Chapter 2-2

As the second vine started to wrap around his neck, Almonihah spotted a flash of golden scales and bright steel. A sword whistled through the air, and then he found himself falling, the vine that had been about to choke him brushing painfully past his ears and nose. As he fell to the ground, there were a couple more whistling sounds, followed by woody thunks, and then he was lifted and carried a short distance by Zrathanzon before being set on the ground.

After getting his breath back and his heartbeat under control, Almonihah started to a bit better. Then he wondered if Zrathanzon was going to be mad. After all, this was exactly the sort of thing he'd been trying to teach how him to avoid, and he'd gone and walked right into it. He started to look up at the ranger, then decided he'd rather not meet his eyes and looked down, ashamed.

“Almonihah,” Zrathanzon murmured gently.

Slowly, Almonihah looked up and met Zrathanzon's gaze. He was rather relieved to see that it didn't seem to be an angry gaze.

“I think you've learned your lesson already, right?”

Almonihah nodded.

“Then let's keep going. Just... pay more attention to where you're going, okay? I don't want to get scared like that again.”

After that, Almonihah was a lot more cautious and attentive while they traveled, and even just around the campsite. He was rather surprised, as he looked around, just how many of the dangers Zrathanzon had taught him about were around him. Usually the area around their campsites were fairly clear, though there were exceptions. Whenever they did find something dangerous too close to a campsite, though, Zrathanzon cleared it out.

When Almonihah asked about this, his mentor explained, “We're not the only ones who use these campsites. There's a couple of other rangers and druids in these woods, and then there's the occasional hunter or trapper who ventures this far. I try to leave these sites a bit safer for them, and they generally do the same.”

“Druids?” Almonihah inquired, feeling like he should know the term.

“Priests and priestesses of Naishia,” Zrathanzon responded as he dug up the roots of the blood vine he'd just chopped up.

“Naishia... she's the nature goddess, right?”

Zrathanzon chuckled a bit. “Yes, she is. How much do you know about the Ten?”

Almonihah frowned a bit in thought, then perked up as he figured out what the ranger was talking about. “The Ten Gods, right? A little bit...” His voice trailed off as the thought brought memories of family—painful memories, like anything that reminded him of why he was living here, in the woods, rather than in a home somewhere.

“Their names, at least?”

Almonihah nodded. “Bahamut, Naishia, Mashano, Kazoran, Sephania, Tiamat, Kenash, Kerichang, Arphaxad, and... Jivenesh, right?”

“That's right,” Zrathanzon acknowledged.

Almonihah thought for a bit, then asked, “Do you worship one of the gods, Zrathanzon?”

Zrathanzon was quiet for a moment, then answered, “Bahamut, mostly. I have a lot of respect for Naishia, too, but I wouldn't say I worship her.”

“Why not?” Almonihah asked, every bit the five-or-six year old he was for the moment.

The ranger was thoughtful for a longer moment, then responded, “Bahamut... he's more about defending, protecting people. Keeping them safe from the dangers of evil. Naishia... she cares, too, but she's more about preserving the world, the woods... and I guess I think it's more important to protect people.” He stopped for a moment, then shrugged and continued, “Of course, I try to protect the woods, too, except for things like this,” he gestured at the remains of the blood vine he was collecting to burn as they talked, “but worship's a funny thing. Some people say they worship two gods at once but... I can't. And Bahamut's closer to my heart than Naishia.”

Almonihah was silent as he digested this. After a while, Zrathanzon stopped working for a second to look at him and ask, “Have you thought much about following a god?”

Almonihah seemed to be startled out of his thoughts by the question. He mutely shook his head.

“You need to,” Zrathanzon said, his voice serious. “Most kids would be too young to right now, but most kids aren't half-dragons, either.”

For the first time, Almonihah thought of how differently he thought and looked at the world then he had just a year ago. Most kids don't watch their mother die, either, he thought, but all he said was, “Could you teach me more about them?”

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I was a bit surprised by where this conversation ended up, but I guess it was as good a time to introduce the deities of Draezoln as any. Of course, it's a very brief introduction, but if you want a more in-depth description, you can always go to the wiki.

I guess Almonihah does get some of the way he speaks from Zrathanzon. If you want to see what I mean, just compare how he talks here to the quote from Almonihah at the beginning of the chapter. I'm still waiting to see when he starts chopping off bits of words, though.