Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Antarctic Termite
Raw
OP
Avatar of Antarctic Termite

Antarctic Termite Resident of Mortasheen

Member Seen 4 mos ago

Erjang
Mako
Ruthar
Oyur
Sareh?
Sen
Dracces
Jinini
Usgalo
Tauga
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Antarctic Termite
Raw
OP
Avatar of Antarctic Termite

Antarctic Termite Resident of Mortasheen

Member Seen 4 mos ago

Fig roots had already started to cascade down over the entrance to the temple. The light was dying, but Oyur's lamp was full of whale-oil, and it cast a bright and flickerless glow over the face of the boy at her side. He was eleven years old, but he stood close by her, afraid of intruding. This was a sacred place.

Oyur squeezed his shoulder like an older sister, flashed him a smile. It was alright. He'd been invited here. Besides, the shrines were open to all, Xerxian or Tlaca.

She raised the lamp high and watched his eyes take in the icons before she let her own do the same. Treasured seconds passed.

"What do they mean?" asked the boy from Ihuian. "Who are they?"

"They are our gods," said Oyur. Her Tlaca was simple, accented, and yet clear. "Our history." She gestured to the smallest, the ones nearest the entrance, each with their own little altar laden with offerings.

"These are the First Sins," she began, holding the lamp over the figure of the figure of a laughing troll scribing a tablet. "There are seven of them- This is Greed. The others are Lust, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Pride." She eyed the boy. "They sound awful, don't they?" He nodded and she laughed, ruffling his hair as he flinched. "They are our ancestors." He quietened. In Tlaca, that was a powerful word.

"They represent the forces inside us- The things that make us hurt and break apart. But those same sins are what give us strength. We can only know ourselves if we know the dark things inside our hearts. We don't fight them, we work with them- That's how Xerxes was built, by these seven. There's no reason to be ashamed of what we are. Even the gods have selfish hearts, you know." Well, all but one.

Oyur moved on. The next altar was kept apart from the others- It was clean, and bronze-bright, but its offering was nothing more than a customary set of berries and smoked fish awarded to all gods. "This is Stone Chipper, who some call Teconalos, and others Teknall. He had a following, where we come from. They helped build our city, but later on they... Weren't welcome. Rumour has it he went back there after we left." She said no more of that one.

"This is the Life Deer- You don't know her?" The boy shook his head and Oyur raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I thought everyone did. The Life Deer is wilderness. She's... Not a goddess, as such, but we still call her that. She stands for life and death, and the rotting that happens in between. See her legs- She's a skeleton. But there's grass at her feet. She teaches us that being born and becoming dust are all part of the same circle." They moved on from the icon without a bowl.

"These two," she began, gesturing widely at two of the taller shrines, "are the sister goddesses of art. On the right, this is the Muse. She invented dreams, and day dreams, and all the things that make you dream wildly when you eat them. She brewed the first wine and lit the bright star Ilunabar, and told the first stories- They say she also invented hopeless love." Oyur tapped her foot, thinking. "Other stories say that she invented Sin, too, though I don't think I buy that. She probably started those legends herself."

"And this- on the left- is Jaan, the Faery God of Medicine. We call her the Grey Mountain, though nobody knows why. She created graffiti, tattoos, and stone circles- Things that are beautiful because they can be anywhere. The Blind Monk is one of her students." Oyur gazed at the odd shrine. Where altar ended and icon began wasn't really clear. "She also made the first great temples, and the Great Pyramid. This temple is based on her design."

"Is there a shrine for Elysium?"

A rough head-shake. "No. She was the one who sent the Destroyers that first burned Xerxes. Some still followed her, but we knew that nobody will ever be pure enough to go to her when they die. We have to live life here, as much as we can."

The boy nodded. "And who's this one?"

Oyur wheezed a little, but the laugh was bitter. "That is Amartia, the one we called God-Emperor. He blessed the Seven Sins and built Xerxes with them. Then he burned it down again, and we had to... You know the story. He is the god of change and vice. The reason we can never just sit back and let our sins take over. They might make us strong, but they'll kill us, too." She shook her head. "We respect him for his power and beauty, and we fear him for his violence. He's... Close to us."

They were nearing the far end of the temple. The last icon was life-size, and stood on no pedestal. A mobile of feathers and wooden balls painted with precious alum nayum crowned her.

"And this," said Oyur, "is Tauga. The Blowfly God."

The boy looked at her closely. The statue was of ground glass, a bronze warhammer in her one hand, a stylised pink mineral heart in her other. Her feet were laden with gifts.

"When the Destroyers burned our city, she built it up again. When Amartia went mad, she gave up her own heart in exchange for the strength to protect us. We are afraid of her, but we need her. She turns death into life. She is temperance. She is strength. She is Xerxes."

Crickets were chirping outside. After a while the boy left to find his own way home, and she gave him the lamp. Oyur stayed a little longer, to offer prayers.

When she finally went outside, someone was waiting for her. Oyur smiled into the dark.

"Hey," she said.

No movement.

"Are you happy?"

A slight shift, but no answer. Oyur looked down for a moment, then back up.

"Are you... At peace?"

A pause. A silhouette turned its beak towards the stars.

"...Yeah. I guess."

Oyur smiled under her tears. The figure turned into the shadows, and was gone.


↑ Top
© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet