Tumeken reached into his pack, reaching for the water skin he had brought with him. The hot desert sun was beginning to take its toll on the young god, so he drained the rest of the water skin’s contents, hoping to fend off the incredible thirst which had overtook him. After tucking the water skin away, he noticed a vulture devouring the remains of a bloody, unrecognizable corpse. Shooing the vulture away, Tumeken kneeled by the corpse and closely examined the bite marks that decorated the corpse. After some time, he identified the body as a desert jackal, and its killer as a crocodile. Tumeken frowned. Crocodiles loved to venture far from water, but they normally hunted quite close to it. Tumeken couldn’t imagine a reason why a crocodile would be out hunting this far. Unless…. Tumeken stood up, surveying the area. Sure enough, there was a group of crocodiles not that far off, bathing in the river.
The god went over to them, then, kneeling by the river, began to dip his water skin in, but suddenly withdrew when he heard splashes in front of him. Moments later, a enormous green jaw snapped in front of his space. Drawing up to his full height, Tumeken faced his attacker. The crocodile prepared to strike again, opening its jaw to reveal two rows of sharp, pointed teeth, but Tumeken was much too quick for the creature. He grabbed the thing’s jaw, slamming it shut. Then, after bracing himself on the ground, plucked the crocodile right out of the water. It flew gracefully in the air for a moment before meeting the business end of a local cactus. The crocodile howled in pain, thrashing on the ground violently. In response, the other alligators began to attack; water droplets were thrust into the air as a reaction of their moment. Through the mist, Tumeken spotted the outline of a crocodile and rewarded it with a swift kick to its jaw. There was a sickening crack as the crocodile’s jaw broke, then a splash as the crocodile fell back into the water. Tumeken noticed the rest of the crocodiles gaining ground; most of them had managed to get onto the beach and begin to surround him. Tumeken backed up into the center of the circle, his hands raised in surrender. “You fools,“ he chastised the crocodiles. “How can you attack the one who created you? I am your god; it is your duty to obey me…”
The largest of the pack stepped forward from the circle, its cold eyes never leaving Tumeken. “God? Gods are useless. You never helped us when we were in need; what makes you think we shall help you?” The crocodiles behind him cheered, showing their support of the big one’s words. “Enough talk. We will show you what gods are worth.”
The crocodile charged, its mouth open and prepared to chomp down on the god’s ankle, but Tumeken stomped his foot onto the crocodile’s head before it could respond. The beast squirmed beneath his foot, cursing his name and screaming as he struggled to escape, but the god simply pressed his foot deeper into the ground in response. Eventually, the crocodile ceased moving. The sight of their leader’s corpse on the desert sand scared the rest of the pack into obedience, causing them to retreat and view the god with newfound fear. Tumeken turned to them, his eyes ablaze with rage. “You… you vermin, plague on these lands. I will show you… what gods are worth.” This last line caused Tumeken to spit of crocodiles, as if he had to purge himself of the evil he had just uttered. “From now on, all of you scum and any godforsaken children you will have will be bound to the river, and thus bound to me. But you cannot drink from the river; you will forever be cursed to live, touching something you can never have.” The effect was immediate; the crocodiles facing the river were sucked in towards it immediately, clearing Tumeken’s path to freedom.
As he turned to leave, a single crocodile faced him. “Tumeken, god of the desert. In repentance of our kind you so easily killed, I, as well as all crocodiles here, swear to attack if not kill every human who crosses our path who is not in open defiance of your existance.”
Tumeken smiled at the crocodile who spoke. “Then I wish you luck, for humans will not die as easily as your brethren.” Without allowing the crocodile to speak again, Tumeken left towards the ends of the desert in silence.
As Tumeken walked deeper and deeper into the desert, the wind began to pick up, the sand with it. Tumeken attempted to shield his eyes with his hand, but the unforgiving sand bit into his exposed hands and a few stray grains imbedded themselves in his eyes. It got to the point where the god couldn’t press on much further. He did his best to look around for shelter, but could only see the airborne sand. So here’s where it ends…
The sudden, sharp pain that made itself known in Tumeken’s forehead startled him back into reality, and he glanced upwards at the rock that had cut him; it was a cave which could be his saving grace. He felt around for its entrance, then, upon finding it, found himself in a cold, dark area. He reached for his water skin, for his throat was drier than he ever remembered it being but then remembered that he had forgotten to fill it back up. Suddenly, he was overtaken by rage; he hurled it against the cavern walls as hard as he could, and then fell back onto the ground, grumbling to himself. “I’m going to die here without the Spirits…”
“You don’t need it, you know.” A small voice came from nowhere, and Tumeken spun to face its owner, but it was nowhere to be seen.
“You can end this, now. Wake up, Tumeken.” This time Tumeken noticed a tiny beetle who seemed to be watching him.
“Wake up…” Everything happened at that instant; reality broke apart all around him. The only thing he could see was that same scarab, staring at him and whispering “Wake up”… Then, even that began to waver and break; Tumeken found himself in a shattering world. The beetle that was watching his began to burrow again, but this time Tumeken managed to grab a hold of the creature. “What are you doing?”
The beetle stared at him. “You do not belong here, Tumeken. You belong at home, with family…”
The world around him was cracking and falling apart, but not before Tumeken understood what the beetle wanted of him. It took the form of a young man with dark hair and darker eyes; one resembling Tumeken himself. “Watch over my people well, Scarabras.”
The last seams that were holding the world together burst, and Tumeken found himself in a world devoid of light or laughter. All that stood around him was an infinite darkness. But this world fell apart as well, and Tumeken found himself surrounded by bricks of various types, everything from limestone to granite. He rose suddenly, staring at the woman who was hovering over him. It was his wife. The two hugged passionately, Tumeken mumbling various details about his journey as his wife cried.


Questions, Critiscisms, comments, new endings...