Godly

Godly
Chapter 15: Release the Kraken!

After waiting for about thirty or so minutes, Banawey arrives with another zebra who is a good half foot taller than him. He's big and muscular while wearing some headdress made from plants and feathers as well as a necklace with long fangs tied to a piece of string. His hooves are also covered in what looks like a large cat's claws which are strapped on making him look meaner.

"I take it this is the warrior we'll be taking with us?" I ask Banawey.

"Correct. This is my strongest warrior Onaka," the Shaman replies. I don't doubt it just by looking at him.

"It is nice to meet you, Onaka," I greet him getting a glare in return.

"God or not, I will be your end should any harm come to Elder Banawey," he tells me calmly, but I see his mass of muscles tense up.

"I wish to be friends with Zebrica, and allowing him or even you to be harmed on the way there would be counterproductive. I'll make sure you both come to no harm while I carry you," I reply.

He doesn't reply and just narrows his eyes.

"Don't take his words to heart. He is just very protective and diligent to his duty," Banawey tells me.

"That's good. Means he's loyal and will do what he must to fulfil his oath or duty," I reply with a nod.

Onaka snorts but his glare lessens slightly.

After a good eight or more minutes of idle chatter, Dragana returns with a young unicorn crystal pony stallion with a light brown coat and a messy navy blue mane and tail floating beside her in her magic. He has the mark of a glowing white crystal on his flank.

"Dragana? What are you doing?" I ask her with a raised brow.

"I have found a suitable mate and shall take him back with me," she replies and I notice the pony is looking terrified, yet with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"Did you even ask him first?" I then ask her.

The pony quickly shakes his head in a 'no' gesture. I also notice he looks a bit drunk if the rosy coloured nose and cheeks mean anything.

"I went to their inn and asked who would want to be my mate. All but this one remained in the building so I took that as consent," she replies in her usual blunt tone.

I sigh and walk over to the pony floating in the air. "So what do you say? You interested in being Dragana's mate?" I ask him.

He looks at Dragana who glances back at him, then looks back to me.

"Gotta admit... the offer is tempting," he replies nervously.

"Are you single?" I then ask.

"Errr... yeah?" he replies looking confused.

"You willing to move to our city to live with Dragana?" I then ask him.

"Move?" he asks in reply with a confused expression.

"Yes, we live past Equestria and in the Badlands. You'll have to move there if you want to be with Dragana," I tell him.

"Erm... I don't know..." he replies with a slight hiccup.

I sigh and shake my head. "Dragana, put him down. He's obviously too drunk to think straight right now. Let him have some time to sober up and then ask him again later when he can put together a coherent thought," I tell her making her groan unhappily before placing him on the ground.

"Go home and get some sleep, let Amore or Cadenza know when you have your answer, that is if you even remember this," I tell him making him nod slowly.

"Sure... I need to use the *hic* restroom anyway," he replies and stumbles away.

"You are insufferable sometimes, you know this right?" Dragana asks me unamused.

"Chryssi has told me this many times before, and I shall continue to be so. Now that you're here, I can send you all back to Khepria and I can begin helping Banawey," I tell her and open a portal to the side of our Keep. I think I'll need to have a room built specifically for my portals, don't want to open one inside someone by accident... though that does seem like an overpowered way of killing an opponent.

Once the portal is open, I gesture the Queens to go through. "I'll see you in two or three days, my dears," I say and Chrysalis gives me a farewell nuzzle.

"I would kiss you goodbye, but you know I don't like kissing you when you're made of metal," she tells me and walks through as I chuckle.

Dragana and Shyla follow behind her with their own goodbyes and before I close the portal I can't help but tease them.

"Now behave yourselves ladies and I might bring home some souvenirs," I say getting an eye roll from Dragana and a head shake from Chrysalis.

I close the portal and then change back into Khepri before looking at Banawey.

"So, are you ready to go or do you need anything else?" I ask them.

"We are ready to leave when you are," Banawey replies while Onaka glares at me again. I guess due to changing my form.

I tuck my legs under me to form a carriage of sorts. I raise an eyebrow as Banawey and Onaka then start placing a large blanket and some cushions on my legs and I can't help but chuckle.

"Flying first class are we?" I comment making them look at me confused. "Nevermind... Which way do we need to go from here?" I ask them.

Banawey points a hoof to the west. "To the west is the Forlorn Sea, which we will need to cross to reach the coasts of Zebrica," he replies.

"Alright then, hop aboard and we can get going. We may have to camp at the seashore before crossing so we can rest up. I don't know how long I will need to fly for so I want to be as rested as I can," I say as they climb onto my blanket covered legs.

"Agreed. We would hate for you to drop into the sea due to exhaustion," Banawey replies.

I just stare forward for moment while I start having second thoughts.

"You know what? Let's just take your boat back... I'm not feeling so confident now about how long I can fly carrying you both..." I say making Banawey start laughing.

"And I honestly would have to agree with you. Come, we shall inform my other warriors and set off for the boat," he says and starts walking off with Onaka.

I look down and notice they left their blanket and cushions on my legs. I sigh and take flight to follow them while carrying their stuff.

We arrive to find nine other zebra stallions preparing to leave by the magical dome of the city, along with some crystal pony guards watching them.

"My warriors! Our guest has had a change of heart and we shall be taking the boat back together," he informs them.

They nod in reply and eye me with mixed expressions.

"Hello," I greet them getting a few in return before we start walking out into the snow. I shiver at the freezing temperature and change into Ymir.

The others watch with awe as I shake my limbs and sigh happily that the cold doesn't bother me anymore.

"Are you sure you are not a changeling?" Banawey asks me with a raised brow.

"Yes, as I have a limited amount of forms I can be but can add or remove mass which a changeling can't do," I reply.

With no further questions, we head west. It takes a day and a half to reach our destination and the warriors were very amused as I used myself as Sol to be a makeshift campfire while the zebras sat around me to stay warm. We told stories and a bit of history together until they all retired into their tents for the night.

I just changed into Ymir, made a bed of ice and snow and watched the clam night sky till I fell asleep.

We arrive at the shore where some chunks of ice float in the calm sea and quickly board the surprisingly well made long ship that strangely has no sails and six other zebras are keeping the ship safe. It's made from long thin logs held together by some kind of sap or adhesive, along with rope, whether or not they're made from spun cloth or plant fibre, I can't tell.

It also appears to have a cargo hold or living area underneath the deck.

"Where are the sails?" I ask Banawey as I see no mast at all..

"Our warriors use oars to row us across. It not only keeps them fit, but saves on using cloth on sails that in a heavy wind or storm, would capsize us," he replies.

I look over the side and see twelve oar heads poking out the side of the hull, makes sense I guess, then again I know nothing about making or designing a boat.

I change into Ratatoskr so I'm small to stay out of the way, and light so I don't weight the boat down. My fur is at least keeping me warm enough.

Once everyone is aboard, I watch as the zebras start pulling and pushing the oars, making us head out onto the sea proper. I lean over the side as my tail wraps around the seat I'm sitting on to stop me from going overboard, I see some small fish swim away and shells in the shallow water before it becomes too dark and murky to see anymore.

I then look up to the blue sky with clouds dotted here and there, I can smell the salty air as I take a deep breath. I haven't been on a boat before, and despite the crude one I'm on now, I'm excited to know what a voyage at sea is like.

My excitement quickly wears off as I get bored fast after just two hours at sea. I lean on the side on the boat and yawn as said boat rocks gently over the waves. The grunts and huffs of the zebras pulling and pushing the oars accompany the splashing of the waves against the boat.

I groan in frustration and look up at the clouds. Hey, one that looks like a sword... and another that looks like a tree... and I'm bored again...

With a yawn, I look to the pouch on my hip and get curious if anything is in it. I pull it onto my lap and unbuckle it, I peer inside as I open it and frown as nothing is inside it.

I close the bag and just look grumpy. Might as well start a conversation. "So, what can you tell me about Zebrica?" I ask Banawey.

He looks to me with a slight smile. "It is a usually hot land with long open plains and large jungles, our City's main source of water is a stream that stems from a large lake further inland. But before we left, it completely stopped, and when we sent some warriors to check on it thinking the drought was worse than we thought, a few loud roars echoed over the plains and our warriors didn't return," he tells me with a frown now on his face.

"Loud roars? Some kind of large beast or monster?" I ask.

"That's what we think, but we're hesitant to send more of our warriors to their possible deaths without learning what is out there first. But if we don't get more water soon, we may have no choice in the matter," he replies.

"I could check it out once I've finished your water problem if you want," I tell him.

"You would? That would be very helpful," he replies with a slight bow of his head.

We talk for a few more hours about the main city called Zebabway. It's bigger than our hive and has about ten-thousand zebras living within the main walls alone while another three-thousand live spread on farmlands around it. The buildings are mostly made of dried clay or mud bricks with large leaves for roofing.

It has a small trade area where zebras from other tribes or villages come to exchange food or goods for other items, no currency whatsoever.

Once he finishes telling me about the city I notice it's starting to get dark, with a yawn I watch as the zebras pull the oars back on board and tie them down. They then head to the back of the boat where they head down some stairs.

"I take it we're going to sleep now?" I ask Banawey.

"Yes, our warriors must rest to continue our journey, though we will be sending up someone to watch the sea. There are more than just fish in these waters," he replies and heads down himself.

A single zebra remains on the deck keeping an eye on our surroundings. I yawn again before changing into Thoth and conjure a piece of papyrus and start writing a letter to Chrysalis in the changeling language just stating that were on our way and on the sea right now.

Once done, I change to Janus and open a small portal big enough to drop the letter in onto our bed and then close it. With that complete, I change back to Ratatoskr and find a comfy spot to lay on while using my tail as a pillow and go to sleep.

I awaken the next morning and eat some pork and grapes as Bacchus, even giving the zebras some grapes to snack on before turning into He Bo and refill our water supply with fresh water.

The trip is silent for a few hours before a large wave seems to be heading right for us.

"Any idea what that is?" I ask Banawey who looks out and goes wide eyed.

"Sea serpent!" he replies and the zebras pull the oars aboard and then head below deck.

They return with crude spears with bone or stone tips and get ready to fight for their lives.

Banawey then starts mumbling in another language which almost sounds like praying. But the wave gets closer and closer until a large deep blue scaled serpent burst out of the water and hisses down at us. It looks to be about fifty feet long as it waves its head back and forth looking at us.

"It would seem we shall not be returning to Zebrica," Banawey says grimly and appears to be resigned to his fate.

"I wouldn't count us out just yet," I say and change to Poseidon, God of the Oceans. I'm a muscular man with long bushy white hair and beard and a silver crown with an aquamarine gem in the centre on my head.

My legs are covered in blue fish scale pants with a large blue belt wrapped around my waist with cloth hanging from the front trimmed with silver. and piece of cloth goes front the left side of the belt up to my right shoulder where its attached to a sea creature like head shaped pauldron. I also have something similar to a tailcoat attached to the back of my belt.

Both of my forearms are covered in arm guards, both blue and silver trimmed.

In my right hand I hold a blue and silver trident with two glowing aquamarine gems on it, one just under the middle bladed tip, and one at the bottom of the haft.

I glare at the serpent as I jump off the boat startling the zebras until they see me standing on the water like it was solid.

The serpent stares at me and hisses before lunging at me. I swing my trident at it and a wave of water raises up and slams into the serpent, pushing it back a few metres.

This keeps up for a few minutes before the serpent tries something new and dives under the water where it tries to get me from below.

I activate my Trident ability making the trident glow slightly and hum. The ability makes me faster and able to control the water even better for a limited time, I avoid the serpent and use a gentle wave to push the boat away and get ready to use my ultimate ability.

Once the boat is a safe distance away from us, I raise my trident above me. "Release the Kraken!" I yell and the glow of a portal opens up deep below us. A faint roar that gets louder and louder can be heard until it finally reaches the surface as a large greenish-blue sea monster with sharp teeth, two long arms with webbed fingers, and four octopus tentacles on its back bursts out of the water and latches onto the serpent.

The serpent struggles as the Kraken drags it underwater where they go down to the deep and out of sight.

The zebras are all staring wide eyed at me as I smirk and glide over the water to them. I feel the Kraken leave back through the portal as I hop back on board the boat.

"So, shall we keep going?" I ask them.

"Never before have we seen such power as to control the very seas themselves..." Banawey replies stunned.

"I can control a lot of things, Banaway, but right now we should resume our trip?" I ask him and smile.

"Right... Warriors! Row!" he says and snaps himself and the others from their daze.

"Wait a minute, I want to try something," I say and jump overboard again and move next to the boat.

I raise my trident and a small wave forms behind the boat and I push it against the hull where the boat starts moving forward faster than they could by rowing.

I glide across the sea next to the boat as the zebras look stunned once again. Nothing is said for a good seven hours before I get tired and I don't feel so good. I make my way back onto the boat where I glow slightly and feel myself change against my will.

Once done, I look stunned at my hands, slightly chubby stomach, and clothes... I'm me again, the golden bracer with the Smite logo on my left forearm.

"I need to take a break," I quickly say to the zebras who after a few seconds, get to work and get back to rowing.

I frown at the bracer and look it all over, I raise an eyebrow at the little battery like image on the back that has a red blinking bar indicating it's empty. A small pulsing lightning bolt on the side of the battery indicating that its re-charging.

Feeling exhausted and tired, I head below deck and find a nice little corner and promptly fall asleep.

I yawn as I wake up and groan at the soreness in my back, sleeping on wood is not very comfortable... I scratch the stubble on my chin and then remember what happened. I look at my bracer and see the battery icon is full again so I will myself to change and I become Ratatoskr again.

'So I can run out of power, mana, or energy?' I wonder to myself. If that's true, then I can't just keep using my powers non-stop... I'll have to be careful when selecting gods or how often I use their power.

I notice that only a couple of zebras are in the hammocks down here so I head up and see most of them rowing again.

"Hello, how long was I out for?" I ask Banawey.

"Two days, you must've been very tired to sleep so long, none of us could rouse you from your slumber," he replies.

"I see..." I say and wince as my stomach rumbles and my lips feel dry. I change to Bacchus to eat some pork and grapes, and a small amount of wine to wash it down before turning back into Ratatoskr and getting a gourd of fresh water to drink from.

The others wait for me to finish before Banawey speaks up. "You'll be happy to know that Zebrica is just within sight," he tells me and I smile.

I run on all fours up to the front of the boat and look out across the horizon, to see a wide landscape as far as the eye can see. On the left are some barely visible mountains while the right looks like plains or a savanna.

With a grin now plastered on my face, I can't wait to make a portal back home and tell Chrysalis that we've made it there.