After we let Aylaqun take care of Kara Yulduz and call her spirit back from the underworld, I started asking Cynthia about everything, from metaphysics, philosophy to mythology. I had to reevaluate everything.
The oldest beliefs of this area are indeed animism. From the vast Western Steppe to the great Siberian land, the Korean peninsula, and across the ocean to America and Japan—from the Northern Tundra, the Ural and Altai Mountains, Lake Baikal, the Eastern Steppe, the Gobi Desert, the Central Plains, and the Tibetan Plateau to the land of a hundred Yue—people believed in the spirits of all things. And the shaman was the one who acted as the medium between the human world and the spirit world.
Each tribe worshipped their own main spirit, with the oldest ones often taking the form of animal totems derived from their mythical ancestors. Sometimes, people compromised, grouping these deities together to form a pantheon of gods.
However, things began to shift when one tribe dominated others, their patron spirit ascended in rank just as their people rose to power. This continued until one spirit became the highest and mightiest, leading to the birth of the "One True God" concept.
This is also how the idea of an all-knowing Sky Father from Western Indo-Iranian beliefs crossed paths with the Sky and Earth of local Siberian shamanic animism, leading to the establishment of a dual supreme deity: Sky Father and Earth Mother.
But right now, with the help of the Huna, the Eternal Blue Sky is on the way to becoming the mightiest God in the Great Steppe.
The trickiest part in this story is how things change from region to region. It all depends on the majority beliefs in that land, just as Cynthia told me. The human mind has the power to alter reality. The hierarchy of gods and spirits, the cycle of life and spirits, and how the underworld and upper world operate—it all hinges on what people believe. A God in one country might be a Devil in another.
As I established myself as a Sky God in the eyes of the Huna, the mightiest tribe in this region, I directly received power when people who shared the same beliefs with them thought of me or the sky. This happened whenever they were in awe of a beautifully colored sky, a thundering storm, or when praying to me for victory. However, I would receive only a part of that power if others prayed to or thought of different sky gods or simply thought about the sky in general. So, if someone prays to Zeus, I will receive only a part of their faith.
Many Gods tried to manipulate faith wars to become the mightiest one. That's why Cynthia was helping my people to secure the alliance between us and make me a partner in her crimes. Millions would die because of us, but other millions would be safe, our millions. She was the oldest goddess of the old shamanic beliefs. The ancient deer stones were built by her believers, and she had already positioned herself as the Earth Mother long time ago, while I had just established myself as the Sky Father. It seemed she had been waiting for a personified god of the sky for a while. Sometimes when a god grew bored of this world, they would leave and ascend to a higher realm, and the Sky God position of this region had been vacant for a long time.
She already felt some connection between us when I first came to this world, but she had to wait until I faced some kind of heaven's punishment first. This was an event that a god has to face—an immense tragedy before truly ascending into godhood, transcending from a mere human. It seems like Aycecek was not only my happiness but also a saddest punishment.
Cynthia pointed out that we cannot outright kill Baghatur and destroy the Huna Confederation, because they are basically our believers right now. Not only that, but they will also be the foundations of many Tengrism empires in the future. So, the revenge will have to wait for now. It seems like we don't have to worry about having believers or how to harvest faith for many centuries. But as we both came from the future, what worried us most was the Industrial Age. It wouldn't just cause our faith to fade by stretching too thin or being replaced by other beliefs. It would vanish altogether, disappearing behind the curtain long before any chance of revival.
We thought about building organizations to ensure the survival of our faith in other countries or perhaps starting businesses that matched our aspects and could harvest Faith and Belief in us or generate significant funds for us. This way, we could help our believers navigate through those dark ages.
With nothing much to do, I asked her more about how she got to this ancient world. "So, were you sent here just like me?"
"Umm, it varies from person to person. Some transmigrate into historical figures, while others reincarnate, just like me. Being sent here like you is very rare, it might be because you already possess some divinity. And it's not like just anyone can become a god either, but I think all major civilizations had at least a few gods who came from the future, especially in the cradles of civilization like Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley of Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization, the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins of China, and a few places in Mesoamerica and the Andes," she explained.
"Reincarnated where?" I asked, curious.
"A long time ago, I was born into a hunter tribe in the North. They lived in the northern tundra long before my birth. They were a really close community, so close that some distinguishing physical features were preserved throughout generations. Normally, our tribe had light skin, blue eyes and blonde hair but my own family carried an albino gene because they believed that white was sacred, and white animals were often used for sacrifice. I ascended and remembered all my past lives in one horrible winter. All of my family... no, my clan froze to death, a result of a chain of terrible events. I was the last of my clan, so I was forced to eat my people because we had also run out of food. But the cold eventually took me, I was already dead. My ascension brought me back to life, but it didn't do the same for my family. Even after I truly became a god, I still didn't have enough knowledge to bring them back to life—in short, a tragedy. So after that, I used all knowledge from the future combined with my Divine Power to help my tribe tame and raise mammoths," she told her story, her face looking like she had just woken up from a long nightmare.
My jaw literally dropped for a while, then I asked, "Mammoths!? How long are we talking about?"
The White Goddess paused before answering me, "Almost ten thousand of years passed."
"Aren't you lonely, Cynthia? That's a long, long time," I said, wondering.
"Not really. I meet other gods and reincarnated travelers from time to time. I also have many believers and followers over the years. Actually, the Reindeer Tribes still tell tales about my family tribe, the Sihirtia—a name that derived from my own, Cynthia. But what hurts me most is when they're gone, vanishing from the face of this world completely. Even with my help, not everyone can be blessed with an eternal life," she looked lost in her own thoughts before continuing. "That's our curse, Sky Father."
"Is this why you're helping me and my people?" I asked.
"Not really. My fate is already intertwined with yours. I have to help you, one way or another. I actually teased you about being my partner forever, they're also my people now. Haven't you noticed that our divinity was weaving together even before we met each other? That's why I could observe you so easily." She paused, thinking, then said something interesting. "But you need to understand this. Even with our Divine Power, we can't save all of them. You'll need to learn to let things go. Many believers will leave us behind, forget, or even hate us. You'll have to relearn how to love and be loved again as a god, but 'Learning' is your thing, isn't it?"
"Kind of... I think," I replied.
"I didn't tell you the details before, but we gods have many kinds of power. Power that comes with a role or duty, just like the lightning of the sky gods. General miracles that any god can perform. And the most unique ability is Innate Power, which differs from one God to another. Right now, you might be a sky god that associated with war, battle, and fighting, but your Innate Power is something else entirely. My guess is your Innate Power connects to something like 'Learning.' You completely learned their language, horse riding, archery, weapon skills, mountain guerrilla tactics, shamanism, and all of their knowledge within a year, didn't you?" she concluded.
"If you say it like that, it makes a little more sense now. Is that why I'm really good at learning things? It seems quite useful," I said, thinking aloud.
"Do you remember what I said before I switched to my true form? Please tell me in detail, word by word if you can," she asked.
"It seemed like you called upon great spirits from the sky and earth, asking for help? If I listened correctly, they were the Master of the Fire, the Spirit of the Earth, the Master of the Deer, and something like the Master of the Earth Deer. What was that?" I asked curiously.
"Oh dear, they are some kind of gods in my time. The Earth Deer are the Mammoths, by the way," she clarified, then continued with a glint in her eye, "Now, I've decided to share something quite extraordinary with you, just because of this unique ability of yours. I hadn't really thought about sharing this information with anyone before. This will be our top secret, especially from other gods. Do you want to connect to the internet?"
"What the hell!? Of course I do! Do you really have the internet? But how?" I was totally shocked.
"Calm down, Kris. Are you trying to spread the news or something? It's not really the true internet, but some kind of a backdoor to connect to it. My personal space, the White Room, has the ability to manifest my thoughts into reality. I found this glitch after I tried to create a smart TV in the White Room, and it can connect to TV programs and the internet. Not the real thing, but some kind of memories of this world, or rather this reality. I've used these memories to help out and teach my believers many things, but I think it will suit you more," she explained before a pause. "The information we can access comes from most ages of the internet and television, but later I found some restrictions. I cannot find any things past 2050. It seems someone blocked it, or something significant might happen in that year. This changes everything, even for the Gods of Time. We'll have to tell them about this one day in the future."
"This is too much, even for a god! Are you trying to make me crazy or something?" I protested.
"Ignorance is bliss, right? But not for the Gods, my Sky Father. You will have an important role to play, and knowledge is everything. Reading the script before acting is crucial, my dear." Each new detail she spoke pushed me further into madness.
"Damn, I feel like I'm ten years older after knowing this. I'm a little tired, but I need to ask one more thing: how do I use my Divine Power or make my own Personal Space?" I needed this information.
"It's the easiest and hardest thing at the same time, and you're already using it right now. It's like a life force for a god, you use it to talk and walk. You might still receive some energy from food, but to sustain a divine living body, a god needs a lot of energy like Faith and Belief. That's why many choose to ascend to a higher realm or become formless, unpersonified gods." She paused then said, "But if you want to perform a true miracle, you need to focus on something immensely. Things will manifest from your own intentions, using the Divine Energy that produced from your Divine Body as fuel to ignite and kick-start the process of manifestation that we call Divine Power. We can try later, maybe tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me, and for the Personal Space?" I continued my questions.
"It's quite the same, but at first it will spontaneously manifest on its own from our Divine Energy. It's almost like Innate Power wants to expand its own boundary but it's a little mystery, no one really knows how to awaken it in the first place. My guess is you need to completely understand or master your own Innate Power. After the first awakening, you just need to think about it to call upon your Personal Space. It's also easier to use our power within our own divine territory," she explained.
"So your power is related to creation or controlling things?" I questioned her.
"Something like that. I call it 'Engineer.' It can be used to create things, but it also needs real resources and knowledge. If I needed to make a gold necklace, I'd have to know how to make it first. But if I had other metal, I'd need to picture or imagine its bonds and molecules correctly and turn that metal's structure into the structure of gold. That's still too much for me, but it shows quite a potential. Unfortunately, even though it's easier to use 'Engineer' in my personal space, the only thing I can fully engineer is the White Room itself, not other materials."
Then Cynthia suddenly spoke in a lively tone, "But surprisingly, it's easier to modify living things. That might be because I used to be an amateur geneticist—or should I say a breeder, and a really good one too! You'll see when I return!"
Chapter 15
White Caravan
After Kara Yulduz regained consciousness and felt better, I sent word to call everyone that taking shelter in the Sacred Mountain. I told them the Huna wouldn't attack us for a while because of me, but we still needed to stay alert. And any further decisions would have to wait for Temurel and the other Leaders.
I took that opportunity to apologize to the Zaravani, "I am truly sorry for my terrible actions, I was blind by my own rage. Azhdar. What kind of compensation do you seek?"
"No, it's also my son's fault, Great Sky Wolf. As an apology, we, the Zaravani, will permanently become part of the Tagh Boru and serve under you," Azhdar responded.
"You can join our tribe as an equal clan. We are free people, not a tyranny like Baghatur," I stated.
"O, Great Sky Wolf, thank you for your consideration!" Azhdar exclaimed, then yelled, "Take my foolish son out!"
"I'm so sorry, Great Sky Wolf, everything is all my fault. Please accept my death as an apology to quell your anger. Don't blame my wrongdoing on my people!" Atashan requested.
"Please accept his life and spare us, the Zaravani!" Azhdar also pleaded.
"Stop! The real culprit isn't you, Atashan. It's Baghatur, who tried to separate us by using his warriors to kill and build misunderstanding between our people," I declared.
Azhdar fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting between his son, Atashan, and me. A heavy sigh escaped him, one that seemed to carry the weight of generations. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, yet clear, carrying across the assembled tribesmen.
"You speak truly, Great Sky Wolf," Azhdar conceded, his head bowing slightly in acknowledgement. "Baghatur's lies twisted our hearts and clouded our judgment. We were fools to be so easily swayed. But the blood spilled, even by his deceit, still stains our hands. To join your people as equals… it is a generosity we hardly deserve. Yet, if you offer it, we will strive to prove ourselves worthy. And as for Atashan…" He paused, looking at his son with a mix of sorrow and pride. "…his life, Great Sky Wolf, is yours to command. Let him serve the Tagh Boru with his very last breath, to atone for our folly."
"Alright, I will accept him as my personal guard. He will follow me as my shadow until I take my revenge," I announced.
After the meeting, I checked on Kara Yulduz. She looked fine from the outside, but guilt was eating her from the inside. So, I spoke to her, "Are you alright, my Guiding Star?"
"Great Sky Wolf! Please punish me for my incompetence! My failure is beyond redemption. Aycecek... and her unborn child..." she choked out.
"Kara Yulduz, you were already dead. You did all you could, you don't have to take any more responsibility. You know what? We've already rescued my child. She's a girl, just like Aycecek. So please stop blaming yourself, alright? But if you still feel guilty, then take care of my child." I spoke my mind.
"Where is she, my lord? Where is Aycecek's baby girl? Please let me meet her right now, Great Sky Wolf. Please..." she pleaded.
"Don't get up, you are too weak. Please rest now, you will meet her later, I promise." I said, stopping her from getting up.
It seemed the news about Asena would cheer everyone up a bit, I needed to announce it later. Even Aylaqun and her maidens were surprised by this news, they hadn't seen Cynthia help so extensively before. It was almost like a resurrection rather than a healing. But they didn't dare to ask for details from a great shaman like Cynthia, she almost like a saint to them.
After a while, Cynthia felt a bit bored and unconvinced by hiding herself in the mountains, so she decided to bring her staged arrival day closer. Initially, we'd planned for early spring, with her followers already en route with her belongings. But now that she's rushing things, they would arrive before winter ends.
On the arrival day, I was completely shocked, just as Cynthia had told me I would be. Two white reindeer that emitting Divine Energy led the way with Cynthia's sledge. Followed by white dogs pulling other sledges which carried ten people altogether. Those dogs truly resembled modern white Samoyed dog breeds. The scene of this White Caravan would be imprinted into everyone's minds for a long time, it looked as if it had come straight from a fairytale or mythology.
"You're shocked, right? I personally bred them myself from local dogs, without using any Divine Power on these fluffy white fur balls. They look exactly like Samoyed puppies, right?" the White Goddess spoke to me in English, shocking everyone.
"Wait, why are you speaking in English!?" I urgently protested.
"Please don't worry, Sky Wolf! Just tell them this is the language of the gods. Just trust me, alright?" she clarified.
"Okay, okay! So your followers, the Reindeer Tribes, are Nenets people? If I remember correctly, Samoyed dogs came from Nenets dogs, right?" I asked curiously.
"Partly correct. Let's say my main followers are all Samoyedic people now. A long time ago, I was the main god of this vast region before Western Tribes came and mixed their way of life, culture and beliefs. The mixing of Ancient Northern Tribes with new Western traditions gave birth to something in between, like the Mountain and Eastern Tribes." She paused in thought, then continued, "They might still worship me, but not as a leading god anymore. So, I moved up north with the Northern Tribes, then went back to stay with my old folks, the Reindeer Tribes."
"So, what do we do next?" I inquired.
"Now this is your turn to shine, my main star. Just talk about my arrival, our alliance, then tell them I've come to help in an upcoming battle. I'll add some more details about Asena for you later," she prepared me.
"Okie dokie, Ms. Director! Any other orders, Madame?" I responded.
"Announce it to them at the entrance path of the Sacred Mountain. Act as a god, but don't tell them directly. I'll be there with you every single step," Cynthia gave her last advice.
After a few thoughts, I invited everyone to the entrance and started the announcement with Cynthia by my side. "Listen, everybody! This is the White Deer, an honorable guest from the North. She and her people have come to help us in this grim time and in the battle that's about to come."
"I've already helped some of your people and have a way to help more. But it will be impossible without your assistance. I know many of you are still injured, but we need relatives to call out to the spirits of the dead and unconscious ones." She paused, looking into everyone's eyes before continuing, "Please pray to the Lord of the Underworld, asking him to open the way for us. I will use all of my power to bring back as many of them as I can, including the Zaravani. Protect their bodies while we prepare the ritual. Keep your hope up but remember this: not everyone will be return."
I was a little shocked by what she announced, but I had to continue. "Please help them out with all you can. Prepare empty yurts for them, and for the dead and unconscious ones."
As I walked back into the Sacred Mountain with the White Goddess, I started to whisper to her, "Can you really do all that?"
"I can do that much as one of the high goddesses, but I demand some of your Divine Energy for this favor. Remember what I've done for you, Kris," she answered.
"Alright, alright! I'll be grateful. But how do you resurrect them all?" I curiously asked.
"It depends on status of their own bodies and souls and also up to Erik, who you know as Erlik the Lord of Underworld," she replied.
"Erik! Do you mean he also comes from the future?" I continued.
"Yes, Erik Helsson is from the future, too. He's a junior anthropologist from Iceland with a mysterious and ancient family background. He used to tell me fascinating stories about his family, saying they were a type of shaman that specialize in guiding spirits into other realms, which perfectly suits his powers."
"What kind of power does he have?" I wondered.
She was silent for a moment before answering, "He can collect spirits or souls of other beings and contain them in his domain, 'The Underworld.' While he can consume these souls directly for his own Divine Energy, he prefers to keep and study them first. I think he calls his power by something like 'Reaper.' After a decade, he learned how to purify a spirit to gain their Faith and Belief in him, then return them back into next circle of their life."
"So, he could have Aycecek's soul? This is good news, right?" I questioned Cynthia.
"Not really," she replied. "He told me that many beings' souls get stuck or malfunction after dying from a horrible death, suicidal act, accident, or have some unfinished business in their life. It's like their final thought fixes on something, and normally they'll move on to the next form of life based on that thought. However, some get cling on something in this life and are bound by that thought—something like a feeling of hatred, worries, pain, and suffering. Others simply get lost in their own thoughts, wandering around not realizing they're already dead. After a while, they'll forget other thoughts and fixate on the final one. The worst of them all is a vengeful spirit, fixed on taking revenge but forgetting the actual target."
My mind snagged on a new thought, a flicker of desperate hope. "But… what about Aycecek's soul then? If Erik collects souls, if he can purify them and send them on… could he have hers? Could she be among those he's held?"
Cynthia's smile softened, turning bittersweet. "Aycecek's death was swift, brutal. There might not have been time for her soul to become 'stuck' in that way. She passed quickly, moving on as most do. But if her soul did linger, if it carried any unfinished hope for your child… then yes, Erik would have perceived her. He would have tried to guide her or at least contain her within his domain to protect her. It's a question only he can answer."
"So, what does he do with those vengeful spirits?" I pressed, my mind racing. "Does he destroy them? Is that part of his 'reaping'?"
"No," Cynthia said, turning to look at me, a hint of weariness in her eyes. "Erik described them as a corruption of purpose, a spiritual cancer. They become dangerous, unpredictable, and might lash out at anything or anyone that reminds them of their lost memory of anger. He tries to contain and bring them into his domain. It's a risk, even for him. But he believes every soul, no matter how twisted, has a right to its final rest. Many might see them as beyond redemption, but perhaps some purification awaits them. But if you look at Erik's methods, I'd say it's more like rehab or even therapy."
"Therapy? He seems like a great guy to me, will he help us?" I worried a bit.
"Yes, he was a good guy with some weird habits. But if you've lived as long as him, you tend to get a little bit crazy. He doesn't tell me directly, but I believe he's lived as a God of Death for at least a millennium. He might use other aliases in other cultures too." She shared some interesting information.
"A millennium...!" I exclaimed, totally shocked. "I feel like a child compared to you two."
"Please don't worry," she replied. "Ages are a meaningless concept to us gods. He might even be younger than you were in his past life. And of course, he'll help us. We're the Trinity of Tengrism right now. Even though he doesn't have to harvest Faith from worshipers in the way that we normally do, I think he doesn't even need true followers like us. While the mere Belief in his existence certainly helps him maintain a stable incoming Divine Energy, having worshipers is still highly beneficial. He'll join us and help drive the Huna around, spreading belief in ourselves, the Gods of Turks."