Mystery

He woke back up, dreamless. It was as if the night went by in an instant. He stood up from the bale of hay and itched his back. The hay was not anywhere near comfy.

He felt something weird on his back. He looked back and found his spear just magically on his back again. That's also probably why Kai's back hurt a little too. He slept on a huge spear.

He looked around. He seemed to of woken up a bit late, because most of the mothers and Karla were gone already.

The sun gleamed on Kai's robe as he walked out. Kai had a two huge questions he wanted to ask the lizardman. One; where the hell was that first lizardman he met. And two; What kind of god is watching over him like a hawk.

He looked around to answer the first question. He ended up spotting a lizardman that looked like one of the game hunters. He walked up to him.

"Ermm- excuse me," Kai said. "Do you happen to know what happened to the lizardman that fell from the sky with me?"

The lizardman looked a bit surprised. He touched his chin with his thumb trying to recall it. "Yeah, there was someone there. I remember. It was an enemy from the Margax Tribe."

"Wait, then what happened to him?" Kai asked.

"He was killed."

Kai's eyes widened a bit. "Oh."

It was all pretty much his fault. He never never even considered that it was a enemy tribe. The lizardman wasn't evil from what Kai observed. Just someone normal trying survive out in the untamed wild. He was probably was forced to scout the area around the tribe Kai's controlling now, the Kowxlincui Tribe.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Thank you."

He turned and walked away before the lizardman could say anything. He never really knew that lizardman, so he wasn't too sad about the death. It was pointless to be sad too.

Next was the question about the god. He asked around, and found the spot where the tribe's elders resided. He was thankful the building wasn't in the blast zone of his solar wind spell.

Kai approached the dwelling of the village elders with measured steps, unsure what wisdom or insight they may provide about the mysterious voice that had stayed his hand. A watchful lizardfolk guard eyed him warily as he drew near, but made no move to halt his approach.

At the carved wooden door, Kai rapped his knuckles and waited. Shuffling steps sounded from within before the door creaked open. An aged lizardwoman gazed up at him, scales muted with age.

"What business have you here, human?" she asked, tone neither hostile nor welcoming.

Kai bowed his head respectfully. "I've come seeking your counsel, honored elder. There are questions I hope you might help me answer."

The elder studied him a moment, then pulled the door wider and made a small snarl. "Enter then, and we shall see."

Inside, the dwelling was dim and close, smelling of herbs and old bones. Strange talismans hung from the rafters. Four other elders, two men and two women, looked up from where they lounged on piled furs.

Kai crouched on his heels near the small fire smoldering in the central pit. The elders gathered around, waiting for him to speak.

"I am plagued by strange events I cannot explain," Kai began slowly. "A voice beyond mortal status stopped me from using my magic. I believe it was the voice of a god, though I know not which. What gods do you know of in these lands?"

He was trying to act all noble when talking to the elders, but he felt like it was miserably failing.

The elders glanced at one another, silent communion passing between them. Finally the eldest woman replied, "Many gods dwell in these wilds, though few intervene so directly in mortal affairs. The God of All sees and knows much that transpires below, but seldom makes him unknown in person, and only known in name. Perhaps another power has taken interest in you. It is quite hard to come up with a conclusion from your few words."

Kai's brow furrowed. What other being could wield such cosmic might?

Sensing his confusion, the elder continued. "The gods of the sky, earth, and sea, the Sin'Mal, Spirits of the Underworld, the gods tied to sun and moon, they are all not the primordial ones. There are even more ancient beings in this world, primal forces that dwelled here before the younger gods ascended. This magic of your might be different, and might be tied to them." She paused, meeting Kai's eyes. "And magic itself, they say, has some spirit of its own."

Kai's pulse quickened. A primal force tied to magic...could such a being have given him his cosmic gifts?

As if reading his thoughts, the elder said, "You bear strange magic, human. It feels... eldritch, and not of this earth. Perhaps you have drawn the eye of one who guarded such arts in eras long past. It's a magic unknown even to us."

Kai now had more puzzles than answers, but he sensed he would learn no more from these elders. He thanked them for their counsel and made to depart. Kai exited the hut, mind churning with more questions.