The Worshipped Around Reality's Bend: Book1: Children of Eastrea

By Clint Baker and Erin Diller

Long ago, before Earth was a contender for life, Eastrea was home to a variety of beings and creatures. Gods created vast landscapes, monsters roamed and formed armies, and people gained power from the planet to fight back.

The meddilings of the god, Ration, created a war that set about the events that tore the planet apart, forcing the E

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clint Baker Stories
• Release date: Dec 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868981739

Book preview

1

title page

2

Map of Eastrea

3

Barrick's Doorknob

The Worshipped Around Reality’s Bend

Book 1

Children of Eastrea

By Clint Baker

Copyright © 2023 by Clint Baker.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the author.

Editor- Clint Baker

Cover Designer- Erin Diller

This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

First paperback edition 2023

ISBN 9798868981739

Published by Clint Baker Stories

www.clintbakerstories.com

4

Dedication page

For Cilla-

For inspiring me to always find a way to be better.

5

Contents

Contents

Part – The Immortals from Eastrea

The Sun and Moons of Eastrea- 1

The Tiny Metal Weaver- 6

Hands of Monsters- 17

No Soul Lost- 30

The Flying Captain- 33

Ghosts of the Last Day- 43

The Unbutchered- 49

The Reacher’s Last Flight- 57

Secondhand God- 62

Part 2- Gods of the First People

Castaways-73

Reality’s Bend- 80

The First God- 84

Remember Those Without Voices- 92

Awake Gods of the Fallen World- 100

War and the First People- 104

An Immortal Tale

The Army of Forgotten Rulers- 120

6

Author's Note

Author’s Note

Hello dear reader,

The Worshipped Around Reality’s Bend is an attempt to explore how gods and deities are formed around the world. In order for that to happen, I decided to create a pantheon looking from the outside in so that they can experience the world as gods begin to form. Then I needed to explain where they came from in order to put them so far removed that all they can do is watch and even pray victim to those gods.

There are several things to watch for. When I say BF I mean before the fall of Eastrea to give rough dates about important characters. I do not use dates in part 2 because time flows together and context clues are more important for dating. I touch on the relevance of time in The Flying Captain so it is important that sometimes hundreds or even thousands of years go by between stories. I assure you this is very intentional. Much like how history is told by the victors, all that is known about Eastrean culture is told by the survivors. As the series goes on there will be little snip-bits of life on Eastrea told by those few who were able to survive. Part 1 focusses on the Eastreans before the fall and right after the fall so that you, the reader, know just how much was lost.

For placement of Eastrea in our solar system, check out the theory of the planet that used to be in the asteroid belt outside of Mars. The theory has been debunked and dismissed but it is still interesting to think about. I combined this with the theory that a small planet collided with the earth long ago to form the moon.

In addition, I have included a story from the present that explains the universe and some of the rules the Eastreans live by. In it, you can see where I am playing with my craft and exploring some of the harder concepts I’ll be leading to.

If you like what you read and want to see more from the Eastreans, check out The Worshipped Around Reality’s Bend on Kindle Vella. Go to amazon.com and type in Clint Baker or The Worshipped Around Reality’s Bend. I upload my unedited copies every week so you, the reader, will get to read stories as they come out and get background information about the series on my social media platforms, Tiktok and Patreon.

In book 2, I bring in known gods and creatures from mythology and have them interact with the Eastreans on a planetary level.

Thanks for reading,

Clint Baker

7

Part 1: Children of Eastrea

Part 1

The Immortals of Eastrea

8

The Sun and Moons of Eastrea

When Eastrea first formed, it only had one moon that hid in the shadows. Trilo, the god of stone, worked without rest to form its mountains, planes, and craters that would hold its life. As such his face was always to the ground and even with his three eyes, he never saw her.

The second god, Sepron, the god of water, filled the planet with streams, oceans, and lakes. It was he who first noticed the moon. When he made rain clouds, he was looking to the sky and saw a dark patch in the starry night. He was too busy however, and he too kept his face to the ground as he worked.

The oldest of the gods, Pyre, the god of fire, was the first to see her. His corporal body, called Ration, was always looking to the sky and wondered about how he was going to bless Eastrea with life. He, himself being light, found the moon in the sky and her body wandering the dark alone.

For her, he made a husband, the sun. Together they became Life. She carried a large bag of seeds and walked in front of the sun as she imbedded every plant Eastrea had. The sun, close behind her, carried a bucket and would water the plants right after her.

With life, comes death. The son of the sun and day moon was the night moon who carried a scythe and a basket as he walked far after them. He would harvest the seeds of the dead plants and on days of a full eclipse, he would refill his mother’s bag so his parents could continue their work.

These three were the first Eastreans and the first Eastrean Immortals.

When people were introduced, the sun and the day moon watered and gave light to all who walked on Eastrea’s surface. They became patrons of the living. At night their son, who took it upon himself to wear dark robes that obscured his face, gathered the dead, fed them, and guided them to the Interworlds (the Eastrean afterlife). The night moon thus became the patron of the dead and in their last moments made sure they had a few steps of pure unconditional kindness.

After some time, Pyre returned to his mortal form so he could rest. The mantle of the creation god would then be Ration as it always had been planned. The gods Ration, Sepron, and Trilo began to rule their people in peace. When someone needed something, they would pray to the gods and soon, someone who knew how to teach or create what was needed arrived. To pay back the gods, they would go to wherever someone needed services that aligned with skills they could provide. From there, they would have to stay until the acts of kindness were repaid.

Soon, the population rose to such levels that resources began to run out. Fearing famine, Ration created the first Icarians, mixtures of carnivorous beasts and men, to bring down numbers. This worked all too well. The population of over thirty billion dropped to just over two billion. Fearing their own extinction, the Eastreans declared war on the Icarians. The gods sided with the first people, leaving the Icarians godless, creating an endless search for someone to lead and rival the gods themselves.

Three armies combatted the beast men of Eastrea. Trilo’s army consisted of just over 200 thousand and dawned grey armor like the dirt that made up most of Eastrea’s land. Sepron led a small force of around three thousand and were recognized by their blueish green armor which resembled the waters of the planet. The last army was that of Ration and was divided into two types of units. There were the Baptized in Fire which was a force of a thousand. They took on the traits of animals not native to Eastrea and perplexed most of its citizens. The second was the Immortals who were gifted powers from the god himself to help keep Eastrea together. In this segment were just over 500 members who served as Ration’s personal guard and tactical units.

It was because of this conflict that the sun and moon saw their son on rare occasions. The casualties were so high that death couldn’t keep up with his duty to deliver the dead. With each person he was forced to leave behind, a part of himself disappeared until only parts of his flesh stuck to his body, causing him to hide farther in his