12 Chapter 8: Boredom, Horns and Voyages.
This is so boring…
I know I told Leon to reincarnate, but this is so boring… When will that guy get back?
It's been 6 years, since that guy was born and he barely did anything! He only practices that magic-thing and never does anything fun! Magic was interesting in the beginning, but it's not that great. Well, after seeing how he made that furry guy explode, that'd be a lie. It's kinda fun, but not as much as descending and blessings.
"Goowwaaaa!", Hm? Oh… I forgot about this guy… He's more boring, he only came 3 times, no make this the 4th time and he's already tired. His dick looks impressive, but he's not. So I get up, leaving him lying on the ground with his dick limp and his balls dry.
Sorry hotshot, but you're not my type.
"Ooge Aga Awe… (Why great Awe?)".
Sorry, you're not bad, and I'm pretty sure mortal girls will fall for you, but that's just it, I'm not mortal, and I have a job to do.
And so, I disperse my avatar, leaving the poor guy trying to get up. I really do feel sorry for him, but it's the truth, while Leon is reincarnated, it's my job to prevent disasters from killing off any of our groups, and considering that only 2 groups were wiped out, I'm doing a great job. Heck, I'm even ignoring my own job for doing Leon's. It's been 3 years since I had some free time, and the guy I chose wasn't that great.
Speaking of that guy, he looks kinda dejected. I now feel bad for him… ok, how about a small gift to make it up for him?
Hi hotshot.
"Awe?", no shit caveboy, who else would it be?
You were good enough that I decided to give you not just one blessing, but two!
I then snap my fingers, and I bless him with 2 of my special blessings. Virility and Charm. That must be enough to make it up for him, right?
And no. he still wants more, he wants me. You know what, who cares about this guy? I really miss the days when the Tagan were simpler and just wanted to fuck around with anyone that accepts, but nooooo. We had to make these mortals smart enough to have needs and desire specific people as mates. I know I told Leon that it's great that they're developing so fast, and it actually is great, since being smarter means better strategies, better technologies, and better chances of survival, but it gets kinda annoying when they start getting moody and when they waste their intelligence on stupid things. One time, there was this attractive female from one of the groups that went northwest, who kept teasing a bunch of males, making them compete for her affection, and in the end, once they started getting violent, she left them fighting and started teasing another group of males. I had to descend to fix the issue before the group splits up or worse, a blood bath happens. I managed to solve the problem, and I tried to scold the girl, but the bitch dared to sneer at me, so I slapped the girl, accidently disfiguring her since I didn't hold back, causing her to cry and run away. She ran further to the west till she reached a nearby marsh. Some of the group tried to search for her, but to their displeasure I prevented them, since once she reached the marsh, I felt that terrible chaotic pulse and the connection between us was cut. She either died or became one of those mutant curs. Mortals are such a hassle…
Anyways, I better check on Leon and hope he's doing something fun and useful.
I travel for about an hour and I finally reach the beach where his group and 5 others decided to use as a camp, which is the biggest gathering of the Tagan that I've seen. I wonder why they gathered here? Eh, I'll figure it out later.
More importantly, where's Leon? Oh, there he is, but why is he carving on a shell?
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Finally, after 2 weeks, we've reached the beach, and along the way we shared our newest invention with other groups, and managed to convince 5 of them to join us. Now we're on the verge of a new milestone for the Tagan, sea travel, with the island on the horizon as the first step and the new continent as the final goal.
Now that we arrived, we started preparing the place. Everyone with the exception of the hunters and gatherers who're out doing their job, started gathering enough wood, vines and other materials to build a camp big enough for everyone. After we're done, everyone from our group with the exception of a few went back to their normal tasks among their units, while those few went teaching the other groups about the advantages of organizing labor. It's not that they don't organize their tasks at all, but their way is neither as structured or as polished as ours. They don't have specialized units, it's just who gathers food and materials, and who stays at camp and processes said food and materials while also taking care of the fire pits. They're not dumb though, since they also have their own specialties. For example, one group excels at trapping, while another excels at wood carving. These may not seem like much, but thank the creator, that you're not a Rosuk, who along with some of your herd, are baited into falling into a deep covered pit filled with sharp pointed sticks ready to take your life away.
Anyways, I have to- "Ja. (Hey)", and she came.
Let me guess, "Jowa Maja? (Teach magic)", and she nods. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but, "Joja. (No)", oh yeah, Joja means negative in any form, and by itself it means no. And for future records, Jojo means yes.
"Wago? (Why)", asks the girl. Geez, can't you let me off one day without teaching you magic?
"Owa. (Come)", I say and head to the nearby reef to do my task, and as always she follows me like a puppy. Once we arrived, I started searching for conch shells and managed to find about 8 shells.
"Wago? (Why)", asks the confused girl. I can't blame her though, since considering the fact that shells are never used by the Tagan, it would be stupid to assume that she'd guess what I wanted to do.
I carried the shells back to the camp and prepared my equipment, which consist of a fist sized stone, a wooden awl, a bone knife, and my hand axe. I started with the smallest shell, since the smaller the shell, the more brittle it is, right? I never worked with shells before, so I'm just guessing my way through this process. I grabbed the stone and started bashing the shell's tip, hoping to break the spiral, and I did, just that I broke the shell in the process… Well, this goes to the rubbish pile. I try again on another shell, but this time I use my hand axe to try hacking off the tip… to no avail… How do you work with these things!? I hear a yawn from behind me to find the bemused girl and a couple of bored children staring at me.
Deep breath… Don't lose your shit, and take a deep calm breath, they're just a couple of snot nosed brats, they wouldn't know better… And now I find 2 adults laughing at me… Fuckers…
Alright, no more mister nice guy, I raise my hand axe high and slam it at the tip. Oh, the shell broke? No problem. I grab another and the same thing happened. Now my axe's edge chipped a little and everyone is looking at me like I'm a madman? Who cares. I do it again, but this time, I succeed at breaking off just the tip, leaving an unpolished and jagged hole, but at the price of breaking off my axe.
I look at everyone, and they're shocked at my action, and I'm sure many of them think that I'm mad. Well, look at what this madman will do. I grab the conch shell and blow on the hole.
Vooooooooom!
Ouch! Man that hurt! I'm pretty sure the edges scratched my lips, since I have a metallic taste in my mouth, but it was worth the look in their wide open eyes. Immense shock! Well, better clean and polish this thing, but not before making sure that some of the now eager adults test it first.
---
After a few hours, I managed to make and polish some conch horns, then distribute them to the groups. It was a task that I never want to do again… during the entire process, I kept wishing that I had a saw and some sand paper… Well, at least they now know how to make them. You really should've seen them running to the beach and gathering as much shells as they can, though not all shells were conch shells, the majority thankfully were, while the few that weren't were used for carving art, mostly zigzags, shapes, and stick figures, someone even carved the image of a shell on the shell. Hopefully I didn't cause the mass-extinction of a species.
Anyways, I managed to introduce one of the earliest tools of communication of man. The horn. Using the conch horns, we can locate each other while travelling across the sea, especially if it was night time, or if we were separated due to a fog. And thankfully, I managed to introduce it before we head out, at the cost of delaying the expedition till tomorrow, so that we can stock on extra horns and oars. Thankfully, I managed to introduce oars 2 days after they made the raft, or their attempt to cross the sea, would've been a disaster.
Anyways, I better get some res- "Ja. (Hey)", not again… You know what? Screw it. Better get her ready for unlikely scenarios, THEN get some rest. At least, that will increase her chances of survival in my absence, right?
And so, we spent the rest of the day training till it was night time, and everyone went to sleep, waiting for tomorrow to come, so that we can start our voyage to the island.
---
And the day finally came, with more than 40 rafts fit for 3 individuals each with their tools, waiting on the beach for the signal to come, and I got the honor to be the first to sound it, since thanks to yours truly, we now have a better method to communicate from afar, than just yelling, so I licked my lips and blew the horn!
Voooooooom!
After that, all the others blew their horns, forming a loud and wild melody filling the area with the sound of more than 40 horns.
Thus, the journey started, we all shoved the rafts off the beach and into the water, then we climbed them and began rowing. Well, I and a few started rowing properly, while most the others either used their oars to push the sand underneath, waited for the waves to push it forward or had someone paddle with their feet. Though, in time, after observing how those who've used their oars properly are advancing farther with no problems, they've started imitating us and managed to keep up with our pace.
Imagine this sight, more than 75 rafts carrying the world's first sailors, challenging the waves to discover new lands.
And after dusk, we succeeded on their first voyage, reaching the first island on our path to the new continent. Hmm? First island? You didn't think that crossing to a detached continent by sea would be this easy, right? I wish I measured the distance and how many days it would take for us to reach the continent, but sadly, I don't have the equipment to do so… On the plus side, before descending, I spotted a chain of smaller islands that we can travel to from here, which would make the voyage much easier and increase our chances of survival. Another good thing is that our tails haven't lost their feature and still work as a fat storage, so we can survive for some time without losing too much strength, even if we were cut off from food.
Immediately after descending, we prepared our camp and found a fresh water source in the form of a river filled with fish, and we also found trees filled with some oval pink fleshy fruits that taste sweet and are full of small round seeds.
And thus, the first day ends with the success of the first voyage of the Tagan.
---
52 days have passed after that moment, and we're still heading east. We kept sailing from island to island, but our numbers kept decreasing after we reached the third one, since during that trip, a heavy fog covered the sea resulting in the loss of 3 rafts along with their crew due to them crashing against some rocks. And it didn't help that they belonged to the same group, which discouraged the rest of that group, causing them to decide to stay on the island. Well, they did after discovering that it was not only big, but was also rich in resources.
Anyways, as we kept sailing, the same thing happened again and again, leaving us with just 40 Tagan willing to set out on the final trip. Yes, we've reached the last island and we can't even see the continent. The only thing that makes us certain that we're on the right path is that everyone felt Awe's influence telling them to sail forward, well, everyone except me and the girl. Interesting factoid is that it seems that guides and sakitun can neither influence each other, nor communicate telepathically with each other during a reincarnation cycle. They also can't influence or communicate with the vessel after its host left it. So in the end, I left my fate in Awe's hands and we started the last voyage hoping to reaching the island.
---
2 days have passed and we're still at sea, thankfully we've prepared food and wooden bowls full of water for the journey, though if it didn't rain yesterday night, we would've ran out of water. Today isn't good though, we're surrounded by a heavy fog and can't see anything. The only thing that's preventing us from going to the wrong direction and being lost at sea is Awe. I think so, since my sister can sense her. I forgot to mention that since a single raft can only fit 3 adults, or more depending on the age and size of the children. I've been paired up with both of my siblings, and the girl.
"Wago? (What)", I hear both of my siblings say at the same time, with a look of shock and worry on their face. This doesn't look good.
"Wago? (What)" asks the girl as she also seems confused as to why they seem nervous.
"Awe joja jowo… (Awe no sound)".
…
Shit…
We wait for a moment, but they still can't hear her, and instead, we all hear the voice of some Tagan yelling, trying to find the others.
Well, it's time to use the horn.
Voooooom!
…
Voooooom!
Voooooom!
And the sound of horns rings out in the distance. Which is both good and bad, the good part is that the others are not that far off and some of them now sailed close enough to be seen in the fog. The bad part is that with so many horns sounding at the same time, you can easily lose direction, and can't know if you're getting closer to the center of the group or farther away.
What should I do? "Ja. (Hey)", says the girl as always, I look at her and see what is it that she wants. "Jowo maja. (Sound Magic)".
…
Why didn't I think of that? 2 weeks ago, we've finally found a use for her wind magic. Sound amplification. I know, I know, pretty convenient, plot armor, hax, etc… It's no wind blade or wind blast, but it was something that could be useful in the future, and that future is now.
I know it's not wise to use magic in front of my siblings, or anyone in general, but drastic times require drastic measure, and I've found a simple way to explain it that would prevent any form of persecution or annoying worship. Hmm? If we found a way to use our magic without getting persecuted, why don't we just disperse the fog? Well, she's just not powerful enough. Do you honestly expect a girl who just managed to find her first technique to just wave her hand and change the weather? Isn't that too large of a medium for her to handle?
Anyways, I nod at her, then I licked my lips and blew the horn like my life depended on it.
Voooooooooooooom!!!
That sound silenced all the other horns, and got my siblings and all the others on the nearby rafts staring at me in shock. I look at the sky and point with my finger at the horn, "Awa.". Yup, that's the easiest way to explain things and in their eyes, the most believable one too.
I got a response from afar, and from the sound of their horns, they seem to be getting closer.
After a few minutes, some rafts arrived and the silhouettes of others can be seen through the fog. But after counting them and from the sound of a couple of horns, a few rafts are still haven't arrived. So I blew the horn again.
Voooooooooooooom!!!
Skooreeeya…
…
What was that sound? I look at the others and ask them, "Wogo Jowo?", which resulted in them shaking their heads, with the exception of the girl who nodded with a worried expression on her face. I better not use the horn again, it will take a few minutes for the third cast to be discharged, so as long as we don't- Wha-!? Hey!
I try to take back the horn from my brother who took it by surprise, but to no avail, due to the size difference between us. "Joja Jowo. (No sound), I warn him, but he looks at me in annoyance and points at where we could hear the sound of horns from the remaining lost rafts.
"Gowo! (Help)", says the fool before he blows on the horn.
Voooooooooooooom!!!
…
Shit…
Skooooreeeyaaaa!!!
We heard a loud roar as the sea rumbled. I look at my brother as he's stunned, wide-eyed, open mouthed, and hands empty with the horn on the floor of the raft. This is why I hate justice idiots and moral morons; they keep making things worse by trying to make them 'better'.
Vooooo- "Gyaaaaahhh!!!".
We heard a heart-wrenching scream from the distance, as soon as the sound of the horn was cut off.
One of the nearby rafts started rowing forward as if their life dependent on it, which it does. But nothing happened to them. Why is that? Is it that whatever attacked the distant rafts is by itself and hasn't noticed us yet? But how come that it hasn't? The only thing that I can think of is that either its view is also obstructed by the fog and it's relying on its moderate sense of hearing, which would explain why it hasn't found us yet despite the fact that we're making quite the ruckus, or that it has an acute sense of hearing, but it is only attracted to sounds with higher frequencies, and if so, how the fuck are we not dead meat yet, isn't that kind of logic contradictory, and why is such a thing not in the deep dark depth of the ocean floor, where creatures usually rely on such methods as a substitute to light?
"Ja. (Hey)", Says the girl, grabbing my attention. "Joma Maja. (Water Magic)", she says while pointing at the water. So she wants to me to use magic to propel us forward? Because if she expects me to do something else, for example, fight an unknown enemy in his natural environment where I have zero chance of dodging, much less moving, well, she can fugget about it!
In order to do this, I need to generate a wave strong enough to propel the raft forward, but before I do that, I need to make sure that there are no rafts in front of us and I need to gather the others into a tight formation, since the last 2 things we need right now are smashing the raft during our escape, and if we manage to escape, being isolated, if not killed for abandoning everyone in the process. It's enough that we now have less than 40 Tagan, which is not even a quarter of the amount necessary to avoid inbreeding, but we also-
Skooooreeeeeee…
Great… Just great…
We see the silhouette of the monstrosity, causing everyone to scream. And let me tell you… it's a monstrosity… Yeah, I repeated myself, tell me, what you'd call the vague shadow of a colossal worm-like creature floating on the surface of the water, with dozens of giant bat-like wings running across its body, tentacles that I assume can easily wrap around a truck near its mouth, and glowing orange spots on its body? I call that a monster, but hey, maybe in your eyes I'm being a speciest and those screams earlier were just a misunderstanding, and it just came to say hi and share with us some of its gluten-free kelp cookies, cooked to perfection using underwater heat vents.
Judging from the fact that it hasn't charged at us and it's still looking around, it still hasn't noticed us yet, and since it showed no reaction after everyone screamed, I bet I can get superior hearing off the list. It's now or never, if we stay here, it'll find us eventually, so let's get a move on. "Owa joh! (Come here)", I yell to the others, grabbing their attention. "Ajowo. (Row)", I tell them as I point at the sea ahead, then I make clench my hands together, "Ajo goga. (Go together)". At first, not all of them understood what I meant, but some of the brightest minds of the Tagan took the lead and the rest followed. The girl managed to convince my siblings to wait until everyone was ahead of us, and when they were, I gathered enough energy to manipulate the water currents and amplify their power into moving all of the rafts forward, and cast it on the waters, hoping that the creature doesn't notice us due to the changes in the currents.
Sadly, it did. The moment I cast the spell, it turned to our direction, but the spell didn't have time to take effect. Then it clicked in my mind. It wasn't the sound of the horn that attracted it, it was the spell. This thing can sense magic.
It Spread its many wings and charged at us, covering the distance in the blink of an eye, causing the sky to rumble due to it breaking the sound barrier and the waters to grow chaotic from the aftershock. After arriving, it blocked our path with its gigantic grey tail, yes, grey… We stood still, looking at the nightmarish beast in front of us. As I look at it from close range, fueling my eyes with magic to discover how it sensed us, I see that my earlier description is inadequate. It's not some colossal beast, it's a titan, a primordial child of magic who could devour whales and destroy mountains with ease. Its smooth skin is grey as ash, its wings which reach the heavens are as black as the dark void of space, its 8 tentacles are arranged perfectly adjacent to each other, on both sides of its razor tooth filled maw, and those orange spots? Those are no spots; they're horizontal-slit eyes that shine an orange glow that rivals a thousand flames, fueled with what could be described as an endless amount of magic that rivals those of magical lay lines.
I see it looking at me, staring deep into my soul. Exposing me completely under its power gaze. As if to devour my whole being.
Welp, looks like this reincarnation is a bust, better leave before I become dinner. I close my eyes and focus…
Only to open them and find that I'm still in this body…
Huh…? Why…? How is that possible!? Why am I still in the boy!?
Calm down Leon, maybe it's just due to a lack of focus, yes, better try again… and nothing happened! Why!? Why can't I- what!? What are these strings attached to my body!?
…
"Ede oow? (It's you)", I absent-mindedly tried to say in English, while looking at the creature…
…
So this is it, huh? This is how it'll end… What happens to a guide when he dies in a mortal vessel? Do I just wake up later in my real form? Do I head to one of my own afterlives or do I get judged again for my crimes?
Heh… Let's hope it's the first one… I close my eyes and await my fate.
"Fu she ra!".
What? I open my eyes, only to see the head of the worm is closer to the raft.
"Fu ran gal, Neouk go rakai za?".
…
Did the giant worm monster just talk?
