The Gods in Between (Short Story) (Patreon)

Another one of the pieces for 'Gnoll Tales,' this one helps add diversity to the anthology.

In the drylands, trees are scarce because rain is infrequent. The hearty acacias that grow in these lands live short lives, but there is one that is so old it has seen empires come and go. This sacred acacia, which is infused by magical powers, is known as the Lover’s Tree.

Many, many years ago, back when the new gods were first coming into the world, it stood alone, and it was just a tree. Then one day a gnoll named Renu came and sat under the tree to enjoy its shade and waited.

They were a curious gnoll, not because they were particularly special, but because they were always in between male and female. We do not know if they were born in between or just felt in between, but they were just in between. It matters not how they were born anyway.

Under the acacia Renu sat and rested. The tree offered good shade, and they had come to think. Some people told the gnoll they should craft like a male, skilled with their paws and keen with their eyes, while others that they should hunt like a female, swift with their footpaws and strong with their spear throws. The village elders told Renu to just pick a path, but everyone wanted them to be something they weren’t. Renu would have none of it. They were not one thing, but two things, and whomever they would love would need to understand that. On the advice of a village elder, it was suggested they go find a tree to sit under and figure it out.

The elder might have meant this as finding any tree and just settle the confusion with themself, but Renu saw this as a quest. Thus, they journeyed for many days, seeking the right tree, seeking the right place to think, and when they found that tree, they sat in its beautiful shade and thought.

The first day, nothing new came to them, and the next, nothing new came to them, but Renu kept thinking about who they were and what they were. Nothing changed, and confused on the purpose of the elder’s advice, they stayed under the acacia. A passing shepherd, a dark-skinned human, saw them there and offered them water and Renu accepted it gratefully. Then another shepherd offered them some meat, and they accepted it too. Through all this, Renu stayed under the tree, and days turned into weeks. The locals assumed they were a holy person of some kind on a vigil, and they brought food and water to Renu who kept their vigil, deep in meditation.

After forty days, another gnoll came to the tree and sat with Renu. They too had always struggled to find who they were, caught between the genders, and together the two sat and meditated for a few hours, unsure of the other’s plight until the second gnoll finally asked.

“Why do you sit under this tree?”

“I sit because one of my village elders told me I should sit under a tree and think through myself to find who I am,” replied Renu.

“And are you that hard to find?” asked the other gnoll.

“I know who I am, but no one else knows who I am. They insist on labeling me one sex or the other, but I am both, and neither.”

“Ah, I know that feeling,” said the second gnoll.

“You do?” replied Renu, ears up in surprise.

“Oh yes. My parents wanted a boy, but I came out different. Neither one or the other really.”

“There are others like me?” replied Renu, hackles up in excitement.

“Well, there is at least me, but I have heard of others. We’re not too common.”

“Still, you see it, and you understand.”

The second gnoll bobbed their head and nodded, tall wagging. “Yes. My name is Shena.”

“Renu,” they responded, getting up. “My vigil has been answered. If you would like, I can take you to my village and show the elder I am not the only one.”

Shena considered. “Does the approval of an elder matter that much? If they could not see the you you always were, could they see the me I have always been?”

“No, probably not,” said Renu. “Let’s just talk, here in the shade. The locals have given me a bit of water and some dried meat, and I can share it with you.”

“I’d like that,” said Shena.

Renu and Shena stayed under the tree for two more days, talking and laughing. Then, coming to a decision, they left the shade of the acacia and built a hut next to it, and decided to live together there. Soon others came, and a small village formed around the tree, and each night, Renu and Shena would sit under the tree for an hour after dinner before bed. The gnolls and humans of their new village listened to them, and learned much about who they were and what the world was. They offered advice only on love and always gently, like a gnoll treats their newborn cubs.

Here, in this village, Renu and Shena grew old, and it was here they died, together. The people buried them under their acacia, careful to nestle them between its roots while not disturbing the tree. Then they told the story of Renu and Shena to the people of the nearby villages, and others came to the tree to sit and think. Not all were confused on who they were, but some were just lonely. Many a couple met under the tree.

A year passed, and under the tree on clear nights people started saying they saw things. There would be two gnolls holding hands, talking to themselves. And that wasn’t the only curious thing about the acacia. People started feeling presences of great power when they saw these spirits and a sense of love and connection to each other.

The tree had born two new gods right here in their village, and since then, lovers of all species, dwarf, elf, human, and gnoll pray to Renu and Shena, the gods of love and patience. Together, they rule with the other gods, and their tree continues to grow and flourish, even though it has long outlived any other acacia in the world.

And on clear nights, sometimes you will find their spirits still, under the acacia talking together.