In this chapter of "Foundations of Creation" we follow up on Vel, now captured by a giant anthro monster of unheard of size and finds out just what she has in store for him.

Due to the unexpectedly positive response the first chapter received on my subscription sites, I’ve decided to let them get two chapters ahead. So, if you want to stay two months ahead of what is getting posted to FA, you can subscribe at either Subscribestar ( https://subscribestar.adult/neopuc-s-fables ) or Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/Neopuc )

Thumbnail artwork by  sixsydes

There is also an illustration by  nommz included in the PDF download.

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Chapter 2

Vel found himself struggling to stay awake as he was carried off by the titanic hyena woman. It was strange for him to feel so tired, given the situation he was in. But, with the hard-fought battle with the giant beasts over and the adrenaline draining from his system, he was feeling beyond exhausted. He did not want to fall asleep in the grasp of the hyena though, not after she had trampled dozens of much needed homes, homes which were hopefully abandoned before she stepped on them, but she was so quick even while walking.

It was hard staying awake, though, as she was carrying him in an almost protective manner. The only thing he had to do was sit in her gently swaying palm as she walked, almost lulling him to sleep. The only thing helping to keep him awake for a while were the sounds of wailing people from the sack that the hyena had abducted earlier. Even that did not last though.

The hyena’s ears were tilted towards the sack and she eventually glanced down at it, attached to her waist, in annoyance. Vel watched as she pulled a necklace from beneath her brigandine armor. Attached to it was what looked like an hourglass, but the bone white sand in it did not flow from the top to the bottom like it should have. Instead, it all seemed to be stuck in the top. The hyena gave the hourglass a little flick with one of her claws and that seemed to dislodge a slight amount of the sand. Just as quickly as it fell, she said something in her growling language and the sand that had fallen disappeared.

Vel was startled when the hyena’s body then took on a slight glow, nearly making him jump up in her palm as it too was glowing. But, she quickly held a hand against the sack of people and the corpses of the beasts that had been felled that day. The glow quickly faded, as did the sounds coming from within the sack. Vel felt a tinge of fear, wondering what the hyena had just done. But, it was not like he could ask her, seeing that neither of them seemed to understand what the other was saying.

After that odd event, the hyena’s walk was much less eventful. Vel did spot the occasional giant monster in the distance, but these gave the hyena a good amount of space. As large and threatening as they were to humans, they were vermin before the hyena and they seemed to understand that. She kept walking for well over an hour, maybe close to two, covering a stunning amount of distance on her titanic legs. The sun had set a while ago, but based on the reflection in her eyes when the moonlight caught them, Vel thought she could probably see a lot better in the dark than he could. That was why he was a bit surprised when she finally came to a stop.

The hyena knelt down and placed her hand holding Vel on the ground. She motioned with her head for him to get down and he followed her instructions. That was followed up with a sharp bark as she pointed at him with a threatening claw and then at the spot he was standing on the ground. He thought it was clear he was being told not to move.

Then the hyena started taking off a pack she had been carrying and various items that had been secured to her body. Vel did think about running off, but the hyena made sure to continuously glance at him. They were also in the middle of a forest where the hyena towered over the surroundings. It would have been hard for him to make his way through it with just moonlight as his guide. And considering how easily she found it to take human life, he assumed there would be consequences for running.

The hyena then did something that seemed almost aimed at making him not regret running off as she also started stripping herself of her armor. While she was wearing some undergarments, they really only covered up but so much. Vel was able to get a good view of her true figure thanks to the full moon of that night helping to illuminate her. She really did have the powerful arms and legs of a fighter. Her abs were fairly well defined. If she were normal sized, he would have thought she had thighs that looked like they could crush skulls. At her actual size, she looked like she could crack open castles. Her breasts were tightly bound, so it was hard to tell their true size, but with how tightly the bindings were straining, he assumed that she had to be uncomfortable and that she was clearly very impressive.

The hyena eventually settled on the ground, appearing to try to be gentle about it, but still hitting the ground with enough force to unbalance Vel. She spread out her legs so that they surrounded him in a valley of fur and muscle. Every twitch of the massive muscles in those legs was an incredible display of power that was distracting enough that Vel nearly missed it when she laid her hand down in front of him again and commanded him to get back in it.

Vel looked at it for a moment, but not long enough for the hyena to react angrily, before stepping back in her palm. He was only lifted a short distance this time as the hyena only carried him directly above her stomach as she leaned back. Her hand tilted and Vel slid down onto her surprisingly soft belly fur. Vel sank nearly chest deep into that thick fur and struggled to regain his balance as he tried to stand on her belly.

While he was doing that, the hyena was reaching into her sack from nearby and pulled out half of one of the beasts that had been slain along with a few people that had been clinging to the body. Vel was not left to wonder what she was going to do with all of them. She promptly plopped everything into her mouth and began to chew, her powerful jaw pulverizing her little snack. A little blood managed to trickle out of her mouth, which a huge pink tongue was quick to dart out and lap up.

Vel looked on in horror at the sight, “How could you do that?”

The hyena’s ears swiveled in his direction and she did seem to notice his discomfort at what he was seeing. She only cocked her head at him, as if wondering why he was bothered at all. Instead of responding right away, she flicked that strange hourglass she was still wearing once more. After reciting some more words in her alien tongue she turned to Vel, piercing him with her gaze and said something to him. He could only look at her wonderingly, just trying to guess what horror she could have planned for him.

Upon seeing that Vel had no clue what she was saying, the hyena rolled her eyes and seemed to shake her head in frustration. She flicked the hourglass one more time and said something else. Then she turned to him once more and said, “Can you understand me now?”

Vel was taken aback. Her words still sounded like the barks and growls from before, but his mind was suddenly flooded with understanding. He even understood the tone of her voice. While it was still deep and booming, for some reason it felt like the voice was now more feminine. It was more like he could tell he was talking to a woman in her mid-20s to early-30s.

Vel tried to think quickly, about how best to respond to this situation. Perhaps it would have been better if she did not know he could understand her. Maybe she would let her guard down at some point and allow him to escape. Then he heard something that sent a chill down his spine. The hyena’s belly had started to gurgle. He looked down at the very stomach he was standing on and remembered that she was now digesting the chewed up remains of some people. Then he heard the hyena say, “Don’t you lie to me little one. I saw that look on your face. You understand me, don’t you?”

“Yes, I understand,” Vel said, staring up at the massive carnivorous being he now found himself communicating with.

“Excellent, this should make keeping you safe easier,” she said, cracking a smile for the first time since Vel had seen her.

For a second Vel thought he was not actually understanding her as he spluttered, “Keep me safe? Why?”

“You’re valuable,” the hyena said like that was something obvious.

“Then why did you eat the people in the sac if we’re valuable?”

The hyena looked at him quizzically, “Those ones aren’t valuable. They’re my provisions. Only you have value as something other than food. I would think that is obvious.”

“What’s so obvious? Why do I have value when they do not?”

The hyena was looking at him incredulously, like she was having a hard time believing what he was saying, “You honestly don’t know. Do you?”

“Know what,” Vel asked, a bit testily, letting his frustration and anger with the monster creep into his voice.

“You are a source of magic. The right craftsmen could use you to make the mana powder that makes the use of magic possible,” as the hyena spoke, she was fiddling with the hourglass around her neck. When she was finished, she started to reach into her sack a pulled out another part of a beast with a few more people. Apparently, she was not done snacking.

“Wait,” Vel said, trying to save the lives of the people hanging on to the beast. There was something strange about them. None of them were even trying to save themselves. All of them looked like their minds were elsewhere. Then Vel continued, “What did you do to them?”

“I ensorcelled them to stop all their incessant squeaking. Also helps to preserve the meat and keeps them from…defiling my bag. It also makes for a more peaceful meal,” the hyena was licking her lips in anticipation of her snack. Then her jaws parted once more to admit her meaty snack.

Val tried to interrupt her once more to save the lives of those people, “But you can’t just eat those people because they don’t have value to you.”

Once again, the hyena paused just before popping her tidbit into her mouth to turn a questioning gaze back at Val, “Why not? I caught them and I do value them as food. Also, had I not intervened when that vermin was attacking your settlement they probably would have turned most of them into a meal anyways. That whole colony owes its existence to me. It’s only fair that I should claim hunter’s rights to the colony. Or are you trying to insinuate that I am less worthy of being their consumer than those vermin were.”

“While I thank you for…saving my town, it still doesn’t seem right that you or the, uh, vermin as you consider them, should eat anyone. They are still people,” Vel explained.

“What a strange thing to say,” the hyena said, almost sounding amused by what he had said, “Meat is meat, whether they are people or not. They were captured by me, so I get to consume them. It’s only natural.” It was then that Vel realized something. Even though he could talk to this titanic being, he had to realize he was not simply talking to some giant human in animal form. This was an intelligent predator that did not see anything morally wrong with being a predator. From her point of view, she probably did not even view her actions as malicious, which put Vel in a bind. He had to figure out some way of trying to save those people without appealing to her better nature.

His mind raced, but since he had stopped talking, the hyena had gone back to placing what she only thought of as meat and nutrients into her maw. He had to think of something fast, before she could start chewing. Then he suddenly remembered something. He kept a small knife on his body, a habit he had developed as a farmer to deal with some smaller animals that invaded his farm. It had been useless against the giant beasts, of course, but he still kept it on him anyways. So, he pulled it out then, but did not make any aggressive moves towards the hyena. Instead, he held the knife up to his own throat.

“Let those people go,” Vel said, holding the knife so tightly against his skin that he thought he was already drawing blood, “I’m guessing you want to keep me alive, but if you don’t do as I say, you will find that very difficult.”

The hyena’s one good eye snapped towards him and there was such anger in her gaze that it made him almost go limp. One of her hands swiped at him with such unexpected speed that he did not even have a chance to think of a response. A claw inserted itself between his knife wielding arm and his throat, forcing some distance between them and powerful fingers wrapped around him. The hand also hit his body hard enough that he was sure half of his body was going to be bruised from the hit. He felt like the air was being squeezed from his lungs as the fingers that wrapped about him were being none too gentle.

Vel was brought before a massive snarling visage. He was staring straight at fangs larger than he was. She was emitting a near constant bone chilling growl that was only briefly interrupted when the hyena defiantly swallowed the contents of her mouth. The hyena was holding him so close to her muzzle that little flecks of saliva were hitting him in the face as she panted heavily in anger. When next she spoke, her warm moist breath washed over him, the slight scent of digesting meat hitting him right in the face.

“Listen very closely you little…whatever you are. I have been affording you every kindness I could, but you have repaid my kindness with insults. Why you consider me less worthy than some vermin of being allowed to eat I do not know. But you will not interrupt my meal again and you definitely will not try to take your own life.

“I don’t understand your way of thinking, but I do have a punishment in mind I think will be effective if you should kill yourself, so keep this in mind. If you should expire of your own actions, I will return to that colony and I will devour everyone there until I can’t eat anymore. After that, if there is anyone left, I will crush them beneath my paws until none remain. Then I will do that to every one of your measly little colonies until I can find a replacement for you. Surely, such an unworthy huntress as myself doing something like that to your people would bother you even in the afterlife.”

Despite the things the hyena had done so far, Vel realized that he had never been truly so terrified of her before. At most, he had only managed to annoy her before now. This was his first time confronting her while she was furious. And she was truly a sight to behold. Vel found himself shivering like a leaf, and not just because of her threat. Her growl alone felt like it shook the air, reaching into his body and shaking his very bones.

She had just seemed so calm before when he had been talking to her that it almost felt like he was talking to an equal. This, however, was a very thorough reminder that there was an overwhelming power difference between them. Her fury alone was enough to take all the fight right out of him. He had not even noticed that his hands had gone limp and he had dropped his knife.

Vel was also aware that the hyena was fully capable of delivering on her threat. He realized that he had to tread much more carefully around her than he thought he did. If things went wrong, there were a lot more people besides himself that could suffer the consequences. He tried to think about all those people that would be under threat, completely unaware of why they were being subject to the hyena’s ire all because he messed up. Even though he was terrified, he had to think of a way to defuse this situation.

“I-I apologize. Bu-but, I think there has been a misunderstanding,” Vel stammered.

The hyena was still growling as she dubiously responded, “A misunderstanding?”

“Y-yes. I was not implying that you were an unworthy huntress. I was implying that we may be, uh, unworthy prey for one so mighty as yourself.”

The growling stopped and her lips slid shut, hiding those frightening fangs once more. Her hand withdrew far enough from her muzzle that Vel could see the entirety of her face once more. The hyena appeared to look a little surprised as she slowly said, “I suppose that does make more sense, but you would kill yourself just to protect my honor like that?”

“We are a…passionate people,” Vel struggled to come up with a convincing lie that he hoped the titanic predator would find acceptable, “But you saw that we were struggling to deal with what you consider mere vermin. Surely, we aren’t worth of gracing your tastebuds.”

Now, it was Vel’s turn to be surprised as the warrior goddess of a hyena actually started to look a little flustered as her grip on him loosened up. He went from feeling like he was about to get crushed to feeling like she was just trying to hold him safely in place. Then she said, “Have I truly made you feel that way? I do apologize. Of course, your kind is worthy of, how did you put it, gracing my tastebuds. As with all my food, I am honored to add your flesh to my own. Watch.”

The hyena reached into her sack once again, this time pulling out a whole beast along with a dozen or so people clinging on to it. Then she placed all of them in her mouth, but she did not chew or immediately swallow this time. The beast was a bit of a mouthful for her and puffed out her cheeks a little in what would have been a somewhat comical fashion if Vel was not aware of just what was in her mouth right then. The hyena made a show of enjoying their flavor for a little while before swallowing this time, tracing a rather sizable lump down her long throat with a finger while making delighted sounds.

“See, I am quite happy to have your kind be a part of me, no matter how small you may be,” she said, smiling innocently at Vel, “By the way, just what are your kind called? My kind are called gnolls by the way.”

“We’re humans. You’ve never encountered us before,” Vel asked.

The hyena, no, the gnoll laughed, “Certainly not. Never encountered any race so small before. Nothing intelligent has been less than around knee height to me. If I had known the race that lives on this world was so small, I would have come better prepared with a proper container for you.”

There were some frightening implications in the words of that gnoll. Apparently, there were more races than her own out there, and all of them towered over humanity. There was something else he did have to ask about though.

“What do you mean by on this world?”

“Oh my, this is the first time your people are going through a convergence event. Forgot about that.”

“Convergence event?”

The gnoll explained, “Yes, your world and mine are in the process of merging. That is why some creatures from my world have been appearing on yours. The whole process will probably take a couple of centuries to complete, but we can travel between worlds through tears in the fabric of space for now.”

Vel was not quite sure he understood all that. He was just a simple farmer at heart after all. But if he understood that explanation even half right, then he thought that meant humanity was about to be sharing their world with various races of giants, at least one of which saw no problems with consuming other races. It sounded like there were dark times ahead and Vel was having a hard time seeing how humanity could survive even having the race of gnolls running about.

“And is that where we’re heading, to another world?”

“Yes, there is a market for magically gifted beings such as yourself where I plan to sell you,” the gnoll said casually.

“How much could I possibly be worth? I mean, I’m tiny to you people.”

“That’s strange,” the gnoll looked at Vel in wonderment, “Your people really must not be able to sense magical energy. It’s the only reason I can think of why you were even allowed on the battlefield. Little human, it’s not the size of the body that determines how much mana powder can be produced, it the amount of magical energy the body contains. And let me tell you that you have more energy than anyone I have heard of in centuries. Quite frankly, you’re going to make me wealthy, so I really can’t have you killing yourself. By the way, does my payday have a name?”

“Vel Apelles. And I’ll try to keep myself alive.”

“Good, and even though I do apologize for getting so aggressive with you, that threat does still remain. However, if you behave yourself, you do have me as your protector until it comes time to sell you.”

“Just why would I need a protector anyways?”

The gnoll chuckled, “Vel, I just had to save you from getting eaten by vermin. Plus, other hunters aren’t as nice as I am. Little fellow like you, they’d probably break all your limbs to make sure you couldn’t sneak off and then stuff you into some uncomfortable pocket without the least bit of concern to your comfort.”

“And may I ask the name of my protector?”

The gnoll’s hand finally loosened up around him completely and Vel found himself dropping into the gnolls palm. Once he recovered from the small fall, she gave him a little nod of her head, seemingly a bow, then she extended a claw towards him. The size of it frightened him into taking a step back at first before he realized it was stopping just short of him. That claw was there for him to shake. He reached out a hand to it and accepted it, not wanting to offend the giant. Once he did that, the gnoll flashed him a friendly smile, “Iah Splithallow, at your service. And I don’t mind giving you the first-class client treatment while we’re together, considering how much money you’re about to make me.”

“Good to be working with you Iah,” Vel said, trying to force his voice to sound congenial despite the fact that he still felt frightened of this titanic being.

Iah seemed to take his words at face value as she beamed happily at him, a very stark contrast to the cold and merciless mercenary he had first encountered just a few hours ago. The gnoll soon continued, “As a show of my good faith, I’m going to do you a favor. Please lay down in my palm and try to remain still.”

Not knowing what she had planned, but wanting to keep her happy, Vel complied with her request. He remembered what happened the last time he had offended her by rejecting her kindness. As he laid down he was brought closer to her face. Once again, he had to resist the urge to cringe away from her. He could not show any signs of rejection. His focus had to be on getting along with her. Too many lives depended on it.

Fortunately, Iah did not have anything nefarious planned for him. All she did was bring him up to her cheek and she started cuddling into him, placing enough pressure against him that he sank into her padded palm. This cuddling lasted for a couple minutes. If anything, Vel had to resist laughing as her brown furred cheek brushed against his body.

“Turn over.” The process repeated again as Vel rolled over. His back received the same treatment as his front had. Then she pulled him away in front of her face again, smiling all that while, looking far friendlier than Vel would have thought possible from the seasoned warrior when he had first seen her.

“There, I’ve marked you with my scent. That should help to keep a lot of the vermin away from you and it tells others that you might as well be one of my clan,” Iah explained, “And you should get treated that way if we get separated for some reason, letting me protect you even if I’m not around.”

As frightened as he was of Iah, he could not help but appreciate the gesture. His nose was not as sensitive as hers, so he could not really tell if her scent was on him. Then again, pretty much all he was smelling was her since her smell was everywhere to him. Still, if it were true, it was like he had just been gifted a suit of armor. Considering what he had been through for the past few weeks, he was grateful for any help he could get. What he was not looking forward to was that whole part apart getting sold. So, while he seemed to be on Iah’s good side, he asked, “Iah, what’s going to happen to me after I’m sold.”

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and he thought he saw what might be pity in her expression as she responded, “You will be converted into mana powder. I’ve never seen the process done, but, from what I’ve heard, it’s not a gentle process. Your flesh will be melted away, your bones will be pulverized to serve as a base for the powder, and you will be no more.”

Vel paled. For some reason, he thought that he might be getting sold into slavery or something like that. After a few seconds to absorb her words, Vel managed to stammer out, “Then why do you even need to keep me alive? Aren’t I just as good to you dead?”

Iah seemed to notice that something was bothering Vel and her thumb curled up behind him and began to rub gently at as his back, or at least as gently as could be expected of such a gigantic being, “Your magic begins to fade quickly upon death. They’d have less than an hour to begin the conversion process after death before your magic began to fade away. In less than half a day, it would have faded completely. I’m so sorry about that.”

Vel wondered what she was sorry about. She was the one planning to sell him after all. But there was something that seemed very sincere about her tone. He wondered if that meant there was some way he could get out of this. And then Iah continued speaking, “You will not have the chance to let your flesh join with someone else’s. But that does not mean I think any less of you, Vel. I would love to add your flesh to mine if given the chance. However, you are still going to be put to great use. With the amount of mana powder you will create, there will be those making use of you for generations to come. It is still a great honor.”

This whole conversation was disturbing for Vel. Iah sounded like she was honestly trying to reassure him. She really was an intelligent predator, trying to comfort him by letting him know she would do eat him if she could. That meant the only reason he was alive right now was because he was too valuable even for his titanic captor to consider eating despite how much she thought it was a good idea. His situation was looking increasingly hopeless, and yet, he could not help but feel a little comforted by the mammoth finger gently rubbing against him. Maybe it was the fact that he was the center of attention for this behemoth of a being, making him feel special rather than feeling the hopelessness he should be feeling.

“Well, that’s something I suppose,” Vel sighed.

“It really is, little Vel,” Iah said firmly, “Your magical energy proves the value of your people. Any of you would be worth being the meal of the finest of predators, certainly more worthy than some lowly vermin deserves.” Unfortunately, Iah decided to prove her point by continuing with her meal for the night. She happily ate some more of the remains of the beasts she and the militiamen had slain along with dozens of people. It was probably a dainty meal for her, but Vel had to try to keep the horror out of his expression as he did realize that dozens of people would not have even qualified as a snack for her if she had not eaten them alongside the beasts. The humans she had eaten were more like seasoning than anything else. If he managed to get on her bad side and caused her to carry through on her threat, she very well might be able to eat an entire village.

“I…appreciate the sentiment,” Vel said to a smiling Iah.

“Good, then I suggest we get some rest,” Iah said with a yawn, “We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

With that, Iah lowered Vel down to her belly and deposited him into her plush fur. Apparently, this was to serve as his bed for the night. He was not going to be given a choice in this either. Just as soon as Vel found himself lying on her belly, a massive hand descended on top him. Its weight settled on top of him just firmly enough that he realized there was no escaping for the night.

Once again, Vel felt rather torn about the situation. He was just a simple farmer. His bed had been nothing fancy. And now, here he was, sleeping on a vast fur bed that was so luxurious he could have only dreamt of such comfort in the past. But that comfort came with a price. The gnoll’s belly gurgled at him and he realized, that just on the other side of all that fur and flesh, were some people currently being digested. As her belly continued to churn he could not help but feel himself starting to drift off. Iah was radiating a pleasant heat and the hand atop him made for a better blanket than he could have ever hoped for. Even with the sound of Iah turning the contents of her belly into nutrients, causing him to shiver, Vel could not help but feel a sense of protection great enough that it helped to overcome the horror of his situation and his eyes soon closed. He was exhausted from the events of the day and he soon found himself taken by the darkness of sleep.