Death: Genesis

A gentle wind swept across the landscape, sending waves across the sea of green grass. Zeke, along with Pudge, Jasper, and a handful of kobold centurions, cut through it as they made their way across the Mukti Plains. He squinted his eyes as he gazed toward the horizon, and in the distance, he saw a blurry smudge that he thought might be a tree line.

But if it was, then those trees had to be quite a bit larger than any Zeke had ever seen. He shielded his eyes with an open palm and asked, “Is that it?”

Pudge said, “It is.”

Over the past few weeks, the group had slowly traversed the Mukti Plains, and in that time, Zeke had continued with Pudge’s language skills. The bearkin still wasn’t particularly articulate – in fact, his preference for stoicism remained just as prevalent as before – but he was getting better with each passing day.

The journey had also served to teach Zeke a couple of lessons. First, and probably most importantly, he’d begun to realize just how vast the Eternal Realm was. He’d gotten hints during his previous travels – especially on the tundra – but the plains seemed so endless that he’d often found himself marveling at the sheer size of his new world.

Second, the inherent danger of said world was reaffirmed with every passing mile. He’d lost count of how many times he and his small group had been attacked. Normally, they dealt with each threat without breaking a sweat, but on a few occasions, Zeke and his companions had been forced to go all out.

Fortunately, no one had been killed, and there had only been a few injuries. As a result, a few of his kobold retainers had been replaced at various times throughout the journey. However, that turned out to be a good thing because it spread the benefits – both in kill energy and battle experience – out a little more.

Otherwise, Zeke summoned his tower’s gate every night to let his people send out expeditions to hunt the plains. They still had plenty of hunting expeditions leaving the physical tower – which was still back where he’d originally planted it – but the nightly excursions were important because it let them experience a wider variety of enemies while avoiding overhunting the areas around the tower.

In short, the journey had been a boon, and not just because it had gotten Zeke closer to the ultimate goal. Still, they would have to cross Adontis – which would probably bring unmitigated hostility – before they reached the Kingdome of El’kireth and found Talia.

So, there was still a long way to go, and Zeke knew better than to expect it the trek to be peaceful. But that seemed to be the case with the Eternal Realm. Conflict was the default, and though there were plenty of exceptions, peace – especially between the various races of beings that lived there – was a rarity.

Not that Zeke expected anything different from a realm created to funnel powerful warriors into growing even stronger so that they could contribute in an ongoing battle between good and evil. Of course, Zeke had begun to wonder about the nature of that battle, but that didn’t change the reality of the realms’ collective purpose.

For now, though, Zeke needed to focus on what was in front of him. So, he asked, “How far do you think it is?”

“At least a hundred miles more.”

At first, Zeke was a bit shocked at the estimate. However, that was only because, at times, he still slipped into the mindset of his old world. Back then, the concept of seeing a forest from that far away was laughable. Now, though, with the more powerful senses that came with his racial evolutions, it wasn’t really so surprising. And given the unobstructed view provided by the flat plains, he should have expected it.

“So, at least two days.”

That was another change. Because of the nature of the plains – as well as the ability to travel lightly – Zeke and his companions could cover much more ground than most. On Earth, going twenty-five miles in a single day was good progress, but Zeke could go at least three times that fast without breaking a sweat. Indeed, if he wasn’t saddled with the slower kobolds, he could have already made it to the tree line.

“Three,” Pudge said, glancing at their companions. The kobolds centurions were strong, but they had evolved underground. As such, their physiology wasn’t really suited to running long distances. Still, the reptilian people never complained, and they pushed themselves harder than most. So, Zeke couldn’t find fault with his escorts.

“Wish the centaurs were still around,” Zeke remarked. For the first couple of weeks after they’d set out, they’d done so with the company of a full company of centaurs. However, as they drew closer to Adontis, the centaurs had turned back. They wanted no quarrel with the other nation, after all, and venturing too close to the border could be interpreted as a sign of aggression for the warlike knights that patrolled the boundary. For now, they two sides were content to ignore one another, but there was enough tension between them that it wouldn’t take more than a tiny spark to set those relations ablaze.

Still, the lack of centaurs meant that they were entirely dependent on Pudge and a few kobold rangers for scouting. They were good at it, but it was nothing compared to what the centaur hunters could accomplish on their native ground.

After a few more moments, Zeke turned back to the resting centaurs and said, “Alright. Break time is over. Let’s get things moving.”

As usual, the kobolds offered no complaints. Instead, they gathered their packs – they insisted on carrying them even if they all knew Zeke could summon any necessary supplies with only a thought – and followed Zeke and Pudge through the grassland. To make things easier, Zeke adopted his earth-fueled colossal form, if only because it offered him better sight lines. The kobolds and Pudge were all large enough that they needed no extra help in that department.

After setting off, the group covered the ground at a loping jog that they could keep up for hours. It would be tiring for the kobolds, but they could manage it just fine. Like that, they miles melted before them until, at last, they reached an obstacle in the form of a wide river that sliced through the grassland.

Zeke stopped a few hundred feet away.

Just like on Earth, the body of water represented both sustenance and danger. The former because water was necessary for survival and the latter because that was just as true for vicious predators as it was for everything else.

He scanned the area, and true to form, found precisely what he was looking for. The village – a label that seemed generous, given the primitive state of the settlement – was about half a mile upriver and on the other side of the snaking body of water. So, it was probably far enough away that the denizens wouldn’t notice them.

However, Zeke suspected that that would not be the case. No settlement of note existed without at least some members acting as scouts. Or at the very least, hunters. So, he was understandably worried about running into yet another group of sentient monsters. Sapience was probably too much to hope for – especially considering that the centaurs hadn’t mentioned them – but Zeke refused to rule that out, either.

“I hate snakes,” Pudge said, standing beside Zeke and looking at the same settlement.

“I’ve never had anything against them,” was Zeke’s response. Indeed, growing up where he had, it was inevitable that he would frequently come across plenty of the reptiles. Still, that was poor preparation for the creatures in the distance.

At first glance, the categorization as snakes seemed appropriate. They had long, slithery bodies and heads that reminded Zeke of cobras he’d seen back on Earth. And yet, each was also equipped with a humanoid torso, complete with muscular arms covered in bright blue scales. Otherwise, they seemed mostly normal as they moved about their primitive settlement of stilted houses constructed of reeds and woven grass.

Zeke watched as they dove into the water. Not long after, the first serpentine creature surfaced, a sizable fish impaled on its harpoon.

“Naga,” came Jasper’s voice. Zeke glanced over to see the dark elf standing a few feet to his left. He hadn’t even heard Jasper’s approach, which left him feeling more vulnerable than he probably should have. He’d grown so used to relying on his overtuned senses that when they were subverted – a quirk of Jasper’s racial heritage – he found it very disconcerting. Fortunately, Jasper had proven himself a valuable ally, and on more than a few occasions. So, Zeke knew he had nothing to fear from the loyal dark elf.

“What are naga?” Zeke asked.

“Snake people, usually found near or in vast bodies of water,” Jasper answered. “There are a few civilized sub-races, but their level of sapience seems to be tied to the size of the body of water they inhabit. River naga are generally considered no more advanced than goblins. Less so, most of the time.”

Left unsaid was that, if these river naga had made their home on the banks of a fairly small – at least in relation to the rest of the world – river, then they were almost assuredly less advanced than their ocean-going cousins. The simple reed-and-woven-grass structures supported that assumption as well. However, just because they weren’t very advanced didn’t mean that they weren’t dangerous, especially so near to their homes.

For Zeke that meant one thing – they needed to give the naga a wide berth. So, he relayed his intentions to the kobolds, and they set off on a course parallel to the river. As they put some distance between themselves and the naga village, Zeke also kept an eye out for a potential crossing.

While the river wasn’t impressive by the standards of the enormous Eternal Realm, it was still over half a mile wide. That meant that it was likely home to dangerous river monsters as well as a swift current that would make getting to the other side a dangerous proposition.

After half a day – and just before nightfall – they found precisely what they were looking for, too. The river had narrowed to only a few hundred yards of shallow and relatively slow-moving water which made the crossing as close to ideal as was possible. However, there was predictably a bit of an issue with it as well.

Every time they’d gotten close enough to the river to see the ribbon of muddy water, they’d found yet another naga village. Some were just as small as the first one they’d seen, but others were quite a bit more expansive.

However, none were as large as the one positioned next to the crossing.

“How many do you think there are?” asked Zeke from nearly a mile away.

“At least a thousand,” answered Jasper.

“More,” added Pudge, pointing downriver where a few sinuous shapes were just visible beneath the surface. “Many more.”

Zeke let out a groan. This was the best crossing they could find, and while he didn’t think it was unique, there was every chance that finding another would require that they go many miles out of their way. Already, the river’s snaking path had taken them a little off track, and Zeke feared that it would only get worse if they left the crossing behind.

He discussed it with Pudge and Jasper – also asking the kobolds for input – and in the end, it came down to three choices. The first was to simply do what they’d been doing and move on, trying to find another way across the river. However, this came with a couple of problems. The first – and most obvious – was that there was no guarantee they’d find anything better. Indeed, even if they did, it might take them so far off course that it would add weeks to their journey.

The second option was to try to sneak past. The river naga were not entirely unintelligent, but Zeke likened them to apes or chimps – at least insofar as their advancement – so he reasoned that they would have weaknesses to exploit. So, sneaking across the river was a possibility. But just like the first option, it wasn’t without its own issues. Chief among those was that there was every possibility that it was impossible to get past the naga while avoiding detection. It was their turf, and so, it stood to reason that they would recognize any deviation in the environment. Perhaps Pudge would find it easy to creep past them, but Zeke had never been the particularly stealthy sort.

Which brought him to the third option, which was to simply walk in and destroy anyone who dared try to stop him. For obvious reasons, this plan appealed to Zeke. And for just as obvious reasons, it was probably a bad idea. Or at least that’s what he thought until Jasper pointed something out.

“What? Seriously? It can’t be that easy, can it?” Zeke asked.

“I would not categorize it as easy,” Jasper huffed. “Nagas are not weak enemies, and their leaders are chosen specifically for their ferocity.”

“Right. Sure. But you’re saying that I can just fight one guy, and they’ll let me through?” Zeke asked.

“Probably. Assuming that my education was accurate.”

“And what are the odds that it wasn’t?”

“Slim.”

Zeke nodded. “Alright. So, according to what you know, how would I go about challenging their leader?” he asked. “Do I just walk up there and smack the biggest one in the face? Or is there some sort of ceremony involved?”

“Oh – their leaders are never the big ones. They have a matriarchal society and are ruled by their most powerful water seers.”

“And?”

“You are willing to fight a water seer in the…ah…water?”

Zeke shrugged. “I’ve done stupider things.”

“I doubt that.”

“He has,” Pudge stated.

Zeke frowned. “Ouch, buddy. Seriously.”

“Truth.”

Zeke rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Okay – my intelligence notwithstanding, is that how it works? I just walk up and challenge the leader?”

“More or less.”

“Alright, then. Guess we have a plan.”