Over the course of a few minutes I had created a swarm of mosquitoes that numbered in the thousands. I had followed this up by immediately commanding them to evolve. As a consequence of this I was now surrounded by rapidly evolving, horse-sized mosquito-monsters, as well as a few vaguely monstrous fusions of man and mosquito.

The overwhelming majority of the mosquitoes I had created evolved into horse-sized mosquito-monsters, which were, in essence, the same as regular mosquitos but both more intelligent and more aggressive. They were enormous creatures, especially compared to what they had evolved from. I looked forward to watching them seize control of the community I was going to order them to take.

The other type of evolution that occurred when I commanded my horde to evolve was far less common, taking place perhaps a dozen times across the few thousand mosquitoes I had created. When it took place the mosquitoes who were lucky enough to become this rarer type of creature were transformed into almost eldritch-seeming fusions of man and insect.

The lucky mosquitoes gained a new form that was largely mundane looking. They acquired a human form that though beautiful or handsome in every case was not exceptionally so. Their new bodies were human, but they had additional features. They had wings, a proboscis, and a second, vestigial, set of eyes. Their evolution also took longer than the evolution of their cousins as they had to take on a whole new shape whereas their cousins just expanded in size quite rapidly over the course of a few seconds.

I had usages for both groups in my newest horde and indeed once the final mosquito to complete its evolution into a human-mosquito-hybrid was done evolving I began to move. I smiled and launched a specific, efficient attack on the community I was overlooking. This wasn't going to be a genocide, though I didn't doubt that some death would occur.

I pointed one of my orcish hands at the town and began to create darkness. In order for my forces to be as efficient and as effective as possible, I'd need to take control of the basic situation the town was in. Currently, it was late in the day and though the sun was beginning to set I didn't want to wait. Fortunately, I was a god of darkness and so I didn't need to wait for night to fall to plunge a town into darkness.

An umbral blanket fell over the small town, immediately smothering it in cloying darkness. The umbral blanket was quite thick in some places, and where it was the thickest it was also a solid, impenetrable thing that served as a wall restricting movement in and out of the town. Every road out of the tiny community was blocked off, making it impossible for anyone to leave the town or enter it.

Without looking at them, I rose another hand in the direction of the horde of mosquitoes. A second later they briefly glowed the strange silvery light that I was known for, as they gained the ability to see perfectly even in the darkness I had created. I heard and felt the creatures exude sighs of relief, as they were all watching my powers begin their assault on the town and they were happy that they wouldn't be impeded by my abilities.

I began to telepathically command my mosquito-human-hybrids. My orders were simple, go into the town and capture its leaders. I had plans, ones that were quite sinister, for them, and I wanted to complete this mission as efficiently as possible. The eerie creatures didn't say a word as they left to complete the mission their creator and god had given them. I chuckled as they appeared in my field of view, floating on nearly invisible wings as they moved towards the town we were set on ruining.

The mosquito-human-hybrid monsters flew as a pack towards the town beneath the hill their creator brought them to life on. Their master granted them vision, and he also began to telepathically speak to them. The monsters all began to grin when they heard their master's voice in their heads and they felt the power and majesty of his presence enter them in a way that ensured that he'd never truly leave them.

They split up as they approached the town, each silently deciding which of the town's leaders they'd abduct. Their mission was all that drove them, and they each hoped that completion of the mission would grant them the approval of their creator. One of the mosquitoes went to the house of the town's mayor, and that specific mosquito had a fascinating encounter.

Each of the creatures was being observed by their odd creator-god. And all of them would succeed in their mission, as their creator was prepared to silently help them if need be. Althos wasn't about to take any chances.

The mosquito who had opted to kidnap the mayor of the town arrived at the humble abode of the mayor and decided to begin by barging in uninvited. The creature, blessed by its god with knowledge as all of the elite-kidnappers had been, recognized the building where the mayor lived as a house. It had been directed here by Althos himself, who knew both that this wasn't where the mayor was and also that this place was currently hiding a rather amusing secret; an intimate act of lust and betrayal that Althos had decided to witness for himself.

The mosquito walked right up to the front door of the house and then began to flex and harden his muscles. He studied the door for a moment, quietly deciding whether or not to knock for a single heartbeat. He decided to knock, in a manner speaking anyway. The mosquito silently reared his fist back and then launched a single, devastating punch. The punch collided with the door, and sent it sailing inward, opening the path for the monster to enter the house. Unbeknownst to it, it had a guest who was alongside it as it took its first steps into the home.

The house itself was a simple two-story building with everything for guests on the bottom floor and the bedrooms being upstairs. When the door crashed into the home, the sound it generated was muffled by the mosquito god's timely intervention in the form of a custom-magical-effect that merely made everyone who would have reacted to the noise merely not perceiving it. This was an easy effect for the god to create as it was a simple enchantment.

The mosquito, a silent creature, had been blessed with exceptional hearing. Because of this not long after stepping into the home the creature had invaded it was able to hear the sounds of passionate lovemaking, or rather what was more honestly described as fucking. The creature wordlessly set off to investigate the sounds, wondering if they were the sounds of the mayor. It remained eerily silent even as it made it to the stairwell that would lead it to the bedrooms where it would discover the truth.

Its god knew the truth as a consequence of his powers over stars and knowledge, as well as his influence over lust and pleasure. As his monstrous "child", of a sort anyway, completed climbing the stairs the noises only intensified. The curious mosquito lumbered over to where they were coming from and knocked the door down with another of its potent punches, sending the obstacle sailing inward into the bedroom. The sight that it saw confused it.

Due to my powers over sloth and lust, as well as magic, I was able to intervene in the seconds before my minion arrived at the bedroom and ensure that the two lovers would not be disturbed by the abrupt appearance of my monstrous servant. Because of this the two continued to enjoy each other, even as my mosquito-minion not only entered the room but actually approached them.

The bedroom was a big space with plenty of space for the adulterous couple to enjoy each other. At the moment they were enjoying each other orally, their mouths practically affixed to each other's genitals. The man in the bed was a neighbor, and the woman was the wife of the mayor. The two of them were naked, and they had yet to react to the presence of the enormous man-mosquito who had rudely intruded upon their private-time.

I quietly manifested next to my man-mosquito creation, a smirk on my lips as I did so. As I began to appear in front of the couple and my creation I activated a number of pleasant and unpleasant abilities, so that when I became fully visible I was a radiant vision of beauty and lust. That alone didn't cause the couple to turn to face me, but when I chuckled they did in fact turn to examine whoever was so insistent on disturbing their amorous moment.

The man in the bed was very pale and he had been facing away from myself and my creation. The woman was almost equally pale, and she had had her mouth full. The two of them were naked but parts of them were hidden from view by the blankets of the bed they were on. The man retrieved himself from the woman and turned to face me, even as she peered out at me from behind him. I smirked at the two, right as their eyes fell upon my divinely attractive form.

I wasn't here in the body of the orcish man I had possessed, I was here in my own form. I was only manifesting myself as a phantom-clone, but it was enough. I was a god of love, lust, and pleasure. Even as a baby god of those things I was more than powerful enough to overwhelm some adulterous assholes.

The couple's mouths fell wide open. As the woman's did, some of the essence of her partner that was still in it began to drip out of her mouth, staining the bed she sat upon. Both of the humans were instantly smitten, quite powerfully, with me. I silently beckoned for the couple to approach me, and as I did I commanded my servant to do something.

"Drink." I told it, telepathically. I filled the single mental word with a heavy-weight to make it impossible to resist. The couple got out of the bed, but when they dared to stand up I pointed a hand towards them and spoke for the first time.

"Crawl." I commanded, my voice filling with the power of the domain of law. The couple didn't hesitate and they began to crawl towards me. I found this amusing, and my minion found it convenient. The creature lunged at the couple, tackling the man first. For a split second his lover almost reacted to it, but I seized her mind to keep her from looking away from me.

My minion's proboscis shot out of his mouth and pierced the shoulder of the man it had tackled even as the pair fell to the floor. I smiled as I heard the man begin to struggle against the creature, but my minion was ravenous. The creature began to drink the blood of the man incredibly quickly and because of this the man's strength began to decrease even as he began to try and resist the creature. I waved a hand in the direction of the pair and blessed my minion, increasing its strength, and cursed the man, decreasing his strength.

It would only take a minute for the man to be drained of all of his blood. When he was, the mosquito-minion discarded his corpse and turned to glare sinisterly at the woman. He soon charged at her, right as she reached me and repeated the vile process he had done to her adulterous lover.

Once she was deceased, which only took about forty-five seconds, I was content. Both of the corpses looked withered and I found them amusing to glance at. I took one more glance at them before I returned to the hill the orc I had possessed was standing on top of.

The next hour was a busy one. The minions I sent out began to return with their intended prey, and as they did I began to receive a number of new notifications. The notifications I received were universally quite exciting.

Alert:

You can now complete the quests to gain the second tiers of influence over additional domains and subdomains. None of these quests are necessary for you to become an intermediate god, but completion of them will greatly expand the number of powers at your disposal, as well as the ways you can interact with the universe around you.

Darkness: To acquire the second tier of influence over the domain of darkness, plunge a nation into darkness and have it last for over 50 hours.

Pain: To acquire the second tier of influence over the pain subdomain, inflict pain on an entire community at once.

Life*: To acquire the second tier of influence over the domain of life, create a brand new species. The powers you need to be able to do this have been added to your life domain powers.

Biology: Utilize your powers over biology to warp an entire community and leave each inhabitant looking however you desire for them to look.

*You have met a god of a humanoid species before. Becoming a god of a humanoid species grants you great power over that specific species. To become one you must accrue more influence over the domain of life, among other things that tend to be specific to the species in question. Back when it mattered, only one god could be a god of a humanoid species at any given time. Morehammer was that, for his creations; the dwarves. Becoming a god of a species requires time and energy, but doing it confers immense benefits and is always worth the investment.

I was quite pleased. I had just gained a chance to immeasurably increase my powers, and I had just gained the power to make a brand new species. Now that was exciting. I could sense the powers the notification mentioned resting deep within me, and I fully intended to make use of them right away.

It was while I was preparing to do that, that the last of my minions arrived. They brought with them the humans I had told them to capture. And because of that, coupled with the notification I had just received, they had brought the first meal I'd give to the new species I was about to create.

I rose a single hand and I did something I almost never did. I turned on my own minions. I released a directed burst of radiation that exploded out of me and swept over the minions I had decided to cull. I didn't need them anymore, and the radiation that washed over them was in such a great quantity that it granted them a nearly instantaneous death. I, of course, didn't kill all of the creatures, as I suspected that if I killed the humans I had captured I would not complete the quest I had come here to complete. That said even the dead would be used. I was nothing if not resourceful.

I spared the human-mosquito-hybrids and I spared a pair of the evolved mosquitoes for each of the human-mosquito-hybrids to have as mounts. I needed them to be the ones who killed the humans I had abducted. I also ordered my shadow to consume the shadows of the fallen horde of mosquitoes, whom were crashing to the ground all around me. I fully intended to store their corpses for use at a later date as well. They'd make excellent undead monsters, but I didn't need them to be alive and indeed if I left them alive they'd decimate this place. I had just ended up killing them sooner than I had planned too.

My shadow detached itself from me and began to crawl towards the closest deceased monster-mosquito. When it reached the unfortunate thing the shadow greedily attacked the mosquito's shadow, eagerly latching onto it and pulling it into itself. I chuckled and began to ready myself to make my first ever original species.

To do that I reexamined the list of life-domain powers I possessed, excitedly taking in all of the new toys I had at my disposal.