《Stories From Above》


 Vatah the Wind God

    Unknown Scripture, B-324.


    Title : Vatah the Wind God


    ---


    Vatah was a god from another sun region. They were new here, no god in this sun region had ever seen them before. But there was no surprise since it could happen from time to time, about once in a hundred sun cycles. Which meant a hundred times the sun had formed and died. Even so, it wasn¡¯t that special about how they came and why. For some gods it wasn¡¯t that long and they just fell into place in a natural way.


    Back there Vatah was a formless god, the only being that had an ability to wander from region to region, like a seed that could fly with the wind. When they arrived, the gods barely knew there was a newcomer. Until Vatah¡¯s ground cycle came and they reincarnated as a human. Then their existence was more understandable, gods saw a bright giant meteor falling from above, passing the floor where they lived and down to the ground.


    Some even thought a special one came down to help people. For Vatah it¡¯s more like, people had their ridiculous moments and they themself were no exception. They were just falling off their bed while sleeping and ended up waking up in confusion. They didn''t even know who they were. Time in the formless realm was absurdly long. All one could remember was a peaceful darkness. They had to restore and restart their senses again. And that was how Vatah had spent their human time, doing nothing but relearning. Just a plain person had come and gone unnoticed, like a whisper of wind.


    Humans barely knew or worshiped this kind of god since they barely interfered with people. What these gods produced was far beyond human understanding, yet many gods would have died for their by-products. They were like gods of gods even when they didn¡¯t mean to. They just minded their own businesses and tried to let people be. As the people who could know their existences tried to reach them anyway. It wasn¡¯t like they weren¡¯t interested in people, it was because they knew at the end of the day, there was no point in interfering. In most cases, silence was the best thing they could offer. They had lived long enough to know that.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Their existences weren''t for granting wishes, ¡ª directly. Nature had its own way for that. What they did was nurtured the needed parts and enhanced the supplement. Fruits from a wild tree might rarely satisfy our tastes like fruits from a farm. Noted that their ultimate goal was to produce, not to consume. And it¡¯s wise to only give their by-products to the proper ones.


    The relationships between things and people were part of "nature", the supreme entity no one could overcome. It came from all beings. Basically, one couldn¡¯t fight against millions, but to use their power was another story.


    The universe was like a large sheet of paper, dotted with million drops of water. These dots represented Nature. It could be seen as stars and their regions, while paper was the space of unwillingness. On the contrary, the water emerged from wills and could only be moved by will. Each wish had its own way and may conflict with each other, but they bound themself together. The whole became nature, that supreme entity, coexisting with the unwilling space.


    Vatah learnt the way of nature by seeing things as it be, not as it should. Air was something people couldn¡¯t see but could feel its existence. With a slight touch, it could either flow flawlessly or completely be a deadlock. Vatah saw through the flow, knew how to touch it, and became a wind god. One of the gods who wielded fundamental elements of the universe. The gods who might be a part of it, but never the flow itself. Like how human toolsmiths could create some hammers, not metal nor wood. The one and only entity that could create such things was nature, the world itself.


    Unlike other kinds of element, one barely noticed that these by-products existed. It was too light and too general, like some space people could use. Something people didn''t feel the need until they felt uncomfortable. It could be used to breathe, to lighten something up, or to let something be. Once they had a chance to try, they would know how good it was to have some fresh air.


    In general, this god wasn¡¯t that important. Their existence barely changed a thing. People could live perfectly fine without them. But it would be more pleasant if people had this kind of god in their sun region.

 Ratra and Their Night Time

    Unknown Scripture, A034


    Title : Ratra and Their Night Time


    ¡ª-


    It was dark and quiet when no sun presented. Just themself, their family and neighborhood. A celestial sentinel like Ratra had not much to do in this night time. No ground was found, the liveliness was absent. Remnants of life scattered across the region, the dead sun region. Only places like theirs and above, the deep opposite side and the farthest ring were still standing. It was sad to see but something had to be done. Otherwise, the whole region couldn¡¯t stand and no life would ever occur.


    The universe was the place to make all the wishes come true, including the bad one. It took time, not instantly but eventually. The night time was for those who suffered and wished all to be gone. Ratra and other survivors had no relevance to these sufferings, so the destructive wishes could not reach them. They were just sitting there and out of the context.


    Ratra sighed softly. This night was longer than the day before sunset, due to the extreme conditions. Too much relevance could cause a windstorm and lead to more devastating damage than a firestorm, which was the least severe, or a rainstorm which was in the middle. Anyway there was nothing to be blamed for, since that was the reason people were up to and also the reason the universe went on. Even Ratra themself had their own reason, watching. Otherwise they wouldn¡¯t be here in the first place.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    With time like eternal in hand, it couldn¡¯t be helped but wondered if there was a kind of storm that had more damage than this. There wouldn''t be any witness left to see and no one would ever know about it ¡ª except for the people from other regions. So Ratra looked up, stared at those gazillion regions all over the sky..


    Some were shining, some were dark. Some were burning, some were drowned. Some were just like them, some were freshly formed. And yes, some were dying. A soon to be ex region was being eaten up by a snowstorm. All were broken into pieces and down to the road, ready to be pulled in by whatever region out there, or gathering up with others to form a new one.


    The cause of action was unknown. Even Ratra was left in awe, how things even went that south ¡ª or might be north? Maybe the number of wishes left in that region was too low. So, it couldn¡¯t stand and had to disband to find or form a new home.


    .. Either way, knowing that changed nothing. People still went their ways no matter what. Ratra seemed to conclude their mind and moved on. Just what was offered here was enough to occupy someone and keep them busy.


    Now, it was time for a watcher like Ratra to give a touch to the dead sun. This kind would let no light escape once its prey passed a certain point, Ratra called it ¡°the great dung¡±. It would take quite a while before it lost all its energy, loosened up, and decomposed, giving matter back to fertilize the poor soil around. And once that soil was enriched, it would bear a new sun and ground, then people could celebrate the vibrancy again.


    Merely a glance, Ratra knew something was slightly off. They went inside, touched a single speck of dust, and things got stuck even more. That was how it should have been at midnight like this, to fasten the process, opposite to the day time when things should have flowed smoothly. Despite that, their effort didn¡¯t make much of a difference, but it was worth killing their time. Like one would go out and sweep some dead leaves off their yard.

 Nillah the Black Beast

    Unknown Scripture, C430


    Title : Nillah the Black Beast


    ¡ª


    Black was not a popular color when it came to celestial bodies. People saw it as a downside, like a shadow. Yet, that was exactly why she chose to wear it.


    Nillah was a daughter of a couple of gods. Her parents were known by many names, depending on the role at the moment. Unlike the rest of her family and most of the people up there, she had a gender. One of many traits that belonged to the worlds below. To her parents, she was like a reminder of earth, helping them stay humble, and lasting a sense of empathy.


    When Nillah¡¯s parents adopted her, she just climbed up from the underworld, losing her way and how she would like to be. All she knew was surviving. Little by little, in such a lovely home, she gradually came to her senses. By being loved she could feel the love. Then she knew what love was and intuitively wanted to return the favor, to love them back. After all, she actually was a good girl. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t do that, no matter how much love she got. That was why the universe gave her parents to her as a gift. And the same went to her parents, they had a good girl like her.


    Her parents taught her as much as she could understand. Gave what she could take, in hope she could live a happy life. Now she grew big and there was nothing to worry about. She could recall what she was born for. A simple idea, to have a family, to share love with them, just like how her parents had shared with her.


    Most people believed that human-like beings were better than animal-like beings. But for celestial beasts, it was not. Their minds were so simple and straightforward. It would have been too complicated and frustrating for them to live like humans. With their high moralities, they could even be better than many human-like beings. Even for gods, it was wise to judge nothing out of these beasts.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Nillah and her pack guarded what she saw dear to her. Even though her parents had better protections and required no protection from her. Her parents and their belongings were still precious to her, so she guarded them no matter what. But since no one could come in the area in the first place, her parents sometimes made her team guarding something somewhere else, or occasionally offered them as mercenaries. So their time could be put to use and yield some benefits for themselves.


    For Nillah, she saw black as a good color to blend in the shadow. She liked it when no one was expecting her. And when she appeared in broad daylight, she would have an intimidating look. This helped her scare people away and made her job easier. Besides, only a few could see through her true beauty. She loved it that way. It was more manageable for her when she only had a few to handle.


    Contrasting to her sibling, Dipa the red flash, who was born to make the world a better place. They did love the spotlight because the spotlight made them rich. And when they were rich they could have significant resources to do their things. Dipa also came to her parents in a very different way. They emerged from the milky ocean, the remnants from the past night. This thing could be churned to randomize something out of it, whether beings or tools. The possibilities also depended on the doers and their wishes. In this case, a child that had some parts like their parents. So the world could give the karma back to them, both good and bad. It was funny they could see how annoying they were through this kid.


    Nillah never understood Dipa, why they had to do such¡ª stupid things. All she saw was Dipa doing nothing but spinning around their head. She also noticed how often their parents frowned at them, raised an eyebrow, had a headache, or simply were left in awe. They, of course, supported Dipa in learning their way through the world. But in the meantime, unexpected things could be expected. She guessed that was how being parental meant and ignored any other details. Since she didn¡¯t want to waste her time, her eyes, or her ears watching anymore of these stupidities. Anyway, when it came to her parents, she undoubtedly understood their behavior. It was their way to express their love for the world. And she wholeheartedly wanted to help them.


    That¡¯s how her parents¡¯ backyard was filled with a group of black beasts, lying around comfortably, and when the time came, they all were ready to serve.


    ¡­