Arameria E-Book

Chenerah "Kecar" Gajaze

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 398

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

To escape a world in which he believes he cannot find love and appreciation, a young man takes refuge in his fantasies. In the course of his development, he creates fictitious friends in his mind who live in a ruined world and also strive for fulfilment. To be close to these beings and show them his deep feelings, the man confides in someone and his last revelation before parting emerges, in which he sends Joliyad on a journey to the truth of both their lives. Without intending to, the dying man throws Joliyad's mind and home into chaos and struggles for control over the events he allows to unfold with the telling of his story. His protagonist experiences social and emotional upheavals and discovers his affection for his childhood friend Amarok who is a member of the race with which Joliyad's nation is at war. Together they want to change the situation in their world, because their love for each other is stronger than the sheer hatred that divides their two species.

Leseprobe

Chenerah "Kecar" Gajaze

Arameria

Vulpes Lupus Canis I

Vulpes Lupus Canis

Novel

Imprint:

Text: © 2019 Copyright by Chenerah Gajaze

Translation:Kristina Čulić Gajić & Aleksandar Gajić

Cover: © 2021 Copyright by Marion Morgenroth

www.marion-morgenroth.de

Publisher:

Chenerah Gajaze

Vogelsbergstraße 25

36399 Freiensteinau (Germany)

[email protected]

Printing: epubli - a service of neopubli GmbH, Berlin

ISBN Hardcover: 978-3-757544-56-0

ISBN Softcover: 978-3-757544-57-7

ISBN E-Book: 978-3-757544-60-7

The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any exploitation is prohibited without the consent of the publisher and the author. This applies in particular to electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and making publicly available.

To the world that accompanied me

from the beginning of my time

until its end.

To dog and friend,

pain and joy.

In fervent gratitude for the

doctrine of vision, which you

have given me

in love and hate.

"To live does not mean

an adaptation to the current

situation, but the always

new creation of your own

reality."

Chenerah "Kecar" Gajaze

Content:

Prologue

I. Birth of an idea

II. Aram and Eria

III. Nonplusultra

IV. Understanding of love

V. Courage for truth

VI. Endure pain

VII. Chaos in the Spirit of Order

VIII. Turmoil of war

IX. Wolf Thought

X. Knife's edge

Prologue

Anthro stories, that is, stories in which two-legged animals play a role, are plentiful. At least I know that many people write such stories. Some of them that are written with the utmost care and seriousness, have devoured many creative hours.

Why should you read this one in particular?

You shouldn't, but of course you may!

I never thought about whether anyone would read all this at some point. After all, I didn't want to make money from it or boast about having written a book. I used to be quite modest when it came to naming my qualities and abilities.

This book was not originally intended to be available for purchase.

So, as well as not the truth.

We believe in it, or we don't. It's free, accessible to everyone and exciting - but sometimes a bit unconventional and confusing.

If you've realized what I'm trying to say, then you already get the gist of this story and may enjoy reading it.

However this work came into your 'paws', obviously you have fulfilled at least one of the requirements to be worthy of this story: either I myself sent it to you, or you appropriated it, which in turn would mean curiosity.

The subject of this story will certainly differ from that of many others of its kind, because it is not simply about the narration of a dream. No stories are told here that could have happened on Earth in the same or similar way. This is also not fan fiction - although in a way I have also become a 'fan' of an idea. If you know that 'fan' is short for fanaticism, you can guess that I was very fond of my ideas about it.

But more about that later.

This work serves my own personal debate with the world: what I have always wanted to say, I say in here. I have a lot to tell, which is why this story is very extensive.

It is also special that I myself (as a human and human-like being) have my plot here and am a companion to my protagonists through the story. I thus gradually give them the awareness that they themselves are also nothing more than what you are about to read here: Simply the story of an idea of what my own truth is.

I. Birth of an idea

A

ll things have a beginning, are born.

Everything has an end, dies eventually.

Even a human being is sometimes the birthplace of an idea - let's call it fiction or history. It begins and ends at some point. The beginning of an idea already presupposes its end. But all that lies in between is a time which we must know how to fill with good and bad things.

I too am just passing the last days of my time, but I am not angry about it.

I am worried.

Will I have the time to leave something behind?

I don't know, but I'll try.

You are with me, whoever you are. I know you are there and you understand every word that escapes my thoughts and becomes scripture.

My invisible listener - male, female, old or young. Whoever you may be, it is nice that you are here with me now, voluntarily, maybe a little shy and curious.

I want to tell you about what I experienced during a long period of total decline in seemingly eternal silence.

One part of me was always independent, autonomous - but also vindictive, ignorant, at times depressed and disgruntled. Another was always sensitive, anxious and reserved. I liked the latter best, but unfortunately that was also the one who always knew exactly how to hide from 'all the bad people'.

In order to understand how my heart beat, who I was and what I felt, it is important that an interested person like you reads my words. I will now tell you about all that I ever experienced, what made me and what I had become - or should have become - wrapped up in this story.

It plays in different genres, which work wonderfully together and merge with each other. But no matter which genre this work may belong to in the end: The only decisive thing is to know that everything I'm going to tell you now is the truth - namely my truth. All of this has actually happened. Not in your world, of course, but in mine.

I can imagine that this sounds a little crazy, because it is very difficult to explain. That's why my life story tells about it: You can experience your environment differently than other people, depending on your aptitude and disposition. While other people just thought about whether parallel worlds actually exist or not, I knew at some point that it just had to be that way.

Although I could not prove these ideas, and had never seen 'the other side' with my own eyes, I felt that more had to exist in my life than what I was able to grasp with my limited senses. More than it was possible for me to comprehend with my underdeveloped human mind.

I also had an explanation for this knowledge that was as plausible as it was meaningful to me: Even at the beginning of my time, I was a child of (primarily psychological) violence and a gratuitous rejection that was incomprehensible to me. I could never claim to have ever really felt the love of my fellow human beings.

For a long time, I thought they never wanted to give me warmth and security, for whatever reason. At some point, however, it occurred to me that perhaps, at a young age, I simply could not have been capable of correctly interpreting and understanding their dubious kind of love. From this lack eventually developed a mind that was always highly sensitive, kind-hearted, friendly and very inquisitive.

Comforting my fellow human beings seemed natural to me. To like them all equally and treat them equally was normal for me. Although I always acted unselfishly, the idea that a God could exist who was watching me and would evaluate my deeds at the end of my life did not even occur to me at that time.

In fairness, however, I must admit that I often gave cause for rejection in my younger years, but to tell about it would be monotonous and would somewhat miss the point of my story.

However, at no time had I consciously wished any person ill, let alone done so. I possessed enough sensitive love and generosity for them all, whenever it was possible for me, I helped them where I could. Certainly, it was not foreseeable for me at that time that this behavior would lead to people taking advantage of me. The others would forget that I was a being who not only had feelings, but was even so sensitive that at some point it became easy for me to quickly recognize when a person was lying to me or whether he was really worth loving.

In the course of time, however, I had forgotten what love meant, what it constituted, and also that every human being factually needed it in order to exist. I too hungered, craved for it, without really perceiving it. Honestly, I never had the feeling of really loving another person - that is, purely emotionally. I couldn't.

By the end of my time, I had learned many things: Some I had acquired myself. Others I learned at school. But most things I had not been taught or recognized myself, but they were simply there.

This may sound unbelievable, but no one taught me the ability to communicate. How I hadto say or write something, this knowledge came all by itself. At some point it was there, developed and matured. The tool of communication on a verbal level, coupled with the sensitivity for recognizing and diagnosing human behavior, seemed to become a very powerful and useful weapon. But this seemed weak compared to what I was unable to learn, understand, or give: Since I never had the feeling of being truly loved, I did not know how it felt and consequently could not create that feeling or give it to others - as much as I would have liked to do so sometimes.

Still, I didn't really blame my fellow human beings for that, because maybe I was loved and just couldn't understand and reflect on that feeling.

Nevertheless, my story is not meant to be a lament, although true love, for which I longed so much, is a very big topic in it. In many places it is not only mentioned marginally, but also culminates now and then in eroticism, which is why you should already bring a certain maturity as a participant.

I hope you are already of age!?

Oh, what am I thinking, I can't see you anyway. So, if it gets too much for you, shout "stop" loudly and put the book aside.

But maturity is also necessary to understand the connections between action and my feelings as a human being, because I will not always succeed in lifting the veil of what I thought, felt and originally wanted to say far enough. Much will seem confusing at first, but crystal clear the next moment.

So, all in all, you have chosen to listen to me by reading this book.

Why actually? Curiosity?

That's a good thing! Curiosity is what drives many beings to develop ideas. Which brings us back to ideas: As a person who was sensitive and very imaginative, I dreamed up fictional friends as a toddler. That in itself was nothing unusual. I mean, we all know phases like that. At some point, however, I began to long for a feeling, which can certainly be called love. Let's still call it belonging, respect, and the feeling of being appreciated. In other words, for all the generosity I had bestowed on my fellow human beings (for which I almost never demanded a reward), I wanted something in return at some point. And since people couldn't give me what I was most interested in (love and appreciation), I found a way to get those things elsewhere.

I looked at my fantasy, its colors, twists and turns, its genesis, and slowly began to become emotionally attached to it. The moment came more and more often when I withdrew into my dream world - at first purely in thought. When I reached puberty, it was only natural for me to feel physically attracted to my fantasy as well. At some point, I no longer felt it was just a way to switch off, but developed very strong feelings for it.

In order to understand how one can have feelings for something fictitious at all, without there being a physically tangible counterpart, you must know that these fantasies were animal-human hybrids, anthros.

They were creatures, similar to animals, that could walk on two legs and speak. Beings that accompanied my life from the beginning of my time until its end. I had experienced a lot with them, overcome difficult times with their help and thus became a part of their world at some point.

Who or what these creatures were, where they came from, where they lived and what made them tick: the answers to these questions will not always please you, that much is said in advance. But if you have the courage to read on, sometimes maybe gritting your teeth, I promise you, you will read a very instructive, fantastic and honest story as you have never heard it before....

Once I was Chenerah Gajaze.

But actually it was not me. It was just the name I had once given myself. A name that the world around me never accepted. I gave it to myself out of love and passion, and it was indicative of the reverence I paid to my world. It had risen from the turmoil of a war my mind was waging with itself, a battle of three personalities. None of them was about domination in my thoughts, however, each of them wanted to be part of the others, eternally connected, orderly and clear.

The way there was not easy for me and it took an infinite amount of strength to realize that this struggle constituted my personality.

Helping my three spirits to unite with each other was the most difficult undertaking I ever wanted to achieve. It was difficult for me to listen to all their conversations and arguments without agreeing with one of them and hurting the others.

I was a child of faith, love and hope. So I also always remained (felt) alone for myself, until at some point I realized that it was my inner aspiration to meet my dreams and desires. It took me many years to find out how lonely I was, searching for these beings that I could never have found among all the people that surrounded me.

Seven years of loneliness. Then an end with horror. The end of my time. It was very close, I felt it. If I hadn't been lying in that hospital room, I would have known it: Time was running through my hands like sand. My fate was inexorably making its way, for my last days had begun.

So there I lay, in this room, in this sterile, desolate and lonely place, looking out of the large window, tired of moving. My wish had been followed and the bed had been turned to the east, to where the sun was rising.

Concentrating, I looked toward the horizon revealed by the hospice's open backyard. I thought about the upcoming appointment: My psychologist was coming to see me to interview me again. He was very open-minded, which was important to me. After all, I was going to die soon from this stupid stomach cancer, and it was fine with me if someone neutral listened to what I had to say about life.

I didn't want to make any big speeches or share any wisdom, which I didn't count among my insights anyway, but simply talk. About my life, my ideas, all of this. About faith, love, hope - not about the sadness I logically felt. I mean, it's not every day you get the shattering diagnosis of 'terminal cancer'. It was irrefutable, but it shouldn't stop me from telling anyone my story - on the contrary: now I had the pressing feeling that it was time; and I hoped there was enough of it left to say all the things I thought I wanted to get rid of.

Whenever I stared out that window and watched people wheeling relatives around in wheelchairs in the courtyard, some of them seemed to have disappeared, others to have joined them.

All of them who sat there had to die.

The old and the young.

After all, that's what they were here for.

Strangely enough, I could never find an expression of true sorrow in the eyes of their pushing comrades. Silently and slowly, they rolled these carts along, probably not even realizing in their thoughts that it could always be the last time they would see their loved ones.

My musing was harshly interrupted when suddenly the door to the room opened and I was startled. My psychologist had come and once again did not knock. He didn't have any manners, but maybe that's why I liked him so much.

He was in his mid-forties, wore a full beard and had mottled gray hair. Sometimes he seemed scatterbrained and somehow as if he neglected his appearance. Although I thought he could have made more of himself, he did not seem unkempt.

"Hello and good afternoon, Mr. Gajaze! How are you today?" he asked, walking towards my bed.

"You gave me quite a scare," I chimed in to counter that phrase.

"Sorry."

"All in all, once my drugs start working, it's already pretty nice here. They make things a lot more colorful around here."

The psychologist grinned and pulled out a chair, which he placed next to my bed and sat down.

"Do you have your voice recorder with you today?", I asked.

"Yes, I do," he confirmed, pulling said item from the pocket of his long, brown coat.

"That's nice," I smiled and asked him about his thoughts on how today's interview would go.

"Well," he sighed, putting the recorder down on the nightstand, "I'd say we'll do it the same way we always do. You were going to tell me a little more today, after all. Go ahead whenever you feel like it. Me and the Dictaphone don't talk and just listen. As long as you want to and feel fit enough, of course. I, for one, have brought plenty of time."

I nodded.

"You can also stop or pause at any time. Everything is recorded on the memory card. I can then edit the file afterwards."

I thought for a moment and then said, "You should know that I will tell you the full truth."

"I take that for granted, Mr. Gajaze. After all, it's in your best interest," the psychologist confirmed. "After all, lying wouldn't make any sense."

I looked at the window again for a moment and admonished, "You will hear things that none of them ever understood. Some of it will seem very evil, some of it very vile. So don't say afterwards that I didn't warn you."

"Mr. Gajaze ..." he countered, to which I turned my head back in his direction, "You can say whatever you want here. No one will ever hold you accountable for anything."

"Yes, after all, I'm dying. What else do they want to hold against me?" I said deprecatingly.

"It is a pity that you did not get help in time, but that was just your decision, Mr. Gajaze. I respect that, as you know. It does have its advantages: you are now virtually untouchable," my listener confirmed.

"That's right. Then I'll tell you now, who I am, who I wanted to be, and what I failed at. Is the device running?"

The man startled slightly and turned on the recorder, which he made clear to me with a "There, now."

My heart was beating strongly. I was very excited, because for the first time I would tell a person the whole story of my own world. Completely unvarnished, sometimes hard, embarrassing, but also very beautiful, funny and euphoric.

I relaxed my body and took a deep breath. It was easier for me to speak when I wasn't looking at anyone. So, I looked at the ceiling, so that I could no longer see anything in the corners of my eyes. So it seemed as if I was looking into a pure, white infinity that I could almost have touched.

I thought for a moment, watched by my listener, then mused, "The only truth of the world is in its silence."

The psychologist and I laughed briefly, because he had heard this phrase from me many times in our sessions. He wanted to know about everything that I felt to be true, even if it had never really taken place. I closed my eyes and pulled out one of my visions that I had never forgotten throughout my life.

"My fictional beings are animals, but they walk on two legs like humans. They have fur, but wear clothes and can speak. If you like, they are a kind of hybrid beings, animal-humans, anthros, who have needs just like us. At some point I began to look for my role models in such creatures. It went so far that I fell in love with one of them."

The psychologist looked at me tensely when I opened my eyes again.

"Into a male or female?" he asked, although he should have known better.

I did not answer, which seemed to cause a loud ringing in his head.

"I see. Who was he?" he continued to ask.

"No, who is he?", I corrected, continuing after clearing my throat. "His name is Fox McCloud."

When I mentioned this name, my heart literally threatened to burst. Immediately I imagined a moving scene of him and grinned. A great feeling!

"I didn't invent him myself. He's a character from a video game. How can I put it? Someone else made him." I paused, searching for the appropriate words that even he would understand.

"What do you feel when you think of him?" my listener asked, obviously very interested.

"Deep, infinite love. A kind of warmth, security. I don't know where it comes from, but still, it's there. I would never have thought it possible that love can be so strong that you develop a whole fictional world for someone," I remarked, turning my head to the left so that my gaze fell on the picture of Fox McCloud hanging on the wall. Immediately, in my mind's eye, I saw short sequences of images of my hand stroking the furry body of this fox.

My counterpart followed my gaze and seemed to understand abruptly. "He is obviously very masculine," he remarked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Indeed," I grinned smugly. I sighed and continued speaking without looking at the psychologist: "Well, anyway ... I fell in love with him, found a substitute in him. That's the only reason there's the story I want to tell you. And I want to finish this before my time is up."

Thoughtfully, my listener asked me, "Okay, I kind of understand that. But what am I supposed to do with the text you're speaking here?"

"You can do whatever you want with it," I said. "You can make a book out of it. Maybe someone will read it. All that matters to me is that I told you everything."

"All right. We can discuss what we're going to do with it later. I'd say I'll keep quiet now and you just get on with it. Let me know if you need a break, Mr. Gajaze."

"Okay, here goes," I said, and another deep sigh followed.

"The story of said beings and my love for them begins with the theory that there must always be a point of origin - perhaps someone divine who had the idea to create something. This is the origin story from the point of view of my friends, my beloved beings, who were also on a perpetual search for an answer to the three greatest questions of all: "Who are we, where do we come from, where are we going?"

II. Aram and Eria

R

esiding at the beginning of a dark hour, seven gods created the world. It was not the one as we know it today: There was nothing there at first but water and the lands that populate our species so abundantly today. When the creators noticed that the new world appeared colorless and lifeless, they got bored and decided to populate it with many different creatures. In doing so, they gave free rein to their ideas: thus, the young nature quickly developed a multitude of life forms. Each species was equipped with its own unique abilities.

The gods enjoyed watching the battles they fought to be superior to the other races and to ensure the survival of their own. Millions and millions of species inhabited the planet AlphaVul and similar to the animals on Gaja, the home of humans, there were mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and some more. As on Gaja, the mammals were not capable of any complex language. The many species did not understand each other either, and so they were caught in an ever-recurring competition for dominance on AlphaVul. Some of them eventually died out, but their gods were not concerned about that. They were amused when one species conquered and exterminated another with the help of instincts. Without this being simply a matter of killing for hunger, they slaughtered each other.

But one of the gods soon did not like what he was jointly responsible for and decided to put an end to it. One wanted to create a better planet than Gaja had become. On it there were now, thanks to the humans, no other animals except themselves. The new creation was to be spared this fate and so the insightful God gave the animals the ability to talk to each other. Every species that existed on AlphaVul was to be able to learn and expand its own language. Thus, it could retain its individuality, but would be required to communicate with other species and expand its mind through learning.

What their brother did, the other six gods did not like at all, whereupon they decided to banish the adversary: He would live on AlphaVul as the only humanoid, as a human being - naked, blind and mute. They would take away his divine abilities, except for the power of immortality. Their relative was not to age lonely and forlorn and eventually perish, but to fight a barbaric battle for survival for all eternity. They took away his speech and his sight and as punishment for his arbitrary, unchangeable deeds, however, he should be able to hear all sounds surrounding him, as well as the vituperative words of his former brothers, the gods.

The renegade lay naked and silent in a meadow, and now he would be killed and eaten by some animals. For the first time he felt the cool breeze on his skin, which he now possessed. It tingled and he got goose bumps on his arms.

He trembled and tried to scream, but no sound was heard. The human sat up and the grass swayed, but he saw nothing of it, only heard it. Where he was now, he could only feel with his hands.

'To you I swear vengeance!' he thought to himself, and remained sitting still and motionless listening in the grass, ready to die whenever the others would let him.

After some time, he heard something approaching and reached out for it. The tall grass right in front of him rustled and he was very scared. Never before had he perceived sounds like this, and his breathing became faster and faster as his heart seemed to pound all the way to his throat.

Suddenly he felt soft, long fur on his palm. A warm breath hit him and a sniff was heard.

When the man already thought his end had come, a good-natured sounding female voice suddenly rang out, "Do not be afraid."

Please, help me, whoever you are. Please don't eat me,' the former god thought to himself. He would have liked to say something, but try as he might, his mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"I am Eria, a she-wolf. You must be the one who gave our people their voices. I want to thank you for that. Your brothers have punished you very harshly for that. Poor friend, let me help you and please don't be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."

The she-wolf gently licked the hand of the man, who began to cry, first silently, then suddenly with sobs, which became louder and louder. He was frightened and trembled, but understood that it was possible for him to speak again.

"Thank you, thank you!" he whimpered with joy and couldn't stop crying, he was so happy about it.

For the first time, he heard his own voice and his joy at this was hard to contain.

"You're welcome," Eria spoke softly, promising to stay with him to watch over him so that no other animal could harm him. "Go to sleep," she said, "I'll warm your nearly hairless body so you can make it through the night. It will get very cold later."

"I thank you, Eria," the man whispered and lay curled up on his side, for he suddenly became very tired.

The she-wolf was much larger than the outcast and had no trouble enclosing his body with hers. Thus, the human was protected by her warm, silvery fur and Eria stayed awake all night. She soon noticed that he was having bad dreams, moving violently and seeming to struggle. The she-wolf gently licked his blond hair and soothed him.

When the man woke up, the good-natured Eria seemed to have disappeared. Desperately he groped for her and became very restless.

"Eria! Eria, where are you?" he shouted and became afraid.

"I'm here!" sounded the voice he knew. Quickly, his protector ran to him and nuzzled her powerful head against his hand so that he could feel it.

"I thought you had left me," the human said.

"No," Eria whispered, "I'm not leaving you. I've brought you something to eat."

"What is it?"

"Let's just say it's a good thing you can't see it. Got it messed up badly," she then grinned.

"You are so good to me. Do I deserve this?" the man then asked her and began to eat the raw meat. It was warm, slippery and tasted strange, but the former god had never felt the agonizing sensation of hunger before and was glad that this promised relief.

"Now that you've given us the language, we can finally talk to each other instead of fighting pointlessly because no one understands the other. Surely you too deserve to be treated well. Your brothers don't seem to understand that love and forgiveness are due to all."

A small pause arose, during which Eria also ate something. She occasionally tore a piece of meat into smaller pieces and laid them down in front of her friend, who could then track them down with his hands.

"You were one of them. It must be awful with all the new impressions and sensations. Do you have names, too? I don't even know my new friend's name."

"Oh, forgive me," the human began, "I am Ephraim. And yes, it is very strange. Never before have I been afraid, felt cold or warmth, or felt hunger. But again, thank you for helping me."

"Ah, Ephraim," Eria said softly, "I'm glad to meet you. I'll be glad to help you. You'll get used to everything here. I'm sure you will."

Then, after a while, she suggested that he let her carry him on her back to a river to drink. He agreed and climbed groping on the she-wolf. Her fur was very soft and the man noticed that she must be a very strong she-wolf. He felt every single muscle.

Eria brought her companion to the bank of a river, into which he immediately plunged, bathing and drinking at the same time, while she watched him and smiled. Back on the shore, Ephraim regretted that it was not possible for him to see Eria and his new home.

"I would have loved to see with my own eyes all the colors and lights we once created. At least now I can speak again. How did you do that?" he wanted to know.

"Every being carries a divine spark within them, and some of us learn to use it and do good with it. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer who know how to use their gifts," she explained, then suddenly raised her head and sniffed intently in the wind.

"Is there something? What's wrong?" asked Ephraim, who heard the sound of her breathing.

"Ephraim," the she-wolf said, her voice sounding joyful, "we have company!"

But the human feared bad things, "Don't tell me someone is coming to eat me?!"

"Oh, nonsense," laughed Eria, "Aram the fox is on his way here. Maybe he can help us find a place for you to stay." She glanced briefly at the naked human's penis, then said with a sneer, "Besides, maybe you should wrap your bare skin."

"Yes," he then said, "I don't have such a soft pelt like you."

A few moments later, Aram came and sat in front of the two. He was a handsome male fox and a little taller than Eria. He had long, golden fur that reflected the sun. Ephraim could not see the two proud animals, but he could hear a deep, masculine voice.

"Hello, Eria, hello, uh ... primate," Aram said, eyeing the man for a moment.

"Hello Aram," the she-wolf rejoiced, "this is Ephraim. He's the outcast they tell you about. I thought you might be able to help him. He doesn't know where to stay yet, and needs shelter from the cold nights."

"Yes, I can see that," said the fox, "and he's blind to boot. But I think something can be done. It would be a laugh if we couldn't cheat the deities! We'll see."

Aram thought for a moment and then said, "Come closer, Ephraim."

The human took a step forward and anxiously asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Shh, let him help!" cautioned Eria.

"I will give you a kiss, Ephraim," the fox said.

"What?" the man asked incredulously.

But before he could react, Aram gave him a heartfelt kiss and pushed his tongue into Ephraim's mouth. The male closed his eyes and it made on Eria the impression as if he enjoyed what he was doing. Ephraim, who was completely overwhelmed, could not resist it, for his body froze as he heard Aram's voice in his mind, "This is the kiss that will make you see."

Then the fox suddenly let go of him and Ephraim fell to the ground.

"What happened?" asked Eria, visibly concerned for her friend.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it was a little uncomfortable for him, but it had to be done."

Quickly the man got up again and was beside himself: "What was that? You cursed, stinking ... Oh, I can see!" Ephraim looked at his hands from both sides, looked up and turned his head. Suddenly he could see the many colors of the world through human eyes. The former god opened his mouth to admire the green leaves swaying in the wind and pink blossoms of the trees, from which hung fruit similar to the peaches on Gaja. He realized how colorful this world was shining and it was much nicer to see it like this than from the distance he was in before. Only now did he also notice the fragrance that the flowers and green grass gave off and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the planet that he too had once helped to create.

"I had no idea how beautiful he was!" he marveled, looking into Aram's eyes. "Thank you so much, good fox! Thank you so much! I apologize for what I was about to say. Please forgive me." The appearance of the two animals pleased the man greatly and he admitted, "I also had no idea what beauties we once created. How could we have been so stupid as to let you fight each other? What were we thinking? You are beautiful!"

"Yeah, it's okay, no problem," the male appeased, "I'm glad if I could help you. But now let's figure out how to find you a permanent place to stay."

"For now, he could stay with us," Eria suggested.

"With us?" asked Ephraim in amazement.

"Yes, with us," the fox then began. "You should know that Eria and I are a couple. I know it's unusual."

Then he looked at the she-wolf with a smile and she added, "But it was love at first sight."

"Yes, I understand. You are both very beautiful animals, too," the human praised. "I am sorry that we gods treated you this way and ignored you. I wish I could undo that."

"Don't be sorry about that. If things had gone differently, Aram and I might never have met, because we wouldn't have been able to understand each other," Eria said.

"I will make up for part of it by giving you freedom before the gods," the human exclaimed, raising his hand and a small glow appeared in his body. The glow split in two and one half flew to each of the animals until the light suddenly disappeared into Aram and Eria's fur.

"What was that?" the silver she-wolf asked, irritated.

"This," Ephraim began, "is the freedom to do anything you want without the gods having any influence over you. They now have no power over you at all. I have given up my attribute of being a god and given it to you."

"What a great gift! We can't possibly accept it," Eria said.

"You can. And I believe that this will be useful to you one day," Ephraim replied.

"But I thought they took away your divine powers?"

"Not all of them," the human spoke.

"Be that as it may. Thank you, Ephraim. Whatever this gift may mean. Now, however, let us go to our home. It will be almost dark by the time we get there," Aram reminded. "Besides, you should get something like a coat. We can't cuddle with you all night," he ordered Ephraim, "after all, I have a vixen to cuddle with."

Ephraim agreed with a smile, "You're right. I'll find a scrap of fur from a carrion."

On her way, Eria killed a small boar and skinned it with her fangs.

"I sure hope that's not fox fur," Aram joked as she rejoined the other two.

"No, that's wild boar. I hope that's all right, Ephraim."

With a nod, the man acknowledged and Aram wondered about what had happened before, "Ephraim, your gift to us ... I see you have kept some of your abilities. Then why didn't you make yourself able to see and speak?"

"Well," the man explained, becoming visibly sad, "I didn't retain many abilities. I obviously could not heal myself. I can only control the light inherent in me, the spark of the gods. By transferring parts of the soul to both of you, I am now mortal and will perish alone as the first and last man on this planet."

"Why do you say that?" the she-wolf wanted to know when they were almost at their destination .

"You have found new friends. Granted, you can't multiply with us, but we will be by your side and always there for you whenever you need us," Aram vowed.

"Thank you very much. I am glad to have found friends like you. Now I have a feeling that can hardly be described: Security probably sums it up best."

After a while, it had already become dark, they arrived at the den of the two animals, which was a stone cave.

The male stated, "This is where we live. This is our home."

"Small but mighty," Eria agreed.

They went inside and while the wolf and fox lay down, the human sat down with them. Then he made a hand gesture above the ground and a kind of luminous sphere appeared, hovering above the earth and enveloping the whole den in a warm light.

"This is beautiful," Eria rejoiced.

"Yes, very romantic," agreed her boyfriend.

The bright play of light irradiated the stone walls of the cave so that the rock glittered. Aram and Eria looked at each other very satisfied and in love. Their friend noticed this and pretended to be tired, to let the animals be for themselves - after all, he did not want to be a burden.

"Sweet dreams, Ephraim. When we go to sleep, we'll come to you," murmured the she-wolf.

"Don't worry. I'm dreaming about my new friends in a new world. Thank you for saving me. I will never forget you. I promise you that. Sleep well."

Ephraim lay down a little apart, while Aram and Eria talked about how sad it must be for the poor human to be the only one of his kind to have to live in an environment that was completely new to him. After all, Ephraim had only the two of them. But they hoped that the other gods would eventually show mercy and take him back in.

"Do you know how much I love you, my darling?" asked Aram his girlfriend after a while.

"Yeah, I guess, kind of like I do you."

"And much more."

They began by kissing each other tenderly and Ephraim, who had turned his back on them to sleep, listened quietly.

"Too bad you don't like to give me puppies," Aram regretted.

"We just have to keep trying. I, for one, will never give up," Eria vowed.

Ephraim thought about it: Unfortunately, they didn't seem to know that they would never have puppies, because, after all, Aram was a fox and Eria was a wolf. A crossing of two species among themselves had never been foreseen by their creators. Suddenly an idea came to the former god, which he wanted to keep to himself for the time being. He still thought a little and listened inevitably to the fact that the two animals caressed each other again and again and finally mated with each other. When they experienced their unmistakable climax, Ephraim fell asleep and the animals cuddled together for quite a while.

The next morning the man woke up, turned around and watched the fox and the she-wolf for a while: they had laid very close to each other and it seemed almost human how intimately they loved each other despite all appearances. They seemed like intertwined silver and gold, like a unity, something inseparable.

First, Aram woke up and winked at Ephraim. "Hello, Ephraim," he said softly.

"Good morning, Aram."

"I hope you slept well," yawned the fox, slowly stretching his limbs.

"Yes, I did, after you made love."

The male looked surprised and said, embarrassed, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to notice."

"Well, why not? It's quite natural and therefore all right. But I have to tell you that your wife can't get puppies from you in the normal way."

"What, how would you know?" startled Aram.

"Well, she is a wolf, you are a fox. We gods had determined that this should not be possible, so as not to mix the races. Nature is colorful enough. After all, nothing should degenerate, if you know what I mean."

Aram sadly confirmed, "I understand."

He looked at Eria and had tears in his eyes when Ephraim suddenly revealed his idea to him: he intended to give her the opportunity to have puppies, even though Aram and she belonged to different species.

"I will use part of my light to make an exception: I am giving you puppies. You have been so good and kind to me that I cannot help but violate certain laws."

The fox's face brightened again when he heard about it. "That would be the greatest gift you could give us. But haven't you given us far too much already?" he asked, as the human motioned for him to be quiet.

Ephraim closed his right hand and then said, "This is my seed, which I will give to your Eria."

A glow shone in his fist and he went to her, looking at the sleeping she-wolf. "She is beautiful, strong and wise," he said.

"Yes, she is," agreed Aram, watching the human touching Eria's womanhood with an open hand: it seemed as if he was spreading the light on her private parts.

"You have to sleep with her afterwards to make it work," he then said.

"If you ask me so ..." the male smiled, "then I will gladly comply with the request."

"Ha! That shouldn't be too hard for you, by my reckoning," the human laughed softly. "Lie back down with her. She'll wake up in a minute. I'll leave you guys alone for a while. Have some fun together. I'll look around the area a bit," he continued speaking.

Ephraim withdrew from the den to let the two animals finish his (and their) work, when Eria opened her eyes and asked, "What's wrong? Where is Ephraim?"

"He wants to look around the area a little bit. He said he probably wouldn't be back until the middle of the day." While that was a bit of a lie, it would definitely help the 'cause'. "So we'd be alone for quite a while, Eria."

"I think I know what you mean. Would you like to go again?" she grinned.

"Oh yes!" replied the fox with a certain eroticism in his voice. "It was so beautiful again yesterday. Is it any wonder I can never get enough of you?"

The animals began to give each other long and tender French kisses. Eria stood up shortly after and turned her backside towards her husband to show him that she was ready for him. She turned her head slightly to the side and smiled sweetly at Aram.

"Come, my strong male!" she commanded, wiggling her butt stimulatingly.

When they finished their mating, they lay back down and talked lovingly to each other:

"Aram."

"Yes, honey?"

"I feel it worked out this time. We're going to have puppies, I just know it."

"Well," sighed the fox, "I hope so. Be patient, it will come. How many puppies do you think there could be? I mean, if it worked this time. What do your female instincts say?"

Eria grinned, "Looking into your beautiful blue eyes like that, there couldn't be enough babies that you give me," eliciting a soft smile from her companion.

"But now we should start organizing something to eat before it gets late," he suggested.

Eria nodded and said, "I'll go look for Ephraim after the hunt. I'm sure he'll be hungry then, too."

"All right, take care of yourself, sweetie."

"You too, my heart."

After saying goodbye, they left their home and each went in a different direction.

Half an eternity seemed to have passed, when the gentle she-wolf was about to give up the search for her human friend, but suddenly heard a loud cough. She followed the sound and sniffed the scent of Ephraim. Then she saw the man lying in a clearing and ran to him, calling his name over and over again.

"Ephraim! Oh no! What happened?" she exclaimed when she was with him.

Her friend lay there covered in blood. His stomach was ripped open and most of his intestines were lying next to him. It was a borderline miracle that he was still alive. Ephraim was breathing heavily and convulsive spasms all over his body made it difficult for him to speak. His injuries were fatal, the she-wolf realized immediately, but tried to convince him that everything would be all right.

"E-Eria!" stuttered Ephraim.

"No, don't speak!" she pleaded with tears in her eyes and began hastily licking the blood from his head as he gasped and rattled.

"You, you found me! A bear ... I just wanted ... S-sorry!"

"Hush, hush! Everything will be all right, Ephraim. I just have to get rid of the blood, then it will be all right," she said hastily and licked the human body frantically.

"No, it will... end. I'm going away from you."