IX - The Taste Of Gods’ Tears
Leather-Winged Oddity
IX - The Taste Of Gods’ Tears
The flow of time is always cruel... its speed seems different for each person: slow for some, hasty for others... but no one can change that, nor can they change the events that will ensue.
Time acts like some sort of flipping and flopping subject for me: slower than molasses one day, faster than a bullet the next. It’s strange, like the Sandman is just constantly tampering with my Sands of Time, either speeding up or prolonging the imminent threat of Death that awaits me.
Speaking of such a matter, no, I am not dead. For one, I can feel my heart beating in my chest, albeit at a weak rate. I can also hear the sound of birds chirping, the feel of the Sun’s light on my face, and another feel of soft, silky fur on my arm and grass on my back.
The first reason alone is enough to prove that I have not crossed into the other world.
And while we can change our outcomes that occur in the future, a thing that does not change is the memory of younger days....
While I wish I can tell you that my younger days were mesmerizing and fantastic, that’s just it: a wish. To tell the truth, my childhood and teenage years are nothing short of unpleasant.
Having to leave Ireland, where my father was buried....
Putting up with my prostitute of a mother and her nightly ‘clients’....
Dealing with people in Colorado who taunted me for my accent and bullied my younger homosexual brother....
Oh, dear God.....
I shut my eyes tighter, frightened of what would happen to my brother if I wasn’t around. I didn’t give a damn about my mother, but no one, and I mean no one, hurts my little brother Daniel... ever....
I push the fear and paranoia of my sibling’s safety with me gone, hoping against hope that he’ll be alright and that he can fend for himself. Once the painful reminiscence passes, I try to recall the events of last night.
Earlier, when I was falling, I had thought that Death had claimed me for one of his own, a soul to add to the immense library of souls he currently owns. Now, I know this is not true at all.
But still... this... pain.
I have never felt anything like it. This excruciation makes my intense migraine and sore body from when I was zapped here look like a joke.
I awake to what seems to be the light of the morning, due to my eyelids glowing red in the light of the Sun. I try to open my eyes, but the crust of sleep seals the lids closed. I’m drained and beaten from the ordeals of last night, and I barely had any energy to even move. Every single inch of me screamed in this agony, like someone had the nerve to mercilessly beat me with a sledgehammer.
I try sending my eyes ajar again, and the crust that glued them shut cracks and finally breaks, blessing me with sight once more. The light that hits my eyes causes me to blink in order to adapt from a dark environment to a light one. Once that’s out of the way and my eyes are open further, I lift my head up and scan my surroundings.
Thankfully, I am still in the Urukai village, with the cat people still doing their day-to-day activities. After doing a quick rundown of the vicinity, I sigh in relief that no one had been captured and taken. I see that I’m lying under a tree, the leaves partially shading me from the Sun’s radiance. Ellipsis lay next to me, an understandable thing seeing as how I was incapable of returning it to the Abyss last night. What caught my eye was the gem at the top, and how it was glowing a pure white instead of remaining a lustrous black.
I want to figure out what that’s about... yet simultaneously, I didn’t. Besides, I’m always far too lazy to deal with it at the moment.
Still delirious and lightheaded from sleep, I turn my head to see Kaileena, her head turned to the side and facing mine as her arms are wrapped around my own and our faces are mere millimeters apart from one another.
...wait, what.
A sharp intake of breath hints how surprised I am. I try to stand, but I’m still too beaten and sore to get up. “What the hell?” I mutter.
To make matters worse, Kaileena starts to stir awake. When she opens her hazel eyes to greet my red ones, her expression is a shell-shocked one as she jumps back in shock. “Oh, gods, I can’t believe you woke up to that, I’m so sorry!”
“No, no... it’s alright... wait, why’d ya sleep next to me?” I ask.
“I couldn’t let you fall to your death, could I? Plus, you needed some company.” It hit me right there. Kaileena was probably the one who had shouted my name. I think she also might have broken my fall.
I take a while before responding to the rhetorical question. “Th... thank ya. I owe ya big time, lass.”
“No you don’t. You saved the village from the Diamond Dogs... so I guess I owed you from the beginning,” Kaileena tells me as I try once more to stand up. “Oh, and speaking of Diamond Dogs, um...” She presses her index finger-like digits together nervously.
“No one got kidnapped, right?”
“No, no... something happened about... your clothes...”
Now that I’m standing up, I look down at myself and frown. Instead of my longsleeve shirt, duster, pants, scarf, and sash, I’m wrapped from chest to ankles in bandages like some incomplete mummy, the white medical cloth untainted by black gore. A pair of boxer briefs are clad on my bandaged-wrapped hips, but that was it. I sigh heavily as I take a few tentative steps around the vicinity.
“Hang on... who removed me clothes?” I ask.
Kaileena goes wide-eyed and starts blushing furiously, her irises shrinking to a drastic, tiny size.
“Oh, no.” Are you telling me... that Kaileena saw me NUDE?!
“No, wait, I can explain!” Kaileena wails.
“Please, God, let this be a bad joke!” I shout to the heavens, desperate for an answer that would not come.
I sigh again and fall to my knees.”Oh, forget it....” I pinch the bridge of my nose in agitation. “Just forget it.”
My stomach grumbles in hunger. Coincidentally, something inconceivably delicious-smelling enters my nostrils as it trails from the village. I can sense cinnamon, nutmeg, strawberries...
… and porridge. Sweet, succulent, delicious porridge.
Akio, you crafty bastard.
I get up again, the process not being as painful as before. I summon Ellipsis towards me and banish it back into the Abyss once it’s in my hand. “Let’s get some breakfast, OK?” Kaileena nods and gets up, walking with me to the mess hall again.
Thankfully, unlike the looks of dislike and curiosity that the villagers mercilessly fired at me last night, the looks I receive are ones of praise.
Me and Kaileena sit at the same table from last night, bowls of porridge in our hands. Once seated, Akio walks over with a bowl of porridge in his right hand and a change of clothes under his left arm. Unlike the clothes that the Urukai typically wore, it looked entirely different. For one, I see black and white instead of green. I also spot a brown belt and bandolier, and perhaps some bracers for my forearms.
“Morning, you two,” Akio says as he seats himself on the opposite side of our table. I nod at him and smile. “These are for you, Damien.” He gives me the bundle of clothes and belts. I take them eagerly, and unfold them. In my hands are a red-trimmed white tunic that would reach my thighs and has a hood. The hood is long, the pointed end of it ending at the small of my back, and the rim of the hood had a pointed tip as well. It also has neat tears on the sides so that my wings can fit while I don the hood: clasps on said tears let me close the flaps of cloth, completely encircling the roots of my wings in cloth. A pair of black pants and another black long-sleeve undershirt accompany the tunic. I throw on the shirt, folding my wings to make the process much easier. Once that’s out of the way, I pull on the pants and throw on the tunic. I tighten the belt around my hips to secure the pants and throw on the bandolier. In the front of said bandolier are a few pockets for miscellaneous items, like explosives or smoke bombs, but occupying the pockets are a few of the knockout gas vials from the Diamond Dogs from last night, along with some red and blue potions that the Urukai had concocted. How they manage to distinguish which color is which is beyond me, but I’m not complaining: they’ll be useful in the long run. The bandages around my body are hidden by the clothes, sans the bandages on my arms. Then again, they add a nice effect to my appearance. I strap the bracers over my forearms.
“Erm... how do I look?” I ask them. Kaileena doesn’t respond: instead, she has a dreamy look on her face, mouth curled up in a goofy smile and eyes half-lidded. She shakes her head and snaps out of her trance.
“Oh, um, it’s nice, I like it,” she quickly says, smiling nervously.
“Not bad,” Akio chuckles as he glances at his daughter, whose cheeks turn crimson again underneath her father’s gaze. “I like it, as well.”
“Thanks, you two,” I murmur once I sit back down again. “Where’d you get these?”
“One of our tribe members was brave enough to leave the village and go to the town of Wethoof,” Akio answers. “Had to sell a few herbs and fruits to them in order to get 'em, but they were worth it.” He motions at the food on the table. “Now dig in.”
Once again, Akio’s orgasmic cooking never ceases to amaze me.
The porridge, incredibly warm and slightly sweet, is sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg, like I suspected it to be earlier. Thin slices of strawberries littered the surface of the porridge, the pink juices slightly leaking out into the pale breakfast food from how juicy the fruit actually was.
Like with the stew, I don’t hesitate in slaughtering that bad boy.
I shudder in pure joy from how magnificent the food was. I would’ve asked for seconds, had it not been for the fact that I would’ve lost my shit and just dunk my head in the whole cauldron from how delicious it actually was. It was so good, it actually seemed to melt the pain away... like some sort of edible Bengay ointment.
“That... was... incredible, man.”
“Think nothing of it... Oh, crud, here comes the chieftess. Act natural.” We look in the direction Akio is facing. Coming our way is an old woman, also of the Urukai. However, she is donned in a green dress, with gold anklets, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings adorning her figure. Her eyes are narrowed with age, and wrinkles decorate her face like canyons in the earth. A large tribal hat customized with massive feathers of multiple colors sits atop her head, and in her hand is a walking stick with a sharp, metal hook-like blade at the top.
“I take it you’re the one who saved our village last night?” The cat asked me. I nod, my inner self chuckling at the stereotypical coincidence: she even sounded elderly, like that typical grandma that you have to visit with your parents, even though you don’t want to because her houses smells like cabbages and her seventeen cats are loud and annoying because they’re in heat.
….I’m going off on another tangent, huh?
Anyways, back on track.
“Me and this whole village would like to thank you, strange creature.” The woman extends her paw, and I gladly shake it once. “Tell me, what is your name?”
“Damien O’Connor, madame,” I answer. She lets go of my hand and puts it to her chin, as if contemplating something.
“Damien... O’Connor... very well. My name is Bayru, and I have been the cheiftess of the Urukai village for forty-seven of my ninety-six years here.” I blink multiple times. Ninety-six years!? Jesus tit-sucking Christ, that’s ancient! “I have decided on how to repay you for your valor.”
“Honestly, madam, no repayment is necessary.”
“Nonsense!” Bayru flashes a smile my way. “Please come with me, my boy.” She hobbles away towards the northern edge of the village, where their large building of worship is. I get up and follow the chieftess. When we reach the building, she opens the door and enters first, with me following her example afterwards. I take one look at the interior and whistle in astonishment.
The inside of the building is massive. Multiple cat figures are standing stock-still at the other side of the room, each figure decorated with beautiful markings. There are no pews, only large prayer mats, and an altar that stands in front of the figures, probably where the religious leader would be. Bayru walks over to the altar and taps a spot on the side with the butt of her staff. The spot where she hit seems to give way, sinking into the altar. The actual altar itself moves aside several feet away from Bayru, revealing a set of stairs descending into an underground chasm.
I blink again a few more times. I’ve seen way too many Indiana Jones movies to know where this is going: the old lady will lead me into the chasm, where I will have to fight many hardships and obstacles, and if I come out on top, I take my treasure only to come across one major she-bang of a trap to try and kill me, only for me to fly out and emerge victorious. Maybe I’ll even shag some fifteen or so bitches while I’m at it.
Yep... that's exactly how I envision it.
“Inside this cavern is something the Urukai have treasured and guarded for generations. Only the mighty are allowed to enter and only the chief or chieftess knows the secret of how to get inside,” Bayru explains. “Please, Damien O’Connor, descend into this hole and claim your prize.”
That’s what she said!
...Goddamnit, brain.
I steel myself and walk down the stairs into the chasm. The sound of my eagle feet slapping on the stone pavement ring and reverberate along the walls of the cavern. I am expecting the steps to be as long as Hell, probably actually descending to Tartarus. However, it only takes a minute of walking before that I reach the bottom of the staircase. The bottom led to a long narrow hallway. I would’ve walked down it and gotten this over with...
...Had it not been for the fact that the hallway is twisted, like the wrapper of a candy.
“What the hell....” I take my first step on the twisted floor of the hallway. And then another. And then another. I go bug-eyed at the fact that gravity is practically being defied as I walk along what should have been the ceiling of the room. The cavern is incredibly dark, save for a very tiny light at the end of the hallway.
After running the entire length of the twisted hallway and return to a normal position, I reach the end of it, the room being shrouded by a pair of gossamer curtains. I push the curtains aside to reveal a large, circular room, with me standing on a small cliff that dangled over a seemingly bottomless void. The roof of the cave towers twenty to thirty feet above me. Sticking out of the void are several narrow columns of stone, twenty in all, slightly ascending up to the tallest, and wider column. Despite how immense the room is, I hear the faint trickling sound of running water coming from the widest column as the sound echoes across the room.
I try to fly to the last column, my wings eager to take to the proverbial skies... however, there seemed to be something... amiss... with this cavern. When I start going airborne, the cave seemed to negate my flying abilities, like some sort of Bubble Shield is in the way. I get pushed back down on my back, the pain I experienced this morning reawakening and stinging something fierce.
“Oww... me body wasn’t ready....” I mumbled painfully. I get up on my feet again and dust off my clothes.
“So how do I go about this...?” I ask myself as I look at the narrower columns first. They’re set pretty close together, almost close enough to even walk on....
Hold the phone... I know what I’m supposed to do now....
I step back a bit so that I could get a running start at the first column. I jump and land on it, using the talons of my feet to cling onto it for dear life. “Whoa!” I flail my arms to bit to help stabilize my balance. I turn and leap towards the second column, then the third. Eventually, I get a little bit cocky when I reach the tenth column, performing flips and spins and alternating my landing with either my feet or my hands. But I almost slip after a particularly tricky somersault, so I stop performing daring stunts.
Thankfully, I manage to make it to the widest and tallest column of the room, slightly sweaty from exertion. In front of me stands another pair of gossamer curtains. I push them aside again to reveal a room, where the sounds of water emanate from. Inside the room is...
“A fountain?!”
Really, Bayru? You made me go through with this just so that I can have a fucking drink of water?
I facepalm at how senile the chieftess must be. I look at the fountain again. The entire metal frame of it was a pure gold. At the top of it was a little blue glowing sphere, with a mist of the same color swirling around. The water looks clean, healthy, and sparkling as they cascade from the top pan in little waterfalls, go through a small drain stationed near the bottom pan, and flow back up to the top, completing the aquatic cycle.
I step towards it, my throat slightly parched. Okay, so in retrospect, maybe Bayru sending me here isn’t that bad of an idea. But still, she could’ve at least send some of her tribesmen to build a bridge or something, Goddamn.
Still, I have reached my goal, and that’s all that matters.
I dunk my right hand in the water and scoop some of it into my palm. The liquid is cool and clear as it sits in my hand. I bring the water to my lips and cautiously sip some. My eyes bolt open wide again from the taste. The water has a slightly sweet and exotic flavor to it, like rose water and a bit of sugar was added to the mix.
In hindsight, I honestly wish I had never done this.
The water, once it hits my stomach, alternates my blood’s temperature between icy-cold and fiery-hot. I clutch my stomach in pain and grit my teeth from the agony. A blinding shine of light emanates from the orb on top of the fountain, and the mist that surrounds it expands, spinning around me as I could feel my feet leave the floor against my own will.
To add to the suspense, I hear voices whispering to me. Multiple voices, both men and women. The voices are speaking in an unknown and ancient tongue, something I can’t decipher for the life of me.
"Nast perfi kul tadima nukh pelishte kayya, marstan fursuru konde motef hurushne dayya...."
On... and on... and on... like some sort of sick, terrifying voodoo chant....
I simply want to end this... to just put a stop to this once and for all.
But a... vision... from these gods makes it evident that no such thing will happen.
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
1,103 users online
1,982,733 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
:3
Yay, first.
But, I totally expected the Fountain of Youth, or some shit.
1018882
Nope. I WAS gonna give him a mask that made him more powerful than before, but... that'd be OPing. AND THAT'S NO GOOD.
waxebb.com/writings/wellplayed_files/image016.jpg
this sounds strangely familiar
1019004
OH MY, HOW DID YOU KNOW?
cool story brah
going really well
1019055
I know: it's supposed to be the language of the Bast, and the gods that speak to him. And thanks for the compliment! :D
Oh.....Me.......God.......John Carter all over again.
“Please, Damien O’Connor, descend into this hole and claim your prize.”
That’s what she said!
I laughed at that part.
1019067 the closest i got was turkish and it only translated the frst few words into "Taste me you will use" then the rest of the sentance ."perf kayya nukh pelishte Nast, Marstan fursuru dayya hurushne motef age of chondrites"
and "motef age of chondrites" ????? what is this i don't even?
so basically "taste me you will use perf"
I find it nice that you decided to use your own language but when you use it could you please add in brackets (or something similar) their translation into english pwetty pwease
1019004
what game is this from seems like a prince of persia one but not sure
1019210
It actually IS something out of Prince of Persia: the first game to be exact. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. (By Jove, that game was spectacular.)
Twenty bits that water came from the Styx
1019225
aren't they all
mentioning 'the Sandman' and capitalizing Death. Are you referring to two of seven siblings, perhaps?
1019553
Maybe hanging out with Destiny and/or Delirium at some point?
1020460
Thank God, too: I've played it so many times, I know where every single Sand Cloud and Magic Fountain is, it's ridiculous.
some actual armor ish things.....
A vision huh? When do chess pieces have Visions of the Future....
1021734
To answer that excellent question, BlackWing, Forevermore, and JJ Malcolm have done it before, yet what year the visions take place is an enigma. However, I managed to get an outlet from where said vision comes from.
seeking into the altar: sinking?