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The earth beneath the ruined shrines quaked with incredible force, stirring the water in the bucket but remaining just controlled enough to keep it upright. From a tumble of rocks on the edge of the outcropping, the great and powerful figure of the God of the Earth appeared. It had been long since he had been stirred from his lonesome rest, and even longer still since he had granted a gift to the mortals that once came to him so often.
But Evers had been ever so patient. He looked down at the blue stallion now, chuckling lowly as he recalls how he had introduced himself to young Eios. Six horned, yes, but legendary? Time would tell, but the God of the Earth would always remember him. A creature as old and wise as he was too kind to forget.
"After so many seasons, you have at last returned," the God stated with a warm smile and a shaking out of his black mane. The brown tips, made to match the season, caught the low light of the lava below, and the strings of water that dripped from his figure made him seem to shine. The God let his eyes wander over the scene, passing briefly over the two pups and then settling on the phoenix standing so innocently beside Evers. Did the colt inside know the extent of his magic? Surely not. Though the God understood Evers' reasoning for the compromise, and was impressed with his cleverness, something about the treatment of the child worried him. "Young Darwin's fire," he began, pulling the name from the minds of the pair and piecing it together, "will suit my purposes. But I urge you to treat him with respect, even in his youth. He is not to be a pawn to you and your brothers as he would have been to your mother." The God's warning is clear, his intention surely well-understood. He hid nothing from them, only spoke with bare honesty.
But having said his piece, the God of the earth pulled his head back with an arch of his neck, close his eyes, and began softly to hum. From the bottom of the bucket he pulled the earth, piling it in four columns and shaping from them the quick legs of the hound Evers desired. From the water he pulled her magic. He lifted each drop as a unit and let the liquid splash across Darwin's fiery chest, stealing away some of his flame to create the being's heart. Water and earth molded together to create the image of a young pup, fire settled in the young creature's chest and began to pulse with its life.
The breath of life, a simple exhalation from the God of the Earth, was all that was left in the process. And then, suddenly, the watery spectre became reality, tumbling forth to Evers on the oversized paws of a pup just learning to walk, heading joyously towards her bonded. "Care for her well, Evers," the God said with a swift nod before stepping back and away. He parted in a shower of earth, his task complete.
[[Congratulations! Evers has been gifted with a (for all intents and purposes) newborn greyhound pup. In two weeks you may consider their bonding complete, and they will be linked. Until then Evers should protect the pup, and may hunt for her if he chooses to.]]
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[O] Epilogue to a Lengthy Task. [Darwin, Earth God, Quest Return]
