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Balance of the Gods Part 2

By Cimmaron Spirit

Commission for Xilimyth

**WARNING: Contains nudity, macro growth, muscle growth, magic, Gods doing God things and other such things. So if you don't like that, then go find another story. If you do, then enjoy!**

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The massive stone building that had been the great temple to the gods was now closed off to all but a select few people, with armed guards standing around it. No civilians were allowed in, no one who remained inside was allowed out.

Rumors of what had happened filtered out anyway. Apparently there was a fight between the guards and some attackers. The sounds of battle had been heard from inside the great temple, of clashing swords and groan of dying men and women, of ferocious roars and panicked screams. Foolhardy bandits come to steal the treasures? A jealous rival city seeking to replace this city of the Goddess Kiya? Mercenaries of a mysterious villain trying to undermine the whole nation? Believers of a false god trying to spread their heresy? Whoever it was, the priests and priestess of the temple complex wouldn't come out to say what had happened, allowing the flights of fancy and town gossips to say whatever they want.

Inside the sand colored stone walls built over generations sat a fifteen foot tall cheetah with wings. Once the Head Guard of the Head Priestess with the same name as the Goddess of Life, Xilimyth was now a monster. An over muscled, over busty, under clothed, murderous monster.

The priests, the soothsayers, the diviners and the wise men were called to come and look Xilimyth over and tried to determine why she suddenly nearly tripled in height and turned into a fearsome giant capable of grabbing a man in one hand and throwing them clear across the room were at a loss. It was magic, they were sure, possibly even a god's gift. But they had no idea which of the six gods it could have been. As a follower of Kiya, it would have made sense for it to be her, but Kiya was not the kind to create mighty titans to wage war. Kiya was the Goddess of Life, of Peace. Maybe Mut, the God of Death and War did this: fighters and warriors was what he was all about. But why would he? He's a rival of Kiya in the heavens, true, but trying to make servants of one god defect to another god was something that hadn't been done for centuries, since the last great wars between the cities of the Nile. A long lasting peace between the cities has been observed, so why would Mut try to upend that now? And how can that be reconciled with the fact that the attackers had been followers of Mut, so Xilimyth claimed one of them told her before he died?

As the old men and women argued and debated over what Xilimyth's sudden growth spurt meant, the cheetah herself was not consulted, did not have her opinion aired: she was just to provide any facts that they demanded, and anytime she tried to say something, everyone else ignored her, considering her "uneducated," corrupted," or even "unfit to serve anymore."

The later really stung her. Xilimyth already felt miserable for letting the aggressive, feral, blood-thirsty side of her out as she fought the assassins sent by Mut. The disapproval from her lady, the Priestess Kiya, for killing all the soldiers was like a thousand knives driven into her back.

Why was she so angry about that? The murderers had killed all the other guards that Xilimyth had lead, the men and women that vowed to protect Kiya and the temple with their lives.

Was it because of the Balance of the Gods she was so concerned about? Did she expect to die?

Xilimyth had no answers. No one would talk to her about it, and she was left to try to piece it all together. She just couldn't figure out what happened, and why.

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God of Death Mut, what have say you?

Ah, Goddess of Life Kiya. Whatever do you mean?

Don't play with me. I know very well what you are doing.

Whatever do you mean? It was wayward followers of mine that attacked your temple. I had nothing to do with it.

How can we trust a deity that peddles in violence and lies? You wish to undermine me, to upset the Balance of the Gods. You've been trying to do this for all eternity, no matter how many times you have failed.

Goddess of Life Kiya, why would I upset the Balance? It's balanced for a reason.

I've heard you use that line on me many a time before over the millenia, God of Death Mut. I do not buy it.

Assumptions will get you nowhere, Goddess.

It's not an assumption if it's a pattern. End your foolishness now, or you will face the wrath of all the Gods.

Since I have done nothing, I have nothing to end. But, if it will make you feel better, I will tell my followers to cease. We shall see what happens after that.

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Kiya sat in her chambers staring out the window to the dark sky, a long, light white cotton gown draped over her shoulders and flowing daintily over the couch and cushions she laid on, waving in the light breeze that came through the window. But the calm sereneness of the night did not equal to what was going on in the Priestess' mind.

She was still livid at Xilimyth, her most trusted guard, even though it's been almost two days since the attack. How could she dare try to undermine the will of the gods? Kiya, the Head Priestess of the Goddess Kiya, should know more about the will of the Gods than a fighter. And her reading of the signs that day said someone was to die, even if it was vague then about who it may be. The attack of the assassins moments later just confirmed that it must have been her.

She had studied the symbols of the gods and how to divine their wishes for years. She could not have been wrong.

Could she?

Kiya stood up, and went to the scrolls that filled the room. She traced her finger over dozens, sorted carefully, cross referenced between the six Deities, their rituals, their symbols, their histories, and everything else that was needed to know.

She pulled out the scroll for the God of Death Mut and his symbols, and unrolled it. The papyrus crackled as she did from age and stiffness, as this was one of the few rolls she rarely looked at. Each symbol was drawn out, each meaning laid out clear. The sword, the symbol of death and destruction... and violent upheaval. Great and sudden changes.

"I don't remember that," Kiya muttered to herself, reading over the scroll again. Most symbols usually had multiple meanings, and sometimes overlapped (the God of Water Ma'an, the God of Fire Nar, the Goddess of Earth Ard, and the Goddess of Wind Riah all had symbols meaning a sudden change as well), so it wasn't unusual that Mut had one too, right?

So, was Xilimyth's sudden growth the sudden change that the oracle from earlier meant?

Kiya had spent all day trying to unravel the mystery of what she discovered earlier, and furious with Xilimyth for possibly upsetting the balance of the gods, that she was exhausted. Kiya shook her head, blew out several candles and prepared herself for bed, putting on a shorter cotton nightgown to allow her to sleep easier. Tomorrow she would sort it all out.

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In the temple courtyard below Kiya's chambers, Xilimyth was not sleeping well. Besides the fact that the open space was drafty, with the moon shining through the open roof and she was much too tall for a bed or blanket that could cover her whole body, much less a pillow meant that she had to curl up on the hard ground, trying to find some shut eye.

But her mind kept wandering, trying to figure out what she was to do now. Could she still be a guard for Kiya? How much iron or bronze would it take to make her a new sword, much less a set of armor? Would Kiya even allow her to do so? Well, what else could Xilimyth do? She had been training from a young age to be a fighter and a guard, and at her size farming or becoming a craftsperson was well out of the question.

All these questions were rolling in her head, crashing against each other, like massive waves on the ocean far to the north. Nothing she could think of would calm her nerves, or provide an answer to everything that happened, and what is going to happen.

But the click of a small pebble on the polished floors made Xilimyth spring to her feet, arms and claws out to prepare to defend herself, the hairs on the back of her neck rising up, her wings unfurling. Even at her new, massive size, she was still incredibly limber and athletic.

A shadowy figure in a robe stood at the entrance to the temple, silhouetted by the moon.

"Ease yourself, guard," the figure said in a deep, commanding voice. "I mean you nor the temple no harm."

"State your name and intention then," Xilimyth growled.

"I'm here as a friend, to help."

"I don't need help."

"Oh but I think you do," the man said, lifting a hand from the dark robes and making a small gesture.

Suddenly Xilimyth staggered and nearly fell, her metal clad hand crashing to the ground. She looked down, startled by the appearance of a full armor set over her whole body, with a large sword on her hip.

"W-what? H-how?" Xilimyth stammered, looking at everything on her body, feeling the metal. It looked exactly like her old armor, just made many times bigger to fit her body.

"A Head Guard is only as good as their uniform," the figure said, coming closer. It didn't even look like he was walking, his shoulders and head so square and straight, more like he was floating.

"You are a very powerful magician," Xilimyth said. "But I sense you are not here just to provide me with armor."

"It is a gift, to show you I have no ill intentions to you, Kiya, or the priestess," the figure said. "Will you allow me to converse with you now?"

"I-I guess," Xilimyth said, sitting back down cross legged on the ground. The shadowy figure came up in front of the cheetah-dragon hybrid.

"I know you have many questions," the figure began. "I can provide the answers you seek, baring only that the Gods above will let me, but I can only answer three."

Xilimyth pondered for a moment. She had many, but most of them all boiled down to one: "Who was responsible for making me grow and why?"

The shadowman stood for a moment. "I shall accept that as your first question." The figure then waved his hand, and illuminated the area, allowing a visual representation of what happened earlier to play out again. The assassins, the guards engaged in mortal combat before suddenly Xilimyth, consumed by her duty and an increasing violent bloodlust, finally outgrew her armor and all the attackers. "The God of Death Mut gave you this, a tiny fraction of His power, to allow you to fight against His fallen followers."

That made some sense... but raised more questions. Why were the attackers considered "fallen?" Did they disobey him? Did they misinterpret his symbols? Or, was this a trick?

Xilimyth shook her head. That wasn't so important. "My next question: is the Head Priestess in further danger?"

Once again the black, hooded figure stood entirely still for a moment. "I shall accept that as your second question." The figure waved his hand again, this time showing Kiya, alone, in the temple grounds, as many dark, ominous shapes gathered in the shadows, seeking to surround the sphynx cat, who looked nervous, and terrified, but still stoic and accepting of her fate before she was entirely consumed by the shadows. "The Head Priestess Kiya is still in grave danger from many threats that seek to cut her life unnaturally short."

Xilimyth gulped. She couldn't, wouldn't allow that to happen. Not on her watch! Kiya may not accept what happened, and Xilimyth's rather violent measures, but Xilimyth had swore a duty to protect the priestess, no matter what.

The shadow figure raised his hand. "Before you ask your next question, I must warn you: few mortals have the ability to change the fates of other mortals if the Gods determine, for the sake of the Balance, that certain actions must be taken. So, you must choose your next question very, very, carefully."

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My young priestess.

Kiya blinked, opening her eyes. She was sitting, at a golden table, in a golden chair, in a room that shone with incredible light. She blinked again. It was amazingly bright, like sun reflecting off polished bronze and gold.

And before her stood another sphynx cat, in a golden robe that trailed behind her.

"Goddess Kiya?" the priestess asked.

Yes, it is me.

"What... what is going on? Have I died in my sleep?"

No, and I pray that will not happen for a long time yet.

Priestess Kiya looked around, to see a cup of tea in front of her, though she was sure it wasn't there a second ago.

Please take advantage of my hospitality, the goddess said, without her mouth moving. Yet the words were heard as clear as day to the priestess.

"I, uh, thank you," the priestess said, taking the cup and drinking from it. "But where am I?"

You are still in your bed, the goddess said. But you have many questions, and many dangers are all around, and it is only fair that I help my devoted followers in their worst trials and tribulations.

Kiya took a drink. It was her perfect taste: sweet, smooth, and just the right temperature. "The Gods have not intervened in the affairs of mortals for many decades, centuries even, so why are you now?"

Because discord and hatred have riven the Balance. It is in flux, and great danger befalls all mortals. Only you can help right this.

"Me? What must I do?" The priestess asked.

Goddess Kiya summoned a large orb, hanging just at eye level where Priestess Kiya sat.

The God of Death Mut is undermining the Balance, not like he has done for many generations of mortals. The last time he tried to userp the balance, a cataclysmic war came to heaven and earth. I will not allow that to happen without an attempt to stop it.

"But... wouldn't that mean...you know... killing?"

My dear Priestess, the Goddess said, the orb vanishing and the Goddess sitting at the table opposite Kiya. There is a difference between fighting for the sake of death and destruction, as my compatriot relishes, and fighting in defense of ideals and personal safety.

Kiya set her tea down. "But, life is life. So it says in the scrolls with your name on them."

And death is death. All who lives in the mortal plain will die in time. The Goddess Kiya turned. As much as Mut struggles to take more influence and power from me in the heavens and on earth, he doesn't understand that he cannot fully win, for there will always be some life to continue, to end vicious and unnecessary death in bloody destructive wars caused just for the sake of destruction. The Balance will eventually right itself, with or without divine help.

Priestess Kiya swallowed nervously. She had lived her life for years as a pacifist, rejecting violence and war at every chance she could. She was fully prepared to give her life for those ideals when her ritual reading said that someone was about to die. But Xilimyth... the cheetah was defending her, fighting not for death or destruction, but to save her, to protect the temple from heathen intruders, an ideal greater than simple chaos...

"I... I was wrong about Xilimyth," Kiya admitted. "But the violence she caused... it was more than just simple fighting. There was something else to it."

The Head Guard Xilimyth had been granted power from Mut to fight against what he claims were false followers of his, worshippers that he claims attacked you without his guidance. I do not believe it, but all the evidence seems to show it is true.

"But why would he want to give some of his power to Xilimyth, the Head Guard of the Temple of Kiya? That seems rather unorthodox of him."

Mut is many things. Devious and conniving among them, the Goddess Kiya said. He always has plans and machinations in progress at all times. This wasn't him being generous. He did this for a reason.

"But what could..." Priestess Kiya began, before her eyes went wide. "Xilimyth! He wants Xilimyth!"

The Goddess Kiya solemnly nodded. Go now, my child. Help preserve the balance.

The golden figure then stood up, and stretched out a finger, before giving a gentle tap on the forehead. Go wake up, and save all you can.

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Xilimyth had thought long and hard. What other question, request could she ask for? Asking for Kiya to be kept safe would be too much for even this magician with the power to consult with the Gods. She had no use for material or social gains, so gold or prestige didn't interest her.

But, Xilimyth could ask for improving herself, whatever she needed to do to help Kiya...

"Magician, I have a request."

"Say your words, and I shall see if I can grant them."

Xilimyth took a deep breath. "Can you grant me, myself, more strength and power to do what I must?"

The shadow figure, once again stood still. "I shall accept this as your third and final question." The figure stretched out both arms his robe somehow standing on end and not sliding down his arms as he did so. "Your request has been granted!"

The shadow figure then dropped his hands, pointing them straight at Xilimyth.

Xilimyth's eyes went wide as heat and shocks and pain coursed through her body. Her body began to lift up, sheer magic power making her levitate above the ground. With a loud roar, Xilimyth's wings outstretched, her legs and arms went straight, and soon she began to grow larger and larger. More and more feet were added to her height, more muscles built upon the already impressive physique she had before. Even her breasts began growing larger again.

The armor this time did keep up with the growth, morphing and changing as it did so.

The pain, the fire, the anger... Xilimyth began to feel her eyes and arms twitch, her claws slipping out of her paws and lengthening and sharpening.

"Yes, my dear Xilimyth," the shadowy figure said with a low laugh as he directed immense, divine powers to fill up the cheetah. "Yes! You shall fullfill your duty, to God of Death Mut!"

"W-what? What!" Xilimyth bellowed as her head popped out past the top of the temple courtyard, her body closing in on thirty feet tall, double her height from before.

"You have given yourself to the God of Death Mut with your plea. And he has seen fit to reward you, to grant you all the power you crave!" The shadowy man bellowed. "The power to do his bidding, what needs to be done!"

"No! I just... arrrgh!" she cried out in pain. "I just wanted to protect Kiya!" Xilimyth bellowed. "I... must..."

"That isn't what you asked," the magician said.

"It's.... Gaaaah! It's what I meant!" Xilimyth bellowed. Her torso by now had escaped the top of the temple, making her at least fifty feet tall, and still growing rapidly. "I... I... need... to..." She blinked, her eyes glowing red in anger and fury. "I must..."

"It is too late," the magician said, his voice still clear to Xilimyth. "You have-"

"You have tricked her!" Kiya bellowed, making the magician lose is focus for a moment to see the Priestess Kiya standing on the stairs that lead to her chambers, with her staff in her hands.

"You are too late, priestess," the shadowy figure said. "Soon Xilimyth, who you abandoned, will be an agent of destruction and death, and will participate in the Rebalance the Gods!"

Kiya, in furry, outstretched her staff with the iron tip, and said an old, ancient phrase long since unknown to all but those that studied magic and the gods.

Suddenly a bright blue light emerged from the tip of her staff, and zapping through the temple, piercing the shadowy figure.

With an echoing scream, the magician suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving not even ash.

A moment later, the sixty foot tall cheetah fell to the ground, causing a massive crater in the center of the temple that caused pillars to rock and shake and collapse, and Kiya to tumble to her feet in the mortal made earthquake.

Xilimyth panted, but let out another roar, her eyes blazing red. The armor she had been wearing that had grown with her suddenly melted away to nothing, the magic that had granted it having run out. Now four times bigger than she was before, nude and angry and in rage, Xilimyth swung a massive arm through a wall, sending the work of generations of craftsmen to crumble and fall to the ground. She swung her other arm to make the whole bigger, and she began to stumble her way out of the temple.

"Xilimyth!" Kiya yelled, trying to get the cheetah's attention. "Xili!"

Kiya took a deep breath, and said another ancient spell. This time a light orange streak of light came from her staff, hitting the giant cheetah right between her wings. With an otherworldy cry of pain and hurt, Xilimyth fell to the ground, landing on store houses and quiet courts of law that had been closed for the night.

Many guards and civilians had come out to see the comotion, and a crowd had gathered around the stunned body of the massive cheetah. Kiya, running as fast as she could, went to Xilimyth's head. She was now big enough to easily eat the tiny cat, but Kiya had no fear. She knew that Xilimyth had been knocked out for now, stunned and rendered unconscious.

"Sleep now, Xilimyth," Kiya softly whispered. "Sleep. And know that I forgive you.

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I failed again, God of Death Mut.

That you did.

I convinced her take the power, but...

But your tongue slipped, and the Priestess came to save her. Just a bit more, and that cheetah would have been nothing more than a feral beast for me.

What... what do we do now?

We are not doing anything. You are dismissed.

What? No! What! I can help you-

Help is so difficult to get, especially from mortals. But no matter. The seeds are sown, the crop is sprouting. Even if it hasn't been fertilized properly, the harvest will come soon.

And then I will have my vengence!