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2: Amongst the first godspirits to bond dragons 2: Amongst the first
godspirits to bond dragons In Mindspace, gods aren’t what we conventionally think of as gods, and Akhet is no exception. They’re little more than incredibly powerful beings, basically the same as anyone else but with more recourses and control at their hands. They’re usually immortal, and very old—it’s the experience garnered from all those years that gives them the ability to control so very much. Not all powerful beings that fit those requirements are considered to be amongst the gods; only those that the normal citizens of Akhet go to for help, and who have some sort of interest in Akhet and sentient affairs in general. They don’t look any different, and some can even walk amongst the people of Akhet and not be noticed, either through shapeshifting or because their true form is not known pictorially. In fact, whether or not they’re well known, quite a few do choose to visit Akhet in person, though none of them actually visit the city all that often. They like their privacy, and live wither on their own, or in a city with most of their compatriots, whom they’ve befriended or allied themselves with in their long lifetimes, and thus come to form pantheons to the normal citizens who lack immortality and the power to warp “reality” itself. Sometimes, however, they forget this. Such was the case when Yarepei, a moderately powerful Akhet god-spirit whose specialty was communications and magic, particularly when associated with embalming and the dead, approached the court in the City of the Gods. He—and he is a pronoun used /very/ loosely—had come to seek his ruler’s approval in the subject he’d become more and more interested in as time wore on. The god bowed deeply to the forms of Usire and Aset seated on their thrones. Yarepei was not one for formality, and neither were his siblings, both of which sat on the thrones of gold that befitted the king of the gods and his [male] queen, but they were in full court, and most of the members of said court did like everything done with the proper hubbub and such. At least this way, no one would be able to say he went behind anyone’s backs with his idea, which he had a feeling would be much more controversial with those most arrogant of gods. “I come to you, oh great rulers.” Yarepei began, bowing once more, “to ask about something which has been gnawing my mind for some time. It’s an idea.” Usire nodded, so different in his role as king that Yarepei almost had trouble recognizing him from the much calmer Usire he knew. “You tend to have good ideas, brother.” The king said, “Tell us what’s on your mind.” Aset nodded his agreement, looking at the androgynous spirit god with interest. “Dragons.” Yarepei began, drawing a snort out of Sefut immediately. Sefut was Usire’s brother, and by this connection had a high standing in the court, despite everything he’d done to earn the removal of such status. “I’d like to see about… bonding one.” “That’s something for the /mortals./” Sefut said before Usire had a chance to reply, “It’s below us. We are gods, we need no dragons!” Yarepei could feel his anger rising at the comment—Sefut always caused such reactions in him, which was rare in the normally sedate god—but Aset cut him off before he had a chance to reply. Usire’s consort was small and delicate, but his words were as sharp as steel—“We are not so different from them.” He said airily to the jealous brother of his mate, “Least of all you, who showcases a truly impressive array of mortal vices. I think,” he paused here, significantly, “That if Yarepei wishes to have a dragon, he should have one. In fact, I’ve been quite interested in the creatures myself—we may be gods, but we are still,” he paused again, giving Sefut a vicious smile, “alive, and want the same sort of things that any living creature does. That any mortal does.” Sefut snarled. “They’ve had dragons for ages,” he said, changing the subject—the prior was an argument he knew he wouldn’t win. “So why do you notice them now? Why weren’t you interested in the dumb beasts they kept quelled with draconic narcotics?” Yarepei took the opportunity to reply for himself, “Before, they rarely bonded with the creatures. Now the inhabitants of akhet are bonding with both their native dragons, and.” He paused, hesitating, “dragons from other places. Dragons as sentient as we are. I’ve.. seen how they work together, and a well matched pair is not only an asset to themselves, but to everyone around them. I wondered if perhaps we could get the same results.” Aset and Usire leant together
and spoke in undertone, plainly ignoring Sefut, who was snarling in the corner.
Their conversation only lasted a minute—seconds later, they straitened and
nodded, Aset giving him a rare smile. “We’ve decided,” Aset said, speaking for
the pair in his light, pleasant voice, “that you may go. In fact, we’d like it
if you did go. If you are successful, we will seek bonds for ourselves, and we
encourage everyone else to do the same.”
Yarepei bowed deeply. “Thank you, my lords.” He said, and wandered
gracefully out. Not more than a few minutes after he left, the sound of familiar footsteps filled his ears—ones he did not like. The heavy, angry step could only belong to Sefut, and there was only one reason the chaos god-spirit would be wandering about in these secluded corridors where Yarepei made his home. It made the androgynous god snarl—he had no time for bullshit like this right now. He pointedly closed the main door of his rooms, knowing it wouldn’t deter the god an inch, but thinking that perhaps trying was a good idea. They only stopped Sefut for the minute it took him to open the door and stomp inside. “Dragons.” The chaos god said to him, voice and posture conveying his disgust. “Don’t tell me you aren’t interested too.” Yarepei told him, unfazed. “You are as curious about their bonds as I, I can see it in your eyes. Don’t deny it,” he added, cutting the chaos god’s protest off before it started, “part of my power is to tell what others are thinking, and you have no disguise to your thoughts.” Now it was his turn to look disgusted. Yarepei flicked his furred hand in the air, as if to wave the notion away. “So what if I am. You’re still lowering yourself to the level of /mortals/, Yarepei!” “Arrogant fool,” Yarepei replied, “you’re just upset because I’m doing something you were interested in before you thought to try it for yourself. Besides, the only difference between us and the mortals is our power and long lives. Now leave, I tire of you.” At this, the smaller god turned his back, making to ignore Sefut. Sefut put his ears back, face still contorted in a snarl. Without warning he plowed into Yarepei, pushing him roughly back into the wall, and keeping him there with his body. “Don’t. turn. Your. Back. On. Me.” He hissed in the smaller godspirit’s ear, shoving him roughly on every word. “Ever.” Yarpei said nothing—at the moment, pressed up against him like he was, Sefut had the advantage—the godspirit was three times as strong as Yarpei was. It was a battle he knew he would loose. Magic-wise, the tables were turned, but not physically. “You’re.. female.” Sefut added in undertone, hissing in the smaller god’s ear. “For the moment.” Was Yarepei’s only reply. This was the reason any gender pronoun had to be used loosely in reference to him—he was in the habit switching gender without warning, based on whichever he preferred at any given moment. “Hmmm.” Sefut continued, pressing, if possible, closer to Yarepei’s smaller form, and letting his hands do a bit of wandering. “What a nice change. Get in the bed.” The last sentence was said forcefully, and it made Yarepei understand why most feared him and did as he said without question. He was not most people, however, and didn’t move an inch. “Unwise decision. Sex is energy, I can manipulate that.” He said no more than that, but what was implied hung heavily in the air, taunting Sefut. This was one boundary he couldn’t cross on Yarepei, and he knew it. The fur on his back rose and his ears shifted backwards, but he did nothing else, bar shove against Yarepei one last time and step abruptly backwards, leaving the smaller god still tense against the wall. “Perhaps I am interested in the dragons. In any case, if you’ve been granted permission to try and bond one, I will assume the same right has been granted to me. I will be amongst the first gods of Akhet to bond a dragon.” He gave an expression that was as much a warning snarl as it was a grin. “Good luck, lover of mortals.” And with that he turned, stringing purposefully out of the room.
Yarepei watched him go, thoughts churning. Both gods were good on their word. Days later, both had consulted the priests who served them in exchange for their favors for information as to where to go to bond one of the dragons that were coming into their world in increasingly larger numbers, and Yarepei had found a younger godspirit to whom he could entrust his responsibilities while he was away. Sefut had no need to do the latter—he had no responsibilities to anyone, and enjoyed his status as a godspirit only because of his ties to Usire and his interest in mortal affairs—specifically, causing chaos in those affairs. Sefut had desired to go to a world so different from Akhet that it caught his interest—Star City Dragonry. The clutch in their fifth hatching bay had caught his interest, and he’d been searching for a good change anyway. Technology was not so foreign to him as it was to some of his siblings and fellow godspirits, and with as interesting as Star City seemed, he doubted he would be bored. Arrival at the space station only furthered his opinion to this fact. He appeared there quite suddenly, having no need to rely on a ride or some other being to transport him. Being the chaos god that he was, he appeared right in the center of the busy city section of the dragonry, all but twitching with delight. He liked it here already.
After seeking directions from a stranger, he made his way to the
area where the candidates were required to sign up—bullshit, in his opinion,
but if that’s what it took for him to be rewarded with a chance to bond a
dragon, then he’d go through the tedious monotone of the sign-up process.
Sometimes you had to make sacrifices to attain what you wanted, and he didn’t
mind this, so long as he got his goal in the end. Yarepei, meanwhile, had chosen somewhere more suited to his quiet being. Sanctuary, the place where the Asandus kits heralded from. This would be a long term stay, which made it just as well that he’d gotten someone to take care of his responsibilities while he was away. Whether or not it was actually quieter may have been a point of debate, since it was well populated and he would be dealing with occasionally excitable asandus kits, but the idea of getting to know the kits themselves over a period of time appealed to him—he would rather be well-matched, than not matched at all. And, of course, there was their relationship with magic. To his knowledge, they bonded through it, and being a god of magic, this made him feel oddly comfortable. It was something he could appreciate. He arrived as abruptly as Sefut had in star city dragonry, but took to the process of signing up with much more calmness and respect for the process. This was a thing that required patience, after all, and with patience he would get a bond who he could connect with and whose company he could enjoy.
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