Sourly Jupiter spit out the stick he was carrying and glowered up at Amadeus, who was somewhere in the trees above him. "Why do I have to drag all the sticks?" It wasn't fair! He was doing all the hard work. All Amadeus was doing was breaking off the good branches and letting them fall to the ground. The forest floor around him was littered with small sprouts and too small branches, and more kept raining down as Amadeus continued to strip suitable branches of their leaves. "Because you, dear boy, can drag these better than I can." Jupiter continued to glare up at him, prompting Amadeus to sigh and fling away the branch he was working on. "Do you want to make the trap or not? If you do..." He made a shooing motion at Jupiter. It was Jupiter's turn to sigh dramatically. For good measure he rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine." He then snatched the stick back up and continued his backwards shuffle to the pile. He was determined to see this through. Even if it did suck, it would be worth it when he caught his first monster. "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Maybe there was something to these northern lands after all. Spring had finally broke upon the northern lands and the day was bright and surprisingly warm. To top it off he was once again in the great red forest that had taken his breath away the first time he'd seen it and where he'd met young Forfax. This was a holy place indeed. A rustle above him caught his attention and he turned to see Griff, his companion settle onto one of the branches, his brilliant red-orange eyes seeming to glow in the fractured sunlight that made it through the tree tops. Surely this was fortuitous? A young god and his messenger in a holy land. He had a good feeling about this day. The return of spring had brought with it the emergence of the sleepers, those that slept through the winter. In his jaws Ashiel held a dead bull snake. It was large and fat and had obviously prepared well for the winter. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with it. He wasn't hungry, truth be told but Griff had spoke of old rituals and the sacrifices they required. Perhaps he could make something out of this? Striding through a brilliant glimmer of color caught his eye and he turned to see Jupiter. The young spirit he'd met at the Wall. Fortuitous indeed. Ashiel delicately dropped his catch and called out. "Jupiter! Fancy running into you here. Boy, what are you doing with all these sticks?" He gazed about himself at the scattered sticks on the ground where the rattling of branches caught his attention and he looked to see the tamarin up in the trees. Griff was eyeing the monkey but Ashiel let it be. The bird was well fed and probably just as confused as he was at the scene laid before them. "Talk" "You" Think

He scowled down his nose at the heavy stick. Stupid stick, stupid Amadeus, stupid monsters! This just sucked all around. Once again he reminded himself that it was going to be worth it. He was going to fill a pit full of spears and catch himself a monster. It was going to be worth it. Eventually. ”Jupiter!” He tried to jerk his head around to look at whoever had called his name, but the stick stopped him. That sounded like... "Asseal?" he slurred around the stick before looking at it pointedly. Stupid stick! He spit it out and turned to beam at Ashiel. "We're gonna make spears! You know," he was actually hoping Ashiel didn't know, "Sticks that have really sharp rocks tied to the top. And then we're gonna make monster traps!" Excitedly he grabbed one of the discarded twigs and stabbed it into the dirt. "Look! We're gonna dig a big, big hole and then we're gonna put a lot of spears at the bottom of it like this," he motioned towards the twig before snatching up another and working it into the ground beside the first. "And then we're gonna cover the hole and make it look like the ground. That way whenever a monster comes along..." Holding his paw in the air he hopped it towards the twigs and then slammed it down on top of them. One twig broke, but the other slid between his toes and remained standing. Jupiter eyed his "harpooned" paw before grinning proudly up at Ashiel. "Jupiter" "Amadeus" ”You”

Ashiel jerked is head toward the snake, a signal for Griff to grab it while he talked with Jupiter. The bird did as instructed and swooped down only to carry the snake back up into one of the lower-hanging branches. Jupiter enthusiastically chattered on about spears but he'd never heard of such a thing and was grateful for the lad's explanation even if he felt somewhat foolish. "Monster traps, hm? This sounds like an important task indeed." Ashiel watched as Jupiter grabbed a stick and stuck it in the ground. "That is quite impressive Jupiter! Where did you learn such a thing?" Ashiel's green eyes looked over the sticks. If they could be stuck in the ground and used in a trap there was a chance that a smaller, lighter version might even be used in battle as a weapon. "I wonder, would you be able to teach me how to make these spears? Oh! I've not introduced you to Griff." He let out a bark as the kite descended with the serpent. "This is Griff, Griff this is Jupiter and his companion in the trees is Amadeus. I'm afraid I don't have much to offer in terms of a lesson… unless perhaps you wanted to make a trade. Knowledge of spears for a dead serpent?" "Talk" "You" Think

"Monster traps, hm? This sounds like an important task indeed." Jupiter nodded gravely. It was a very important task. Monsters got into all kinds of mischief and if you weren't careful they could hurt you or someone you loved. It was important that he trap as many as he could. "Amadeus taught me," he told Ashiel proudly. The tamarin's old troop had made them for self defense. It was a skill that Amadeus' grandfather had taught his father and his father had taught him, and since he had no offspring of his own, he taught Jupiter. "A family tradition," Amadeus elaborated, "Wild cats prey upon my people," Hawks too; he was acutely aware of Ashiel's new companion, "And we used these traps to protect us from their efforts." "Nice to meet you, Griff!" Jupiter's eye brightened at Ashiel's trade suggestion. That sounded like a great idea! He eyed the snake hungrily. Wouldn't that be a nice thing to take back to his family? They'd be impressed, wouldn't they? He nodded vigorously before it occurred to him that Amadeus needed to agree too. His worried gaze shot to the trees, but he needn't have worried; Amadeus nodded his approval. "Yeah, that sounds great to me!" Jupiter snatched up a stick and trotted over to Ashiel. He motioned to a stick laying in front of the yearling before flopping down in front of him. "Okay, first thing you gotta do is split one end of the stick." Carefully he laid one end of the stick over his left foreleg and then held it down firmly with his right foreleg. "It's kinda tricky; I've broken a few of 'em, but if you can bite it just right at the top then you can like, slide your teeth further in and split it further." He opened his mouth and was on the verge of biting the stick when it occurred to him that he hadn't told Ashiel everything yet. "Oh, and you wanna split it about this," he moved his paws off the stick to show Ashiel a space that was about eight inches long, "Far." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Ashiel's eyes would drift up again to the monkey as Jupiter named him the teacher of these strange arts. Ashiel had seem the chattering little creatures before in Auster but had never given them much thought before. Amadeus elaborated on how the knowledge came to be. It was fascinating. "These are quite fascinating arts Amadeus. I have oft heard it said that necessity is the mother of invention." Griff took to the air only to land on the ground next to Ashiel as he realized that the monkey would not count as prey and he was making the other creature uncomfortable. Besides, Griff was just as curious about these arts as Ashiel. Ashiel was pleased that Jupiter accepted his trade and he settled down, green eyes gleaming as the lesson began. Ashiel maneuvered over to the stick that Jupiter had indicated for him. The first task would be to split one end. The godling watched first and then maneuvered his mouth to the top of the stick. He chewed lightly, working in his incisors before slipping in his left upper canine and carefully splitting down the stick. Ashiel tried to be mindful of splinters and when he had it split two paw widths he removed his head and shook it out. His tongue smacking about in his mouth at the taste. "Ok, how's that? What's next?" "Talk" "Griff" Think

Jupiter was quick to abandon his stick in favor of inspecting Ashiel's. He scooted closer and eyed it critically before finally nodding approval. "Looks perfect." He then bounced to his paws and went racing towards a very small pile of spearheads that Amadeus had made over the last couple weeks. "No, Jupiter." He skidded to a halt and stared questioningly up at his companion. "He'll have a hard time shaping stones without hands. Show him the other method." Ah, the other method. He liked the other method; he could help with more of it. Amadeus had made several large spearheads to be used in the pit, but mostly it was going to be filled with simpler wooden spears. The stone ones just looked more menacing. "Okay!" He scampered back to his stick and flopped down again. After positioning his stick between his forepaws again, he looked up at Ashiel and explained, "Next step is to turn the stick so that the split sides are laying on top of each other. This part's kinda hard. You gotta split them into two more as evenly as you can. I gotta do them one at a time, but maybe 'cause you're bigger you can do both at the same time. I dunno." He set to work chewing on the top piece. Once finished with it he would flip the stick over and try to line the newest split up with the one he was about to start, but for now he simply struggled with the first and watched Ashiel curiously to see if he could do better. "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Ashiel grinned at Jupiter's assessment. It was probably silly. He shouldn't take so much pride in the opinion of a little spirit but all the same he took pride in his ability to learn things and learn them quickly. As the boy went racing over to a pile of odd-shaped stones his companion spoke up. Ashiel eyed the stones, then looked at his paws, then back to the stones. He wasn't quite sure how the monkey could shape stones with his bare hands but it gave the godling a new respect for the creature. He was to learn a new method but all the same, he had to ask. "I don't intend to try it Amadeus but how do you shape rock with your bear hands. Are you really that strong?"

Turning his attention back to the lesson he watched Jupiter carefully and listened to the explanation. Ok… he was pretty sure he understood. "I think I'll try each side one at a time for now. Maybe when I get better I can do both." Ashiel carefully maneuvered his stick so the split sides lined up before carefully working his teeth into one side and then the other until he had an even set of splits that were about the same length. "How's this?"

"Talk"

After dropping another suitable stick to the ground, Amadeus paused to answer Ashiel's question and pick at the sap collecting on his hands. "What I lack in strength I make up for in technique. If you wedge the rock you're working on firmly between two other rocks, or in the hollow of a branch or something similar, and then use a harder rock to strike the one you're working on as hard as you can, you can chip at it little by little." It was hard to explain how he did it exactly. He was small and oftentimes the rocks were very, very heavy, but if he used just the right part on the "bashing" rock and hit the "catching" one at just the right angle, it worked. Jupiter scooted close to Ashiel again so he could admire his handiwork. "Very good! I bet you'll be able to do both sides at once soon." Okay, time for the next step. "Next thing you gotta do is find two short little sticks about as fat around as a woolly worm." He selected two such sticks and showed them to Ashiel. Both sticks were straight, roughly 3 inches long, and devoid of nobs and offshoots. "This part's also kinda hard 'cause the sticks don't want to work together, BUT the next step is easy, promise." Carefully he began to work one of the small sticks sideways down one of the splits with his teeth. Doing this divided the tines into two sets of two with one set held open and the other held together. He pushed the small stick down the split roughly seven inches before it would go no further. "The first stick goes in easy 'nough, but the second one will fight you." He began to work the second stick into the second split sideways like he'd done the first. There was enough tension in the tines thanks to the first small stick that the second one was much hard to push down. It squeaked down the gap in uneven spurts and Jupiter found himself struggling the closer it got to the first stick, but finally the second one rested about an inch or so about the first one. All the tines were now held open. "There." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Ashiel found it fascinating to watch Amadeus use his hands. His paws were so thin and the toes so long and dexterous, though in some ways they made him think of spider legs. He more or less understood what the monkey was going for and realized now why this would be a difficult technique without hands. He imagined it would be tricky for Griff as well even though the bird was quite clever with his beak and talons.

Jupiter came over to inspect his work and Ashiel was pleased to hear that his stick was suitable and ready for the next step in making a spear. Find two little sticks, hm? He examined what Jupiter showed him and began to hunt for similar sticks but he wasn't having much luck. He did find two that were close and after some coaxing managed to get griff to snip them with his beak so that they were even. "You owe me a nice fat lizard for this." Ashiel chuckled. "Of course, of course, we'll look for another lizard while I hunt for another serpent for the sacrifice."

With sticks in paw Ashiel watched the next part of the process. Hmmm… this was getting tricky. Ashiel carefully maneuvered his weight onto his stick as he began to use his paws to slide in one of the smaller sticks. He had to adjust a few times to make sure the stick didn't slide away from him but when he had the first piece set he marveled at the result, quite pleased with himself. Now for the second stick. Ashiel stared at his spear a good long while before he began to work his second little stick between the second set of tines. Like Jupiter's it went in little spurts but partly because Ashiel was afraid he was going to push to hard and break something. He ground his teeth together in concentration as he worked his paws into a better position, finally getting the stick down. "Aha! Finally! I was worried it was going to get stuck to high. This will require some practice to really get down I think. How many of these have you made Jupiter?"

"Talk"

How many had he made? His eyes rolled heavenward as he thought about it. Mentally he pictured each one, counting and then counting again just to be sure. "Um, well, I made two of this kind and one of the other, but I broke two." Absentmindedly he added, "I guess those count too 'cause Amadeus saved them, but they aren't as strong as the rest." Both had broken when Jupiter had forced a small stick passed the breaking point of the wood, cracking the split further and unevenly. They'd been saved after Amadeus had tightly bound them with braided string, but it wasn't a good fix and he'd assured Jupiter that the first heavy monster to fall on them would break them. "Okay, the last step is the easiest but it takes the longest. Now we gotta sharpen the tines into points." Even though this was the easiest step it was his least favorite. It just took so long. "I use my teeth first." He demonstrated biting the end of one tine and then dragging his teeth off it so that a long strip of bark was peeled off. "After you get all the bark off you can really dig in with your teeth. And if you get tired you can scratch the side of it on a rough rock or something instead." After pulling another stripe off with his teeth he commented, "Amadeus cheats. He used a sharp rock to sharpen them. It's a lot faster." Something Ashiel had said to Griff earlier had been bugging Jupiter, so with his explanation given, he decided to ask. "You said something earlier about a sacrifice?" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Ashiel grinned. The boy had certainly been busy and he was pleased to hear that Jupiter had broken a few. That made him feel less silly about his overly cautious approach to work the second set of twines apart. The moved on to the last step but Jupiter warned him that it would take the longest. Ashiel nodded. "That's alright. Patience is a good skill and I seek to rule my own pack some day. I'd make a poor leader without some practice in it."

The last step was sharpening the tines into points. Jupiter started with his teeth and Ashiel followed suit. First he worked his canines under the bark and stripped that off per Jupiter's instructions. He sharpened two points with his canines before trying to use his claws on the third. It worked ok but his teeth were sharper. Ashiel looked up and called to Griff. The bird descended and Ashiel turned to his companion. "Hey Griff, can you try your beak on this last tine. I think it might be easier for you." The bird looked skeptically at Ashiel before he began working his beak on the last tone. In Ashiel's opinion the raptors sharp beak worked much better but he wasn't sure if it was worth the birds dirty looks. In the end though Ashiel got his spear. He grinned as he picked it up in his mouth, shifting it so it balanced evenly then swinging it about and charging as he tested out his new weapon.

He set it down and grinned. "This is fantastic. And as promised, in return for the lessons I present to you one dead bullsnake." Ashiel picked up the snake and set it down near Jupiter as the boy asked him about a sacrifice. Ashiel nodded. "Yes, I intend to sacrifice a serpent to the Fallen god in return for the wisdom I will need to rule a pack."

"Talk"

Jupiter's ears perked. Ashiel was gonna be an alpha, huh? Cool! He'd never met an alpha before. Sure, Dauntless had one, but he'd never seen him and somewhere along the line his mind had settled on the idea that an alpha was this big, powerful, unreachable being in an unattainable position. It was neat to find out that ordinary cool people could be one. Hey, maybe one day he'd get to be an alpha too! With no small amount of jealousy Jupiter watched Griff sharpen the last tine on Ashiel's spear. Man, he wished he had a bird! If he had a bird and a monkey then he could just sit back and let them all the spears. Wouldn't that be great? Finally both spears were done and as promised, the snake was presented to him. Jupiter's eyes lit up as Ashiel set it down in front of him. Oh, he was so excited! His mom was gonna be so proud and his siblings were gonna be so jealous. Parroting something Amadeus had said to him once, he said, "Pleasure doin' business  with ya." As for sacrificing a snake... "That's really smart. I think you're gonna be a good alpha." He did have one question, though. Well...more than one actually. "Who is the fallen god? And how are you gonna sacrifice the snake?" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Ashiel was quite pleased with his spear and he wondered what his mother might think of it? Perhaps she'd be interested in him passing on his new found knowledge? Of course there were significant risks to teaching Pyralis how to make sharp sticks and he wasn't quite sure how his uncle would feel about it. It would be an actual miracle if Pyralis didn't proceed to immediately attempt to poke her brother, their esteemed leader, right in the ass.

Ashiel grinned as Jupiter asked about the fallen god. How much should he say? Where even should he start? "The Fallen god is the ancestor of my family. A mighty, divine being feared by all with any sense. One day there was a great war between the gods and their followers. Many of the lesser gods banned together and in an act of extreme cowardice and deceit they managed to defeat him and cast him down to the mortal plane where he took mortal form. It is our goal, our destiny, to conquer this land so that we might regain our place among the heavens." He paused for a moment, grinning at Jupiter and holding his head proudly. He had no idea if the litter spirit might find him cool or crazy but he wasn't going to act as though ashamed either way. "As for the snake, well, I can catch another one. We're going to find the Runestones my mother told me about and either kill the snake there by biting off it's head or we'll strangle it and drag it in. For this ritual killing it at a certain time or a certain way isn't quite as important. We just need to lay it's guts out in a certain way."

"Talk"

Ashiel launched into what sounded like a very impressive explanation...unfortunately Jupiter had no idea what he meant. He knew nothing about the heavens or the gods that others believed in, and he definitely had no idea what a mortal was. What he did know was that Ashiel sounded really proud of this ancestor of his and that probably meant that the fallen god was very important. For a moment he struggled to put everything he'd just learned into terms he understood. Finally he hedged, "So the fallen god is a um, really important, really powerful alpha and all the not important scaredy cats were jealous of him so they ganged up on him?" Was that a good summary? He peeked up at Ashiel to see if the older boy was satisfied with it. "That sucks. But if the rest of your family is as smart as you, I bet you'll do it no problem." His eyes grew wide as Ashiel explained the snake sacrifice. "That sounds really cool!" He eyed the snake at his paws. If the gut spreading sacrifice could be done by anyone than maybe he should do it. He could use some wisdom. "Do you think I could do the ceremony someday? I wanna be wise too." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Ashiel caught the expression on Jupiter's face and for a moment wondered if that explanation had made any sense. He really had no idea how to talk about such matters with someone so much younger than he was. He needed to work on that. Especially if he planned on having pups next winter. That was the plan anyway. Ashiel wanted an heir in the wings should having such a back up be necessary and part of him felt like the continuing lineage was something he needed to start as soon as possible, or at least get that checked off his list. Not that he knew the first thing about parenthood.

Jupiter made a guess and Ashiel found it satisfactory. He nodded. "Yea, you're close! He was an alpha I guess since he was a great and powerful leader but what makes him different is that he was also immortal. If you're a god you can't die." Well… like mortals died in any case. Pyralis often confused him on such matters. He made another note to confer with Amon. "He also had special powers to." Well, Ashiel thought he had though he'd be hard pressed to name them. He tried anyway. "You know, like call down lightning to strike down his enemies and that sort of thing. But you're absolutely right, the lesser gods were jealous and ganged up on him." He grinned at the complement. Little flatterer. Jupiter would go far he could tell. "I bet you'd make an impressive alpha yourself Jupiter. You're really smart for a kid your age."

Ashiel paused as he considered Jupiter's question. Since he'd been born into the family Ashiel just learned this stuff and participated without much of a thought but did a spirit, or a mortal for that matter, have to do anything special first? He wasn't quite sure but surely as long as Jupiter believed that was a good enough start? He nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not. I'll ask my uncle to be sure. In fact we could probably do the ceremony right here. These trees are sacred and they climb right up to the heavens. We should be able to send a request from here."

"Talk"

Oh, wow! The fallen god couldn't be killed? How awesome was that! Forget monster hunter, Jupiter decided right then that he wanted to be a god. Boy, would his siblings be jealous then. Wait, wait, wait. The fallen god couldn't be killed and he could roast buttheads with lightning? Okay, this guy was really, really cool. He was everything Jupiter wanted to be and then some. The boy was on the verge of commenting on the fallen god's awesomeness when Ashiel complimented him back. His expression brightened considerably and he couldn't help but puff his chest out. "You really think so? Hmm..." He thought about it for a second. King Jupiter. It had a nice ring to it. "Maybe I will." His mouth opened in a little 'o' shape as Ashiel mentioned doing the ceremony right here in the forest. He glanced upwards reflexively in the hope of catching a glimpse of the heavens, but seeing none, his gaze quickly returned to Ashiel. "Oh, that would be awesome! So, what else can the fallen god do? Can you ask for other things besides wisdom?" "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Ashiel was enjoying his time with Jupiter immensely. It was nice to talk with someone so full of life and ambition and despite the age difference Jupiter struck Ashiel as a very intelligent lad. He nodded as the boy asked if he really thought he'd make an impressive alpha. "You're smart, resourceful, curious. Once you get older and master the finer points of battle I see no reason you wouldn't be able to conquer your own pack." When he did perhaps Ashiel could discuss an alliance with him. He knew that true alliances with mortals would never happen but a spirit was another matter.

Ashiel followed Jupiter's gaze to the tree tops and he nodded. "Yes, trees like this signal a pathway to the realms of the gods. Griff is descended from a long line of messengers to the gods. He should be able to carry a message thru the gateway." Griff nodded to confirm and Ashiel continued. "He can bring rain but also drought, plague, numerous things really. Create storms, shake the earth and yes you can ask for anything really it's just a matter of knowing how. A snake is useful for wisdom but you might sacrifice a rabbit for speed or a boar for strength. Things like that."

"Talk"

Ashiel's compliment was almost enough to send Jupiter over the moon. The older boy was bigger, confident and smart. He was everything Jupiter wanted to be when he got to be Ashiel's age. The boy wasn't quite envious of him, but he did admire him. He wanted to be able to walk around with the same kinda swagger Ashiel did. Ashiel mentioned Griff's pedigree and immediately Jupiter's head snapped around so he could look at the bird. When he nodded Jupiter's eyes widened in envy. Forget monkeys and pointy sticks, he wanted a bird that could deliver messages to the gods. "Wow!" The boy was doing his best to commit everything Ashiel was telling him to memory. Who knew, one day he might need to make a sacrifice. "That's very impressive. I think I like your fallen god. I wish he was my ancestor." "Jupiter"   "Amadeus" ”You”

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

Griff's chest would swell just slightly as Jupiter turned to gaze at him. The bird had pride in himself but tended to be much more modest than his Abraxas counterpart. Ashiel grinned. He was pleased to find Jupiter so receptive to his beliefs. Normally espousing one's beliefs lead straight to conflict, it was nice to be listened to now and again. "I'm sure you have some very interesting ancestors yourself Jupiter. It's said there were other gods that fell with the fallen god. Your pelt is so stunning, surely you'd be descended from some ancient and powerful force?" He didn't know if that was true or not and after learning that Iskra, at least according to Leto, was a mortal with a stunning pelt but not a spirit or descendent of the gods herself made it that much more difficult to tell. "I'm certain you'd be able to follow the ways of the fallen god if you so wished. I don't see why you couldn't ask for his blessing."

"Talk"