Followers of the Godbeasts: The Sea Lion (Patreon)

An interesting series as usual. Always kind of experimental, especially with this one. I kept adding twists and touches that kept it as a fresh fight. There’s the priestess to monster parallels as usual, but threw in that the monsters are both underwater and the fight takes place on a ship.

Metui, for some reason, was a side character I always figured as more of a martial artist compared to most of the other priestesses. Like her godbeast, she’s in a unique position. The kraken’s not going to be able to fight everything, since it’s mostly just tentacles and lives in the water, but when it does it’s pretty likely to dish out a big ol’ beatdown.

Also don’t know if I ever said, but all of the godbeasts are named for their noises. They’re just meant to just be giant animals and the tribes are idiots who think they’re giving divine blessings when they’re just largely tamed and territorial against other animals their size. So Akagak was just some pivotal moment between the kraken and the Sea Landers when it made what they think was it declaring its name in its advanced language when it was just sort of clicking at them. Arragunn was just their giant ape grunting when someone tried to talk to it. But yea, good bloody savage fights for all!

The people of the Sea Land were strange to the few tribes that encountered them. Their lives were spent living on the coast, thriving fishermen and gatherers rather than the usual hunters and scavengers. They also appeared to live without a Godbeast, something that was seen as nothing short of suicide among any stable tribe.

That was entirely untrue. They lived so close to the sea to stay within the protective grasp of Akagak the kraken. The colossal, dark squid had aided those that sacrificed the exotic foods of the land. There was the sacred temple which was little more than a larger hut with some stone statues around it. They could run to that whenever danger approached, and anything that dared pursue or rob them was quickly slaughtered by their guardian.

Their priestess Metui was patient and generous like her respective Godbeast. She had dark hair she had tied into short dreads, one that she would jokingly call a mimicry of his tentacled reach. She was on the pale side, making her countless tattoos stand out more boldly. They depicted creatures and events that Akagak had rescued her people from. Some of the red and black ink that painted his holy tentacles all over her body had even come from the deity itself.

Metui had a keen awareness of the land around her village. She had overseen peace talks with the Stonehammers, learning the art of Speak to better handle communications between the neighboring tribes. With the world being what it was, she still tended to kill more than she maintained peace with, but having one or two allies in the world was impressive.

The sun was high and warm when the crude bells of the fishing vessels sounded. They were little more than rowboats or the occasional sail, but they were all equipped with some way to warn those on shore. If a sea creature arose or a man went overboard, the Sea Landers could be quick to send another ship or their sacred godbeast as needed.

There was no need to signal what it was that caused their alarm. A ship much larger than any of their own rowed towards their shore, looking big enough to hold most of their village on it. Large, red sails and at least a dozen long oars propelled it through the water with thick, strange lengths of rope hanging in front of it.

Metui rolled her eyes and approached the shore. The Sea Land ships turned to retreat to the safehouse as she stepped onto a rocky outcropping. The priestess rapped her staff’s dull head several times against the stone, knowing the perfect senses of Akagak would pick up on the subtle noise. Soon the huge, rubbery black mass that was her deity arose out of the water in front of her, no doubt grabbing the attention of those on the alien vessel.

Metui clicked some gentle praise to Akagak, stroking his oily hide and tossing him a spare hunk of fish. The divine monster’s mound of a head opened wide, catching it in its jaws and quickly pulping the warm meat its is hundreds of needly fangs.

“I must be your hands, master Akagak,” Metui explained, gesturing towards the water. Akagak bulbous eyes rolled towards the vessel and it lowered itself further into the water, leveling its head with the rocks. Metui stepped onto its broad head and lightly tapped her sandal, signaling him that she was ready. With a shift of its rubbery body, the great kraken sped off towards the strange ship.

“Hey!” Metui yipped as they drew closer. A small tribe seemed to be piloting it, with black hair, muscled builds, and tan skin seeming to stand out among most of them. Many seemed startled to see the woman riding on a mass of flesh and tentacles, hurrying off to grab what had to be their priestess.

She had notable streaks of blue running through her long and bushy hair and a long knife at her hip. She was tall and broad while Metui was far wirier. She was muscular in her own way, but more athletic compared to the brawny new woman. She wore skins hanging loosely off her hips and a more solid top of crudely carved metal cupping her heavy breasts. Numerous colorful shells, stones and other decorations were attached to the large, dark fur around her waist.

“Hey!” she barked back, waving to Metui. Her men didn’t bother to ready weapons, which Metui took as a good sign. They knew about godbeasts well enough to realize any attack on a priestess would bring it to an unstoppably righteous frenzy of revenge.

“Sea Land,” Metui explained, gesturing towards the village. “Our water. Water of Akagak. Leave his reach.” She was a reasonable priestess, which meant she would absolutely kill anyone who came too close. She was simply meeting them at the border to tell them so as a courtesy.

The blue-streaked woman looked to another of her people who spoke to her in a lower voice. One of her enlightened Speakers, no doubt, who knew the art of Words. She looked back at Metui with a smug smirk and folded her arms across her breastplate.

“No!” she shouted back. Her speaker, a similarly brawny but smaller brown-haired woman than her captain, looked briefly flustered before turning to Metui.

“Captain Vanis of The True Land,” the translator said, rapping her ship on the side of the vessel. So their land was a boat. That amused Metui as a concept. “We travel as we wish over Rothoth.”

The crew chanted after her in a hearty cheer: “ROTHOTH!”

Responding to the call, a slick, dark brown shape rose out of the water. The Sea Landers were one of the few tribes who had tamed horses, or any real traveling animal beyond a godbeast. She suddenly recognized the chords hanging off the front of the boat as a type of reigns as a colossal sea lion rose its dog-like head. A curved wooden bar was braced around its chest, but it slackened as the sea monster looked around curiously before baring its fangs. It growled at Metui and Akagak at first, but turned to the ship to give a spraying bark at its crew. Vanis gestured and one of the men threw it a large but already picked at fish that it wolfed down.

Vanis grunted and nodded towards Metui. Her Speaker translated again.

“Rothoth demands tribute and food is low. We will land on your shores and take your supplies. Villagers as slaves below deck and extra rations.”

Akagak seemed to pick up on Metui’s impatience on the matter. Her shifting feet were all it needed to get the waters bubbling and spreading its dark aura of ink through the waves.

“You threaten my people,” Metui said calmly as she gave another light tap of her staff on her godbeast’s head. It raised a tentacle that was nearly as wide as any of them, getting several of the primitive sailors to back away. It arched gently to rest on the ship’s edge, acting as a simple bridge for the pale priestess to step fearlessly aboard the enemy vessel.

Vanis laughed and drew the long blade from her hip. “Hil,” she scoffed with a bold grin.

“She says we do,” her translator added before quickly stepping back.

Metui nodded. “I know. You are only the Speaker.” She took a short breath and let out a low keening noise. Akagak reacted as its tentacles lashed at the ship, tearing a few of the armed sailors from its deck. It dragged some under and wolfed them down instantly while it bashed the others against the surface of the water, breaking their bodies for later. Vanis gave a short shout, all that it took for Rothoth to give another monstrous bark and remove itself from its reigns. It dove under and quickly targeted the kraken while their priestesses faced off.

Vanis went to end it quickly with a thrust of her knife, but Metui turned her staff to parry it aside. The other end of her sacred weapon struck the invader in the cheek, rattling her as the pale priestess smirked. Vanis snarled and delivered a heavier swing at her head. Metui raised it again and the blade bit deep into the thick wood but didn’t break through. Metui whirled her weapon in another spiraling path, pulling the blade from Vanis’ hands and thrusting out with a palm strike to the nose.

The blue-streaked woman gave a frustrated shout of pain as she backed off clutching her face. With a few more swift flourishes, Metui pulled the knife from her staff and slashed it at Vanis’ side. The raider flinched from the sound of steel on steel, but she felt little sting from the hit. Metui had simply cut the binding strip of leather that held it in place, making the breastplate fall for her barely covered breasts.

“Afraid your god will not protect you?” Metui smirked as she tossed the knife into the water. She cracked her knuckles and put up her fists. “The chosen of Akagak has nothing to fear.”

---

Beneath the surface, the aquatic godbeasts dove and darted around each other in their three-dimensional battle. They took light jabs and bites at each other without taking purchase, attempting to find an angle they could comfortably attack from. Rothoth finally settled to charge right in, trying to bully its bulk through Akagak’s web of tentacles.

The sea lion managed to bite off the tip of one, but the other tendrils came at its flank. One grabbed and yanked on its tail, tossing it back a few yards. Another slapped across its face while others coiled around its midsection. Rothoth barked and thrashed beneath the water, kicking up waves around it as its clawed flippers and sharp fangs managed to tear itself free. Another tentacle tip struck its side, ripping off a hunk of flesh that let its bloody fur start to taint the water.

Rothoth gave a shrill yelp as it pulled away from the clingy limb, just to pivot and dive for the center of Akagak’s mass. The tentacles pulled and slashed at its blubbery hide but at last the kraken opened its jaws, baring its fangs as both creatures bit into each other, tumbling through the water in a writhing, tangled mass.

---

With an outraged snarl, Vanis threw herself bodily at Metui. The pale priestess tactically caught her by the arm and shifted to throw her own bulky weight to the deck of the ship, crashing hard enough for her broad chest to fall out of her scant furs. Metui went to lock her arm in place but the bigger woman turned and slammed her with a backhanded fist. It didn’t do as much damage as Vanis had hoped, but it was enough to get on her back.

The raider grabbed Metui by the neck and slammed her onto the deck beside her, rolling over to mount the smaller woman. The tattooed warrior still glared defiantly at her and snapped her hands up, boxing Vanis’ ears with a quick pair of slap. She flinched and crumbled on top of her but grit her teeth in a furious grimace.

“Prey for Rothoth!” she snarled as she tried to bite into Metui’s jugular. The tattooed priestess remained a step ahead of her and turned her face level with hers. Neither backed down as they bit into each other’s face and lips, tumbling over the deck in their savagely brutal kiss. Teeth snapped against lips and fang as they bounced around the vessel.

Their bodies rolled as the waves kicked up by their respective deities rocked the ship in the water. They finally slammed into one of the rails of the boat, grating their skin against some rough rope. Vanis was more familiar with her ship, so she thought to grab it and quickly wrap one end around Metui’s arm. She shoved her back against the rails, stepping back to wipe some of the blood from her lips. Metui went to follow her and capitalize, only to find herself bound to the rails by the length of rope.

“More slave,” Vanis grunted in her fractured Words. She slammed several punches into Metui’s face as her crew of tribesmen cheered her on. The slimmer priestess’ head rocked wildly from the blows, but she remained a better match for her rival than she looked. Her head snapped up and spat a mouthful of blood, mixed from hers and Vanis’ mouth from their biting contest. It splattered messily into Vanis’ eyes, making the brawly brunette yelp as it ran down onto her breasts.

Metui gladly used the opening to kick her squarely in the pussy, getting the captain to emit a husky grunt and crumble to her knees.

“Never slave,” Metui hissed back as she undid the rope. She didn’t live in a boating village all her life and not pick up how knots worked. She slammed another kick into the downed Vanis’ face, her foot still smelling of her crotch when it connected with her bloodied lips.

---

The monsters’ blood mixed in the water as Akagak and Rothoth bit chunks out of each other. The giant sea lion suddenly pulled back, snapping out to bite down on several of Akagak’s tentacles at once. The kraken squealed and attempted to retreat, but the sea lion pivoted to beat its face with its broad and muscular tail. Akagak flinched away from the beating before it rotated its body, spraying a cloud of foul ink into the already murky mix of water and blood. Rothoth quickly released its rival in disgust, just for Akagak to vanish into the dark waters. It was still trying to get its bearings when a tentacle caught it around the neck, squeezing and dragging it to the sea floor.

Akagak bashed its head and body against the sand while squeezing and tearing Rothoth with its tentacles. The blind thrashing and biting of the sea lion barely pulled off a few harmless pieces of tentacle when its tail fin dug into the sand and whipped up a cloud of its own. Its blood-slick body twisted free from the tentacle and lunged upward, ramming its bulky body into Akagak and sending them flying back towards the surface.

---

Vanis stumbled on all fours for a moment before getting back to her feet. She shook some of the haze and blood from her head before she grabbed a large barrel strapped onto the deck. She tore it free with a surge of strength, growling wildly as she raised it over her head. She swung her massive improvised weapon at Metui, but she narrowly dodged around it. She let Vanis raise it for another blow when she thrust out with both of her palms, slamming them into the raider’s breast and knocking the wind from her chest. Vanis huffed and suddenly dropped the barrel on her own head, shattering apart in a mess of fresh water.

Dazed by her own weapon, Vanis was easy pickings. Metui kicked her knee out from under her and twisted her arm into a submission hold, ramming knees up into her face. The raider captain’s head bucked with each sharp blow, building more blood and bruises around her face. Metui gave another twist and there was a visceral pop from Vanis’ shoulder, getting a scream from the invading priestess. Metui just swung her by the dislocated arm and slammed her back against the main mast of the ship.

“Long enough,” Metui warned with a serious scowl on her face. She grabbed one of the ropes bound to the sails and worked with a similar quickness to Vanis earlier in the fight. This time she wrapped it around her neck, giving one parting elbow to her tits before backing off. The brunette captain gagged as the rope’s leverage tried to pull upward, effectively hanging her by the neck.

The crewmates started to warily shift closer when Metui glared at them. “No closer,” she warned. “Our fight. Bad luck to breach a godbeast duel.”

Right on cue, the holy monsters exploded from the water. Their barks and hisses mixed as they tore into each other, breaching the surface just before they crashed into the side of the boat. Their massive bulk tore right through the simple woodwork, sending sea water rushing in the sides. Metui could hear panicked shouts from under the deck and pointed at the Speaker from earlier.

“You! Save whoever is down there. Show mercy and get mercy,” she ordered quickly. The woman looked startled before she spoke to some of her crew in their own language, hurrying them down to start unchaining slaves. They didn’t have long before the ship’s weight gave in, cracking and snapping itself in half. People shouted and abandoned ship to cling to driftwood and pray they wouldn’t be obliterated just from being near the divine creatures.

Akagak and Rothoth vanished back underwater as Metui swam and leapt onto one of the broader pieces of wood, the remnants of the deck as she easily navigated the familiar waters. She pushed some of her wet hair from her face with a sigh, scanning the waters for Akagak to gauge the pace of its battle. She had her faith, as was necessary when one worshipped a dark thing that spent most of its time out of sight underwater, but she still had to be curious.

Instead of either godbeast, Vanis burst out of the water with the rope hanging limply around her neck as she grabbed Metui by her top with her one good arm. She climbed onto the makeshift raft and slammed Metui onto her back, tearing off the garment and pounding hammer-like blows into her tattooed breast. Metui gasped from the pounding on her chest, curling up her arms to protect her bosom.

“No slave! Meat!” Vanis snarled. She grabbed a thick plank as a club and tried to crash it down on Metui’s head, but she darted aside to let wood hit wood instead of her skull. She lashed out and raked her nails over Vanis’ eyes, making her flinch before she thrust a fingertip strike into her throat. The wet and bigger woman gagged again, clutching her throat as Metui swept her leg out from under her. They fumbled and struggled with each other until with few other options, Vanis shifted to sit on the tattooed priestess’s chest. Metui simply lunged her head in and bit into her pussy, getting Vanis to wail in agony. She tried to retreat but Metui had too firm a grip with her teeth on her labia as she forced her to roll onto her stomach.

The Sea Land priestess spat out the taste of her rival’s crotch to grab her hair instead.

“Back to Akagak’s sea where you came from,” Metui hissed as she shoved Vanis’ head under the water. The battered captain could barely struggle as she churned up bubbles with her final breaths.

---

Akagak managed to wrap its tentacles around Rothoth’s middle, clinging close to it where it couldn’t reach with its fangs or tail. It took deep bites into its back, getting pained and furious barks from the divine sea lion. It bucked and rammed its body into several nearby reefs and rocks, banging up Akagak along the way with its aimed charges.

The kraken gave a final twist of its jaws that managed to pierce Rothoth’s blubber, crunching its spine and letting the rival monster sink to the bottom. The paralyzed sea lion gave a few more spiteful barks and bites before a powerful tentacle grabbed and tore out its throat, finishing the job as the kraken popped the hunk of flesh into its maw.

It would have lingered on its feast when it heard its divine name. Its senses picked up on the thrashing just above it and propelled itself back towards the surface. As Metui held her rival under the water, her diving kraken appeared below her and snapped its jaws, neatly biting Vanis’ body in half before vanishing back under the waves.

Akagak floated back towards the surface, its tentacles busy carrying and picking apart the carcass of the dead god. The True Land crew and their unbound rowing slaves had the usual crisis of faith of any losing tribe as they watched their godbeast be devoured by another. Metui seemed to barely notice it. She raised her hand to wave to her people on the shore, sending boats back out to the wreckage.

“Faithful of Akagak,” she commanded. “Your old lives are over, one way or another. You have two choices. You join and serve Sea Land, a clean slate to be watched and judged as one of our people, or you die with your godbeast. Tell them."

Metui nodded to the Speaker. She nodded back and funny enough, many of the people stranded without a boat, captain or a deity were suddenly feeling like converting to Akagak. Metui always had been good with diplomacy.

---

"New trade!" A pair of Stonehammer guards dragged a broad piece of wood towards their sacred cave. Leega studied it, the blonde priestess frowning at the odd shape.

"What be?" she ordered.

"Fin," the leader of the guards answered.

"Too big for fin," Leega dismissed with a grimace. She studied the bloody paw of Rothoth that was being presented before her. "Has fur."

"Trade by Sea Land," the guard shrugged. "Much meat."

"Strangest gifts," Leega scoffed to herself. She gestured towards the cave. "Yes. Arragunn demand rare meats for offering."