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I decided it would be saver to try and encourage the lizardfolk to convert those they knew well before I started spreading my roots. At first, I wasn't really sure how to send them a dream, but even without asking the Fount for help - which I wasn't entirely sure was trustworthy, now that I thought about it - I managed to determine that it was the same as contacting them before, only now I could making a stronger link with them, because they were actively feeling devotion to me.
I just had to put on the right display of impressiveness and power. After some consideration, I decided to hazard towards formal speech and a bit of fake precognition.
"Hail, lost traveler. I foresaw your arrival, and have chosen to watch over you.
I return for sheltering you from the cold, I ask only that you bring others of your kin to me, that they may share in my gifts and protection."
The lizardfolk stirred in their sleep, but did not wake up. So I waited. I noticed too that time seemed to flower differently for me than it had when I was mortal. It was trivial now to let time slip by me, and waiting patiently for events to pass did not bother me anymore. It almost felt like I could speed up time when I wanted to. Was time control one of my abilities now?
"It is not. It is simply easy for an immortal being to alter their perception of the passing of time."
"Gah! Stop doing that! I didn't say you could read my thoughts!"
The Fount apparently chose to ignore this complaint, and continued as if I had not spoken.
"Boredom is a mortal frailty. Recall that you spent over a century collecting your current amalgamate form. Should you wish to, you could let a decade pass easily."
"Yeah, right. I'm in the middle of something right now, I'm not going to laze around."
The night passed, and the size of my fire shrank as it adjusted to the amount of divine power it could output. With a single follower, the size of the fire was not terribly impressive. I could probably surge it larger for the purposes of some sort of demonstration of power, but I could not currently hold a large flame for very long.
The lizardfolk eventually woke up, and though I could not see the sun, I seemed to intuitively know it was around an hour after dawn. They sat up, looking at the smaller fire, then up at the spike on my altar. They raised their arms, speaking for the first time. Sound was apparently I could pick up... though felt the sound against my temple more than 'heard' it from any particular direction.
"Mighty fire spirit! Thank you for your warmth! I will bring others to witness you, I promise. But I must return home now."
They bowed to my flame and ran down the steps of the temple, fading from my vision. But I could tell the direction they were in now with minimal effort, so their bond of devotion was still strong.
Hours passed, and at shortly after noon, the lizardfolk approached again. This time, there were other souls with them. Now that I could sense more than one of them at once, I could tell there was... a sort of distinct difference to the feel of each of the visitors soul. Even though I could not make out much of their features, I could tell them all apart fairly easily.
The other lizardfolk were clearly curious, and spent some time examining the temple, while my prophet kneeled in front of my fire patiently, radiating optimism and hope in my direction.
"-but I've been here before, this place was an abandoned ruin."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I think so, anyway.."
"Well, it's not now."
"Yes, Jissut says a fire spirit saved her from the cold."
"And they spoke to me last night!"
"Yeah yeah, I see the fire.."
The other lizardfolk seemed to be cautious, even if they were curious. After a while, they all left, including my prophet. I started to wonder if I had made an error, but over the next few hours, I sensed the faint tension of four more threads of devotion reaching out to connect with me. I wondered what had happened, and wished I could do more than sit inside a temple and wait for followers to come to me.
But I could tell they were come back to the temple now, and when they arrived, their emotions were mostly determination tinged with hope. They all gathered around my fire, kneeling and raising their arms. They were here to ask for something. In amusement, I noticed some of them were clearly worried that if they didn't flatter me enough, I wouldn't listen to them. I was already used to people groveling for me from when I was alive, though.
"Mighty fire spirit!"
"Great fire soul!"
"We bring you an offering!"
"Please accept our gift, fire spirit!"
"We beseech your aid, o... heated one!"
"...Heated one?! Seriously?"
"Ahem."
"Sorry..."
They were precious, just like some of the bumbling, anxious minions I had when I was alive. I missed my kobolds a little, now that I was reminded of them. I still was considering what to do with them when my prophet threw something into the fire. I felt a surge of faith and power as it was consumed by the flames, and they grew larger as the power flowed into me.
"... What was that?!"
"A sacrificial offering, of course! A mortal destroying or giving up something of value in the name of their deity provides their divine patron with a surge of power. There is a reason why mortals are rewarded for making offerings to their deity."
"That was... huh. That was just some meat, hemp, and wooden sculptures, though. That's hardly valuable."
"It matters how important it is to your followers, too. Food and construction materials matter to a society living on subsistence hunting, as does personal trinkets with sentimental value."
I supposed that made sense, if the my power came from the act of devotion rather than tangible value of the sacrifice. The lizardfolk began making their entreaty to me, and I listened.
"Please accept our offering, great fire spirit!"
"We beseech you for strength and protection!"
"Our enemies, the Longclaw tribe, have harassed for many months!"
"Yeah, help our weapons strike true, and bolster our scales!"
"Please, give us the strength to push them back!"
"Mighty fire soul, aid us, and we will bring many more offerings!"
I considered grovelling lizardfolk, and turned some of my attention to the Fount.
"Can I do that?"
"A blessing would be difficult for you to maintain for very far from your demesne with only five worshipers. But you could try. They did just make an offering, after all."
"Alright, sure."
"Sometimes, though, investing them with some confidence and bravery can sometimes work just as well. It's not like the mortals would know the difference, and it would save you the effort of straining yourself."
That was certainly something to think about. I could either use their offering to try and honor their request, or just fake it by influencing their minds, and keep it.
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