Wild Magic Four: The Light Beyond Constellations- a M/M fantasy romance

The Birth of Ravin's Guardians

*****The Light Beyond Constellations will contain bear shifters (duh), knotting, kinky sex through cell bars, lacy underwear, glitter, and pirates. For once, no trigger warnings. Just, you know, mature themes— angst, violence, and explicit sex. So enjoy!

Thank you to my betas!! Everlasting_Stardust  & ATel2018 *****

Long before there were cities and libraries; long before humans had enough knowledge to grow their food. When they still huddled together in the warmth of their fires, living from caves and hunting the beasts of the wild, the gods watched on, unsure what this new creation their Mother and Father had born would become. Less than a god, yet more than an animal, this new creature fascinated some of the gods, and distressed the others.

"They will be good for this world. You'll see, brothers and sisters. We will grow to love them, and they us. We have only to watch and to wait," said Eses, Goddess of the Earth and Things that Grow.

"They will bring darkness to this world. It was a good world, with Ravin's creations, and with Eses's green and my blue. They darken it with their filth," said Daki, Goddess of the Deep.

"Even Ulniirn's disgusting creatures— the demons of the dark— are not so bad as these," Xader, God of Light, agreed, his head dipping down as he watched two humans copulating below him with a frown and a deep, disgusted sigh. "At least the demons have some semblance of order amid the chaos that humans seem to thrive in."

"I think they're beautiful," Enlin, God of the Sky and the Prince of the Gods whispered, his young eyes alight as he watched the same thing his brother did. Enlin's hands shook as he put them to his flaming cheeks as the cries of the human's pleasure peaked below them. "You heard Mother: their potential is limitless. Isn't that wonderful?"

"They're killing off all of my children," Ravin hissed, her eyes flashing with fury as she felt another life snuffed out by the greedy, starving creatures her parents had created of their boredom and loneliness.

"Yes. Before long, the balance of the world will be irreversibly shattered if these..." Rholil, God of Balance, paused, glancing at their youngest brother, Enlin, as he clapped his hands in joy at something the humans had done that seemed to please him. "Humans," he finished, trying to sound as bright as he could for Enlin's sake, keeping the disgust out of his voice as much as he was able, "are left unchecked."

"I must protect my children. But how?" Ravin muttered, her fingers looping through Enlin's long, dark hair with a small smile at his joy, despite her distress at her own pain. Ever since the small god had been introduced to them as their youngest sibling, Ravin had been unable to keep her hands from her little brother. Petting his hair, braiding it when he let her and stayed still enough for her to be able to tie it, her fingers tracing the softness of his perfect cheeks, her smile always kind and special, just for him.

"You will not hurt the humans, will you, sister?" the young god whispered, turning to her with an unsure smile.

"I will not. I want only to give my children a chance against these creatures Mother and Father have created that have such an advantage over them."

"You should create protectors," he whispered, hugging his elder sister and chuckling when she bent and kissed his cheek, as if she couldn't help it, since his skin was so near. "Beings of power to protect your children, but merge them with Mother and Father's."

"Half-animal, half-human," Rholil murmured, something like awe in his voice as he, too, placed a hand on their youngest brother's head. There was something about the boy. Though not a child any longer, they all treated him as what he was: their baby brother. And only a handful of them were ever able to keep their hands off of him when he tilted his bright, sweet, cheerful face up at them. "That just might work, sister. They'll be able to live among the humans, but keep them in check against the animals you rule over."

Looking back into the huge, dark blue eyes of the god created to rule over them all, Ravin smiled and nodded.

"Will you help me, little brother? Will you help me to create these creatures your ideas have given birth to?"

And so Ravin took the image her brother had given her. She took a male human, and a female human, and a male great northern bear and a female great northern bear, and created the first of her Guardians. Marlin was the first male; given Ravin's strength, her power, and her will, he would be beside her for millenia. Tatia came second, though she would last only a thousand years before she would find her mate and choose to merge her life with his.

Slowly, one-by-one, Ravin's Guardians would find their mates, their unions bearing the fruit of Ravin's labor: wild mages born of the demi-god Guardians and their human mates.

All but Ravin's first. All but Marlin.

But that is another story.