Enna is a Land God: Book 1

Goblins

I spent the next two weeks in the company of the foxkin, acclimatizing myself to the strange new world I had found myself in. And, surprisingly enough, it turned out to be an easy adjustment for me. I expected confusion, anxiety, and even resentment for the fate i had been given, and there was a little of each of those over the days. But what I most felt was an overwhelming amount of gratitude.

Every day I was more and more grateful for the world I had entered, the body I had been given, and most of all? I was grateful for the foxkin. God or not, these little fox face people were welcoming and patient with me. I don't know if I would have accepted someone so green to the role of my lord and savior, or what ever. Gods should be powerful, confident, competent even. I was very much none of these things these last two weeks.

I spent my days learning what ever the foxkin could teach me. Brax was very forthcoming with what limited knowledge he possessed about the world. I learned that There were many land gods and very few true god. The people had little or no contact with the true gods but the land gods were a little more accusable. Much as Aeros had explained, there were gods who interacted little, or none, with the people who worshiped them, while others were so involved that they were seen as both gods and rulers over their territories.

Also, the land that I was presiding over: The Monster Nation of Aeros, was one of the few nations that were both protected by a god, and a entire nation of their own. This was mainly due to the fact that humans and demi-humans feared Aeros, and also, they did not want to deal with a country infested with monsters. So long as the monsters kept within the boarders, the other nations kept their distance. But many of the land gods actually did not have legally recognized borders according to what most races would recognize.

Brax had taken out two rolled sheafs of treated animal skin and showed me that they were maps. Apparently they were quite old, and therefore not necessarily accurate any longer, but they gave me the visual aid I had requested. One showed the vast lands of this world. It seemed to be one super continent dominated by a vast, branching mountain range that snaked around it. he pointed out a large chunk of land that was separated out with dotted lines, indicating the border. It was near the center and a little south on the map.

"this is the Monster Nation of Aeros." Brax had said, pipe in his mouth and a furry claw tipped finger pointing to the location. "Our borders have been this way for countless generations. Two-thousand years, since Aeros became the land god and separated us from the others."

It was this large chunk of land that was mine to care for. A daunting task, but one I was beginning to become hopeful of accomplishing in time. "So this border is where my influence ends?" I had asked.

"indeed." The elder had said, nodding. "It is also the border that the other nations recognize as the Nation of Aeros. However..." Brax looked mildly worried as he went on to explain that, when word got out about Aeros being gone, the other nations may try and take territories for themselves. Since Aeros' decline, the strength of the monsters had waned, and it was only the threat of the dragon god that kept the other countries at bay.

he went on to point out the other borders on the map, explaining- again- that this was an old reference so much may have been changed. I saw that there were about a dozen other gods that had large chunks of land, but there were also several smaller territories circled there. Some as small as a single forest or mountain. Brax explained that those, smaller territories, were often held by the oldest of land gods who either had faded to obscurity, or never relied heavily on the support of worshipers.

"I thought land gods needed the prayers of the people..." I said, mulling it all over.

"Most do. But the older gods usually have enough power to keep up small territories and cede the larger part of their lands to other gods. A young one like you who- er..."