8 Careful who you may offend

As she looked around her Temple, Riya came to realize that there wasn't much for a Goddess to do in the way of packing.

She didn't require a regular source of nourishment for her body to thrive as a Goddess, so no food or water was needed. She didn't need to pack clothes either, because the violet robe her mother had given her when she brought her here, turned out to be a wondrous piece of clothing.

It amazed her at first when she realized it never got soiled even after a few days of constant wear. Then when she sat on a muddy patch of grass in the forest, the stains seemed to instantly fade away to her pleasant surprise. Then she took it upon herself to experiment more, as she laid down on the same muddy ground and rolled around a few times to prove her theory.

A goddess rolling around the mud like a pig, that would have been a sight to behold and one fine drinking story to tell for years to come. But luckily no one was there to watch her as she proved her theory correct. At least no one she saw.

Riya took one last look inside, before locking the temple door and walking towards the young priest waiting at the distance. Soon enough, the thick foliage swallowed the two as they began their trip.

Silorek took the lead, clearing a way for them as he walked. To her surprise, they walked in an already established path of some sort. One that seemed to lead from the Temple, directly to the outskirts of the forest. According to Silorek, this Temple once belonged to a different God, long before it was refashioned for her, and people regularly took this path to come to visit the Temple. But now the path was overgrown by the trees and the greenery.

The young bald priest carried all his belongings in a small sack hanging from his back. She didn't recall seeing him bring any luggage when he arrived, but apparently, he had some belongings.

They had waited a day before embarking on this trip, due to Silorek's insistence that he wanted to leave the temple in optimal condition. He had done repairs all around the temple that day, making her realize how poorly kept this place actually was. He had also built a small wooden shrine outside the temple in case any worshippers came by to offer something to her, and ask for her blessings.

Riya thought it was a completely useless endeavor, as you would have to be particularly desperate to seek out her help in any way.

After she had asked Senthia why they had chosen to come to her rather than any other God, the answer came to her as no surprise. They had come to her simply because her time was the nearest one to the small rural village they lived in and it was an emergency. It felt like the equivalent of being the cheap convenience store nearby.

Speeding up her gait, Riya walked up next to Silorek, who glanced at her sideways and bowed his head smiling. "Tell me more about the temple we are going to and this God called Bes." She asked him, as they followed the relatively smooth path out of this forest. Silorek cleared his throat softly before he began to inform his Goddess of the information she asked for.

"We are going to the temple of Bes, your radiance. Bes is a relatively high standing lesser God, one that is highly venerated and worshipped in Nwiba, the district we are in." He said as he stopped before a low hanging branch in their way, breaking it forcefully with a swift movement and advancing once more.

"And how exactly is this Bes going to help me with my dilemma?" Riya wondered. She didn't like the idea of meeting another God very much. It seemed to her that most Gods will probably have their heads stuck high up their holy bottoms, looking down at anyone they possibly can and feeding their own ego.

When she was Abdo, she had dealt with people who had that same venomous personality often. It happened all through his school life, where Abdo was constantly forced to become the Class Clown in order to avoid getting bullied.

She banished those memories right as they resurfaced in her mind.

"Bes's influence extends to many things, your radiance. But one of his most important and most known domains of influence lies in his status as a God of fertility." The bald priest confirmed her suspicions, after being rather secretive about their destination since yesterday.

"Oh, so you think he will teach me? Will he teach me how to talk to wombs, and make them obey my command. Or will he educate me in the secrets of how to make a memberless man impregnate a woman with his sheer Will power?" Riya said sarcastically while pacing forward on her toes and grabbing the bottom of her robe. She then proceeded to fan it left and right gracefully as if distributing blessings on loyal subjects made of tree branches and flower bushes.

"Your radiance, careful!" Silorek's hand shot forward to pull her back, but he hesitated in the last second, as his hand simply hovered over Riya's shoulder.

"What? did I accidentally impregnate these trees? That would be a problem. Will this be my legacy?" She said in feigned horror, as she looked about her.

"Beneath you." Silorek pointed at Riya's feet.

Under her feet, the decomposing brown leaves covered the partially cleared path they were following. And in the spot where Riya stood, a long line of beetles scuttled about, traversing the pathway in a straight line and rolling pieces of mud with them.

Riya stepped aside instantly as her foot was right in the middle of the line of beetles, revealing a crushed beetle underneath. "At least I bring something to the table. Insect terminator Goddess." She chuckled to herself as she wiped the sole of the slippers she wore on the ground.

Silorek stood with his brows wrinkled, too busy in thought to hear her bland humor. He squatted down and pushed away from the dead beetle away from the line, to let the rest of them proceed. "This is no joking matter, your radiance." He spoke in a hushed tone.

"What? they are just insects. Why do you look like I just stepped on your great ancestor, they are just dung rolling Beatles. we used to collect them in school and pit them against each other in glass Jars, to fight glorious battles to the death." she said as she remembered her life as young Abdo years ago. "But now that I think about it, they were probably just humping not fighting in those Jars."

Silorek looked up in horror as his Goddess said that, and slowly gulped down. "I don't know what you are speaking of, your radiance. But Scarab beetles are sacred creatures here. They represent the Elder God Khepri." Silorek said the name with veneration reverberating in his voice. "And Khepri is an aspect of Ra himself." He said the words while pointing at the fiery orange disk illuminating the sky. "The god of the sun?" Riya said as she shaded her eyes with one hand while looking up at the sun.

The name Ra reminded her of a certain card in an anime she watched often as a younger kid, and as she thought of Ra she imagined a Giant golden Dragon.

"Yes, your radiance. Ra is one of the most powerful Gods in the hierarchical system of the Gods. Not many Gods would dare disrespect him." Silorek added.

"Does that mean that whenever someone accidentally steps on a beetle, Ra is gonna lose his shit and hurl the sun at us in a tantrum? Is that a daily concern for people around here?" She thought out loud. "I presume Everybody should be walking with their eyes down then."She was quite dumbfounded at the prospect.

"Not exactly your radiance. It is not that big of a concern as you say, to mortals at least. But if a God does so, it could be considered a challenge to the authority of Khepri, your radiance. That is my only concern." The troubled youth finished.

"Oh," Riya said, finally starting to take it seriously. "Then what do I do now? I can't bring the beetle back to life. It's not like I committed genocide on all the beetles that ever lived." She sighed in agitation at this seemingly random turn of events. "Well, I'm sure it won't be that big of a deal, your radiance,"Silorek mumbled as he straightened up and began walking again.

"Are you just saying that to reassure me, Sil?"She raised an eyebrow at him. The young priest appeared to be slightly taken back with what she had called him but answered her anyway. "Yes, your radiance." He confirmed her suspicions

"Wait Sil, one more thing."

"Yes, your radiance?" He paused.

" Is there a God called Yugi-oh?"

"Um, not that I am aware of, your radiance."