Chapter 35 - 35 Meeting Hecate and another deal

After settling everything with Hephaestus and getting directions towards Hecate, I left and went to go see the goddess of magic and witchcraft.

A few minutes later I'm standing in front of a dark mansion that is surrounded by a beautiful garden filled with herbs and poisonous plants. Aconite, Hemlock, Belladonna and Tobacco are among the few I actually manage to recognize.

As I walk towards the mansion I see most people wearing robes, holding staves and some are carrying large books or scrolls strapped on their backs. ' I'm definitely in the right place.'

The moment I reach the front door, a middle aged male Chienthrope opens the door. "Good afternoon Lord Fenris, my name is Spot, I'm the captain of the Hecate Familia. Our goddess is waiting for you."

The Chienthrope man with the generic dog name leads me towards a large room with a large cauldron, the walls are full of shelves filled with plant cuttings and bottles filled with unidentifiable liquids.

A very pungent odour assaults my nose. I usually try not to focus on the things I can smell, like people who don't bathe enough and women on their periods but right now I actually have to turn off my sense of smell completely, which is very uncomfortable.

'This might be what the potions room in Hogwarts smells like.'

At the back of the room, next to the biggest cauldron, a woman is mixing and matching various plants and putting them in a boiling liquid.

She is tall, standing at 192 centimeters. Almost as tall as I am. She has long hair that continuously changes color between red, black and blonde. Her face changes as well, one moment she's a young woman in her twenties, then she's well in her forties and the next she's an elderly woman.

Noticing us entering her room, she looks up and gives a bright smile. She points to a ladle in the cauldron and colorful sparks fly off her fingers. The next moment the ladle starts stirring the concoction on its own. She then points towards the fire under the cauldron and with more sparkles she dims the flames to half their size and heat.

"Hello Fenris, welcome to my laboratory, with it's simmering cauldrons and shimmering fumes. Where I make potions that can bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses, where I bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper to death."

'The hell? Is she Snape or something?'

"Hello Hecate. It's nice to meet you."

"Hephaestus sent me a message right after you left. Tell me, how did you cure her... condition?"

Seeing no reason to lie to her, I decide to be honest about it.

"Is this room safe from scrying eyes?"

She points her finger upwards and it starts glowing then she swings it around in a circular motion three times.

"It is now. Whatever secrets you reveal to me will remain between us. So, how'd you do it?"

"With these." I break the Arcanum seal, again, then I open my mouth and prolong my fangs.

The next moment Hecate's eyes go wide and she comes uncomfortably close. She takes out a looking glass and starts examining my fangs very, very closely.

"Absolutely fascinating. And absolutely frightening. With these you could devour all the air and even the magic in the atmosphere, all the water in the ocean, all the lava flowing to and from a planet's core. You can destroy an entire world in so many ways with these things.

If I were to... extract one, does a new one grow in its place? I can sense your ability to heal from pretty much anything, I'm wondering if it extends to these beauties."

"You're not extracting anything. I'm not a shark. I can't be sure they'll grow back."

"We could try with one, if it doesn't work you'll still have three left. Imagine the things I could make with those teeth. I could make a potion that can devour any disease. Or one that can devour age and make people youthful again."

"Can't you already do those things?"

"Yes, but the ingredients are so expensive, I'd rather sell them."

"It's about money?!"

"Hmm? No, not just that. I also genuinely want to know more about them. I might be able to help you figure out more of their properties. And you yourself as well. I'm just guessing but, you haven't met many gods have you?"

"No, I haven't. Ganesha asked that same question."

"That's because an untrained god is quite rare. It's very interesting to see one. You see, there's nothing quite as dangerous as an untrained god. Case in point, those fangs. You clearly know how to use them, for the most part, given how you cured my friend. But if you didn't you could have devoured her whole by accident.

If a god doesn't learn to control their godly powers properly, they are a danger to anyone and everyone around them. So, when a new god appears we usually help each other to better understand our abilities."

"So, you're going to help me better understand my abilities?"

"Sure, but I want your knowledge in return. Everything you know about magic, witchcraft, herbs and poison."

'Ugh, I'm having déjà vu.'

"Fine, but I better learn something useful. Give me one of those empty grimoires."

She smiles and holds out her hand, snaps her fingers and *poof*, just like that a grimoire appears on her hand.

"Neat trick, I can do something similar but without the snapping and the poofing."

I take the grimoire and start pouring magic into it while focusing on the knowledge.

A few seconds later I'm once again holding a large book.

"Thank you." Hecate says as she takes the book from me. Unlike Hephaestus who burnt the book to absorb the knowledge, this time the book starts to shine brightly and turns into light particles that flow into her forehead.

"Do all gods have a unique way of absorbing knowledge from those grimoires?"

"Yes, we usually use one of our divinities to do it. I use light, Hephaestus uses fire and I saw Poseidon use water once. I'm not sure how a god of animals would do it though. Maybe it'll turn into an animal and then you eat it, haha. Oh! Wait a minute. Maybe you'll devour it. I'm pretty sure those fangs of yours qualify you to be a devouring god."

"Interesting. Thank you. You were going to teach me?"

"Ah, right. I have intuitive knowledge of magic. All the spells you gave me just now? If you'd performed them in front of me, I would have learned everything about them just from watching."

"I see, Hephaestus learned how to make something just from me telling her it was possible. That was intuitive knowledge?"

"Yes, exactly. You should have that as well. Think about an animal, any animal."

"Alright." I close my eyes and focus on... a bear.

The next moment I open my eyes.

"Wow, that's pretty cool. When I focused on the bear I learned everything about it. How did I not know I could do that? I've come in contact with animals plenty of times."

"It's something you have to consciously do, otherwise it won't work. Moving on, there are many gods who can turn into animals, including myself. I can turn into a dog, a snake or any kind of polecat. Zeus as a god of the skies can turn into nearly any kind of bird, except a few, like the Phoenix, Roc, Alkonost, Sirin or Caladrius.

Now, you as a god of animals should be capable of turning into any animal you want."

"What?! I can already turn into a large wolf, but you're telling me I can turn into more?"

"Interesting. Could you turn into a wolf right now please?"

"Sure, just give me a second."

I quickly put on my armor so I don't have to be n.a.k.e.d later. Once that's done, I phase in an instant and turn into a large wolf.

"Wow, that was incredible. I've never seen someone transform so effortlessly. Now try to do the same, but with another animal."

I nod my head in response and try to focus on a dog since that's closest to my current form so hopefully it'll be somewhat easy. I then go through the usual steps to transform and... nothing.

I talk to Hecate telepathically while still in my wolf form."It doesn't work."

"Hmm, let me think." A few dozen seconds later she seems to be having some sort of eureka moment. "I'm going to assume you've never devoured a dog before, have you?"

"Of course not! What kind of monster do you take me for?"

"Alright then, try to turn into an animal you have devoured in the past."

"I'll try." I close my eyes and focus as hard as I can, once again on the bear. I imagine all its features and its anatomy, the knowledge I acquired earlier comes in handy for this. Then I go through the steps of transformation and...