"That is enough of that!" a booming voice said. "Leave the creature alone, goddess. You have no claims over her." The vines started to recede back into the miniature monolith, freeing up Copper's view. "Return to your own followers!"
Copper rubbed her eyes to see Stelimus standing over her, worry in his eyes. To his right stood an interesting figure that she didn't have time to analyze before being glomphed in a big hug by the deer king.
"I was worried," he explained. "You fell asleep and I couldn't wake you up, then he came."
The anyubinite cleared his throat. "I am not a 'he'."
"She, then?"
"Nor am I a she."
Stelimus stared at him blankly then decided to ignore the problem altogether. "The important thing is that you're okay," he said to Copper.
"What happened?" the pony asked.
The anyubinite pushed the deer aside and looked closer at the pony quizzically. It was wearing a full body robe colored a blue so dark it seemed black, but etched into its cloth was the same symbol Stelimus had seen everywhere since coming to Niris. There was actually a surprisingly huge amount of pale, golden lines ending in dots interconnecting with each other all over the robe, and no matter how either of the couple matched them, no image would pop up in their minds. It was only aesthetic. His...its head was covered with a cowl following the same pattern and coloration. One thing the deer king noticed was that the lines were more focused around the openings of the robe, namely the cowl and neck. Metal plates covered most of its face where the bones protruded the most, such as the jaws, chin, and forehead.
"Who are you?" Copper backed away slightly.
"I am Naris the Innis Priest: Head of all the deific sects you have seen here."
"You're the head?" Stelimus asked as he helped Copper onto her hooves. "Of ALL those people?" he pointed to the window.
"Yes, and I can see that you're confused as to what happened." Naris grabbed the monolith in the wall and, with some effort, managed to pull it and some pieces of the wall from their spot. "They should have known better than to leave monoliths in guest chambers," Naris grumbled.
"What exactly DID happen," Stelimus said again. You didn't explain yet."
"Hm? One of the gods found interest in the pony and decided to try and reel her in."
"So they're aggressive?"
"Some are. Others are pacifistic, patient, impatient, and so on. All have their own reasons for doing something, with some being famished for souls as they have rivalries with other gods." The jackal's eyes gleamed at the two. "But with the arrival of you ponies, they see a new soul and will try to claim it and hold you aloft as a trophy amongst their peers."
"I'm a reindeer. She's a pony," Stelimus corrected.
"It matters not. Deer or pony, you aren't anyubinites."
"Then what can we do to protect ourselves?"
"Stay away from the monoliths," the jackal answered quickly and calmly. "I'm sure you were already told that they're the source of the god they've been modeled after, yes?"
"I know. I just didn't think they were that dangerous. I thought they were just edifices made for those gods as a source of temple or site of worship."
The jackal laughed a single time. "I would assume so."
"Um," Copper started while rubbing her head. "You don't seem as distant and, um, rude? Not to offend if--"
"I am supposed to be welcoming. If I was not, any new gods would see a purging that could very well spread to all established temples, and I have no envy to live through something like that."
The pony nodded in agreement. "One more thing, though. What exactly is that symbol?"
"Copper!" Stelimus scolded in a whisper.
Naris threw his arms into the air. "It is the symbol of the greatest of deities and the one that I worship!"
The two felt awkward for a moment until Stelimus decided to delve further into it. "Can we know their name and what they do?"
"No," Naris answered bluntly. "It is the only thing that we never share with others outside of our species."
"Why?" Copper asked.
"My patience has limits, pony," he grumbled.
"But--"
"Just drop it, Copper," Stelimus said. "He obviously doesn't want to talk about it." He hugged Copper again. "I know that you're used to the pony folk who are very open, but this is not the pony culture."
"Once again, I am not a 'he'," Naris said.
Stelimus turned around and looked at the jackal with a face beset by bemusement. "And what should I say, then? Ze? Xe? There are no third person gender neutral singular pronouns."
"'Ye'," Naris said. "We use 'Ye'." Stelimus blinked a few times, perplexing the jackal. "Ye? You know, 'Ye is', 'Ye was', 'Ye will be'? Yis as the past tense and possessive form?"
"He, she, ye, wombo?" Stelimus added.
"What?"
"Nothing."
The jackal readjusted yis' robe and stared at the deer. "I would suggest you curb your humor here, as it is not exactly well viewed by my kind, myself included. Especially when speaking of something so serious."
"But--"
Naris pointed behind him and frowned. "This is one of the reasons the zaoris refused to speak any further with you. I have minimum experience with two different cultures so I have a basic understanding of how such things work when both clash, but I would suggest that you come in, the next time he calls you, and speak in a less 'emotional' tone."
"You frown on emotions?"
"We only frown upon using them when concerning nobility, hence why the others have seen you in a poor light since you've arrived. They do not understand." Ye rubbed yis' chin. "Honestly, I also have no understandings of such things, but as it stands out, I have a ceremony to attend to."
Before Naris managed to go fully through the door frame, Stelimus stopped yem. "You know about the black snow, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then why don't YOU explain it to us Everything here feels too hostile."
The jackal looked over his shoulder and stared at the deer with a widened eye. "Why would a king complain about such things? Surely you've lived in such conditions with your people and foreign policies before?"
Stelimus opened his mouth to rebuke his statements, but as he found nothing to say, he gradually lowered his foreleg and looked down with a sign. Naris did not respond in any manner and continued their way towards whatever chamber permitted their work. If Stelimus knew anything about his time in this world, it was that the characters that gave him information had a tendency to never go away.
Meanwhile, Yolumay had a monolith of her own which she was currently cleaning her teeth with. Whatever deity bugged her found it had failed tremendously and saw its monolith shattered all over the floor., but gods were fond of difficult changes, and considering how these gods of death acted, this one would be quite the trophy if one of them managed to line her to their own after life. As for the two guards taking a moment of rest before resuming their duties, they did not see any sort of deific intervention. They found the pyramid to be rather boring, honestly. Hours passed and the sun was starting to set outside, irritating Stelimus. Unfortunately, he had no real way of returning to his home without the help of the anyubinites, so he was forced to wait.
Finally, an anyubinite came to the couple's room and called for them.
"The Zaoris will speak with you now. ye has finished all of their tasks for the day."
Stelimus and Copper walked side-by-side in the corridors, accompanied by the guards and, eventually, both Yolumay and Stelimus' own bodyguards, ready to see the ruler of the anyubinites once more and hope that ye had the information so required this time.