Chapter 19: September 14th 1918

There was a small patch of dirt that Toha stood by as his eyes were closed. Ariadne stood by him. Her towering figure was dwarfing his height as she stood with her hands to her hips.

“Close your eyes, my love,” Ariadne told him.

Toha closed his eyes.

“Now ... I want you to focus on the patch of dirt you were looking at. Lift up your hand towards that dirt. Picture it in your mind as it moves.”

It was the next day of the grasslands of Oklahoma. The beautiful day was marked with clear skies. Ariadne was teaching Toha how to access the newly discovered powers that were deep within him. She was wearing a striking blue woven dress reminisced with the clothing of ancient greek women and, at the same time, being in her minotaur form as well. Toha was still wearing part of his uniform.

Toha lifted his hand and concentrated on the patch of dirt. He focused on the piece of sand.

“Now,” she said. “I want you to focus on the sand and picture it moving towards your hand.”

He did exactly what was instructed. The soil began to shift very slightly. Some of the earth began to move.

“I feel it moving... , “ he said. “How is that possible?”

“You are with me. By us being together and joining the spirit within you is awakening as well. You will have access to his abilities now. All you need now is guidance.”

The dirt began to move more and more till it started to levitate towards his hand. The small patch of dirt touched his fingers.

“Very good, Toha. Now I want you to stop concentrating on the dirt and now take your hands and drop it to the ground and lift them into the air while you are concentrating.”

He took a deep breath and then bent over, placing his hands on the ground. The patch of soil that floated to his fingertips fell to the ground. He then stood up, lifting his hands high in the air as is eyes were closed. A small patch of soil spat up in the air like a jet stream of water. The dirt dissipated in the air.

“Se:he is the embodiment of a sand mage,” she explained. “He can manipulate the dirt and sand to his will around him. He can also feel the sand and dirt, knowing how to navigate his way through anything with the exception of flying creatures. He is taking the form of a spirit now using the human body as a source of power. He will then jump from human to human as each one is born and ultimately dies.”

“Let me ask you this then, Ariadne. Why do you feel such an attraction towards me?”

She looked at him with a questioning look, “Why do you ask this? Did you not enjoy our encounter together?”

“I did enjoy it, but I still have to ask ... why the attraction and feelings?”

She looked down. Her snout snorted as her hoof hit the grass hard. “I feel this way ... because I feel something for him. I have not been with a human mortal for some time despite some of the advances of some mortals and even mythics. The fact is ... I was lonely.”

He focused his attention on her “... , I understand. I am enjoying our time together. Yesterday was ... entertaining. It felt so liberating to be away from war. I worry about those that are still trapped in that battlefield wither they want to be there or not. Nonetheless, I feel that I would be better here with you by your side than on the battlefield alone. I would rather be with you.”

She took her hand and took his hand and held it tightly. “There is something I need to discuss with you after I get done teaching you more of the basics.”

They were far from the tents that she erected where Daiyu and Sárkány reside. The winds of the grassland blew hard in their direction.

“Your magic is the key to defeating mythics,” She explained. “Normal mortal made weapons cannot hurt us. I am sorry to say this, but you are mortal so you can be hurt normally, but with your discovery of magic, you have a chance against those that want to bring you harm.”

“No offense, but how is dirt going to hurt them?” Toha asked with frustration.

“If a human went and flung dirt in my eyes I would not feel anything from it. It would mask his view for a concise bit, but I would not be feeling anything. However, with your magic combined, if you flung dirt into my eyes, it would cause me to recoil in pain as I desperately try to get the dirt out of my eyes.”

“Oh ... well, in that case, I guess I should continue.”

She went and had a seat on the soft grass. Her tail shifted to her right side as her fur blew delicately by the wind.

“I want you to focus on the dirt again, Toha. Take that dirt as you levitate it in the air and wrap it up to a ball.”

He closed his eyes again and lifted his hand. He envisioned the dirt lifting from the ground and seeing it clump into a ball. As he did this, a patch of soil began to lift from the ground. The dirt started to clump up slowly into a ball of packed earth.

“Good ... now you can form the dirt into whatever you want. Form the dirt into a blade of dirt.”

He focused as the sand began to shape from a ball of dirt into a sharpened blade of sand.

“Excellent ... focus on the dirt hardening into a solid piece like it was forming into hardening clay.”

Toha did as he was instructed. The dirt began to harden into a sharp blade of sand like a splintered piece of clay.

“Now, you can do whatever you want with that hardened piece. You can throw it like a projectile with your mind, use it as a personal weapon, or break it apart—whatever to your heart’s desire. Trust me. I have seen some mythics with a similar power like this that could create lances of spiked soil and dirt at the enemy and be quite dangerous.”

“What is my limitation?” he asked.

“You do have limits, of course. The power will drain, and you will have to eat or sleep, or you will get weaker. Your concentration can naturally be interrupted, of course, during a fight making it hard to use your magic. Rest will naturally restore what you use up. Much like the mortals have often mistaken us, we do have our limits too. A healing Mythic might be able to restore a person to life, though, depending on their abilities. It does not mean, however, that they can go and revive a whole graveyard of dead people. Mythics are much, much harder to revive, and some might not be able to do it at all except just heal them. I can use my ‘maze’ spell to banish a person to one of my labyrinths, but it takes time to cast it, and I can get interrupted easily. It does not always work on some mythics, too, because they are simply too powerful.”

“So it basically would bounce off of someone?” He asked.

“More like nothing would happen. One thing to keep in mind is not all us mythics have access to magic accept altering to a human shape and back or being able to teleport or fly. So feel lucky that you have access to magic. Plus, you are mortal as it is, so you never had to ‘blend’ in.”

“Except against some racist prick that dislikes Native Americans,” he added.

“You know what I mean. Being a walking talking cow is way more noticeable to the public than being human.”

Toha laughed, “I guess that makes sense.”

The winds got big as it distracted him. The sharp hardened blade of dirt fell to the ground. The breeze almost blew him hard, practically displacing his stance.

Suddenly something came and touched Toha’s arm as he turned around to see what was getting his attention. Even Ariadne was not looking behind him as she was set to look at who it was.

“Wha ... who is there?” Toha asked.

What stood behind him was a curious understatement indeed. He was a dwarf that stood at four feet tall. He wore a simple red tunic that wrapped his lower body like he was dressed as a monk. He was bald and had a wooden umbrella that he held in both his hands. He had a set of bead necklaces that he wore on his chest, and he had a painted third eye on his forehead. The wooden umbrella was a red color that was like the color of his tunic.

“I should be asking that to you human,” The dwarf spoke to him. “What are you two doing here with one of our kind?” He had a strangely British Indian accent.

“Vamana! It is good to see you again,” Ariadne reacted upon seeing him.

“It is good to see you too, Ariadne. Now ... what are you doing with this human mortal? Hmm, I do sense something from him.”

The dwarf began to sniff the air around Toha. He was inquisitive.

“I found him in war-torn Europe. He had the embodiment of Se:he in him. We have found another mythic.”

He spun his umbrella in his hand and smiled, “Very good. Always good to encounter more and more of our kind as the years’ progress. What is your name, human?”

There was a certain innocence to the man. He seemed harmless compared to others and gave a gentle aura around him. It was like speaking to a Buddhist monk.

“My name is Toha, um Vanama?”

Ariadne almost gave off a sigh, “Where are my manners? Toha, this is Vamana, Vamana. This is Toha. He is a Native American that is or was served in the United States Army.”

Toha extended his arm to the tiny man as he reciprocated and shook his hand in greeting.

“Hmm ... indeed, a spirit resides in him. I can feel it simply in our handshake. How are you, Toha?”

“I am doing well, Ariadne has been ... taking good care of me and training me how to use my powers.”

Vamana spun his umbrella again and smiled “I can tell she has been taking good care of you. I can smell your auras mixed together very well.”

Toha scratched the back of his neck as Ariadne looked away for a short bit.

Vamana closed his umbrella and pointed downward as he leaned on it as if it were a walking stick. There was concern in his face.

He explained, “I have received some disturbing reports from some of our other teams in Europe as we search for the shards. Have you found anything?”

“Besides Toha, there was nothing we found so far in France. I am afraid that we might be just feeling the disruptions from the war as always.”

Vamana nodded, “I ended up hearing some reports of a certain attack from a minotaur that killed a German officer. Is it true?” He took his umbrella and lightly smacked Ariadne’s leg. “Well?...” as he perched on his umbrella again.

“I did get overzealous and killed a German officer in a town. There were about to over encompass us. I felt that I needed to take matters to my own hands.”

Vamana nodded “Well from Berchta and Drakaina, the information they gathered from the Germans seems to indicate that no one believes that squad of German soldiers anyway. Nonetheless, you need to be careful out there and exposing yourself to the mortals. We...”

“I know,” she responded. “I am sorry that happened. I just ... wish we could get more involved with human affairs and situations than what the treaty limited us to do.”

“Until humans learn to accept us or show signs that they are willing, we can’t keep exposing ourselves to the mortals. I won’t have to preach to you. Sometimes it’s beyond our control anyways. Some of us are far worse at than we admit to it anyway. Anyways I do have some troubling news to report to you that I need to have you, Sárkány, Daiyu,...” He looked at Toha. “ ... and I guess you know, to go to an area that is by the town of Épehy in France.”

“Why there? What is at this place that warrants attention?” she asked.

“We have heard reports of a supposed German marksman that has been making a name for himself.”

Toha shrugged, “That doesn’t sound like anything big. Both sides of the war have their marksmen and sharpshooters.”

Vamana shook his head, “Not when there is magic involved. We picked up magic use from the area that he supposed to be at.”

“Any idea what this person is?” Ariadne asked.

“We don’t know much. It appears he is hiding himself well amongst the German soldiers. We might be dealing with a rogue mythic that is trying to use magic to his or her own means against other human mortals. This violates the treaty we established and presents a possible danger to humanity if someone is trying to use magic to benefit themselves in this particular fashion.”

“Do you have a description of this possible foe?” she asked.

“All we know is that it is a person or mythic named ‘Lambert.’ Tell Daiyu since she has become one of our experts in mythic folklore and theological studies. She might know more about it.”

“What do we do if we encounter resistance?” Ariadne asked. “We are heading into a warzone again. Knowing that area, it will be close to the frontlines.”

“If for some reason this Lambert does have magic, tries to use it, and is some sort of rogue mythic on the loose, then you have permission to engage him and, if necessary, kill him. I would prefer if he were captured alive if possible.” He bowed to her, “Now if you excuse me, I am needed in India. Good luck to both of you.”

Vamana turned around and started to walk away with his umbrella in hand. He began to sing some ancient Indian song as he unraveled some spinning disk similar to a Chakram. He tossed it in his hand and then threw it upward as the disk got larger and spun in the air. The ring got so large that it could quickly engulf his body. The ring was spinning as it slowly descended on him. As it reached his body, he slowly disappeared as the circle got closer to the ground. Eventually, he completely vanished as the ring landed on the ground. The ring itself then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ariadne smiled “Good ol Vishnu. He always comes in as a different person.”

“Who?” Toha asked.

She turned to him, “That was really Vishnu in disguise. He likes to take up different forms as a way to have fun with everyone. I swear he does it on purpose. I have seen some of the parties where he would come as one avatar, then leave and come back as another. He would always do it to fool everyone and see if he could get away with it. I think he really enjoys doing it. He is one of the greats, though.”

“Is he a trickster ... mythic?”

“No ... just another one of the Hindu mythics. He really is a good guy; just don’t get on his bad side. Speaking of which, your powers ... make sure not to display to the other mortals alright. It will not be respected amongst us.”

“I won’t, but what happens if I do?” Toha asked.

“Obviously, if you are trying to fight somebody that is using magic, you can try to defend yourself, but displaying it in front of human mortals will make them too interested in capturing you or scare them. Plus, you are not a member of the Coalition yet, but you are being tested in this mission if you can. You would be treated as a rogue mythic on the loose otherwise.”

“Rogues?” he asked.

“Mythics that are blatantly using their powers wither they are showing it or not. Usually, they themselves try to hide it, or it will gather our attention or some human mortal. Usually, we leave these rogues alone as it’s their choice, but other rogues are known not to care if it brings one to harm or not. This Lambert may be a case of that where he is using his powers to bring harm to other human mortals. The human mortals would not stand a chance against him.”

Toha looked around as he looked back at her and the far distant tents.

“What is it? My love?” she asked.

“It’s still so much to stomach. A couple of days ago, I was fighting for my life in the trenches, wondering if I was going to be shot dead in some battle someone is probably not going to remember in the future. I envisioned myself returning home and being ridiculed or ignored for my actions in the war because I am part ... Native American. Now I am with essentially gods trying to help them on some mission and ended up bedding a goddess.”

She smiled and almost seemingly blushed if the fur didn’t hide it. “And have you been enjoying it so far?”

He nodded, “Yes ... I want to see what happens next ... together.”

She approached him and held his hand. Her hands were so large compared to his, but he did not care. She then backed up as she looked down.

“There is something I need to let you know about who I am Toha. I must tell you this.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“I am a Goddess of Fertility. What I told you about us having milk that we generate because I am part cow is not entirely true. Fertility Goddess all have some milk generating ability that they have. It’s partly because our magic goes into the realm of childrearing and insuring that mortals have a symbol of that to help make sure they are able to procreate and produce children if magic is needed.”

“Do you have the ability to make ... people become pregnant? Is that what you are telling me?”

She tilted her head, “Not entirely. Mythics, mortals that have a hard time producing a child, can always come to me to ensure that they do. They still need the seed from their partner and have sex to make it happen. I just go to the next step and use my magic after they have sex to make the woman be able to get impregnated. I have had my magic called upon a couple of times in the past, for example. Mythics and humans that have sex together and want to produce children will come to me and plead for me to ensure it happens. I have not yet failed at that task. Drakaina, for example, that Vamana mentioned is just one of the examples of my work.”

“Who is she?” he asked.

“A dragon. She had a relationship with a human a long time ago. They came to me to ask for a child, and I made sure she got pregnant. She has two children that serve alongside her. Us mythics are essentially finding a way to replace our lost numbers by taking up humans as mates.”

“So ... a dragon like Sárkány?”

“Yes,” Ariadne replied.

“It makes me curious about what the child would look like if a human and mythic were to cross. Do the children look more ... human?”

She smiled. “I think it is different from encounter to encounter, but usually the children born inherit the strongest features physically and ability-wise. Her children essentially look exactly like her.”

He laughed, “I wonder what happened if a human woman and a dragon had sex and wanted to produce a child. Would she lay an egg or give birth to live young assuming, of course, dragons lay eggs.”

She nodded, “Yes, they lay eggs, but to be honest, I am not really sure about your previous question. I never went back and asked to find out about that question. Daiyu has told me that she has no interest in having a child with Sárkány even if they will stay together forever, which I am pretty sure they are. I am ... sure about one thing ... I want to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“With my magic, I can impregnate myself as well. Your seed is inside me right now. I want ... I want to have a child Toha.”

He had a bit of a shocked look on his face, “You can? Have you already had children before?”

She nodded, “I did ... so long ago. They were all wiped out by Cataclysm.” A tear rolled down her eyes. “I miss them so much. My original father for those children has long been buried. Toha ... I need to replace what I have lost before you are longed and buried. Hundreds of years for us is like a speck of dirt on a beach for us compared to human lives. Some ways we want to have those short lives as well, but we have had to accept ourselves for whom we are and enjoy the time we have together while we can.”

He started to breathe fast. “You want to have my baby? Heh...”

“What is it?”

“I always figured that our time yesterday I wouldn’t have gotten you pregnant because of our ... differences. Even if I did get you pregnant, I never imagined you would give me a choice anyway. I mean, women get pregnant whether they like it or not. One thing is for certain ... sex can get a woman pregnant. It’s the law of the universe. I was acknowledging the fact I could have gotten you pregnant yesterday, and there would have been no control on it. Are you trying to tell me you are giving me a choice on this?”

She nodded, “Yes... , please all I have to do is put my hand to my stomach, concentrate, and it’s done.”

Toha was not phased or nervous by her request. He was inquisitive, “If we had a child, would the child be ... like you?”

She nodded, “Yes. I had five children as proof of that.”

“Would our child have our ... abilities?”

“That ... I do not know. Children born from mythics or humans with mixed traits and abilities have the tendency to have a combination of certain abilities or traits from the parents. Sometimes they would have traits that are beyond our understanding. We would never truly know until that day. I wish I could give you that answer.”

“It’s ok” he took a deep breath his heart was racing. “To be honest, I want to be a father. This is very sudden to be requested like this. I actually want to be a father. I was...” He sat down on the soft grass below.

She walked up and took a knee to try to be close to him as possible. “I was too quick to ask Toha. I am so sorry to ask you that. I should have...”

“Yes...”

Her bovine eyes expressed shock and confusion. “What?”

“I will have a child with you, Ariadne. It is ... happening so fast.” He started to breathe hard. He was nervous and even scared. “I wanted to be a father since I reached adulthood. I never found the right woman for me back at home. One I met even left me because I wanted to become a father, and she didn’t. Now here you are ... right in front of my eyes telling me you want to have a child with me. I ... I just need a minute.”

Her hand rested on his shoulder. She went and pressed her snout to his head. He was breathing so hard that he was on the verge of passing out.

“Breath, my maze runner,” she consoled him. “Breathe in and out for me.”

“The bombs, the explosions, death everywhere,” he began to cry. She took his hand and held him close as he began to cry. “I was in a war where the world seemed ... to obliterate itself. I hold no hatred towards the Germans. I imagine that many are like me that ... are fathers or want to be fathers. They spit propaganda that they are horrible people. You know what horrible people, the people that tried to wipe the Native Americans from the face of the Earth are! The ones that forced us off our lands!” He slammed his fist onto the grass in anger.

“Let it all out, Toha,” she told him. “If you need to throw your fists at me, then do so. Get the poison out of your system.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Ariadne, my beloved. I can’t throw a fist at you ... I can’t.”

She closed her eyes. Her fur rubbed against his face and arms. “You can’t hurt me ... I am a goddess. Let your anger out.”

He was so close to her face and snout he could feel her breath on his face. He shook in his seat.

“Us deities know what you humans are facing Toha. It is something that many humans from the war are facing now. The shock of the shells exploding over and over again. I am sure the mortals will have a name for it soon to spell it out that maybe the warfare and intent for nations to wipe one another out will come to a realization. I know ... I know you have been fighting it deep down within you, Toha. I pulled you out of that war and fighting. I am sure you have no outlet to let it out. That is why I am here for you to get it out of you. You are greater than anything you ever imagined. You don’t deserve to be treated as just another human mortal. You are amongst gods now. I saw it in Daiyu’s eyes as well. I don’t know her full story, but I do know that she faced conflict in her past. She has Sárkány to get it out of her system. You ... have me.”

She went and put her lips to his mouth as she kissed him firmly. As she began, he went and kissed her with his might. He took his hand and felt her from the top of her head touching the hair and horns as it went down, feeling the fur on her face and cheeks.

“I know what you need right now, Toha. You need an outlet to get it out of your system. Humans, they need it more than anything—the desire to fuck beckons you right now. I am your outlet right now. For now and forever. Let me help you.”

She turned and looked at the tents in the far distance. “I guess we are far enough away from them. For all, I know they are probably fucking in those tents right now anyway. Nothing around beside them and ourselves for miles. I think this would make the perfect spot, wouldn’t you agree?”

He was in a daze as the tears began to slow on his face. He was breathing hard as he shook his head. “No ... no one but just us.”

“Good ... nothing but the bright sun and grasslands. A perfect place for a good tumble just for us. A perfect place to make a child, wouldn’t you agree?”

He nodded and said nothing to her. He felt his loins stir deep with him.

“I am going to drain all of it out of you. Then just before you pass out, you can feed on my breasts and regain all your strength again over and over again if need be. You will know nothing but happiness as you are here with me in these grassy fields.”

He kept nodding as his tears came to a halt. She went and took his hands and placed it to her large proportioned breasts. She held his hands there and guided it to the underside of her tunic.

“You know one of the great things about us Greeks?” She asked with a smile. “We always know how to party. Our clothing makes it so easy just to take it off and put it back on. It was like we knew that sex was right around the corner. Mmmm, I do miss those days. Maybe you humans will get back into that again. A goddess can dream now, a goddess can dream.”

His hand felt her right nipple under the fabric. He was breathing hard as he felt his erection stir more and more. She took her other hand and started to undo the top part of her tunic and clothing.

“Let your instincts guide you, young maze runner. You have found the entrance and the exit. You know where to go.”

His hand groped her breast. He felt the soft fur line with the engorged nipple that he firmly played with. She released his hand as it remained and continued to press.

“Yes ... just like that. You know it deep down you want this.”

She took a deep breath as she felt the pleasure of him kneading her breast. She undid the top of her tunic as her breasts were fully exposed to him. Both of his hands were now playing with her breasts.

“It feels nice. Does it not? You want these breasts, don’t you? You hunger for them, don’t you?”

He nodded at her. She took her hands and cupped and held them close to him so he could continue to play with them. She got closer on her knees to him, so allow him full access to her chest.

“Yes ... good human. Squeeze them.”

He did just that. With one hand, he squeezed her left breast. A small amount of milk began to dribble from the nipple as it covered his hand in a small amount of her milk.

“Put it in your mouth Toha.”

He did just that as he put the fingers to his mouth, slurping the milk from his fingers.

“Mmmm, do it again. Squeeze my breast.”

He began to smile a little as he did it again. A small amount of milk covered his fingers.

“Now, put it in my mouth.”

She opened her mouth as he inserted his fingers into her mouth. Her large tongue engulfed his fingers. With one firm slurp, all the milk was gone as she licked her chops and snout with her large bovine tongue.

He could not hold it back anymore. He pushed his body and leaned forward to begin sucking her breasts. She put her hands up to block him.

“Not yet ... my mortal companion. Not until after we have had fun. Then you can drink from me nonstop.”

She leaned back as she started to undo his belt and trousers. He hurriedly began to assist her.

“Not so fast, my champion ... slow down and enjoy this moment. It is so peaceful out here. Let yourself be immersed in this environment.”

She went and used her other hand to undo the bottom part of her tunic and gave him full access to loosen his clothing. It was a struggle for him to keep himself from getting too crazy at the moment.

“Breathe Toha...” She undid the bottom part of her tunic as it fell to the grass below her. She stood up as her hooves pushed her to her full stance. She stood fully exposed to him, displaying her full glory to him. Her tail swung in the wind. He managed to get his pants off of him. She was a towering figure of might and beauty.

She took her tunic and laid it down like a blanket on the soft grass next to him. She then kneeled down and tapped the sheet next to him.

“Get on it, my love.” She told him. “It’s better than being on the grass naked, although if you really want to, we can roll around on it.

She did a little hop with his body as he landed dead center with his butt. His pants finally came off as he started to undo his underwear and shirt.

“Let me help you with the bottom as you take your shirt off.”

She did her part using her fingers to grab his underwear and pulling it downward carefully. His erection sprang free of its hold. Lying on her tunic he managed to get his shirt and top part of his uniform taken off as he felt a large a set of large warm lips engulfing his member. He gasped at the pleasure as the uniform was fully undone. She had already gotten started at sucking his hardened member.