Iternis
The ground buckled and bent underneath Iternis’s feet. Great forces broiled under the earth that sent waves of power towards the surface. While any animal or mortal would merely feel a slight tremor, the God of Journeys sensed the true, terrifying energy rising and threatening the world. Iternis knew that if he had been closer to the source, the great Verdant One, he would see and feel much more physical upheaval, but regardless, he could still feel the dangerous and angry energy swirling through the vast underground beneath.
Something had enraged the Tree of Genesis.
Although Iternis had never laid eyes on his older sibling, he had memories and feelings held over from his time in the Lifeblood and could also feel the behemoth’s massive roots that pierced through every corner of the globe. There was no doubt in Iternis’s mind that, if the Tree was truly angered, if it decided to fight something with it’s full strength, the galbar that he had just come to experience would be destroyed.
Iternis shed his mortal form, exploding into a cloud of feathers as he flew towards the heavens; while being caught on the ground during a Great Upheaval would not kill him, it certainly would inconvenience him. He turned his flock to the World Anchor, listening to the faint song that had begun to emanate from the whole of everything grow in anger and urgency. From his viewpoint, Iternis could just make out the Omnibloom on the horizon, great, serrated roots thrusting skywards.
Iternis sighed, he did not know what could possibly be foolish enough to assail the Tree of Genesis, but they had certainly destroyed any chance at Galbar continuing as it was now.
Suddenly, Iternis felt the raging energy recede from the roots below and the Worldsong returned to its quiet harmonies. In the distance the vicious roots of the First Tree retracted into the earth and Iternis let out another sigh, this time it was one of relief.Galbar was so young but already the whims of the gods threatened to burn its crib to ashes.
Iternis swarmed back down to the ground and condensed into the form of a man. He began walking, taking in all the world around him. The trees still grew. The bird still sang. The deer still browsed and the Stone Birds still charged through the mountains. None seemed to be aware they had almost been snuffed from existence not moments before. Things probably couldn’t go on like this. No, they won’t go on like this.
Iternis didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that eventually, and probably soon, the Gods would have to leave Galbar or stop using so much power.He could already feel some small tumultuous eddies within the Lifeblood. Not the kind that shatter into new gods, but something different, something new. Iternis broke himself away from that train of thought.. The problem with inevitabilities is that you always get there, so trying to plan how to approach it seems a little superfluous.
One way or another, Iternis will soon have to leave Galbar and he would be damned if he didn’t experience as much of the young planet as he could before that day. The god dropped to his knees, taking the soft, loamy soil of the Anchor into his hands. He could wander around aimlessly, hoping he found satisfaction, or he could make a guide.
Iternis tossed the dirt up into the air, letting it fall back down. But before the clods of moist earth could return to their starting places, they seemed to splatter against some invisible form, sticking to and revealing the shape of the object. Iternis then spun his foot through the dirt, casting upwards a spray of material that filled out the image of a large chest. Iternis took more dirt into his hands and began patting it on the new form of his creation, shaping it as he went.
He wanted to make something special, not just a new type of animal or some race of mortals. Those were done to death at this point. Sure, Iternis needed mortals to survive, but he also needed more than just survival to be happy. As Iternis’s hands ran along the soft soil, shaping smooth, strong legs, he began to think about what he wanted. He mostly wanted company, but he could probably get that from any manner of god or mortal. He wanted something a little bit more intimate than that, something that wasn’t just one of his creations but also something that was his own.
A child?
Iternis shuddered at that thought as he crafted a strong neck and began to work on the profile of a proud face. He had a very limited knowledge of the way families worked, what with him and all his siblings “birth” being ejected from a tumultuous and primordial soup of an entity. Even so, he didn’t think he wanted to attempt procreating at the moment. He probably could do it with a mortal if he wanted- he probably could do it by himself- but at the moment that role didn’t quite jump out at him. He picked up the last clump of dirt and began to shape a long tail before stepping back and admiring the figure he had created.
He stood before what looked to be a large statue of a four-legged beast. He stood tall, taller than Iternis’s form, which was stylized after the common mortals. Long legs descended from a barrel chest and ended in large paws. A lengthy, sweeping tail hung behind powerful haunches and the stout, sturdy neck was capped in a wolf-like head that held rounder and softer features.. With a small smile Iternis snapped his fingers, causing the pert ears of the new being to flop down playfully.
Iternis realized, above all, he just wanted a simple companion, a loyal friend.
Iternis breathed life into the soil statue and in an instant long wiry fur covered the beast’s body. The figure fell to the ground, supporting its weight for the first time. Iternis was worried he may have hurt himself, but the sound of a tail thumping quickly dispersed the god’s worries. The new life turned his enormous head towards his creator, intelligent, copper eyes glinting from underneath long-furred brows and a wide tongue lolling from his maw.
“Who are you?” the figure asked, looking quite shocked, “-Oh... I wasn’t expecting to be able to talk!”
“You must forgive me,” the god laughed, “I did take away the chance for you to learn language on your own, I hope you don’t mind.”
The large dog cocked his head, thinking for a little before speaking.
“I don’t think I do: it would be a lot harder to talk to you if you hadn’t,” He rumbled, his voice like warm rain on dry dirt, “So I guess that means you are my creator?”
“Maybe,” Iternis ducked his head in a very noncommittal gesture, “But I certainly could have had a role in it. I am, however, without a doubt, Iternis, God of Journeys.”
Iternis gave a little bow as the great dog stood up to his full height. The hound pressed his wet nose into Iternis’s face, taking in deep draughts of air and ruffling the god’s feather crown.
“You don’t smell very godly.” He murmured as well as any dog could murmur, “And you are rather small.”
“Perhaps. Maybe you are just very big!”
“Perhaps, but that still doesn’t explain why you don’t smell like a god,” The dog retorted, sniffing Iternis’s whole being for good measures.
“How would you even know what a god is supposed to smell like,” Iternis laughed as he pushed his companions great muzzle away from his face, ”You don’t even know your own name!”
“Oh…” the dog reeled a little, falling onto his haunches as he pondered that statement, “I guess I don’t. What is my name?”
“I was hoping you would be able to figure that out,” the god said as he looked up at the sitting dog, “I wouldn’t want to steal that honor from you.”
“That’s very kind,” the unnamed one bowed in gratitude, before pondering for a while, “But don’t you think that is a little tricky, naming yourself?”
“Nonsense, I did it,” Iternis waved his hand in the air as if swatting the idea away, “I did it and that certainly helped me a whole of a lot in finding out what I wanted to be.”
“But you are a God, no matter how little you smell like it,” the dog rebutted, “It is right for you to name things, even yourself. As far as I’m aware, I’m no god.”
“So are you wanting me to name you?”
The great beast nodded.
“Well,” Iternis started as he set himself down on the ground cross-legged, “That is a really big task. While I can’t say I expected to have to name you, I did have a few ones bouncing around that I liked. Are you sure you can’t think of any for yourself.”
“Positive,” the creation rumbled as he filled Iternis’s lap with his head.
“Well, then we have some work to do,” Iternis chuckled as he began to stroke and scritch his companion’s ears, “When I got my name, it came to me in an instant and I felt like I had always known it, so I probably just have to try and puzzle it out until you feel the same.”
“If you wanted something fierce, we could go with Verren or maybe Khal, but I don’t think those really fit. We could always default to just descriptors, like Gray or even just Hound but I like being original. Bartholomeo? No, far to regal, I don’t think you would like to have to always be living up to a name like Bartholomeo. Maybe Alder? Harrung?” As Iternis talked and pet the dog’s head, he began to lull into a soft, tired state of contentedness, “I know sharing names with plants is a thing people like so Pepper, Oak, and Lantana are all options, but I feel like you are more than a plant. Bear, Leon, Dragon? No, I don’t think names coming from other beasts suit you either. What if we named you after another god, wouldn’t that be funny. Although it could be confusing with two Fe’ris’s running around. How about my name? Do you want to borrow Iternis? I figured not. Allai, Juri, Nambi, all good options. Dalthal, Cerius, Teva, Po, Toog-”
At that last one the dog perked his head up, meeting Iternis’s silver eyes with his copper ones.
“What does that one mean?” He asked, curiosity pricking up his ears.
‘Toog? Well, I suppose it means you!” The god laughed, ruffling up the dog’s head.
“I suppose it does,” Toog rested his head back into Iternis’s lap, “I suppose it does…”
“Well, now that you have a name, what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” Toog responded, standing back up and towering over his creator, “Explore this world, probably.”
Iternis broke into a broad smile. He laughed and slapped his thighs as he sprung from his sitting position, bouncing as he landed on his feet.
“I was hoping that’s what you would say!” Iternis laughed, “I hope you don't mind if I tag along?”
“Not at all,” Toog chuckled, standing to his full height, “Climb on top, I can carry you faster than you can walk.”
“I can fly.”
“Oh…” Toog paused for a moment, “Do you still want to go with me?”
“Of course I do,” Iternis reassured his new friend, hopping onto the large dog’s broad back and grabbing his coarse fur for support, “Plus, I’m pretty sure that big ol’ nose of yours is way better at finding the interesting stuff to find in this world than I am”
Indeed, when Toog took a great sniff of the world, he could feel all the tendrils of something mixing within his mind. Some divine ergey that swirled around the world and radiated from objects that he could somehow sense from great distances away. In fact, he was startled to realize, he himself radiated that same energy.
“What is all this,” Toog said in awe.
Iternis just chucked, “I can’t smell all that you can smell, but it is probably Divinity. The essence of all that is godly in this world. The more interesting a thing is, the more a god’s touched it I suppose.”
“So I was made to track down all these interesting things for you?”
“Hardly,” Iternis patted Toog’s neck, “You were made so you could track down all these interesting things for you! And you’ll be incredibly good at it, we don’t have much time after all.”
Toog turned his head to face Iternis, his eyes full of surprise, “We don’t have much time? Will it all go away?”
“No, I guess ‘we’ wasn’t the best choice of words there,” Iternis clarified, “I don’t have that much time. I will have to go away. Maybe not soon, but eventually, and any limit makes it not enough time.”
“But why?” Toog seemed frightened at losing his new and first friend.
“Don’t you worry, it isn’t really in our control,” Iternis ruffled the fur around Toog’s neck, “All the gods are going to have to leave. Maybe they all know it, or maybe it's just because I never truly broke all my connections to the Lifeblood, but I know that we will either have to leave or destroy Galbar. I don’t really have a say over which path the rest of the gods choose, but I certainly want to be able to experience Galbar in person while I can. And I figured you would want to come along for the Journey.”
Toog turned his head away, not quite sure how to respond. His flanks swayed in a great sigh and he began to walk. He walked in silence for a while, Iternis sitting straight on his back. As he plotted through the woods, Toog realized that this was the first time he had ever walked, but that didn’t seem like a big deal. He much rather would think of it as that he had been walking for the majority of his life. Which was also true in a sense.
As they walked, Iternis began humming a meandering and rough tune, if you could call it that. It hardly had any rhythm or musical element to it and was barely more than random noise, but still it filled Toog’s chest with contentedness. The two happened upon a chasm, hewn from the rock and that split the mountains. Toog came to a halt at the precipice, looking across the canyon at the other end which was about three hundred feet away.
“Why did you stop?” Iternis broke the long drought of conversation.
“I can’t make that jump.” Toog stated plainly.
“Sure, if you only jump…”Iternis trailed off rather unhelpfully. He leaned down and patted Toog’s neck, “I’m sure you can figure out what to do.”
Toog stood confused for a moment before realizing he did, in fact, know what to do. He took a few steps back and drew in a deep breath. Dirt exploded outwards as Toog’s paws pounded into the soil, a deep rumble growing in his chest. He bounded into the sky and flew over air as Iternis clutched tight to his neck. Toog reached deep into that feeling that rested in the base of his being and then, with all the joy at the idea of living, he let out a deep, earth shattering bark. The sound echoed through the chasm and caused the air to ripple, almost like it tore a hole in the fabric of space. The shimmering ripple of air existed for only a moment, but a moment enough for Toog to pierce through it and land safely on the other end.
Iternis’s laugh dispersed the still echoing bark as the god cheered and hugged Toog’s neck tightly.
“C’mon boy, let’s go see the world.”
Toog smiled as best as a dog could smile and tore off at full speed, leaving everything in his wake. Their Journey had just begun.