5. Darus' Helpers

Feria had no clue where Darus found them, but his helpers were indeed strong and happy to help. They kept asking if they could do any more, if there were more animals to move around, and didn’t even mind traveling all the way to the other side of Origina.

Though that distance wasn’t too great. The entire world was still connected as one continent: Volarde. This part, where the gods landed, had been dubbed Origina. But all other parts were currently close by and reachable by land.

Perhaps she could ask Darus to have his tectonic plates move faster. If the plant eaters all got stuck on different continents … split by a sea … they wouldn’t be able to eat entire jungles and then leave …

She smiled. Yes, Darus could do that. Perhaps his joking attitude and lack of seriousness was the right way. Everyone seemed to live him, while they only viewed Feria as a guard when needed.

She tried to talk with the animals following her, but they barely responded. The message was clear: keep us safe, then disappear, stern Goddess. But somebody had to be stern, right? Didn’t the others realize how terrible the situation was?

When she delivered the animals safely, she immediately continued her research. Ardex and Eeris now sometimes caught a Fleshfeaster in the act, but they were lone actors who seemed unsure of their own abilities. As if the idea of chasing prey was entirely new to them. No large group, no nest, no idea where they all were. Eeris bound them with magical vines and Ardex would bring them to “that other place”.

She didn’t like that. Solving a problem by pushing the problematic animals in one small corner. It felt worse than killing. At least Gods could kill an animal in a soft, magical, peaceful way. If they simply gathered all Fleshfeasters and let them be, it would be everything but peaceful. But Ardex was the boss, and God of Death, so …

They’d mostly followed the Green Path the first time. It was a wide, long path from the Throne to all corners of Origina, made and maintained by the Green Sisters—Eeris and Feria. They hoped animals would use it more, but now that rumors of Fleshfeasters traveled the continent, nobody wanted to expose themselves on the path.

So, to continue her research, she traveled past the rivers. She started at the Longneck, the longest river they knew which ended in the Wise Sea, which contained her own throne: the Tree of Life. But that also followed the Green Path too much, so she turned even more corners, visiting lesser known rivers. Not back to the Nightriver, but towards the Impossible Wall of Darus.

She met a lot of helpers along the way and greeted them with a smile. It was an odd sight: groups of animals draped over the back of large animals like blankets. But it worked and she hoped the issue of too few plants was solved now.

As she followed the Aparant River for longer, the world turned deadly silent. Most animals still had to arrive here. This was a far off, obscure corner of their world. Most trees of the Middle Forest were still alive, untouched by the plague of herbivores. Listen to me, Feria thought. The Fleshfeasters are a plague, the Herbivores are a plague. And I dare call myself Goddess of Animals!

Balance. Father always said her duty was one of balance. Something she obviously didn’t understand as a small Goddess. Now she understood, but she hated it. The plant eaters ate too many plants. The meat eaters ate too many plant eaters. What came next? Gods, maybe? Was it really the only solution to start removing meat eaters?

The forest was devoid of life. Feria grew uneasy, as she always was when not surrounded by animals or life. Yes, insects were everywhere, but she almost hated creating them in the first place. Eeris loved the animals, for they helped her plants procreate. Feria was more suited for animals like her, whom she could hug or talk to.

Her paw hurt. In the sand, next to the river, she bumped into a hard surface. She shook it off, but bumped into another hard surface. Her snout dove into the sand and dug multiple deep holes, throwing away the sand through her hind paws.

Bones. Animal skeletons, some land dwellers, some ocean dwellers. Upset, the fox started to dig through the entire shoreline. Skeleton after skeleton appeared. She had a hard time finding any area that did not carry ample evidence of Fleshfeaster activity.

It never ended. Feria cried for the loss of life. For the creatures who probably enjoyed a sunny day, nibbling something or proudly looking over their children, then suddenly dying in a flash of pain and fear.

No, she thought. We can’t exterminate the Fleshfeasters, we can’t let them exist, I can do neither of those things. Is there really no other way, Father?

She hated herself for still thinking about Father. Still asking his help or advice. He had banished her, refused her, left her here to die. He clearly didn’t care about her; she still wanted to do right by him somehow.

Her paws stood inside the deep hole she’d dug. She leaned forward to study the clear water. She hoped to see an abundance of little fish, but expected more dead bodies on the seabed. The bearded dragon was right. They must have started in the water. All life started underwater. Or maybe they were still—

A wave, tall as a tree, erupted out of nowhere and dragged Feria into the sea. She was quick enough keep a hold of the shoreline, but her eyes closed due to the splash and she lost all sense of direction. Her paws stung. Teeth, quills, spikes, something sharp bit at her and refused to let her go. The animal pulled her deeper, scraping across the scratchy sand, then Feria remembered her powers.

Her tail twisted around her. The attacker held her tight for a few more moments, then loosened its grip. She could see again: an enormous squid fell asleep before her eyes. No, not sleep, Feria had forced his heart to overwork itself and now he was unconscious. She struggled out of the water, back to safe ground. Her paw bled, heavily, but she subconsciously healed it with her magic.

The squid washed ashore, half its tentacles on land, half like seaweed just under the surface. Feria fit five times inside each tentacle. “How,” she said loudly, “did we miss that?”

Something like that didn’t just appear. These were once tiny squids who happened to be able to eat meat particles. And after thousands of years they’d grown to be … these monsters. Why did they pretend Fleshfeasters were a new thing? Why had she never noticed this? Her fellow gods spoke of their CARN mission, to find any meat eaters before it gets out of hand, so why did they not find this?

Gulvi should have seen. As a dolphin, he swum through these waters all day. Or did he not think it was an issue? He’d always been best friends with his little sister Hanah. She might have convinced him to let it be. Let nature do whatever it does.

How could you do that, if it meant even gods had to fear the sharp teeth and claws of their own creations? If you couldn’t even walk the beach safely?

Feria must have seen this before. Unless … someone purposely hid it from here. That was possible, as long as these beasts stayed underwater. Only once they moved to the land, it became impossible to keep Feria in the dark.

Panting sounded behind her. She wasn’t afraid, for she recognized it. She already ran at the animal to hug him. Her Hespryhound wagged his tail and licked the wound on her paw, even though it had already fully healed.

Feria regularly thanked Hanah for bringing the Heavenmatter to them. She couldn’t imagine living another million years without her sweet Hespryhound.

“You really need to stay close, dear pet,” Feria said. He’d been gone for years, though, so maybe he had more information. “Sweetling, what do you know about the Fleshfeasters?”

The hound looked scared. Him too? What did they do to him?

“Nothing. They don’t dare attack me, I think, but I hear the rumors. I see the consequences.”

Feria looked around her, as if she expected her siblings to appear any moment. She whispered: “Did you ever hear about one of the gods being connected to it? Saw one of my brothers or sisters with a Fleshfeaster?”

Her pet from the Heavenly Palace thought about this for a while. “Is this a trick question? Are you tricking me again? Like how you always pretend to throw away a stick, but never really do, and then—”

Feria frowned. “No? What do you mean, dear pet?”

Hespry used his front paw to point at Darus’ helpers, who carried an entire lizard family in the distance. “And how do you think those helpers became so big and strong? By eating plants that are … nowhere to be found? I though … I assumed you knew. That you realized the chain of food has to be this way and … accepted it.”

Yes, now she understood.

She waited no longer and sprinted at the helping beasts. What did we do? What did we do?

What had they done? Willingly give all the herbivores to the Fleshfeasters, for free.