Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Tama

Tara wiped the tears from her face as she wandered through the garden, amazed that just a short time before she had not been able to see the beauty all around her. To her senses it had just been an empty pitch black void. That was until Kenshiro had dedicated the temple to her… Even now she could feel it, the leylines under the temple sustaining her, fueling her.

The sky hung above like an oil-slick sea, shimmering dark and alive, casting an almost dreamlike glow over the immaculate garden. She let her fingers brush along the leaves, each touch a strange blend of wonder and disbelief. Her skin—smooth, unmarked, flawless—held no memory of pain, no tightness, no burn scars.

She was always afraid to dream of a world where the scars no longer existed. Over the past couple of years they had become a part of her in a way. In her mind’s eye she could still see them. The crude rippling of her skin from her ankle to her leg, coating her left side… She laughed, half-sobbing, her hands tracing over her own arms and face, confirming what felt too incredible to be true.

No matter how she pressed or poked there was nothing. No scar, blemish, or imperfection. She was whole. It was a miracle.

She took another step, each movement a freedom she hadn’t known in years, and for a while, she simply walked, barefoot along cobblestone paths, her senses drinking in the colors and sounds of this magical place. Here and there, small orbs of light flitted between the branches, creatures she somehow knew as lesser Celestines. They bobbed and darted, like fairies in childhood stories.

“How was it that I was never able to see this…?” She marveled as she strode out from the garden.

Reaching a wide, open plaza that she felt the first tug—a pull like a whisper in the wind, barely there, yet impossible to ignore. She followed it, weaving her way along empty streets lined with statues of strange, powerful beings, each one watching her with carved eyes that seemed to follow her every move. As she walked she spied villas of red stone like a tuscan villa or a sky-scraping tree, let across banners and mosaics, three converging spheres, with a fourth at a distant edge, was the only symbol she could see. It stirred something within her, a recognition she couldn’t yet place.

No matter where she went though she never spied another person. She wandered along bridges over rivers of gold and willows of lavender. The air smelled of petrichor that hadn’t been tainted with cement and rose buds as if perfumed.

She descended a stone staircase leading down to a beach, flowing with perfect white sands into an endless fluorescent green and blue ocean held in perpetual sunset. On the beach Tara spotted a lone figure on a rock at the shore. The pull grew stronger, drawing her forward. She followed.

As she approached she began to make out the figure. The figure stood easily twelve or thirteen feet tall, wore no shirt but had a pair of loose fitting maroon pants. The being’s exposed chest ripping with muscle while still sporting a small plump belly. On the being’s shoulders were two deep blue tattoos spiraling in intricate, moving patterns that played out like some eternal battle across its flesh. Yet it was his face—a wide, frog-like face with a toothless, ear-to-ear grin—that froze her steps.

The creature looked at her, his strange grin widening. He spread his broad arms wide, welcoming her as if she were an old friend. “There you are, little sister. Took you long enough!” The being laughed with a hearty mirth that echoed into the open sea.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Tara started, dumbfounded. “Who…what are you talking about?” She squeaked out, though her voice, unexpectedly, sounded crystal-clear, echoing like bells in the quiet air.

The creature chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that vibrated through the sand. “Mother said you’d be here soon, so I waited. She thought it wise someone on the right side of things should meet you before… well, things get complicated.” He gestured to the rock beside him. “Sit, sit. Let me welcome you to your new home, little sister.”

“Home?” She shook her head, looking around. “Where am I? And who are you?”

The creature nodded approvingly. “Good, good—straight to the point. I like that.” He tapped his chest. “I am Tama. And you, you are Tara first of the Betwixt of the third confluence.” He extended a broad hand as though asking for her name, though she sensed he already knew it.

She hesitated, then nodded. “Tara. Tara Perez.” Giving her full name felt almost strange here, as though it held new weight in this place.

"A strong name, full name” Tama said, his gaze warm with pride. “Names carry power, you know. And I can tell you’re filled with potential. After all, we’re brother and sister now, aren’t we?” Again Tama, which somehow reminded Tara of some happy polynisan, laughed heartily.

Tara’s pulse quickened. “Brother…sister?” she echoed, still grappling with the strangeness of his presence, his words. “Look, I don’t know where I am, or who you really are, but—”

Tama interrupted her, his tone suddenly serious. “We are in Hither, the Overrealm. A place between the gods and the world your husband calls home. And I am Tama, the First Oracle.”

Tara reeled, ignoring the title to focus on what mattered most to her. “You know of my husband?”

“Ah, only that you have one,” Tama replied, his grin widening. “And that is a good thing, Tara. Such connections, such bonds—they are precious. But you have many questions, and I am here to help.” He patted the stone beside him. “Come, sit. There’s much to explain, and you’ll want to know how to navigate your new life.

Tara took a step backwards, hesitant.

“Oh come now, don’t be shy, we have much to discuss” Tama patted the rock again, his voice betraying no sense of frustration, as if he had all the time in the world.

Tara remained standing. “First, tell me why you are helping me?” She said, clenching her fists, trying not to seem so taken aback while simultaneously trying not to stare at his frog face.

Seeing that Tara was not going to sit down, Tama smiled even wider. “You are strong, facing a frog-face like me.” he giggled. Literally giggled like a twelve year old girl giggled. “Yet I mean you no harm. I am simply on an errand from my mother, I believe you met her.”

“Yoki, goddess of chaos,” Tara whispered.

“Yes! Yoki! HaHA!” Tama boomed. “She is a bit much huh? Those eyes, am I right? All black and scary hehe.”

Tara couldn’t help but smile a bit. Her fists loosened ever so slightly. “She is your mother?”

“In a sense yes, She is one of the seven gods. You and I, though, heh, we are godlings, not quite gods, not quite mortal either.” Tama explained, hands moving erratically trying to explain things with his hands as opposed to just speaking.

“...and she wanted you to…” Tara was still recovering and trying to get a sense of what Yoki wanted, and what this frankly funny godling wanted. Though she did feel a bit more at ease. It seemed that Tama wasn’t going to hurt her, yet something didn’t quite sit right.

Tama shifted, trying to find the right words. “Well, I don’t know if she has a plan or anything. It’d be kind of against her nature. Your guess is as good as mine honestly.” Tama paused thinking as he itched his glistening green head.

“Honestly, I think she is just trying to get a head start. Figure out who you are before our brothers and sisters find you and try to convince you to join them…ya know, to see whose’ side of the war you plan on fighting for.”