In the weeks that followed their attack, the Nashvak tribe was doing fairly fine, that is since they had last hosted the godling, a fact that was known to only a select few, some despised the esk boy, some respected him, after all he had helped them in their time of need and there were those who were... Simply were unaware of his existence, although there was one girl who searched for him, not the shy girl who had attended to him, at least she wasn't the only one who wanted to find him. A little girl by many standards also searched for him, she sat on a huge slab by the river that ran through the vale forests, a place of rumours and legends but we shall discuss this place later for you see this girl was a legend in her own rights, a god.

And not just any god too, one that could travel the void at will, she was THAT powerful, one of the elder gods, she had been called many things, among them, Anaeli, meaning mother of wrath, but today she answered Aranara

She watched fascinated as the fish swam the river, diving out if the water and then plonking back in, she reached out a hand and scooped up a handful of the fresh water, it was clear enough that she could see the palm of her hands, she smiled and watched as it trickled down her arms

"Little girls shouldn't be alone in a place like this" a voice said from behind her and she turned, a sagely old man that wore a white robe and had a glint in his eyes

"Looks can be deceiving" she countered and the old man laughed, it was a lithe sound and it melded with the sound of the rushing water to create a tone, one she couldn't quite wrap her head around

"So I've seen" he smiles

"Why are you here?" She arches her eyebrows

"I was about to ask you the same" the old man grinned

"I love to watch the fish. They're so... Simple" she shrugged

"Ah, so do I... You know old men don't have many hobbies" the old man said

"You've come a long way, are you hiking?" She eyed the satchel on his shoulder

"Oh no. Old men shouldn't hike, my village is just a few miles from here" he settled on the slab cross legged

A school of fish swam past them in the river and one fish, one of the little ones swim away from the rest, he approaches the humans wearily and paused then darted back towards his school, not in time, a crabfish grabs the fish in one quick movement and settles back on the seafloor as he eats his meal

"I feel bad for the little fish" the old man said

"Why? It's the order of all living things" The little girl turned to him surprised

"If he had known that straying from the path set out for him would have proved fatal, would he still have done so?" He furrowed his brows

"I wouldn't know" the little girl shrugged and sat

"This cycle... Life and death, have you ever wandered why? Why would the gods create such a thing, to prevent us from a fatality?" He glanced at her

"I ... Wouldn't know" she shrugged again. In some ways it was the truth since she had been born into the cycle

"I suppose so, you wouldn't understand the rambling of an old man... Don't mind me child" the old man said and yawned

"..." Aranara stared at the old man for a while, she wasn't sure what to think, who was this old man? Should she be concerned? She didn't like being in a rut, she could sense his energy, it wasn't exactly pure, but it put her at ease. She opened her mouth to ask when her stomach growled

She blinked, she had forgotten her human body needed sustainance, she glanced at the old man who had a knowing smile on his face and at the river, if she dived in, would she find a fish in time, atleast before all the predators would swarm her and she'd have to turn the river red with blood

"I'm hungry" she muttered

"I heard your stomach child, Join me for lunch today" the old man said and stood more of a statement than a request leaving little space for argument

"... Thank you" she said

Honestly, it wouldn't take a soothsayer to know that her pride was hurt, here she was god, and here he was, a human offering her food, whereas she could easily offer him a banquet, but he intrigued her and she wanted to know more about this old man still a million years too young by her standards but obviously important in his own regard.

The old man grabbed his satchel and slung it over his shoulder then started forward when she spoke

"At least let me help you with your stuff" she said

"I couldn't allow a child like yourself stress because of me" the old man smiled

"The irony" she wanted to say but instead settled for "But I have more strength"

"Don't worry" the old man said and started foward

She struggled to keep up with him, with the short pudgy legs of her Host, it was a simple thing for a god to create a host body and a rare thing to possess one but she had done both and now she regretted not summoning her divine beast on her way here, she huffed as they walked in silence, if you didn't count the sound of her heavy breathing or the chirping of birds or the cry of an animal once on a while then I suppose it was fairly quiet

"I thought the village was close by" she said trying to catch her breath

"I said it was a few miles away" he said slyly

The little girl narrowed her eyes and the old man laughed

"It's nearby" he said serious all of a sudden

"Hmpfh" she huffed in annoyance like she had heard children do a thousand times and the old man watched, his face unreadable but with a twinkle in his eyes, if someone told Aranara It was impossible to smile with your eyes again she would cuff the person and show them this memory

The rest of the journey was uneventful, they travelled through a path and she couldn't help but smile at the serenity of the forest they passed through, it made her feel... Like she didn't carry the weight of the void on her shoulders, even though she very well did.

Stepping through a curtain of leaves, the little village the Nashvak called their home had come into veiw, it was a simple place with mud houses and tentes pitched, children ran around bare foot, laughing and smiling as they chased each other around, the women sew in front of their huts or formed groups of two or three and talked, and the men sharpened weapons, whispering to each other smiles strained

"What's wrong?" She turned to the old man

"What do you mean?" He glanced at her

"It seems... Fake" she breathed

The adults wore fake smiles plastered on their faces to keep the next person from panicking, the children ran about having fun but restrained in their actions, their essence was all over the place and the weapons, why were they so many weapons? Was there a war going on? A land dispute? She had seen firsthand how bloody it could get

"There was an attack on the village" the old man said eyes closed as if reliving the memory

"Who would attack such a quaint place?"

"The esk ..."

"The esk?"

She hadn't heard of this new race, surely she would have been told about them if the other gods knew, she needed more information and quickly too, but she came for a query and that came first

"I'm sorry, children should not be bothered with something like that" the old man looked regretful

"I-" she had started but once again her stomach interrupted and red tinted her cheeks

"Come" he walked over to a mud house and stepped inside, she followed and paused. It was a quaint place, there was a little table and a carving of a deer on the table, a bench by the end of the wall and a rolled up mat leaning on a wall

"Welcome to my humble abode" he smiled warmly and set down the satchel he was carrying

"It's... Not what I expected" she said

"GrandPapa!!!" Someone yelled and burst into the hut, a human girl. A teenager with long straight hair and brown skin, wearing a blue gown glowered at the old man

"Dear, I'm back home and in Time too" he said

"Don't tell me you went on another one of your strolls, the healer says it's not good for your health" the girl pouted

"if I followed everything the healer said I'd be lying in bed waiting for death" the old man muttered

"And you have a responsibility to the village too" the girl added

"It's hard to forget with you reminding me everyday" the old man smiled

'Responsibility to the village? Was he some kind of elder' the little girl thought

"And who is this?" The girl gestured to her

"A visitor" the old man quickly replied then added "one I promised lunch"

"You're lucky you made it in time then" the teenager huffed and turning in her heels marched out of the hut

"Who was that?" Aranara asked

"Oh that's Anna, my granddaughter" the old man smiled proudly

"Oh"

"Don't mind her, usually she's respectful to guests, she must be mad because I disregarded the healers advice" he sat on the floor

"you're sick" she said slowly,finally realizing; no wonder his energy felt so... Weak

"Yes and not just any normal sickness, I was poisoned by the loa snake, a rare snake that is rumoured to appear once in your lifetime to either bring you good or bad luck, I suppose it brought me both" he smiled fondly

"How so?"

"It was the day I met my one true love, I was feeling brave and wanted to show my ragtag band of adventurers I was a good leader so I tried to grab the snake and you know... It bit me. I was rushed to the healers house where I met Talia, looking back now it was a foolish thing to do but I would do it again for the chance to meet her" he laughed "since then I've lived with it's venom in my veins, I don't know why I'm still alive" he says then adds "maybe it's the will of the gods"

'The gods of this place couldn't be responsible If they tried' she thought after all she had met one of them and she didn't seem to have progressed at all, maybe she would be wrong about the other one

"... Maybe" she settles down on the floor and stretches

"Tell me though... what really brings you here?" The old man raised his brows

"I'm looking for someone" she says, not giving anything away

"Aren't we all" the old man sighs

She blinks surprised but starts to drool whe n the scent of food wafts in through the windows

"She's a wonderful cook" the old man smiled and inhaled "honestly I couldn't cook without burning the house down"

"Is that a good thing?" She asks

"Well it certainly hasn't served me well but I couldn't care, not when death is so near I can practically smell him" the old man shrugs

"... Sorry"

"What for?" The old man grins

"You... I don't think you deserve to die" she said honestly

"Well it's an unwritten rule, all living things must die" he shrugs

"..."

"Besides if I did live forever, the little things that matter would lose their value, I don't think I would want that" the old man said

"But what if you could" she said more of a statement than a question

"I wouldn't chose to, and I wouldn't wish it upon anybody"

"Enough about death, lunch is ready" Anna walks in with a tray

"Thank you"Aranara muttered as she gulped down the broth

Even though she could have anything she wanted, compared to this it would taste like sandpaper, there was just something about the human touch that just made food... Extraordinary, that she couldn't dispute