at the shrine." Explained Ozzie hurriedly. "She seems confused and I thought the Elder may be able to help-"


    "You want to take a human before your grandfather? At a time like this?" She eyed me again while Ozzie squirmed. Finally, she sighed. "Very well. She is here now and certainty looks a little lost and confused. And if you were some wicked human adventurer I am sure you would have better places to raid than our poor village."


    "Uh..." I said , not really sure how to respond to that. Also, Ozzie never mentioned that his grandfather was the elder of this village of his.


    "Come con then. No need to be standing about here. Not unless we were all hoping to get surrounded by goblin raiders that is. My name is Brixie by the way."


    "Oh! Um, Enna, nice to meet you. Sorry for all of this,"


    Brixie shook her head and waved Ozzie and I ahead. I could just make out what appeared to be a rather short wall made of wooden posts sharpened to points. The tips were a little above my head and looked rather freshly carved.


    "A new addition." Said Brixie, seeing where I was looking. "My father had them erected a couple of weeks ago when the goblin raids began."


    "I''m sorry to bring more trouble to your village."


    "Not sure what trouble a little human woman could possibly bring to be honest," Chuckled the fox lady, her stern face softening a little as we approached what appeared to be the gate of the fence. Because it was more of a fence than any true kind of defensible wall, even if it was nearly twice as high as Brixie. "You look about as freaked out as any one of us do during these times. I don''t know what we can do for you Miss Enna, but I am sure that my father will at least have you fed and rested before setting you on your way back to your people."


    Ozzie knocked a couple of times on the gate and called out. I heard another voice answer before the door began to swing open. Beyond it was the foxkin village. I saw about twenty wooden huts scattered about along a handful of dirt paths. They were rounded with tiled roofs that were open at the top like up ended funnels, most having smoke rising out of the top. Compared to the size of the foxkin, each one was pretty large and I assumed that whole families likely lived in them.


    Ozzie took up his place at my side while Brixie lead the way into the village, the two foxkin at the gate eyeing me suspiciously but not questioning my presence at all. As they walked to what looked to be the largest of the rounded houses set atop a slight rise in the land they were watched by the locals. From what I could make out Brixie was about average for a foxkin female in terms of height while the full grown men looked to be about a foot taller than Ozzie, some had little beards on their foxy chins and all followed me and our group till there was a small army of about fifty fox people trailing behind them.


    "What''s this?" Called a deep but raspy voice from up ahead. A male foxkin dressed in leather gear holding a spear was holding open the flap of the large wood house and an older foxkin shuffled out. "Brixie?"


    He was slightly stooped but her also appeared to be well muscled compared to most of the foxkin I had seen so far, his eyes were a stormy grey and he had a jagged parting of the fur on his muzzle making me think he likely had a scar there. He moved forward so that he stood on the slight hillock above them while two leather bound foxkin stood behind him like guards or aids.


    "Elder." Brixie said with a slight bow that Ozzie mirrored. "I have found Ozzie. Apparently he thought it a good idea to plea to Aeros on our behalf."


    The older foxkin sighed and eyed his grandson critically. "I fear that our god has very little in the way of sympathy for our plight young man. He has always favored the goblins over us after all."


    "Not to mention he has forsaken the whole forest anyway." Grumbled another male in the crowed behind their little party. The elder quelled the man with a glare before setting his eyes back on his grandson.


    "It is not wise to go out on your own these days young Ozzie. No matter how near the shrine is. What would have happened had the goblins attacked and you had no one to back you up?"


    Ozzie did not comment be he did look mollified by his grandfather''s words, his head bowed and eyes adverted.


    The elder sighed. "And who is this?" He asked, now switching his attention to me, who had been feeling increasingly awkward.


    "She says her name is Enna, father. Ozzie found her at the shrine of Aeros." Explained Brixie calmly. there was a flurry of whispers from the other foxkin as they all looked on me with curiosity and more than a little uneasiness.


    "The shrine?" Breathed the elder, clearly more intrigued now.


    "I was asking that Aeros send us aid against the goblins," Piped in Ozzie now, clearly relived that- at least for now- he was not being yelled at. "I stood up to return to the village and she was just there! She seems very confused Elder... had no clue what a foxkin was and-"


    "Enough Ozzie." Sighed the elder, though he did look mildly amused. "Come inside and we can speak over a cup of tea."


    Ozzie''s mouth snapped shut and a few foxkin chuckled at his expense. If a boy covered in fur could blush that that was what poor Ozzie was doing now. Still, at the elder''s words the others began to disperse while Brixie gave me a little poke with a clawed finger to get me moving up the path to the elder''s home. He entered first while his guards held the flaps open for everyone.


    I was the last to enter and I had to duck to get through the door without bumping my head. the inside was large with a central fire pit and several pillows surrounding it on animal skin rugs. As I settled on the pillow I was lead to, I saw that there was a little art work in the way of beaded pictures and carved bone around the walls and other flaps indicated where the rounded interior was separated into different rooms.


    Brixie made herself buy with a clay tea pot and some small clay cups. I could smell the brew and it was pleasant enough. And, despite the fact that I was about to ingest something not fed into her stomach by a tube for the first time in ten years, my belly did not rumble. In fact, I realized that I was not hungry or thirsty at all, despite the hike and having not had any exorcize in a decade. was that weird? It felt like it was weird.


    Still, I accepted her cup with a soft "Thank you" all the same. Brixie than presented the elder with a cup before bring one to Ozie and settling to a pillow next to her son with her own cup of tea.


    "Now," Said the elder before blowing a few breaths over his tea. I was amused at this given I did not think foxes had the lip structure to blow. Apparently foxkin did however. "Tell us your story Miss Enna. How is it that you, a human, has made her way to the center of a land that your kind has been forbidden from entering into in nearly two thousand years since Aeros became the god of this land?"

 Elder Brax

    Oh! Well... i wasn''t really sure that anything I said would make sense to these people, much less that they would believe me. Still, I was confused and needed answers myself, and so far this was my best chance to get them. I was pretty sure that this wasn''t a dream any longer, it was too detailed and, besides, once a person was aware that they were in a dream, weren''t they supposed to wake up? I couldn''t rule out aliens I supposed, but it didn''t seem likely. I had two other best guesses: This wasn''t so much a dream, but a hallucination or near-death experience type thing, or- insanely- it was all real, I was somehow transported to another world or dimension and was now speaking to real fox people.


    "it''s alright Enna, you can tell us." Said Ozzie, the light of curiosity in his young eyes. "I know tha, if I can help, I will. Foxkin''s honor." He added placing a paw over his heart.


    I gave the young man a wane smile before returning my gaze to his grandfather, who was studying me over his clay mug. "I guess I can try... but I really am not sure what to say." I admitted, warming my hands on my own mug.


    "How about you tell me how you came to be in the forest in the first place?" Asked the elder, calmly.


    I shrugged. "I really don''t know. My last memory, before waking up next to Ozzie, was falling asleep in my hospital bed. The next thing I knew I was in a forest and there was a little fox boy- er, sorry, foxkin- standing near by. Till a few hours ago I would have said that there were no such thing as monsters! And I defiantly would have called anyone crazy if they tried to tell me that I would magically be walking around, when I have been paralyzed for about two thirds of my life." I said in a rush. Maybe, now that I was voicing it all out loud like this, I was now really understanding how crazy all of this was. What ever the reason, I was suddenly beginning to feel the panic that I probably should have felt when I first opened my eyes and I found myself in a strange place.


    "Hmm." Said the elder, and I saw that I was not the only one in the room looking to him for a response. Ozzie was gawking between his grandfather and I while Brixie seemed to be concerned for my mental well being. "So you are saying that you are not from this world then?" He asked simply.


    I blinked rather stupidly for a second. Well, he seemed to accept that rather easily. "I- I think so... that or I am going crazy and you all are a figment of my imagination."


    "Well, I have no way to prove that we are not." he said with a small, companionate smile. "But if it helps you at all, travelers from other worlds are not unheard of here. there are the usual creatures that can traverse between worlds: spirits, demons, things of that nature. But there are also humans, such as yourself, that have been said to travel from their strange world and arrive on our own."


    "Really?" So, others had gone through this as well. If I could find them, then maybe they would be able to explain what it was that had happened to me.


    "Oh yes. that being said, normally these humans are summoned by other humans. The humans of this world refer to them as Heroes, and call them to this world to fight for them and their kingdoms. I can say that I have never heard of a human being summoned to our forest. For the last millennia or so, this land has been named the Monster Nation of Aeros, and has been forbidden to humans. Our god, Aeros, has a strong dislike for your kind and has ordered that you all be killed or removed on sight."


    I swallowed heavily. That didn''t sound good. "Then why aren''t I dead?" I asked nervously.


    The elder chuckled and took another sip of his tea. "Aeros has abandoned these lands miss. No one has seen hide nor hair from him in many, many generations. It is only his memory and the feint possibility that he may return, that has kept the fearful and superstitious humans out this long. That and their fear of monsters as a whole. You are alive because I do not think that Aeros cares one bit weather or not you are here any longer. I highly doubt my people will be punished for not following his rule in this."


    "Oh... Well, what happened to this god of yours then?"


    "Well, depending on who you ask, you may get a variety of answers. The gist of it is that no one truly knows."


    "Well, what do you believe?"


    He sighed and shared a worried glance with his daughter before setting his eyes back on me. "I believe that Aeros has abandoned us. All of us. Not just we foxkin, but all the monsters in this nation."


    "But why would he do that?" I asked, confused. I was no expert in gods or religions, but that seemed like a odd thing to just, toss aside.


    It looked like Ozzie was about to object but a look from the elder quieted the foxkin. "Aeros was never one of the benevolent, nor attentive gods. Which was fine. We are monsters and the general law is that the strong prevail and the week submit. Aeros was strongest of all so we worshipped him and hoped he would look favorably on us. And that worked for a long time. But it is said that Aeros was a finicky and irritable god. My best guess is that he grew bored of this life he had made."


    This time it was Brixie who sighed and then spoke. "I have never met an other-worlder, so I can only assume that you know very little about this world." She said and I nodded. "Well, here it is common knowledge that there is really very few ways to, truly, kill a god. They die- or sort of die- sometimes but they always reappear after a short time."


    Elder Brax nodded. "For a very long time, many races in the forest thought that this is what happened to Aeros. He was a confrontational man and many just assumed he had picked a fight with another god, lost, and would return shortly. He would be angry and cantankerous over the loss but at least he would be back where he belonged..."Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "But he never did come back?" I asked. I was not sure how any of this had to do with me or my situation, but it was interesting at least.


    "No, he did not. Some races, like the goblins, think that he is still here but so angry that he has chosen to hide himself and show favor to those most loyal to him."


    "Which, we foxkin, are not." Huffed Brixie, looking annoyed.


    Brax nodded. "Aeros always favored the strong, and we are not even close to that I am afraid."


    "Okay." I said, thinking. "But Ozzie said that all the monsters are having a hard time right now. Including the Goblins, right? That''s why they have been attacking you recently."


    "Yes. And this is why I believe that Aeros is gone. Truly and completely gone. If not actually dead then on the brink of it."


    "But that can not be true!" Snapped Ozzie. "There is always a land god. Aeros must still live Grandfather, or else there would be a new god. In all this time there hasn''t been one so he must just be angry with us. Two-thousand years may seem long to us, but to a god I am sure it seems like a nice vacation..."


    "Ozzie... I know you hope it not to be so, but all signs point to Aeros being gone." Sighed the elder kindly. "He may not have been dead, in the true sense, but he has forsaken us. And, right now I think that he has- at last- left this realm."


    "what? why would you say that?" Grumbled the younger foxkin while his mother gave the older man a confused look.


    "You think he was napping and then another god snuck into his godly room and snuffed him out?" I asked, still very confused.


    "No." Said the elder slowly. "Though it is said that another god can permanently kill another, I do not think that is what happened to Aeros."


    "What then?" Asked Brixie while Ozzie glowered.


    "Though the passing of a god is no common thing, there is one way that is more likely that any other: they simply decide that they no longer wish to live of this world."


    I looked at the foxkin, surprised. Was he saying that a god had just, killed himself? "They can do that?"


    "Oh yes. You humans do not have a great grasp on what it means to truly be old. Your lives are always so short compared to the other races of this world. Even we foxkin live an average of one-hundred and fifty years, and that is considered rather short for a monster of our caliber. More often than not, a higher ranked monster dies in battle rather than old age. So can you even imagine living as a god for untold centuries?"


    I guess I couldn''t. Heck, I thought I wouldn''t even live to see a quarter century, much less ''untold'' ones.


    Brax nodded. "If I had to pick any reason why Aeros has left us, it is that he has just grown bored with this life. He went into a slumber, and now..."


    "But why? Why would you think he has actually died now, Grandfather?" Asked Ozzie, a note of desperation in his voice. I could understand that. His people were under siege by a race that could obliterate them, and this Aeros fellow was his last hope of salvation. If he was dead, then what hope did the foxkin have? "Maybe he still sleeps!  If only we pray-"


    "No," said the elder, setting his cup on the floor next to him, his voice somber. "I am very certain now that he is gone. the signs of his fading have been evident for years now, and I believe that he has, at last, left this land."


    "I am not saying you are wrong, Father... but what makes you say this now?" Brixie asked, a hand on her son''s shoulder, preventing the younger boy getting to his feet in frustration.


    A small, sad smile, passed over Brax''s muzzle. "Because, as a young foxkin prayed for aid today, a strange young woman appeared next to the shrine."


    Ozzie froze and glanced at me, confused. Mean while, Brixie and I looked at the elder like he may have had a few screws loose. What did that have to do with anything?


    Brax chuckled. "I see your confusion. And- truth be told- I could be wrong in this. But I do not think I am."


    "Well, do you care to explain?" Asked an annoyed Brixie. Apparently, even the elder, was not able to avoid the wrath of this woman.


    "I will, but tomorrow. My theory needs testing before I am willing to announce it... Ozzie, please lead Enna to a room where she may rest. Tomorrow we will see if what I think, is true. Either way the girl has been through much and needs rest."


    The truth was that I was feeling tired now. Not sleepy, but physically tired. Maybe the adrenaline of being mobile had finally worn off and my body, unaccustomed to movement, was finally feeling the effects of my trek through the woods. Still,  wanted to know what it was the elder thought was happening. And, more importantly, how it had anything to do with me. But, before I could protest, the elder was getting to his feet. Brixie hopped up and helped her father stand, while Ozzie held out a hand for me. He was glaring at his grandfather, clearly miffed that he was being forced to wait till morning as well.


    "I could do with a rest as well." Said the elder, leaning heavily on the support of his daughter. I had a funny feeling that he was putting on a bit of an act however. Ozzie seemed to think so too, as he continued to glare at his grandfather. "Go on Ozzie."


    The boy sigh but took my hand and tugged me along, away from the fire pit and his family, toward the one of the many flaps in the tent.


    "Don''t worry." Ozzie grouched as I followed him into a short hall with a dirt floor and decorated in more painting and bone art. "Grandfather may be secretive right now, but he means you no harm. I just wish he would stop with the airs and spit it out."


    i chuckled then stifled a yawn. "I can see that that would be frustrating."


    Ozzie snorted. "No Kidding." He came to a stop next to another flap and held it open for me. I ducked into it and saw that there was a small bed of soft furs in one corner, a bucket that i assumed was meant to be a toilet, and a short table with a large basin of water, probably for cleaning. "Just get some sleep. the faster morning comes, the better."


    With that, Ozzie''s paw left my grasp, and he disappeared back down the hall. I don''t know why, but I was surprised that there was no guard posted to keep an eye on me. then again, all the people here had fangs and claws and I was just a scrawny human girl who had no clue where I would run to even if I decided to make a break for it.


    I tottered over to the bed and sank into the surprisingly soft furs. It was pretty comfortable for what amounted to a pile of blankets piled on a dirt floor. I rolled to my side and my eye lids began to grow heavy. I could hear Brax and Brixie speaking not to far away but I couldn''t make out their words. Sleep was threatening to take me under but I was resisting.


    I realized that I was afraid to fall asleep. What If this was a dream? What if falling asleep here meant waking up in the real world? I would be back to my hospital room, stuck in that damn bed... Could it be that I actually preferred this world of monsters to the home I had only just left?


    I scoffed quietly to myself and rolled over. Of course I wished that this place was real! I could walk! I could drink tea and interact with people. Hell, I bet, with a good nights sleep, I would be running and dancing tomorrow. I may have been surrounded by monsters and this may be some near death experience, but I had never felt more alive than I did right now.


    Unable to resist a moment longer, I drifted into the realm of dreams. I just hoped that i would wake up on this fur pile in the morning...

 Enna is a Land God

    Everything was dark and cold. The air felt heavy and the space felt vast. I didn''t know what to make of it, but i felt afraid. I was just beginning to accept that I would have to make a life in the odd world I had awoken in previously, and now I was transported again? Was that to be my future now, being transported to weird places every time I fall asleep.


    Shaking, i moved my hand, puffing out a breath of relief when it moved. At least I wasn''t back to being a vegetable. Maybe I was blind now. As soon as the thought crossed my mind I waved a hand before my eyes. I could not see it, perse, but my eyes did pick up the movement. Son not blind, just in a very dark place. Shuffling my feet confirmed that I was, indeed, standing on some sort of solid surface.


    Well, what the hell? Now I was just annoyed. Could a girl not catch a break here?


    I nearly jumped out of my skin when a growling laughed echoed about my head, the vibration making me a little dizzy. The hairs on my arms stood on end as I registered that wherever I was, I was not in it alone.


    "You are quite small, human." Vibrated the voice. My hands flew up and I slammed them against my ears, confirming that i really did still have ears and that they felt like they were going to bleed. "Small and weak." It said, each syllable getting just a little more tolerable to listen to. Even its presence in the air became more barrable and less invasive.


    "Who- What are you?" I asked to the endless darkness, head wiping back and forth despite not being able to see a thing either way.


    "A god." it said.


    "Not Aeros I hope..." I said, pretty sure that running into a god famous for hating humans would be a bad thing.


    the voice laughed and I thought I picked up a slight movement in my peripherals. "Oh, do humans from other worlds even know my name?" Great... well, at least he sounded pleased.


    "The foxkin were speaking of you..."


    "Ah. pathetic little things, but I took pity on them and welcomed them to my forest all the same." Now the disembodied god voice sounded contemplative. "I am quite surprised they are still alive, if I am to be honest."


    "From what I understand they are in a bit of a bind at the moment." I said, feeling a little protective of the people who had taken me in when they had every reason not to. Wasn''t he their god? Should he really be speaking so badly about them?


    "that does not surprise me. the weak are often preyed upon by the strong. It is the way of things."


    "It doesn''t have to be." I answered.


    "Ah, you wish to put your human logic onto monster affairs. Such is to be expected of a human, I suppose."


    Irrationally irritated when, logically, I should be more afraid than anything, I snapped at the god. "Look, why am I here? Why aren''t you answering the Foxkin''s prayers? they really seem to need you, you know?"


    Aeros laughed again. "I suppose I can answer your questions. Let no one believe that Aeros was ungrateful to those doing him a favor, yes? what was your first question? Why are you here?" I saw a flash of movement but when I spun I still only saw darkness. "that one is easy. You are here- If by ''here'' you mean this place of darkness- because this is your space. Inside your mind. Inside your soul. Every person has one after all. Mine is a great deal more impressive than this depressing hole."


    I made a disgusted noise which the God promptly ignored. "As for why I do not answer the Foxkin''s prayers? I could give you many and varied reasons, and all would be the truth... but the simplest explanation is that I do not want to."


    "What?!" I exclaimed. "But you are their god! Doesn''t that make you responsible for them or something?"


    "No." He said with such conviction that it confused me for a moment. "I am a Land God. i am not a baby sitter of mewling mortals who ask me for the moon and more. Let this be a lesson for you, little one, a land god''s job is to keep the land. And for a great many years I believe I did that quite well. The comings and goings of the people who walk upon the land are incidental. In fact, it is their job to provide the land god with the means to protect the land. And by protecting the land, those people have a place to live, to eat, and to breed. the circle of life, you know?" he seemed to collect his thoughts for a second before continuing. "And that leads into your last question. Why should a god help a people who can not help themselves? Is that how it works in your world, little human?"


    "I don''t know how to answer that." I admitted.


    "Indeed." He growled. "The truth of the matter is that every god governs his or her lands as they see fit. I took a mostly hands off approach and that mostly work for the people who decided to live in my lands."


    I thought about that for a moment. It was true that the foxkin said that the people of the forest were accepting of Aeros''s rule for a very long time.


    "Okay..." I said. "But that isn''t completely the case. I know I have only spent a day with the foxkin, but they did say that it wasn''t just their people that were suffering. All the people are suffering. They mentioned food shortages and things. Does that not fall under your responsibility then?"


    This time Aeros sighed. "Yes, and that leads us to why I have come here, to your empty place of darkness, to speak with you."


    Okay, now i was really confused. What the heck would a god- one who hasn''t even shown himself to his own worshipers- want with me?


    "I have grown warry of my time in this world. Being a god holds little to no draw for me any longer. In my youth? Yes, I wished for this job above all else and was quite pleased with myself when I achieved it. But all things must come to an end. given the fact that I have let my lands begin to rot and my sheep have begun to desert me, I have decided that it is time for the next great adventure: what ever awaits after life."This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    I didn''t know what to feel about that. He did sound tired, I had to admit. "So, you are just leaving?"


    "No, I had one last job to do before I left."


    Confused, I tried again to catch a glimpse of the constantly moving creature that was a god. the only thing i was sure of was that he was not human in shape or size. "what job is that?" I asked, squinting into the darkness.


    "To get my replacement ready. After all, there must always be a land god. Bad things happen when there isn''t one."


    "I... guess that makes sense? But why are you telling me this?"


    The voice laughed again. "Not very swift, are you human?"


    "Well, you don''t need to be rude! it was just a question."


    "Very well then, I will tell you. You are the replacement."


    Now it was my turn to laugh, "What? You have to be kidding me."


    "I find it quite unbelievable as well. But It was not I who chose you. I am sure you were made well aware how I feel about your kind. It would be up to the true gods of this world who is to be the new land gods. I had no say in the matter."


    "Wh- hu?" This had to be a joke. Me? No, no way. And what the heck did he mean the ''true gods''?


    "Yes, just like I was chosen when the god of these lands passed before me, you are chosen now. There have been humans who have become land gods before, of course. Even those who once came from the same world as you had. But they had full lives as heroes and such before becoming a god. I do not think that a Human has ever been summoned to this world for the express purpose to become a god. You must be a very special human..."


    "What?!" I shouted, my voice echoing in the void. "I am not. I would go so far to say that I am right up there with the most useless humans. I couldn''t even walk! No. No, no, no. You have to be wrong..."


    "I am not. Can you not have this nervus break down after I am gone? I would like to get this over with to be honest."


    "I am so sorry you have to bear with my poor human frailties!" I snapped, now pacing from side to side, not even caring that I could very well walk off a cliff and not know it.


    "It really is not that hard of a job." Drawled the god. "You do not have to do a damn thing if you do not want to."


    "Oh, really?" I asked sarcastically, trying not to hyper ventilate.


    "It''s pretty simple. You funnel energy into the land, the land feeds off that energy. The more energy you have the better the land fares."


    "I don''t understand."


    I could almost hear the eye roll coming from Aeros as he growled. "Of course you don''t. All souls have energy. Magic, if that is easier for you to process. It is the land gods job to collect a disperse this energy, you see. Some gods do this passively while others direct the flow in an attempt to influence their lands and even their worshipers. And it is from these worshipers that you will gain most of the energy needed. It is why prayers and offerings are needed. Well, needed if you wish to support their lives in your lands, at least."


    Feeling run down, i squatted to the ground and just tried to breath.


    "I do not see why you are having such a hard time with this." Sighed Aeros. "You, literally, need to do nothing. An odd summit here and there, but other wise, you can just sit around living a life of luxury while people waited on you hand and foot, just grateful that you exist. From what I know of humans, this would be an ideal life, would it not?"


    "So you say but that''s not how it feels." I said angrily. "and you are not exactly leaving this land in the best of shape now either!"


    "Hmmm. I suppose I can not deny that. But that is why I am leaving the job, now isn''t it?"


    "Your worshippers are on the brink of war you know?" I said harshly, glaring to where i thought Aeros might be.


    "If you are that concerned over the little foxkins, then lend them your favor." He huffed, now sounding irritated and even a little petulant. Like a putting child. "though, I would put my support behind a more impressive race of monsters than those little fur balls..."


    "I really don''t even know what to say at this point..."


    Aeros sighed. "Look," He said a little more gently than i thought him capable of at this point. "If you want to have an easy go of it, I suggest you just take a back seat and let the fates decide the comings and goings of the land. you simply existing is all that is needed here."


    "But?" I asked, feeling drained and deflated. And, oddly accepting of this fate. I was terrified, true, but not as much in denial as I felt the situation called for.


    "But, if you decide to be one of the more involved gods... well that can come with its own ups and downs."


    "How so?" I sighed.


    "Being more involved means your worshipers benefit- or not- from your decisions. Directing your influence to redirect a river may benefit one group and harm another, for instance."


    "I can redirect rivers?" I asked, voice rather high pitched.


    Aeros laughed again. "right now? No. You are just a tiny little god right now. Most new land gods at least arrive to their powers with a little magic to their names. You are a blank, powerless, slate."


    "Gee, thanks..."


    "I came to my position with a lot of power. I did not need any followers. Indeed, I pretty much ignored them all for several generations at the end of my two thousand year stint, and everything still lived and breathed. It is only in the last decade that i have let things slip... you are weak."


    "So you mentioned. Often." I replied dryly.


    "Indeed. What I mean by that is that what you can influence will be minimal and personal."


    "Personal. You mean like waking up in a strange world and being able to walk on my own two feet for the first time in twenty years?"


    "No. I suspect that that was done by which ever god thought to bring you here to take on the job of land god. What I mean is that if it means a lot to you, than you will- unconsciously- direct the energies that way. Say you are very impartial to the color red. So much so that you could not stand there to be any color greater than it. then it is quite likely that there would be red flowers growing around you, or maybe the grass will turn red. At first it would just be in your immediate area, but as your influence grows, so too will your area of effect, till your influence spreads to all corners of this land."


    "ugh, I think I''m gonna be sick..."


    "Tch." Said the god- former god?- a breeze shuffling my hair. what ever he was, he was big enough to feel like a gust of wind. "with all that being said, I do believe that my job is done and I can now leave this abysmal place."


    "Well that''s rude!" I snapped, pretty sure that he just called what amounted to my inner soul as ''abysmal''. "And, you can''t just leave! I have so many questions."


    "Not my problem. Go find another land god to harass if you like. I am out of here."


    "Wha-!" I said, incredulous. "That''s it? No ''good bye'' to your people or anything? you are just going to abandon them?"


    "If they haven''t gotten the hint in nearly two centuries than I doubt they would believe me one way or the other. And, again, not my problem any more. You want to make all the monsters feel all soft and warm, then you do it."


    With that i felt another shift of air and heard a slithering, shuffling noise. then silence. "You are a really shitty god you know!" I shouted out into the nether.


    I couldn''t be sure, but I thought I heard a chuckle echo out into the distance. Then I was left alone with my thoughts in the dark.


    this place really was quite abysmal...


    then something pulled my attention away. A light. It was feint but warm and inviting. Seeing it, I felt relief. I shuffled toward it and saw what looked like a small camp fire on a dark barren ground. That was it. no trees, no grass or rocks scattered about. Shivering and feeling quite over whelmed and alone, I sat down next to the flames, taking what comfort I could from its warm light.


    Its glow was warm and friendly. It provided a surprising amount of comfort to be honest. As I gazed into the cheery flames I felt my eye lids droop. It wasn''t so much like I felt like I was falling asleep. more like the opposite. I was pretty sure it was the feeling of me coming back to wakefulness.

 A Surprise Festival

    When next I opened my eyes, it was to feel surprisingly refreshed. I hadn''t even realized that I felt all that drained in the first place. But I awoke quickly, and not groggy in the slightest, my eyes just snapping open as if I had only blinked. For a split second I actually thought that maybe I hadn''t slept at all, till I remembered my strange dream conversation with a god and the fact that the quality of light filtering into the room seemed different.


    Then it hit me: I''m the land god...


    What the hell! There just had to be some mistake. Who in their right mind would make me in charge of anything, much less a freaking god? Maybe these ''True Gods'' Aeros spoke of were not in their right minds. Or maybe they were bored, and thought that making a woman who, till yesterday, couldn''t even control her own bowl movements, into a a god was super funny. They must have a really great sense of humor. They made me- a human- the land god to a country of monsters.


    I jumped to my feet- still a novelty to be honest- and began to pace in my little room, ringing my hands and trying not to panic. This was all too much! I never asked for this in a literal sense! Watch what you wish for!


    "Miss Enna? Are you awake?" Spoke a voice from the other side of my tent flap. I saw a set of reddish paws at the door.


    "Ah, yes, sorry."  I said awkwardly. I hurried for the door and pulled it open, stepping out into the hall.


    I had not expected to walk out into a little crowd of foxkin. But that is what happened. I was surrounded by about ten of the little fox faced people, among them being Elder Brax and his daughter Brixie. And all of them were looking up at me with open mouths, their round eyes even bigger than I remembered.


    "It is true..." Breathed an older foxkin that I did not recognize. He- She?- was about as tall as Brax but had long, grey hair that looked odd with her silver dusted, red fox fur.


    "Um, sorry, but why are you all crowded here?" I asked, alarmed. Did something happen while I was asleep?


    "It appears that my hunch was correct." Answered Brax, nodding his head while the others gathered began to whisper amongst themselves.


    "I''m afraid I have no idea what it is you are talking about?"


    "Here." Said Brixie, and she held out what appeared to be a small hand mirror in her equally small paws. Her eyes were wide and kind of awestruck. Did I have drool on my face? Because that would not surprise me at this point.


    I took the tiny object from her, and raised it up to my face. There were two things that I noticed at nearly the same time. One: My hair, reflected in the mirror, had turned a creamy white color. And two: the hands clutching the mirror were glowing faintly. Huh?


    "You are, our new land god..." Smiled Brax, and he brought his paws together at chest height then bowed slightly to me. Suddenly all the foxkin gathered were doing the same.


    "Ah! No, that''s not- Ummm." I really wasn''t sure what to say. I did know that I wasn''t too comfortable with them bowing to me, however.


    "I understand you must be confused." Said Brax kindly. "Come, let us all settle in for a chat, shall we?"


    Brax got the other foxkin in order pretty quick, and, before I knew it, there was a flurry of activity around me. Brixie took my hand in her paw and pulled me farther down the hall while Brax ordered that tea and a meal be prepared.


    Brixie led me into another room down the hall. It was about the same size as the one I had slept in but was much homier. There was a low, wooden, bed piled with furs, what looked to be a wooden dresser, two chairs, also draped with animal pelts, near a window that was letting in a gentle breeze. On the walls were yet more furs and a few bone ornaments. Against the dresser leaned a bow and quiver of arrows that Brixie scooped up, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Ozzie is always leaving his things around..." She said.


    "You and he share this room?" I asked, standing near the flap awkwardly.


    She shook her head. "We did, but he is grown now and has a room of his own. But that does not seem to stop him from leaving his things all over the place." She sighed. "Boys."


    I chuckled and watched as she pulled open a drawer at the bottom of her dresser. Brixie pulled out an ornately decorated wooden box. It was of some sort of light colored wood and had a small, golden latch. She stood and brought it over to the bed, waving me over at the same time. As I approached she unlatched the lid and lifted it, revealing some kind of iridescent copper colored fabric within.


    Brixie reached in and pulled out the silky fabric and held it up to the sun light streaming in through the window. "Its beautiful." I said as the fox lady looked at it fondly.


    "Yes." She said with a smile. "It is made from a silk only made by the moths that live deep in the mountains. Before Aeros abandoned us it was rare but obtainable. Now, with the goblins refusing any sort of trade with us, it is all but impossible to get. But once upon a time there were many of these about. This was my bonding shawl when I took Ozzie''s father to be my mate... He died in a goblin attack when Ozzie was very young."


    "I''m sorry..." I said truthfully. I never even had a boyfriend to loose, much less a husband. I could only imagine the pain that loss must have caused the strong willed woman standing before me.


    Brixie shook her head, flashing me a sad smile. "It is the way of this world. He left me a very stubborn and willful son before he passed, so I am very grateful. Now... Now I would like to give this to you."


    I was shocked. "No. you just said it was rare... and your wedding dress too! I couldn''t possibly-"


    "It is tradition for a mother to pass this on to her daughter, usually during a monumental point in her life. I have no daughter, and will have none either. It would be wasted here, in this box, collecting dust till I pass on and Ozzie sells it to another woman so that he may provide for his future young. Please, I wish you to have it." She held out the cloth and I hesitated a second before taking it. I assumed it was to be worn similar to a kimono back on earth as it looked mostly like a thin, shimmery blanket. "On a foxkin it is meant to be quite long, trialing on the ground. On you I think it will be about knee height. Better than that sheath you are wearing now at least. And much more fitting for a land god."


    I swallowed hard, not entirely comfortable with that title even if I was beginning to accept the truth of it. But, mostly what I felt right now was gratitude. I got to my knees so that I was on eye level with the foxkin and culched the fabric tightly. "Thank you." I said, and felt my eyes begin to burn.


    A kind and gentle expression crossed Brixie''s foxy face. She raised a paw and wiped a tear off my cheek. "I have only heard a little of what your life was like before coming here Lady Enna, but I can tell that you have lived a difficult one. In a moment, you will be sitting In front of a bunch of fuddery old foxkin, all of them flustered and hoping to sway you in one way or another. I understand you do not know anything about the job thrust upon you, just know that you do have allies here. I see your kind heart."


    Tears flowed freely but I did not sob like a baby as I wanted to. That was just too embarrassing. The truth was that, except when I was very small, I never received any gifts. maybe my family, and what few friends I had- mostly hospital staff- did not see the point in getting anything for a woman who could not even move. What use would I get from anything they might give me? but, it was a lonely thing, knowing that I was not thought of, even in that simplest of ways.


    "Hush now." Brixie chuckled. "I agree, you need some color in that pale complexion, but red and splotchy is not flattering on much of anyone. let us get you presentable, then we will settle in for tea, yes?"


    "Okay." I hiccoughed rather pathetically.


    Brixie expertly got me wrapped up into the light fabric, even though I had to be on my knees for most of the wrapping. I was right that it was similar to images of traditional Japanese cloths I had seen. She tied it closed around my waist with a gold spun cord that was arranged rather like a corset tie around my middle. That done, Brixie pulled my now much whiter, and much longer, bangs out of my eyes with a copper and gold ribbon, loosely tied at the back of my head.


    She stood back to examine her hard work. "Lovely." She smiled, clapping her paws together. "Now you look like a proper young lady."


    "Are you sure this is alright?" I asked, smoothing a hand over the copper cloth in admiration. Despite it being so thin it was quite warm. My breasts were covered well, but the fabric hung loosely on my shoulders, leaving them mostly bare, and the sleeves were long enough that they would cover my hands if I let them. They must have been near unmanageable on a foxkin like Brixie. The end result was quite lovely, if a little nightgown like, on me. "Isn''t this only supposed to be worn during a mating ceremony?" I almost called it a wedding again.


    "No, not only. Traditionally it is warn by a woman on her mating day, and on special days there after."


    "Then don''t you still need it?" I didn''t mention that it would be odd for me to wear it if i had never been married- er, mated.


    Brixie shook her head. "It is not uncommon for women who have lost their mates to stop wearing their shawls. They carry memories, after all. The more wealthy women- in the past at least- may buy a new one to wear."The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Thank you Brixie, I will cherish this." I said, and I meant it too. This was the most heartfelt gift I had ever been given.


    "Then I am glad." She gave me one last look over before clapping her hands together and announcing, "Alright! Time to get out there and face the music then. at least we will have some good food and tea while we listen to that group of blowhards, yes?"


    I chuckled, and accepted the Foxkin''s hand as she helped me to my feet. As we made our way back to the common room I could hear the other foxkin speaking in hurried whispers. I stepped out into the large room and saw that there was a fire burning in the pit still, and there were about a dozen foxkin seated on pillows around it. Everyone of them grew silent when I walked in and followed me with their eyes as Brixie led me to the far end of the room, where a pile of furs had been set up. Around the make shift seat were bowls of berries and apples, woven baskets of bread and, somewhere, I could smell some kind of meat cooking. Oddly, my mouth watered but I felt no hunger or thirst. In fact, I had not eaten anything since coming here. I did not even drink my tea yesterday. Did being a land God mean I no longer needed nourishment?


    "Lady Enna," Said Brax, getting to his feet from where he had been sitting to the right of the place they had set out for me. He bowed then gestured for me to take my place of honor. "Thank you for joining us. Please, sit, and enjoy the harvest with us."


    "Um, thank you..." I said nervously and Brixie led me to the furs before settling herself on the pillow to my left.


    "Not to worry." She whispered, leaning in toward me. "They won''t bite." Then she winked before sitting back comfortably and accepting a clay cup from a young Foxkin girl.


    The girl then approached me and bowed, offering me a cup as well. I took it with a quiet thank you, causing the girls eyes to widen before she flashed me a bright smile and skipped off to get more drinks for the others.


    I watched Brixie take a sip and decided that meant that I could too. It was, indeed, a tea- sweet and milky and a tad bitter too. It was defiantly palatable and, seeing as it was the first thing to touch my palate in nearly two decades, heavenly. I smiled and blew on the beverage before taking another sip.


    Brax nodded, pleased, before taking his seat and addressing his people. I noted that of the dozen or so people gathered, most seemed to be older. Maybe these were the head honchos of the community? That would make sense. I would imagine that a new land god appearing would be big news after all.


    "As you can see," He said. "My hunch was correct. Lord Aeros has moved on and Lady Enna has risen to take his place as the land god of out country."


    There was a moments silence before one of the surrounding foxkin got to her feet. She was short but not appearing to be as old as Brax. Maybe a little older than Brixie though. She had a fringe of dark hair and deep brown eyes. "But this is a human." She said, her voice softer than I would have expected. "How can a human be the land god for a country of monsters?"


    Her words were not delivered with any heat, but I could almost feel the worry and anxiety rolling off the woman. She doubted my ability to guide and nourish this nation. I could sympathize, as I doubted it too.


    "Brin... Look at her." Sighed Brax, waving a hand briefly my way. "You know as well as anyone that only the land Gods emit that glow."


    I looked down at the hands grasping my cup. They were still glowing. It was not a bright glow, and I highly doubted that I would light up a room. It was more like an ethereal glow, like a very dim glowstick. It was a little off putting, but also feint enough that if I wasn''t focusing on it I could almost forget it was even there. So glowing people were gods hu? Not that that explained the sudden hair change.


    "yes, but-"


    "She may have been born human, but Lady Enna is, without a doubt, a land god. Who are we to question why one is made a land god. Our only job is to be grateful and lend her aid with our support and prayers."


    "We are a nation of monsters Brax!" Snapped a male foxkin, jumping to his feat next to Brin. "How in the world can a human lead us-"


    "You are well aware, Orvil, that it is not Lady Enna''s duty to lead us at all." Hissed Brax at the other male. He was among the youngest gathered here, with bright red fur and gold flecked green eyes. He had a thin scar on one of his ears, and the tip of the other was missing.


    These people did realize I was right here, didn''t they? I mean, they were the ones who set up this glorified throne and prepared this feast were they not?


    "Brax is correct." Said a woman to my right. She didn''t stand, instead she sat and sipped her own tea. She was small, even for a foxkin, with blue grey eyes and very pretty russet fur. "What any of us think or even hope is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is, Lady Enna could vanish from our side right now and we could not do a thing about it. Her job, as our god, is simply to exist as a conduit between us, our energies, and the land. Her race, or even her motivation are of no concern to us."


    "Luxa, you must feel some trepidation over this?" Worried Orvil. He did sit, however.


    "I feel only gratitude." Stated the proud Luxa. "I may not be of as many years as some of us gathered here today, but what years I have lived have been dedicated to the worship of our land god. Long has Lord Aeros been deaf and blind to our plight, and he was a monster. A great dragon who lorded over us all. Yet, have you ever heard of him, even once, sitting down while we all- lowly foxkin one and all- belittled his great position." She glared around the room, paying special mind to Orvil and Brin. Did she say that Aeros was a dragon?! "I think not. Lord Aeros had no responsibility over us than what he chose, and the same now goes for Lady Enna. It is we, who have responsibility over her."


    "You expect us to baby a god?" Growled another man, but I did not catch who he was amongst the crowd.


    Luxa sighed when it looked like Brax was about to snap again. "Lady Enna is clearly new to this world, you fool. Surly it is as obvious to you, as it is to me, that she was summoned here just as many of the human heroes are. Teaching, and babying, are two very different things."


    "You knew I was not from here?" I asked, interrupting the argument and immediately feeling like I was in the spotlight.


    "Elder Brax explained to us, last night, about your appearance before young Ozzie, while you slept. He repeated the things you said, and I thought it rather obvious from that." Said Luxa gently, her hard eyes turning kind when they landed on me. "I am sure this is all very confusing, and sudden, for you Lady Enna. We monsters do not know much about the world you hail from, except that the humans best at killing our kind come from there. I ask that you forgive the ignorance of those here." She said with a small bow of her head. "The truth of the matter is that you did not inherit a land full of monsters. You inherited the land alone. It is us who should find ourselves grateful if you allow us continued use of it."


    I waved my hands in the air in desperate refusal. "Oh no! I would never kick you out of your homes!" I said, the very thought pretty repugnant. "I wouldn''t even know how. So you needn''t worry."


    "I am glad to here that Lady Enna, but the fact of the matter is that you are the land lord and we are but your tenants."


    With that announcement Luxa grew quiet, and the rest of the foxkin grew thoughtful; no doubt mulling over what their priestess said. As uncomfortable as I was with my new role, I was appreciative of her words. I did feel a little of the burden lift off of me. But knowing my own personality, I knew that I wouldn''t be able to be one of those hands off gods that Aeros mentioned.


    "My main purpose for calling this meeting, Lady Enna, was to ask for your support." Sighed Brax, glaring at the dissenting ranks amongst his people. "Luxa is correct in her thoughts. No matter what any one of us think, it will not change the fact that you are the land god. As such, I ask that we be permitted to continue living under your care. It will be to you that we direct our prayers, so that you may breathe new life into our forest."


    No pressure! but what could I do but agree? From what I''ve been told so far, that is just what a land god did. Not directing energies to the land would be like a fish not swimming.


    "mmm." I said, trying hard to not let my fear and worry show. "I''m afraid that I am quite in the dark about all of this. You have all assumed correctly that I come from another world. Till yesterday I was just the weakest of humans... I''m not even sure how I got here much less what being a land god truly entails. But, I can say that I will do my best. Even if I could go back home, I wouldn''t want to." I may not have asked for this life specifically, but I did view it as my own prayers being answered. I got to my feat, looking down on the surrounding foxkin, all of which looked up at me. "I ask that you please look after me during this time. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and hope we can continue working together from now on." I said, giving them a bow.


    There was a flurry of whispers and when I looked up the foxkin had all lowered themselves into bows of their own. Flustered, I blushed and sat back down.


    "We are honored lady Enna." Said Brax, raising his own head.


    I watched as the group slowly settled into a more comfortable discussion. The very demeanor seemed much more relaxed and tension free. they began discussing more mundane things like the year''s harvest, and where the best hunting grounds were at the moment. Pretty soon the young foxkin girl brought me a new cup of tea and I sneakily munched on a few berries. I may not get hungry any longer but it was a real treat to be able to eat all the same.


    "-Our real issue is with the goblins." Sighed Orvil, after some time, drawing my attention back to the conversation. "They are getting more and more brazen."


    "Indeed." Agreed Brax. "And now that Aeros is truly gone, they may become even more of an issue..."


    "Why do you say that?" Asked Brin, looking worried and confused. Through the conversations I had been listening to, I learned that Brin was in charge of the foxkin who went gathering in the forest, while Orvil was in charge of hunting.


    "Because the goblins are steadfast in their worship of Aeros." Stated Luxa.


    "Is that a bad thing?" I asked, the first time I had spoken in a while.


    "No, but it does pose its own issues. They were very proud of the fact that Aeros favored them over other races in the forest. It made them cruel and arrogant. I worry that they will not take Aeros'' passing very well, at all. They may even try and claim that he is still around, and that you, Lady Enna, are but an imposter."


    "Can someone pretend to be a land god?" Asked Brixie with a raised eyebrow.


    "Certainty not easily. But another land god might be able to if they wished to expand their own territory."


    "Wait, that''s a possibility?" I asked, now very nervous. I had no way to defend my claim on this land if some with ill intent decided to take it from me by force.


    "It has happened before. But I rather doubt the other gods would want to risk it. As it stands right now, the Monster Nation of Aeros is just not worth the effort. It is an over grown, poorly kept, wild land with dwindling resources and countless waring monsters running amok."


    "That does sound rather unappealing, doesn''t it?" I said rather sadly.


    "It does. With any luck, under your guidance, this land may grow to be its best self one day. But right now, it is a shambles."


    "Then the goblins would be fool if they thought that." Said Orvil.


    "Fools?" Asked Luxa cynically. "You underestimate the devout, Orvil. What you see as foolish, they will claim to be loyalty. If it means they can cling to the fact that they are the top of the food chain, I am afraid that they may never believe that Lady Enna is here to stay."


    Before anyone could respond to those ominous words, some one cleared their throat at the entrance to the hut. I, along with the others, looked up to see three foxkin standing there holding large trays piled high with what looked, and smelt, like meat. My mouth started to water, and I didn''t even bother thinking about what poor animal I was about to consume. It smelt good.


    "Sorry Elder." Said one of the servers. "But the meal is ready now."


    Brax chuckled. "Not at all. Lets put all this serious talk aside and eat! This is a celebration after all."


    Many of the others smiled and cheered. I watched as foxkin poured in, many carrying food while others just came in to say hello to their families that were present.


    "It is a rather impromptu party, lady Enna." Laughed Brixie as people got to their feet and the serious atmosphere of just a moment ago vanished, replaced by a festive one. "But I hope you enjoy it all the same."


    I laughed happily. "Yes!"

 Coming to Terms

    The next couple hours passed comfortably and without issue. I didn''t know if monsters were just so used to change and upheaval that me- a random human woman with no experience or understand- becoming their new land god needed only a few minutes of worried discussion before they all just... accepted it. Back on earth that would not have flown at all. Best case scenario I would have been run out of town I think. Instead I was surrounded by small, foxlike people, eating simple yet tasty food, and listening to them make marry.


    I suppose i could see why this would be a big moment for them. Their last land god was borderline neglectful- no matter how he insisted that it wasn''t his job to ensure peoples comfort and stability- and now they had a fresh slate to work with. And I was very much a blank page in all of this. I wasn''t stupid, I knew there was a strong chance that at least some of these people just wanted to be on the right side of a new power in their lives. After all, they just spent the last two thousand years on a god''s bad side and it did not turn out very well for them. But, stupid or not, I was in a strange world with zero support. I may hold the name of land god but as far as I could see so far it was in name only. I needed allies and the Foxkin seemed like the only viable place to find it at the moment.


    At least they were not outwardly aggressive as the goblin''s were reported to be. Mind you, I had yet to see or meet a goblin yet to judge that myself, so who really knew.


    Brixie reached over, smiling, and handed me a small cake like item. I took it from her and she winked before taking another off a passing tray and taking a big bite of it herself. I sniffed the item first and noted that it smelt sweet. Looking at the other foxkin and seeing that they all looked very excited about the pastries, I assumed that they were a rare treat for them. Not wanting to be rude while hoping at the back of my paranoid mind that the sweet was not drugged or poisoned, I took a bite. I am sure my eyes had widen in surprise and delight given Brixie''s amused laughter as she watched me chew. It was really good! Cake like with a honey filling, sticky and sweet.


    As I finished the last bite of the cake there was a tap on my elbow. I looked over and saw Brax standing at my side. "Would you care for a tour of our village, Lady Enna?" He asked over the hub-bub. there was no longer a seating arrangement and people were coming and going from the hut as they pleased. It really had become quite a festive atmosphere


    "Alright," I said. It would be nice to get a lay of the land. I was supposed to be the god of it now, after all. "Is it okay?"


    Brax laughed. "Of course! And I am sure the villagers would like to see you as well."


    I felt my heart sink a little then. Not that i was above meeting people, but because i was worried that they would be expecting things from me that I had no clue if I could even provide them, let alone weather or not I would.


    "I will come too." Offered Brixie and I felt more at ease. I didn''t know why, but I felt comfortable around the foxkin female. Maybe it was just that she felt so motherly? "You don''t have to worry at all Lady Enna. You won''t have to do anything at all."


    "Alright..." I said and Brax and Brixie lead me out into the sun.


    there was a cheer when i emerged out of the hut and I saw that there were several dozen foxkin out there, eating and drinks, and generally making merry. Many of them waved at me and several bowed and mumbled "Lady Enna'' as the two foxkin lead me past. it was an awkward but not unpleasant experience.


    Leaving the Elder''s home, the crowd began to thin and soon were were only passing another person every now and again. I saw that all the huts in town were smaller than the elders but made pretty well the same. Many had little gardens out front and washing bins. I watched as a woman with pale orange fur and three, unbearably, cute children dashed farther down the dirt road, clearly heading for the celebration.


    "I hope we did not make you feel too uncomfortable and over whelmed." Stated Brax as he guided me around a patch of loamy earth. It, honestly, wasn''t till just then that I realized that I didn''t have shoes. As someone who had no need of them for twenty years, I guess it wasn''t surprising that it hadn''t crossed my mind. What was odd was that it did not bug me at all. The foxkin did not wear shoes, but they had those sturdy little toe beans, while i had soft human feet. But i felt no discomfort at all. "our people have had little reason to celebrate and It helps to have something to take their minds off out current struggles for a time."


    "No, I don''t mind." I said calmly. "I am overwhelmed, but I am pretty sure that it has little to do with the foxkin exactly..."


    "You must have questions, yes?" Said Brixie, waving to another foxkin in the distance. "I can''t say that we will have all the answer''s you seek, but, as people from this world, I am sure we have more information about things than you do."


    "I am not really sure where to even begin." I said, watching my bare feet move through the grass. "I guess... what is it you all expect from me? I am not saying I''m not willing to help, if I can. So far you all have been more accepting of all this madness than anyone where I come from would be... But I don''t really know what being a land god even really means beyond ''being a conduit between the energies and the land''" I sighed.


    "Hmmm. How to explain?" Brixie said quietly as the pair led me toward a small stream where a small, arched bridge led from one side to the other. "What we are given to understand, is that all life has energy. Some races have different words for it like magic, or mana, essence... well, that energy is constantly built up in people and plants, sometimes even inanimate objects. That energy can be used naturally for many things."


    "Yes." Agreed Brax. "All beings use some of it for their own lives, to create more life. And some who are gifted use it to fuel powers, weather they be skills or magic. but there are vast stores of it that most people can not even access. Now, this energy will, eventually be expelled when the beings die. But it can also be given freely."


    "To each other?" I asked, thinking that those who don''t need the extra energy were probably giving it to people who use magic. I did not even bother getting panicked about that fact. I was talking to people who were walking foxes. magic was a small thing at this point.


    "No. Well, I am sure that some can do that... But what most do is offer prayers to the gods. their will and wishes take the energies to the gods and the gods naturally dispel the energy back into the land. The land uses that energy to grow the trees and clean the water, dispel the miasmas that tend to spread and any number of other things that are required for good, fertile, lands to prosper."


    "Oh." I said. I still wasn''t sure how I was supposed to do this but i could, objectively, accept the process. I suppose that is why Aeros said that I had no reason to do anything for the people here and I could just sit around if I wanted. It was all a natural process of sorts that would happen just from a god being present. I wasn''t entirely sure how this all would work with my Erath frame of knowledge that revolves around science not magic. "Is that all that a land god does?"Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Brixie and Brax shared a look before Brixie sighed. "It is all a land god needs to do."


    "But?" I prodded.


    "But it is not all a land god can do. In this, I am afraid, we are not able to explain to you the specifics. I do not know of a god that ever felt the need to explain it to us at least. But the god can direct the energies, guide them to change their lands, and their worshipers, how they see fit. Some don''t do this at all, while other gods do it a great deal."


    "And Aeros was more of a hands off type." I concluded.


    Brax nodded. "For the most part, at least. But sometimes his worshipers were given gifts, or changed. Some times this was to their benefit, other times... not so much."


    "Okay... I don''t understand. Change them how?"


    "In many different ways to be honest. but it is not something that can happen without the one being changed first giving consent." Brax added hurriedly, probably seeing the panic on my face. "Only when a person devotes their energies to a land god, can that land god then effect them, deliberately or not."


    "Still... what you are saying is that I have the potential to change peoples lives, for better or worse... And that I may not even have a conscious say in the matter." It was a terrifying thought. What if i was feeling particularly annoyed at someone one day and they just woke up with warts all over their face or something? For no reason other than i was in a slightly bad mood that day.


    "Is that not what it is to be a god?" Asked Brixie, gently, a paw on my arm in an attempt to calm me. "And is that not the risk we take, putting our hearts and souls into the care of our god?"


    I could see her logic, but it didn''t do much to ease my anxiety.


    Brixie let out a small, humorless, chuckle. "Lady Enna, I do not think it is anything you need to worry about. It will all work out how it should."


    "My daughter is correct." Agreed Brax, patting my knee. "From what little you have told us of your last life, so far it is much improved, yes?"


    "Well... yes." And that was very true. I may have a weighty responsibility thrust upon me, but I could not deny that I was in a much better way than before I arrived here. I could walk, I could eat, I could live for goodness sake.


    Brax nodded, his large ears twitching as a dogs would. "Then why not enjoy it? It is a festival after all!" He said, beaming.


    I chuckled. I don''t know if it counted as a festival, really. But it was a celebration, and one in my honor no less. It would be terribly ungrateful to be seen moping about when they went out of their way. It was clear that the foxkin were enjoying themselves, at the very least.


    "Alright." I said, letting out a sigh and just allowing myself to relax. They were right: what will happen, will happen. I had no understanding of this world, and without adequate information I could not make any plans or decisions. Today was meant to be a fun day, and I would enjoy it as I could. "How about that tour then?"


    Brixie smiled kindly and pulled me to my feet. "Good idea."


    We spent the next fifteen minutes wandering around the tiny village. It wasn''t much of a tour, so much as Brax and Brixie pointing at huts and naming the foxkin that lived there. But it was pleasant, and no doubt accomplished exactly what the two older foxkin wanted it to: to calm me down. Should a land god be so easily manipulated by her subjects? Who knew, but I was grateful all the same.


    As we approached the gated fence I was led into the day before I eyed the poor construction work. Not that I was any sort of expert mind you. I couldn''t eve say I ever held a hammer myself. But it looked rickety and easily toppled in my opinion. Its only saving grace being the many spikes and thorny vines all over it. It would put the hurt on who-ever tried to force past or over it.


    "Not our finest work." Brax said, seeing my look. "But we put it up swiftly, and foxkin are not exactly known for building things. We have always been best built for hunting."


    "Could you all not learn to build better?" I asked. "I don''t mean to sound rude or anything..." I added, pretty sure that was exactly what I was being. I guess Enna''s were not made to be tactful... That''s what I get for having no one to converse with for two decades besides the odd family visitor or a doctor now and again.


    Brixie chuckled, he pretty eyes dancing with amusement. "I bet a human could do it. Humans are lacking in many things that monsters take for granted: strength, speed, longevity, and even magical abilities to just name a few. But the one thing they have in abundance is adaptability."


    "Indeed." Laughed Brax, pulling a smoking pipe out of his baggy pants pocket, and a wad of something out of a smaller pocket in his brown vest. He put, what I assumed was tobacco, into the pipe and I watched, fascinated, as he lit the pipe with a tiny flame that appeared on his black clawed finger. He inhaled the smoke deeply, held it it, then blew it out in four perfect rings. he winked at me. "Human''s can mold and bend to just about any environment and situation. Most monsters are not as flexible. We can build, yes, but learning to do it expertly is exceedingly difficult."


    "Oh." I said, watching the rings float upward into the beautiful blue sky. "Well, I can neither hunt nor build, so you have one up on me either way."


    Brax chuckled, smoke leaking out of his muzzle and the pipe. "Well said. But you are a god, and can do much many can not. And, as we all do what we can do, we live and grow together. Its how a community works, after all."


    "Lady Enna!" I heard a familiar voice call. I dragged my eyes away from the sky and saw that It was Ozzie, waving a paw high as he could, smiling my way. He appeared to be working guard duty today and the two other foxkin standing guard eyed him in exasperation.


    I laughed and led the way toward the young foxkin, happy to see another, familiar, furry face. "Good morning Ozzie." I smiled.


    "Good morning Lady Enna." He said, and both he and the other guards bowed slightly to me. "Are you having fun?"


    I chuckled. At least he looked in much better spirits today. "Oh yes. Everyone is very friendly." I saw the exasperated look on Brixie''s face and resisted laughing again. Clearly she thought that Ozzie was not taking his current duty very seriously. "Is everything going well here?"


    "No problems what so ever." assured one of the other guardsmen. Bother were clearly much older than Ozzie and wore serious but amused expressions.


    "No signs of the goblins?" Brax asked.


    The taller of the two older guards shook his head. "No sir. We haven''t seen hide nor hair of them since Zaxel nearly ran into that raiding part nearly two weeks ago."


    "Good. But don''t get complacent." Stated Brax, staring down his pipe at his grandson who wisely avoided eye contact.


    We said our good byes before my escorts lead me back toward the elder''s hut and the party taking place there. I would say that most of the village had gathered now, the old and the young passing food around and chatting happily. I saw that someone had rolled out several barrels of something that i assumed was alcoholic in nature and the older foxkin were drinking it out of wooden mugs. Next to the barrels there were several tables set up where even more food had been placed out, the smell making my mouth water.


    "Let us get you some, shall we?" Asked an amused Brixie, seeing me stare lustfully at the food no doubt.


    "Sorry." I said, blushing. "I haven''t eaten anything since I was a kid..." She blinked in confusion so I tried to hurry and explanation. "I was sick for a long time, I couldn''t walk or move really at all. I had to be fed through a tube and... Well its kind of hard to explain."


    She smiled kindly, but I could tell she didn''t understand most of what I had been saying. No doubt these people had no concept of modern medicine. They looked to be at a developmental level where horses were the main mode of travel and home remedies were the ways of medicine. I couldn''t say weather or not the humans of this world were at the same technological level as the foxkin, but I would imagine that they were all about the same in this regard.


    "Well, feel free to have as much as you like now." She said.


    I spent the rest of the day partying like a foxkin. Which wasn''t all that exciting but it was a lot of fun. At one point Brax had to have three males and a female escorted back home when they got overly rowdy and nearly tossed the elder into the stream. I was alarmed at first, but apparently it was some kind of inside joke and the majority of the village laughed the group out of the party. They left like champions to a great deal of cheering and jeering from the others that made me smile.


    It went long into the night and I do not think I ever ate or drank as much in my life. Not that I had many experiences to pull from. I did make me wonder where all the food and beer went given I did not need to go to the washroom even once. I also found out that alcohol had zero effect on me, given I was drinking pretty well and did not feel a thing. I guess being a god had to have some kind of downside. At least I wouldn''t have to worry about a hang-over in the morning, unlike many of the foxkin.

 Goblins

    I spent the next two weeks in the company of the foxkin, acclimatizing myself to the strange new world I had found myself in. And, surprisingly enough, it turned out to be an easy adjustment for me. I expected confusion, anxiety, and even resentment for the fate i had been given, and there was a little of each of those over the days. But what I most felt was an overwhelming amount of gratitude.


    Every day I was more and more grateful for the world I had entered, the body I had been given, and most of all? I was grateful for the foxkin. God or not, these little fox face people were welcoming and patient with me. I don''t know if I would have accepted someone so green to the role of my lord and savior, or what ever. Gods should be powerful, confident, competent even. I was very much none of these things these last two weeks.


    I spent my days learning what ever the foxkin could teach me. Brax was very forthcoming with what limited knowledge he possessed about the world. I learned that There were many land gods and very few true god. The people had little or no contact with the true gods but the land gods were a little more accusable. Much as Aeros had explained, there were gods who interacted little, or none, with the people who worshiped them, while others were so involved that they were seen as both gods and rulers over their territories.


    Also, the land that I was presiding over: The Monster Nation of Aeros, was one of the few nations that were both protected by a god, and a entire nation of their own. This was mainly due to the fact that humans and demi-humans feared Aeros, and also, they did not want to deal with a country infested with monsters. So long as the monsters kept within the boarders, the other nations kept their distance. But many of the land gods actually did not have legally recognized borders according to what most races would recognize.


    Brax had taken out two rolled sheafs of treated animal skin and showed me that they were maps. Apparently they were quite old, and therefore not necessarily accurate any longer, but they gave me the visual aid I had requested. One showed the vast lands of this world. It seemed to be one super continent dominated by a vast, branching mountain range that snaked around it. he pointed out a large chunk of land that was separated out with dotted lines, indicating the border. It was near the center and a little south on the map.


    "this is the Monster Nation of Aeros." Brax had said, pipe in his mouth and a furry claw tipped finger pointing to the location. "Our borders have been this way for countless generations. Two-thousand years, since Aeros became the land god and separated us from the others."


    It was this large chunk of land that was mine to care for. A daunting task, but one I was beginning to become hopeful of accomplishing in time. "So this border is where my influence ends?" I had asked.


    "indeed." The elder had said, nodding. "It is also the border that the other nations recognize as the Nation of Aeros. However..." Brax looked mildly worried as he went on to explain that, when word got out about Aeros being gone, the other nations may try and take territories for themselves. Since Aeros'' decline, the strength of the monsters had waned, and it was only the threat of the dragon god that kept the other countries at bay.


    he went on to point out the other borders on the map, explaining- again- that this was an old reference so much may have been changed. I saw that there were about a dozen other gods that had large chunks of land, but there were also several smaller territories circled there. Some as small as a single forest or mountain. Brax explained that those, smaller territories, were often held by the oldest of land gods who either had faded to obscurity, or never relied heavily on the support of worshipers.


    "I thought land gods needed the prayers of the people..." I said, mulling it all over.


    "Most do. But the older gods usually have enough power to keep up small territories and cede the larger part of their lands to other gods. A young one like you who- er..."


    "Was a human?" I asked, trying not to laugh at his awkwardness.


    "Well, yes. They need more energy to keep up the lands. From what we are given to understand, the larger the territory, the greater the energy needed. And, depending on the level of involvement of the god, the more energies needed."


    "I suppose that makes sense..."


    Brax''s second map was one out lining what the recognized borders were for the continent. Immediately I saw that the lines were very different to the first map I had seen. In places were there had been one territory, there were several kingdoms parsed out. While other kingdoms seemed to encompass parts of multiple gods territories. I was not sure my brain would ever be able to keep it all straight.


    Luckily it wasn''t just Brax''s geographical lesson that kept me occupied through out the days. I also spent some time with the other villagers, learning the simple things in life. The foxkin looked at me oddly when I asked to be taught how they did simple household chores like laundry and cooking. I appreciated that they were all more than willing to take care of my needs, I felt bad relying on them completely. I wished to be of some help.


    "But you''re a land god!" Ozzie had laughed when I asked if I could go out with him and the others to learn about hunting and explained my wish. "Isn''t your very existence helpful?"


    All the same, Orvil and Brin- though originally hesitant about me- gave their blessing for me to join in with some of the hunting and gathering expeditions. Given how simple and non-intensive they ended up being, I expected that they were just for my amusement. Still, I liked to think I at least learned something, even if it just was what berries in the forest were edible and how to set a rabbit snare.


    It was on one of these ''hunting'' forays that I saw my first goblin. Several of them, in fact. I was in a small group of four foxkin, all of whom claimed that they were going to take me fishing. I was looking forward to it, and even the assertions that foxkin were hardly experts did little to dampen my spirits. I followed the group, led by a middle aged foxkin named Brillum. He was tall for one of the fox like race with dark reddish fur and even darker hands and feet. He had a sense of humor that I appreciated seeing as how most of the foxkin seemed more studious in their everyday workings, even if they could party when the occasion called for it.


    Ozzie was also part of this little expedition as it seemed that he was actually Brillum''s junior amongst the hunters and it was the older foxkin''s job to teach him the ways of their kind. With us were two other young Foxkin, but not as young as Ozzie. They were seasoned hunters and appeared to be treating this trip as a fun day off.


    I couldn''t blame them though, as it was a stunning day. The sky was a bright blue with hardly a cloud and there was a slight cool breeze blowing that took the edge off the late summer heat. We were traveling farther than I had been from the foxkin village today, and going to  a large lake. Ozzie swore up and down that it was one of the prettiest places in the forest, and the single best place to get fish.


    "Like every other resource in the forest, the fish are not as plentiful as they once were." Explained Brillum as he lead us through a path that amounted more to a game trail than anything. "Even as recent as when my father was young, the fish were better."


    "But with you here," Smiled Ozzie as he hopped over a bolder. "I bet the fish will come back! the deer too."


    I smiled softly, but I didn''t really know what to say. As far as I could tell there was not really a noticeable difference in the current state of the forest. Not that I had intentionally done anything to improve circumstances. I had no clue how.


    One thing I did realize, however, was that the small campfire of my dreams, where I met Aeros, seemed to be growing. Not that I visited it often, seeing as how I no longer required sleep, but the three times I had, I did notice differences to that barren place.


    Most obvious was the merry little fire. I had been like a small campfire, but now it was more like a small bonfire. Kind of like a fire that would be lit for a good sized group of kids to roast marshmallows over. And, around the fire, the desolate ground was more like a soil with short little grass growing from it. Other wise, it was still a dark and empty place, but it didn''t feel quite as lonely any longer.


    "Here," Announced Ozzie, excitedly, ringing a chuckle from the older foxkin. "This is one of the streams that feed the lake."


    I looked past the foxkin and sure enough there was a small, burbling stream cutting through our game trail and then snaking off in the same general direction we had been going. It looked about knee deep but some previous foxkin had felled a couple logs and place them across the water, sparing us the hassle of wet feet. We trekked over the logs and then Brillum aided me over another fallen tree, we were suddenly there.


    My breath caught because it really was the most beautiful view I had ever seen. The forest grew thick around the sparkling blue lake. It was a large body of water but I could make out the distant bank where the forest rolled into hills, likely stretching to the large mountain range i could make out in the far distance. I could make out a few rocky peached, including where our little stream touched the lake.


    I stepped farther ahead of my fishing companions/ guards and craned my neck, trying to see around the oaks that surrounded us, trying to see where the loud burbling I could hear was coming from. Ozzie laughed, tugged my hand, and led the way farther around the river bank, abandoning the path. the others followed closely, all smiles.


    "Right here." Ozzie said with a laugh in his voice. He tugged me around a tree that had rather darker bark than any tree I had seen on earth-not that I had seen many in person- and I stumbled forward onto another small stony beach.


    I laughed in delight at the small waterfall that met my eyes, connected to a small river that was running happily into the lake. The fall was no more than the height of two grown me and maybe fifty feet across with large boulders under and round it. The trees that hang over the river both above and below the waterfall were of the same dark bark and I realized that amongst the olive green leaves were scattered purple blossoms.


    "Its so beautiful!" I breathed, actually nearly moved to tears. "I love it!"


    "If that is the case, then maybe we should build your temple here." Laughed Xaxel, a very tall foxkin with fur that was more brown than red and the fur on his paws was black. He dropped the pack he had been carrying on the ground and began untying the fishing poles that were tied to the side of it. "It would make a very scenic location."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Temple?" I asked, a little alarmed.


    "Every god has at least one Milady." Said Brillum kindly, taking the poles from Xaxel as the younger foxkin freed them. "Some have many. Aeros has one very large one on top of the largest mountain in the forest, close to where most of the goblins live. No one was ever aloud to go there."


    "But, what about that little statue I saw you at when I arrived." I asked Ozzie, still very uncomfortable with the thought of people preying to me, much lest coming to a temple.


    Ozzie laughed, sitting on a large boulder, legs crossed. "That was just a shrine. We journey to them to leave offerings and offer prayers. Temple''s are usually much larger from the stories I have heard."


    Brillum nodded. "Shrines act as a kind of direct line to the gods.  I have always been told that if you made a journey to one to offer your prayers it is more likely that Aeros will hear your please."


    "Which is why I went." Nodded Ozzie be fore a bright smile broke over his face again. "And found you! Ha! Maybe Aeros listened to a foxkin for once after all."


    Zoran growled low and shot the younger male a dirty look. "Mind your tongue boy. Aeros may have left but he was still your god, and you would do well to show a little respect." Zoran was of average height with deep set eyes and fangs a little longer than most foxkin. Long enough that I could see them even with his muzzle shut. He had been mostly quiet yet pleasant this journey, but now I wondered if he was on of the foxkin that wished that I had not come here and that Aeros- despite being quite absentee- was still their land god. "He may have not favored us foxkin, but he did keep these lands alive for two thousand years. With out him we would have died off ages ago."


    "Sorry..." Said Ozzie, looking chastised, his ears drooping a little.


    Zoran sighed, Setting those eyes on me. "Sorry Lady Enna. I did not mean to imply that we are not grateful for your reign..."


    "Mmmn." I said shaking my head. "No, its fine. You are right after all. I am also grateful to Aeros, even if he is a little self centered. Maybe its a dragon thing..." I shrugged. "I can say that I did not like that he pretty well ignored your people, just because they were physically weaker than the goblins, or what ever other race he liked better."


    "It is simply the way of us monsters Miss." Said Brillum as he and Xaxel settled on the pebbly beach, fixing the lines on the rods. Apparently we were just gonna fish right here. I didn''t mind, as I t was a very lovely spot. "Monsters live by the Law of the Beast after all, we follow the strong and the week must fend for themselves of exist on the generosity of their betters."


    I thought that over for a second. I can''t say I full agreed with that mindset, even if I could understand the thought process behind it. But me distaste of it may be colored by my time as a human, where, mostly, the strong defend the weak.


    "Not sure where that leaves me..." I admitted, feeling a little melancholy now. The foxkin may be seen as week for monsters, but what the heck did that make me. The title ''land god'' sounded powerful and all- and maybe for most it was a thing of power- but for me? not so much.


    Not that I was complaining, perse. I could freaking walk, eat and drink for myself and to me that was its own kind of super power. But other that the gaining of control over my own bodily functions and the nifty hair color change there wasn''t too much in the way of difference that I had noticed. I didn''t need to eat or sleep, but I could if I wanted to, i guess that was something... but as for magical powers or inhuman strength... not so much.


    "You need not worry, Lady Enna." Brillum said, a paw on my shoulder soft and warm. "You are so very young, and I am sure that you will come into your power with time."


    I sighed. "I''m not so sure of that. I mean, so long as I can do the job that I have been brought here to do, than I will be satisfied. But, as a human, I don''t hold out much hope of being strong in any real sense of the word. How can I be a good land god to a bunch of monsters if even the tiniest of them could take me out..."


    "Here," Said Ozzie, handing me a strung fishing rod, a worm already wriggling on the end of a rather warn metal hook. "Take that and lets get some fish. Worrying about it won''t do you any good. Besides," He added, jumping to his feet and sloshing out to knee depth into the lake. "It just means that we foxkin have to work better at powering you up!"


    The other foxkin chuckled and set about getting the rest of the rods ready while I followed Ozzie out into the water. It came only to the middle of my calves but I didn''t want to get the copper robe Brixie had given me wet anyways.


    I understood what the young foxkin was saying, it had been explained to be before after all. The fact that much of my power- since I had none of my own- would come from the prayers and energies of those who worshiped me- as uncomfortable with being worshiped as I was- and sent that power my way. The fact was that, despite Aeros telling me I could just be a hermit in the woods, as a human land god, I would need the faith of others to make any real difference. Especially in a land as massive as the Monster Nation.


    Brax had told me that, if I felt I had to, I could just let some of the other gods slowly take over Aeros'' former lands. It was a viable option in theory, and the foxkin didn''t seem to mind it at all. But I just could not do that. The foxkin may be the race taking care of me right now, but they were, by no means, the only race of intelligent monsters in the forest. If I let my grip over these lands slacken then it was likely that humans and the like would begin to encroach onto the territories. Most of the monster races would suffer greatly if the humans decided they needed to be wiped out ''for the good of man kind''.


    I just could not bring myself to let that happen. Not if there was the slight chance to prevent it at least.


    If I had been asked a few months ago weather or not I would sympathize with monsters, I am sure my answer would be much different than what I felt now.


    We enjoyed a whole half hour of fishing on the lake. A half an hour of calm and happy fun, even if not  a one of us caught a damn thing yet. I laughed a lot, Ozzie tripped on a slimy rock- probably why there were no fish to catch- and I saw what looked to be a huge bird flying towards the mountains that Brillum said was most-likely a Rook.


    But then the air around me shifted. The boys grew stiff, eyes darting to all sides, and Zoran stuck his rod between two boulders before drawing a hunting knife from his belt.


    "What is it?" I asked in an urgent whisper. Ozzie placed a paw on my shoulder and guided me out of the lake behind Xaxel. Both looked strained and worried.


    Brillum shook his head, indicating it was best to keep quiet, and I took the hint. He took Ozzie and my rods, stuffing them between the same boulders that Zoran had, before ushering us into the tree line.


    It was as Ozzie gently pushed me behind a boulder that I heard a branch snap fairly close, followed by a strange snuffling noise that I would have associated with the grunting of a pig. I squeezed in close to Xaxel''s side with Ozzie while Brillum and Zoran shuffled in next to us, both with blades now. They all looked frightened but determined.


    I raised a hand to my mouth when I nearly gasped in fright as a loud thump echoed on the other side of our hiding place followed by the sound of several large animals lapping up water. I looked fearfully to Ozzie. I was pretty impressed with my lip reading skills when I realized that I could understand the foxkin''s mouthed ''goblins'' with his doggy muzzle. I am pretty sure I went pale.


    I had asked Brax about the race the foxkin were currently strained with at one point. i was told that they were a bit taller than the foxkin, furless besides the hair that some of them grew out of the tops of their knobby heads. they hard large ears and eyes, better to hear and see in the darkness of their cave like dwellings. Brax described them as hunched and looking rather brittle but processing an unnatural strength. their skin was thick like hide and usually in shades of green or grey, some had knobby horns and all has four long, nimbly fingers with blunted, but thick nails they used for digging.


    He described than as being vicious and cruel but I was not sure how much of that was true or just the twisted perception of a person who grew up knowing that they were the enemy. Don''t get me wrong, i had no doubt that , if found, I would be in big trouble. But did that mean that the whole race was as bad as the foxkin made them out? I rather doubted it. Maybe, one day, peace could be made between the two races and they could all work together to make this forest a better place.


    Was this a juvenile and optimistic, idealized view of a world more likely geared to cruelties than the one I had left? Probably. But, surely, as a god, I was aloud to have some idealized views to work towards, right?


    "Its getting late." I heard a strange voice grumble and i flinched.


    "I ain''t blind yeh know?" snapped another, followed by more of the pig like noises.


    The first voice snarled. "I never said you were!" he grunted then sighed. "How long is the king going to keep us out here..."


    The other goblin snorted and I heard the pebbles of the beach shift under his feet. "Till we is done, I should say. Not like there is much in the point O'' goin back anyways is there?"


    "For you, maybe." Huffed the first speaker. "But I got three mouths to feed at home, don''t I?"


    The more accented goblin cackled. "Well, that''s what yous gets for settling done then id''n it?"


    "Shut it Rollen."


    The ma cackled again and i did my best not to move. Apparently goblin''s did not have the best of sight and smell, but they had excellent hearing, and at this distance any peep from me would give us away in an instant.


    "I think ol'' Ravia smells somthin'' here." Grunted goblin two causing my blood to run cold.


    "Tch." Huffed the first one. "Well its probably just some of them little foxkins then isn''t it? we''re pretty close to their village here after all."


    "Should we track ''em down?"


    "Why? They''ll be all dead and gone soon enough if the king has his way, now won''t they? Let the poor little whelps enjoy what time they have left."


    The second goblin snorted in apparent amusement. "Tha'' attitude is why Midden got the premotion over you, you know?"


    "Like I care. So long as I make it home again then that''s fine by me."


    "And you call your self a goblin." he sighed, exasperated. "Aeros favors us for a reason you know? You think he''ll bless you for let''n a bunch of bush tails off light do you?"


    "Oh? And when was the last time you ever saw someone blessed by Aeros then, hu?" Snapped the first goblin. I heard him take a few step on the beach rocks, the grunt of one of their strange animals, then the sounds of rummaging. There was the sound of a cork popping followed by someone chugging liquid.


    "King has been bless." The accented goblin said, sounding affronted.


    "Eye, he was... over two hundred years ago. Have you heard anyone being done since."


    There was a second of silence before the now more sullen sounding man said. "No..." He made an irritated grunting noise while my thighs shook from squatting for so long. I wish I had gotten into a more comfortable sitting position before it had been too late. "You ain''t thinking that Aeros is gone then are you? Like them rumors that have been going around..."


    I could almost hear the unnamed goblin shrug. What I did hear though, was the sound of water being filled into what I assumed was a canteen or water bottle of sorts. "Its not like we can deny that the forest is not what it once was... my father used to say that the underground lake was filled with fish and those cave lizards. When was the last time you ate a cave lizard?"


    "A long time..." Admitted Rollen. "But its not like the place has turned to dust though, right? He most still be watching over us!"


    "Makes no difference in the end though does it? There isn''t enough food to go around anymore. That''s why his majesty has us out on this job after all."


    "Well, thas'' the truth of it."


    "Come on, we need to report back to the princes. We will let them know that Ravia smelt the foxes too."


    "Yes, the more we know about their movements, the better our job will be, yeh."


    "Yeah. I hope the fuzz balls give in with out too much of a fight..."


    Rollen cackled once again and I heard a set of larger bodies moving around on the rocks. "I bet that lady will be really proud of her husband, bein'' afraid o'' some foxes!"


    "I''m sure she will just be happy to have me home at all to be honest."


    there was a series of more grunting and snuffling and the shifting of wet pebbles underfoot. then a few grunts and the sound of leather being pulled tight before I heard a couple ''hiya!''s followed by two or more large creatures running off along the beach, opposite the water fall we were crouched near.


    After a second Brillum let out a relived sigh and Ozie''s paw on my shoulder slipped off. I looked at the younger fox and he appeared frightened, eyes wide and his paws shaking slightly.


    "Good thig we decided to be near this water fall." Grunted the older foxkin, reaching down to aid me to my feet, my knees protesting to the change in position while my thighs and calves celebrated. "Without it blocking out the sound of our breathing and heart beats we may have been in big trouble."


    "What were they doing here." Asked Ozzie, his voice a little higher pitched. "they never come this close to the village, right?"


    "This far south? No." Said Brillum, rubbing the back of his neck. "Its troubling... maybe if they had been to the east of town, but to be here they would have had to follow the river south."


    "Almost like they are looking to circle around the village..." Said Xaxel, reaching between two boulders to get our rods.


    That did sound bad. Not to mention what the goblins said about the foxkin''s time being short. Brillum wasted no time gathering us all up and making our way back to the village. The mood was much less fun during the return trip.

 A Gift For a God

    Enna sat in on the meeting that followed once she and her companions returned to the village. Brax, Orvil, Brin, Brixie, and several others were in attendance, but from the fishing party, just Brillum and I took part. And I was only there because I didn''t think anyone would refuse the request of a land god.


    "To think the goblins would be as far south as the lake." pondered Luxa, her grey eyes filled with worry. "I am sorry that you were put into such a dangerous situation Lady Enna."


    I shook my head sadly. there was no way that the others could have predicted that we would be in danger there. "You don''t have to apologize Luxa. I came to no harm and it was my own request that had us out there. I''m just glad none of us were hurt. I would have felt responsible had Ozzie or the others been hurt."


    "The encounter itself aside," Said Brillum, all serious now as we all sat around the central fire of Brax''s home. "I am more distressed over what the goblin''s were saying."


    "Yes." Agreed Brax, glaring into the low embers of the fire. "From what you have reported, it sounds like they have made plans for our little village..."


    "there is no way that we will be able to defend ourselves from a full assault of the goblins Brax." Frowned Brin, a deep frown on her pretty face. "We are hardly a match against a small raiding party, much less a full on invasion."


    A grim silence filled the room, the only sound the crackling of the embers and the wind picking up strength out side. I feared that she was morbidly correct in this. Their only defence was the rickety fence that had been hastily erected and a meager gift with tiny little flickers of flames. From the descriptions I had heard of the goblins, they could easily carry five foxkin a piece without breaking a sweat, had stamina for days, and could even attack in the night where their large eyes afforded them better vision than the foxkin in the dark. It seem horrifyingly hopeless, even in my own head.


    "Starting tomorrow, Lady Enna, I have to ask you to please stay within the village." Sighed Brax. "I know I have no authority over you, and this is in no way an order, but for your safety, I really must ask it of you."


    I admit that it rankled for about two seconds, being told where I could and could not go... but then my working brain kicked in and I knew that it was sound advise. besides, what would I accomplish heading out there at this point? the answer: not a thing. the truth of the matter was that, even as weak as the foxkin were, even they could easily take me out.


    "I understand." I said, nodding.


    "Good." Brax turned to Orvil who sat next to Brin and looked sturdy and ready for action, I had to admit. "Starting tomorrow, the hunters will have to make more treks out for surveillance. Even locate where these goblins claimed they had to report back to."


    "I don''t like the sound of it either." Agreed the hunter. "We need to see what it is we are up against here. Even get more men to guard the wall as well."


    "i will see to that." Said Brax. "Brixie, I want you to review the evacuation procedures with the at risk members of the village as well."


    "Yes father, I will see to it first thing." Said Brixie. If I could see her skin, I think it would be pale. She did not look well, at least. And I didn''t blame her, I didn''t feel too well either over all this.


    The meeting didn''t go much longer and was mostly just filled with the logistics of tomorrows events. but by the time it was all said and done it was well into the night. I wasted no time heading to my room and settling into my fur mattress. I didn''t need the sleep, but I felt like, after the day I had, I could do with the rest at least. besides, the little fire of my inner thoughts when I ''slept'' was comforting and I could do with a little comforting right now.


    My mental sanctuary looked about the same as the last time I visited: a good sized bonfire, on a baren dirt landscape. the area of visibility seemed to expand with each visit but it wasn''t like there was much to see. I once tried to wander into the darkness, even though the thought of doing so was a little nerve wracking. But, all that happened was that i walked back into the lit area, but on the opposite side of the fire.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    But as I approached the merry little flame I saw that there was a slight difference this time. A few feet from the flame was a wooden log, the bark long gone, laying on its side. A little seat for me to take. I smiled, pleased a the new addition. I knew that this place some how correlated to me being a land god. It clearly wasn''t just a dream in any case. And the fact that it was a little brighter each time I came, I believe, meant that I was receiving more energies from the foxkin, perhaps fueled by their prays and well wishes. As grateful as I was for it, the meager nature of this scene illustrated just how little power I had at the moment. Brillum and Ozzie may be right, and with time I may grow stronger, but that would not help me in the now.


    I was about to sit on my new little chair when something else caught my eye. It was just on the very edge of the fire light, and I may have even missed it if it hadn''t been such a stark contrast to everything I had begun to grow accustom to in these last weeks. I walked over to the item and just stared down at it, rather lost for words to be honest.


    No word of a lie, it was a freaking amazon package... brown box, black tape, and cheeky smile. I tilted my head to one side and just blinked at it stupidly. what the heck. nervous and more than a little confused, I reached down and cautiously lifted the package. It was small. Maybe the size of a box that would hold a coffee mug?


    "Hmm." I said to myself, seeing as there was no one else here. unless Aeros didn''t really leave and was just out in the black either spying on me and sending me amazon packages...


    I walked back to my bonfire, package in hand and sat on my new log bench. It was about as comfy as one would expect a log to be, but still better than the bare ground. There was no label on the box but I did find a white envelope stuck to the bottom. I unstuck it, placed the box next to me and proceeded to open the letter. inside was a small, typed message:


    I thought I would leave you this, small human woman. I have no need of it where I am going and it amuses me to think what you may use it for. No doubt it will be used to aid those puny foxes, but it is all your job to worry about now.


    It was not signed but I felt that it actually was from Aeros. a little freaked, I scanned the darkness, suddenly feeling like he was out there even though the letter says that this was left when he passed on. And since when did dragon know how to send amazon packages?


    I shook my head, exasperated at my own panic induced foolishness. Clearly this realm was fueled by my own mind. Aeros had left me something and my mind projected that in the form of an amazon package. that was all there was to it. But it did amuse me for a good minute, imagining a giant lizard with wings, sitting at a computer and scrolling through amazon.


    Still smiling, I picked up the box and examined it again. I was a little hesitant to trust anything given to me by the selfish Aeros but... I shook the box a few times, heard nothing, and decided to risk it. I, with some difficulty, peeled off the tape and opened the box. It appeared to be empty, nothing but brown cardboard inside.


    But that was when I felt a rush, like a gust of wind, followed by a tingling all over my body that made me gasp and drop the box to the dirt. I leapt to my feet and shook my hands, trying to get rid of the tingles. then my quaint little bonfire roared to life. In fact, that was putting it mildly, as the flame grew so large that I nearly tripped over my log in an attempt to escape it. Stunned, I stared up at the roaring fire that now blazed up well above my head.


    I knew immediately that it was energy. the spiritual power that fueled the efforts of land gods everywhere. I could only assume that it was what was left of Aeros''s stored power before he took off for the great beyond. I looked at the flames, stunned and a little at a loss as to what to do. But one thing that did cross my mind was that there was no way I could sustain this power myself. Like a glass sitting under a tap, being filled with water, the excess energy was dissipating.


    Panicking, I did the only thing I could think of and that was to picture my people, the foxkin, and my deepest wishes for their continued existence. perhaps it was instinct, I do not know, but I did feel a shift in the energy them. Like the power was no longer just evaporating, but being directed some place. but it seemed to require a lot of concentration on my part. I had to keep the unfamiliar energy directed where I needed it and not waver.


    Eyes squeezed tight in concentration, I sat on the ground and just focused. I could not see it, but over time, the fire began to deflate. but that was not all that happened. While I sat, eyes tightly closed, grass began to grow around me and my merry little flame, and the boundary expanded, revealing several trees, their back almost black, and amongst the green leave sprouted delicate purple blossoms. Around the bonfire- which seemed to hold at a bigger size now- was a brick fire stop, keeping the dancing flames away from the brand new grass.


    But I would not see all this for a while, as my mind was wholly focused on directing that power into something useful, determined that it would not go to waste.

 Evolution

    Normally waking up from my special little head space was a deliberate act. And, also, it was a very sudden thing. my eyes would snap open and i would just be alert and ready to go. When I next awoke that was not the case. First of all I had no memory of deciding to wake. As far as I knew I had been super focused on distribution of the magical energy and now I was coming to consciousness. It was a testament to how accustom I was becoming with my new existence as a super natural land god, that waking up as a human would seemed strange to me. Another odd fact was that, as she came to consciousness, she felt groggy.


    I must have slept in too as it was hot as if it were midday and I could hear the flies and the cicadas buzzing and chirping outside. Grunting slightly, I sat up, rubbing my eyes and moving my long white hair out of my face. Apparently playing with magic really takes it out of a girl.


    I managed to drag my self out of my room only to nearly run into some one right off the bat.


    "Lady Enna!" Exclaimed a slightly familiar voice as I stumbled back. "You woke up!"


    Stared in a mix of confusion and amazement as I found myself eye to eye with none other than Ozzie. One may think that this should not be seen as odd, this was his home after all, but that did not change the fact that the tips of his fuzzy ears were at shoulder height the last time I saw the kid, just before the meeting the night before.


    "Wha-" I asked, rubbing my eyes and thinking I may still be half asleep. But when I lowered my hands he was still tall. Not just tall, however, but... different. He was leaner, his cloths clearly no longer fit, and his fur was sleeker. As he placed a hand on my arm to steady me I also saw that his paws now more closely resembled hands.


    "Thank goodness." beathed another voice, and I turned to see Brixie. She too had changed, also growing taller so that she was now about my height. Her paws, now hands, were raised to her muzzle in relief and she now had longer, red hair that matched her fur cascading over her shoulders. also, she had breasts. It sounded odd to even think about much less say but until that moment it hadn''t even occurred to me that all the foxkin females I had seen till now had been rather flat chested. Now Brixie had rather obvious c-cups that i awkwardly tried not to stare at beneath her now too small cloths.


    "Brixie?" I asked, so very confused and more than a little alarmed.


    "Yes Lady Enna." She said with a smile and a slight laugh, her tail twitching in amusement.


    "I don''t understand..."


    Brixie smiled kindly and motioned for Ozzie to walk on ahead of us as she looped her furry arms around one of my thin pale ones, leading me down the hall toward the common room. Lets go see father and we will try to explain as best we can."


    "But, are you both alright?" I asked, rather afraid for them.


    "Oh yes, better than I would say."


    Still confused and disorientated, Brixie led me out to see Brax. He was standing in the open door way of the hut, smoking his pipe as he usually did. But that was about all that was usual. He, too, was now taller but rather stooped with his age still. the fur of his face seemed to form a type of fox fur goatee, and a rather impressive set of bushy eyebrows. but when he saw me he smiled and came our way.


    "Lady Enna. It is good to see you awake. You may not be aware but  you have been asleep for nearly four days now."


    "What?" I gasped. It was true that i rather lost track of time, but I never would have guessed that I had been out for so long.


    "oh yes. We were quite worried when we couldn''t wake you. But then, over the course of the day, members of the village began to report strange sensations, and even dizzy spells and the like."


    "Is- is everyone all right?"


    "No one was harmed my lady. When we woke up the next day it was to find that we had evolved! I can only assume that it is thanks to you that we were gifted in such away."


    "You mean, I did this? I changed you... without even asking?" I was pretty sure that I had gone pale then and Brax had Ozzie lead me to a pillow near the dampened fire pit, where they lowered me down, all three of them sitting around me.


    Had I done this to the whole village? What right did I have, changing peoples bodies? My god, they couldn''t even fit into their cloths, and I already knew that they had a shortage of things to wear. and, what if they didn''t want to be changed? Sure, I had hoped that the energies that Aeros had left for me could be put to use but I never intended to alter the very core of these people. I mean, Anyone taller than Brixie or I would have to duck just to get into doors now if that was the case!


    Brixie and Brax chuckled while Ozzie just smiled. "No need to fret Enna." Said Brax, his pipe resting on his lap. "It is very natural for monsters to evolve when enough energy is applied. Some monsters naturally evolve all on their own with enough time and dedication."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "Won''t some people be upset?"


    "No way!" Exclaimed Ozzie. "We are nothing but grateful Lady Enna! It is a real blessing."


    Brixie gave her son a withering look for his over excitement, but turned kind eyes my way. "Many people pray for years to receive such a gift Lady Enna. I am not completely sure how it works for humans, but us monsters can ask for no greater gift than that of evolution."


    "Absolutly." Agreed Brax strongly. "When Aeros first made this nation many of the intelligent monsters who flocked here were gifted with evolution. We were not an exception in that fact."


    "Really?" I asked. "You mean you all didn''t always look like the way you were?"


    Brax shook his head. "All alive today had the forms you were accustom to. But, two thousand years ago, when our ancestors settled here under Aeros'' rule, they had a very different shape. Back then out tribe were known as the Fennik. We were small, walked on four feet. Indeed, we were even smaller than natural foxes, probably no bigger than a cat. We were hopelessly weak and vulnerable to predators, our only advantage being out intelligence. Aeros gave us a little power and we evolved into the foxkin that you know now. Or what we were, at least."


    Okay, I could work with that. I was nothing if not adaptable at this point. So, monster evolution? Accepted.


    "Okay, then what are you now? Besides taller?" I asked, still trying to arrange my thoughts.


    "We are what is known as foxies now." Said Brixie. "It is one of three different evolutionary forms a foxkin can take."


    "Some of the villagers have evolved into foxmen." Said Ozzie, appearing to want to be helpful. "Luckily none have turned into ferrox though."


    "Foxmen and ferrox?" I wasn''t sure I could keep all this straight.


    "Foxmen are fairly similar to us foxie, but with a more human appearance in that they loose most of their fur and instead of muzzles they have noses as you do lady Enna." explained Brax. "As for the ferrox, well they are a sort of return to our more wild sides I suppose you could say. Very powerful but they loose much of their civility in the exchange."


    Okay, well at least I didn''t turn any villagers into mindless beasts. Still, I didn''t feel overly comfortable with just changing the bodies of hundreds of people without giving them a say in the matter.


    "You need not worry Lady Enna. This has been a blessing to us all. Especially in these troubled times! With our goblin troubles, this could not have come at a better time."


    The foxkin, now turned foxie, then explained all that had happened during my four day nap. Orvil''s scouts had reported back that there was a large force of at least two hundred goblins amassed to the south east of the village. they were lead by none other than the goblin king''s sons and seemed to be determined to wipe out the foxie/ foxmen (They really needed to name this village as it was getting complicated to reference in my own head now...) village and claim the surrounding resources for the goblins alone.


    Now that the foxkin had evolved many had gained useful skills in the forms of stealth and even greater fox fire control. With the new skills in sneaking, the scouts manages to glean a good bit of info from the camping goblins. they learned that the king himself was going to arrive for the main invasion. this seemed to truly scare the villagers as the goblin king was famous for his power and his cruelty.


    over the last few days Orvil and other lead members of the community had been leading the strongest of the villagers in trying to master their new skills and strengths in preparation for the coming invasion. Luxa (Now a foxie) and Brin (Now turned into a foxmen) were made supervisors over constructing a better wall. Evolving didn''t make the villagers better carpenters, but they were stronger and taller now so they were making any effort to improve their chances.


    Brax, as one of the most gifted fox fire users in the village, had been working on teaching the others better control over the special fire used by those in the fennik tribes. It was not usually a particularly powerful flame, but it was unique in that it only burned what the caster wanted it to burn, leaving everything else untouched.


    "... Are you sure no one is upset about this?" I asked, still uncomfortable, even as I was relived that the foxkin- er, foxie- now had at least a little means to protect themselves.


    "I have heard nothing but words of gratitude milady. Gratitude and concern over your continued sleep that is." Said Brax, lifting his pipe and lighting it with a finger once again. "If we were not in such a dire circumstance I have no doubt that the entire village would be hollering at me to throw another party in your honor miss Enna."


    Yeah, really not the time for any of that, that was for sure. I requested if Brax could take me out to see the people and to see what preparations were being made to deal with the goblins. Once I agreed to not leave the town, Brax was very willing to take me around town.


    To say it was a bit of a shock to see everyone that I had just begun to be familiar with, now looking- in a few cases- drastically different would be and understatement. Some, like Luxa who we ran into down by the main entrance of the village, did not look too different at all besides the height change, longer hair, and the shape change of the hands. But others, like Brin. looked massively different.


    Brin was supervising some wall upgrades around the far side of the village, her commanding voice not hard to miss. We came upon her and I didn''t even realize who she was at first till i saw the deep brown eyes looking my way. Unlike Brax, Brin had become a foxman and now looked very human. A very bright and vibrant, beauty of a human woman too. Like Brixie, she was voluptuous- though she was even more so- and she now had a crazy mane of gorgeous black curls. On her petite frame she just looked like the most beautiful doll with black fox ears, and a thick orange tail.


    "All is going quite well here." She said after the initial introductions and the, now, expected spiel of thanks from the villager. She tossed her dark curls over a shoulder and looked quite proud of herself. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brixie roll her eyes and nearly laughed. Clearly Brin was very much enjoying her new form at least.


    It seemed that the vast majority of the villagers had evolved into the foxie race over the foxmen one in the end. But they all seemed pleased with the development, as Brax had told me. It took a good deal of guilt off my conscience to see them happy in their new forms.


    Over the next three days I did all I could, while staying this side of the wall, to help the foxie with their preparations. I even asked that Orvil please teach me how to use a bow. My progress was slow and my aim not great, but at least by the end of the three days I could hit a target at least a third of the time. I don''t know if I would be any help but I would do my best to defend these people from harm if I could.

 The Invasion Begins

    The sun had just gone down on the third day after I awoke after evolving the foxie, when the alarm was first sounded. Brixie and I had been helping Brax into his house- the older male had thrown out his back trying to teach a few young ones the ''proper way'' to dig holes for fence posts. but all three of us stopped in our tracks when we heard several shouts of alarm echoing up from the main gate.


    "Enna, please stay here with my father." Breathed Brixie, her eyes flashing with worry. She released Brax and most of the man''s weight fell to my shoulder. Not that he was very heavy.


    "Brixie, wait!" I called as the foxie woman dashed down the hill toward the ruckus.


    "Oren, Draxly!" Snapped Brax, calling to his two aids- body guards really but Brax refused to accept he needed body guards during these troubled times- as we stood before the entrance of his home. "Go with my reckless daughter and keep her safe."


    A short man with broad shoulders, blue eyes and a scar down his right eye flashed past, his brown fur and pale skin just a blur. That was followed by a second man, this one fox faced with blue-ish black fur and stunning golden eyes that I could still notice even with him darting past me. Oren had become a foxman and was one of the best flame wielders after Brax himself, while Draxly was the best hand to hand fighter the village had to offer. I didn''t like seeing Brixie rush off into danger, but if anyone could keep her safe it would be those two.


    "Come on, lets get you inside." I said, anxious to go check on the situation myself, even though there was little I could do to help, if the truth were to be told.


    Brax grumbled profusely as I led him in, steeling aggravated glances over his shoulder as we went. I knew he wished to defend his people but there was little he could do in his current state, weather he wished it or not.


    "I''m going to see what I can do." I told the elder once I had him sat down next to the fire pit. He pulled out his pipe and eyed me worriedly, but said nothing. "I won''t do anything overtly dangerous." I told him.


    Brax sighed, lighting the pipe. "I will not stop you... not that I can. But please keep in mind that to loose you would be catastrophic for the forest, not just the foxie. The goblins may not realize or even accept who you are but the damage will be done all the same if they get their hands on you."


    Duly fearful, I nodded but steeled my resolve all the same. I couldn''t just sit around here, not knowing what was happening, even if there was not much at all that I could do to help. "I will be careful."


    Outside, the closer I got to the gate, the more chaotic everything became. First of all, this should not have come as a surprise. There were supposed to be scouts posted through out the forest so that, if goblins were spotted, then they could hurry back and warn the village. But we had not been warned at all.


    I turned a corner and nearly ran into Brin. "Lady Enna!" She gasped and I saw that she had the arm of a foxmen slung over her shoulder and was aiding him to safety.


    I do not know why I was shocked to see that he was bleeding, that his belly was barely held closed by a sing, pale hand. Nor did I think to see the proud and composed Brin streaked in blood over her porcelain skin, her hair now in knots and her too short robe torn in several places. I should have anticipated that. I should have been prepared to see blood and wounded and smell the fear in the air... but I really, really was not. Maybe, some where in my subconscious, I still though this was all just a dream, that if anything truly bad occurred than I would just be shocked awake.


    But this was not a dream, and this foxman was dying before me, his life leaking out onto Brin''s robes and the green, green grass.


    I took one deep breath, squared my shoulders, and decided to be affected later. Now... now my foxie needed me. In what ever capacity I could offer.


    "Let me take him." I said, reaching out for the man and, without thinking, sending him just a little of the energy the foxie had been sending my way since I arrived here over a month ago. I didn''t know if it would help him at all but the stuff managed to give us all a glow up, surly it could at least preserve his life long enough for a healer to save him. "they need you."


    Brin nodded and released the groaning man to my care. "Orvil has ordered the wounded be taken to Zix''s place. She will look after them with the other healers."


    I nodded without a word, turning straight from the battle toward the old healers hut while Brin wasted no time rushing back toward the gate and out of sight, furry tail bouncing behind her. The man was dead weight but I barely noticed as I dragged him toward the hut. I probably knew the man by name, but I could not bring myself to look closer at him. I didn''t want to see a friend dying before my eyes. Was it cowardly? Probably.


    "Bring him in, bring him in!" Snapped the familiar voice of the elderly Zix.


    I hurried forward, both to aid the man and also to avoid being yelled at. Zix was one of the very few foxie that treated me like she did everyone- snappishly. Though she was roughly the same age as Brax she actually looked quite young, especially in her foxie form. She was short, thin and her fur was a mix of white and grey, her shoulder length hair tied back in a tight bun.


    I stumbled into her hut. It was smaller than Brax''s but still one of the largest in the village seeing as how it doubled as the healers home as well as the hospital for the community. I didn''t like being in here at the best of times- no doubt due to my long history with hospitals, but it was especially horrific now. The battle must have been large given the already dozen or so wounded Zix and her staff were dealing with at the moment. The fight had only just begun! but on nearly every furr lined bed lay a man or woman in varying states of hard shape.


    "Lay him here lady Enna." Gasped one of Zix''s nurses, her golden yellow fur now streaked in blood as she directed me to a bed farther into the tent.


    I did as I was told, trying to block out the pain laced moans around me. I gently lowered the man to the bile of boiled -for hygiene reasons- furs and was nearly bowled over as Zix brushed past me. i watched as she examined the man''s wound and the nurse began soaking rags to clean him up.


    "It is bad. But... the bleeding has stopped." She threw a suspicious glance over her shoulder at me.


    "I tried to send him strength..." I said, my voice weak even to my own ears.


    "You are pale and shaking." She huffed, those eyes now narrowing.


    Wrapping arms around myself, I shook my head. "I''m alright."


    "tch." She said, returning her attention to her newest patient. then she spoke again, her voice more gentle now. "If you are well then I am sure there are more useful things you could be doing than hovering around here, getting under my paws."This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I steeled myself for what lay outside the tent, and with a last nod at the healer''s back, hurried out of the hut and got back to making my way to the front lines. that, apparently, being the main gate to the village.


    At the gate, all was chaos. I passed several other foxie and foxmen taking wounded to the healer''s hut and tried to send them all a little energy. the first few times i felt nothing, but as the numbers grew larger, I started to sense the depletion of my stores.


    Half the main gate had been broken through, a make shift battering ram crafted from a forest log abandoned next to the wreckage. And I saw my first real look at the goblins. they were shorter than the foxie and foxmen now but still looked to be the far stronger race. they were short and a little gangly, but the had muscle and stubbornness on their side. the came in shades of green and grey, many bald but a few had tails or hair at the backs of their bald heads. there eyes were wider and their ears massive, each nearly the size of their own heads and sticking out horizontally.


    I watched, at a loss for what to do, as two of the green beast tackled a foxman, knocking the taller man to the ground and beating him with wooden clubs. Horrified, I was about to rush to the man''s aid when a strong hand held me back and three foxie dash forward to aid the downed man.


    "What are you doing here Lady Enna?" Asked Orvil. He was now taller than me, his fur and long hair red and currently disheveled. "This is no place for you milady."


    "I need to help." I said, voice horse and limbs shaking as I funneled yet more energy toward anyone I could. "I can help."


    "I appreciate the sentiment Lady Enna, but you have been training for all of three days. leave this to us-"


    "Look out!" Came a sudden call, cutting of the hunter mid sentence.


    Immediately the red foxie yanked me to the side, using his own body to cover mine as a massive boulder slammed into he dirt almost exactly where I had been standing just a moment before.


    "Damn goblin strength!" Snarled the normal calm Orvil as we both straightened up. "Blast the lot of them. Brillum! get the flame users in position! We need to rout them out of the village." He was all but ignoring me now as he shouted orders out over the fighting. "Lady Enna, if you must help than please head over to the archers. they are shooting out into the goblin ranks. Jut be sure to aim into large groupings of them, yes?" he pointed to a raised platform that had been built a ways down the fence for archers to perch and fire.


    I accepted the role given to me and ignored the slight on my archery skills- i was a pretty bad shot after all- dashing out of the main battle and toward the platform. I did not send energy to every foxie I passed this time but I did try and lend aid to the wounded at least. I jumped another boulder that the goblins had tossed over the fence at some point and ducked under a torrent of foxfire shot by friendlies. It would not have hurt me given I was not its target, but you try not dodging fire that is coming straight at you!


    As I came upon the platform I could already make out several familiar faces, Brixie and Ozzie among them. Both had their bows drawn tight by their ears and were taking careful aim out into the goblin ranks. As I came to the roughly built stairs I snatched up a bow and quiver of arrows out of the now horribly depleted racks used to keep them ready for use. breathing heavy I scurried up and took a spot next to the very stalwart looking Ozzie without a word.


    Raising my borrowed bow I looked out over the fence to see the horror that lay beyond. there must have been at least two hundred goblins out there amongst the trees, all looking eager for the fight. I took a deep breath, aimed as best I could for a point deep into the enemy ranks and fired. I never looked long enough to see if any of my arrows met their mark; Before they could hit I was already taking aim at a new, green or grey face. I willed the goblins to please, pretty please, just leave.


    In terms of sheer physical strength I could see from my higher perch, that the foxie and foxmen were still outmatched, even if they now had a foot or two on the green invaders. But the foxes were making the best use of what talents they did have: agility, bowmen-ship, and fire magic. I could not pick a new target without seeing a burst of flame closer to the broken gate while, simultaneously, blocking out the most gruesome screams that- had I still dreamed as I once did- would feature prominently in my nightmares for years to come.


    My arm was beginning to actually ache when I reached for another arrow and found my quiver empty. I cursed a blue streak, actually causing Oliver to halt his efforts to gawk at me open mouthed for a few seconds before his mother hip checked him and he got back to work. I was pretty sure that a handful of the words made no sense in this world... besides, there was no point feeling shameful for exposing a teen ager to foul language when he was literally killing people at the moment.


    That thought had me stumble slightly as I headed back down the stairs for more arrows. A passing foxmen steadied me but didn''t hang around or even say anything before he to returned to the nasty business of death dealing. I took a single deep breath, shook my head to clear it, and hurried on my way. Break down later.


    I had just handed the empty quiver to the foxie manning the supply and took the filled one she handed me when there was a shout of eagerness that had me spinning on my heel. But it was not the foxes that were celebrating. As I watched, several of my furry companions fell to the dirt as a dozen or more Goblins broke through the ranks of foxie and foxmen, entering the open space used as the entrance to the village.


    they cheered and laughed, one lifting a spiked club and hammering into a foxmen''s torso with glee. I screamed in horror and rage, notching an arrow and taking aim. For one the shot rang true and the offending grey skinned goblin took an arrow straight to the eye. In slow motion I saw the orb explode, drenching the grey skin in deep red blood, four-fingered hands rose up, clutching its face. My stomach roiled but I had no time to think as the surronding goblins now set their large eyes on me.


    "Lady Enna!" I heard Brixie screech, making me realise that the world, for that brief instance, had been silent. But horrid sound came crashing back in at the same time the red furred foxie jumped from the platform and landed, two feet and one hand, on the earth before me. "Get back!"


    The next second there was a black furred foxie and a brown haired foxmen landed either side of her. I had not even noticed that Draxly and Oren had been on the platform. Both males took a defensive stance before me and on either side of Brixie, their fur and hair on end. Brixie and Draxly both held jagged daggers while Oren''s hands held twin flames in his clenched fists.


    "Stay back Lady Enna." Growled the deep voice of Draxly, his dark fur on end and impressively intimidating. "The forest can not afford to loose you."


    I did not like the feeling of abandoning my friends, but I knew the foxie was correct. I was no match for even one goblin in a hand to hand fight, much less a dozen of them. "Be safe." I said, stomach roiling. I spun and hurried back up to the platform where Ozzie was leaned over the side, clarly mid jump, but held back by the collar by another male.


    "Come on Ozzie." I said, my own voice almost a growl with suppressed emotion. "We have work to do."


    He took one last glance down toward his mother where she battle for her life, before visably pulling himself together. he removed his foot from the banister, the other male let him go cautiously, then the younger foxie squared his shoulders and joined me at the rail. We both gazed out at the battle field, and, to my surprise, we looked to be gaining the upper hand in this fight. Apparently our greater numbers coupled with the foxes fire control was beginning to win out.


    I raised my bow once again and started firing all over again. Just a moment later Ozzie started to do the same.


    "Fall back!" I heard a deep, wet, sounding voice bellow out. My eyes searched out it''s source and then my eyes fell on a most vile sight. Mostly hidden in the forest cover, I saw what appeared to be a wooden palanquin, being hoisted up onto the shoulders of four heavily muscled goblins. and on that palanquin sat what I assumed was a man. But it may very well have been an excessively huge toad as well. I was betting it was just a particularly heavy set and wart covered goblin. I could not see the goblin''s face and the porters were fast to take him away.


    At the mysterious goblin''s bellowed order, the other goblin''s began to extricate themselves from the fray, the foxes chasing after them. They did not chase far, and I did not dare shoot after them, given I may have hit a fox by mistake.


    "let them go!" Shouted the voice of Orvil, though I could not see him. "Don''t be lured in!"


    My heart raced, fearful of my friends being lured into a trap. Luckily, as I watched, the foxes listened to Orvil and came to a stop before trudging back toward the village.


    "Mom..." I heard Ozzie whisper in a panicked hiss and my heart rate picked up again.

 Acceptance

    I rushed to the rail, afraid for Brixie and Brax''s two faithful guardsmen. I watched, relived, as Ozzie rushed forward to embrace his mother from behind. She had been kneeling on the ground where Oren was sprawled out. I saw that Brixie had been in the process of wrapping the man''s leg in a white bandage. She reached up. patting her son''s arm, looking drained but very relived.


    I held back a cry, weather from relief or repressed panic, I was not completely sure, but I wasted no time rushing past the others on the platform to go see her with my own eyes. I jumped the last two steps, dropping my bow as I did, and rushed to the Elder''s daughter.


    "Brixie..." I said, in a rather strained voice.


    "I am fine Lady Enna." She said, eyes wet. "Ozzie, really, I am fine. You can let go."


    He son did not seem to hear. That, or he ignored her, as he just kept half strangling her.


    "No worries." Drawled Oren, causing my eyes to jump to him. he was pale, and it was still odd to see a human face on the man, but he wore a wiry smile. "I am fine. Not dying or anything."


    I chuckled slightly, feeling the tears right on the edge. "I am glad." I said, rubbing my eyes. "Need help getting to Zix?"


    "Not to worry, Lady Enna." Said a deep voice, and I turned to see another foxmen approach. The voice was familiar but as the face was now devoid of muzzle or fur, it was not so easy to place. "I''ll take him. You rest."


    "Rest..." I grumbled as the rather burly- for a foxmen- man hefted Oren''s arm up over his shoulder and began carrying the fighter toward Zix and her hut of healers. They would be very busy today...


    I decided to let Ozzie and Brixie have their moment. I''m sure they needed it. Instead I wandered toward the gate. I wasn''t really sure why: perhaps morbid curiosity? But I did not get that far as I nearly stumbled over something.


    Looking down, I was horrified to see that I had just stepped on a dead goblin, and my feet were currently in a pool of his blood. I stumbled back a step when a literal shiver ran over my entire body. The next second I was doubled over, dry heaving. Apparently ''no normal bodily functions'' also meant I did not vomit. I guess that made sense... At this point I rather doubted I even had a stomach and the food I consumed just evaporated into energy when I swallowed it.


    Shaking, I glanced again at the deceased goblin. It was then that I saw the arrow in its obliterated eye and I knew that it had been, me, who had killed this man. Me.


    I gasped and felt dizzy, weak in the knees. I killed a man- this man! maybe many men...


    Just as the emotions were about to erupt, I heard another commotion. Break down halted.


    Swallowing back non-existent vomit, I straightened up and saw that Draxly, and several other of the foxes, were ranging the last of a group of goblins to the ground, tying the goblins, hand and foot. Anxious, and more then a little curious, I went to go see the happenings. I needed something to distract me.


    "Hold it girly." Grumbled a familiar voice, followed by a hand on my hip that made me jump. "there is nothing over there that you need to worry yourself over right now."


    It was Zix. Her hair was out of its neat bun and now was a rather frazzled mess, and her once clean grey-ish/pink robe, was now heavily stained in crimson blood. Even her once immaculate fur was stained pink where the blood could not be fully washed out. But her eyes were what held my gaze at the moment... She stood tall and straight-backed and her eyes reflected that. Stoney and determined. But there was also a great amount of remorse and pain in them. How many friends had she lost today?


    "Why are you here?" I asked, my voice almost a whistle with how constricted with emotion mt throat was. I felt numb, cold, shaky...


    She turned those eyes I me with compassion and her foxy mouth curved into a sardonic smile. "I am needed here right now. Some people may need to be treated before they are moved. I am sure the others can handle the people in the hut."


    "Oh..."


    "It is alright Enna. War is scary. Death is scary. And loosing those we love is scarier still... and I am sure this is not the end of our fight, just the calm before the storm. Its alright." She stated again and I felt her fingers tighten on my hip. "I do not believe there is a rule that a god may not cry. Your tears are proof of your love, and none here would ever judge you harshly for that..."


    My chest squeezed tight, my head hurt, and my throat and eyes burned stinging fire. One short hiccough quickly turned into full bodied sobs. I collapsed to my Knees, pulling Zix down with me. But the older foxie did not complain about bad knees, merely wrapped her arms around me and held on tight. But that wasn''t right. There were others that needed the healer far more than I.


    As if hearing my thoughts, I felt another, warm hand on my shaking shoulder. I did not have it in me to look up, but I did not have to wait long to know who had arrived. "I have her Zix, go on." Said Brixie and I heard her settle next to me in the dirt. As Zix''s arms slipped away, another set circled around my shoulders, turning me and settling me against Brixie''s chest, where I continued to sob. "Let it out Love..."


    A second set of arms wrapped around my waist and a soft, fox face settled on my lap. Ozzie lay there, mouth twisted in a pained grin, eyes squeezed shut and leaking tears of his own. I hiccoughed and started to pet his face and ears; taking comfort and giving it. It was not long before others joined us on the blood soaked earth. I was too distraught to take note of faces, must of what little energy I had spent petting Ozzie, but I did note that several of the new commers had bandages or slings. Probably foxes with minor injuries, also looking for a little comfort.


    I didn''t know how long we stayed there. But eventually I pulled myself together and the others dispersed till it was just Brixie, Ozzie, and I. My heart was still heavy and I am quite sure my face was a horrid mess. I couldn''t use the washroom but apparently tears were still possible, not to mention splotchiness.


    "I''m okay..." I told the pair as Brixie dusted off my rob and Ozzie looked toward his grandfather''s hut. During my brake down I saw that the commotion had been what was left of the goblins that made it through the gate being dragged of toward the elder''s hut. I toyed with the idea of going to see the very enemy I had just fought, up close and personal... but I could hear the pain laced cries around me and knew that there was work here still to do.


    And so I left Brixie and Ozzie to what ever task they had to do and started rounding up the injured, along with many other foxie and foxmen. I tried to feal some kind of satisfaction or relief at the fact that, when compared to the deceased goblins we found, the foxes losses were far less. But I felt only sadness at so much life lost. and for what? Some dear? What a waste...


    Before long I had switched from aiding the injured to collecting the dead. Many of the foxes tried to stop or dissuade me, but I refused to stop. I helped cause this; several of these lives I had likely taken myself. It was gruesome and heart hurting work, but I felt a little better for the effort. Like maybe I was at least being useful.


    Some time into dragging bodies I saw that, though the foxes were taking their brethren into a cleared space farther into tow, covering them in what blankets could be gathered, the same was not true for the goblins. Not that the green and grey bodies were being ignored or mistreated, but there defiantly was not as much care being taken. Nine foxes died this day, and from what I could see, there were closer to twenty-five goblins. Their bodies had been dragged near the mouth of the broken gate and lined up neatly. But that was it.


    It didn''t feal right. Yes they had attacked us, but that did not mean they were evil, right? All of this mess had been started because their people were starving... Not that their leader seemed starved. I cringed at the memory of his retreating form.


    "Is something the matter?" A voiced asked behind me, breaking my train of thought. I turned to see Brin. Her thick dark hair was tied back, one arm was heavily bandaged, and she looked a little pale but, over all, alright.


    "I was just wondering what we were doing with all the bodies..." I admitted as several males hurried past us hefting a log that was going to be used to repair, as best they could, the gate.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "I see." She said, eyes brushing over the goblin corpses, her hands folded before her. "For our kind, we will hold a short farewell. Brax will ask that their spirits be swiftly sent on their way to the final resting place... Then we will burn the bodies, releasing their energy back into the land so that it may continue to flourish."


    "It sounds like a nice send off." I said. I had never been to a funeral myself, seeing as how I was bed ridden. Not even to my own parents funerals. But as far as paying ones respects to the dead, that seemed a caring as any other I had heard. "But what of the goblins?"


    Brin''s nose wrinkled, her eyes passing over them once again. She sighed. "They will probably burn as well."


    "Wouldn''t they be sent back to their own people?" I asked, though I knew that that option was an unlikely one. How could we risk delivering so many to the hostile goblins. "Or... Is there a special way that they put their own dead to rest?"


    "I am afraid I do not know, Lady Enna. They are a brutish people that seem to care very little weather they live or die."


    There was a coldness to Brin''s voice that wasn''t exactly surprising if I thought about it. But it brought to light just how much animosity there must be for the goblins in this village. I understood it. Especially now. But it didn''t feel right to me. After all, the goblins were as much a part of the forest as the foxes were and as such, they all fell under what was supposed to be my protection. Instead of fighting, I needed to find a way for the two races to coexist once again.


    "Where is elder Brax?" I asked, and the sudden change of subject seemed to startle the beautiful foxmen woman.


    "I believe her is with the prisoners, back near his hut. Why?"


    "Thank you." I said, spinning on my heel and starting for the large hut, that, till now, I had been avoiding for one reason or another through out the day. I now felt that it was time to get some information. "I will go speak with him."


    "Wait-" She called after me, but did not try to follow. Maybe they all did not want me to have to deal with the men who had attacked us, or maybe there was another reason. Either way, it was time for me to stop avoiding the issue.


    In fact, the battle opened my eyes to several things that they had been blind to since coming here. this was not earth. I was not- really- human any longer. These were two truths that I had been avoiding for a long time now, and it had to stop. For the sake of my new responsibilities, this mind set had to change.


    I could not keep applying my previous world''s mind set onto this one. As I worked I observed the foxie and foxmen and saw that they were far more emotionally stable than I would have thought. Were they sad at the loss? Absolutly. But, with the exception to the deceased''s immediate family, the others were holding it together very well and working toward the future safety of those still alive. This was a world where death was not just common place, but anticipated. Any day could be your last and so long as you lived a good life and died in battle, then you died well.


    True, this could just be a monster trait, and the human''s of this world could think much the same way I was accustom to. But the fact of the matter was, I was a human in shape only now. And more important than that, I was not a land god who presided over humans. My people were monsters and I had to start accepting that. Yes they were monster, and their thoughts and mind set were different, but they were still people. I knew that fully, and have grown to love the foxes.


    And I was sure I could grow to love the goblins too.


    But the way I held myself now would not cut it. I had to stop being so soft. Softness was not respected amongst monsters. Even the foxie, right now, were trying to coddle me rather than rely on me as the god I was supposed to be. I should not have to be protected daily, and rather, i should be doing the protecting. I needed to grow a spine. I was a god to monsters, and it was about time I acted like it.


    Brax''s hut was quite the busy place. There were many guards and several village higher ups that I could see coming and going. As I walked up the path, passing Oren- bandaged and eating a chunk of bread- I saw that clearing, near the stream and the bridge, that was used to hold all nine foxie/foxmen bodies. It was colorful with the cloth covering them but the cheery colors did not detract from the solemn feel of the living who were starting to pile wood, likely for when they were to be burnt.


    It was to the back of the hut that I turned however. It was the only place where the foxes could have slapped together a cage or holding cell for a dozen goblins. And sure enough, as I rounded the corner, It was to see a large wooden cage. It was also surrounded by a ring of fox fire and what was left of the best magic users the foxes had to offer.


    "Lady Enna, I don-" Began Draxly, hands held before him, as if to ward me off. But I would not be shielded from the hard truths anymore.


    I breezed past the dark furred foxie. "I''d like to speak with the prisoners."


    Brax was at the cage as I approached, stepping past a few other villagers who looked like they may want to prevent me getting near the goblins caged within. The elder watched me come with a resigned sigh, turning back to the prisoners.


    I saw that there were four people held withing the surprisingly sturdy cage, considering the hastiness it had been built in. Three of the goblins were grey skinned males with varying shades of white hair tied at the base of their skulls and the domes of their heads bald. One of the men had bump like horns on his skull and deep brown eye, while the other two goblins had blue green eyes and no boney protrusions at all. The fourth prisoner was a female. Her hair- though also tied to the base of her skull- grew from the top of her head, like a Mohawk. She had almost black eyes.


    All the goblins wore thick leather and fur armor, much of their toned and bare physic visible beneath it. Like the foxie, the goblins also wore no shoes and I could see that they had only two toes. All four were- at most- five feet tall, but had a bearing that made them seem bigger than they were. And on close inspection, they looked rather emaciated even if they were more muscular than the foxes tended to be. I could see their ribs quite clearly al the very least.


    "We were about to question them." Stated Brax, not allowing his previous back pain to show through before his enemies. "I don''t think it is something you would like to witness Lady Enna."


    "So, by question you really mean to beat the answers you want out of them?" I asked, eyebrow raised. If I had to, I would stay for that, but I hoped for a slightly less violent interrogation.


    Brax sighed once again. "We need to know their plans and intentions."


    "But has anyone simply tried asking them these questions first?"


    "We will tell you nothing." Snapped the female goblin, her voice a raspy growl of sorts and her large black eyes narrowed on me.


    "You think we would betray our king? tch!" Spat the oldest of the males with the brown eyes.


    "Betray?" I asked the man. "No. I suspect that the information my companions seek will not come so easily, as I would hope. I do have a few, more simple questions to ask you for now, how ever."


    The male goblin laughed darkly while Brax eyed me, clearly confused. "And why would I answer any question a weak little human female would want to ask? Disgusting creature..."


    "You will not insult Lady Enna!" Snarled Draxly, eyes flashing and clawed hands raised aggressively, his voice as growly as the goblin woman''s had been.


    I put a hand on his black furred arm. "No, its alright Draxly. I''m fine." I turned back to the goblins. "Fist, I was wondering if I could get your names?"


    "And why would you want to know that, human?" Asked the tallest of the goblins. He was one of the blue/green eyed men, the one with the longer hair.


    I shrugged. "Curtesy? My name is Enna."


    the older goblin looked like he was about to snarl something else at me but long haired male spoke over him.  "I am called Margund. I have told you, though I see no sense for it, Enna who is a human."


    "We answered one of your questions, now you answer us." Huffed the younger male, his hair almost to short to tie back.


    "You are in no position to demand anything, goblin." Growled Brax.


    "A give and take?" I asked, thoughtful. I could work with that. If we could work up some kind of rapport, then maybe the goblins would at least be open to listening to me. "That''s fine by me. I am sure there are things that we will not want to reveal, and i can accept that. But, I would like to point out that you have not answered my question. I asked for all of your names. Give me that and I will answer a question. Deal?"


    "Margund, there is no need to speak with this human." Said the older goblin, eyes still glaring my way.


    But Margund sighed. "I will not force them to answer you. but other wise, I agree to these terms."


    "Margund!" Snarled the older male, clearly displeased.


    Margund''s reply did tell me a few vital things, however. One: he had at least some authority over the goblins present, and could-if he wished it- speak on their behalf. And two: he had civility and a sense of honor, at least toward his own people. Both these things were good for me. I had a man before me who was capable of holding a non-violent conversation, and may even have a position of command amongst his people.


    The younger male grunted, but decided to speak his name all the same: "Lagdon." He said, arms crossed over leather clad chest. He then glared at the older man and the woman.


    "Mink..." Said the female, seemingly resigned. "this is stupid." She said under her breath, earning another glare from Lagdon.


    The final goblin spat on the ground before turning hostile eyes my way. "Nord, if you must be told."


    "Thank you." I said. I made a side long look to Brax. I kind of took over his interrogation, and, even though I had already decided to be more forthright, I still didn''t want the elder to be offended. But Brax merely nodded, his eyes locked intently on the goblins. I saw that he was hoping that they would let something slip under this unorthodox interrogation tactic. "And your Question?"


    "Why are you here?" Asked Margund, further confirming my hypothesis that he was the one in charge here, despite Nord''s more commanding stance.


    I was confused by the question. "I''m here to ask you questions."


    "He means, why is a human in a foxkin village." Huffed Lagdon, giving me a dirty look.


    "No, its fine." Sighed Margund, shrugging. "I will try to be more specific from here on. Ask your question, human."


    "Enna." I corrected, then shook my head. "And no, that fine. I don''t intend to play mind games here, just honesty where I feel comfortable providing it. I will answer the intended question." These goblins seemed very serious when it came to uphold rules to games such as these. interesting. "I could give several answers to that question, but the most honest and heart felt would be that the foxes were kind enough to take me in when I found myself in this forest."


    The answer seemed to confuse the goblins, but that wasn''t surprising. "Ask your question." Said the leader.


    "What rights do goblins preform for their dead?"


    At this, everyone looked shocked and confused. Maybe I should have lead up to that better but it was the question most pressing on my mind. I hope I had not messed up this little game of mine before I had really gotten started.

 Conversations With Goblins

    "And why do you want to know that?" Asked Mink, her eyes just as skeptical as the other three in the cage with her, even if her bod language was a little less aggressive.


    "I believe you lot haven''t answered the Lady''s question yet." Growled Draxly, still on very high alert. He was normally much calmer than this, so I could only assume that the recent attack had affected him greatly. And why wouldn''t it. I may have accepted that monsters, on average, seemed to let such things as killing and being kill roll by that much easier than a human from Earth did, but that did not mean they were wholly unaffected. For all I knew, one of our dead could have been a great friend, or even a family member of the usually composed Foxie guard.


    "No one asked you, stupid fo-" Snarled the female, eyes flashing angerly toward the foxie male, but Lagdon put out a hand, silencing her, and shook his head. This was a game between me and their leader, and the younger male would not allow the woman to interfere. Was he, also, a man of some authority amongst his people?


    "We offer the souls of the deceased to our god, Aeros, so that he may guide them on to the after life and use their energies to further the prosperity of our race. then, if the bodies are recoverable, we lower then into the Pit deep within the mountain, to become food for the cave worms. The worms dig new tunnels and their waste provides nourishment for what meager crops we can grow in and around our mountain home." Explained Margund, stony faced. It was like a litany he had learned growing up, repeated again and again by some teacher when he was quite young.


    "thank you for telling me. I am afraid that I cant have any of that done here." I said, then turned to the foxie elder. "Do you think the foxes can spare a cart? We can place the bodies on one so that they may be returned to the goblins, so that they may take them home and do as Margund says."


    Brax, who had purposefully kept a stern and unwavering expression on his face through-out this conversation, now looked surprised. He eyed me before his eyes flashed to the goblins. No doubt they looked just as confused, but I kept my eyes on the older foxie, waiting.


    "Yes, we have carts Lady Enna." He seemed to think for a moment before saying: "But if they send the should to Aeros, then that energy will not go to where its needed." He was purposefully not eluding to the fact that I was the new land god. I appreciated that he was doing this to protect me, who could hardly protect herself, but I believed that it would become necessary for these goblins to be made aware of who I was.


    I nodded. "That''s fine. they may send the energy where ever they will. It is not my place to tell these people what, or what not to believe in after all." I turned back to Margund. "Time for your question."


    The mans large eyes narrowed and he seemed to contemplate my motives. At least, that''s what I assumed the look on his face meant. "Why do the foxes take orders from  you, a human?" He asked, and now we were getting into important questions.


    "You need not answer that, Lady Enna." Warned Brax, glaring at Margund dangerously. He was right, the terms stated that if we felt we did not want the other to know the information, we did not need to answer. But this was all in my plans.


    "The don''t take orders from me." I stated. "Brax is the elder here. But they have been rather deferential towards me, and more than a little protective. But as to why they would feel that way toward a human... Well, I am the new land god of this forest."


    Nord snarled in anger and Mink made a disbelieving noise. But the other two men simply glared, thoughtful and clearly at odds. These people did not seem unintelligent and no doubt could see the feint glow of my skin that was a pretty clear in indicating the truth of my statement. At least, the foxes seemed to see it as pretty clear proof.


    I could see the frustration begin to mount on the goblin before me. Clearly Margund was now boiling with questions, but he was not willing to loose face in this game of ours. To loose this sport of questions seemed to mean a great deal more to him than me.


    "Ask your question." He eventually growled while Lagdon tried to settle Nord back into silence.


    All right then. "Why do the others take orders from you?" I asked. Tit for tat. But would the goblin answer? He and his people were at a greater disadvantage than me at this point. They were captives and surrounded by enemies. Any kind of admission could very well spell death for the goblin.


    "I am one of the goblin king''s sons. A prince of the Goblin Kingdom."


    I sort of expected that. Or at least something similar to that. Clearly the other foxes had not however, as they all exchanged shocked glances. Maybe they just thought they had some kind of commander in their make shift cell.


    "Alright." I said softly. I also noted that he made sure to mention the he was just one of the princes. for all I knew he was one of many, considering the foxes had said that the goblin king was at least two hundred years old. I could be talking to the next in line, or I could be conversing with just one of many, many, spares. Honestly, I was hoping he was high up the chain. If I could initiate a civil train of conversation with this goblin, then it was possible that I could strike some kind of peace between us and the goblins. Or at least a deal that Margund could them present to his father. "your turn."


    "You claim to be a new god of these lands." Stated Margund while Nord brooded behind his left shoulder. "Lands that our god, Aeros, has held for countless generations. Tow thousand years, as a matter of fact. It by his power alone that this forest was formed as it is now. It was Aeros who brought so many lost and persecuted monsters to a single place, where they could live and flourish in relative safety from the persecution of humans and demi-humans alike. And yet, you- a tiny, powerless, human woman- claim that not only has our god abandoned the lands that he created, but also that you- again, a human- are here to replace him. I suppose my next question is: Why should we even entertain such a laughable notion?"


    At his words, Draxly hissed and took a step forward. I saw a pale hand hold him back and the foxie grumbled in frustration but did not advance farther. Brax also looked angry, but had I not known him as well as I was coming to know the elder, I may not have noticed. But his back was stiff and his fingers twitched, no doubt wishing to light his pipe.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "I suppose it is rather laughable." I said, smiling. It did seem like a bit of a cosmic joke to me as well, after all. But I was the god of these lands now, and I would do all I could to ensure its continued prosperity, even if I was almost starting from scratch, thanks to Aeros'' laziness in regards to his duties.


    "Milady!" Gasped a foxmen to my left. Brogan, I think his name was- one of the hunters working under Orvil. He was chubbier than most of the rather willowy and sleek foxie- though the foxmen seemed a little more prone to the pudge from what I had seen so far- and had a pretty deep voice. "None would claim your coming as laughable-"


    At that I did laugh. "Well, clearly both I and Prince Margund here think it is. And, truth be told, Aeros thought so too." I said, chuckling. Of course, at that, everyone in the room was looking at me in a bit of shock. I had not told the Foxes that I had spoken to Aeros that first trip into my mental campfire, even though I did tell Brax that it was energy that Aeros had left behind that had been used to evolve the Foxkin into their current forms.


    "As for why you should believe anything I say? I have no way to force you to trust me. I guess I could point out the evolution of the foxkin to their current states as proof. But other wise, I don''t know what would convince you."


    "You could simply be a lesser god taking advantage of Aeros'' current apathy to invade, and sway his followers to your side." Said Lagdon, earning a quelling glance from Margund.


    I waved off the princes'' reprimand, however, and address the younger goblin. "I guess that could be a possibility. You would only have my word to take on that, however."


    "And you think that adequate for us to abandon Aeros?" Snarled Nord.


    "Enough!" Snapped Margund, glaring at the other two males. Nord''s question could be seen as a break from the game and there fore Margund''s loss. the older male looked subdued but still aggravated. Understandable. I would not expect a person to just stop believing in a god just because a new and younger face showed up. Especially one that was clearly so lacking in everything this nation needed right now.


    "This game is done." rumbled Brax, whipping out his pipe finally, and lighting it with a finger. Clearly he thought it was my win and I could see that that irritated Margund as he glared at the older Foxie male. "And what you do or do not believe is irrelevant. Enna is our god. She has evolved the foxkin, and even the forest around our village has already begun to show signs of new life. I am sure even your kind must have noticed while you were skulking about out there."


    This was news to me. I had not known that I was making any kind of difference really. I didn''t even expect to for quite some time actually. After all, I just got here a month ago without a speck of magic to my name. the only power I had was what Aeros had left to me, and all of that went into changing the foxkin.


    Nord grunted and made to lunge for the Elder, but Lagdon and Mink held him back. I was not entirely confident that the foxie''s building skills were adequate enough to properly hold the goblins in the cage, so i was pretty grateful for the assist so that the older gobbling could not test the bars. Margund glared the man down until he settled before turning eyes back my and Brax''s way.


    "Do you deny the changes, goblin?" Asked Brax. I tried not to ask the elder to not be so rude. I meant what I said when I told the goblins that I had no right to order the foxes around. They may have allowed me too, but I was not looking to be a dictator here. "The Maubry Apple blossoms have begun to grow again along the rivers, our gathers have been bringing in more of the forests bounty in the last week or more than has been reported in years... Decades even. And that is from Lady Enna being for only about a month."


    "She, is human." Rumbled the prince. "i can clearly see that she is small and weak, without any aura of power at all. Even the god like glow of her body is dim and hardly noticeable."


    Feeling a little offended, I looked down at myself critically. True, I was thin compared to the goblins, and I could not deny that I was human... But the glow seemed more than pronounced to me. If I glowed much more I would be a night light!


    "This body is  a sight better than the last one I had, I''ll have you know." I huffed, folding my arms and glaring at the goblin who could probably fold me in half... twice.


    Brax sighed. "Lady Enna is not Aeros. Does the sudden healing of the forest not seem strange to you? despite the apparent frailty of our new god?"


    "Maybe Aeros has returned to attentiveness!" Argued Nord, still desperate in his belief in Aeros.


    Brax snorted, choking on the smoke from his pipe. I patted his back as he tried to work the excess tobacco smoke out of his lungs. Eventually he straightened up and addressed the goblins. "perhaps it was different for your kind, but as for us, Aeros would not even blink in our direction, much less make our little corner of the forest his first priority upon deciding to take interest in us all once again. Sure, you all would believe that you goblins would be among the first to earn his favor?" Nord, nor any of the other captured goblins seem to have any argument to that. "Exactly. And even if he were to take interest once again, would not the majority of the energy go to himself? Is that not how the old dragon worked?"


    From the little I knew about the dragon, I''d say that was pretty accurate. The others must have thought so too because Nord was looking conflicted.


    Brax continued on. "We have been funneling any and all energy to Lady Enna since she appeared among us. True, we are but a small village, and our power was not great, but we hoped to at least strengthen our new Lady as best we could. It was my hope that, should your invasion arrive, that we would have at least imparted enough power to Lady Enna that she might survive the slaughter."


    I deflated as the Elder''s eyes landed on me, full of kindness and affection. They had expected to die all along? That was heart breaking, I had to admit.


    "the reason Lady Enna stands before you now, still as a relatively powerless human, is because she has funneled nearly every ounce of power back into the foxkin and back into the land itself."


    HE said that as if it was an odd thing to do. That was my job, was it not? And what could I do with a surplus of energy? In the short term it would be useless anyway. I was not any kind of mage or something, as I assumed that was a thing in this world, and all of my existence here relied on the prosperity of this land and these monsters.


    The goblins looked confused and skeptical. "It is true." Said Brax. "From the day she arrived here Lady Enna has only ever thought about the forest and the monsters who live in it. Even now, after seeing the horror that is being a monster that lives in this forest of monsters, she thinks only of us. And by us, I mean you goblins as well." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Don''t think that I don''t know that you hopped that coming over here would stop us interrogating the prisoners in more conventional ways."


    I didn''t think that torture was ''conventional'', but I didn''t completely have the mindset of a monster just yet, so what was I to judge. Still, I hoped our cozy little talk wasn''t going to dissolve into a blood bath all the same.


    "This makes no sense." Muttered Mink, looking drained and confused. "Aeros is dead?"


    "Of course he isn''t, girl!" Growled Nord. "They are lying. Hoping to beat us with their silver tongues where their strength has failed them."


    At that I laughed once again. "But you are the ones who were forced to retreat! You are the ones in a cage!" I said with a chuckle. It was mostly a bluff. Sure, we came out on top in this last fight, but that was just luck. The goblins expected to find a village of tiny foxkin and instead were confronted by the more magically adept foxie and foxmen. I had no doubt that when the next attack came it would spell the end for us.

 Negotiations of Peace

    Nord seemed royally unhappy with my tone, but didn''t dare speak up again so soon after Margund had told him off. The prince did not look perturbed. No doubt he knew full well that they had the over whelming advantage, even with him and the three other goblins in this cage.


    "I understand that you can''t believe me right off." I said directly to the prince. "But if its alright with you, I''d like to tell you my story. If I do, I would like to hear one from you, so long as you are capable of telling it."


    "What story?" Asked Margund.


    "I want to know the story of your race." I said, and settled my self down on the grass. "I have asked the foxes a little, but it would be best to here it from goblins directly I think."


    Margund looked down on me for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh and sat on the ground as well. Once he was seated the others sat as well, foxes and goblins alike. Brax and Draxly sat either side of me while the others were behind them. A glance over my shoulder showed that we had begun to draw a bit of a crowd, actually. The foxie and foxmen, most bandaged in some fashion or another, stood around near by, gawking. I hoped they all didn''t come, else the gate would be left defenseless.


    "Very well, tell your story. I have nothing better to do, it would seem." Sighed Margund, palms on his knees and an air of resignation about him that had me hopeful for my plans for peace.


    I decided to break the whole tale down for the prince; for Brax as well when it came to the few things I hadn''t shared yet. I described my old life, my sudden appearance in the forest, and my introduction to the foxkin. The I described my encounter with Aeros and what little he had explained to me before unceremoniously disappearing. I glazed over the more mundane aspects over the last month, then told them of my final encounter with the old dragon. If you could call a random box with a crappy note attached as an encounter.


    "So the only proof I have of Aeros being gone are my own experiences. Which isn''t much of any proof at all." I said, what must have been nearly an hour later. "But as far as I can tell, the dragon has flown the coop and left me here to pick up the pieces. He seemed mightily amused by that as well." I added, irritated.


    "This can not be true..." Mumbled Nord, but I could tell that he was beginning to waver.


    Margund sighed heavily, grey shoulders slumped. "Nord, you know as well as I do that even our own people suspected that Aeros was going to abandon us... Father may have been trying to convince us that we still held his favor when he abandoned all others, but here we are, fighting over resources just as everyone else does."


    Nord sighed, now completely slumped, eyes closed in despair. "- But a human? what sick joke are the Gods trying to play on us?"


    It was, now, Lagdon who snorted. "Aeros may have favored us and monsters in general, but it is well known that the true gods lend aide to humans and demi-humans more often than our kind."


    Margund shook his head, not like he was disagreeing, but just in frustration. He now looked my way. "Well, what is this tale you wish me to tell you, miss human land god."


    "Enna." I corrected again, but decided not to make an issue over the goblins clear attempt hat claiming a little power, even if it was just in the form of rude stubbornness. "I want to know how the goblins have lived under the rule of Aeros, and how things have been since he decided to step back from direct contact."


    "I am no historian," Started the prince. "But from what I''ve been told, our Golblik tribe migrated here around the time Aeros became the land god."


    "Golblik?" I asked. I was interrupting, and the goblins had been very good on not doing that when I was speaking, so I was not surprised to see Nord shoot a glare my way.


    "It is what goblins evolve from. Like how foxkin evolve from fennik." Explained Draxly.


    "Oh. Sorry, please continue." I said, shooting the prince an apologetic smile.


    "A god apologizing." Mink mumbled disbelievingly under her breath, earning a small nudge from Lagdon.


    "The Golblik are a small race of cave dwelling monsters that most find annoying than any sort of threat. Unless encountered in great numbers." Margund explained and I nodded my thanks. "When we arrived, Aeros gifted our clan with enough power to evolve, becoming the goblins you see now. We made our homes in the mountains north east of here, so that we could be as close to Aeros as we could be." No doubt seeing the questions already bubbling up in me, the price- looking a little exasperated- decided to answer some as I tried my best not to interrupt and ask again. "Aeros'' temple is high up on the tallest mountain in the forest. It is also the source for the near by river and lake, if you must know."


    I smiled apologetically, but also without much shame. What could I say, I was an inquisitive person.


    A smile almost touched Margund''s lips as he shook his head and continued his tale. "Through the generations the goblins furnished and prospered under Aeros'' rule, and it is said that we were among his most favored followers. Eventually, about two hundred and fifty years ago, my father became king-"


    "Goblins live that long?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth I slapped my hands to it and mumbled through my fingers: "Sorry..." I really did try not to interrupt, but I was just so shocked. Two-hundred-fifty years? And the fat goblin was still spry enough to lead his men in and invasion. Albeit, being carried, but still...


    "Lady Enna, you are a land god." Sighed Brax, tapping the burnt tobacco out of his pipe before withdrawing more from within his robe. "You need not apologize for anything, much less for asking questions about the comings and goings of the very lands you govern." He glared briefly at the goblins before filling his pipe and lighting it once again. He put the end in his muzzle and spoke around the stem. "Even if these brute try and intimidate you."


    Nord looked like he was about to start in on the old fox, but Margund put out a hand and silenced him. He turned back to me. "The fox speaks the truth."


    "Sir-" Gasped Nord, aghast.


    "No. Enough. I am satisfied that this woman is the new land god, and though our people have not sworn to her, we are on her lands. Would you like to incur the wrath of a land god Nord? You have two grandchildren to think of, yes?"


    "Wrath..." He grumbled under his breath, but avoided eye contact all the same. Clearly he thought that my ''wrath'' did not amount to much. He was probably correct in that regard.


    "Let us not forget that you are also the ones in a cage either, shall we?" Huffed Brax.


    All of this posturing looked absolutly ridiculous with us all sitting freaking crisscross-applesauce style on the front lawn of a hut. I rolled my eyes. "Could you please not antagonize them Brax?" I asked, exasperated.


    Brax looked like he was going to say something but Margund interrupted him, looking pretty pleased about it too. "to answer your question: no, goblins live an average of sixty years. Eighty if they are very lucky. My father received a blessing from Lord Aeros not long after he was crowned king. It was one of the last things anyone can recall the god doing before he went silent. With the god''s blessing, my father evolves into a Goblin Goregek."


    "A what?" I asked, only slightly apologetic now that it seemed like i was not offending the prince as much as slightly irritating him.


    "Goblin Goregek. It is a special evolution. " His eyes narrowed on me for a second before he sighed. "I take it you do not know what a special evolution is either." I shook my head. "Most monsters have a set evolutionary tree, as you may describe it: Golblik evolve into Goblins, goblins can evolve in to monsters like hobgoblins or Goblins like that. But there are also special evolutions. This usually happens when certain triggers, or goals are met. But Land gods, being what they are, can sometimes, with power and direct will, cause a monster to evolve in rare ways."


    "And a Goblin Goregek is one of these rare evolutions." I said, mind spinning. How can a person keep track of all this? Were their books? I could handle books, as I was pretty sure I would never just remember this stuff. "I assume it is how he has lived so long then?"


    "Yes. a Goregek is stronger and longer lived than an average goblin, and they also gain the ability to fully command those of lesser power in the golblik line of evolution. Unless one has a very strong mind or is actually more powerful than the goregek, they must obey."


    "The truth of the matter is," Began Lagdon, seemingly deciding to speak up after being mostly silent this whole time. "The king is a dictator, and what he says is law. As far as the goblin''s are concerned, the only being higher than the king is Aeros himself."


    "You don''t sound very happy about that." Observed Draxly, another participant that had mostly kept his thoughts to himself during this exchange. maybe he should give me lessons?


    Then Mink, Nord and Lagdon exchanged anxious glances behind Margund''s back. Clearly they were all worried about something; likely something to do with their goregek king.


    "We have no reason to tell you anything." Growled Nord, his hostility present once again.


    "Yes!" Agreed Mink, both earning a very aggravated look from Lagdon, but neither were quelled this time. "You say you are the new land god? Well good for you and good for them." Spat the female goblin, indicating with a jutted chin toward the assembled foxes. "Clearly the new god has chosen her favorites. But we will not just go away quietly-"


    "Mink!" Snarled Margund, this time looking truly angered. So much so that the female flinched and scooted back as far as the cage would allow. "You do not speak for our people."


    "But, sir!" Spoke up Nord, more desperate than angry at the moment. "You heard them. Already their people have reaped the rewards of a gods favor while we starve in our caves. This god sits here, playing house with these weak and sly foxes, while the rest of the forest suffers!"


    It looked like the lawn was about to erupt into a fist fight, weather a portion of the aggressors were behind wooden bars or not. Brax yanked his pipe out of his mouth while Draxly and several others jumped to their feet, ready to attack. Mink recoiled farther while Lagdon and Nord also stood. Nord was shouting obscenities while Lagdon took a protective stand before his prince, ready to fight if the cage doors opened and the opportunity struck. though, in all honesty, with the goblins trapped and unable to run away swiftly, the surrounding foxie and foxmen could have the lot of them burnt to death in moments.


    Only Margund and I remained seated. He was watching me closely while I tried to keep my cool. I did not appreciate being accused of things. And a month may be plenty enough time for a goblin to adjust to the fact that ones entire life changed in one go, except for the fact that I still breathed oxygen. Wait, did I still need to breath oxygen?


    That thought lead to me being distracted for about three seconds, mentally checking that I was, indeed, still breathing. I was. But that didn''t mean I still required it; after all, I would still eat but didn''t need to to survive. But it was besides the point. This argument needed to stop, and now. I guess it was time to put my resolve to not rely on the crutch of my humanity to the test.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "Sit. Down." I enunciated, coldly, and quietly, but my voice carried all the same, causing the rowing parties to grow silent, staring down where I still sat before the prince in his cage. I did not take my eyes off the goblin but I could almost feel the others exchanging looks before they all settled back down on the ground, the silence so pronounced that I could here the crickets begin to sing their songs that announced the coming of sun set. Damn, even I was impressed at my self. "I have not been in this world long enough to ''favor'' anyone." I said coolly, wanting to clear this up real fast. "And I absolutly have no future plans to do so either. I am not Aeros. I am my own person."


    "So wh-" It was not Margund, nor Lagdon who silenced the easily aggravated Nord this time, but it was me. I levied a cold stare at the man, annoyed that he was the main problem here at the moment, preventing me from having a plane and simple discussion with the goblins. I was trying to work out a compromise and this old codger was really getting on my last nerve.


    Hmm, my excellent social skills were really shining through right now.


    At my glare the goblin settled down, looking confused and chastised all the same. "I have thought, from the moment I decided to go with this land god business, that I wanted this place to be the best it can be. But to do that, I need to know how it was, and see what of the old ways I can use, and what may need to be discarded and improved upon."


    "And, how might I ask, do you wish to accomplish this?" Margund asked, his eyes now holding what I thought to be a hungry and hopeful light. This man also wanted change, and he was hoping that I could be the catalyst for it. I wasn''t big on being used, but I was not beyond coming to a mutual understanding at all.


    I sighed. Time to lay it out. "As has been pointed out: I am a human. Or as close to a human as a god can be I suppose. And, to top it all off, I am very ignorant of this world and the people in it- Foxes and goblins included. The fact of the matter is, that I have come into this position with no power of my own, unlike those like Aeros, who were vastly powerful before even becoming a land god." I looked at Nord. "I have not favored the foxes. I am, however, incredibly grateful to them. If not for their kindness and generosity, I would likely have died out in the woods weeks ago. It is not favoritism that has led to the foxes benefiting from my influence, merely necessity and proximity. The forest here is getting better because here is where I am and here is where the energy I am receiving, is coming from."


    "What you are saying is that you are only powerful enough to affect these lands minimally?" Asked Margund, though I suspected he already knew the answer.


    "Yes," I said. "The truth of the matter is, that I am only as strong as the land I am presiding over. And right now, this land- well to be frank, its not doing well. I may be new to this job, but I can just feel the sluggishness of this place. I don''t mean to offend anyone here, but Aeros really dropped the ball these last two-hundred years." I crossed my arms and waited for a blow up from Nord at the very least but no one said anything. "The rivers are empty of fish, the forest is empty of forage and then the deer have nothing to eat. And if the deer cant eat than people can''t eat. I don''t know about goblins, but what I have seen of the foxes so far, farming is- at best- gardening, and animal husbandry is non-existence. They rely wholly on the bounty of the forest, and there is just no bounty to be had. " I sighed, sort of running out of steam and not even knowing the point i was trying to make anymore. "In all honesty, I just want this place to flourish. To flourish and be peaceful. Why do the foxes and the goblins have to fight? You have been doing it since before Aeros ditched, haven''t you?"


    "Monsters live by different standards than humans." Said Nord. But he sounded more subdued than he had before. "The strong live above the weak, and all try to live the best they can..."


    "I think what you mean is that goblins, especially under the rule of your current king, believe that all monsters are beneath them." Growled Brax, his pipe back in his mouth again, though I did not notice him relighting it. "For much of the last two-hundred years the foxkin had ben tantamount to slaves to the goblins. It was in the last forty years that the fat fool tossed our kind out of the mountain because there was not enough to feed us." He glared at the goblins, a sneer on his face. "Well, those of us who made it out alive came here anyway."


    I frowned. None had mentioned this to me since I came here, but I had not asked either. "The foxkin had been slaves?" I asked.


    "Yes, Lady Enna. When ever the goblins felt they needed more free labor they would come to our villages and took our young and strong. In the end, only this village remained. Then, around forty years ago, the king went on a rampage and decided that, due to food shortages, he would just kill off the foxkin in the mountain. It was a massacre."


    I looked around an saw the mix of sadness and disgust amongst the Foxie and Foxmen gathered around. It was a horrible thing to have happened, and even with the mind set of ''the strong prevail'' it would not be an event so easily forgotten. Brax was glaring down- or attempting to anyway- Margund, but the goblin just stared him back, face blank of emotion. The other goblins looked a mix of defiant and a little ashamed.


    "Those of us who managed to survive fled back to this village. Since then, we have mostly been left alone and did our best to stay as far from the mountain as we could. Until now."


    I turned to the goblins, Margund specifically. "Why have the goblins decided to invade the foxes now? What''s changed?"


    To my surprise, there was no uproar from the goblins to my demand for answers, as there had been before, especially from Nord. Instead, Margund answered me plainly. "there is no food to me found in the mountains, at all. We once would hunt mountain goats or the large boars that lived there, but now there is nothing. Much of the plant life up there is dying out, the trees looking rotted and the grass yellow and sickly."


    "Our people are starving..." Said Mink, head lowered, white hair being spun between her eight fingers nervously. "The elderly are getting sick and dying, mothers are loosing their babies in the womb... we are dying."


    I could feel the pain and fear emanating from her. I , personally, felt anger. Anger toward the long gone Aeros for not taking care of the people who relied on him, and anger, also, toward the goblin''s king. Is it not a leaders job to provide and assist his people? How is it that he managed to let his people get so bad that they have gotten to this state?


    "I am sorry for your struggles." I said to the goblin woman. "But I do not see how continually victimizing other races will help your people. If you win here, kill the foxes- and likely me as well- and all that your king hopes for comes to pass, will you really be better off? Because, the way I see it, your king will win, we die, and then he squanders what little there is to be found here. the cycle will continue until the forest is nothing but a barren wasteland."


    Margund sighed, finally breaking his stony faced stance. "To tell you the truth, Lady Enna, this is an issue that the majority of we goblins have been aware of for quite some time." I blinked at him foolishly for a moment, just because it was the first time he had used my name. "My father has taken an already bad issue- the absence of Aeros- and made it much worse."


    "Okay." I said, not sure what to make of that.


    "I am the heir to my father''s throne." Admitted the prince. "Lagdon, here, is my younger brother. Under normal circumstances, I would have taken over the throne several years ago. Indeed, I had brothers who have grown old and died who should have been king before I was ever born. But my father is a goregek, and can likely live for at least another two-hundred-fifty years. If I was the king, then I would have very little hesitance in seeing where serving under you, Lady Enna, could take our people in the future. Even a human," He said with a small amused smile. "Is preferred to and absentee or dead land god. You are right. This land is dying, and its people with it. Something needs to change."


    "Nothing will ever change father''s mind." Stated Lagdon, the now confirmed second prince.


    Margund nodded. "He is a completely faithful servant to Aeros. We have been trying to convince him for years that it was likely that Aeros abandoned us. To convince him, and many of the older generations as well." He added, glancing Nord''s way. "But, even if you tried to shove the truth of the gods passing down his throat, I doubt he would believe it. And my father being a goregek, our people have no choice but to follow his every demand. Every word he speaks is an unquestionable law."


    So, even if the other goblins wanted to change and adapt, if their king would not allow it, then it was hopeless. But this was the way of monsters. The strong ruled the weak, and if the strong were cruel then the weak would suffer. But just because the strong were in charge did not mean that they needed to be bad for their people. Brax, though old and in decline now, was strong in his wit and his magic, but he was also kind and compassionate. Under the the foxie elders command the other managed to eek out a life of relative comfort in these declining forests, all while being happy and content.


    I eyed Margund once again. He was strong. Not only was he the prince, but the current heir to the goblin throne. It may sound like a job passed on by blood, but i was willing to bet that if another wanted to challenge for the job they could, and would if the opportunity arose. So the fact that the few goblins here deferred to this man must mean that they acknowledge him as their future king.


    What was most important to me, however, was not so much his physical strength, but his mental fortitude. And, though I had only known him behind these bars and for these short few hours, he seemed like a smart, calculating, and cautious man. And a man with the prosperity, if not the greater good, of his people in the forefront of his mind. Here sat a man that I could at least work with for now. So long as he was willing to work with me.


    "When I first decided to accept this role of land god that had been given to me, I wanted to do it very differently than Aeros." I said to the goblin prince, and also to the others surrounding us. "But I think now that my previous way of thinking was na?ve. A frame of mind that- perhaps- could have worked if i was a god of a land filled with humans. though, even then, I think i was thinking quite childishly. I Know now that monsters can not just accept my point of view. Monsters follow, unless given the opportunity to lead. And you all are always looking for that opportunity." Margund watched me avidly, assessing and making decisions of his own. I looked him directly in the eye and tried to convey the absolute seriousness of my next words. "I will make the monsters of this land see things my way. I may not have direct power, but I do possess indirect power. This land is mine, and I am what feeds it, heals it, and invigorates it. Can I do this with out the aid of those that live here?"


    Nord snorted, but it was half hearted, and his face bore no amusement. "I do believe that you already said that you can not."


    I shook my head. "That is where you are wrong. Your precious Aeros even said as much. It would take a great deal of time on my own, but I could sit back and do nothing from now till I grow bored like he did, and still this land would survive."


    "But?" Asked Margund. He looked resigned and a little amused.


    "That is not the life I want. And so I would like to put forth my demands."


    "Demands?" Huffed Nord, a little bluster returning to him.


    "Yes, demands. If you and your people wish to continue living in MY lands, then you will meet them."


    "What are these demands?" Asked Margund while the other goblins looked at him in disbelief.


    "Your people will place their faith in me. I accept that some may still have faith that Aeros will return- he won''t- but they will have to put that faith aside till he does ''return'' to this place. I see no reason why the goblins can not send their prayers my way in the mean time so that I can funnel that energy back into the land." I said, and Margund did not react but Nord and Mink were a little pale. It was hard to tell with their grey skin color. "I also will not abide by any type of slavery among the races. In my eyes, each race is equal and will be treated as such. And lastly, all races will do what they can to be beneficial to one another."


    "Would you rule over the races your self then?" Asked Margund.


    I shook my head. " No. I am no where near experienced enough to think I could do that. But I will have final say in any major decisions that could affect the nation as a whole. No wars will be waged with out my approval, no roads will be built between communities till I check it all out first. At least, until I feel the monsters can deal with one another with out risking war all on their own."


    "Will you have a say in who commands the individual races?"


    "Not unless I have to. I will trust the people to know who will lead them best, and address any complications when they come about." I was winging things at this point, and I could tell that Margund knew that too. But his face was calm, and his eyes actually rather kind as he watched me.


    Once he felt I was done laying out my demands, he sighed. "I am willing to relay these demands to my father, Lady Enna, but I fear he will not be respective. But, I think he may retreat for a time, at least. If he learns that this village does, indeed, have a land god claiming to be Aeros'' successor here. At this point in time I can not guarantee much else."


    It was then that Lagdon moved. He got back down to the ground, but this time on one knee, and bowed to me. "I can guarantee that I will, at the very least, be a faithful servant to the Lady Enna from this day on." He said, as i watched the top of his bald head, stunned. "I have been convinced that you are our new land god, and that you have the best interest of not only the foxes, but of the goblins as well."


    Margund chuckled then. "Well said little brother." He then bowed as well. "I too vow to be a faithful servant to the land god Enna."


    Nord and Mink quickly followed suit, even if their pledge was a little less heart felt than the two prince''s had been. I had to admit though, that their sincere support calmed me. I didn''t know if it was an affect of being a land god, but it was almost as if I could feel their energy added to the pool of power. I had a feeling that, the next time I visited my little bonfire, it would be a little bigger.


    It took a few hours of convincing a sweet talking to get the foxes to release Margund and the others, so that he could take me message to his father, the king. I understood the foxes reticence, or course. The goblins had killed many of their friends and family, and sending back some of their best fighters would only strengthen the goblins army. But, as I said, the goblins would mow us over in their next attack, with or without out four captives. Really, our very existence relied on Margund convincing his father to just go away. Our prospects were not looking good.

 Denied

    Lagdon followed calmly after his brother, his cool and unaffected stance betraying nothing for the surprise he now felt at being a free goblin. True, as the human god had argued on their behalf, killing he and the others would not improve the foxes odds what-so-ever. But he had still expected to have had to fight for he and the other''s lives to get out of that village. But now, two princes and two high ranking warriors had walk out of captivity, unmolested. Humans were strange creatures.


    "What are you thinking Margund?" He asked his brother. The pair looked fairly similar, besides the length of their hair and the fact that his older brother tended to smile more than Lagdon, who was known to be overly serious at times.


    Margund chuckled as he led their small group through the woods south east of the fox village. They were following the very obvious trail of the retreating goblin army, if you could call two hundred half starves goblins an army. But they had been very sure that they were going to more than enough to over power the puny foxes. Who could have guessed that they would have gone through an evolution like they had? And it was that frail looking human woman who had accomplished it as well.


    "I am thinking that, had the goblin''s circumstances been just a little different, then we would be headed toward a new, and maybe even more prosperous age..." Stated the older prince.


    Lagdon understood. A new land god, even a strange other-worlder human female, could be exactly what the forest needed. Would it have better if the overwhelmingly powerful dragon god Aeros to have just taken an interest in his lands once again? Lagdon thought so. He was calamity class disaster of power all on his own, and with barely more than a thought, he could have breathed new life into the nation. But dragons were notorious for being narcissistic and power mongers. Essentially the epitome of monsterdom at its finest. If the god had let these lands go to fallow like he had, then he likely never would have shown interest in them again. Many of the younger generation of goblins had actually hoped for a new god to come... not that any of them would be best pleased to find out that their savior was a scrawny human with faintly glowing skin and silver white hair.


    Still, any new god who was motivated to make a difference could mean an improvement to the current slow death the goblin''s were facing now. But it was highly unlikely that their father will care one wit as to any of this. Just like the dragon he glorifies, the goblin king was mad for power and will not give up even an ounce of that. Especially not to a fox loving, tiny, human who looked like a good club swing to the head would take her out.


    "Your father will not be pleased that we have sworn our devotion to that girl..." Grumbled Nord. He was always a confrontational man. He had been Lagdon and Margund''s battle instructor from a young age. Really, he was always more of a father to the pair than the Goregek king ever had been.


    Margund laughed again, his mood oddly high given the dire events that were likely about to occur. "Then you had best not tell him Old Man. Our devotion going to her is better than our prayers flying off into the ether, wasted on a god that no longer walks this world."


    "YOU, had best watch it with that ''Old Man'' nonsense if you know what is good for you." Nord growled.


    "I don''t think the king will agree to the Lady''s demands..." Simpered Mink. She had been uncharacteristically silent and meek for quite some time. But she had lost bother her father and her younger brother to famine and weakness this last year. She was a changed woman from the old sparing partner he remembered from his youth.


    "We will deliver them all the same." Margund growled darkly. He had a plan brewing in that grey dome of his, and Lagdon feared for what it may mean for the future. But, as always, he would have his brother''s back.


    It did not take too long to find the Goblin encampment along the large river that flowed strong from their mountain home, some five day trek away. Lagdon saw the men and women spread around a quickly cleared area, most grim faced and wounded, cleaning their equipment, or gnawing on jerky to stay alive. Every one of these fighters was skinny, malnourished, and some even deathly ill. He knew that his father would look upon these people and see his army, but Lagdon looked and saw the walking dead. It brought forth the stark contrast between them and the newly evolved Foxie and Foxmen, with their bright eyes and sleek fur.


    Enna was promising that for the goblins too... It blew his mind that she would be willing to spread her self so thin when she clearly had nothing much to give. Was she really keeping none of the powers given to her as a land god for herself?


    Fear briefly flared in his stomach as he followed Margund through the down cast goblins to where their father had made the only tent in sight. They did not even look up and wonder how it was that they had escaped the village. Or maybe the never realized they were gone in the first place.


    "What is the problem." Margund asked, under his breath. He had been the only one ever able to read his usually unreadable visage.


    "How can that woman live if she give what little she has to us?" He hissed back, annoyed inexplicably. "She already looks like a stiff wind would be the end of her..."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Lagdon glared at his brother, whose shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Worried for a human little brother?" He waled on in silence for a few more steps before continuing. "She is strong. That much I know."


    "You must be kidding." Hissed Mink, irritation written across her features, almost tempting Lagdon to roll his eyes. Mink, like many other females, thought she had a chance with the crowned prince and was easily prone to jealousy if Margund ever dared to compliment another woman. "Even for a human she is weak."


    "And you have seen many humans have you?" Lagdon asked in monotone but it made the female blush all the same.


    "She is strong in spirit." Clarified Margund, his boots squelching in the mud. "Powerful in her convictions. If all she said is to be believed- which I do, oddly enough- than she is living a life so different from what she was accustom to that I can not even comprehend it. But despite that, despite being looked down on by Aeros and by us, and even by herself no doubt, she is still determined to follow through with her beliefs. She thinks, whole heartedly, that so long as she does her best, and can convince the rest of us to do the same, that all she envisions for our future will come to pass." Margund chuckled again, slapping his leather clad thigh lightly in amusement. "And damn it all, but she has be believing it too!"


    They came upon the ramshackle tent, dilapidated and dirty. Lagdon was sure that, in the time of the kings youth, he would never be seen in such a state, but in the time since Lagdon had been alive, he felt like his father had been in some kind of denial. The king refused to see the sorry state his kingdom was in, believing whole heartedly that they were still the pinnacle of this forest and that the land god Aeros still backed them in their every endeavor. From what little he knew about the old dragon, Lagdon was pretty sure that the god spared not much more than a passing thought for the goblins, really. They were nothing more than a fleeting amusement in the game bord that was the Monster Nation.


    "Father, we have made it back." Margund called, not even bothering with a formal announcement or any sort of tradition that would once have been required. No one cared anymore when their bellies were empty and their king was ignoring it.


    "Margund!" Called the bulbus beast that was their father. He sat in his palanquin still, no doubt the tent had simply been erected around him when the army arrived here on the river. The king wore a mix of battle armor, crafted of ancient and fine leather and fur, and a stately robe that had also once been expensive and refined, but was now food stained and muddy. His face folds were warty and his eyes drooped and oozed a viscus liquid that he would some times order a servant to clean for him. Lagdon held no love for his father. In fact, he looked at the once great king with nothing but contempt. Luckily, his father was not as apt to read Lagdon''s facial expressions as Margund was.


    "what news from within the walls? Or did you just kill the ungrateful little fur balls and we are now good to go home?" Panted the king, hardly moving a muscle.


    "No father, many of the men who took the wall either fled at your call, or died to arrows and flame. It was only I, Lagdon, Nord and Mink here who survived." Explained Margund, bowing to their father, the other three following suit.


    the king groaned in disappointment. "As much as I wanted to crush those damn foxes myself, I had hoped to return to the palace and putting all this nonsense behind us." He sighed, fetid breath making Lagdon''s nose hair. "well, you were gone for quite some time. What happened?"


    Margund described the battle as seen through his eyes, telling of the fortifications and of the evolution of the foxes. As usually, the king seemed uninterested but listened all the same, if only to save face. How his father could care so little about obvious unexpected circumstances completely baffled Lagdon.


    "You let them capture you?" Chided the king, looking disgusted but also amused. No doubt he found it pleasing that the son who, so clearly, was better than him, had failed at something. "Well, how did you escape if you did not slaughter the lot of them?"


    "I had originally thought that we would have to fight our way out of the situation father." Said the prince. "But then a human woman appeared and changed the circumstances."


    "A human." rumbled the king, his affable voice now switching t his dangerous one. "A human in the forest? In Aeros'' forest? Blasphemous! Unacceptable!" Raged the king before the movement made him gasp and pant.


    "She both appeared to be, and claimed to be, a land god." Margund said, dropping the explosive bit without sympathy. "She claims to be the inheritor of Aeros'' lands father."


    At this, the king literally roared, his clenched fists splintering the already rotted wood of his palanquin. No one rushed in to investigate. No guards bothered to check and be sure that their king was not being killed.


    "What stupidity is this? Aeros'' replacement? As if out great and glorious god was gone!" Again the king lapsed into silence, broken only by his ragged breaths.


    "Yes father. She did appear to be a land god. She had the glow, and it explains the sudden evolution of the foxes too, my lord." Margund continued coolly. "It was she who aloud us to leave."


    "What?" Hissed the king, and Lagdon saw Mink and Nord wince. When the king got this worked up, sometimes even his subjects were prone to be killed.


    "She has posed an offer. If the goblins stand down and agree to put their faith in her, she has promised to share her blessings with us."


    The king snorted, grey slime leaking from the corner of his over large mouth. "Oh? She wishes to abandon the tiny foxes and join up with the greater race does she? Well, that is too bad for her, is it not. We will kill the foxes as planned and remove this imposter god while we are at it. I will not allow this to continue."


    "No, my lord. She does not wish to abandon the foxes-" Margund went on to explain the encounter with Enna and he purposed demands, and Lagdon saw his father''s face grow redder and redder in true rage. He felt the slight light that was the goblins future flicker and go out. There would be no reasoning with the goblin king.


    At the end or Margund''s explanation, the king actually got to his feet, the wood of the palanquin creaking ominously beneath him. "No. You will ready for war." Cool power washed over Lagdon and he knew then that all hope was truly gone. their father was locking them into the unavoidable power of his goregek gifted words. "In the morning, we wipe out the foxes and their false, human, god, once and for all."

 Captured

    I sat on the rail of the platform I had been shooting arrows from just two days ago, staring, unseeing, at the mostly cleared carnage below. Several meters away was an opened backed cart where the foxes had piled the bodies of the goblins, then covered it over with several camping blankets. They would need to be returned home soon before the smell of decomposition attracted predators. And I really doubted that bears were the worst thing that would come looking for an easy snack.


    "The last of the villagers have been sent off, Lady Enna." I heard Brax say as the older fox seemed to just appear at my hip. "I would like to say that I wished you had gone with them, but I feel that I would get an earful for suggesting it."


    I smiled at the foxie fondly. Even evolved, he was still shorter than me with his bent back, but he still seemed taller than life, even at this most anxious of times. Since I had put my foot down with the goblins, he had been trying not to coddle me as much, and I appreciated it, but I could tell he had wanted me to evacuate with the others.


    Just after Margund and his companions were out of sight I had told Brax that he should think about getting the non-combatants out of the village and have a plan set up, just incase the worst was to happen. And lets be honest, the worst was most likely what was going to happen here. If I had it my way, Brax would have left too, but just like he had no right to tell me to leave, I had no right to tell him either.


    Brixie and Ozzie had gone in the last group. Brixie had NOT been happy about it, but one look at her son''s tired and shattered face convinced her that it was for the best. I had not been the only person who had killed another person for the first time in the previous battle. Oren had gone with them as his injuries, though not life threatening, were bad enough that he would be a hinderance in the coming, anticipated fight.


    I may have sent Margund off with pretty words and high hopes for the future, but we all knew that there was no other path here other than one of war. And the odds were not on our side. I had put all my chips on Margund, and I could only hope that I would not loose this bet.


    "I fear he will not convince the goblin king. They say he is just this side of madness." Said Brax, he too, staring out into the cleared battle field. "But I think you know that."


    "Yes." I said, sadly. "I knew that we were going to be attacked, no matter what. The Goregek has been in power too long, and has gotten too accustom to it. Nothing anyone does or says will convince him to change his ways or step down voluntarily."


    "then why? Why make all those demands of Margund? If you knew he would not be able to convince his father." Sighed the older man. "I can not help but think that we would have at least been a little better off had we just killed them. Four less powerful warriors for the goblins to levy against us."


    I smiled kindly at Brax, reaching out and patting him on the shoulder. "Your prodigious is blinding you Brax. My negotiations were never meant for the goblin king at all. I was never hoping to convince that fat old slob."


    "Margund?" He asked and I saw that he was finally beginning to understand. but the brief flash of hope faded from his fox like eyes. "But I fear it does not change our current issue..."


    "You are right. We will fight, no matter the out come."


    The truth was that I did not wish to deal with the goblin king, but the crowned prince himself. It was the grey skinned, white haired, goblin prince that I was putting my faith in here. And the young goblin was awere of it too, I could see the understanding in his intense gaze as we spoke. The only way for both of our people''s got out of this with hope for the future was if he and I could come to terms- and we needed to get rid of the king.


    I wasn''t hoping for the old goblin''s death, but I also wasn''t na?ve enough anymore not to assume that that is exactly what would happen. I could only hope that, weather through unimaginable luck on our side, or strength of will on his, would have the king dead and Margund sitting on the throne. Once Margund was in charge, then our two sides could come together and set out a real peace treaty between the foxes and the goblins.


    "Brax!" Came a hissed and anxious voice from down below.


    Brax and I went over to the edge of the platform and looked down to see Orvil standing next to the quiver racks, face turned up to us, white and red fur stretched over his muzzle, teeth bared. His red hair was in disarray and eyes a little wild. He had been out on the forest line, keeping watch for the coming goblin army.


    "Its time." He said, his voice calm despite the glint of battle in his eyes. The foxie''s hand clenched tightly around his hunting bow.


    Brax and I jumped down off the platform, the older fox proving that, even with a bad back and less years ahead of him than behind, he was still one of the strongest in the village. The tree of us hurried to our positions behind one of the near by huts and crouched low, bows drawn and arrows notched. Two dozen other foxie and foxmen also hid near by , ready to win or die. I really, really hoped we were going to win. I was not ready to die. I just got here! Though I don''t remember it, or the days leading up to it, I could only assume that I was brought to this world because my body had finally given in to its fight with my disease and I died. I was not into dying again so soon. Who knows where I would wake up this time.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    It didn''t take long for the sounds of the approaching goblins to reach even my human ears. Dozens of leather booted feet tromping through mud and twigs, clearly not caring for stealth what so ever. Pretty soon I could here jeering and cat calls, mixed with unintelligible shouts, all of it geared to psych out the foxes. I had to admit that it may well be working on me. My fingers flexed on my bow and I took a calming breath. I steeled myself to deal death once again.


    "Today is your last day, puny foxes!" I heard a raspy yet oddly high pitched voice call over the wall. It wasn''t much of a wall anymore, more like a suggestion of one, hence why we had abandoned it for cover instead. "Prepare to die."


    At those ominous words the goblins erupted into savage roars and cheers and the wall began to tremble as the green and grey figures began throwing themselves at it.


    "Fire!" Shouted Brax near my ear, making me wince. But at his preplanned shout a dozen foxie and foxmen leapt forward and raised their hands, fire erupting from palm and shooting toward the demolished gate and the wall. The dry wood ignited immediately as the foxes concentrated on the flames, directing it to burn not only the wall, but the goblins throwing themselves at it.


    I winced again as the jeers turned to screams, the goblins at the front of the army burning in fox fire. Bile rose up but I suppressed the need to vomit. I could break down again once the fight had ended. If i was alive to have a nervous break down that is.


    But the flames did not deter the goblins for long, and many fighters jumped through the wall of smoke and fire to land, unmolested, over the smoldering remains of the wall and into the village. I pulled my arm back, taking aim at the nearest green body I saw and waited. Seconds later Brax shouted out the order to let loose our arrows. I did not wait to be sure of my mark before notching another and firing again and a gain. we would have very little time before the goblins regrouped and over powered us.


    "Kill them, kill them!" Screeched who I now knew to be the Goblin king. Sure enough, as the flames died down with the retreat of the fire wielders, the bulbus tyrant emerged through the smoke, held up by eight other goblins on his palanquin.


    This goblin did not look regal, what so ever. He was a little bigger than the average goblin in height and nearly four times as large around the waist. The majority of his people were boarder line emaciated while their king looked nearly incapable of standing on his own two feet. His skin was a greyish green color and covered in what I thought were pustules. His eyes were saggy and his mouth too large for his face. To be blunt, he was grotesque.


    I did not allow myself to hesitate, and immediately aimed for the fat goblin, and fired. I was not the only one to do so either. A small cloud of arrows came raining down on the king, some of his men running for cover. I let myself hope, for a brief second, that we had done it, but then I saw that it had been a fool''s dream. While some of the arrows did land true, sticking into the leather like flesh, most seemed to bounce off, like the king was made of stone.


    "Fire!" Called Brax, once again. This time setting aside his own bow and getting to his feet, marching forward with most of the foxes as they aimed their fox fire his way.


    Again it looked as if we may have prevailed. The men holding up the palanquin either fled screaming at the lick of the flames, died in their apathetic state, or simply got crushed when the king and his seat came crashing down on them. I tried not to be affected by the screams and hurried forward as well. I had no fire to cast, but I was not about to cower in the background while my friends risked their lives.


    I stood just behind Brax and Draxly as they both used every ounce of their magical strength to destroy the mad king. But it was no good. I heard a flurry of manic laughter, and the king stepped out of the flames, his wart and overly large mouth stretched into a hideous grin, his foot falls actually sending tremors through the dirt.


    The foxes began to back up, but it was too late. While we had been focused on the king, the other goblins had spread out and surrounded us and we were now completely ringed in. But other foxes were spread out amongst the houses and every now and then an arrow would fly in and take down a goblin.


    "Lagdon!" Growled the king and I watched as both Lagdon and Margund stepped out from behind the king. The younger prince bowed to his father. Margund shared a very brief glance with me and I felt a slight spark of hope. If he was here then there may still be a chance, even if it was a slim and impossible one. "Take two dozen men and weed out the last of the gnats. I want all of them, now!"


    "Yes sir." Intoned the prince with another bow. He straightened out and waved to some of the surrounding goblins, all of them hurrying off into the village to hunt out anyone else.


    "You..." The king growled, his screeching voice now a growling timber that was throwing me for a bit of a loop. "You must be the false god." As he advanced, sneer firmly in place, the foxes attempted to surround me, preventing anyone from reaching me with out the threat of being burnt alive.


    "Margund, come." I watched as the older prince approached, not looking at me or indicating that we had any sort of connection what so ever. "Well?"


    "This is the new land god, father." The surrounding goblins exchanged confused and anxious looks. I realized that the king had not told them about me at all. It probably never even crossed his mind to keep his people informed of anything. But at his son''s announcement, the king snarled at him. "Lies! a pretender is what this human is. A human- as a land god to monsters? Ha!"


    "I am the land god over these lands." I stated, afraid but bluffing with every fiber of my life. "Monsters being here is inconsequential really. It will be up to me weather or not you, or any other type of being, will continue to be welcome here."


    "No one gave you permission to speak, human." Snapped the king as his people began to fidget and whisper. But he continued to be oblivious of this fact.


    "I need not permission to speak on my own lands, goregek. Have you not been informed of my terms?"


    "We," the king said, spreading his sagging arms and indicating the goblins as a whole. "Are the loyal servants of Aeros, our one and only land god." He lowered his arms and levied a dirty glare my way. "Not some pathetic human female with delusions of grandeur."


    Delusions of grandeur? well, that was rich coming from this sick creature before me.


    "Take them." Rumbled the king.


    In a matter of seconds we were swarmed by goblins, the foxes did not even have chance to use their fire magic or notch an arrow. Before I knew it there were two goblins holding me down in a forced bow. My knees in the dirt and my arms bent painfully be hind my pack. The foxes were dragged off to the sides, each held by two or three goblins, preventing them from doing anything.


    "You belong to me now, human."

 To be a God of Monsters

    I knelt in the dirt, eyes down cast and arms chained behind my back. Perhaps, ironically, I found myself chained up in the very cage that had been used to hold the four goblins before. Before me stood the king and his two sons, along with about fifteen or twenty other goblins. the rest of his forces were either settled just outside the village or, or currently scouring the place for any villagers.


    Brax and the others were inside Brax''s hut, being watched by another dozen or more goblins. They didn''t go quietly, but one goblin had the physical strength of three foxie or foxman, and so they had little choice but to be herded together.


    "Look at you." Cackled the king, leering down on me, his breathing heavy and wet. I bet his knees hurt given this was the longest he''d been on his own two feet in who knows how long. I hoped his knees hurt. "A god brought to her knees before me. Do you regret now, falsely claiming Aeros has left us? Us! His most loyal and devoted followers?"


    I said nothing for now, just glared up between the messed locks of my hair. I could not risk the king breaking into a rage and simply slaughtering the foxes.


    The king sneered and turned, with quite a bit of effort, toward Margund. "You see this? No back bone, no fighting spirit. No wonder she tried to worm her way into these hollowed land though the spinless foxes. I bet they were easy to convene. A little power to fuel an evolution and she had them eating out of her filthy human palm." He turned back my way, his face clouded with anger. "A human- in these lands."


    The king began to pace: three steps to the left, three to the right, rinse and repeat. I fantasized about the slime ball tripping over his own feet and not being able to get himself up. You would think a person like me, who spent so much of my life immobile, would be a little more sympathetic toward people with mobility problems. But not when it came to this man. As much disdain i felt toward Aeros, I think this goblin i disliked even more.


    "I know." He said, stopping and leering down on me once again. "I was going to publicly execute you to prove to my people the false-ness of your lies. But I have changed my mind. I think I will keep you."


    At that I was sure I was probably showing the man a look of intense disgust. He wanted what now? oh, no-no-no, I do not think so.


    "Yes, you will be kept in a cage. My little pet god." The king began a round or wheezy laughter, broken by a wet cough here and there. "All will know the power of the goblin race, and the might of our god Aeros!" he turned back to Aeros once again. "These lands are now ours. Hurry up and have the men round up the last of the wretched foxes so that we may finish them off, once and for all. I grow tired of this farce."


    "I apologize, Father." Said Margund, still employing a monotone voice. "But the men have been searching, and we believe the foxes have fled from the village, perhaps hours before we ever got here. Lagdon has told me that he had the men search every building top to bottom, and they have found no one besides the men the initially brought in who had been shooting us with arrows."


    The king made a frustrated noise. "Where have you sent the others?" He spat my way, droopy eyes narrowed.


    "Do with me what you will, but I will not aid you in hurting my people." I said coldly, hiding my own fear and unease as best I could


    "Oh, I will do with you what I will, little god. You can count on that. And you can keep begging me as well, if you like. But none of it will stop me from slaughtering every last one of these foxes, finally ridding myself of the aggravation of them." He thought for a moment then flashed me an evil smile. "I will give you one hour to tell me where the foxes are hiding. If you do not tell me then I will drag one of your little pets out here and kill them before your eyes. I will do this every ten minutes until you tell me where the others are."


    I scowled at the king, bile rising up my throat and my heart sinking. "Why should I tell you anything? You already said that you are going to kill them all as swiftly as possible either way."


    He snorted. "Indeed, as swiftly as possible. But if you do not comply, then i will rethink the ''swiftly'' portion and, instead, kill them as slowly as possible." With that he spun on his heal and began to walk away. the maneuver was more agile than I would have given him credit for. "One hour human. That is all the time I am giving you. Margund, Lagdon, with me. I need a palanquin."


    I felt broken as i wallowed in my new cage, arms held uncomfortably tight behind my back, and the chains connected to the bars of the cage, even preventing me moving around overly much. I did not know what to do. I still felt that Margund and I were on the same page, but I had no way of knowing what could be done about his father. the guy has rock for skin and is immune to fire. Who knew what else! Damn Aeros for giving such a sick and broken thing so much power.


    But, I wasn''t exactly killing it at this god job either, was I? I may have great intentions, but it was not helping me in the slightest right now. I just did not understand. Why was I made the god of this place? Was I just doomed to fail from the start? How in the world was a human like me supposed to lead, or at least guide a forest full of monsters?


    Back just a few days ago, when I stared down a goblin man and shot him through an eye, killing him, I decided to put my humanity aside. But clearly I was still clinging to it. Or maybe hiding behind it? I tried to talk things out, assuming that even monsters would want to avoid death if they could. But clearly, even id strategy might be valued by monsters to some point, complete diplomacy was not. Not with these monsters at least.


    I was not going to get the foxes out of this massacre with words and relying on others. It was obvious that, no matter Margund''s intentions, he could not break free from the commands of his goregek father, especially given that the king seemed to be keeping his sons as close as he could.


    I took a deep breath and glared at the ground in frustration. What I needed now was power. Power to do what I needed, power to do what I wanted. I was sick of being inadequate. I was a god now, surly that had to mean something more than making purple flowers bloom on a few trees. This was insane.


    I exhaled and let my body relax. I needed to think. What had Brax told Margund? That I was weak because I had neglected to keep the power for myself? I needed to asses things right now...


    Not really falling asleep, given the current circumstances, I tried to feel for the center of my power without actually entering the dream scape of my little bonfire. It took some of my precious few minutes attempting to touch it before I finally sensed something: Power.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    It felt like, if I did go to visit my little fire, it would be raging right now. But how... then it hit me, Nine foxie and foxmen had died in the last few days. Their souls were pledged to me and were no doubt waiting for me to do my duty to send them on, however I was supposed to do that. And, like when Aeros passed and left what power he had at the time, these people had left their energy as well. I felt an additional source as well. This one I was sure had to of been Margund and his people. But, even though I was told the goblins were stronger than the foxkin had been, I did not expect their energy to be this powerful. Not with only four of them!


    I concentrated on this power source, narrowing my internal sight while still maintaining wakeful awareness. It was difficult but doable. Yet another thing I should probably practice if I managed to live through this. I was told it was hard to truly kill a god, but I was a bit of an anomaly I think, so I wasn''t going to rely on simply ''coming back to life'', by any means.


    But touching the goblin source of energy I realized why it felt so large, and slowly growing at a trickles pace too: There was more than just four goblins contributing to it. I felt my eyes well up with tears and tried my best not to let them fall where my captors could see. Whether it was myself, or the efforts of Margund, I didn''t know or care, but a good chunk of the goblin citizens had begun to abandon Aeros and put their faith in me. I knew that I wasn''t really a creature that could evoke a lot of confidence, so I really was touched.


    But this was not the time to feal all the feels. I had foxes to save and goblins to liberate.


    I didn''t really know what I was doing but I decided to just go for it. Visualizing my inner sanctum, I imagined my bonfire, slipping farther than I had wanted into my unconscious state. Without hesitation- after all, why would a fire in my imagination hurt me- I plunged my hands to the elbows into the dancing flames. Instantly I felt a rush of power. It was not as immense as the amazon package had been... but it was more than I would have thought.


    I began pulling that power into myself, imaging it filling my body.


    "Er, Rollen..." A worried goblin voice said, pulling me back out of my thoughts. "Is she supposed to be glowing like that?"


    My eyes snapped open and I saw four goblins looking at me, pale with fear, the weapons held up in shaky hands. I saw that there was something odd about one of the goblins. He looked like a typical goblin with grey hair, pale grey skin, and large green eyes, but unlike the other three goblins, he had a feint aura about him. It was not a glow like I had, but more like the wavering of light on hot pavement. I could tell that my continued stare was unnerving the man, but I realized that the aura was the energy coming from the man. I could see it because he was mine. As in one of the monsters funneling his power my way. Interesting.


    I felt invigorated. I didn''t know how long the energy would stay in my body or if I could even hold it myself for very long, so I had to get to work now. Besides, I was pretty sure my allotted hour was up. I couldn''t take an army on by myself, but I was determined to lend aid to the people who could. Besides, If my estimation was right, a goodly part of this army had sided with me either way.


    I clenched my fists and pictured the chain on my wrists. I felt the metal growing red hot, and feared I would be burned, but realized that I felt no pain. "Fox fire!" I heard one of the goblin''s shout and there was a flurry of activity around me, as the men panicked, unsure if they should open the cage and restrain me, or go alert their king to my attempted escape.


    Before they could make up their minds I felt the metal fall away, what was left hitting the dirt with a thud. I stood up and dusted off my copper robe, seeing the pale faces of my jailors. I took a single step forward, my head nearly touching the ceiling of a cage that had been built to hold people more than a foot shorter than me, and grasped the wooden bars. I thought about burning this too, but worried I might hurt the pale faced goblin who had put his faith in me. that would be a poor reward for his dedication. They had called it fox fire but I had no proof of that, so I decided to just break out.


    Before now I probably couldn''t have broken out of a paper bag, but pumped up on energy as I was, the flimsy wooden cage was nothing but match stick in my hands. I almost laughed, thinking how obserred Margund and the other goblins must have viewed it with their super human strength.


    As I stepped out of the wreckage, the goblin before me fell to his knees, dropping an iron club to the dirt. The other goblins exchanged a fearful look before booking it out of there, shouting for reinforcements. I stepped up to the man kneeling before me, his large eyes all the wider in his awe and fear. "What''s your name?" I asked him.


    "G- Gillard..." He stammered weakly.


    "Gillard. thank you for your support." I said, and touched the top of his head. Seeing my hand on his bald scalp, I saw that I really was glowing. More so than I had been before. Like a cool toned night light. "Lead me to the king."


    The man sucked in a startled breath but nodded, steeling his resolve, and got to his feet. I followed behind him at a slow and even pace. Every now and then we would pass a small group of goblins who would stare, open mouthed, before abandoning their posts and following behind me at a presumably safe distance. I could tell that a good number of these goblins were mine. I had no real reason to believe that they would help me in any way if a fight did break out, but it still felt nice having at least the illusion of support around me.


    Gillard led me back to the front gate of the village. I wasn''t surprised by this, given it was the largest clearing in the village, the area around Brax''s hut being the second largest. As we arrived I saw that the foxie and foxmen were lined up along the broken wall, their hands bound and surrounded by many armed goblins. Standing before them was the massive form of the king, flanked by his two sons, Margund and Lagdon, both standing stiff with perturbed looks on their faces. Just before my growing procession was noticed, I heard a noise and looking to my left I saw seven or eight goblins in the middle of slapping together a new palanquin for their demanding king. I scowled at the stupidity of it all.


    "My king! Look!" A voice called out, drawing my eyes back to the issue at hand.


    the king turned slowly, those sagging eyes and jowls set in a irritated frown. Margund and Lagdon looked shocked, their eyes wide, hands empty at their sides. If the situation had not been so serious I may have laughed at the look of them.


    "What is the meaning of this?" Snarled The king, his gaze more assessing now that I looked a little more dangerous than just a human female. I stopped about eight feet from him, not wanting to be any nearer his stench that I could smell rolling off of him. Clearly having to carry his own weight for once was making him sweat and the smell was disturbing.


    "Release my people." I demanded in a clear and carrying voice. I was quite impressed that it hid my nervousness pretty well.


    "How is she out of her cage?" He snapped at the goblins that had followed me, clearly enraged that his orders had not been followed and almost ignoring me completely, to my irritation. But I made sure to no let the insult show on my face. I was mostly going to have to bluff my way out of this after all.


    "Let." I said, acidly, feeling my hands heat up once again, but no fire appeared. "My people go."


    "I think not." Growled the king, his normally high pitched voice deepening once again. He took a threatening step forward, and I saw several of the foxes standing behind him tense up. "Do you really thing that escaping such a sad cage would frighten me little girl? Me! Never mind about the fleeing fur balls." He said, rage burning in eyes clouded with madness. "I''ll track them down in time. I think I will just make it so you never irritate me again." He flicked a look over his shoulder at his sons. "Lagdon, hold this pretender down. It is time I teach her her true place in this world."


    I saw Lagdon stiffen, grey skin now nearly white, and a sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead as he did his level best to resist his father''s order. But it was no use. the prince shuffled forward, face contorted with unwillingness, and maybe even a little fear as he saw the glow of a true land god about me. I may seem like a meek human, but now they all were seeing that, human or not, I WAS a land god, and it was unknow what it was that I could do if I put my mind to it.


    "You will wish that I killed you swiftly." The king said ominously and one of Lagdon''s four fingered hands grasped my arm tightly, but shakily.