Chapter 5 Awakened

Andolar

I allow myself to spend time sleeping, although this is a different more restorative sleep, not the sleep of stasis so many of us gods have adapted after so many centuries. It is hard to live forever, especially when those who used to worship you or depend on you do so no longer. If you no longer have a purpose, living becomes very tedious. 

When Jothandar and I decided to enter stasis, we both fully believed we would never awaken again, and we were content to sleep the eternal sleep of the gods, but it seems fate has other plans for us even yet. As I open my eyes fully, now that they are finally restored, I take in the colors and objects around me. 

It is amazing how often one becomes so accustomed to our surroundings that we cease to appreciate beauty in even small things. This is the chamber of the gods. It is ancient, protected by powerful magic, and home to the remaining sleeping gods. They are as statues all around the large cavernous room, many having been here for millennia. I look over and see my brother truly sleeping as I watch his chest rise and fall. 

I rise from the bed-like structure where I have been lying in my stasis. I find my muscles are still a bit weak from my awakening, so I stretch and move as I walk around the chamber. I take in the decay of this location. Has it truly been so long? I see vines that have penetrated through the ceiling in some places and the walls in others. Many are decorated with bright flowers. 

I hear a groan and look to see Jothandar moving around, and I walk back to where he is, sitting on the stone slab that was carved to look like a bed, where I have been lying for all of this time, slowly turning into stone myself. He ends up sitting on the edge of his own slab, just as I had done. Then he looks up into my eyes and he smiles, and I return the gesture. We had always been close and done most things together, so when stasis was our choice of course we went together. 

Now, it seems we will share a mate. I find that prospect doesn’t alarm me or perturb me in the slightest. There are not many if any others at all actually I could say that about. He stands and moves around much as I had, looking at the developments in the chamber and the growing living things around us. 

“I had never thought to smell flowers or see green and growing things again. I had thought our sleep would be eternal and we would simply know no more. Now, I find not only I but you are awake, and if I am not mistaken, our mate calls to us. I felt a horrible pain coming from her.” He turns to look back at me.

I nod, “Yes, I have felt it also. Whatever has caused her such pain is surely going to die. We will prepare ourselves and our home for her to join us. My dragon is hungry and we must eat. So, let us go and hunt as dragons flying through the sky once more as the gods we once were.” He smiles and we clasp arms in excitement. 

We make our way out of the chamber and into the bright sunlight of a green and growing realm where we gods had lived while tending to those under our care. I do wonder how the dragons have fared without us to watch over them. No matter, we will find out eventually. 

Our dragons burst forth, unfurling their wings, calling out to the sky of their arrival. We take to the air and allow them the freedom of flight. Then we hunt, satiating our hunger. Then once they are full and ready to retreat, they pull back and we once again walk as men. We do find our house is rather in need of repair. Which to be honest I am not surprised by. There was no one left here in the god realm it seems to tend to such matters. 

When we had gone to sleep, we had servants who were put in charge of all of our possessions and our home. Now, however, they have all surely passed on and no one ever took their place. We shall have to hire some more to help. We will surely have much to learn and be made aware of as things no doubt have changed while we slept. Change is always inevitable, no matter what realm, or how much time has passed, it is one consistent which is always ironic. 

Now that we are replenished, our magic is waking up as well. This is a small matter and doesn’t take much of our magic to accomplish, but we clean the house, getting rid of vermin, dust, and any vines and flowers growing here as they were in the chamber. We make everything new and fresh. If we are bringing a mate here it must be ready for her, and we wish to make it beautiful for her. No doubt she will eat, and possibly not as a dragon. Most likely with her being our mate she will be a dragon, but it is possible she is not. So, her needs must be paramount. 

Jothandar and I both go to the Earth realm where we know that she is. We remain unseen with our magic until we have learned enough to blend in some, and also change our clothing to more modern ones so we do not stand out too terribly much. We do however, garner quite a few looks. We are extremely well-built and tall men, so we have always stood out no matter what other men we walk among. Gods would be different but to these mortals, we are beautiful and desirable. Of course, we desire none but her, so we do not pay attention.

We discover people here purchase food for their sustenance, no longer hunting for their food and preserving it. This is very convenient. So, as we have a rather endless supply of money at our disposal, we figure out how to access it and use it now. That is rather a pain in the ass, but it is accomplished, then we buy what our mate will need and take it to the home we are preparing for her. Now, it's time to go and get her.

We concentrate on her location together, and when we hone in on it specifically, we materialize where she is. Then we see her and we both smile, she is beautiful, and she is ours.