“She is sleeping I see” Gaia looked upon the world of Destenia from her thrown. It would be more appropriate to say she is staring through the ever-growing expanse and void of the cosmos. Focusing on a singular point, both very distant, and extremely close; there lies a creature coiled in a mound. From Gaia’s perspective this creature is a cute little creation that she had favored for its intelligence and perseverance, a species she created, whose existence is equal to a true dragon. “Young Ouroboros, wake up my dear.” Gaia called to the creature not verbally, since it would be impossible for any being on that plane to hear her true voice, but directly to its mind.
“All-Mother?!” The creature responded, quizzically. Her astral body appears, she takes a humanoid form and its appearance is that of a young girl.
“Yes, child.” Gaia’s soothing voice radiates calm.
“Yu-you need something from me?” the Ouroboros’ voice was very shaky. Understandably so, it had been astrally summoned and was now in front of it was one of the Highest of Gods. It had been sleeping for a few hundred years, absorbing all the universal knowledge that is passed to all true star creatures while they slumber. She probably had another hundred years or so of sleep left in her, as a child this was too be expected. Eat, sleep, and grow a very natural cycle for any living being.
“Yes, I have a task for you. Well, no,” Gaia paused, as if measuring her next words carefully. “it’s more like your destiny is calling.” Gaia’s smile was warm as she continued, “I have sent to your world, a human, he is not like the humans of that world, he comes from a world…” Gaia trails off, anger bubbling under the surface of the sheen in her all-seeing eyes. “He is unaware of the existence of the intelligent races of your world, and I have tasked him with unifying that world in order to face something to come.” Gaia’s face shifted from soft to firm, causing the young Ouroboros to stiffen. “I cannot tell you the when outside of soon, or the what you must do outside of get strong. I will also tell you this one last thing.” Her final pause let the young Ouroboros know this was the last piece of advice she would get. “You need to guide this human, that is my will, heed him and success is guaranteed.”
“Yes, ma’am!” There is no way the young serpent could say no. “How will I know him? Also, one like myself has no identity truly I am but a young Ouroboros, what can I possibly do to help this man folk? I eat them.” There was sheepishness in her voice, it did not want to anger the Goddess. Then her eyes met an endearing, tender smile and Gaia answered.
“There is nothing to worry about I have just sent him, you need but wake up and follow your instinct for food. I’ll be watching. Your job is to follow my will by guiding him, and protecting him until he is strong enough to protect himself. After that you are welcome to either join him on his journey or go back to sleep.” Gaia looked at the girl with a bit of urgency as she continued. “Though your kind, is going to be needed for that future fight…” That last statement had weight, and the young Ouroboros fear was palpable, and she realized her job was not a normal job. Gaia looked upon her then with a soft, caring eyes and then shouted. “WAKE UP!”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The Ouroboros’ eyes shot open. ‘A dream?’ it pondered the possibilities ‘no that was no dream, plus I smell something.’ Its tongue flicked the air ‘that smells like man folk a bit’ it was hungry, its hunger tended to be voracious, the last time it had awoken the races of the world likened it to a natural disaster, some of them had more strength than others and still the decimation it caused, made a serious dent in the world’s overall census and topography.
When it had fallen asleep. Overtime walls and fortresses were built around the area, they had taken pains to track the slumbering beast so they knew exactly where it was. To keep the creature isolated
their resources were pooled and an encompassing wall was built, with four major fortress cities. The forest now more secluded was kept it off limits to normal people and only open to adventurers, and the soldiers of the various surrounding lands. The beast slept, and the thought was it would remain so for a long time. Time being the only thing mortals can run out of rapidly.
In the time that the beast slept the short-lived races and some of the longer-lived races agreed on one thing, keep eyes on the beast of the forest. Still, no one from those days was around now so the proposition was turned into a fools’ errand. The forest had grown much older, and the varying races had long forgotten any friendly relations. They all benefitted from the great structure, they all too credit for its creation and they all pompously shared none. All reason, had been lost as bitterness towards each other grew without a common enemy. ‘So, they’ve turned the swords and magic upon one another, how crass.’ Great eyes cast over the forest from the creature thought to be sleep.
Unbeknownst to the mortals the creatures sleep was little more than a meditation. A being in the sky looking around the forest in all the directions. This was the ouroboros in its astral form, black scales glinted from the humanoid figure which floated 1000 feet above its body. The spiritual string connecting the two glinted in the sun light, well it was a thread much thinner than spiders and only those with high spiritual sense could even see it. ‘Oh, look at that, they built fortresses in the cardinal directions and connected them by a high wall.’ It laughed at the last time she moved her tremendous body below. ‘I am only still juvenile, some of these short-lived species understand nothing.’ It looked down, the well-defined paths her body had carved into the land many centuries ago were still there. Many had been turned into road, but those were very far from its main body; ‘so they remember, if only a little bit, to stay out of the heart of the forest.’ She turned her astral being to the south, ‘what is that? I smell’ she began sniffing the air, ‘that smells like man, but also different, that aura though its almost like a giant, and then this…’ she immediately dropped to her body and started moving towards the smell.
‘This mana surge, is it hers? I’m stuck! I can see it, but it is so far away. Am I being tamed!?!?’ the creature was in a panic as it looked at the rather large human, or is it an orc, no to short to be a giant, but its way to big to be a human right? But it smells like human. Wait how am I being tamed there is no way.’ Her thoughts were a mass of confusion, she knew nothing of these many possibilities before her, and in the next moment she was right in front of the thing she couldn’t identify and she could only utter one thing. “What are you?”
