A tower in a realm of glass and memories. The God known as Dao Rudagh - or perhaps Gedag, or Iba, or Memon, or Jiy Xinly, or Neiblo, or Mekhzier, or so many other names - stood at the top of the tower. His pale eyes gazed out upon a land barren of mortals. His realm, the Akhainne. "It surprises me that once I was as innocent as a newborn," Dao Rugadh said, to no reply. "I don't know how I was born, but I do remember my stupidity. I stumbled around, barely even knowing how my legs worked. I was even more unknowing than the average mortal back then. All I knew was that I needed to feed. When I met my first mortal, and I devoured its mind, I was practically catatonic with shock. I had two conflicting identities - I was half a stumbling newborn god and half an experienced mortal hunter, and I almost fell into the mindset of the mortal over the god." Still no reply. "Luckily I became aware that I was not the mortal, that the memories which came first were my true identity. I realized what had happened; I had absorbed the man. He was part of me now. Yet at the same time I realized I was not the mortal, I realized I had to become the mortal. So I took his form and used his memories to integrate myself into their tribe. And then I fed, and fed, and fed." "I remember," a voice rasped. "Of course you do," Dao Rugadh said, a small smirk on his lips. "That's why you're here, isn't it?" Silence as a reply. "In any case, I will be back soon enough. And if anyone comes here and sees you... you know what to do." More silence, but in a way that indicated acknowledgement. --- [i]Somewhere in a snowy forest...[/i] "It's gone," Tomas said. "Of course," Gav growled. What they had been chasing had appeared to be a large serpent of a sort, large in this case meaning colossal, certainly not something you usually see in these parts. Tomas and Gav hailed from the northern tribe of Stedd and had originally come out with the purpose of hunting. When they had caught sight of the serpent, their mind changed instead to hauling back the strange beast. But now, of course, it was gone. "Now we got nothing to show when we get back," Gav said. From behind him a pale figure stepped out from behind a tree and silently strolled towards him. Tomas was not looking Gav's way, instead looking down the hill for the serpent. "What the hell was a creature like that doing in these conditions? I thought they hated the cold!" "Maybe it was just, I don't know -" and then the figure behind him tapped him on the back of his head, and Gav dropped like a stone. After a second of silence, Tomas looked back. "Gav?" In Gav's place stood a man, dressed in winter furs, light-skinned and pale-eyed. He smirked at Tomas, and said, "Yes?" "You're not-" Tomas started, and then blinked as every single memory of his with Gav  was replaced with identical memories with the pale man. In a split second, everything had changed, though he didn't know it. Tomas relaxed. "C'mon, Gav, we better get back to the tribe before someone gets worried." "Yeah," 'Gav' said. "This way." And technically he was Gav, because he had every memory Gav ever had in him. And some would argue that a man is nothing but a collection of his memories. ----- [i]North of the forest...[/i] "Ahh, home sweet home," Tomas said, gesturing towards the collection of tents scattered across the icy plain. "Home sweet home," Gav echoed. He smiled. Tomas and Gav strolled past many of the tents. All who laid eyes on Gav twitched for a moment as their memories collectively redefined themselves in an instant, then smiled at the two hunters, or at least waved. The pair arrived at the tent in the middle, the largest of them. Two men stood outside but gestured them in as they got close. "You've returned," the tribe patriarch said. Beside him the matriarch watched silently. "With no prey, I notice." "No sacrifice for tonight," Tomas said regretfully. "Unless one of the other hunters is successful." "They most likely will be, but we feed our people first, not our god," the elder said calmly, though the way Tomas shifted indicated a calm voice did not mean calm mind. Eventually the two hunters left the elders tent. "Well, to a good hunt tomorrow, eh?" Tomas said, grasping Gav's hand. "To a good hunt," Gav said, his lips stretching into a smile. "And let us hope the gods look favorably on us." And with that, they both went to their tents, one worrying about tomorrow's hunt and the other with a mind that couldn't be described.