Siberia was living up to it's reputation. The snow was driving hard. It had to be something big to bring us all the way out here. I held my man tight to protect him form the cold even though it was making it harder and harder for me to move.
A pale person in white furs seemed to grow right out of the the snow. they removed their goggles and looked us up and down with deep blue eyes. “Didn't know you brought a date, Max.” her female voice said patronizingly in a heavy Russian accent.
How could she See Me?!
Even though I could barely move I pulled my white face out of my body that I had turned into a big black fur coat to protect my master from the cold. I flashed my red eyes and hissed at her so she would know I was well fed , and had teeth.
That bitch was trouble, and what was worse is that I could sense he wanted her.
The woman lifted her arms slightly and and with a twist of her wrists the winds began to blow in a cyclonic circular pattern around us rapidly building up a wall of snow around us. The a corridor in the snow opened leading down at a steep angle.
As things grew warmer I was able to move again. I began to take shape at my lord's side, locked in his arm and moving beside him. I made myself very shapely, with long flowing red hair to my lower back, gem encrusted jewelry, elegant black lace gloves, bone white skin, and a pure black shadow dress with a long train. This slut was going to know she was not the only girl in the room who could put on a show.
Twist was silently following us is a heavy green army surplus coat as we emerged into some sort of control room lined with monitors, maps, and computers. Servants came out and removed the woman's coat. She was in some sort of dark green form fitting paramilitary body suit. She screamed weapons and sex, with pockets, holster, knives, guns and ammo.
“ I need to talk to you alone, Max.” she said.
He turned , and gently kissed me on the cheek. “Please go to our room, unpack, and get Mr. Twist something to eat. It was a long flight for him.” I held his hand and nodded.
She looked at Max for too long as she removed her hat, and flipped her hair seductively like an exile form a shampoo commercial. “ ...umm, yes take the help to his room please.”
I followed the scarred man in the paramilitary uniform because he asked. In the room and quickly stretched out and expelled three large steamer trunks I had stored in shadow. While always casual Twist sat down and lit up a cigarette smiling at my vexation.
“the HELP!! ...THE HELP!! I have a very special relationship with my master, I am no crazy old lady!” I fumed
Twist nodded, but continued smiling “ That is Zelda's daughter.”
...Oh sorry , I got angry just thinking about it, I should tell you what I mean by crazy old lady.
It all starts with the tooth....
Way back in the ancient days, when people got both smart and stupid enough to summon demons, then try and work out arrangements, it wasn't working well. There were a lot of happy well fed demons, a lot of people who became food, and a lot of bosses didn't get what they wanted because the people became food too fast. So they came up with the tooth.
The tooth, it is somewhat like a sweet tooth, but calling it that would be gross understatement. It is a taste for the person you are bonded to. It solved combined with extended service contracts meant that you couldn't eat the person you were bonded to until close to the end of your term other wise you would start. Even if you cut them up and rationed yourself it wouldn't be good for more then a year at max, and with at least ten years left on your contract that could be a long time.
It may sound unpleasant to you, but it really isn't provided your master isn't trying to break you. Your master blood flesh, and secretions are sweet, intoxicating, enhance your senses, calorie free, and a little can go a long way. Their blood is like a well aged wine, their sweat is like a river of your favorite apple juices form your favorite apples on your favorite tree. Even rancid toe-nail clippings can taste like Turkish delight. It can bring back warm memories of when you were human, and with out it you grow stiff and tired. The fresher the better.
Now, I am part of a hugely under-rated class of demon's called shade demons. We shape-shift, we merge with shadows, and are a true pain to track down if we go awol on assignment. So The powers that be decided to give us a very very powerful tooth. Our masters can be highly addicting, then sensations we get off them are so potent, but the worst of it is when even the demon lords started using the tooth on us themselves, turning us into what I call “crazy old ladies”.
It goes like this, a demon buys you, typically your memory is wiped so you don't know if you are two or ten thousand. Next your new master treats you well, even spoils you for a few months or years, then gives you an assignment, says you didn't do well, even if you did, and deprives you of the blood you need to move, but gives you enough to keep you conscious, so you can spend years as some aware inanimate object, only getting to move when they are feeling generous. Try staying as as a semi-conscious footstool for a decade, and see how your sanity is preserved. Then they bring you out of it, and pamper you for some time again before they repeat the process until you are finally so glad to have freedom of movement and be free of hunger at all that you willingly bond yourself to them too deeply, largely forgetting your own identity, living in them living some sort of symbiotic organism, grooming them, sharing you powers, and. happy to be drunk on blood, and devouring delicious flakes of skin. Some greater demon-lords have several “ Crazies” bonded to them.
So you can see why I think I have it pretty good with Max. I have my own cottage over looking the pool. I have a car, television, and not so much clothes to wear as fabrics to sample. I am first fed, and well fed. There aren't constant mind games, and displays of power, but this isn't going to excuse him being with her now.
He is talking to that bitch in the white silk shirt, I shed for him painfully from a form I had shifted to at the time because he liked it. The demoness tried to get through the door to see her master, but protective runes were carved into the stone around the door that made it impossible for her to leave
Max went to the bar, and poured her her favorite drink. She rested her arm on the desk, and looked at him.
“So does Mrs. Religious Know you are getting blow-jobs from a shade demon bound to you, and addicted to all your bodily secretions.” The Russian spat out.
Max slowly exhaled, he knew she always got mean when the pressure got to much for her cool headed, self, and that wasn't often. It had to be something significant if she called him out for a meeting after they way they left things a few years back. Instead of going to a long explaining about his present situation, he simply unbuttoned and dropped his oversized white silk shirt to to ground as he kept his back to her revealing the elaborate tattoos of a demon-lord on his back.
“ My god Max, you didn't !?! ” she said in an alarmed voice.
He turned to her with the drink he had made for her, set it on the desk '” Well Lilith, The good thing about knowing where you will go when you die, is that you have time to decorate the place, and fill up the bar.”
She came around her desk and embraced him. Shocked he put a hand on her shoulder, partly because he had always been strongly attracted to her, and partly because he knew she kept a knife there.
It came to his mind the time they were in Thailand, and she was mowing down soldiers with automatic weapons in both her hands laughing and barking orders as the blood splattered in her face. It came to mind The time She lit her pipe on a smoke corpse after she had thrown in incendiary grenade into the room. He remembered the time they were lovers on the beaches of Bali on a stack of drug money they had stolen. He remembered they time she left him for dead. Then the impossible happened, a tear from the iron Frau slid from her cheek on to his.
“Max...”she said softly “ I was on a... dig..and ...They have our boy...”
“Umm..We have a boy?” Max got a crooked smile on his face and patted her on the rump with his free hand
Look for our Next exciting Adventure....
Max Patski and his Demons Versus The Vampire Kings Of Mongolia
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Big Trouble in Port Kaier
Big Trouble in Port Kaier (Kaier Bride 5 prelude)
Cacamao Estate, Kaierian mainland....
The Grand chief had ordered my husband to Port Kaier to bring back some important shipments, but I don't think he really considered all the possibilities. If My husband and his drives run into the port brothels, not only could our household become destitute, but the entire rim river economy could drain through the mechanism of his formidable hungers. This worries me, but I am too emotionally vested in it too sense things clearly.
I hope the natural and sustaining joys of a large and happy household enter in his thinking. I think he would miss sitting on his house throne while his mates rub their pregnant bellies against his legs while they paint his fingers and toes. I hope he remembers When we would place the feather crown on his head and color his cheeks to show our household pride to the entire village.
Port Kaier...
The large doors opened from the underground tunnel filling his nose with the fragrant scents of home while his eyes filled with visions that exceeded his most optimistic hopes for the afterlife. He stood in the doorway blocking other men with his mouth open staring.
Women scantily clad in silks walked overhead in transparent suspended catwalks. Women hung from the ceiling on swings by caged songbirds. Their were fountains, paper lanterns, plants, and erotic ceiling frescos behind the large marble columns awaiting him and his dumbfounded smile.
It was the moment the doorman had been dreading for over a week, since he had begun hearing about exhausted women at other establishments, He heard about how His obsidian eye gave him the ability to see peoples shadows move in the future and predict their movements. He had heard about His Magic warclub that would cut through a man after it had cut through a tree, and there was the matter of his tattoos. The large man placed a sweaty palm on Cacamao's chest as he began to stride forward. “ Umm..sir...” he said.
Cacamao stopped and looked down at the man as he narrowed his eyes. The serpent heads that were sewn into his shoulders hissed in his ears. He drew his warclub, while the doorman protected his face with his arms, and prepared for death.
Cacamao turned his back to the doorman and looked into the underground tunnel. He gestured towards the two shaman that escorted him to take up opposite sides of the doorway.
The flowers suddenly began to blossom and bloom putting out an impossible eye watering amount of pollen. He swung his war-club back and forth making it whistle as the obsidian teeth on the sides began to vibrate and rotate into a black blur.
Two corpses that had plant vines running through them leaped at him hungry for his blood. A single swing of his blade removed 3 legs in one swing. The symbols on the outside of the war club began to glow. Vine tendrils from the potted plants near the door stretched out and begin to reknit a structure to the severed legs. The patrons and women began to flee screaming into the private rooms.
2 more living dead minions leapt over the fallen ones only to be simultaneously cut off at the chest, but the blow was over extended and The war-club stuck half way into a marble column.
The Shaman blew dirt from the palms of their hands on the the man/ Plant abominations that began to burn them almost as fast as the vines inside that were moving them and they left trails of smoke behind their frenetic charge vines grew out of them and latched on to the overhead catwalk to pull them selves forward.
A retreating woman fell from the catwalk into Cacamao's arms when they shook the it. He set her down, but the distracting quality that had served her well hear gave the creatures a grasp on his legs. They began to chew at his legs with their rotting teeth.
The Shaman chanted in unison cutting away at the unholy foliage with bone sacrificial knives. The room grew warm from the words of power, and bubbles grew out of the air the popped into small electric bursts.
Cacamao tried to fight his way upright, but they were growing around him as they dug into his flesh. They hand made his body limp up to the waist. Before they could reach his chest the tattoos of coiled serpents around his arms began to glow a dull red. The glowing red outline of the serpents extended out from his arm tattoos. They grew until they were the length of a man. He used one to prop himself upright while the other ripped apart the creatures attacking him. The shaman finished the job. They offered some words of blessing to the water in a fountain. The creature stayed dormant once they were inside the waters.
A new walking plant corpse had come in from the tunnel. He had flowers sprouting from him, He was covered in barnacles and sea plants. He wore the Caiman skull of a Panchayyah Shaman. The air in the room began to warm with a wet air that the followed the corpse The door man slammed a small piece of statuary into it head from behind as it advanced . It sent him spinning with a claw across his throat that left a trail of warm blood.
One of the Illuminated serpent outlines extending form The Panchayyah prince grabbed on to the arm That had lashed out at the doorman barely too late to prevent the blow. It moved the arm away from the Plant driven zombie as fast as the plant vines could grow from it's body and keep it connected, but faster then they could solidly hold and move it. He placed the arm in the fountian where the water had been blessed. He placed the arm in the water. The vines did as plant vines will do and carried the water back to the main body, and as they did they left a trail of black ash.
At the same time a shaman had removed something that looked like a cross between a large blowgun and a blunderpuss. The wide mouth had a rack of needles already stored in it, as he removed the wax and hide covering. He blew and green smoke came out. The needles shone with supernatural power as they drove a whole the size of a man's head in the former Shaman's torso.
The last shaman had cut his thumb, and blood trailed down grooves in the links of a bone and ebony whip. His blow removed one of the legs.
The illuminated serpent tatoo returned to it's master, and coiled itself around the fist he placed it in the hole that had been made by the blowgun blast. The serpent uncoiled itself into a spiral that torne through the quivering body leaving a still animated head to fall to the ground with a trail of smoking roots and nerves.
One Shaman began gather the ashes, and tosses them into the fountian whose waters were turning black. The plants in the room began to show several months of growth. Cacamao Picked up the head and gazed into it with his obsidian eye. The other shaman wrapped brown gauze around the neck of the doorman.
A stunning woman with long blonde hair dress in red and green silks came out on to a balcony and asked “what happened ?!”.
The doorman weakly pointed to the head, and then to Cacamao, whose reputation had preceeded him before he passed out. The Panchayyah prince of the land began to speak without moving his gaze from the head.
He spoke “It appears that he was an exiled shaman who a crew that specialized in illicit cargo had been using to purify water. When he died the fear the death blossom of the living land, so they tossed him over board not thinking that it would only anger his spirit.”. He looked down at the fallen doorman, saying “See what happens when you are in inhospitable to the Panchayyah.”. Then he continued “ His ship is still adrift at sea and flowering with death. It should be destroyed from far away with blessed burning oil.” He tossed the head to the shaman who had been attending the doorman who ran off with it to notify the authorities. Life had returned to his legs. He began to remove his stuck war- club, before he looked up at the woman transfixed.
The woman speaking was the lady of the chameleons, She was the owner of the establishment. She had been seen on the arms of powerful men, and was notorious in her own right. Now the only men she would be with were ones that were lucky enough to spin a wheel when they purchased a night of pleasure in her house. One could gauge her status and desirability by the brisk business it brought for the once or twice a month she would lay with a man.
“ Enjoy any one here tonight for your help, Prince Cacamao.” She spoke
He removed his war-club, and pointed up at her.
2 days later she emerged from her chamber. The room smelt of the powerful ointment the prince had given the nightwalker.
“ Ladies I have an announcement...”
Vote for the next installment...
Assault on the Flowering Death Ship
or
Kaier Bride Five: The Newest Addition
see previous stories at..
http://panchayyah.blogspot.com/
Cacamao Estate, Kaierian mainland....
The Grand chief had ordered my husband to Port Kaier to bring back some important shipments, but I don't think he really considered all the possibilities. If My husband and his drives run into the port brothels, not only could our household become destitute, but the entire rim river economy could drain through the mechanism of his formidable hungers. This worries me, but I am too emotionally vested in it too sense things clearly.
I hope the natural and sustaining joys of a large and happy household enter in his thinking. I think he would miss sitting on his house throne while his mates rub their pregnant bellies against his legs while they paint his fingers and toes. I hope he remembers When we would place the feather crown on his head and color his cheeks to show our household pride to the entire village.
Port Kaier...
The large doors opened from the underground tunnel filling his nose with the fragrant scents of home while his eyes filled with visions that exceeded his most optimistic hopes for the afterlife. He stood in the doorway blocking other men with his mouth open staring.
Women scantily clad in silks walked overhead in transparent suspended catwalks. Women hung from the ceiling on swings by caged songbirds. Their were fountains, paper lanterns, plants, and erotic ceiling frescos behind the large marble columns awaiting him and his dumbfounded smile.
It was the moment the doorman had been dreading for over a week, since he had begun hearing about exhausted women at other establishments, He heard about how His obsidian eye gave him the ability to see peoples shadows move in the future and predict their movements. He had heard about His Magic warclub that would cut through a man after it had cut through a tree, and there was the matter of his tattoos. The large man placed a sweaty palm on Cacamao's chest as he began to stride forward. “ Umm..sir...” he said.
Cacamao stopped and looked down at the man as he narrowed his eyes. The serpent heads that were sewn into his shoulders hissed in his ears. He drew his warclub, while the doorman protected his face with his arms, and prepared for death.
Cacamao turned his back to the doorman and looked into the underground tunnel. He gestured towards the two shaman that escorted him to take up opposite sides of the doorway.
The flowers suddenly began to blossom and bloom putting out an impossible eye watering amount of pollen. He swung his war-club back and forth making it whistle as the obsidian teeth on the sides began to vibrate and rotate into a black blur.
Two corpses that had plant vines running through them leaped at him hungry for his blood. A single swing of his blade removed 3 legs in one swing. The symbols on the outside of the war club began to glow. Vine tendrils from the potted plants near the door stretched out and begin to reknit a structure to the severed legs. The patrons and women began to flee screaming into the private rooms.
2 more living dead minions leapt over the fallen ones only to be simultaneously cut off at the chest, but the blow was over extended and The war-club stuck half way into a marble column.
The Shaman blew dirt from the palms of their hands on the the man/ Plant abominations that began to burn them almost as fast as the vines inside that were moving them and they left trails of smoke behind their frenetic charge vines grew out of them and latched on to the overhead catwalk to pull them selves forward.
A retreating woman fell from the catwalk into Cacamao's arms when they shook the it. He set her down, but the distracting quality that had served her well hear gave the creatures a grasp on his legs. They began to chew at his legs with their rotting teeth.
The Shaman chanted in unison cutting away at the unholy foliage with bone sacrificial knives. The room grew warm from the words of power, and bubbles grew out of the air the popped into small electric bursts.
Cacamao tried to fight his way upright, but they were growing around him as they dug into his flesh. They hand made his body limp up to the waist. Before they could reach his chest the tattoos of coiled serpents around his arms began to glow a dull red. The glowing red outline of the serpents extended out from his arm tattoos. They grew until they were the length of a man. He used one to prop himself upright while the other ripped apart the creatures attacking him. The shaman finished the job. They offered some words of blessing to the water in a fountain. The creature stayed dormant once they were inside the waters.
A new walking plant corpse had come in from the tunnel. He had flowers sprouting from him, He was covered in barnacles and sea plants. He wore the Caiman skull of a Panchayyah Shaman. The air in the room began to warm with a wet air that the followed the corpse The door man slammed a small piece of statuary into it head from behind as it advanced . It sent him spinning with a claw across his throat that left a trail of warm blood.
One of the Illuminated serpent outlines extending form The Panchayyah prince grabbed on to the arm That had lashed out at the doorman barely too late to prevent the blow. It moved the arm away from the Plant driven zombie as fast as the plant vines could grow from it's body and keep it connected, but faster then they could solidly hold and move it. He placed the arm in the fountian where the water had been blessed. He placed the arm in the water. The vines did as plant vines will do and carried the water back to the main body, and as they did they left a trail of black ash.
At the same time a shaman had removed something that looked like a cross between a large blowgun and a blunderpuss. The wide mouth had a rack of needles already stored in it, as he removed the wax and hide covering. He blew and green smoke came out. The needles shone with supernatural power as they drove a whole the size of a man's head in the former Shaman's torso.
The last shaman had cut his thumb, and blood trailed down grooves in the links of a bone and ebony whip. His blow removed one of the legs.
The illuminated serpent tatoo returned to it's master, and coiled itself around the fist he placed it in the hole that had been made by the blowgun blast. The serpent uncoiled itself into a spiral that torne through the quivering body leaving a still animated head to fall to the ground with a trail of smoking roots and nerves.
One Shaman began gather the ashes, and tosses them into the fountian whose waters were turning black. The plants in the room began to show several months of growth. Cacamao Picked up the head and gazed into it with his obsidian eye. The other shaman wrapped brown gauze around the neck of the doorman.
A stunning woman with long blonde hair dress in red and green silks came out on to a balcony and asked “what happened ?!”.
The doorman weakly pointed to the head, and then to Cacamao, whose reputation had preceeded him before he passed out. The Panchayyah prince of the land began to speak without moving his gaze from the head.
He spoke “It appears that he was an exiled shaman who a crew that specialized in illicit cargo had been using to purify water. When he died the fear the death blossom of the living land, so they tossed him over board not thinking that it would only anger his spirit.”. He looked down at the fallen doorman, saying “See what happens when you are in inhospitable to the Panchayyah.”. Then he continued “ His ship is still adrift at sea and flowering with death. It should be destroyed from far away with blessed burning oil.” He tossed the head to the shaman who had been attending the doorman who ran off with it to notify the authorities. Life had returned to his legs. He began to remove his stuck war- club, before he looked up at the woman transfixed.
The woman speaking was the lady of the chameleons, She was the owner of the establishment. She had been seen on the arms of powerful men, and was notorious in her own right. Now the only men she would be with were ones that were lucky enough to spin a wheel when they purchased a night of pleasure in her house. One could gauge her status and desirability by the brisk business it brought for the once or twice a month she would lay with a man.
“ Enjoy any one here tonight for your help, Prince Cacamao.” She spoke
He removed his war-club, and pointed up at her.
2 days later she emerged from her chamber. The room smelt of the powerful ointment the prince had given the nightwalker.
“ Ladies I have an announcement...”
Vote for the next installment...
Assault on the Flowering Death Ship
or
Kaier Bride Five: The Newest Addition
see previous stories at..
http://panchayyah.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Patski/Demonic Twist 101
Max patski is a composite of several personalities ranging from Robet Evans to Chuck Barris. I am currently tweaking him out, and developing him for comics and short story form.
He is a 1970s celebrity with limited mental abilities, and hedonistic tendencies. He also has been bonded to a pair of demons.
Panchayyah 101
The Panchayyah are a tribe group I play in a game of interactive fiction on a world called Celandra where players act as entire Societies as opposed to individuals.
The Panchayyah are wild forest dwellers who worship snakes. I barrow heavily from Meso-American influences as well as some Indian and African cultures.
Some of the other societies that I reference are
Kaier: a long time friend of the tribes, and active merchantile culture
Milakanur: hated enemies a slave-holding desert tribe
The Bhaktim are supernaturally powerful serpents who are ambasadors of the snake god.
http://wiki.phoenyx.net/Celandra
Naming Demons epilouge
EPILOUGE
It was a dark subterranean cave dimly lit by oil lanterns hanging from spikes hammered into the cave wall. The cave was warm and humid with a gentle sulphur smell coming form the springs that heated all the gently rippling water in the lagoon like basin of the cave.
A Ten foot high creature was operating a simple pump fumigator spraying a fluid on to a half dozen black pods that coursed with blue veins that were nested in an over-sized sticky web. The creature had the roughly size and shape of a grizzly, but it was covered in rust colored armored plates. As it's coarse voice hummed a simple melody it's large frog like mouth opened to reveal several rows of fearsome teeth. It's eyes rotated around like an iguanas, but hosted oversized human style pupils. The Creatures back had a large armored carapace like that of a horseshoe crab, but with spikes some of which that grow to over a foot long. Several small long-limbed yellowish Imps flipped amongst his spines contentedly in very loose timing with his singing.
A sultry femine voice called out to him echoing in the cave. “ That is enough Mr. Wrench, We don't want them to hatch too soon.” “Come get your treat.”
The giant monster Turned and ran through the water toward the voice like an excited child leaving a couple imps to splash in the water.
The demoness appeared to reclining as she reached with a long back ropey limb, and pulled an whole-sale plastic container of peanut butter out of it, and form near by another limb grabbed some oversized syringes filled with blood. She unscrewed the top of the peanut butter, and injected the syringes into it, as the massive rust colored demon anxiously shifted it's weight from foot to foot in anticipation. She handed Mr. Wrench the jar, and he began to eagerly lick at it with his center tongue. “better go tend to the imps.” .
The rust colored demon ran off quickly with considerable displacement of water.
Upon closer examination the the demoness wasn't reclining at all , but propping her self up, having turned the center part of her body into a living hammock while long black limbs tended a bellows like pump that was moving blood into glass jars. A puff of smoke came out from between the ample and comforting bosom she had grown for the occasion. The demoness elongated her neck to follow the plume of smoke upward and enjoy it's smell looking at it with some fascination in her glowing red eyes.
Max took the cigar from his his mouth. He wore a white silk shirt that was completely unbuttoned. In the center of his chest was a black muscular demonic mass with one big red eye, and a small mouth. Max place the cigar in the creatures mouth with the arm that didn't have tubes coming out of it. The creature took a couple quick puffs right away.
“Keeping a house of thirsty demons fed is more work then I thought. If twist didn't help me regenerate so fast we all would be in trouble.”
The long neck of the demoness twisted her long neck around to face max as nestled comfortably in her breasts. “ don't worry love, stores are almost up to normal”. She kissed him as her long forked tail moved in time her gentle rocking of him. “Happy Birth day, Max. I got something for you.” she said as she looked across the quiet water to the black pods that Mr., Wrench had been spraying.
It was a dark subterranean cave dimly lit by oil lanterns hanging from spikes hammered into the cave wall. The cave was warm and humid with a gentle sulphur smell coming form the springs that heated all the gently rippling water in the lagoon like basin of the cave.
A Ten foot high creature was operating a simple pump fumigator spraying a fluid on to a half dozen black pods that coursed with blue veins that were nested in an over-sized sticky web. The creature had the roughly size and shape of a grizzly, but it was covered in rust colored armored plates. As it's coarse voice hummed a simple melody it's large frog like mouth opened to reveal several rows of fearsome teeth. It's eyes rotated around like an iguanas, but hosted oversized human style pupils. The Creatures back had a large armored carapace like that of a horseshoe crab, but with spikes some of which that grow to over a foot long. Several small long-limbed yellowish Imps flipped amongst his spines contentedly in very loose timing with his singing.
A sultry femine voice called out to him echoing in the cave. “ That is enough Mr. Wrench, We don't want them to hatch too soon.” “Come get your treat.”
The giant monster Turned and ran through the water toward the voice like an excited child leaving a couple imps to splash in the water.
The demoness appeared to reclining as she reached with a long back ropey limb, and pulled an whole-sale plastic container of peanut butter out of it, and form near by another limb grabbed some oversized syringes filled with blood. She unscrewed the top of the peanut butter, and injected the syringes into it, as the massive rust colored demon anxiously shifted it's weight from foot to foot in anticipation. She handed Mr. Wrench the jar, and he began to eagerly lick at it with his center tongue. “better go tend to the imps.” .
The rust colored demon ran off quickly with considerable displacement of water.
Upon closer examination the the demoness wasn't reclining at all , but propping her self up, having turned the center part of her body into a living hammock while long black limbs tended a bellows like pump that was moving blood into glass jars. A puff of smoke came out from between the ample and comforting bosom she had grown for the occasion. The demoness elongated her neck to follow the plume of smoke upward and enjoy it's smell looking at it with some fascination in her glowing red eyes.
Max took the cigar from his his mouth. He wore a white silk shirt that was completely unbuttoned. In the center of his chest was a black muscular demonic mass with one big red eye, and a small mouth. Max place the cigar in the creatures mouth with the arm that didn't have tubes coming out of it. The creature took a couple quick puffs right away.
“Keeping a house of thirsty demons fed is more work then I thought. If twist didn't help me regenerate so fast we all would be in trouble.”
The long neck of the demoness twisted her long neck around to face max as nestled comfortably in her breasts. “ don't worry love, stores are almost up to normal”. She kissed him as her long forked tail moved in time her gentle rocking of him. “Happy Birth day, Max. I got something for you.” she said as she looked across the quiet water to the black pods that Mr., Wrench had been spraying.
Naming Demons six
The great Demon's robe dropped to the floor, but did not reveal a human like body as indicated by the flow of his robe, but rather a body that was composed entirely of long branching red and brown segmented tentacles that recalled earth worms. Some ended in alien eyes, some ended in lamprey like teeth or in tiny bird like manipulators.
The fearsome monster Leaned it's entire long frame over to look max directly along eye level, Each of It's eye slots burnt two glowing swirling orbs the resembled intoxicating mini-suns as they shifted colors. They spoke to Max In a primal language far more sensual and more pure then words..
"You are ambitious Sheriff."
"almost as much as you are lucky.."
"These markings will insure your place as a lord, and allow you to more fully bind members of your house into service"
It reached with a wormy appendage and began engraving symbols into max's freshly regenerated flesh, with the stylus form the skull, along his shoulders and back. as It burnt the symbols into max the demoness continued to cradle him, and Ixtal spoke into his mind, advising him. Max attempted to stand up with a short lived burst of confidence only to fall awkwardly to the floor right away.
The Demoness Slinked up against his leg," Forgive me Lord, I had not been fed properly in so long, and your foot with the hole in it, and exposure to all the stomach acids it was only meat. I was so weak. Twist will help Knit you a better one." Max let out a sigh of exasperation as she shifted around him to help prop him up.
He stood with out a foot, in freshly bleeding tattoos, and his only intact clothing was His trustworthy, but recently burnt and bloodied Leopard skin print briefs. In the courtyard when he became Lord of the house. He allowed all the demons that did not wish to seek redemption Move to other houses. He also retained a contract with Ixtal, and only three greater demons out of three dozen remained. A small domestic staff of imps and lesser demons to maintain the house. He also activated the reserve clause in his contract with the night town council after He He used his new-found powers to declared The demoness Mrs. Necktie, as his second wife to insure her chance at redemption.
Max was sitting on an oversized stone throne in the barren fortress with the remaining demons while he was trying to get used to a new foot by wiggling his toes.
"Stacy Is really going to love the body art, Max."Twist laughed sarcastically in a changing voice as he returned to his human form. then He pretended he was going to slap his friend on the back in the midst of all the tender freshly marked flesh, before the two said their good byes. Max appearing to turn into a luminous gas and evaporate taking twist with him bringing them back into the "real world"
Max, exhausted rested his hands on the mirror as felt another trickle of blood run down his back from the markings. Steam from the shower was fogging up the mirror. He could feel himself nodding off there before he was going to work up the courage to go under the shower head his spouse insisted be set to " strip paint or sand blast".
an alarmed female voice cried "MAAAX!!" from behind him
He Nervously cast his eyes to the digital clock by the mirror ...
"...umm how was church, baby?"
- fin -
The fearsome monster Leaned it's entire long frame over to look max directly along eye level, Each of It's eye slots burnt two glowing swirling orbs the resembled intoxicating mini-suns as they shifted colors. They spoke to Max In a primal language far more sensual and more pure then words..
"You are ambitious Sheriff."
"almost as much as you are lucky.."
"These markings will insure your place as a lord, and allow you to more fully bind members of your house into service"
It reached with a wormy appendage and began engraving symbols into max's freshly regenerated flesh, with the stylus form the skull, along his shoulders and back. as It burnt the symbols into max the demoness continued to cradle him, and Ixtal spoke into his mind, advising him. Max attempted to stand up with a short lived burst of confidence only to fall awkwardly to the floor right away.
The Demoness Slinked up against his leg," Forgive me Lord, I had not been fed properly in so long, and your foot with the hole in it, and exposure to all the stomach acids it was only meat. I was so weak. Twist will help Knit you a better one." Max let out a sigh of exasperation as she shifted around him to help prop him up.
He stood with out a foot, in freshly bleeding tattoos, and his only intact clothing was His trustworthy, but recently burnt and bloodied Leopard skin print briefs. In the courtyard when he became Lord of the house. He allowed all the demons that did not wish to seek redemption Move to other houses. He also retained a contract with Ixtal, and only three greater demons out of three dozen remained. A small domestic staff of imps and lesser demons to maintain the house. He also activated the reserve clause in his contract with the night town council after He He used his new-found powers to declared The demoness Mrs. Necktie, as his second wife to insure her chance at redemption.
Max was sitting on an oversized stone throne in the barren fortress with the remaining demons while he was trying to get used to a new foot by wiggling his toes.
"Stacy Is really going to love the body art, Max."Twist laughed sarcastically in a changing voice as he returned to his human form. then He pretended he was going to slap his friend on the back in the midst of all the tender freshly marked flesh, before the two said their good byes. Max appearing to turn into a luminous gas and evaporate taking twist with him bringing them back into the "real world"
Max, exhausted rested his hands on the mirror as felt another trickle of blood run down his back from the markings. Steam from the shower was fogging up the mirror. He could feel himself nodding off there before he was going to work up the courage to go under the shower head his spouse insisted be set to " strip paint or sand blast".
an alarmed female voice cried "MAAAX!!" from behind him
He Nervously cast his eyes to the digital clock by the mirror ...
"...umm how was church, baby?"
- fin -
Naming Demons five
It was his favorite time of night, and he was in his favorite place. He laid on his back, stretched out his toes and moved a lock of her curly red hair out of his face. He looked up at the flat screen monitor mounted on the canopy of the bed that was playing some footage he took a couple weeks ago of his wife, and their raven haired nanny playing with the children in the park. he hit a button on the remote and the monitor slid down the canopy of the bed to move close to the foot of the bed, so he could look out the skylight.
He thought the removal of the mirrors from the canopy of the bed was one of the many happy compromises that resulted from his marriage, besides the 4 high definition cameras he sneaked in and link to the monitor, and a hard-drive in the control room were much more elegant. She referred to the extensive use of mirrors around the room as "very creepy and vaguely sinful."
He rolled his head to the side and kissed her sleeping brow as he though how he built this large octagonal room a veritable laboratory of seduction for an innumerable number of women, but that it ended up being completely changed by just one. the full bar now featured coffee and protein drinks. the heavy use of mirrors was replaced with a multimedia projection center that incorporated karaoke. She liked the cherubs, and the baby grand so they stayed.
Another thing that made their marriage work his wife's unique ability to sleep like a rock unfettered by a guilty conscious. In contrast her spouse only needed an hour sleep a day. He would periodically tease her about having an electronic timer wired into her brain stem. Even 7 months into her second pregnancy she was relatively hard to stir. Once he set his drum kit up a couple yards from the bed, and it still took her a couple minutes to stir after he began a poor gene krupa impersonation just to see what it would take.
He played with two remotes and a couple panels slid down to reveal a large tropical aquarium, while a couple more panels moved random colors in time with a string quartet that started playing as the round water-bed silently rotated. He moved his hand down her body to see if he could feel the babies move. in a few moments the low illumination in the room dimmed to complete blackness, and the music changed to a quiet jazz samba. Long stringy limbs of solidified darkness reached out and caressed max as a velvet, voluptuous, amorphous form took the shape of a woman laying against him on the opposite side of his wife. MAX looked at the glowing buttons on the remote and moved the monitor back up.
"Did you get the kids put to sleep?" he silently communicated to her through her warm touch as he rewound the video.
" Yes I read them the story about the owl and the frog. Orchid doesn't seem as nervous now."
"This is the footage from our trip to the park." he moved his arm with the remote around the demons who rested her white face on his chest. They laid silently watching the screen for a few moments smiling. she elongated her neck and moved her head so it hovered between max and the monitor, as the footage changed to older shots of the children. "Master, I had a couple questions about the night you killed Ivtxo."
"what was the deal with the pen you killed him with."
"Let me Give you a little background. I started to tell you the other day, in a sense there were really two marriages to Stacy. She admitted to me some time ago that she knew after a couple months of dating that we were going to eventually get married, but that she wanted to wait until she was more comfortable that I wasn't going to repeat my history with her. Then she came to think that I would go insane if we didn't consummate, and she didn't want a crazy husband, so she took a risk a got married a little earlier."
“Then later on around the time we renewed our vows it was the second marriage where where there was much more trust and security. Anyway, I am sure you remember me coming to you blubbering about the rocky early days."
"So just to condense the story a little one of the things I did to " earn" the second marriage was join the catholic church, and contributed over 12 million dollars to different projects."
"Like any business the salvation trade has to take care of it's best customers, so I made some connections, and was ultimately given access to some artifacts from the Vatican vault."
"I brought the pen to help seal the deal and liberate twist, having been told you had been promoted to another dimension. The point I stabbed the demon with is an ivory point carved from the knee bone of a grade- A saint, some African Martyr.. I forget the name. The other end was an uneven bronze tube that you would use to prick yourself and draw blood, and all together you would use the whole thing to sign a binding blood oath. I wanted to show him I was going to hold up my end of the bargain if he released twist to me. I never suspected it would become as useful as it did."
he moved his arm and reached up to caress the demon's chin.. looking into her eyes "looks like you are hungry. what is your other question?"
"What did you see when you were using the skull?"
Max breathed hard and paused "Well you better feed off me directly tonight, baby. The blood loss will probably help me get that story out." The ever shifting demoness sunk her fangs into his out stretched wrist as he began
The transition left he jarred He caught his flares on the bar, falling down on the cement by the pool. He could see numerous blurs of colorful motion moving to the sounds of the Grand funk railroad. he wasn't sure if he hired the light show or the drugs were digging in--could have been both. He scrambled up with a strange chemical grace and flung his leisure suit jacket into the shimmering sparkling hyper blue of the pool. then tore off his silk shirt and roared with a mad joy.
Timothy Leary was right about drugs expanding the mind and making new neural connections. In the case of Max Patski he was even a prophet. The next thing He could remember is her small frame struggling to pull him up the stairs, and propping him up against the foot of the bed. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up then struggled to crawl out to the deck, pulling himself up so his head could peek over the edge. he massaged his temple and began sending his pain and hangover out to the remaining party goers laying in various positions of compromise below, a little to each. With in three minutes he was completely sober.
Parts of a drum kit, and a borrowed stage light were in the pool, and the sound of retching had increased from below, as people began to stir. He looked out at the bite marks and tried to figure out what was written in lipstick all over his arms and chest. she had laid his suit out on the bed.
" You going to be late for another shoot, Max." she said weakly.
" I knew I had crossed a line with her. leaving her to clean up after dozens of stoned left-overs alone again. after shooting was done Lucy came into my dressing room, and burst into tears before she could say "I quit". The hug became a kiss that became a good hour on the sofa. It was for the best anyway, I had been noticing Her more over the past few months. She had the right combination of beauty, blind loyalty and selective vision. what followed were a happy couple of years for me. the bills got paid on time. there was always fresh dry-cleaning. I had most all of my freedom as long as I saved " our bed for us. I didn't even mind when she earned a engagement ring on her finger."
Lucy stood above him shaking screaming and crying as her make-up ran down her face, but all Max could hear was the veins throbbing in his head. " I was shocked and angry to see her like that. She had no idea what a hang over was. at best she would do a small cocktail after meeting a celebrity. Some black part of my mind wanted to teach her, so I flung the sum of the pain and intoxication at her from my mind."
Lucy staggered down the stairs. Max moved the arms of the triplets from Denmark off his chest, and thought only to throw on a bathrobe, as he realized he had been with the women in the bed he had promised only toher.
He leaped down the stairs. he found her face down in the pool with a twisted arm, and blood running down her nose. Max's mind, still heightened and looking for increased stimulation felt the last heartbeats of the two new lives growing inside her now lifeless body. He beautiful blues eyes has now become the Grey eyes that haunted him.
The bronze hands Retracted their needles and fell suddenly lifeless into Max's lap Leaving long trickles of blood down his chest and stomach.
The female demon still cradling his trembling form asked frantically "Did you get your name Max?"
"Mr. Grey" he hoarsely sputtered out.
Towering over Max was the great demon Ixtal. He stood 12 feet tall from the ground to the top of his large stag-like antlers. His head resembled a cow's skull with 2 glowing orbs in each eye socket. the rest of his body was wrapped in a long dark green robe.
He was rumored to be far more ancient the the lord Max had just slain.
He thought the removal of the mirrors from the canopy of the bed was one of the many happy compromises that resulted from his marriage, besides the 4 high definition cameras he sneaked in and link to the monitor, and a hard-drive in the control room were much more elegant. She referred to the extensive use of mirrors around the room as "very creepy and vaguely sinful."
He rolled his head to the side and kissed her sleeping brow as he though how he built this large octagonal room a veritable laboratory of seduction for an innumerable number of women, but that it ended up being completely changed by just one. the full bar now featured coffee and protein drinks. the heavy use of mirrors was replaced with a multimedia projection center that incorporated karaoke. She liked the cherubs, and the baby grand so they stayed.
Another thing that made their marriage work his wife's unique ability to sleep like a rock unfettered by a guilty conscious. In contrast her spouse only needed an hour sleep a day. He would periodically tease her about having an electronic timer wired into her brain stem. Even 7 months into her second pregnancy she was relatively hard to stir. Once he set his drum kit up a couple yards from the bed, and it still took her a couple minutes to stir after he began a poor gene krupa impersonation just to see what it would take.
He played with two remotes and a couple panels slid down to reveal a large tropical aquarium, while a couple more panels moved random colors in time with a string quartet that started playing as the round water-bed silently rotated. He moved his hand down her body to see if he could feel the babies move. in a few moments the low illumination in the room dimmed to complete blackness, and the music changed to a quiet jazz samba. Long stringy limbs of solidified darkness reached out and caressed max as a velvet, voluptuous, amorphous form took the shape of a woman laying against him on the opposite side of his wife. MAX looked at the glowing buttons on the remote and moved the monitor back up.
"Did you get the kids put to sleep?" he silently communicated to her through her warm touch as he rewound the video.
" Yes I read them the story about the owl and the frog. Orchid doesn't seem as nervous now."
"This is the footage from our trip to the park." he moved his arm with the remote around the demons who rested her white face on his chest. They laid silently watching the screen for a few moments smiling. she elongated her neck and moved her head so it hovered between max and the monitor, as the footage changed to older shots of the children. "Master, I had a couple questions about the night you killed Ivtxo."
"what was the deal with the pen you killed him with."
"Let me Give you a little background. I started to tell you the other day, in a sense there were really two marriages to Stacy. She admitted to me some time ago that she knew after a couple months of dating that we were going to eventually get married, but that she wanted to wait until she was more comfortable that I wasn't going to repeat my history with her. Then she came to think that I would go insane if we didn't consummate, and she didn't want a crazy husband, so she took a risk a got married a little earlier."
“Then later on around the time we renewed our vows it was the second marriage where where there was much more trust and security. Anyway, I am sure you remember me coming to you blubbering about the rocky early days."
"So just to condense the story a little one of the things I did to " earn" the second marriage was join the catholic church, and contributed over 12 million dollars to different projects."
"Like any business the salvation trade has to take care of it's best customers, so I made some connections, and was ultimately given access to some artifacts from the Vatican vault."
"I brought the pen to help seal the deal and liberate twist, having been told you had been promoted to another dimension. The point I stabbed the demon with is an ivory point carved from the knee bone of a grade- A saint, some African Martyr.. I forget the name. The other end was an uneven bronze tube that you would use to prick yourself and draw blood, and all together you would use the whole thing to sign a binding blood oath. I wanted to show him I was going to hold up my end of the bargain if he released twist to me. I never suspected it would become as useful as it did."
he moved his arm and reached up to caress the demon's chin.. looking into her eyes "looks like you are hungry. what is your other question?"
"What did you see when you were using the skull?"
Max breathed hard and paused "Well you better feed off me directly tonight, baby. The blood loss will probably help me get that story out." The ever shifting demoness sunk her fangs into his out stretched wrist as he began
The transition left he jarred He caught his flares on the bar, falling down on the cement by the pool. He could see numerous blurs of colorful motion moving to the sounds of the Grand funk railroad. he wasn't sure if he hired the light show or the drugs were digging in--could have been both. He scrambled up with a strange chemical grace and flung his leisure suit jacket into the shimmering sparkling hyper blue of the pool. then tore off his silk shirt and roared with a mad joy.
Timothy Leary was right about drugs expanding the mind and making new neural connections. In the case of Max Patski he was even a prophet. The next thing He could remember is her small frame struggling to pull him up the stairs, and propping him up against the foot of the bed. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up then struggled to crawl out to the deck, pulling himself up so his head could peek over the edge. he massaged his temple and began sending his pain and hangover out to the remaining party goers laying in various positions of compromise below, a little to each. With in three minutes he was completely sober.
Parts of a drum kit, and a borrowed stage light were in the pool, and the sound of retching had increased from below, as people began to stir. He looked out at the bite marks and tried to figure out what was written in lipstick all over his arms and chest. she had laid his suit out on the bed.
" You going to be late for another shoot, Max." she said weakly.
" I knew I had crossed a line with her. leaving her to clean up after dozens of stoned left-overs alone again. after shooting was done Lucy came into my dressing room, and burst into tears before she could say "I quit". The hug became a kiss that became a good hour on the sofa. It was for the best anyway, I had been noticing Her more over the past few months. She had the right combination of beauty, blind loyalty and selective vision. what followed were a happy couple of years for me. the bills got paid on time. there was always fresh dry-cleaning. I had most all of my freedom as long as I saved " our bed for us. I didn't even mind when she earned a engagement ring on her finger."
Lucy stood above him shaking screaming and crying as her make-up ran down her face, but all Max could hear was the veins throbbing in his head. " I was shocked and angry to see her like that. She had no idea what a hang over was. at best she would do a small cocktail after meeting a celebrity. Some black part of my mind wanted to teach her, so I flung the sum of the pain and intoxication at her from my mind."
Lucy staggered down the stairs. Max moved the arms of the triplets from Denmark off his chest, and thought only to throw on a bathrobe, as he realized he had been with the women in the bed he had promised only toher.
He leaped down the stairs. he found her face down in the pool with a twisted arm, and blood running down her nose. Max's mind, still heightened and looking for increased stimulation felt the last heartbeats of the two new lives growing inside her now lifeless body. He beautiful blues eyes has now become the Grey eyes that haunted him.
The bronze hands Retracted their needles and fell suddenly lifeless into Max's lap Leaving long trickles of blood down his chest and stomach.
The female demon still cradling his trembling form asked frantically "Did you get your name Max?"
"Mr. Grey" he hoarsely sputtered out.
Towering over Max was the great demon Ixtal. He stood 12 feet tall from the ground to the top of his large stag-like antlers. His head resembled a cow's skull with 2 glowing orbs in each eye socket. the rest of his body was wrapped in a long dark green robe.
He was rumored to be far more ancient the the lord Max had just slain.
Naming Demons four
Her touch was warm, but it could extend that warmth and send thought and sensation directly through a person's nerves like a telegraph line communicating at a speed and intensity several fold several times the speed of speech.
Her touch started sending him information as he stared out into the sea of blinking eyes all connecting to gnashing teeth in the darkness. he knew they were all waiting to eat him.
"You know there is only one way out of this, max." a soft feminine voice said in his head. "you need to appear strong while convincing them you are not . Ivtxo had some one waiting at the council building so he could attack you the minute you were no longer an officer of the law. they all know they can kill you with impunity now."
"He knew about us, max. he forced me into the form of the chair you were sitting on. he wanted to make me devour you. I stayed as that chair immobile and unchanging for the better part of a year, except when he would force me to change because he needed a toilet, or wanted me to stimulate certain appendages."
The intense communication had stimulated Max's own lucidity to spite his injuries. he replied in thought to his lover "last time i try to filibuster a demon-lord" and "don't worry gorgeous, you are going to get your green card out of eternal damnation.( or i am going to get chewed to death slowly by a thousand tiny mouths)."
He spoke to the hungry demonic horde before him in a hoarse but unshakable voice...
"Your former master challenged me to combat, I beat him twice. Two of your own bore witness. by your custom I claim all that is his. My first order is that all here may take all his belongings, and the stores of the place above the floor belong to you now. Go get them."
Max passed out as the female demon incased him in her own form hissing at the demon horde, and twist dragged his feared claws along the dungeon wall creating sparks as he watched protectively over his friend.
Many demons ran off as fast as they could into the keep to beat the others to centuries of loot collected by their master, others moved off slowly not wanting any trouble, while the smaller demons, knowing they would be overpowered in any attempt to gain wealth began to devour the corpse of their former master like a swarm of frenzied may-flies in the hopes of gaining some of his power. one massive demon that looked like a cross between a grizzly and and iguana stayed silently watching as slowly changed colors. Twist looked and the creature, and it nodded, and began to relight the lanterns as it watched the door.
Twist formed himself into his healing form that looked like a muscular black and red manta-ray with numerous tentacles where the mouth and tail would have been, and wrapped himself around his friends arm.
A few moments after max had re awakened a fat pockmarked blueish-green imp with blisters that would pop and burst into tiny fox fire like flames dropped a bundle before the female demon that was still protectively cradling max.
Dark tendrils composed of solidified shadow emerged from her and unwrapped the burgundy cloth to reveal a Neanderthal shaped skull coated in a greenish silver. from it's half opened mouths emerged three chains. the outer two were about 4 feet in length and connected to realistic sculpted bronze hands with symbols engraved on them. the central chain emerged from a meso-American style tongue and connected to a iron stylus.
"WE need to get started max" she said as she rested the skull on his stomach.
Max had already begun to heal remarkably, and the burning sensation all over his body had dimmed to just some dull pain on the side of his body opposite twist. The demon shifter her body to cradle max more comfortably upright. "you need to put the hands on your shoulders dear"'
she helped him with the side of immobilized arm. as soon as the hands where positioned properly on his shoulders they began to move and grab on to his body with a terrible force driving needles from the fingertips into the veins around his neck. Blood flowed through the sinister hands coiling around the chain in a small rivulet that was adding weight to the skull resting on his stomach. The last thing he saw before his mind awoke in another time and place was a monstrous antlered shadow slowly move into the room at an even glide.
see you next time for our next diabolical installment
" 0878"
Her touch started sending him information as he stared out into the sea of blinking eyes all connecting to gnashing teeth in the darkness. he knew they were all waiting to eat him.
"You know there is only one way out of this, max." a soft feminine voice said in his head. "you need to appear strong while convincing them you are not . Ivtxo had some one waiting at the council building so he could attack you the minute you were no longer an officer of the law. they all know they can kill you with impunity now."
"He knew about us, max. he forced me into the form of the chair you were sitting on. he wanted to make me devour you. I stayed as that chair immobile and unchanging for the better part of a year, except when he would force me to change because he needed a toilet, or wanted me to stimulate certain appendages."
The intense communication had stimulated Max's own lucidity to spite his injuries. he replied in thought to his lover "last time i try to filibuster a demon-lord" and "don't worry gorgeous, you are going to get your green card out of eternal damnation.( or i am going to get chewed to death slowly by a thousand tiny mouths)."
He spoke to the hungry demonic horde before him in a hoarse but unshakable voice...
"Your former master challenged me to combat, I beat him twice. Two of your own bore witness. by your custom I claim all that is his. My first order is that all here may take all his belongings, and the stores of the place above the floor belong to you now. Go get them."
Max passed out as the female demon incased him in her own form hissing at the demon horde, and twist dragged his feared claws along the dungeon wall creating sparks as he watched protectively over his friend.
Many demons ran off as fast as they could into the keep to beat the others to centuries of loot collected by their master, others moved off slowly not wanting any trouble, while the smaller demons, knowing they would be overpowered in any attempt to gain wealth began to devour the corpse of their former master like a swarm of frenzied may-flies in the hopes of gaining some of his power. one massive demon that looked like a cross between a grizzly and and iguana stayed silently watching as slowly changed colors. Twist looked and the creature, and it nodded, and began to relight the lanterns as it watched the door.
Twist formed himself into his healing form that looked like a muscular black and red manta-ray with numerous tentacles where the mouth and tail would have been, and wrapped himself around his friends arm.
A few moments after max had re awakened a fat pockmarked blueish-green imp with blisters that would pop and burst into tiny fox fire like flames dropped a bundle before the female demon that was still protectively cradling max.
Dark tendrils composed of solidified shadow emerged from her and unwrapped the burgundy cloth to reveal a Neanderthal shaped skull coated in a greenish silver. from it's half opened mouths emerged three chains. the outer two were about 4 feet in length and connected to realistic sculpted bronze hands with symbols engraved on them. the central chain emerged from a meso-American style tongue and connected to a iron stylus.
"WE need to get started max" she said as she rested the skull on his stomach.
Max had already begun to heal remarkably, and the burning sensation all over his body had dimmed to just some dull pain on the side of his body opposite twist. The demon shifter her body to cradle max more comfortably upright. "you need to put the hands on your shoulders dear"'
she helped him with the side of immobilized arm. as soon as the hands where positioned properly on his shoulders they began to move and grab on to his body with a terrible force driving needles from the fingertips into the veins around his neck. Blood flowed through the sinister hands coiling around the chain in a small rivulet that was adding weight to the skull resting on his stomach. The last thing he saw before his mind awoke in another time and place was a monstrous antlered shadow slowly move into the room at an even glide.
see you next time for our next diabolical installment
" 0878"
Naming Demons three
Max's head was still throbbing and his ears were still ringing. His eyes couldn't completely focus, but he could feel things in addition to the several flavors of pain running through him. There was he short stabbing pain, the dull constant, pain, and the burning pain. He could also feel oily tentacles slithering under his head and neck. He felt a muscular shape constricting around his arm, and driving pointed elastic tendrils into his veins.
As he moved his head he began to focus on the only illumination he could see, there were two pulsing red spheres hovering above his head in the engulfing darkness. as he focused the spheres became two catlike demonic eyes, with the pupils glowing in pulses with a warm red light. the spheres lit the middle of a mask-like flawless beautiful pure white feminine face. The eyes looked down on the injured man and the face offered up a wicked smile as fresh blood ran from her mouth a small agile tongue came out of the mouth and licked some blood of a fang.
Max recognized the look in the creatures eyes. Demonic eyes pulsed like that after after they had gorged themselves on blood or flesh, and rendered themselves partially intoxicated. As he wondered where the demonhad received a fresh supply of food, the inventory of his present state max was running in the back of his mind discovered that the only part of his body that didn't ache was his injured leg, and he could not feel it at all.
more tentacles wove there way under max from out of the blackness and began to life him towards the bloody mouth.
"..I missed you, baby.."
The demon purred from the back of it's throat and caressed max tenderly on the chin with a tendril composed ofsolidified darkness. It brought the tendril affectionately down his neck. when it hit the raw burnt skin of hischest he screamed out in pain, but he also screamed out in horror nearly as genuine of that he had experiencedmere moments ago.
His chest hair had all been burnt off. his manly pelt of pride he had primped and coiffed for decades was nomore.
The demonic spoke in a familiar sultry and melodic voice as the eyes looked down at his chest ." I am going to miss it too, But we need to focus On getting you a name, before they are done looting, and there isa lot to be done."
The warm black velvet feeling embraced him again spawning tiny mouths to kiss him on different parts ofhis body, as she removed the remaining shreds of his burnt and tattered suit.
don't forget the next action-packed episode " A Name From Hell"
As he moved his head he began to focus on the only illumination he could see, there were two pulsing red spheres hovering above his head in the engulfing darkness. as he focused the spheres became two catlike demonic eyes, with the pupils glowing in pulses with a warm red light. the spheres lit the middle of a mask-like flawless beautiful pure white feminine face. The eyes looked down on the injured man and the face offered up a wicked smile as fresh blood ran from her mouth a small agile tongue came out of the mouth and licked some blood of a fang.
Max recognized the look in the creatures eyes. Demonic eyes pulsed like that after after they had gorged themselves on blood or flesh, and rendered themselves partially intoxicated. As he wondered where the demonhad received a fresh supply of food, the inventory of his present state max was running in the back of his mind discovered that the only part of his body that didn't ache was his injured leg, and he could not feel it at all.
more tentacles wove there way under max from out of the blackness and began to life him towards the bloody mouth.
Join us next time for another new episode in the thrilling adventures of max patski, and his demon twist, but wait...
"..I missed you, baby.."
The demon purred from the back of it's throat and caressed max tenderly on the chin with a tendril composed ofsolidified darkness. It brought the tendril affectionately down his neck. when it hit the raw burnt skin of hischest he screamed out in pain, but he also screamed out in horror nearly as genuine of that he had experiencedmere moments ago.
His chest hair had all been burnt off. his manly pelt of pride he had primped and coiffed for decades was nomore.
The demonic spoke in a familiar sultry and melodic voice as the eyes looked down at his chest ." I am going to miss it too, But we need to focus On getting you a name, before they are done looting, and there isa lot to be done."
The warm black velvet feeling embraced him again spawning tiny mouths to kiss him on different parts ofhis body, as she removed the remaining shreds of his burnt and tattered suit.
don't forget the next action-packed episode " A Name From Hell"
Naming Demons two
The insane cacophonous bellowing from the mouths of the monster had already begun to destroy Max's senses. His eyes couldn't focus, and his ear drums pulsed painfully with a rhythmic pressure that would soon burstthem. He also knew that all the demons in the ancient black rock castle would be drawn to the sound bound to aid their master by the blackest rituals.
Helplessly Cornered in his chair by advance of the creatures massive bulk, Max appeared to resign himself to death. He winced as he pulled a monogrammed silver flask from the pocket of his suit coat, spat his cigar on to the floor and took a drink. Even before he could completely swallow, a massive pointed insect-like leg impaled His foot to the floor. the fluid ran down the front of his mouth as he cried out in pain.
"Fine you Win, my life is over, and here is a drink to your victory." max barked
out and took a big defiant swig from the flask like it was his last filling up his cheeks. The foul abomination stopped it's chants of madness, and giggles, chortled and snorted at it's victory. all max could see was the a whirling blur of motion and color as the wagging tongues of the creature pressed against his body leaving sizzling drool all over his tailored suit,and the sour foul smell of rot coming from the creatures mouth began to trigger the victim's gag reflex. He spat the contents of his mouth into the blur of color and motion before him.
"Twist get the pen." he called out as he saw the blur of a familiar form, his friend converting into his demonic form, a 7 foot 5 oily black headless monstrosity with long tendrils growing out of it's back. Max let the monster sizzle while he tried to dislodge His leg unsuccessful with his limited remaining strength. The bubbling fluids and steam coming of the creature were stinging his eyes, so max pulled His signature orange tinted designer sunglasses from the pocket in his suit jacket on the opposite side of the flask with his good arm, to protect his eyes, and retain his limited sight. a long back oily tendril reached to max from 3 yards away delicately holding the pen with the ivory tip.
the creature's snail shell cracked and fell to the dungeon floor in pieces revealing a knotted red pulsing mass of muscle that was starting to bubble with the birth of new appendages and sensory organs. another black tendril reached in from the darkness as the room and flung the severed limb in Max's foot Into the far wall.
Max grabbed the pen in two hands as he put his good foot into the dissolved side of the creatures long face, and drove the pen home through the top of the skull. Toxic fluids oozed and splattered from the creature as the pen began it's journey from the top of the demon's head to the ground. It went through like it was a heavy custard occasionally requiring a extra drop of holy water to break through heavy bone or cartilage masses.
The other side of the creature had already grown unnaturally strong almost human like arms that could slowly pull the bulky mass of it's body slowly across the floor
leaving a foul reek of death and decay behind it. The protective runes max had embroidered in his suit by ablind nun in Calcutta flashed and expired, the fabric had burnt away and Max's chest and arms were burning from the unholy bodily fluids of the creature before the pen had made it half way down. His sunglasses had warped and burned from the toxic splatter. the protective coating began to bubble as he continued to grand his teeth and drive the pen deeper into the mass still.
The pen stopped when he hit what seemed to be a sort of secondary stomach filled with hundreds of shiny dark stones. Max cut it loose and flung it against the wall. The stones sparked with electricity as they were removed a static charge went through the air. They were the part of his servitor demons he kept to bind them.
The Liberated Twist, tore into the remaining creature tearing into him with fearsome claws and a terrible circular mouth where his head had been before.
Max staggered back. dropping his empty flask to the ground. The demon lord had stopped moving under the enraged assault. Max staggered back with burns all over his chest and arms. His severely damaged half molten sunglasses fell off his face.
As he began to slowly focus his eyes by squinting The room had gone completely dark, and his entire Field of vision was composed of darkness and glowing eyes of all shapes sizes and colors looking directly at him as he stood over the body of their fallen demon lord. as he made an effort to stagger back his leg was engulfed by something that felt like warm silk moving up his leg.
He uttered words that would both be a profound source of despair and joy before he passed out into the black.
Helplessly Cornered in his chair by advance of the creatures massive bulk, Max appeared to resign himself to death. He winced as he pulled a monogrammed silver flask from the pocket of his suit coat, spat his cigar on to the floor and took a drink. Even before he could completely swallow, a massive pointed insect-like leg impaled His foot to the floor. the fluid ran down the front of his mouth as he cried out in pain.
"Fine you Win, my life is over, and here is a drink to your victory." max barked
out and took a big defiant swig from the flask like it was his last filling up his cheeks. The foul abomination stopped it's chants of madness, and giggles, chortled and snorted at it's victory. all max could see was the a whirling blur of motion and color as the wagging tongues of the creature pressed against his body leaving sizzling drool all over his tailored suit,and the sour foul smell of rot coming from the creatures mouth began to trigger the victim's gag reflex. He spat the contents of his mouth into the blur of color and motion before him.
Fortunately he had filled the flask with holy water.
"Twist get the pen." he called out as he saw the blur of a familiar form, his friend converting into his demonic form, a 7 foot 5 oily black headless monstrosity with long tendrils growing out of it's back. Max let the monster sizzle while he tried to dislodge His leg unsuccessful with his limited remaining strength. The bubbling fluids and steam coming of the creature were stinging his eyes, so max pulled His signature orange tinted designer sunglasses from the pocket in his suit jacket on the opposite side of the flask with his good arm, to protect his eyes, and retain his limited sight. a long back oily tendril reached to max from 3 yards away delicately holding the pen with the ivory tip.
the creature's snail shell cracked and fell to the dungeon floor in pieces revealing a knotted red pulsing mass of muscle that was starting to bubble with the birth of new appendages and sensory organs. another black tendril reached in from the darkness as the room and flung the severed limb in Max's foot Into the far wall.
Max grabbed the pen in two hands as he put his good foot into the dissolved side of the creatures long face, and drove the pen home through the top of the skull. Toxic fluids oozed and splattered from the creature as the pen began it's journey from the top of the demon's head to the ground. It went through like it was a heavy custard occasionally requiring a extra drop of holy water to break through heavy bone or cartilage masses.
The other side of the creature had already grown unnaturally strong almost human like arms that could slowly pull the bulky mass of it's body slowly across the floor
leaving a foul reek of death and decay behind it. The protective runes max had embroidered in his suit by ablind nun in Calcutta flashed and expired, the fabric had burnt away and Max's chest and arms were burning from the unholy bodily fluids of the creature before the pen had made it half way down. His sunglasses had warped and burned from the toxic splatter. the protective coating began to bubble as he continued to grand his teeth and drive the pen deeper into the mass still.
The pen stopped when he hit what seemed to be a sort of secondary stomach filled with hundreds of shiny dark stones. Max cut it loose and flung it against the wall. The stones sparked with electricity as they were removed a static charge went through the air. They were the part of his servitor demons he kept to bind them.
The Liberated Twist, tore into the remaining creature tearing into him with fearsome claws and a terrible circular mouth where his head had been before.
Max staggered back. dropping his empty flask to the ground. The demon lord had stopped moving under the enraged assault. Max staggered back with burns all over his chest and arms. His severely damaged half molten sunglasses fell off his face.
As he began to slowly focus his eyes by squinting The room had gone completely dark, and his entire Field of vision was composed of darkness and glowing eyes of all shapes sizes and colors looking directly at him as he stood over the body of their fallen demon lord. as he made an effort to stagger back his leg was engulfed by something that felt like warm silk moving up his leg.
He uttered words that would both be a profound source of despair and joy before he passed out into the black.
Naming demons one
All his local demons addressed each other formally. the first part was always Mr., Ms. or some royal title that was followed by one to three words that could be verbs adjectives or nouns like Mr. Broken Glass, DameNeedles, Sir Back Alley, Baron Last Glass, or lady Black Mouth. Max's best friend of the past 6 years was referred to as Mr. Twist.
He sat a roughly carved stone chair in a shadowy dungeon-like room made from black rock that was lit by far too few oil lanterns hanging from the walls. His hand shook from fear and blood loss as he leaned back and lit up a small cigar he pulled from the pocket of an expensive suit that had a series of slowly bleeding gashes along the left arm.
By the time Twist had delivered his 5th blow to the demonic body on the floor, a retractable pen with a strange ivory tip exposed dislodged itself from one of the rolls of fat in the creatures neck, and the sound of a gas releasing echoed in the room as the horrible creature began to move. First a spider like limb came out from the bottom of it shell, and severed the leg Twist had been balancing himself on as he kicked it, sending him to the ground in a writhing mass. then more legs came out from the base of it's shell and it began to right itself and focus all it's terrible now bubbling and swirling fluid filled eyes focused on the man sitting in the stone chair who had just nearly brought an end to it's several millenniums of existence.
The shadows in the room began to move with a will of their own as it moved towards Max with all of it's mouths gnashing teeth and uttering different terrible blasphemies in languages forgotten to men
He sat a roughly carved stone chair in a shadowy dungeon-like room made from black rock that was lit by far too few oil lanterns hanging from the walls. His hand shook from fear and blood loss as he leaned back and lit up a small cigar he pulled from the pocket of an expensive suit that had a series of slowly bleeding gashes along the left arm.
" ..What in the hell do we do now Twist?"
The corpse looked like a giant corpulent snail with 7 massive human mouths stacked on on top of each other each open and breathless spilling a foul yellow drool and massive blasphemous tongues on the the floor. The 6 eyes on top of the head didn't look like normal human or animal eyes but like like semi-opaque bubbles filled with stagnant pools of grease. the creature also was releasing small stream of steam and gas from it's body as if it was beginning to cook from the inside filling the room with a growing amount of warmth and a terrible stench.
By the time Twist had delivered his 5th blow to the demonic body on the floor, a retractable pen with a strange ivory tip exposed dislodged itself from one of the rolls of fat in the creatures neck, and the sound of a gas releasing echoed in the room as the horrible creature began to move. First a spider like limb came out from the bottom of it shell, and severed the leg Twist had been balancing himself on as he kicked it, sending him to the ground in a writhing mass. then more legs came out from the base of it's shell and it began to right itself and focus all it's terrible now bubbling and swirling fluid filled eyes focused on the man sitting in the stone chair who had just nearly brought an end to it's several millenniums of existence.
The shadows in the room began to move with a will of their own as it moved towards Max with all of it's mouths gnashing teeth and uttering different terrible blasphemies in languages forgotten to men
Kaier Bride four
The click of his cane on the marble floors echoed through the cavernous empty halls with nothing to stop it. The Heirlooms were mostly gone. The furniture was mostly sold, and multi-generational family servants had left to find work elsewhere. Still he was determined to meet his new Son-in-law on his own feet. His twin daughters that cared for him had been sent away. Their once numerous suitors had stopped calling. No one wanted to be tied to a cursed house deeply in debt. The daughter had sponged up all the sadness, and it had given their beauty a touch of deep melancholy, like that part of a dog that allows you to domesticate it.
One would think that all this would make me profoundly sad, but the truth is I am largely beyond the grip of any single emotion now. People may use the expression “ She has her head in the clouds”, but nothing could be further from the truth, and frankly... insulting. My “head” was firmly in the Ground, not in a fantastical stupor or ideological caprice. It traveled widely and tasted the soils of many different lands. I could feel the heat from the burning heart of the world. I could taste and smell the sweat of the multitudes falling into the soil in futile and transitory attempts to shape and dominate something they had fundamentally no understanding of. Alternately my mind would slither amongst ancient corpses and hear their secrets. The world most people lived in was a formulamatic play I had already seen numerous permutations of , and memorized all the endings. This began when I transformed from double jointed to quadruple jointed before we left home.
Counting ..1..2...3. Now father holds his heart when he sees his pregnant daughters and his new son in law. Next he will start to fall, then catch himself on the door frame.
We can skip the awkward and mostly silent dinner where my husband looks at the twins with enough of his uniquely potent lust to burn a whole into the center of a star. Twins are significant to the Panchayyah, and two comely young ones with dusky red hair would be a prestigious rarity.
Later that night the two brothers and the shaman went to the place where we hid things, a room underneath the depleted wine cellar with an comfortable earthen floor, and strong stone foundation walls. A large throne like jade altar with a basin is in the middle of the room. The maiden blood of my youngest sisters swirls and pools in the center of it. They sit beside bare and glistening with sweat as the still tremble. They hold my arms and the blood form the ritual bites and puncture wounds rolls down and warms my swelling belly. Ultimately there is nothing they can do to deny the supernatural power flowing through them and the room. The Savage primal truth of things is washing over them. They will come to understand and embrace it like I did. There is no denying it, that would be like an ant trying to push back the waves of the deep and passionate ocean
“It is Time to discharge your blessing, brother.” My husband said standing in the candle light as dark painted magnificence.
The cape of Brightly dyed finger bones rattles as it hit the ground. The hunch revealed on his back is a wonderful terrible hive of blood flesh and wax. The insect that had been alternately resting and feeding in it since we boarded the ship began to chew their way out throwing Him into an state of trance like Extasy and he laughs deeply as the swirling sentient swarm of insects cut through the air and form complicated and beautiful patterns.
Cacamao cuts him self and bleeds on to the altar Before speaking the words from before the time of man, and smashes the altar with His fists send large and colorful seeds flying all across the room. Instantly small lichen began to sprout and beetles began to come up form holes in the ground and carry seeds away. Next vines began to sprout and punch through the stone walls like they were wet clay. He stands in his bare flesh and whirls around the room speaking in tongues and swinging his whistling warclub. Directing or conducting the rapid growth much less then it is directing him. In the end he lays back like glistening obsidian and tenderly kisses my sisters and I as the growth continues.
This is what my father saw when he broke. We found him In A small closet of the room before supper the following day. He is unable to move or speak except the right parts of his mouth in furious spastic twitches and his left eye. His grey hair has turned totally white.
This is the part that makes me smile. My husband cares for him tenderly, and bathes and feeds him as per the customs of the Panchayyah with genuine kindness and infinite patience. This day he speaks to him. “Father, I know this is much change for an old man, But change had to come. We are going to send you to the falling waters to get well, Then you can come back and see a healthy house with many grandchildren. What we have done will make your crops grow strong then anyone to spite your neighbors cutting off your water supply. We will name a boy for you.”
He smiled sweetly down on him as he nailed down the comfortable padded wooden box with airholes I had made for him before we left, Having already seen what would and must have come.
One would think that all this would make me profoundly sad, but the truth is I am largely beyond the grip of any single emotion now. People may use the expression “ She has her head in the clouds”, but nothing could be further from the truth, and frankly... insulting. My “head” was firmly in the Ground, not in a fantastical stupor or ideological caprice. It traveled widely and tasted the soils of many different lands. I could feel the heat from the burning heart of the world. I could taste and smell the sweat of the multitudes falling into the soil in futile and transitory attempts to shape and dominate something they had fundamentally no understanding of. Alternately my mind would slither amongst ancient corpses and hear their secrets. The world most people lived in was a formulamatic play I had already seen numerous permutations of , and memorized all the endings. This began when I transformed from double jointed to quadruple jointed before we left home.
Counting ..1..2...3. Now father holds his heart when he sees his pregnant daughters and his new son in law. Next he will start to fall, then catch himself on the door frame.
We can skip the awkward and mostly silent dinner where my husband looks at the twins with enough of his uniquely potent lust to burn a whole into the center of a star. Twins are significant to the Panchayyah, and two comely young ones with dusky red hair would be a prestigious rarity.
Later that night the two brothers and the shaman went to the place where we hid things, a room underneath the depleted wine cellar with an comfortable earthen floor, and strong stone foundation walls. A large throne like jade altar with a basin is in the middle of the room. The maiden blood of my youngest sisters swirls and pools in the center of it. They sit beside bare and glistening with sweat as the still tremble. They hold my arms and the blood form the ritual bites and puncture wounds rolls down and warms my swelling belly. Ultimately there is nothing they can do to deny the supernatural power flowing through them and the room. The Savage primal truth of things is washing over them. They will come to understand and embrace it like I did. There is no denying it, that would be like an ant trying to push back the waves of the deep and passionate ocean
“It is Time to discharge your blessing, brother.” My husband said standing in the candle light as dark painted magnificence.
The cape of Brightly dyed finger bones rattles as it hit the ground. The hunch revealed on his back is a wonderful terrible hive of blood flesh and wax. The insect that had been alternately resting and feeding in it since we boarded the ship began to chew their way out throwing Him into an state of trance like Extasy and he laughs deeply as the swirling sentient swarm of insects cut through the air and form complicated and beautiful patterns.
Cacamao cuts him self and bleeds on to the altar Before speaking the words from before the time of man, and smashes the altar with His fists send large and colorful seeds flying all across the room. Instantly small lichen began to sprout and beetles began to come up form holes in the ground and carry seeds away. Next vines began to sprout and punch through the stone walls like they were wet clay. He stands in his bare flesh and whirls around the room speaking in tongues and swinging his whistling warclub. Directing or conducting the rapid growth much less then it is directing him. In the end he lays back like glistening obsidian and tenderly kisses my sisters and I as the growth continues.
This is what my father saw when he broke. We found him In A small closet of the room before supper the following day. He is unable to move or speak except the right parts of his mouth in furious spastic twitches and his left eye. His grey hair has turned totally white.
This is the part that makes me smile. My husband cares for him tenderly, and bathes and feeds him as per the customs of the Panchayyah with genuine kindness and infinite patience. This day he speaks to him. “Father, I know this is much change for an old man, But change had to come. We are going to send you to the falling waters to get well, Then you can come back and see a healthy house with many grandchildren. What we have done will make your crops grow strong then anyone to spite your neighbors cutting off your water supply. We will name a boy for you.”
He smiled sweetly down on him as he nailed down the comfortable padded wooden box with airholes I had made for him before we left, Having already seen what would and must have come.
Kaier Bride three
For the First time since The birth of my children , I seriously wanted to go back to Kaier. The hunger inside me had gone far past a roaring in my stomach, and ached through out my entire body constantly. Even my mind couldn't wander encased in the pain. The jungle did not some to me bringing distance sound and sensations now, even the comforting coiling of my sons was gone. If i tried to move from my place cold invisible hands would hold me back.
I had been Placed in into a stone sarcophagus lined with hides that was surrounded by the elaborately carved graves of the royal family. The only Light was from flickering candles that rather then providing comfort only added to the strong sense things moving in the dark . Flowers were laid by the graves. Even a Panchayyah crypt had an intoxicating aroma.
Doubled jointed Pregnant women in large feathered masks were my only visitors for the timeless miniature eternity in had been kept hungry in the dark. They would feed me a honey citrus water, and ritualistically puncture holes in my skin as they danced. The punctures actually dulled the pain at the price of movement, and the drink some how kept me going, and gave me the water to weep.
Tonight there was a change. A large stone disc had been removed from the top of the crypt allowing a large full moon to shine brightly down on my center. Around the side of the opening were colored glass and gems that seemed to focus many colored rays of the starlight into the punctures the women had placed on my body. The light when into my body and slithered under my skin like electric serpents as hundreds of hushed voiced began to chanted louder and louder in unison from outside the crypt.
My husband entered in ritualistic paints and feathers Followed by his father who bowed and dropped flowers in the tombs of his ancestors making the candles glow more brightly doubling the amount of warm and illumination revealing a much larger space then had been indicated by the flow of the wind around me. The increased also revealed priests from all 7 temples, and temple maidens who had been sitting silently in the black. My husband moved in almost a trance-like state. I could see puncture marks on him as well is he went and climbs in the sarcophagus behind me placing his arms around my waist and bringing me upright.
The sudden movement brought new hunger pains shooting from my stomach, and maid my body tremble. This was partially offset by the potent sensation of my spouse's strength merging with mine. I felt like I could have leapt across the ocean, and was about to leap to the smell of food coming into the crypt, but his hands around his waist held me firm.
Costumed tribes men brought in a litter with a green clay bowl that had steam coming out of it
“You Must eat it all and know the truth in the bonesss.” My husband hissed whispered warmly in my ear catching part of it with his split tongue.
I eagerly Opened the Lid and my mad desperate hunger mixed with utter revulsion. I let out a shrill scream stopping the chanting, and turning it into hushed whispers. Not only had I eaten many strange things in my time with the Panchayyah without a word of complaint, I had eaten strange parts of strange things, but this...
One a steaming bed of rice, beets, and large beetles was a reddish pink freshly boiled human hand. The Grand Chieftain reach out a hand to silence the crowd as he looked at Me With the most intense eyes. It took not only the incomparable family pressure, community pressure mixed with near fatal hunger to get me to take the first bite, I suspect supernatural agents were involved as well.
I had the bit of finger in my mouth. In my agonizing state excrement would have tasted like fresh pumpkin pie. This was still tough to choke down. “ooweeh this tastes sour.” I said to my husband with my mouth still full. I would have lost every thin in my stomach if there was anything left.
“It is a Milakanur hand , they live to destroy nature, bathe in dirt, and drink their own loin-waterss, it would be wrong if it tasted good.” He looked down at my and smiled. As I twisted my head to look at him, and offer one of an infinitude of retorts he deserved for pulling the only words out of the night-sky that could have made this abomination taste worse, I realized he had done it to trick me into swallowing the abomination. . He took one hand off my waist and lifted the hand holding the thing to urge me on to another bite, like it was a juicy delicious pear. I got a better look at it as I turned my head.
“You could of at least cleaned under the nails dear.” I said with venom
“ No, no must be pure.. can not taste of our land. No need to savor the taste until the bone”
I shook my head and sanity having left my body, i went in for a second bite on the other side of the finger. The crowd outside roared with approval. After a few more quick bites, he said “Now roll the bone on your tongue.” I did.
Powerful sensations shoot through me as a tasted the bone. I had never thought the frequently used P phrase “the truth in the bones” was literal, but as the bone moved around in my mouth I knew the truth of the mans life, his memories, passions, thoughts, and emotions washed overed me like a sensation like a life time of living in a moment. I unthinkingly devoured the rest of the hand Like a a book I could not stop turning the pages of. Each bite was a new chapter that was as rich as a whole library.
The magic and the sensation more the erased the taste. I devoured the hand, the garnish, 2 roast boars, and enough food to feed a family for a month at least as fast as I could move It was far more then the volume my body could have held in the best of times. As i would eat i could distantly feel the energy/spirit serpents slithering under my skin that the metaphysical portion of the food and the memories and slithering into the tombs of the ancestors to feed them. The more I ate the more frenzied whoops and cheers would become.
I had been Placed in into a stone sarcophagus lined with hides that was surrounded by the elaborately carved graves of the royal family. The only Light was from flickering candles that rather then providing comfort only added to the strong sense things moving in the dark . Flowers were laid by the graves. Even a Panchayyah crypt had an intoxicating aroma.
Doubled jointed Pregnant women in large feathered masks were my only visitors for the timeless miniature eternity in had been kept hungry in the dark. They would feed me a honey citrus water, and ritualistically puncture holes in my skin as they danced. The punctures actually dulled the pain at the price of movement, and the drink some how kept me going, and gave me the water to weep.
Tonight there was a change. A large stone disc had been removed from the top of the crypt allowing a large full moon to shine brightly down on my center. Around the side of the opening were colored glass and gems that seemed to focus many colored rays of the starlight into the punctures the women had placed on my body. The light when into my body and slithered under my skin like electric serpents as hundreds of hushed voiced began to chanted louder and louder in unison from outside the crypt.
My husband entered in ritualistic paints and feathers Followed by his father who bowed and dropped flowers in the tombs of his ancestors making the candles glow more brightly doubling the amount of warm and illumination revealing a much larger space then had been indicated by the flow of the wind around me. The increased also revealed priests from all 7 temples, and temple maidens who had been sitting silently in the black. My husband moved in almost a trance-like state. I could see puncture marks on him as well is he went and climbs in the sarcophagus behind me placing his arms around my waist and bringing me upright.
The sudden movement brought new hunger pains shooting from my stomach, and maid my body tremble. This was partially offset by the potent sensation of my spouse's strength merging with mine. I felt like I could have leapt across the ocean, and was about to leap to the smell of food coming into the crypt, but his hands around his waist held me firm.
Costumed tribes men brought in a litter with a green clay bowl that had steam coming out of it
“You Must eat it all and know the truth in the bonesss.” My husband hissed whispered warmly in my ear catching part of it with his split tongue.
I eagerly Opened the Lid and my mad desperate hunger mixed with utter revulsion. I let out a shrill scream stopping the chanting, and turning it into hushed whispers. Not only had I eaten many strange things in my time with the Panchayyah without a word of complaint, I had eaten strange parts of strange things, but this...
One a steaming bed of rice, beets, and large beetles was a reddish pink freshly boiled human hand. The Grand Chieftain reach out a hand to silence the crowd as he looked at Me With the most intense eyes. It took not only the incomparable family pressure, community pressure mixed with near fatal hunger to get me to take the first bite, I suspect supernatural agents were involved as well.
I had the bit of finger in my mouth. In my agonizing state excrement would have tasted like fresh pumpkin pie. This was still tough to choke down. “ooweeh this tastes sour.” I said to my husband with my mouth still full. I would have lost every thin in my stomach if there was anything left.
“It is a Milakanur hand , they live to destroy nature, bathe in dirt, and drink their own loin-waterss, it would be wrong if it tasted good.” He looked down at my and smiled. As I twisted my head to look at him, and offer one of an infinitude of retorts he deserved for pulling the only words out of the night-sky that could have made this abomination taste worse, I realized he had done it to trick me into swallowing the abomination. . He took one hand off my waist and lifted the hand holding the thing to urge me on to another bite, like it was a juicy delicious pear. I got a better look at it as I turned my head.
“You could of at least cleaned under the nails dear.” I said with venom
“ No, no must be pure.. can not taste of our land. No need to savor the taste until the bone”
I shook my head and sanity having left my body, i went in for a second bite on the other side of the finger. The crowd outside roared with approval. After a few more quick bites, he said “Now roll the bone on your tongue.” I did.
Powerful sensations shoot through me as a tasted the bone. I had never thought the frequently used P phrase “the truth in the bones” was literal, but as the bone moved around in my mouth I knew the truth of the mans life, his memories, passions, thoughts, and emotions washed overed me like a sensation like a life time of living in a moment. I unthinkingly devoured the rest of the hand Like a a book I could not stop turning the pages of. Each bite was a new chapter that was as rich as a whole library.
The magic and the sensation more the erased the taste. I devoured the hand, the garnish, 2 roast boars, and enough food to feed a family for a month at least as fast as I could move It was far more then the volume my body could have held in the best of times. As i would eat i could distantly feel the energy/spirit serpents slithering under my skin that the metaphysical portion of the food and the memories and slithering into the tombs of the ancestors to feed them. The more I ate the more frenzied whoops and cheers would become.
Kaier Bride two
The path to this place had been agony, but I could not maintain any anger when everyday I woke up in and Edenic paradise. Things here seemed larger, more colorful, and more truthful, like a primordial revelation suddenly remembered. Brilliant Birds I had never seen on conceived of flew freely through the buildings, coming down from the higher elevations near the waterfalls, and lagoons. The cooling gentle breezes they flew on brought in the fragrant and complex array of aromas from the plants and flowers in the gardens. Playful hordes of children ran around the gardens playing and laughing.
Music was played to mark the passing of time in this otherwise uniquely timeless place. The instruments ranged from massive metallic drums filled with rainwater to long wooden tubes, reed flutes, and elaborate clay octarinas. The sound was like a meditative psychedelic marimba band mated with a gamelan orchestra, and it was common for the two dozen women that live here to practice dance .
I was senior among them, but I knew the household benefitted from my lack of desire to impose rule down upon it. My sister brought in the status seeking from Kaier, and presumed to speak for me perhaps more often then she should, but it worked because there were relatively few problems in a place that hardly knew aging and never knew sickness. It worked because of me, and in spite of me. It worked because My sister's considerable charms and talents had come across the sea with her, as witnessed by The frequent long and vigorous visits to the room we shared by our husband and master of this house. She was already slightly beginning to show with her second child. She would often say that she never could have made princess in Kaier with all the competition.
With me he had taken a more tender approach. One wall of our spacious room was filled with tsotchkes from his battles, and every little thing he could gather from the outside world. they ranged from worthless to priceless, the absurd to the sublime, and in most cases it was the thought that counted.
He came to our room tonight emerging from the darkness as sparkling eyes, and a brilliant yellow smile, As he lit the lanterns it was clear he was excited to tell us something. As we awaited his announcement sitting next to each other on a reed mat with our backs against the wall he turned his back to us like an impressionist preparing an impression. Then he turned around grinning ear to ear with his fearsome sharpened teeth. He held a small nose ring up to model it for us. According to local custom a man was to wear a ceremonial nose ring as a gesture of respect when visiting his wive's family. We bit our lips and shook our heads " NO" in unison.
He acknowledged our disapproval with a quick nod, but then proceeded model 4 more increasingly elaborate nose rings, ending with a large metal and ivory one that depicted opposing alligators with open jaws holding the head of a deceased enemy. By now my sister could barely contain herself, she had tears welling up in her eyes and was beginning to shake. he raised and eyebrow at our rejection, but quickly a light of false understanding came to his eye.
Then he turned around and produced the most massive nose ring yet with a proud flourish that would have put most stage magicians to shame. It was so large it would have snapped the neck of a lesser man. it was garish even by local standards. it was made of exotic dark hardwoods with bone, metal, and several small gems inlaid in the relief. It depicted a large coiling serpent crushing his enemies. several small silver skulls hung from the bottom, and the gems had been treated with a low magic to illuminate in sequence.
My sister could no longer contain herself, and tears poured down her cheeks, and she hit the floor with her fist as she shook with uncontrollable laughter. It was easier for me to stifle a snicker when I saw the massive and fierce warrior before me looking like a confused and defeated young boy on the playground. As i got up and held his hand our child crawled up from coiling around me, and briefly coiling around our arms jointly before slithering off into the dark.
We walked holding hands in the garden as i tried to explain the relative cultural value of nose-rings, and a couple of other thing he would know. I believe at the end of the conversation we both needed a little non verbal reassurance. I found my self laying exhausted on the rocks after We had consummated our marriage for the first time since I had become lucid. he swam over to me and caressed my cheek with his finger. HE looked at me for a long time intently before he began to speak.
HE looked at me like a dogged and determined warleader trying to raise his troops morale on a strange and unfamiliar battlefield with a serious and solemn oath.
" Do not worry my woman, when you father sees the beautiful feather cloaks, when he gets the canoes filled with gorgeous carvings, when he sees his daughters happy and well fed with swelling bellies, he will want to give his youngest daughter to our family too, and you will be happy then."
Exhausted for by his good intentions and affection in more ways then one, i found myself out of rejections for him, as he tenderly carried me back to the house, all I could think that it was going to be an interesting few months.
Music was played to mark the passing of time in this otherwise uniquely timeless place. The instruments ranged from massive metallic drums filled with rainwater to long wooden tubes, reed flutes, and elaborate clay octarinas. The sound was like a meditative psychedelic marimba band mated with a gamelan orchestra, and it was common for the two dozen women that live here to practice dance .
I was senior among them, but I knew the household benefitted from my lack of desire to impose rule down upon it. My sister brought in the status seeking from Kaier, and presumed to speak for me perhaps more often then she should, but it worked because there were relatively few problems in a place that hardly knew aging and never knew sickness. It worked because of me, and in spite of me. It worked because My sister's considerable charms and talents had come across the sea with her, as witnessed by The frequent long and vigorous visits to the room we shared by our husband and master of this house. She was already slightly beginning to show with her second child. She would often say that she never could have made princess in Kaier with all the competition.
With me he had taken a more tender approach. One wall of our spacious room was filled with tsotchkes from his battles, and every little thing he could gather from the outside world. they ranged from worthless to priceless, the absurd to the sublime, and in most cases it was the thought that counted.
He came to our room tonight emerging from the darkness as sparkling eyes, and a brilliant yellow smile, As he lit the lanterns it was clear he was excited to tell us something. As we awaited his announcement sitting next to each other on a reed mat with our backs against the wall he turned his back to us like an impressionist preparing an impression. Then he turned around grinning ear to ear with his fearsome sharpened teeth. He held a small nose ring up to model it for us. According to local custom a man was to wear a ceremonial nose ring as a gesture of respect when visiting his wive's family. We bit our lips and shook our heads " NO" in unison.
He acknowledged our disapproval with a quick nod, but then proceeded model 4 more increasingly elaborate nose rings, ending with a large metal and ivory one that depicted opposing alligators with open jaws holding the head of a deceased enemy. By now my sister could barely contain herself, she had tears welling up in her eyes and was beginning to shake. he raised and eyebrow at our rejection, but quickly a light of false understanding came to his eye.
Then he turned around and produced the most massive nose ring yet with a proud flourish that would have put most stage magicians to shame. It was so large it would have snapped the neck of a lesser man. it was garish even by local standards. it was made of exotic dark hardwoods with bone, metal, and several small gems inlaid in the relief. It depicted a large coiling serpent crushing his enemies. several small silver skulls hung from the bottom, and the gems had been treated with a low magic to illuminate in sequence.
My sister could no longer contain herself, and tears poured down her cheeks, and she hit the floor with her fist as she shook with uncontrollable laughter. It was easier for me to stifle a snicker when I saw the massive and fierce warrior before me looking like a confused and defeated young boy on the playground. As i got up and held his hand our child crawled up from coiling around me, and briefly coiling around our arms jointly before slithering off into the dark.
We walked holding hands in the garden as i tried to explain the relative cultural value of nose-rings, and a couple of other thing he would know. I believe at the end of the conversation we both needed a little non verbal reassurance. I found my self laying exhausted on the rocks after We had consummated our marriage for the first time since I had become lucid. he swam over to me and caressed my cheek with his finger. HE looked at me for a long time intently before he began to speak.
HE looked at me like a dogged and determined warleader trying to raise his troops morale on a strange and unfamiliar battlefield with a serious and solemn oath.
" Do not worry my woman, when you father sees the beautiful feather cloaks, when he gets the canoes filled with gorgeous carvings, when he sees his daughters happy and well fed with swelling bellies, he will want to give his youngest daughter to our family too, and you will be happy then."
Exhausted for by his good intentions and affection in more ways then one, i found myself out of rejections for him, as he tenderly carried me back to the house, all I could think that it was going to be an interesting few months.
Kaier Bride one
His eyes sparked like hungry demonic rubies in the torchlight as her began to rise from the steaming pit of mud. He emerged from the pit where legend had the origins of the tribes as the leader of his people. He had His teeth sharpened, and his tongue split. He had eaten from the sacred plant that turned his teeth a brilliant yellow. The right side of his face still had scars from the burning His right eye had been replaced with a large piece of obsidian that now seemed to glow with it's own inner light. His large muscular body had grown to over 7 feet tall, and was a dark blueish black of a starless night except red and green coiling tattoos rolled over. His torso was a road map of the different rituals the families had put him through where markings had been burnt, branded, and stitched. to spite all this his most notable alteration came to life and hissed prophecy into his ear.
On his shoulders where sewn the heads and necks of two large dead serpents. One had slowly returned to the colors of life and hissed into his ear, before falling lifeless again to rest on his chest. The serpent on the opposing side did the same. He stretched out his massive spear and pointed to a pale smiling woman in flowing foreign robes with long white hair that went down to the base of her spine.
His gravelly voice spoke with the certainty of an avalanche, " I choose White hair as first among my mates."
Her once blue eyes turned from grey to yellow to bronze. she shifted her body and tossed her hair as she repositioned herself to make her children more comfortable. She remembered just over a year ago when she came to the swamps and jungles of the Panchayyah for Kaier. He family needed a trade agreement with these people she had been fascinated with since she was a little girl. She came as a a translator, her beautiful sister had come for of her own curiosity, her notorious ability to distract men, and to up her value on the marriage circuit. three brothers came along for protection and to strike an agreement. The savage creatures of the jungle had killed the soldiers, and the brothers, but left the girls floating down river. The eldest sister has been paralysed and blinded by snake venom in the attack leaving the youngest sister half mad floating down a deadly river without a translator. The natives took them in, and quickly gave them over to the royal family when they discovered the kind of bite marks that were on the sister, and the type of serpents that would come to sleep beside her at night.
Her sense of smell was largely unharmed, in fact it was very potent and articulate. she could smell the infinite array of floral sense that would come in a dazzle her. she could smell the irregular ash from distant volcanos. She couldn't see or move, and her sense of touch and hearing were highly selective, and seemed to be under the control of some one else all together. For example, she couple feel the nuances of brush strokes that came everyday when the day was at it's warmest, but a large vase fell on her leg, and went completely un-noticed until they swept it off. there were Two sensations that greeted her regularly. Every evening the serpents that moved unrestricted in Panchayyah lands would come and bite her 1-5 times, each bite would make her cry out from the exquisite pain. often it was in ancient languages she hadn't known previously, but it also contained some knowledge about past present future, languages, history, or culture.
The second sensation was the large unseen man that came and took her every evening. She could feel his child growing in her after numerous visits.
She awoke full active and all senses active and able to move during the labor. All the venom had been taken from her by the child. The still born child was blue and purple from all the venom, however the great serpent deity of this land did not leave her without children to nurse. two long black serpents slithered out of her womb, affectionately coiling around her and through her new long white hair.
She saw her younger sister looking down at her with tears in her eyes as she held her hand. She had beads and jewels around her neck, and feathers in her hair. " The quick version is that we have been wed to the crown prince of the Panchayyah, and he is going to visit our family with us." she said to answer he sisters inquisitive eyes as she embraced her.
On his shoulders where sewn the heads and necks of two large dead serpents. One had slowly returned to the colors of life and hissed into his ear, before falling lifeless again to rest on his chest. The serpent on the opposing side did the same. He stretched out his massive spear and pointed to a pale smiling woman in flowing foreign robes with long white hair that went down to the base of her spine.
His gravelly voice spoke with the certainty of an avalanche, " I choose White hair as first among my mates."
Her once blue eyes turned from grey to yellow to bronze. she shifted her body and tossed her hair as she repositioned herself to make her children more comfortable. She remembered just over a year ago when she came to the swamps and jungles of the Panchayyah for Kaier. He family needed a trade agreement with these people she had been fascinated with since she was a little girl. She came as a a translator, her beautiful sister had come for of her own curiosity, her notorious ability to distract men, and to up her value on the marriage circuit. three brothers came along for protection and to strike an agreement. The savage creatures of the jungle had killed the soldiers, and the brothers, but left the girls floating down river. The eldest sister has been paralysed and blinded by snake venom in the attack leaving the youngest sister half mad floating down a deadly river without a translator. The natives took them in, and quickly gave them over to the royal family when they discovered the kind of bite marks that were on the sister, and the type of serpents that would come to sleep beside her at night.
Her sense of smell was largely unharmed, in fact it was very potent and articulate. she could smell the infinite array of floral sense that would come in a dazzle her. she could smell the irregular ash from distant volcanos. She couldn't see or move, and her sense of touch and hearing were highly selective, and seemed to be under the control of some one else all together. For example, she couple feel the nuances of brush strokes that came everyday when the day was at it's warmest, but a large vase fell on her leg, and went completely un-noticed until they swept it off. there were Two sensations that greeted her regularly. Every evening the serpents that moved unrestricted in Panchayyah lands would come and bite her 1-5 times, each bite would make her cry out from the exquisite pain. often it was in ancient languages she hadn't known previously, but it also contained some knowledge about past present future, languages, history, or culture.
The second sensation was the large unseen man that came and took her every evening. She could feel his child growing in her after numerous visits.
She awoke full active and all senses active and able to move during the labor. All the venom had been taken from her by the child. The still born child was blue and purple from all the venom, however the great serpent deity of this land did not leave her without children to nurse. two long black serpents slithered out of her womb, affectionately coiling around her and through her new long white hair.
She saw her younger sister looking down at her with tears in her eyes as she held her hand. She had beads and jewels around her neck, and feathers in her hair. " The quick version is that we have been wed to the crown prince of the Panchayyah, and he is going to visit our family with us." she said to answer he sisters inquisitive eyes as she embraced her.
Tales from the Smoke Lodge one
Eight men sat on the earthen benches while fires burned into the thick steaming sauna air. The floor was above ankle deep in water with snakes swimming around their legs. They lit long elegant bone and glass water pipes on the coals filled the sticky air with the fragrant aroma of sweet tobacco.
On mans stern argumentative voice spoke out.. “Brother I do not see why you split your tongue, if you come to speak untruths in the smoke lodge.” accusing some one of speaking less then truthfully in the lodge was to accuse them of defiling tradition, and defeating the entire purpose of the structure. He continued “ Furthermore I can show you Proof of the great M Love of nature.”
“ This is not Possible” a voice replied
“No, It is as this.. The dirt the M never wash off clings to them like a lover, and when they frequently mount their sickly goats to try and produce women with stronger teeth, and sons less offensive to the nose..if that is not loving nature....” a man spoke slowly descending into a distinctive hissing laughter and splashing along with the others until the laughter slowed as the already thick and heavier air became heavier with a palpable unspoken concern for the livestock. The mood changed and it was time to speak of the day.
“There is much greed and blood madness in the world now, the people have forgotten the lessons of our ancestors, and try to eat the world in big bites that sour their stomachs. If it is the will of the living land to test us, we must sour our taste to the clumsy infants with too big claws looking to nurse. For all their crying and crawling they will get venom for milk.” an elderly man spoke
“Not all the troubles for The Panchayyah come from outside the sacred jungle. Our altars crave fresh blood, and our noble lines crave new wombs.” a younger voice spoke
“It is troubling that the Horroth seek to make camp near the lodge of the great defilers, We must speak wisely to this.” Another voice said
The speaking continued until all the men has spoken. Then a skull/goblet was placed a the coals, it's exterior had been blackened from years of use. Flies were drawn to the smell of the psychedelic venom mead warming within, but would drop and sizzle on the coals when they tried to take it's fumes.
Also heating on the coals were slips of Jade twice this size of a man's thumb. They had circular holes in them to heat rapidly and evenly. The Men pass the skull and each drink of the potent ad pulpy brew. They Began breathing shallowly and rest their heads against the back of the lodge resting their fore-arms on their knees Palm up.
The Fore-arms of the men all were tattooed with a line, and a large black slot below the wrist specifically to accommodate the slip of jade heating on the coals. The last man used Tongs and placed them on all the men. The slips were to record the visions given to them by the venom mead while they meditated on the words spoken in the lodge and guide them. As the sun was beginning to set they all emerged from the lodge.
We had left the lodge still optimistic and dizzy from the sweating, the sweet tobacco, and the venom mead not paying attention to the sounds of the jungle as we dressed. A black wisp of smoke came from the lodge, and it was followed by others, they began to twist an combine into a tall cyclonic column of smoke that could not escape even our dimmed senses.
The column collapsed into a form that was the height of two large warriors. It was a form that made us all drop to our knees. The top of the form was the burnt skull and antlers of a giant stag. Three different colored burning orbs rotated in each like miniature burning suns. Beneath the head was a long tangled mass of thick segmented tentacles. Some tentacles ended in graspers like a birds claw. Some ended in primitive eyes, some ended in orifices that belched out a brackish gas. It was Ixtal, handmaiden to the Bhaktim.
It lowered it's head and began to suck in the air. It drew in the humid air from the lodge, and took the perspiration from flesh so potently that it stretched the skin on the bones, but yet did not move the jungle plants at all. As it finished his potent intake, flowers blossomed form the tips of it's antlers, and The foliage burned before it as it moved directly away from us without turning. The burnt foliage in it's wake regrew at a supernatural pace as it glided rapidly into the horizon. The Men stayed kneeling as they knew what always followed the Ixtal. They could already be heard pushing aside the growth.
On mans stern argumentative voice spoke out.. “Brother I do not see why you split your tongue, if you come to speak untruths in the smoke lodge.” accusing some one of speaking less then truthfully in the lodge was to accuse them of defiling tradition, and defeating the entire purpose of the structure. He continued “ Furthermore I can show you Proof of the great M Love of nature.”
“ This is not Possible” a voice replied
“No, It is as this.. The dirt the M never wash off clings to them like a lover, and when they frequently mount their sickly goats to try and produce women with stronger teeth, and sons less offensive to the nose..if that is not loving nature....” a man spoke slowly descending into a distinctive hissing laughter and splashing along with the others until the laughter slowed as the already thick and heavier air became heavier with a palpable unspoken concern for the livestock. The mood changed and it was time to speak of the day.
“There is much greed and blood madness in the world now, the people have forgotten the lessons of our ancestors, and try to eat the world in big bites that sour their stomachs. If it is the will of the living land to test us, we must sour our taste to the clumsy infants with too big claws looking to nurse. For all their crying and crawling they will get venom for milk.” an elderly man spoke
“Not all the troubles for The Panchayyah come from outside the sacred jungle. Our altars crave fresh blood, and our noble lines crave new wombs.” a younger voice spoke
“It is troubling that the Horroth seek to make camp near the lodge of the great defilers, We must speak wisely to this.” Another voice said
The speaking continued until all the men has spoken. Then a skull/goblet was placed a the coals, it's exterior had been blackened from years of use. Flies were drawn to the smell of the psychedelic venom mead warming within, but would drop and sizzle on the coals when they tried to take it's fumes.
Also heating on the coals were slips of Jade twice this size of a man's thumb. They had circular holes in them to heat rapidly and evenly. The Men pass the skull and each drink of the potent ad pulpy brew. They Began breathing shallowly and rest their heads against the back of the lodge resting their fore-arms on their knees Palm up.
The Fore-arms of the men all were tattooed with a line, and a large black slot below the wrist specifically to accommodate the slip of jade heating on the coals. The last man used Tongs and placed them on all the men. The slips were to record the visions given to them by the venom mead while they meditated on the words spoken in the lodge and guide them. As the sun was beginning to set they all emerged from the lodge.
We had left the lodge still optimistic and dizzy from the sweating, the sweet tobacco, and the venom mead not paying attention to the sounds of the jungle as we dressed. A black wisp of smoke came from the lodge, and it was followed by others, they began to twist an combine into a tall cyclonic column of smoke that could not escape even our dimmed senses.
The column collapsed into a form that was the height of two large warriors. It was a form that made us all drop to our knees. The top of the form was the burnt skull and antlers of a giant stag. Three different colored burning orbs rotated in each like miniature burning suns. Beneath the head was a long tangled mass of thick segmented tentacles. Some tentacles ended in graspers like a birds claw. Some ended in primitive eyes, some ended in orifices that belched out a brackish gas. It was Ixtal, handmaiden to the Bhaktim.
It lowered it's head and began to suck in the air. It drew in the humid air from the lodge, and took the perspiration from flesh so potently that it stretched the skin on the bones, but yet did not move the jungle plants at all. As it finished his potent intake, flowers blossomed form the tips of it's antlers, and The foliage burned before it as it moved directly away from us without turning. The burnt foliage in it's wake regrew at a supernatural pace as it glided rapidly into the horizon. The Men stayed kneeling as they knew what always followed the Ixtal. They could already be heard pushing aside the growth.
A dark green great ape taller then the lesser trees with the obscene head of a great toad reaching barely above the shoulders leapt on to the shallow roof of the lodge. His large web and clawed hands slapped it's pronounced stomach. The large maw of a toad opened enough to expose a quarter of the front of it's body. It began a multi-tonal hypnotic bellow form it's 4 throats . It was followed by another Blessed Land Ape following close behind. The Inhuman caused all the men but one to cease all motion, not out of fear but out of the power in the the sounds themselves. They slowly moved forward dragging their knuckles through the brush. Their backs were not covered by scales or fur, but by long grass, and healthy fruit bearing branches. As they Passed the men they shook their bodies leaving fruit and seeds on the ground as a gift. The man who was able to move followed them knowing he had been summoned into the sacred toxic jungle of the Bhaktim as we watched. The massive behemoths lead the way without leaving a footprint.
Panchayyah Tech
Panchayyah Tech
I thought it would be interesting and helpful if I were to go into a little more detail about some of the items I have been using in my stories.
1-Source Seeds
2-Altar Oil
3-Victory Skins
4-Spirit Ink
5-Burning Stones
6-Whistling Idols
7-Burning Rain blow guns
1- Source seeds (never given to some one not baptized into the land)
Perhaps most well-known component of Panchayyah mysticism. Source seeds come all all types and sizes, and function as normal seeds with a few exceptions.
The first is that they offer a considerably accelerated growth rate that starts at ten time normal, and goes up from there, acutely so when given an infusion of human or animal blood.
The second that upon initial planting or activation deep purple shadows emerge from them that transform near immediately into blood-seeking vines. Depending on the amount of blood to fuel the process, and relative location to other living jungle plants the feeding period can range from 30 seconds to several minutes.
The seeds have an innate ability to mimic growth from previously planted source seeds. If ash or pieces from previously existing growth is in the area the new planting will take the form of the old, starting with the undergrowth, using the remains as added fuel. The pace for this time of use begins at 100 times normal growth rate until the previous level of coverage is restored.
A more devious use of source seeds is their implantation in warriors and shaman. If a warrior is killed or simply wishes a suicide attack he can charge in activated the seeds hoping to trap unsuspecting enemies in the feeding phase before his body is rapidly destroyed to fuel the plants. The number and type of the seeds implanted varies widely. On less notorious warriors there are few seeds that offer less assured chance of activation, but on great leaders there are numerous seeds. This is one of the reasons the Panchayyah prefer to fight in small groups.
A darker side also exists to the implantation of source seeds. As they increase the already potent Panchayyah connection to the land, when a person with them implant is killed outside the living land, their bodies will rise from the grave and move to the nearest patch of living land destroying anything in the way. The potency of the living dead abomination created will varies widely depending on the seeds used, and the individual.
Select Shaman can return patches of the land to the feed stage for a limited time, and they are infrequently used as projectiles in select circumstances. Seeds prepared and aged in a temple can have numerous effects, and grow extremely potent.
2- Altar oil (rarely traded or gifted)
Altar oil was originally discovered by the caiman temple in an attempt to create superior hide canoes. It is made by sacrificial blood ritually mixed with an assortment of plant extracts. When apply to the living or dead skin of a man ape or boar this oil when properly applied over time makes the skin rgid and more damage resistant in a manner like reptilian armor plating. This his grown into increasing wide usage as an alternative to armor in the hot and supernaturally corrosive living jungle. It is also used to create living sheaths or venom pouches. It is also used in making durable one and two man collapsible rafts.
3- Victory skins (seldom requested, even more rarely given)
Developed to protect the joints of a warrior who has already been enhanced with altar oils, this are made from the skins of man or beast, but traditionally from the first fallen enemy of a warrior. It addition to added coverage supernatural forces can be worked into the skins via magic or a connection to a still living original possessor of the skin. Commonly these abilities include added strength, speed , clairsentience, or the ability to transfer damage to the original wearer. This is generally not done with a person unless they are seen as an extreme transgressor. This has been used once to seal a treaty. It Has been used against a tribe where hunting parties were abducted, drugged, had portions of their skin removed, then were healed prior to a major battle taking place. Ancestral Victory Skins are very valuable. The greatest among these were divided between the horroth and the Bhaktim to prevent a civil war amongst the tribes. They are to be temporarily returned in an hour of need.
4- Spirit Ink (rarely traded or gifted)
Spirit ink comes in two flavors, High and Low. Low Can simulate a wide array of cosmetic effects including motion camouflage and illumination in tattoos. High can hold spells as well. It is often used in sacred drum heads.
5- Burning stones (never traded)
Burning stone a slips of jade twice the size of a mans thumb that can record and play back thoughts and memories for about three hours when used in conjunction with ritually applied Spirit ink, and altar oil. These are used to record important meetings, history, and smoke lodge visions. When correctly stored and handled they can last for centuries. These are often sent on large carrier birds and other animals to help insure secure communication. Limited encryption along blood lines is possible with some stones, otherwise they are open to all living creatures with the proper ritual body markings.
6- whistling idols (rarely gifted)
Whistling idols exist in both conventional and magical variations. The are simple small or wooden idols that make a noise when the wind blows through them. Most commonly the sound is a scream, the whistle of an arrow through the air, or animal noises. Magical idols can convey messages and more complex sounds like warriors chanting or armies on the move. A variation on this exists in some arrow head where they make loud horrific wails on their way to the enemy. Fired en masse they can prevent commands form being heard.
7- burning rain blow gun
A large mouthed blow gun that holds numerous needles racked in a frame. The wind pressure comes from a set of bellows in the back. These are used as traps in many stationary settings. Shaman from the temple of the breath of the land do not need bellows.
I thought it would be interesting and helpful if I were to go into a little more detail about some of the items I have been using in my stories.
1-Source Seeds
2-Altar Oil
3-Victory Skins
4-Spirit Ink
5-Burning Stones
6-Whistling Idols
7-Burning Rain blow guns
1- Source seeds (never given to some one not baptized into the land)
Perhaps most well-known component of Panchayyah mysticism. Source seeds come all all types and sizes, and function as normal seeds with a few exceptions.
The first is that they offer a considerably accelerated growth rate that starts at ten time normal, and goes up from there, acutely so when given an infusion of human or animal blood.
The second that upon initial planting or activation deep purple shadows emerge from them that transform near immediately into blood-seeking vines. Depending on the amount of blood to fuel the process, and relative location to other living jungle plants the feeding period can range from 30 seconds to several minutes.
The seeds have an innate ability to mimic growth from previously planted source seeds. If ash or pieces from previously existing growth is in the area the new planting will take the form of the old, starting with the undergrowth, using the remains as added fuel. The pace for this time of use begins at 100 times normal growth rate until the previous level of coverage is restored.
A more devious use of source seeds is their implantation in warriors and shaman. If a warrior is killed or simply wishes a suicide attack he can charge in activated the seeds hoping to trap unsuspecting enemies in the feeding phase before his body is rapidly destroyed to fuel the plants. The number and type of the seeds implanted varies widely. On less notorious warriors there are few seeds that offer less assured chance of activation, but on great leaders there are numerous seeds. This is one of the reasons the Panchayyah prefer to fight in small groups.
A darker side also exists to the implantation of source seeds. As they increase the already potent Panchayyah connection to the land, when a person with them implant is killed outside the living land, their bodies will rise from the grave and move to the nearest patch of living land destroying anything in the way. The potency of the living dead abomination created will varies widely depending on the seeds used, and the individual.
Select Shaman can return patches of the land to the feed stage for a limited time, and they are infrequently used as projectiles in select circumstances. Seeds prepared and aged in a temple can have numerous effects, and grow extremely potent.
2- Altar oil (rarely traded or gifted)
Altar oil was originally discovered by the caiman temple in an attempt to create superior hide canoes. It is made by sacrificial blood ritually mixed with an assortment of plant extracts. When apply to the living or dead skin of a man ape or boar this oil when properly applied over time makes the skin rgid and more damage resistant in a manner like reptilian armor plating. This his grown into increasing wide usage as an alternative to armor in the hot and supernaturally corrosive living jungle. It is also used to create living sheaths or venom pouches. It is also used in making durable one and two man collapsible rafts.
3- Victory skins (seldom requested, even more rarely given)
Developed to protect the joints of a warrior who has already been enhanced with altar oils, this are made from the skins of man or beast, but traditionally from the first fallen enemy of a warrior. It addition to added coverage supernatural forces can be worked into the skins via magic or a connection to a still living original possessor of the skin. Commonly these abilities include added strength, speed , clairsentience, or the ability to transfer damage to the original wearer. This is generally not done with a person unless they are seen as an extreme transgressor. This has been used once to seal a treaty. It Has been used against a tribe where hunting parties were abducted, drugged, had portions of their skin removed, then were healed prior to a major battle taking place. Ancestral Victory Skins are very valuable. The greatest among these were divided between the horroth and the Bhaktim to prevent a civil war amongst the tribes. They are to be temporarily returned in an hour of need.
4- Spirit Ink (rarely traded or gifted)
Spirit ink comes in two flavors, High and Low. Low Can simulate a wide array of cosmetic effects including motion camouflage and illumination in tattoos. High can hold spells as well. It is often used in sacred drum heads.
5- Burning stones (never traded)
Burning stone a slips of jade twice the size of a mans thumb that can record and play back thoughts and memories for about three hours when used in conjunction with ritually applied Spirit ink, and altar oil. These are used to record important meetings, history, and smoke lodge visions. When correctly stored and handled they can last for centuries. These are often sent on large carrier birds and other animals to help insure secure communication. Limited encryption along blood lines is possible with some stones, otherwise they are open to all living creatures with the proper ritual body markings.
6- whistling idols (rarely gifted)
Whistling idols exist in both conventional and magical variations. The are simple small or wooden idols that make a noise when the wind blows through them. Most commonly the sound is a scream, the whistle of an arrow through the air, or animal noises. Magical idols can convey messages and more complex sounds like warriors chanting or armies on the move. A variation on this exists in some arrow head where they make loud horrific wails on their way to the enemy. Fired en masse they can prevent commands form being heard.
7- burning rain blow gun
A large mouthed blow gun that holds numerous needles racked in a frame. The wind pressure comes from a set of bellows in the back. These are used as traps in many stationary settings. Shaman from the temple of the breath of the land do not need bellows.
Hungry Tale of a Stihlweese Guppy
...Five Long counts ago...
The Panchayyah had held siege to the village for weeks. The growths of flowers where their warriors had fallen were all around the village making the air fragrant. The food supplies were running low inside the village so now there roasting boar and the shaman were sending the delicious scent past the city walls. Now it was time for the music to start.
The bull roarers began with the long wooden droning pipes. Then came the whistling of swinging war clubs with the specially made arrows the let out a shrill cry as they cut the air fired in time. Spears banged against shields chants came from all sides of the village calling and responding to each other. All our large weapons had been destroyed, and they knew the distance of our arrows well from all the experience we had given them. All the noise was louder then it should have been. The singing and the drums came in.
They worked in shifts and stayed in trance to keep the sounds coming until the beginning of dawn not giving us any slumber. It was worse though because the men who were not on watch had to restrain half the women and children who were becoming entranced by the music. A critical point in the battle had been, and the villagers decided on one last offensive attack down hill.
Half the village men ran into the morning twilight screaming. Half the Panchayyah broke out running, and the damned music stopped breaking the spell. They ran into the trees taunting us to follow them to the evil living jungle where they held supreme sway.
My group got sight of a small fleeing group. Several of us had got lost or gone missing in the frenzied chase. From ahead in the growth we heard a strange noise, It could not be readily known wether it was man or beast. It could have been anything. It could have been one of our wounded villagers. A man from behind me shot an arrow into the tall grass, and the sound that came back was definitely human. We circled around with our swords and spears out when It lunged at us.
Our speculations were half right, it had been a man. It had been a villager. It had been a friend. Now The legs had been sewn together to make it look like a snake. The arms had been amputated and quickly sealed with a heated blade. The eyes were burnt black holes, and infected ritual cuts were all over the body. It opened it's toothless mouth with a haunted inhuman scream to let loose a stream of intangible black serpents made from shadow itself bit at our ankles and burned through our armor. I leapt to the side and saw the men we had been chasing. One was laughing so hard he fell out of his perch in a tree and into the open clearing. He was going to die. I leapt at him with my spear.
A charge went through my body in mid air. I instantly was much slower and everything around me was much faster. The men I was about to attack grew large large eyes and started to run away becoming more transparent the further away they got. It was deep in the night when my spear finally stuck into the now unoccupied ground. My relative speed of motion returned to normal. I looked around all the trees were in the same places by they were bigger and had pulsing purple veins feeding their ebony bark. I looked up at the stars to try and gain my bearings. They were all in the right places, but much larger and more colorful I could see burning halos around them. I could feel them sucking away my energy and my memories. I was in the same place, but not in the same place. I was in the same time, but timeless. There was a instinctive primordial truth to this caricature.
A man in flowing robes with the head of a albino serpent looked into me with golden eyes more powerful then the stars. There was nothing left in me to deny his ancient and powerful will. I followed him through parts of this world, Parts of the Jungle I knew, and parts of the Panchayyah lands to another type of place all together.
Nothing at all flowered here that wasn't larger then the largest man's fist, and everything else grew in proportion. The plants fed off a green gas that came from geysers. It made it harder to breathe, and corroded all the metal I had on me leaving me bare for the insects. I could see shadows of monstrous things bending the trees in the clouds of green gas.
We came to a clearing with a circle of tall trees around it. With a flash of the snake man's forked tongue I was sent flying up the side of a very tall tree so fast my arms were red from shattering small branches.
As soon as I was up high enough The branches and vines grabbed me and savagely drove into my skin. They then began to move more slowly and merge with my nerves, blood vessels, and intestines , they pulled them out slightly to make it difficult where one ended and the other began. I could see shadowed movement of people in other trees, and hear the low pained moans of numerous women and men in the trees. The jungle canopy blocked my view of the sky. I felt my mind free as the snake men left the clearing. I knew that I had to break free soon, or there would be completely dependant on the tree, but the fall could be lethal. Pushing myself away hard form the trunk.
Pushing Hard I fell down in a spray of blood and a slight trail of skin and body parts. I hit the ground hard twisting an arm and shattering the bones in my foot. The last thing I felt before I blacked out was the vines lifting me skyward slowly. When I awoke back in my arboreal prison there was no escaping it was harder to tell where I ended and the tree began. My nerves swirled around vines and i was feeding from it slowly, and never enough to ease the constant pain of hunger. What it was feeding me had a price as well it already turned my hair a leafy green, and my skin a paler whitish-green. Still the unchecked terrible long hunger of many days with the dull body ache and cramping. It was ravenous and all consuming.
There was no way to mark the passing of time. The tree would send me visions as it healed me and kept me alive. One day It sent me a vision of my wife, The woman I had fought my way to assistant headman for with rare emerald eyes. The dream was erotically charged and a powerful from the constant pain. As I was nearly full in my arousal A sharp branch Severed my manhood. Vines rushed in to stop my bleeding while the fed on it growing deeper in to me. My screaming did no good. The other vines grew inside as well as out and began to began to massage my flesh and work it like a putty inside and out.
Perhaps to eliminate my ability to resist the changes, or perhaps out of cruelty the visions of my wife continued, I could see her now with the Panchayyah being taken into a house and loved by another. I saw her give birth to a child that she didn't know if they were the father or I was. It would send them ceaselessly for hours or days on end as they continued to change me. The massage the hunger from the muscles in my stomach further downward to were I once was a man, now the burning ravenous hunger filled my womb. I had been given breasts, and seeds grew from my leafier hair. I lost myself as a merciless eternity passed.
I keep seeing visions of a sister with emerald eyes being with her man, how I envy her ability to satisfy the hunger. The Kindly godlike snake man has let me out to go and feed my hunger. He tells me that I had take wardens from them, and that now I need to feed my hungers and make up the balance.
More details on Wild Forest Women in upcoming Creatures of the Bhaktim post.
Also Coming soon..
The Peerless Parade of Dheskerallai
Big Trouble in Port Kaier (Kaier bride Finale Prelude)
Return of the Black Lizard
Author's Note
The title originally came from a bit of exposition where the Bhaktim was telling our victim how he could radically change frogs, even their gender, but adding a slight charge to a pond at the right time. It was intended to be foreshadowing and a metaphor for their relationship with the Panchayyah, but was more like a melodrama villain twirling his moustache, so I dropped it but kept the title.
The Panchayyah had held siege to the village for weeks. The growths of flowers where their warriors had fallen were all around the village making the air fragrant. The food supplies were running low inside the village so now there roasting boar and the shaman were sending the delicious scent past the city walls. Now it was time for the music to start.
The bull roarers began with the long wooden droning pipes. Then came the whistling of swinging war clubs with the specially made arrows the let out a shrill cry as they cut the air fired in time. Spears banged against shields chants came from all sides of the village calling and responding to each other. All our large weapons had been destroyed, and they knew the distance of our arrows well from all the experience we had given them. All the noise was louder then it should have been. The singing and the drums came in.
They worked in shifts and stayed in trance to keep the sounds coming until the beginning of dawn not giving us any slumber. It was worse though because the men who were not on watch had to restrain half the women and children who were becoming entranced by the music. A critical point in the battle had been, and the villagers decided on one last offensive attack down hill.
Half the village men ran into the morning twilight screaming. Half the Panchayyah broke out running, and the damned music stopped breaking the spell. They ran into the trees taunting us to follow them to the evil living jungle where they held supreme sway.
My group got sight of a small fleeing group. Several of us had got lost or gone missing in the frenzied chase. From ahead in the growth we heard a strange noise, It could not be readily known wether it was man or beast. It could have been anything. It could have been one of our wounded villagers. A man from behind me shot an arrow into the tall grass, and the sound that came back was definitely human. We circled around with our swords and spears out when It lunged at us.
Our speculations were half right, it had been a man. It had been a villager. It had been a friend. Now The legs had been sewn together to make it look like a snake. The arms had been amputated and quickly sealed with a heated blade. The eyes were burnt black holes, and infected ritual cuts were all over the body. It opened it's toothless mouth with a haunted inhuman scream to let loose a stream of intangible black serpents made from shadow itself bit at our ankles and burned through our armor. I leapt to the side and saw the men we had been chasing. One was laughing so hard he fell out of his perch in a tree and into the open clearing. He was going to die. I leapt at him with my spear.
A charge went through my body in mid air. I instantly was much slower and everything around me was much faster. The men I was about to attack grew large large eyes and started to run away becoming more transparent the further away they got. It was deep in the night when my spear finally stuck into the now unoccupied ground. My relative speed of motion returned to normal. I looked around all the trees were in the same places by they were bigger and had pulsing purple veins feeding their ebony bark. I looked up at the stars to try and gain my bearings. They were all in the right places, but much larger and more colorful I could see burning halos around them. I could feel them sucking away my energy and my memories. I was in the same place, but not in the same place. I was in the same time, but timeless. There was a instinctive primordial truth to this caricature.
A man in flowing robes with the head of a albino serpent looked into me with golden eyes more powerful then the stars. There was nothing left in me to deny his ancient and powerful will. I followed him through parts of this world, Parts of the Jungle I knew, and parts of the Panchayyah lands to another type of place all together.
Nothing at all flowered here that wasn't larger then the largest man's fist, and everything else grew in proportion. The plants fed off a green gas that came from geysers. It made it harder to breathe, and corroded all the metal I had on me leaving me bare for the insects. I could see shadows of monstrous things bending the trees in the clouds of green gas.
We came to a clearing with a circle of tall trees around it. With a flash of the snake man's forked tongue I was sent flying up the side of a very tall tree so fast my arms were red from shattering small branches.
As soon as I was up high enough The branches and vines grabbed me and savagely drove into my skin. They then began to move more slowly and merge with my nerves, blood vessels, and intestines , they pulled them out slightly to make it difficult where one ended and the other began. I could see shadowed movement of people in other trees, and hear the low pained moans of numerous women and men in the trees. The jungle canopy blocked my view of the sky. I felt my mind free as the snake men left the clearing. I knew that I had to break free soon, or there would be completely dependant on the tree, but the fall could be lethal. Pushing myself away hard form the trunk.
Pushing Hard I fell down in a spray of blood and a slight trail of skin and body parts. I hit the ground hard twisting an arm and shattering the bones in my foot. The last thing I felt before I blacked out was the vines lifting me skyward slowly. When I awoke back in my arboreal prison there was no escaping it was harder to tell where I ended and the tree began. My nerves swirled around vines and i was feeding from it slowly, and never enough to ease the constant pain of hunger. What it was feeding me had a price as well it already turned my hair a leafy green, and my skin a paler whitish-green. Still the unchecked terrible long hunger of many days with the dull body ache and cramping. It was ravenous and all consuming.
There was no way to mark the passing of time. The tree would send me visions as it healed me and kept me alive. One day It sent me a vision of my wife, The woman I had fought my way to assistant headman for with rare emerald eyes. The dream was erotically charged and a powerful from the constant pain. As I was nearly full in my arousal A sharp branch Severed my manhood. Vines rushed in to stop my bleeding while the fed on it growing deeper in to me. My screaming did no good. The other vines grew inside as well as out and began to began to massage my flesh and work it like a putty inside and out.
Perhaps to eliminate my ability to resist the changes, or perhaps out of cruelty the visions of my wife continued, I could see her now with the Panchayyah being taken into a house and loved by another. I saw her give birth to a child that she didn't know if they were the father or I was. It would send them ceaselessly for hours or days on end as they continued to change me. The massage the hunger from the muscles in my stomach further downward to were I once was a man, now the burning ravenous hunger filled my womb. I had been given breasts, and seeds grew from my leafier hair. I lost myself as a merciless eternity passed.
I keep seeing visions of a sister with emerald eyes being with her man, how I envy her ability to satisfy the hunger. The Kindly godlike snake man has let me out to go and feed my hunger. He tells me that I had take wardens from them, and that now I need to feed my hungers and make up the balance.
More details on Wild Forest Women in upcoming Creatures of the Bhaktim post.
Also Coming soon..
The Peerless Parade of Dheskerallai
Big Trouble in Port Kaier (Kaier bride Finale Prelude)
Return of the Black Lizard
Author's Note
The title originally came from a bit of exposition where the Bhaktim was telling our victim how he could radically change frogs, even their gender, but adding a slight charge to a pond at the right time. It was intended to be foreshadowing and a metaphor for their relationship with the Panchayyah, but was more like a melodrama villain twirling his moustache, so I dropped it but kept the title.
In His Victory Dancing Skin
I sat in the watchtower just inside the village adjusting my hides and warming my hands by a small brazier from The unusually bracing winds that were blowing tonight. The last time I was over 20 harvests younger, and I still had my son.
I was the only survivor of the 2 dozen men that tried to run down the scourge of our village for many years. Every time the two moons made their conjunction he would come, and he would always take a young unmarried man. The last time he took my boy. When we caught up with him he was sitting waiting on a stone altar holding a bone knife dripping with the blood of my child smiling like death itself under the skull of a great cat he wore on his head, dressed in the hardened tattooed skin of our villagers. Enraged we foolishly ran into the open temple court. All he had to do was let out a shrill bark and clap his hands. My precious boy convulsed and blood exploded from him sending out a massive gust of red wind and shockwaves that knocked us all down. Before I was even able to get up a could feel the years of Life draining from us to feed the dense evil jungle of the Panchayyah as the plants grew all around us sealing of a quick exit.
Between The Man The swarms of black birds and the traps only I made it back home to wait for his next visit, tonight. Gradually a smell came to me on the wind.
It wasn't something I would normally be able to smell, but the wind was bringing it to me.. No it was being deliberately sent to me, The smell of tanning hides drawing my eye to him dancing in front of a moon making himself visible. He wanted to be found, and by me. I could feel his deadly gaze burning in to me so far away. Frantically I sounded the alarm.
To spite his inhuman speed at least a half dozen arrows had sunk into him form all the shots as he leapt the wall landing right on my watchtower with no indication of slowing. He held out a fearsome weapon only he could have used, it was flat golden bronze rod with three circular saw blades on each side. The wind began to shriek and scream as they bent around the blades making them spin. Sparks and dust flew as he cut in to the supports. Before another half dozen arrows had stuck into him we were falling through a thatched roof into the cushion of a grain storage hut. He was on top of me. I saw his sharpened yellow teeth. There was a cracking noise from inside his mouth, and he blew something on me. With the last of my energy I reached to chock him, but my hand only fell to his shoulder before I was unconscious. As my hand fell made contact with his shoulder I swear I head my Son's voice calling to me.
When I awoke I saw a horror standing above me It was the face of a young man dimly illuminated by colored hide lanterns. I could see bone, flesh, and muscle moving, but only covered by the milky white semi-transparent substance that separates skin and the greater flesh. Only an expert skinner can leave it intact. A weak voice came from it as I recoiled in fear.. “ddaad..?” The look in the unblinking eyes held both madness and deep affection.
I couldn't speak only croak and stutter.. Looking around I could see the skinned bodies both horrible and familiar were tied to the wall and moaning. Many of them bore wounds from where the arrows had struck that monster tonight, having retained the connection to their flesh through the twisted black arts of an ancient and degenerate tribe.
A elderly dark and gnarled man came in from the dark with familiar yellow teeth. He pat the thing before me tenderly on the head. “Good boy.. always calls for father..” He handed a wooden bowl filled with items to what was once my son to hold. He took form the bowl the silvery half of a sharpened clam shell and examined it. I knew he would use it to take my skin and repair his coat, leaving the blood to pool in the back and save it for his black blasphemies. The boys held the bowl silently smiling.
“See wise Shaman of Panchayyah of The Temple of the Breath of the Land not so unkind after all. Like to keep families together, more then your sick village did when you killed my child 20 years ago. Keep you to together to catch up.”
I was the only survivor of the 2 dozen men that tried to run down the scourge of our village for many years. Every time the two moons made their conjunction he would come, and he would always take a young unmarried man. The last time he took my boy. When we caught up with him he was sitting waiting on a stone altar holding a bone knife dripping with the blood of my child smiling like death itself under the skull of a great cat he wore on his head, dressed in the hardened tattooed skin of our villagers. Enraged we foolishly ran into the open temple court. All he had to do was let out a shrill bark and clap his hands. My precious boy convulsed and blood exploded from him sending out a massive gust of red wind and shockwaves that knocked us all down. Before I was even able to get up a could feel the years of Life draining from us to feed the dense evil jungle of the Panchayyah as the plants grew all around us sealing of a quick exit.
Between The Man The swarms of black birds and the traps only I made it back home to wait for his next visit, tonight. Gradually a smell came to me on the wind.
It wasn't something I would normally be able to smell, but the wind was bringing it to me.. No it was being deliberately sent to me, The smell of tanning hides drawing my eye to him dancing in front of a moon making himself visible. He wanted to be found, and by me. I could feel his deadly gaze burning in to me so far away. Frantically I sounded the alarm.
To spite his inhuman speed at least a half dozen arrows had sunk into him form all the shots as he leapt the wall landing right on my watchtower with no indication of slowing. He held out a fearsome weapon only he could have used, it was flat golden bronze rod with three circular saw blades on each side. The wind began to shriek and scream as they bent around the blades making them spin. Sparks and dust flew as he cut in to the supports. Before another half dozen arrows had stuck into him we were falling through a thatched roof into the cushion of a grain storage hut. He was on top of me. I saw his sharpened yellow teeth. There was a cracking noise from inside his mouth, and he blew something on me. With the last of my energy I reached to chock him, but my hand only fell to his shoulder before I was unconscious. As my hand fell made contact with his shoulder I swear I head my Son's voice calling to me.
When I awoke I saw a horror standing above me It was the face of a young man dimly illuminated by colored hide lanterns. I could see bone, flesh, and muscle moving, but only covered by the milky white semi-transparent substance that separates skin and the greater flesh. Only an expert skinner can leave it intact. A weak voice came from it as I recoiled in fear.. “ddaad..?” The look in the unblinking eyes held both madness and deep affection.
I couldn't speak only croak and stutter.. Looking around I could see the skinned bodies both horrible and familiar were tied to the wall and moaning. Many of them bore wounds from where the arrows had struck that monster tonight, having retained the connection to their flesh through the twisted black arts of an ancient and degenerate tribe.
A elderly dark and gnarled man came in from the dark with familiar yellow teeth. He pat the thing before me tenderly on the head. “Good boy.. always calls for father..” He handed a wooden bowl filled with items to what was once my son to hold. He took form the bowl the silvery half of a sharpened clam shell and examined it. I knew he would use it to take my skin and repair his coat, leaving the blood to pool in the back and save it for his black blasphemies. The boys held the bowl silently smiling.
“See wise Shaman of Panchayyah of The Temple of the Breath of the Land not so unkind after all. Like to keep families together, more then your sick village did when you killed my child 20 years ago. Keep you to together to catch up.”
Peerless Parade of Dheskerallai
The village children laughed and giggled with excitement as they finished
sewing up the dummy. The wore blue wax over their noses to protect them form
the smell. The had filled it was ceramic jars of excrement, rotten fish
parts, rancid meat and fouled bait with some spices to give it an authentic
Milakanur smell. It was the finale of their personal hygiene training, and
Teotaken himself was coming to give them the candies, brushes, toothpicks
and combs they had earned. The men of the village hoisted the dummies up
above the river.
At the front of procession Grand chief Dheskerallai of the Panchayyah
nation stood strong pumping his legendary war spear tree cutter in the air
to the cheers and whoops of the crowd. On his back he carried the standards
of the 7 temples and the great Panchayyah houses.
He rode a fearsome beast that had been tamed by the temple shaman after it
left the ancient toxic jungle of the Bhaktim. The body was a giant ridged
turtle like shell, but the head was that of a long necked sea serpent. The
opening in the rear of the shell gave opening to a metallic shining fluked
tail. The openings on the side revealed flippers, stout tentacles for
walking and long tentacles for grabbing. It was one of many monstrosities
released from the toxic jungle of the Bhaktim. Many of whom rested in the
great sleeping caverns below the forgotten Avarean cities of the tribes. .
It was tradition to have warriors shoot flaming arrows into the dummies the
children, But the grand chief had a special surprise for the children. He
knelt down and rubbed a colored spot on the creatures shell. It reared back
it's neck, and sacks's near it's cheek and neck began to swell. I spat forth
a burning ball of acidic phlegm. The decimated the dummies before they could
even drop to the water. The children threw up their arms while they splashed
and shouted on the shore ecstatically. Honored son Teotaken's boat rowed
towards them . He stood smiling on the fore resplendent in orange feathers.
The beloved tattooed Hairless water dogs of the tribes, the Panchuahua ,
splashed into the water and swam around the boat having smelled the treats.
Teotaken and his honored brides hand out bundles with ivory toothpicks,
brushes and combs, small toys and sweet candies to the great swell of
enthusiastic children running to the shore.
Other rafts held many of the great chieftains wives who were eager to see
their families in the villages, and show off their children. He had a grand
harmony of of wives, 7 brides from 7 temples. There was a great deal of
catching up to be done, and many children to marry on these village
holidays.
sewing up the dummy. The wore blue wax over their noses to protect them form
the smell. The had filled it was ceramic jars of excrement, rotten fish
parts, rancid meat and fouled bait with some spices to give it an authentic
Milakanur smell. It was the finale of their personal hygiene training, and
Teotaken himself was coming to give them the candies, brushes, toothpicks
and combs they had earned. The men of the village hoisted the dummies up
above the river.
At the front of procession Grand chief Dheskerallai of the Panchayyah
nation stood strong pumping his legendary war spear tree cutter in the air
to the cheers and whoops of the crowd. On his back he carried the standards
of the 7 temples and the great Panchayyah houses.
He rode a fearsome beast that had been tamed by the temple shaman after it
left the ancient toxic jungle of the Bhaktim. The body was a giant ridged
turtle like shell, but the head was that of a long necked sea serpent. The
opening in the rear of the shell gave opening to a metallic shining fluked
tail. The openings on the side revealed flippers, stout tentacles for
walking and long tentacles for grabbing. It was one of many monstrosities
released from the toxic jungle of the Bhaktim. Many of whom rested in the
great sleeping caverns below the forgotten Avarean cities of the tribes. .
It was tradition to have warriors shoot flaming arrows into the dummies the
children, But the grand chief had a special surprise for the children. He
knelt down and rubbed a colored spot on the creatures shell. It reared back
it's neck, and sacks's near it's cheek and neck began to swell. I spat forth
a burning ball of acidic phlegm. The decimated the dummies before they could
even drop to the water. The children threw up their arms while they splashed
and shouted on the shore ecstatically. Honored son Teotaken's boat rowed
towards them . He stood smiling on the fore resplendent in orange feathers.
The beloved tattooed Hairless water dogs of the tribes, the Panchuahua ,
splashed into the water and swam around the boat having smelled the treats.
Teotaken and his honored brides hand out bundles with ivory toothpicks,
brushes and combs, small toys and sweet candies to the great swell of
enthusiastic children running to the shore.
Other rafts held many of the great chieftains wives who were eager to see
their families in the villages, and show off their children. He had a grand
harmony of of wives, 7 brides from 7 temples. There was a great deal of
catching up to be done, and many children to marry on these village
holidays.
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