How-not to be an Olympian God!

The two made their way back to the tent in the darkness of the night.

Unfortunately, the tornado had extinguished the large fire, but, they easily found their way back under Alex's lead.

Alex removed Incarnation under the revering gaze of Yazid.

Yazid then entered the tent ahead of him and exclaimed joyfully, "Saidi has vanquished the curse of our tribe, the Jinni Rih!"

Alex could hear the cheers of the people inside the tent and felt a headache incoming.

'Here goes nothing...'

As he entered the tent himself, the sound of applause filled his ears.

Hermes was sipping tea in the corner, but Alex perceived a playful smile beneath the teacup.

'Is he going to do something troublesome?' Alex suddenly had a bad premonition.

Unexpectedly, Hermes stood up and asked, "People, do you worship any gods?"

Fatima shook her head and replied, "We only worship the everlasting sands of the desert."

Hermes then pointed at him and exclaimed, "Alex is your savior and... a GOD. He's in search of more followers."

The adults of the tribe looked surprised by the declaration and started discussing amongst themselves.

Alex glared at the latter with wide eyes and exclaimed, "Hermes, we're on a diplomatic trip, not a propaganda campaign!"

Hermes waved his hands loosely and said, "Alexei-boy, loosen up. Would it be anything bad to gain followers throughout all of Hellenia?"

Alex sighed and replied, "But, this feels disingenuous, like I'm taking advantage of them. That Jinni was troublesome, and I, of my own volition, decided to take care of it. It was not to get followers."

"Alexei-boy, you should stop undermining your own exploits. You slew a long-time enemy of theirs, and they will worship you. Where's the wrong in that?"

As they were speaking, Yazid and Fatima stood up, approached him, and bowed deeply.

They then declared, "I think our tribe is ready to accept the grace of Saidi Alex."

Hermes chuckled as he spectated and Alex cursed him internally.

'I can't do much about it, then?' Alex put his hands on the heads of the two.

He blessed them with swiftness, which he determined would be the most useful blessing they could receive in the desert, where climate patterns often changed erratically, and large groups of people often needed to move fast to new oases and sources of water.

The two seemed to feel the effects of the blessing and bowed even deeper.

Alex rubbed his glabella as he perceived that the rest of the tribe also kowtowed.

Following that, Yazid turned to his tribe and screamed, "Let us hold a party for Saidi Alex!"

'WHAT' Alex just wanted to have a good night's rest...

The tribe reignited the fire and cooked a whole banquet for him.

Everyone, including Hermes, who seemed to have way too much fun for some reason, were dancing around the fire as men and women played various instruments and sung local music.

This continued until sunrise, and Alex ultimately decided to join in on the fun.

He even used one of the films to take a picture with the camera, and the tribe members were all dumbfounded at seeing their own image recorded onto the film.

When the party was over, the children were already snoring loudly while the adults looked tired.

"Thank you for everything, Saidi. We wish you great luck." Yazid bowed deeply.

Fatima advised them, "Saidi, I recommend stopping by at my homeland, in Babylon, you should be able to find plenty of inns and food there."

She pointed to the direction of the city.

Alex thanked the two and bid everyone goodbye.

He and Hermes got on the chariot, and under the rising sun, the chariot flew into the sky.

The tribe members were waving at him, and he reciprocated.

"That was a really good night. Such nice people." Hermes commented.

Alex nodded and felt satisfied at the outcome of the night.

Their next destination was Babylon, a city in Mesopotamia surrounded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Back on Earth, it was common knowledge that the enormous quantities of water displaced by the movement of the two aforementioned rivers allowed for a sprawling civilization to spawn next to the arid desert.

Cities such as Uruk, Sumer, Assur, and Babylon produced some of his world's oldest and best-preserved literary and architectural works.

"Hey, Hermes, are there any pantheons on our way?" Alex asked.

Hermes nodded and informed him, "Yes, we'll have to report our presence to Marduk, the head god of the Mesopotamian pantheon on our way."

"Why do we have to report our presence?"

"For diplomatic reasons, it was part of the negotiations we made when Alexander expanded our cult here. If a disastrous event ever happens and it is discovered that a foreign deity passed by without alerting the local gods, the worst-case consequence would be war."

"We're much stronger than they are. But trust me, a war between different pantheons is not something we ever want." Hermes slanted his eyes.

Alex nodded in understanding.

'When there are many fearsome deities inhabiting one world, I suppose delicate power play is necessary to prevent conflict.'

"Has it ever happened?" Alex inquired to Hermes.

Hermes fell into a contemplative state and then replied, "I don't think we've ever had major conflicts with other pantheons, only some small skirmishes with the Allemani pantheon in the north of Europe and the Amazigh pantheon in Libya(1)"

He continued, "However, recently, tensions were very high with the Jade Emperor, following the fact that Olympus has encroached upon their territory after Alexander's conquests and thus, the need for our current trip."

Alex thanked Hermes for the explanation and got back to observing the scenery below them.

They passed through a small river and Hermes exclaimed in confusion, "That's the Euphrates?! I remember it being much bigger than this."

Alex was also astonished.

He thought it was just a small tributary, but it was actually the 'colossal' Euphrates river that fed the Mesopotamian civilization?!

Soon enough, they saw the signs of an urban settlement.

It was a circular city and from the sky, they could see eight walls that separated the city into eight parts, respectively.

"This is Babylon now? It looked much more glorious when we came here a few decades ago..."

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