Warnings: Child cruelty, offscreen cannibalism, offscreen child death.

Chapter 3: What is Necessary, What Must be Done

Heket stood gazing out over the pond once again and sighed. It had twice been used as a nursery, but was not its only purpose. When not filled with tadpoles, it also served as a retreat where she could relax and unwind, though she had not returned here since her second bereavement, and indeed this was not the reason for her return this time. This time she was here to reflect.

She had put off confronting the mistakes of the past for as long as she could, but a burgeoning appetite and a growing weight within in her belly, signs of another clutch of eggs developing, were signs she could no longer ignore. And so she had returned to the pond in the hope of at last finding answers to her questions and a solution to her problem.

She reflected on her first brood, wondering on the possibility of even a small handful of tadpoles surviving had she cared for them while they had been sick. But Kallamar had told her that this would not have made a difference if they had been too young; That they would've perished regardless of her actions.

So what of her second brood? They had been older, though younger than she had planned on account of her losing control of their voracious appetite, an appetite that had been in the process of slowly destroying her cult. She'd had no choice but to move up the schedule, but despite caring for them through their illness, despite following Kallamar's instructions, in the end, they too had all perished. She asked herself the question she had asked Shamura. What had she done wrong that time?

Without conscious effort her thoughts turned to the tadpole that had been devoured by their siblings. That her children would turn to cannibalism of their own volition had surprised her. But it was more than that, as the tadpole they had attacked hadn't just been any tadpole, they had been weak; Weak from hunger and close to death.

Weak from hunger. Weak from hunger. Weak from hunger. The thoughts looped in her head until they became a revelation. Her tadpoles had been weak – because they were hungry! Of course! They'd had no chance of surviving. So if the first brood had been too young and the second had been too weak, then sickness was not the answer. So what did that leave her with?

Not all of her second brood had perished at the same time. After a week, twenty-three were still clinging to life, dropping to four the next day, and over the course of that day, four became none. Why was that? Why had they lasted longer than all their other siblings?

Her thoughts returned to the tadpole who had been devoured by their siblings. They had been weak from hunger, but again it was more than that. The tadpole had been weak from hunger because the tadpole hadn't been eating. And if they hadn't been eating then it was because they hadn't been able to eat. As the tadpoles' appetites had grown such that she had been unable to provide them with enough for them all to eat, then it followed that they would have had to compete with each other for the food that she could provide. And in a competition, the strong prevail, so the strongest tadpoles would've eaten the most food. So if the strong had eaten while the weak had starved, then the strong had survived longest while the weak had perished first.

The strong ate, the weak starved. The strong lived, the weak died… The strong ate… the weak died… The strong… ate… the weak… The strong ate the weak.

As Heket stepped over the threshold of a long awaited epiphany, she realised now her mistake. They were her children. Not Kallamar's, not Shamura's, not Leshy's. Her's. She was the Bishop of Famine. What else but hunger was the solution to her problem? What else but hunger should be their teacher?

If her affection for them had blinded her to what had to be done, then she was blinded no more. Though sickness would've been a kinder fate, she would do what she must if it was necessary. And it was necessary. Now she knew what she had to do.

She placed a hand on her belly.Soon, my children, soon, she thought, and returned to her temple with a smile, and renewed hope for the future.

No longer having reason to delay the reveal of their existence, Heket sent out messages to the other Bishops informing them of their arrival the day after, and was with her eggs when Shamura arrived at her temple. She tensed when she heard footsteps approaching and turned her head. The pond was strictly off-limits even when it wasn't being used as a nursery. Who dared-? Then Shamura stepped out and she blinked in surprise, "Shamura…" before bowing her head to them in deference. "My apologies for not being in my temple to receive your visit, sibling."

Shamura smiled. "Your apology is unnecessary, sister. My visit was unannounced." The smile slipped off their face a little when they gazed out across the pond.

Heket followed their gaze. "Shamura…?"

"I came to ask you, what solution did you find?"

"Hunger," she replied simply. "When the time comes, I will starve my children. They will devour each other until only the strongest remain." Shamura nodded wordlessly with shining eyes, then sat down on a nearby rock and hung their head.

Heket joined their side. "Shamura…?"

They clasped their hands together in their lap. "I gave you poor advice, sister, I am sorry. All of this suffering, all of this death… It could have been avoided had I thought better."

"Shamura," she sighed. "I would not have discovered how destructive their appetite could be if I had arrived at this solution from the very beginning. And without that discovery, without that knowledge, I could not have certainty in my decisions, or in my actions." They looked up. "So do not think of that suffering or death as being in vain, sibling. It was necessary. It had to be done."

Shamura nodded slowly, seeing the logic in her reasoning. "I see…" They scrubbed their eyes with both hands and stood. "Very well. You seem confidant, sister, so I will take my leave. I trust you have plans to introduce the survivors to us once they have been determined?"

"I do."

They smiled. "Then I will look forward to your visit."

Over the next few weeks, as she had done last time, she sang to them as she examined them. She returned the next day after they'd hatched, welcoming into her arms any that could reach her. For the fate that awaited them, she began preparing them early, preaching to them as she would her followers. When the tadpoles had grown big enough to begin crowding the pond with both their size and numbers, she knew that it was time to move onto the next step; That she had been right the first time, just with the wrong method.

She waded into the pond and the tadpoles gathered around her expectantly. She took a moment to look around at all of their adoring faces. For many this would be last time they would see each other, and she sighed. She almost regretted this, regretted what was what going to happen next, but it was necessary, she reminded herself, it had to be done.

She raised her arms aloft and red energy streamed from their bodies as she sapped their strength, and she felt a rush of power. They cried out all at once, suddenly starving for the first time, and begged her for food as she waded out of the pond. "You have food, my children. It is all around you. All you can eat if you are strong." She hesitated before returning to her temple.

Now she was entering uncharted territory, as she did not know how long it would take. She could not return to check on their progress herself as her presence would give them false hope – and possibly interrupt the process – so she sent a follower at the end of each week instead. "But cautiously," she warned them. "My children are starving, they will eat you if venture too close."

At the end of the fourth week, the follower reported that activity in the pond seemed to have ceased, and had concluded that the process must be complete. If that was the case, then it was time for Heket to return to the pond herself. But with each step doubt crept into her heart, as her thoughts returned to the follower's report; A cease in activity could mean something quite different, and by the time she had arrived at the water's edge, she was almost choking on dread.

But then she saw movement under the water, and multiple heads popped out. "Mother!" They chorused and swam over as fast they could. They lined up before her and bowed to her in reverence. "Mother."

Heket was speechless. This was her first time seeing her children as froglets. Each of them had cross-shaped pupils and visible teeth, and most of them were red like her, but some were blue like their father. They had yet to fully shed their tadpole tails, and were already the same height as most of her followers, indicating that they would grow taller still as they grew older – though how much taller remained to be seen.

Her vision blurred as her eyes watered fiercely, then tears were streaming down her face; Tears of joy, relief and vindication. She dropped to her knees and threw out her arms. "Come to me, my children!"

"Mother!" They chorused happily and threw themselves into her embrace, and she hugged them tightly until they complained. "Mother, you're hurting us!" She eased up the pressure and they stayed like that until her children were the ones to pull away.

She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "Let me look at you all," she said. Fifteen froglets had survived in all; Nine sons and six daughters. They had yet to be named, and would also need to be clothed and fed, none of which could be achieved here at the pond. So she stood. "Come," she said. "It is time to go home."

One of the froglets looked confused. "But Mother, is this not our home?"

She smiled. "No, my son, my temple is your home. And it is a finer place than this." The froglets' eyes lit up in excitement and they babbled amongst themselves in anticipation.

"Now come. We have dallied long enough."

And so they followed her to their new home, some without a backwards glance, while others gave one last look back, before they too left their old home behind.

A/N: And that's how we lead into All are Equal. \o/ Hope you guys enjoyed the ride. C: