In the Presence of a God

"Please, Sithrim?", a voice asked him nearby.

The young stag opened his eyes and looked to her. A fawn stared at him, and she asked again, "Please? You're the only one that can do it."

"What do you want me to do?", he replied to her.

"I want to see a tree turn into a giant mushroom!", the fawn replied.

Sithrim tilted his head, "Isn't that something the Twin Gods can do?", he asked.

The fawn tilted her head in reply, "Twin Gods? Who are the Twin Gods? You're the only deer god in the Endless Forest, Sithrim."

Sithrim didn't really understand this at first, but he sat up and looked at the nearest tree. Without even thinking, the tree burst into a giant mushroom.

The fawn's eyes grew, "Yay! You did it!", she exclaimed, and ran to the giant mushroom.

Sithrim didn't really understand what was going on. The Twin Gods aren't around, and he has their powers? This was odd....very odd...

"Hey, it's Sithrim!", he heard someone else exclaim. The god looked to see a stag approach, his eyes as big as the fawn's before. Sithrim cleared his throat, "Erm...what can I do for you?"

"Well, I've been waiting for the next Abiogenesis, but I just can't wait that long. Can you give me the Black As Night Pelt?", the stag questioned.

Sithrim hesitated for a moment. What would Michael or Auriea do in this situation? They don't normally give out spells like that out of the blue...or do they?

He took a deep breath, and without really concentrating, cast the spell on the stag. The mortal's fur went from brown to a sleek black. He was amazed, and bowing, he immediately ran off shouting, "Hey everyone! Look what the deer god gave me!"

Sithrim didn't really think about it, but he made a little mistake. Before he realized it, many more deer came running up to him. "Please Sithrim, we want the Black As Night Pelt too!", they begged. He started to see more and more deer in the distance, all curious about the event.

"Okay, okay, let me concentrate...", Sithrim began, but some of the deer began to crowd around him, "You gave it to the other stag. We want it now!", they began to cry.

He couldn't think, the deer had packed around him and were causing such a commotion that he couldn't even remember how he gave the pelt in the first place.

"Guys, please, relax!", he tried to say, but they just continued to shout and bump into one another. Soon some of the stags began to quarrel, lowering their horns at one another and shouting some awful remarks.

It was complete chaos - the deer would not calm down, and Sithrim lost his patience.

"Everyone calm down!", he shouted in a booming voice at them. He didn't realize how powerful his voice was, and one by one, he watched the deer collapse. The god's voice was so strong that it stopped their hearts...all of their hearts...

Before he realized it, he was surrounded by the bodies of his followers - all dead from heart failure.

Sithrim collapsed, "Why? Why did this happen?", he questioned. He did something terrible...he didn't mean to kill them, but...

"Relax, Sithrim.", he heard someone say.

The 'god' looked up - he was no longer in the Endless Forest, but in a dark field. He soon saw Michael and Auriea appear before him.

Sithrim bowed before them, "Michael! Auriea! I'm so sorry, I...", he began, but the gods spoke to him again, "We said to relax. What you experienced was only a vision."

Sithrim looked up to them, "You mean, it never happened?", he asked. "Correct.", the two replied, "You will soon learn that there was a reason for your vision. But first, we must wait for the others to arrive..."

The stag lowered his head. It was just a dream. But where was he, and what was the real gods' plan?

He decided one thing though - the Twin Gods sure have a tough job on their hooves.

The end of this chapter...