I had to compose a whole new language in order to teach the primitive humans. This comprised of my tearing off barks of wood to serve as boards, and then carving into them, letters. I decided to make my language as simple as could be. I created letters with sounds and then used them to make words I knew. Once I figured that all out, I began to teach them.
They were not very quick to learn, being quite dumb, but the children, the very young children, I found were much better at learning to speak. I didn't have much of a choice back then, so I was forced to strip the children from the parents. Even then, I didn't consider them to be people, nothing more than animals. They would have sex in broad daylight, not caring who was around or where they were. The women would just spread their legs, and the men would just stick their dicks in. They had no concept of decency or cleanliness. All of it, I had to teach them, starting with the children.
I taught them how to speak, how to start a fire, and how to cook. I even managed to make clothing from the pelts of animals I hunted. Most of the adults would put them on, only to strip themselves within minutes later.
I would stay there for a long time, for over a year, before an event that changed my life happened.
One of the children had managed to get away from their mother and wandered off into the forest. When their body was discovered, I felt regret. I felt responsible.
I decided the best course of action would be to move to a safer place, somewhere not in the forest where any manner of animal could be roaming, or any child could get lost in.
The humans followed me, and using my divine sight, I scoured the area ahead.
I decided the best place to establish a city would be somewhere by the ocean, with wide open plains of fertile land to farm. I came across other humans, and after showing them my might, I was able to convince them to follow as well. The journey took years, and during that time, many got sick. I was incapable of healing, and many died because of it.
The children that I had taught personally had grown up in that time. They went from younglings to full-grown adults, capable of speaking clearly. In that short time, they learned many things, such as tailoring, though simple. That was when my religion was beginning to take shape. It was also then that they began to ask questions.
"God! Do you not have a name?"
"A name? No. I don't..."
"Why not?"
"I... Just haven't thought of one."
"Do you want a name?"
"Hmm... I suppose I will need one. You all refer to me as god, but what if there is another god out there? It would be confusing to know which god someone is talking about."
"Another god?"
The way I looked at her... I must have had a worried look on my face.
"Yeah. There are other gods out there. Many."
"Can I think of a name for you?"
"Sure."
"Then Acklemister! The God of the New World!!"
"...No... That's cringe."
I would eventually decide on a name, a new name to take on for myself, and it would come to be the name my worshippers would use for me in a pair with my title.
"Lord Orion!! I have a gift for you..." The man, on his knees, held out in both his splayed hands a gift of fruit; small, round, and red berries.
"Very good. If we collect their seeds, we could grow more once we arrive to Zandavere."
Zandavere would be the name the people decided to call the land we would ultimately arrive at; the new world, they considered it.
Across those travels, I would have to deal with the occasional troublemaker, which would force me to think of a way to establish order better than just throwing them into holes to have a time-out.
'Killing them would cause a chain reaction and would create the death penalty, and they would begin to think it is all right to kill whenever someone commits crimes, rather than give them a second chance. If a more severe punishment were given, there is no guarantee that it will lessen such crimes, and if the people begin to fear me, fear what I could do to them, they may begin to lose faith in me. I suppose there is only one option left...'
What I ended up deciding to do was tell a story to my worshippers in order to strike fear into their hearts that would ultimately guide them towards the better choice all on their own. Of course, everything I said was made up, but I told them it was all real.
"There is a place, known as hell. It is a realm of darkness, death, and fire, where the deceased are dragged down to be damned. Those who commit terrible acts of evil will be tortured for all eternity. There is, however, another realm where the virtuous are brought up to. It is my realm, a heavenly realm of eternal bliss. Do keep in mind, only those who die naturally will ascend, those who take their own lives will be forever lost."
The story I told would do the job of keeping the mortals in line, but their imagination would quickly get out of hand. Still, I thought it was nothing to worry about.
I composed a set of doctrines for the mortals to follow, such as marriage to keep families in order, while deeming close-kin relations a sin since I understood what inbreeding was, something that they had yet to learn of.
I came to understand more about my body at that time. Some poisonous berries were discovered, which I learned I was immune to, unlike the mortals who became sick with rashes that eventually went away. I could go days, near weeks without food, while only days without water. Everything else about me wasn't that far off from when I was human. I was still able to sweat, I was susceptible to the heat and cold, and I still had urges, such as sexual attraction. Despite that, I withheld myself for a number of reasons, even as the often exposed and shapely bodies of the women would tempt me.
'Damn it... I can't. I need to be strong. They may lose faith in me if I touch any of them, or the women may flock to me, which would also be bad. I am not even sure what my children would be. Mortal? God? Demi-god? I can't take the risk of having a child now, anyway. Raising a child while traveling is dangerous.'
I would end up relieving myself alone and far away from the mortals.
Eventually, I found what I was looking for after eight years of traveling. Wide open plains by the ocean, nearby mountains, and plenty of forests for wood. I didn't know much about production, but I knew enough to teach them the basics of making stuff out of wood.
Alone, I gathered animals and herded them into pens where I taught the mortals to care for them. There were even some horses, that took a bit more effort to tame to the point of riding.
By then, I had hundreds of followers, all of them sharing striking resemblances to me. They shared too many traits with me for it to be a coincidence, which made me remember what god said. They were made from our seeds, which meant they were basically my children, but as I thought about it, I came to realize quickly that wasn't the case. Still, the thought of laying with one of the women who could have possibly been my child made me chaste.
'The world must be comparable to Earth. If we were all sent off into different parts of the world to be gods, then the people there must share a similarity to us. That must mean that I'll be able to find other races of humans if I go far enough. But... If I do that, the chances of encountering another god will be higher. If that happens, could I kill them? They could be stronger... Or at least have some knowledge of fighting, which I don't. After all of this time, with all of these followers, I can feel that I've become stronger, but it's not enough. I need to master my abilities, but I can't just leave, can I? I need to ensure these people continue to worship me, but how would I do that?'
Up to that point, I was law and order. I would step in to solve arguments or to stop harm, but if I were to go away, I would need to establish order. I decided the best way to do that would be to hold a ceremony, purely for appearances. I did so at the center of the emerging city, from a hill that overlooked hundreds of people. There, I blessed a single follower, giving them authority before all of the people to uphold the laws I made. The one I chose was my most devoted worshipper, the young woman whom I had taught from adolescence, whom I had given the name of Miya. I blessed her before the people, deeming her the first in what would become a long line of royalty.
After that, I left for one of the nearby mountains, somewhere I could sit in isolation. Occasionally, I would go back down to the city to see how things were progressing. The city took shape from my teachings. They learned how to use stone and wood to build, eventually even making wagons. It was quite satisfying to see their progression and know it was because of what I taught them. On Earth, I wasn't exactly a genius, but I was pretty smart.
On the mountain, all I had was a pool of clean water to drink from, and an apple tree. Looking over the pool of water, I was able to see my reflection. I hadn't aged a day in the years that had passed. 'I must be around thirty years old now... Maybe closer to forty. I look like I'm still twenty-one though. I suppose this answers the question. I truly don't age, at least not the same as the mortals do.'
I understood how muscle worked from my old world, so I decided to test it out with my new body, doing a variety of different exercises, all of which I did with ease. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, none of them were of any issue, and while I could balance on one hand, even one pinkie, the issue I had was my own balance. I fell time and time again, but eventually, I managed to grasp a hold of it, and in that time, I began to notice the changes in my body.
"Damn... I look good. I look very good. Must have been a week at most, but I have this body already." Merely clutching my fist, I could feel the strength emanating within me. Throwing punches in the air was met with loud sounds, and doing them repeatedly and fast, my fists began to burn against the air.
I fell on my back, against the soft grass on that mountain, and peer up at the sky.
'Is this peace?' I thought. 'Do I enjoy this? Am I just content? This doesn't feel much like a game of survival, but I suppose that's just because of how big the world is. I wonder how the other gods are doing. Have any of them died yet? So many things I don't know still. Remembering the old stories of mythology, I'd thought we'd be gods like that. Throwing bolts of lightning, conjuring swarms of locusts, casting curses. Can I do any of that? How would I fight against someone who can do something like that? What if they have a weapon. Should I get a weapon? Should I?'
I began to think deeper into it, and as I did, I began to creep closer and closer to the realization of how to kill a god. I began to realize, to remember, that gods are not killed by other gods alone. When I began to finally come to that conclusion, I pushed myself up. Slowly, turned my head, and looked down at the city in the distance.
'No... There is a way to kill a god... Kill all of their worshippers... After those hundred years pass, our lives will be in their hands. What if... One of them comes, and they kill my worshippers. Would I just... Die? On Earth, there were constant wars all throughout history, waged because of religion. Millions died... Such a war would do more than kill my worshippers; they may just stop worshipping me. If they think I'm weak, if they find another god to be more enticing, all of these things and more could end my life. I... Need to prepare. I need to get stronger, faster.'
That day, something ticked inside of me. I became paranoid, yet imaginative at the same time.
That day, when a storm began to brew and thunder shook the sky, I looked to it as a contest. One would think I was suicidal to do what I did, to make my way to eye of the storm and to call forth the thunder.
"Come!! Strike me!!" My voice carried with it, power in itself, as it was loud enough to compete against the booming of thunder. As my voice echoed out, it clashed against the very roof of the sky, against the wall of clouds that blocked all light. My shout made the falling rain tremor in flight. "STRIKE ME!!!"
Madness, it could be called, but my mind was clear. It was like a hunger within me, a craving that made me do such a thing, and as if it answer my call, the lightning gathered, crackling across the sky as it struck me with an unnatural might. In that moment, I felt the first bit of pain I had felt in years. I felt heat cascade me, energy course through me, and power overwhelm me. I screamed through the pain as the lightning, nature's wrath, bombarded me with bolts of energy. After dozens of strikes, it ended, leaving me with severe burns. I blacked out.