Followers of the Godbeast 2: Akagak the Kraken

The Stonehammer tribe had peace for a time. The village had harvested any parts of the dead victim of Arragunn's wrath, using the dead insect’s giant brittle shell as armor or even roofs for their huts. When it had started to rot, it was left out as a gruesome scarecrow for any would-be challengers to the apish Godbeast. Priestess Leega saw that Arragunn healed properly. His holy powers saw that he licked his various scratches and bites, sealing them up in his leathery hide and thick fur to return to his visibly invincible state. Leega visited him often, praising him with joyous shouts, wild dancing and gifts of meat.

It was some time later that the cold days came. The snow slowly but steadily piled up until a few inches were on the ground. It was almost nothing to Arragunn and the tribe had enough furs to dress warmly for the season. Their Godbeast's giant trails were clear in the snow, and even the children would wander off to play and wrestle in the pits of his sacred footsteps. Between the chill and Arragunn's established dominance over the area, they were able to maintain their comfortable yet brutal lifestyle.

It was an eventful day as Priestess Leega stoically watched one of her kind executed. The cool air gave her a bit of pink to her pale cheeks, her body filling her with strong blood to ward off any spirits of the cold. The guilty man had crushed the skull of his tribesman over a shiny trinket, and infighting would not be tolerated in her tribe. She was unflinching as the spear plunged through his eye, though she noted that Alaq made a fine executioner. The former Venom Clan member always did the job with one clean stroke. Perhaps the Venoms did have their uses. What actually grabbed her attention was when some others approached. They wore thick wool robes over their skins, but she could see light skin speckled with red and black spots. Certainly not of her tribe.

Leega glanced to some of her guards and gave a short, assertive grunt. They grunted back and armed themselves, moving quickly towards the intruders without breaking into a charge. One of her trusted speakers went after them, clearly staying behind them and their shields. Leega watched from a distance, though she was sure her warmer garb combined with her strangely pale hair and features made her stand out as an obvious priestess. It made her nearly blend in with the snowy air. The speaker used words on the visitors, and she heard more words returned. Her broken vocabulary picked up pieces of it: "peace or war," "home," "far," win," and "strong." The speaker translated it to a few short noises to the guards, who parted and lowered their guard. The few visitors were lightly armed and no real threat.

The main force stayed back while their woman stepped forward. While pale (but not so pale as Leega), she was nearly covered in tattoos. Some were images of beasts while others were merely spirals or long tendrils that danced along her skin. It made her more covered in the black and red ink than she was bare skin, even her cheeks and forehead lined with the dark patterns. She reached under her cloak and held out a stone knife before dropping it into the snow. A gesture of peace, because Leega would have been more even suspicious if she were unarmed. No one traveled in this world without a weapon. There were far too many enemies.

"Speak," the tattooed priestess said, gesturing back and forth between them. She made a grasping gesture and pulled her hands towards herself, indicating a taking.

"Thief?" Leega replied, her expression remaining serious. Trade was one thing, but she would give out nothing if she gained nothing. They were a well off tribe, but not so much that they could spare any charity.

"Take give," the woman said. She tapped her collar bone and recited her name in the standard fashion. "Metui," she said, then pointed out into the snowy valleys. "Big dead. Dead... god. Yes?"

Leega nodded. "Arragunn," she said with drawn out reverence. "Big god. Most big."

Metui actually nodded. "Big." She peeled back the sleeve of her robe, showing one of her more elaborately detailed tattoos. Many tentacles rose from waving lines, grabbing screaming men and several unclear creatures. "Akagak," Metui said with a similar reverence. She ran a finger over the waving lines. "Sea Land."

"Not fight?" Leega said, looking slightly confused.

"Many god," Metui assured, showing no threat to her or her own beastly cult. "Can not fight. Land. Sky. Too far." She grabbed and pulled her hands again. "Take fight."

"Arragunn..." Leega mused, looking over the tattooed woman. She pulled her cloak on tight again to keep out the cold. "Akagak?" It did seem like a sign. Two of the same, perhaps. The fact that she had never seen the members of the Sea Land tribe told her that they were either far off or not a true threat. Otherwise they would have acted. "For," Leega insisted, pointing at her feet. “Take.”

Metui nodded and gestured back to one of her men. She stepped back to a comfortable distance as they came forward and threw down something wrapped in a blanket that landed with a heavy thump. He unfolded it, revealing a fat, silver-blue fish that was as big as a young man. "Many," Metui said, gesturing to the fish and back behind her. "Many swim time."

Leega didn't understand the word swim, but the fat meat was tempting. She waved a hand for her to wait as she hissed to a few of her guards. "Arragun." They picked up the meat and while the guards watched the visiting priestess, Leega consulted her Godbeast. The cave reeked of its might more than ever as Arragunn left his cave less and less in this weather, a holy season of rest based on his wisdom. He rose to tower over her, sniffing at the air as she laid out the gift for him. Arragunn tentatively sniffed at it, casting his holy judgement upon it before he scooped it up and ate it in a few tentative bites. He gave an amused grunt and gave his usual approving gesture; stomping in place and thumping his fists on the ground. He wished for more. Surely it was a sign. Leega matched his sounds, hopping to make her heels thump on the cool stone. She grunted through her teeth and slapped her belly. She gnashed her teeth aggressively, telling him it would be fought for. Her rallying praises and pleading made his divine might swell until he gave a bellowing roar that could be heard from the village. Leega smiled and embraced his arm, scratching and kissing the sweaty fur in delight. They would go to war for their new allies and teach all the might of Arragunn.

Leega and her Stonehammers packed for the journey quickly. By the morning, they had their supplies pulled together and met the short distance away where the Sea Landers had camped out. While the Stonehammers carried Leega's goods in their crude packs and sleds, the priestess made a sour expression at the sight of the Sea Land camp. They had fires and tents up, but there were other creatures idling nearby. They were tall and long, slightly similar to the wolves they used to hunt but much bigger. The speakers met to coordinate once again, but Leega grabbed her representative and gave a concerned grunt as she pointed at the animals. The speakers traded words again and her translator Yum looked back at her.

"Horse," he said, gesturing to the animals. "Up. Carry."

Priestess Leega's face soured at the ridiculous idea. She spit in the snow in distaste as Yum made his excuses for her. The Sea speaker turned and clicked his tongue to his people. Several took the cue to grab the rope attached to their beasts and sit on their backs in a strangely wide-legged position. Leega shook her head at the strange act. The Sea Landers stifled their laughter and with another exchange, Yum returned to his priestess.

"Take up horse?" he offered with a gesture to one of the hooved animals.

Leega shook her head sternly. She gave a few short but booming whoops, and the horses became unsettled as Arragunn's thundering footsteps approached. It shook itself off, the flurry of snow splashing over the camp as the visitors stared up at his glorious form. Arragunn looked them over and licked his fangs, but Leega rested her hands on his wrist assuringly. She gave him some gentle whines, urging him on while insisting she was safe. With a smug look towards the horsemen, Leega tugged on the fur of his wrist. Arragunn scooped her up and set her on his mighty shoulder, letting her rest on her much larger mount. Metui laughed at the otherwise ominous sight and clicked her tongue, calling the rest to mount or hike as they were able.

Their trip was just over a day by foot, though clearly the mounts would make it much faster. Talk was naturally very light among them, but with the priestess' approval things were practically jovial for a pair of Godbeast cults. The soldiers postured and compared weapons in a more sporting manner than actual aggression. The seafolk favored long spears to the Stonehammers' clubs and axes, mainly between fishing and fighting from horseback. The speakers talked cheerily as they joked and taught each other new words. With the size of Arragunn, everyone gave it and Leega a wide berth, but Metui flashed the two of them proud smiles now and then. It was unusual to find a priestess she could actually reason with, but Leega found it assuring.

They camped overnight and were just loading up for the final leg of the journey when there came a low trumpeting sound. They looked up from their meals with concern, but Metui rose and ran to her horse. "Sea Land!" she urged quickly. She only hesitated when a keening cry rang through the chilly air. Even Arragunn squared its shoulders and snorted a burst of steam from its broad nostrils. Metui drove on her horse while Leega quickled shimmied up the god-ape's arm before it lumbered after Metui and her horsemen.

The seaside settlement came into view about the same time as their enemy. The village was larger than the Stonehammers', lining the shore with some beached boats big enough to carry several of their horses comfortably. Its inhabitants could just be seen fleeing as some echoing crashed hit their homes. A large shadow was cast over the village, long and wide as the snow was whipped around by its flapping wings. As Leega drew closer, she saw that it was not a giant bird but a fuzzy beast with wide ears and even wider wings. The bat was bigger than an airplane, its talons releasing another boulder to crash into the village.

Leega could see why the flying brown monster would be a problem for an ocean-dwelling deity. Even the colossal Arragunn couldn't reach a foe so high up. At least, not on his own. While Metui ran ahead to shout orders to her people and organize them into an escape, Leega gave a pleading grunt as she bounced on her deity's shoulder. The great ape grabbed one of the needled trees and tore it up by the roots with ease, flinging it towards the flying Godbeast. It crashed into the ground as it fell short, but it got its attention while Arragunn was already uprooting another. It let out a few sharp barks, seemingly trying to repel the ape by being a nuisance. Arragunn hurled his second tree with better precision, crashing it against the scrawnier being's chest. It was rattled and dropped some distance before it flapped and regained its balance, but it tilted its head curiously. It flew away from the village before landing on the ground, hunched over while its rather spindly body still shook the ground, kicking up waves of snow around it. The blasphemous godbeast shook itself off from the snow as Leega saw a darker shape move along its body. With a curt grunt, Arragunn raised a finger and let her grab on before he lowered her to the ground. The Godbeasts squared off, grunting and hissing as their worshipers reached the ground and approached each other, giving the beasts a wide berth.

This priestess wore all black, from her basic skins to her long and trailing cloak. Even her brown hair was scrubbed with something gritty and black like coal or old oil to make it darker. She had a leather belt that was lined with teeth of various sizes. Some were human, others wild animals. One looked excessively large by her hip, possibly a small tooth from a Godbeast such as her own. She was matured, much like Leega, making her chest full and her body soft around its muscles. Her legs were long and lean, ending in high warm boots but with enough skin exposed to be a marvel that she wasn’t cold. More of the dark substance smeared gritty trails under her eyes and on her fingernails.

"Filthy Godbeast," the dark woman scoffed, eying up the shaggy ape before her. The bat did seem to be rather smooth and clean in comparison, though that struck Leega as making it look weak and spoiled like an infant. True Godbeast Keenra!" The bat stood up on its hind legs, expanding its wings like a tremendous shield on either side as it let out a warbling shriek.

"Weak. Small," Leega defied. She thumped her fist against her chest, making her breasts quake beneath her animal skins. "Arragunn!" she declared. The ape gave a few short hoots before she beat her breast again. "Arragunn!" she repeated slightly louder. Arragunn began to stomp and rap his knuckles on the snow, his mouth and nostrils spraying thick steam as she fired him up. Satisfied with his show of force Leega folded her arms. "Keenra feed Arragunn. Weak meat."

"Fio and Keenra strongest!" the dark woman snarled as she stepped closer to her obvious rival. "Make in pieces!" She grabbed for Leega, but she stepped back and avoided the attack.

"Priestess Leega!" the pale-haired priestess replied in both a greeting ad battle cry. She buried a fist into the rival priestess' belly, steam bursting from her lips as it knocked the warm air out of her lungs. Fio gave a short whistle under her breath before turning sharply on one heel, hammering Leega across the face with a well-aimed cross.

Responding to her whistle, the bat scampered out towards its fellow Godbeast. It snapped with its piggish but long-toothed mouth, moving with surprising speed between its scurrying little legs and long, arm-like wings. It circled quickly and lashed out with its shorter hind-claws, but Arragunn swept its heavy arm and forced it back with hardly a scratch. He reached in with an open palm and caught the big-eared beast, shoving its face down into the snow. While it seemed trapped, its long wings proved to have plenty of reach as they whipped and flapped, striking Arragunn's head until he retreated, disoriented.

Fio and Leega traded a few punches, but Fio had seized the momentum behind her dizzying blow. She ducked low and shoulder-checked Leega hard enough to drop her to the ground. Fio swept in after her, stomping and kicking at her body while Leega flailed to deflect was strikes she could. "Weak priestess weak Godbeast!" Fio hissed as she landed her heel right against one of Leega's more tender organs. The white priestess let out a pained cry and tried to curl up, but Fio caught her by the edge of her fur coat. She tried to force her back into the vulnerable position on her back, but Leega shoved and struggled too fiercely. The best that she got was ripping away one of Leega's larger furs, letting her tumble over and gasp loudly as her naked breasts fell into the snow. Fio let out a defiant laugh as she flung the fur carelessly off into the cold.

Keenra lunged after Arragunn, landing a few shallow bites and scratches before it was driven back by a clumsy, loping swing. Keenra scuttled back and with a mocking shriek, it buried its hind claws into the snow. It beat its wings to force itself into the air, ripping out a few hunks of stone to fly up with it. With surprising accuracy, its stubbier claws pelted Arragunn with the rocks, making the ape grunt and flinch away. With another shriek, Keenra landed farther off and rose again with another larger rock. It flapped its way back up and let its projectile fly, but Arragunn caught this one. As soon as it threw it aside, Keenra was already dive bombing him, screeching and rapidly raking its claws to leave several bloody streaks along its leathery chest.

The cold air on her breasts didn't slow Leega down. It simply added to her hatred and fury. She bolted at Fio and grabbed for her crudely dyed hair, but the bat priestess caught her hands and wrestled with them as she shoved them aside. She drove a quick knee into Leega's aching side, and the cringe of pain on her face convinced her to drive some more into her ribs. Leega crumbled to her knees to avoid any further hits to the injured spot, but she also used her new position to swing an uppercut between her legs. Leega's fist vanished beneath the loincloth and she felt a satisfying softness as her knuckles dug into the cloaked priestess' womanhood.

Arragunn snorted and shook its head, trying to shrug off the increasing amount of bumps and scratches it was gaining in the fight. Keenra shrieked and few in a wide arc, keeping the ape circling in place to keep up with it. With a quick swoop, the monster bat went around its grasp and landed on his opponent's back. Its thing but strong wings enveloped Arragunn, entangling it as it buried its fangs into its neck.

The bulkier godbeast's thick fur and muscle saved it from any fatal damage, but the bite drew heavy blood. Keenra pulsated as it started to gorge on its blasphemous meal, leaving Arragunn to struggle with its enveloping wings. It had underestimated its fellow monster's strength, however, and its wings were slowly forced back outward. There was a brittle crack as one of the many joints to its wing bent in the wrong direction and Keenra broke off with a frantic series of shrieks. It had barely recoiled when Arragunn whirled around and smashed it in the ribs with a wrecking ball of a punch. The relatively lightweight bat gave some retching coughs as it beat its wings again, but it could barely get off the ground as it hacked up large, steaming pools of blood on the snow.

Fio howled and fell to her knees, clutching her pussy as Leega rose. The snowy-haired priestess was holding the aching side as she growled at her foe. "Bleed like Keenra," Leega growled as she grabbed Fio by her face. She dug her fingers into her cheek and temple, adding to Fio's agony as she repeatedly punched her in the chest. The dark priestess' breasts bounced from each weighty blow, giving louder yet feebler gasps with each strike. She finally managed to scramble forward, pushing Leega's arms aside long enough to bite into the chilled skin of her breast. Leega screamed in piercing agony as Fio bit down with all her might, drawing blood across her teeth and Leega's teat that ran around her hardened nipple. Leega grabbed her head in both hands this time, squeezing her skull while her fingers clawed at the gnawing priestess' eyes. Fio finally pulled back with a pained grunt, spitting the blood onto the snow with a disgusted expression.

Leega moved to finish the winded woman, but Fio removed and threw her cloak into the face of her rival. Leega grabbed and flung it aside, but the coal-stained priestess pounced on her in the moment of weakness. Leega grunted as she landed in the snow, the two rolling briefly before Fio managed to get back on top of her. Leega hit her with several heavy slaps before Fio palmed a nearby rock and smashed it across Leega's face. With a heavy moan, Leega's face turned and held her aching mouth with numbing fingers. More blood came from her lips as her heart raced. If nothing else, the blood and melting snow beneath them made Fio lose her grip on the stone. She let it go to simply pummel Leega into the ground, quick but vicious blows stinging her aching face and chest to attack her already open wounds. The cold made the blows hurt that much more as Leega could barely land a few clumsy strikes of her own.

Arragunn smelled the weakness in his prey and pressed his attack. He took swings that kept the bat retreating, Keenra clearly struggling just to stay mobile and in the air. It finally resorted to dropping to all fours, and even that seemed more feebly than before. Its retreat had left it near the village, which had been long abandoned by now thanks to Metui's intervention. The Sea Landers had fled inland or gone out to sea by their boats to avoid the horrifying duel, leaving the godbeasts to crumble a few of the smaller houses by merely brushing into them. Arragunn's breathing came heavier and his wounds steamed in the cold when Keenra attacked again, scampering past him and landing a quick but painful bite to his ankle. Arragunn snarled and turned to grab it by one of its large ears, twisting it and punching it in the jaw. A few colossal fangs flew from Keenra's long snout and clattered among the fishing village, staggering the flying godbeast. It regained its balance just to swiftly lower its body and swing itself in a wide arc, swiping its wing-tipping claws to slice at Arragunn's leg. The beast snarled and stumbled to its knees from the fresh wound, allowing Keenra to pounce and wrap its wings around its head. Arragunn was blinded while its lower legs wildly raked at the ape's face. The ape grabbed and pushed at its slimmer body, trying to tear the slashing creature away while leaving its head defenseless.

There came a massive snapping sound. Arragunn recognized the noise of ruined bones, but felt no new pain to go with it. It shoved Keenra once more, and the bat released him with hardly any struggle. It shrieked and flailed madly, but their struggles had brought them too close to the sea. A black tentacle as thick as a fat man was wrapped around its arm and dragging it towards the sea.

When she heard the frantic scream of her beast, Fio sensed its pain. She looked up from her sacred beating, but before she could even see what the godbeasts were up to, there was Metui standing above her. The tattooed holy woman held a short oar in her hands that was already in mid-swing. Fio threw up her arm, barely saving her skull at the cost of her arm. The Fellshadow priestess screamed and clutched her upper arm where a wide, dark bruise appeared almost instantly. Leega immediately seized the opening, forcing herself to rise while grabbing Fio around the waist. The dark priestess choked on a gasp as Leega surprised her by lifting her completely off the ground, bellowing in rage as she body slammed Fio back into the frozen dirt. Fio could only stare and writhe in agony on the ground, her breasts grinding against Leega's as they pinned her down.

"Filthy thief!" Metui snapped, stomping her heel into Fio's stomach. The attacking priestess howled in pain, just for Leega to grab her hair and force her face into the snow. Fio panted as she frantically tried to escape, clawing at Leega's arms and legs. She ignored as her savage struggles left a few more bloody scrapes on her skin.

"Afraid!" Leega accused. "Godbeast Keenra weak!" She leaned harder into Fio, crushing her breasts beneath hers while she pinned down her wrists. The furious priestess gave a savage scream, kicking and flailing her lower body until Metui rammed the butt of her oar into Fio's stomach. The allied priestesses glanced at each other and shared a wicked smirk. Metui grabbed Fio's belt and tore it off of her as Leega forced her to sit up by a handful of hair. The sea priestess wrapped the fang-lined strip of leather around Fio's neck, turning her pale face red as she choked and drooled in a desperate bid to breathe. She was busy pulling at the makeshift leash as Leega grabbed her furs, tearing them off of her to leave her stark naked in the snow while Metui held her back. With her own plump and chilly bosom exposed, Leega helped herself to a few heavy punches, enjoying how it made her gagging rival jiggle.

"Feeding Akagak," Metui hissed into Fio's ear. The already choking priestess' eyes went wide, shaking her head and pawing more desperately and weakly at the belt than ever. Her opponents dragged her towards the village, taking their time to kick, spit and slap their naked captive at their leisure to drive home their victory.

Keenra was struggling against the tentacles, making it slow going but he was steadily being dragged into the sea. When it grew close, a massive orb of blackish-purple flesh rose out of the water, opening a massive maw lined with dozens of brittle, needly teeth. As the priestesses approached, Akagak shouted to her deity. "Akagak! We make sacrifice! This land fish!" she called. She nodded to Leega and the two of them shoved Fio forward. She couldn't even stay on her feet after the beating and humiliation, and she could barely even raise her head. Regardless, Akagak knew its lady's cue. One of its smaller tentacles (only as wide as a child) lashed out and snatched up Fio, dragging the screaming, naked raider high off the ground. It opened its jaws and took a massive bite from the immobilized Keenra, eating half of its body in one gulp before throwing Fio down its barbed throat after it like an afterthought.

The remaining priestesses watched with a smile. Arragunn roared and stomped triumphantly, but in his divine wisdom he understood that Akagak was not a enemy. He lumbered out of the village to lick his wounds and rest until he could return to his cave. "Blood," Metui said, gesturing helpfully towards Leega. The exhausted priestess nodded, suddenly rubbing her arms for warmth.

"Cold snow," she added. "Thank." Metui took off her thick coat, draping it over Leega's shoulders for her. The matronly priestess pulled it on tighter and smiled at her. "Bloody give," she said, indicating the red stains she left on the woman's winter coat.

"Take," Metui insisted with a wave of her hand. "Give with meat fish." She looked over the village and its mild wreckage before pointing out a dwindling fire. "Hot drink. come!" she insisted, patting her on the side and leading her over. Leega's iron will let her keep from wincing as she was tapped, but she followed her lead. With some flavored hot water in her, she looked to Metui.

"Cold?" she asked, pulling on the coat as she started to gather some warmth back in her flesh.

Metui shook her head. "New fur," she said confidently. She walked off, leaving Leega puzzled for a few moments until she returned wearing the broad black cloak that Fio had been wearing. She gestured widely, showing it off until Leega laughed at the mockery of their enemy.

"Good fur!" Leega praised as she saw the villagers starting to gradually shuffle back in, giving Arragunn a wide berth as Akagak started to lazily slide back into the water with the remains of its largest victim. "Good godbeast!" she added with a nod towards the water.

"Godbeasts stay mighty. Protect us all," Metui said, bowing her head solemnly in a short and thankful prayer.

"Long," Leega agreed with a more curt nod than her new friend. She looked as the Sea Land villagers were already dragging out some large fish and setting them a safe distance away from Arragunn, hurrying off before he came sniffing at their gratitude. Leega took the hot pot and poured another drink, passing it to Metui before refreshing her own. "Long ally."

"Much long," Metui said with a smile and nod. "Very ally."