Chapter 2

• Tezy
• ______
• My almost two-hundred-feet-long body was curled on top of a gigantic altar in the deep forest, east of Hebbiza. It was my territory called Benzai. The altar was made of lustrous thick glass, at least fifteen meters or so, high up the ground. In the four corners of the huge oval altar were blue-colored torches with red-orange fire that were never extinguished, since time immemorial. These were a symbol of my being a deity, as well as my immortality.
• Ordinary snake shifters of the Shirouhebbi (White Snake) Tribe had worshipped me as their goddess, who always protected and granted them their wishes. Every first night of the week, they would all gather in Benzai, either to give their offerings, thank me for their answered prayers, if not ask me what their heart’s desire, or merely praise me for my benevolence.
• I could not remember exactly when I started to become their goddess. Maybe it was when I started to grant their wishes upon seeing my grand size. No matter, it felt like it had been forever. I was not the only deity in Hebbiza, though. There were three more others. As much as I could say, they possessed almost the same powers as I do. There were only a few differences.
• “Oh, kind and compassionate Goddess Tezy Hebbia, please hear my prayer.”
• I heard one of the female voices in my head. My diamond-shaped head, which had a glittering crown made of red and white diamonds, slowly moved to the left. I could see my worshippers, thousands of them, kneeling with their heads touching their palms while the back of their hands rested on the ground.
• “Yes, I’m listening,” I replied to her in her head.
• I could always block every voice of these worshippers if I chose to and only pick one or a few that I would listen to. Otherwise, I would have a headache for listening to them all at the same time. Well, one of the disadvantages for being a goddess I must say. But, at least, I only got to listen to and face them once a week. Well, mostly. Some would come, however, randomly. With that, I had to shift into my gigantic white snake self, so no one could see my human-like deity form.
• “Please help! I lost my mate when Yrdis disappeared from Esunishi City. I must find him! Please, give me a sign where he is!” she begged wholeheartedly.
• I blinked as I listened to her words.
• What in Hebbiza was she talking about? How could a god of the Gold Snake Tribe disappear?
• I had never heard such a thing in my life before. All the gods and goddesses lived in harmony in Hebbiza. If something had happened, most probably, I would hear it by now.
• Well, yeah. I heard it from my worshipper now, not from my fellow deities. So, what exactly was happening?
• “Tell me more about it, worshipper.” I spoke to her through her thoughts again.
• She lifted her head to look up at me. Her eyes shone with unshed tears until those two liquid beads surfaced and spilled to race down her pale cheeks. My powers sought her memories and everything that was in her head.
• My gold-banded tail wiggled, and I hissed in fury.
• “Stay here all of you!” I roared in their heads. If what I saw in the worshipper’s thoughts were true, then I would want all these female snake shifters to be safe in my territory.
• They all looked up at me as I portaled, leaving a shield to surround my territory in the east of the realm. I had to talk to Kigga and see what was truly going on. She might have had an idea what transpired in the west of the realm.
• I cursed myself for being so laid back. I never knew what had happened outside of my territory until now. How could the God of Kinuohebbi Tribe disappear? I had to check if it was true; hence, instead of going to the south of Hebbiza, I went to the west. I had to know whether the God of the Kinuohebbi Tribe was indeed absent or not.
• My long, white body exited from the bright portal. The magical passageway disappeared as soon as my tail was out of it. I was at the center of Esunishi City itself, and I could feel the pleasant cool temperature here, just as snake shifters loved it. It was the reason why I loved the forest. The temperature there was cooler, and the air was fresher.
• I looked around. It was odd. There was no one that I could find here, nor could I see any Gold Snake Tribe shifters.
• Where could they go?
• It was impossible for the whole Kinuohebbi Tribe to just disappear. I was relieved when I saw a couple of male shifters coming from my left. The two knelt in front of me, as soon as they spotted me.
• “Goddess Tezy Hebbia!” they blurted out.
• I slowly glided towards them, picking on their thoughts. However, there was nothing helpful that I could find in there.
• “Where is your God Yrdis? Why is his palace hidden away?” I asked snappily.
• There must be something wrong here. It was strange that Yrdis had disappeared just like that. Even more so, it was impossible. I knew that Yrdis loved his subjects. He would not leave them unattended. Where would he go, anyway? He dearly loved his palace, which was made of gold and yellow diamond, with saddle-designed roof. When I would think about it, I could say I missed seeing it now. It used to stand just around here, instead of a large barren land, with nothing but glittering brown soil.
• “Forgive us, Goddess Tezy Hebbia! One day the palace stood here, but it is gone the next. Some of our tribesnakes also disappeared a few days ago. We are, in fact, searching for them, as one of my brothers vanished,” the first snake shifter answered. He had golden skin and long golden hair. His snake eyes reflected concern, troubled.
• I knew he spoke the truth. For now, I had nothing to tell them either.
• “If you feel you’re in danger, then you must go east of Hebbiza. You’re welcome in my home anytime. Tell the others, too,” I told them.
• “Thank you, Goddess Tezy Hebbia!” said the second snake shifter.
• “No need to thank me. As a goddess, I must take care of my fellow deity’s worshippers,” I answered.
• “But we need to find my brother first,” added the first one.
• “Where was his last known location?” I asked in his mind.
• “He was here, at the palace of God Yrdis.”
• I merely stared at them for a moment. My mind was somewhere else. This was strange indeed.
• “Then, you must reach out to me when you got news. Understood?”
• “Will do, Goddess Tezy Hebbia,” they both promised, bowing their heads.
• I portaled to Sōnushi Lake, north of Hebbiza. I had to check on Famiq, God of the Akkadohebbi Tribe. The Red Snake Tribe had been living there since forever, just like the other respective deities in theirs. It was an unspoken agreement that we keep to our territories where they were. Nonetheless, we all lived in harmony and had respect for each other.
• As soon as I reached Famiq’s place, I could neither see his home that was built in the middle of the lake. The four bridges that used to connect it in the four directions of his territory were also gone.
• No! This is not right.
• I blinked a few times, but there was nothing that I could find around the lake. It was as though I was in a different dimension. The lake used to sparkle with life, but now, it was just an ordinary body of water under the two moonlights in the south and in the north.
• My heart started to pump hard, my thoughts in a wild riot. How could I not feel Famiq’s and Yrdis’ disappearance? What about Kigga? Did she feel the same?
• First, I slithered around quickly to look for any tribesnakes in the forest area that surrounded the big lake. However, I could find none.
• I did not stop. I continued to check the entire area stealthily despite my gigantic form. Then, I saw a red-skinned snake shifter lying on his back. He appeared to be sleeping.
• I hissed. As soon as the male snake shifter heard it, he sat bolt upright. Upon seeing me, he quickly hit his knees on the ground and bowed his head.
• “Goddess Tezy Hebbia!”
• “What’s been going on here?” I demanded.