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“Glory of the Gods” by NightEyes DaySpring (part 1 of 2) [18+]
[18+] Today’s story is the first of two parts of “Glory of the Gods” by NightEyes DaySpring, a known troublemaker who is rumored to have a penchant for coffee and an interest in dead, ancient civilizations. NightEye’s work has appeared in Heat, Fang and other anthologies. He can be found on Twitter at @wolfwithcoffee and information about his writing can be found on his website nighteyes-dayspring.com.
Transcript
This week's two-parter is an adult story for mature listeners.
Speaker:If that's not your cup of tea,
Speaker:or there are youngsters listening,
Speaker:you can skip these and there'll be new stories for you next week.
Speaker:You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story is the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Glory of the Gods”
Speaker:by NightEyes DaySpring,
Speaker:a known troublemaker who is rumored to have a penchant for coffee
Speaker:and an interest in dead,
Speaker:ancient civilizations.
Speaker:NightEye’s work has appeared in Heat,
Speaker:Fang and other anthologies.
Speaker:He can be found on Twitter
Speaker:at @wolfwithcoffee
Speaker:and information about his writing can be found on his website
Speaker:nighteyes-dayspring.com. [if this is the second or third
Speaker:entry] Please enjoy:
Speaker:“Glory of the Gods”
Speaker:by NightEyes DaySpring,
Speaker:Part 1 of 2 I breathe in,
Speaker:trying to still my racing mind.
Speaker:The high priest of Diana stands before me in the sanctuary of the goddess.
Speaker:The bear lifts his arms up,
Speaker:ready to begin the ceremony.
Speaker:“Kneel,” he says to me.
Speaker:I get down on both knees,
Speaker:letting my tail sweep out behind me,
Speaker:lying against the cold stone.
Speaker:I am naked for the ritual,
Speaker:having washed and purified my fur with scented oils before brushing it out carefully.
Speaker:I am ready to receive the goddess’s boon.
Speaker:I look up at the bear,
Speaker:waiting. “Are you ready jackal?”
Speaker:I nod. The priest steps forward,
Speaker:and I am eye level to his groin.
Speaker:I lower my head, dipping my muzzle. I need to focus on the ritual.
Speaker:Fabric rustles as the bear raises his arms.
Speaker:“Oh goddess of the hunt and moon,
Speaker:this acolyte seeks your wisdom.
Speaker:He wishes to join the Brotherhood.”
Speaker:There is a gust of wind inside the sanctuary.
Speaker:The braziers flicker
Speaker:and then they are still, slowly crackling.
Speaker:The goddess is here,
Speaker:watching us, ready to see my pledge.
Speaker:“To serve the goddess, you must be pure of heart.
Speaker:To learn what she knows, you must be unafraid to see the truth in others.
Speaker:Wisdom must be your only guide.
Speaker:Are you pure of heart, Askan?” “I am.” “Are you unafraid to see?” the priest asks
Speaker:me. “I am.” “Are you ready for wisdom to be your only guide?” “I am.” “Oh goddess, do you accept Askan into our order?”
Speaker:The air is still, and the fires crackle. We wait, but nothing happens. There is no sign from the goddess. I hear the shuffling of fabric as the priest lowers
Speaker:his arms after a while,
Speaker:but I am still focused
Speaker:on the ground in front of me,
Speaker:waiting. “You may stand,”
Speaker:he says. I stand. He steps towards me,
Speaker:pats me on the shoulder, and shakes his head.
Speaker:He walks away. “Wait,
Speaker:that’s it?” I say to him, turning around.
Speaker:“She didn’t accept you.
Speaker:If she had, she would have made a sign.”
Speaker:I feel my ears drop.
Speaker:“But I did everything I had to do.”
Speaker:The priest stops and turns to me.
Speaker:“Maybe you did, and maybe you didn’t. She chooses
Speaker:her followers carefully.
Speaker:Perhaps she did not find you pure of heart or ready to learn.
Speaker:Perhaps she has entirely different designs for you other than joining our order. I don’t know.
Speaker:All I know is that there was no sign,
Speaker:and I can’t welcome you into our order
Speaker:at this time.” I don’t know what to say.
Speaker:I have spent the entire last year of my life preparing for the initiation, purging myself of everything but my love of knowledge.
Speaker:All that appears to have been in vain now.
Speaker:Only those younger than twenty-one years of age can join,
Speaker:and my birthday is in a month.
Speaker:It will be a full year before the order accepts new members.
Speaker:Everything in my life has led up to this moment,
Speaker:and now it’s been denied me.
Speaker:“But, I will be too old to join next year.”
Speaker:“Then you can’t join the order.
Speaker:It is up to you to find what path she thinks you should follow.” The high
Speaker:priest walks out of the sanctuary, leaving me alone with the braziers burning.
Speaker:It takes me a while before I can muster the energy to leave the deserted courtyard. #
Speaker:I roll over onto my stomach on the cot that is my bed.
Speaker:I stare at where the wall and the floor meet across the room.
Speaker:“You know, if you don’t get up and bathe at some point, I’m going to get another housemate.”
Speaker:I flick my ears. “A whole year, Sanis.”
Speaker:The fennec walks up and pokes me.
Speaker:“Not everyone can join the Brotherhood of the Scroll.
Speaker:Anyway, they’re just a bunch of scribes.
Speaker:Perhaps you can join the Cult of the Hunt. They’re not
Speaker:so focused on ritualistic learning.”
Speaker:I shake my head, letting my ears flop.
Speaker:“It’s what I came here to do.
Speaker:My family wanted me to be a scribe, and that’s all I have trained for.”
Speaker:“So, now you’re free to join a different order.”
Speaker:I look up at him.
Speaker:Fluffy, cream colored fur covers his body.
Speaker:His big ears are pointed at me,
Speaker:a hopeful look on his muzzle.
Speaker:“If this is about joining the Cult of Bacchus, I’ve told you,
Speaker:I don’t want to be an initiate.”
Speaker:“Oh come now, you would enjoy it.
Speaker:It beats all that constant studying,”
Speaker:he says with a swish of his black tipped tail.
Speaker:I snort and roll away from him
Speaker:so I can just stare at the wall.
Speaker:Why didn’t she accept me?
Speaker:I did everything she asked for.
Speaker:Am I not good enough?
Speaker:He sighs. “You think living with me has made you unclean in the eyes of the goddess, don’t you?
Speaker:That she rejected you for the temptations I brought into your life?”
Speaker:I had hoped he wouldn’t ask me this.
Speaker:“A little,” I say sheepishly.
Speaker:“The last time I touched you was over six months ago!
Speaker:Ever since you told me you could no longer give in to the temptations of the flesh,
Speaker:I made sure to wash carefully after the rituals and didn’t bring any strange scents into the house.
Speaker:I even took to wearing clothes around you!
Speaker:What more do you expect me to do?
Speaker:Our gods have very different views on morality.”
Speaker:“I don’t know, maybe it was wrong of me to stay here.
Speaker:I know you’ve made a great effort to help me, but I feel like I could have committed myself more to her.
Speaker:The goddess does not want me, Sanis.”
Speaker:He is silent for a moment.
Speaker:“Will you go home now?”
Speaker:I shake my head. “I am the third son of a very minor landed family.
Speaker:My brothers are there to carry on our name and inherit our lands.
Speaker:Being an initiated scribe was the only way I was ever going to help advance our family.
Speaker:Now there is nothing.”
Speaker:Sanis kneels down next to me,
Speaker:a paw gently rubbing my side.
Speaker:“Do you know why I became an initiate of Bacchus?”
Speaker:“No.” “Growing up, I always had the gnawing feeling of hunger in my belly.
Speaker:My family did their best to keep everyone fed, but it wasn’t an easy life.
Speaker:One dry spring, when the grapes wouldn’t grow
Speaker:and we were facing the loss of our home,
Speaker:I traveled on my own to supplicate myself on the altar of Bacchus,
Speaker:seeking aid for my family.
Speaker:The priests liked what they saw
Speaker:and asked me to join the Cult.”
Speaker:He smiles, “It was the happiest day of my life.
Speaker:I was no longer just a poor fox
Speaker:hoping for good harvests.
Speaker:There was a god out there that needed serving,
Speaker:and I had something to offer him.
Speaker:I have never regretted my decision to become an initiate,
Speaker:and since then the harvests at home have been good.” Sanis
Speaker:had told me a little about the rituals:
Speaker:the wine, the dancing, and the orgies that were held in the god’s name.
Speaker:I learned more from the Brotherhood,
Speaker:and that told me all I wanted to know.
Speaker:Devotion to Bacchus was shown not through the quest for knowledge
Speaker:or devotion to the hunt,
Speaker:but by ritualistic ecstasy and madness.
Speaker:It seemed… wrong. “You gave your body to the god.”
Speaker:The fox chuckles.
Speaker:“That I did. I gave the god everything I could muster, and some things I didn’t know I could.
Speaker:Do you know what I have out of all that?”
Speaker:“You have desecrated yourself in the name of Bacchus.”
Speaker:Sanis cuffs me hard between the ears.
Speaker:“No you stupid fool!
Speaker:I have contentment!
Speaker:I have reached out
Speaker:and felt the presence of my god,
Speaker:and I know through my service
Speaker:I have made him happy,
Speaker:and he has helped my family in return.
Speaker:I may live in this little shack with you, but I have peace!
Speaker:But, if you want to talk about desecrating bodies, let’s talk about you.
Speaker:You stink of that scented oil they made you use,
Speaker:and I expect you to bathe and maintain a reasonable sense of cleanliness.”
Speaker:I grumble. “You know that hurt.”
Speaker:“It was supposed to.”
Speaker:He goes to the other side of the room
Speaker:to sit down on his cot.
Speaker:I sit up and swing my legs over to the floor.
Speaker:I rub my head where he hit me.
Speaker:He assumes a quiet, restful pose, with his legs crossed.
Speaker:Sanis is so calm, so sure of his role with the gods.
Speaker:He never shows doubt,
Speaker:and does what is asked of him without question.
Speaker:“How do you do it?” He had closed
Speaker:his eyes, but he opens them.
Speaker:“Do what?” “Have such ease about everything.”
Speaker:He shrugs. “It comes from just being me.”
Speaker:“Yes, but you always know what you will do.
Speaker:You never show doubt.”
Speaker:He chuckles. “I had
Speaker:plenty of doubts when I became an initiate of Bacchus,
Speaker:but I had to put myself aside and focus.
Speaker:I had to forget who I was
Speaker:and embrace my role as a servant of the god.”
Speaker:I shake my head. I have never understood
Speaker:how ritualistic debauchery glorified the gods,
Speaker:but it isn’t my place to judge.
Speaker:The fact the two temples are located in the same sanctuary
Speaker:shows the dichotomy of the religious rituals performed here.
Speaker:One cult embraces the sensual pursuit of the flesh,
Speaker:while the other esoteric pursuit of knowledge.
Speaker:One crafts exceptional scholars and hunters,
Speaker:while the other boasted of the best wine makers, poets, and dancers. Sanis looks at
Speaker:me with a pained expression.
Speaker:“There is something I have been waiting to tell you, but I wanted to wait until after you joined the Brotherhood.
Speaker:Now…” Sanis flicks his tail.
Speaker:It is the only hint I have he is nervous.
Speaker:“The high priests feel my dancing has pleased Bacchus immensely.”
Speaker:I nod. “Yes?” “I am to go and join him so he may see my footwork up close.”
Speaker:“Join him? Join … they asked you to perform the Rite of the Wine Song?”
Speaker:He nods sagely. “In four days,
Speaker:when the moon reaches her zenith.” “Sanis, I…” Performing the Rite of the Wine Song is a high honor, and consideration is only given to initiates that specifically request it,
Speaker:for good reason. “I have already written home
Speaker:and let them know what will happen.
Speaker:I’m sorry, Askan.
Speaker:I thought you would complete joining the Brotherhood and move to the sanctuary.
Speaker:I will leave the house to you, for what it’s worth.”
Speaker:The house, our little one room hut together,
Speaker:is little more than two cots, and a small hearth for us to cook on.
Speaker:My scrolls are stacked up in one corner on a cabinet-
Speaker:-the only sign we are more than just poor beggars.
Speaker:Soon I will be all alone.
Speaker:“Sanis, they kill you at the end of the Rite to send you on your way!”
Speaker:He smiles softly. “I know.”
Speaker:He gets up. “I must prepare myself, so I will be in the sacred grove.
Speaker:He walks up to me and touches my shoulder.
Speaker:“I wanted to tell you sooner, but the time didn’t seem right.”
Speaker:Not only have I wasted an entire year’s worth of time,
Speaker:I will soon lose the only person who made that year bearable.
Speaker:I shiver, and I notice his ears droop.
Speaker:“I’m sorry Askan.”
Speaker:He says weakly. His hand on my shoulder shakes,
Speaker:and before I can think of what to say,
Speaker:he turn and walks out of the house,
Speaker:leaving me alone.
Speaker:I close my eyes
Speaker:and start to softly cry.
Speaker:Not only does Diana not want
Speaker:me, but Bacchus will soon take my closest friend. #
Speaker:I stare at the parchment in front of me.
Speaker:It details the history of the Brotherhood of the Scroll,
Speaker:but I am not reading it.
Speaker:I have read it before, and I know the history well.
Speaker:I haven’t been paying attention to my surrounding,
Speaker:so I startle when I feel a hand on my shoulder.
Speaker:I turn to look up,
Speaker:and I see that the old monk Merist
Speaker:has walked up to me.
Speaker:“Your eyes will burn the parchment if you keep staring at it like that.”
Speaker:The monk is a fox like Sanis,
Speaker:but a red one. His fur has faded though,
Speaker:and is now streaked with white.
Speaker:I’ve been told that he was once in the Brotherhood
Speaker:but left to follow his own path.
Speaker:Others whisper that he was cast out for misdeeds never clearly enumerated.
Speaker:Regardless, the brothers still let him use the library,
Speaker:and he spends considerable time there.
Speaker:“Sorry,” I say rolling up the scroll.
Speaker:I won’t find any answers to my problems in it.
Speaker:Merist is astute,
Speaker:and he knows more about the temples than anyone.
Speaker:“You seem upset. The goddess did not select you?”
Speaker:he asks me. “No, she didn’t.”
Speaker:“There is no shame in that Askan.
Speaker:The goddess is fickle.
Speaker:She does not accept all those who seek her wisdom.”
Speaker:“I know.” He reaches over and stops me from completely rolling up the scroll.
Speaker:He points to where the moon,
Speaker:one of Diana’s symbols, is drawn on the parchment.
Speaker:“The moon is powerful,
Speaker:but without the sun,
Speaker:she cannot shine in her glory.”
Speaker:“Of course.” This is a well-known tenant of the faiths.
Speaker:“Do you know why that is though?”
Speaker:he asks me. “Without the sun, there can be no moon.
Speaker:Without the day, there can be no night.
Speaker:Without love, there can be no loss.
Speaker:These things balance our world.
Speaker:The gods also must be balanced.
Speaker:It is why the Cult of Bacchus
Speaker:and the Brotherhood of the Scroll stand at such opposites to each other.
Speaker:They act as a balance to each other.”
Speaker:“Indeed,” he says nodding approvingly.
Speaker:“That balance is never static but fluid
Speaker:like water in a stream.
Speaker:It always flows on.
Speaker:Some actions shouldn’t be taken
Speaker:since they unbalance the world.”
Speaker:My curiosity gets the better of me,
Speaker:and I ask “Why did you leave the Brotherhood?”
Speaker:He smiles to let me know he takes no offense at the question.
Speaker:“I had… a difference of opinion about certain aspects of the way the Brotherhood operates,
Speaker:and I was asked to consider
Speaker:other avenues of service.
Speaker:While I knew in my heart that Diana still wanted me,
Speaker:it was obvious she wanted me on a different path.
Speaker:That was long ago though,
Speaker:and I have seen and learned much since then.
Speaker:Still, I am glad that after many years,
Speaker:I have been able to return and continue to serve the Brotherhood in some fashion.”
Speaker:“I thought in my heart that Diana would want me.”
Speaker:He sighs “Serving Diana is not an easy road to travel, Askan.
Speaker:Do not be too quick to assume she does not feel you are worthy of serving her.
Speaker:She may still present you with tests you can’t prepare for simply by studying these.”
Speaker:He tapped the scroll.
Speaker:“The Brotherhood talks a lot about wisdom,
Speaker:but true wisdom goes beyond what can be written down.
Speaker:It has to be experienced.”
Speaker:I sigh. “Becoming an initiate of Bacchus seems to be a much easier path.”
Speaker:“It is easier to be accepted,
Speaker:but the Cult asks a lot of its members.
Speaker:Your… friend, Sanis,
Speaker:he has been selected for the Rite of the Wine Song, hasn’t he?”
Speaker:I lay my ears back.
Speaker:“Yes.”’ “It is a great honor to perform the Rite.
Speaker:The dancer who does
Speaker:spends two months preparing, practicing special rituals and communing with Bacchus
Speaker:before performing the Rite.
Speaker:Afterward, if he and the chosen virgin initiate have danced well,
Speaker:the gods take them both.”
Speaker:“Sanis has been preparing for two months?”
Speaker:Merist nods. “If they are following the Rite as I am told it is practiced.”
Speaker:“He’s known for a while then,”
Speaker:I say. “He did not tell you?”
Speaker:asks Merist. “Not until today,”
Speaker:I say getting up.
Speaker:The old monk finishes rolling up the scroll.
Speaker:“Then perhaps you should ask him why that is.” #
Speaker:I find Sanis by the sacred springs near the temple of Bacchus.
Speaker:The temple complex is on a hillside overlooking a deep valley,
Speaker:and the springs are an important part
Speaker:of many of the Cult’s rituals.
Speaker:Sanis is deep in thought when I approach, but I know he hears me.
Speaker:“Hey,” I say, coming up and sitting down next to him.
Speaker:He glances at me before he goes back to focusing on the flowing water.
Speaker:“You have bathed at least.”
Speaker:“Yes, they wouldn’t have let me back in the library if I hadn’t.
Speaker:Sanis, how long have you known you were going to perform the Rite?”
Speaker:He sighs. “Almost two months.”
Speaker:“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Speaker:He turns to look at me, incredulous.
Speaker:“Do you really have to ask me that?”
Speaker:I blink at him confused.
Speaker:“What do you mean, do I have to ask you that? You’re
Speaker:telling me that you are going to lay down on a block of marble so they can slit your throat,
Speaker:and you want to know why I’m upset about it?”
Speaker:The fennec grumbles low at me.
Speaker:“You do know I volunteered to do this, right?
Speaker:They don’t make people lay down their lives for the Cult.
Speaker:It is an honor to do this!”
Speaker:I grab him roughly by the shoulders.
Speaker:“You are voluntarily going to your death!
Speaker:Why would you do that?
Speaker:Why… why didn’t you tell me?”
Speaker:The fennec growls
Speaker:and shoves me hard,
Speaker:pushing me backwards.
Speaker:I fall onto the grass near the path.
Speaker:“I didn’t tell you, because I knew you wouldn’t understand!
Speaker:I didn’t tell you
Speaker:because you were working so hard to join the Brotherhood,
Speaker:and trying to push everything out but the goddess.”
Speaker:“But, I thought we were friends!”
Speaker:He bares his fangs at me.
Speaker:“Friends? Askan, you stupid, foolish jackal!
Speaker:Do you think all those times I came home drunk from the rituals and threw myself on you were just because I couldn’t get my fill?
Speaker:No, I saved myself!
Speaker:I held back so I could come home and be with you.
Speaker:I knew… I knew that the Brotherhood required chastity,
Speaker:but still I hoped…” He almost sobs,
Speaker:“I hoped you would see that
Speaker:that wasn’t something you had to do.
Speaker:It’s why I kept bugging you to reconsider and join the Cult of Bacchus or
Speaker:Diana’s Hunt.” “What do you mean saved yourself?”
Speaker:He drew himself up.
Speaker:“I danced, I drank, and I sang,
Speaker:but I did not share myself with the others.
Speaker:I put my heart into the dancing,
Speaker:and I stumbled home from the rituals so I could
Speaker:share with you Bacchus’s wonder.
Speaker:I knew by abstaining from sex
Speaker:I would have the physical desire left to lay with you.”
Speaker:His expression turns to disappointment,
Speaker:“Yet despite that, you took the vow,
Speaker:and I became just a distraction from you fulfilling your dreams.
Speaker:I adopted a more modest approach at home,
Speaker:yet when I returned to the rituals and opened myself back to Cult,
Speaker:I felt empty. All I had was my dancing, my singing,
Speaker:and when they sought initiate to perform the Rite,
Speaker:I volunteered. If I couldn’t be happy in this world with you,
Speaker:I could at least go and serve Bacchus in the next.”
Speaker:I didn’t say anything.
Speaker:I just looked up at him.
Speaker:He shakes himself and steadies his quaking hands.
Speaker:“I’m sorry Askan, but I am still going to perform the Rite.
Speaker:Someone needs to do it,
Speaker:and it is too late to prepare anyone else now.”
Speaker:He gets up and stalks off, fur bristling.
Speaker:“Sanis…” I call reaching out for him.
Speaker:“Leave me alone, Askan.”
Speaker:He doesn’t look back at me.
Speaker:This was the the # of # parts of “Story Title” by Author Name, read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion. Tune in next time to find out how [characters resolve the cliffhanger
Speaker:or other teaser].
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.
