---

It’s been 60 years, and honestly, it wasn’t so bad. It seems that other than speeding up my perception of time, it’s quite easy to get used to it. Easier than what should be possible in such a small amount of time.

Sadly, the kid passed away 30 years ago. And as I promised, I kept him company and guided him as much as I can. I’ll miss the boy. Both him and the toolmaker. Without them, it would have taken a longer time to get this far and life would have been less enjoyable.

During that period, the maximum amount I increased my perception of time was 8 times, to keep track of the kid, and to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.

Even when I was absent, he was never alone, and he managed to find a mate and start a family. And thankfully, the children inherited some of their father’s intelligence. Now we’re overseeing the 5th generation. And it’s time to teach them about the invention that changed mankind’s life forever. Controlled fire.

“Are you ready, young one?”, says Azan, who’s currently observing 2 children from another group, carving an Awa statue on wood. As the group travelled, they spread the Awa figures to other groups.

Many groups started believing that Awa, which if you remember is me, is real, which in return helped me influence them and increase my powers. I now have up to 43 groups under my guidance and in terms of power, I can communicate with up to 10 people simultaneously, send a semi-transparent apparition near my statues and even have some minor influence on their evolution, which helped the children in retaining the increased intelligence.

“Now it’s time for the age of fire to begin.”, I tell Azan.

He nods and says, “Indeed, it is.”.

Now let’s do this.

Cold… So cold…

Cave is cold…

I hate cold… I hate snow…

I hug my mama, but mama is also cold…

Please, let the cave be warm… please…

Listen, young child.

A voice in my head? I heard about it before.

I look at a carving in the corner, “Awa?”.

Some in cave look at me. Some laugh at me, others just ignore me.

Maybe it is the cold. Playing tricks.

No it is not the cold, it is I Awa. Do you desire warmth child?

Yes, but it is cold.

Indeed, it is. But there is a way. Grab some wood and grass that are dry, grab 2 stones that are flat and 1 that is sharp.

Why? Wood is cold and so is stone.

Do you know why people carve me? Why am I not called wood or stone, but Awa? Why I have a name?

Name? what is that?

It is a word that defines you, that makes you yourself and not the same as others. Do you know why I have a name?

No, I do not know.

It is because I am the guide, and believe that I will lead the way. If you want warmth to replace the cold, grab the things that I asked and go near my statue.

If it stops the cold. I will do it. I grab the stones, I grab the wood and I grab the grass, and I take them to Awa. Then I saw him. Awa… He looks different from the carving.

“Well done child.”.

Why isn’t anyone reacting? They do not see him?

“No, they do not. Only you hear and see me. To stop the dread of the frost, you must do as I say.”. He says, then he points on floor.

“Bundle the dry grass together and put them in the center, then put the flat stones to both its sides.”

I do as he says, but how does that make it warm?

“Excellent, now shave one side of a thick piece of wood then drill in its center, but do not puncture it.”.

Puncture?

“It means to drill through it. Trust me.”.

I shave the wood and drill it. I look and see some other kids gather.

“Good, now put it on the rocks and hold its edges with your feet, so that it won’t slip and grab another. This one should be a thin, but strong stick.”.

Why? How would rocks and wood make things warm? You mocking me? Making me look dumb?

Awa crosses his hands. He says, “Why would I mock you? What would anyone gain from that? A few laughs? Look around you, what do you see?”.

I look around. Cold… Everyone is cold…

“That’s right... Some might even die from the cold… If you want to save them, save yourself and your family, do what I say, even if it may look silly. It will save you all.”.

Awa is right, so I put the drilled stick on the rocks. I grab a thin and a strong piece.

Awa then moves his hands. One hand back and the other in front. He repeats in opposite, “Now put the stick in the hole and keep turning it as fast as you can.”.

I will do that. I keep turning and turning, then stick falls.

“Don’t give up. Do it again, but this time, try to put more pressure on the drilled piece of wood.”.

Pressure? What is that?

“It means to put more strength. Try it and don’t give up.”.

I do it again and it falls again. The others laugh. I don’t want them to laugh.

“Ignore them and try again. Please.”.

I try again. This time is better. But the stick falls.

I try again.

Again.

Again.

They laugh at me. I don’t care.

Again.

Again.

Smoke?

“Good. Now girl, lift the stick and the piece of wood, then blow gently on the grass.”.

I blow, then blow again, and- “AAaaahhh!”.

Fire! Everyone steps back.

“Calm down, girl. It won’t harm you. Well, it won’t as long as you don’t put your hand in it or light it in the forest, or near something that burns.”. Said Awa. He talked differently.

“Grab a branch and put its tip in the fire. Quickly, before it burns out.”.

I do as Awa says. The stick burns and its warm.

“Now gather some grass into a bundle and put some sticks on it. Start with small twigs, then put some larger pieces Make sure not to burn anything with the stick before that.”.

I do all that. Everyone is still afraid of fire, but not as much as before. Some even come close.

“Now just put some rocks on the edges to prevent the wood from rolling away and place the stick in the grass.”.

After that, the grass burns, then the wood burns. Just those. Everything else is fine. The fire doesn’t spread, only smoke.

Awa smiles, “Congratulations young girl. You’re the first fire starter. How do you feel?”.

Warm…

Awa laughs, “Well warmth is just one feature of fire, put some meat on the tip of a stick, and put it in the fire and wait.”.

I take some meat from near mama and put it on a stick. I put the stick in the fire and wait.

“Now, take it out, blow on it, and after a moment, eat it.”.

I put it in my mouth. Hot! Hot, but also good!

“Good work, kiddo. There are other uses for fire, but it’ll take forever to teach you everything. Anyways, now that I’m finished here, I gotta go now.”.

Awa is going?

“Sorry girl, but there’re others I have to teach. And speaking of teaching, teach the others and any group that’s worth it what I taught you.”.

And Awa disappeared…

I’ll teach them Awa, I will…

“Owa!(Come)”, I say. I point at the wood, at the grass, and at the stone, “Awo!(Get)”.

I Better start now…

Phew… That was hard… I spent 3 days non-stop teaching all the groups how to start a fire…

“So how did I do?”, I ask Azan. I believe I did an excellent job.

“You have a talent in teaching others, but you need to work on acting. Every time, you easily broke out of character during the middle of a lecture.”. Way to burst my bubble, buddy…

Anyways, better check my status. Oh, I seem to have a message.

Achievement unlocked: Giver of the flame. Real Name: Leon Octavian Sirus. World: Unnamed Known as: Awa. Guided Race(s): Hol Kel Tagan. Level: 7. Achievements: Teacher of men, Father of an industry, Mean Bean, Giver of the flame. Skills: Thought influence, Telepathy(Low), Reincarnation, Descendance(Minimal), Blessings(Physical:Minimal), Familiar(Minimal). Afterlife: Elium, Kaladan.

Achievements: Teacher of men, Father of an industry, Mean Bean, Giver of the flame.

Afterlife: Elium, Kaladan.

]

“Hmm? Why are you making such a face, young one?”, asks Azan.

“Is there a way to get rid of an achievement?”, I say while looking at a certain achievement. Oh come on, you make a child cry, and you’re condemned for all of eternity.

Great… Just great buddy, keep trying to stop yourself from laughing, ok? “I am sorry young one, but sadly, unlike names given by the people, achievements never disappear. You will be stuck with that forever. Do not make such a face, everyone gets that one eventually. Even I have it, but to get it less than 5 years is extremely uncommon and quite funny.”, well, good I can give you a good laugh, you old fart, and that’s coming from me. Though, I’m not old anymore, since in their eyes, I’m a young and powerful guardian. My appearance seems to be based on their image of me. So what would happen if I look different in multiple cultures? And now that I think about it, why does Azan look like that? Meh, I’ll ask him later.

“So what’s the next lesson? What should we do now?”, I ask the guy.

Azan shows a sad smile and says, “Nothing…”.

…

What…?

“What do you mean nothing?”, don’t tell me you’ll say what I think you’re going to tell me…”.

He nods, “Yes, young one, it is time… I have taught you everything I could teach you, and I have to leave soon…”.

“When…?”.

“After 20 years. During this time, I will help you in the initial steps of guiding your people to other continents. That will help them to diversify and prevent overpopulation in the future.”.

20 years… hehe… 20 fucking years… Then so long Leon, go fuck a hairy Tagal, m’kay…?

“Great… Just great… 20 years then puff, bye, bye Azan. And hello troglodyte land. No more intelligent company, just ‘Unga, bunga, me caveman! Me know fire! Me have big stick!’, I mean that’s perfect, that’s what I need, being left alone with shit flinging morons! And you know that’s how it’ll be like, so fuck you!”.

…

Shit… I overdid it again…

Azan gets close to me and kneels on one foot, so we can see eye to eye. Yeah, turns out you grow bigger the more influence you have. “I am sorry young one… but I also have my own duties. You know that I am also a guide.”.

“I know, I know. It’s just that I get a little uppity during farewells. And my psychiatrist told me that I’m pretty unstable when it comes to friends leaving me behind or during breakups. I’m sorry for being a baby.”.

“Apology accepted. By the way, why did your psychiatrist mention breakups?”, you really had to ask that Azan? Sigh… guess I owe it to you for throwing a tantrum.

“She… was my last girlfriend… or better to say the last girl who dumped me, before I switched to a better, and less expensive alternative.”.

Now, he’s really curious, “What is it?”.

“Brothels.”, I say with a serious expression.

…

“hehe… hahaha…!”.

“Yeah… laugh at me, why don’t you… It really is the best solution! It’s cost efficient, it gives you more freedom, and it actually got me laid!”, shit! why did I say the last part!?

“Hahaha! I… cannot… breathe…!”, great… Water heater is crouching now. What’s next? Rolling on the floor? I mentally take back my apology, thank you. Though, this is the first time, he’s not acting proper and dignified.

“So do you really forgive me? Accepting an apology and actually forgiving someone are different things.”, Considering that he laughed at me like I’m some kind of clown, he better forgives me or I’ll make him tast- no… deep breath, you’re in the wrong this time, Sirus…

Then he said with a stern expression, “You are forgiven, but I am really disappointed with you. You are a grown man, yet you acted like a child.” Yeah, I know...

“Sorry…”.

His expression softened, and he said as he grasped my shoulder, “It is alright. You are young, and it is true that it would be sad to leave you alone on this world, so let us find some companions.”.

Companions? “Wait, where would we even find anything with a semblance of intelligence on this world?”.

“By finding a Sakit, of course. I cannot believe I said that…”, he said while trying to not display an annoyed expression.

“Sakit? Is that singular for Sakitun, or is it something else? And if it’s the former, you said that they’re either rogue guides, born from thoughts or are anomalies, so isn’t it too early to find some on this world?”.

“Have you forgotten that you taught them how to carve statues? I am certain that in the next 20 years, some juveniles on hormones will create a female statue and it will spread among various groups.”, now that he mentions it, I don’t doubt that scenario will happen. It’s pretty much a miracle how no one did it yet.

“Let’s help them out, a bit.”, I say to Azan.

“You want to help teenage boys in creating masturbation materials?”, thanks, now I feel like a creep.

“Would you prefer I spend eternity with a monkey girl?”.

Azan chuckled, “No, young one. You have a point.”.

So we started our quest, while also spreading them throughout the continents.

---

And 20 years have passed.

“It is time to go, young Awa.”, says Azan while glowing, as he prepares himself for departure.

“Yeah, take care of yourself, teach.”, I say to the guy.

“Do not look so sad, young one. We achieved many things in these 20 years, have we not?”, We did, didn’t we?

The number of Tagan groups reached 75 and many of them adopted the use of fire. Using it, cave dwellings became secondary and some even stopped living in them entirely, only going inside of them during storms. They developed better wind shelters and some even saw how clay became solid when heated, though they rarely used it, and if they did, they only covered things with it to make them harder. There’re still no clay bowls or carvings yet. The Tagan also spread out to the 2 neighboring ice-bound continents to the north and to the 1 in the south with a better climate.

“Though, it would be better if you stay. Can’t you lengthen the period by at least 10 years?”.

Azan shook his head, then replied, “Sadly, I cannot. Again, I will tell you, that as a fellow guide I have a duty to take care of my own world. I will promise you though, that I will visit from time to time.”.

I knew he’d say this, so I reminded him, “Don’t take too long, ok? It gets boring without you here.”.

“I will not.”, he says then he turns to the left, “Take care of him, little Awe.”.

“Of course, Azan. I will take care of him.”, says Awe. The Sakit created from my ‘help’.

Her statues were made 15 years ago, and only when more than 100 Tagan acknowledged her existence was she created. Unlike current Tagan women, I influenced the boys who made her as much as possible, to make her match my standards of beauty, though they still managed to influence her form a little. She has a diamond-shaped face with 2 large green up-turned eyes, long white hair, 2 slightly curved horns instead of the straight ones and a slightly up-turned nose instead of that large wide one currently found on all Tagan. She also has a lighter skin tone and voluptuous body with large round tits, slim waist and curved hips, and the best of all, no body hair! Well, no hair except a few sensitive zones.

Hmm? I overdid it? Well, put yourself in my place. If you’re going to be stuck on a world with only a single person who you’ll just meet as your companion, wouldn’t you choose either someone you could be attracted to or someone who’ll act as a pal? I already have Azan as a pal and he’ll visit from time to time, so I chose the former. Also it couldn’t be helped, they already had me as a guardian and a guide, so it’s no wonder they’d choose fertility as the next aspect for their carvings. If they chose something else, like power, that Sakit might try to challenge me, at least the most a fertility one would do, is either reincarnate or descend and fool around with some guys.

Another good thing came from making her is that she influenced the Tagal’s physical form. If you want to know why, ask yourself. Why does modern man have less hair than his predecessors? There are two theories, one is that as our ancestors settled to hotter continents, they began losing hair to cope with the heat and to increase the efficiency of sweating, which would cool the body during physical activities, and I find this theory is more plausible. The other is that our ancestors found hairless bodies attractive, and I along with most the community find this theory rubbish. Yeah, I hate hairy girls, but why would under-developed hominins care about such a thing? So how did the Tagal benefit from her? With her help, I influenced them into making the latter possible. Most males from my groups now prefer less hairy women. It will take thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years to achieve modern like bodies, but at least it won’t take hundreds of thousands of years instead. I hope.

At first, Azan tried to avoid her, considering he seems to dislike Sakitun, and the fact that she turned out to have a frivolous personality made him like her less, but as the years passed, she proved herself to both of us. She displayed a high level of intelligence, was good at management, and when we gave her the opportunity to help me in guiding the Tagan 5 years ago, she helped increase the number of groups from 68 to 75. In the end, even he couldn’t deny her prowess and accepted her.

“Farewell, young ones.”, Says Azan as he waves. Shining even brighter.

We both waved back, and I said to him, “See you later.”, and Awe said, “don’t take too long, you old goat.”.

“Hmph! And you better not spoil him. You Sakit lust beast.”.

She started giggling, “Lust beast? That’s your comeback? Well, don’t take too long, m’kay?”.

He chuckled, “Good luck, young Awa and young Awe. May you two be safe on my return.”, he said as he waved.

Then his glow intensified and we closed our eyes.

When we opened them again, Azan was gone…

…

Awe started talking, “I’ll miss the old guy.”.

“Me too.”.

She then smiled, “So now that he’s gone, wanna have sex?”.

“I wish. But we’re kinda busy, aren’t we?”.

“Yup.”, she then approached me and whispered in my ear, “But a little break wouldn’t hurt, would it?”.

I smiled as I felt her hot breath on my ear, “Maybe it won’- Oh shit! One group is going straight towards a chaos seed!”.

“Again!? Dammit!”.

And we got back to work.

---

We managed to divert them away from the danger zone. I really don’t want another Karza situation to happen. After that time, and after discovering there are more of them, me and Azan named these types of places as chaos seeds. And let me tell you, Karza were the normal ones compared to what we found in these places. Remember how 20 years ago, I had 43 groups? They were 45, but 2 were lost in these zones. 1 group was fused with a herd of Morkas, a species of four legged omnivores with a large spotted bluish body, short stout legs with hooved feet, a long slim tail and a short neck with a black mane that reaches all the way to its back. They became some kind of bipedal hybrid between the two, and the pulse seemed to somehow break my link to them. What happened to the other group? The last time I saw them, they were fusing with some kind of dragonfly in a swamp, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“This is so hard! How did you do it all this time without going mad, Leon?”, despite her nagging, she helped me in diverting them from that awful place.

“I’m just that talented.”, I reply to her, full of self-confidence.

“Well, aren’t you humble.”, She says while rolling her eyes.

Then she approaches me and flaunts her chest in front my eyes as she grabs my hand and puts it on her moist privates, “Do you want to show me how talented you are?”.

I start to smile, but then it fades away, “Forest fire…”.

“Huh…? Oh come on!”, she screams as she looks to the south and sees what will be a sea of flames due to a lightning strike, if we don’t influence the group nearby into throwing mud and the water from their bowls at the fire.”.

---

“It never ends!”, I feel your pain, sister…

So I tell the girl before she breaks, “100 groups.”.

“Huh? 100 groups?”.

“Yes, when we reach 100 groups, we’ll take it easy. We do deserve a break, but we need to make sure we have a steady number of Tagan before we do.”.

“Really!? Yes!”, she’s really excited. Well, we never had sex before, and I know she wanted to try it with me, ever since her creation.

“I can’t wait to see how a guide feels like!”, she says with a smile.

“I bet you do. So, ready to get things done?”.

“You bet!”.

And so, we started our task to get 100 groups under our guidance.

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