Pagan Gods: Of Brotherhood and War

The snake entered the woods, deep into the places where the light rarely reached and the old gods still held much sway. He moved until he found a clearing, ancient oaks and pine cluttering the area around it but a peaceful glade of grass shattering the otherwise dense thicket of woods.

He took time to gather stones before setting his pack down and going to work, slowly making two rings with the stones. In one he built a small fire, clearing the grass and working to get the blaze going strong. With that accomplished, the snake stripped out of his clothes, leaving himself bare before the world. Taking his former clothes, he tossed them into the fire. Then he fitted himself with a leather thong and a simple cloth waist wrap from his pack.

Next he knelt down before the second ring, this one near the center of the open glade. He calmly dug a small hole and dropped an acorn into it. Then he moved to find an acorn from one of the oaks in the forest and dropped it also into the hole. “A reminder of where I came from,” he said, slowly burying the two acorns together. “And a piece of where I have come. Battling to shape me as they grow and I grow here,” he added before placing a small gold coin, a piece of iron, and a small bit of dirt. “A piece of my home to help anchor me here. Gold for the mortal excuse to battle while the gods give the excuse of life, and iron to be shaped as the land and its gods will shape me,” he hissed. He then drew forth a small dagger and his water skin. “A gift of life to grow strong and find new purpose,” he said, pouring the water on the small pile. He drew his blade across his finger letting the crimson fluid flow on top. “And a sacrifice for death. For change can only be found once the old has died. With these may my offering to the gods of this place be found pleasing, and may I earn a chance to know their wisdom and strength so that I might grow as both a man, a warrior, and a living being,” he said, slowly burying all that he had placed in the pit. Lowering his head, sending his prayers and offerings to the gods of this place, he settled in to wait.

Published: 2022-10-10, viewed 66 times.