The words of his cousin proved themselves naught but empty wind to the ears of mighty Qisigu. He tore through the vast crowds uncaring of whatever stood in his way. Be they eager young children and youths, gossiping women, or ever-hungering dogs. It mattered not, he cared nothing for his role as a shepherd of the people. A makeshift head for a body with none. He continued impulsively into the building on the other side of the church, the two buildings laying near each other like trees in a grove, grown from the corpses of kin either by oath or blood. It contained the town's formal weaponry, no longer coordinated or blessed by a priest. But not forgotten and left to rust either.
He prepared himself with a fearsome sword, the grandest one which he could find and armed himself with a fearsome crossbow and myriad bolts. He prepared a spear, thin but deadly and glorious in the tearing of flesh. As he armored himself with a gambeson, the cloth meant to protect vital organs imbued with glorious life by the good lord, a fearsome knock flew around the cavernous building. Receiving no answer Juja simply entered the room and began to speak, “My good brother, I can’t dissuade you from partaking in this endeavor, can I?” Qisigu, knowing better than to remain silent, responded, “No. If anyone is to cause damage to that wretched and foul being, it will be me.” Juja nodded and quickly responded, chuckling slightly at the first part, “I know how you are when an idea enters your head. Please, brother, allow me to accompany you. The boy was my nephew after all.” Qisigu stopped for a moment but quickly nodded and smiled widely, responding with increasing strength to every word, “Yes, yes! Together we will bring down that horrible, detestable, and aboherrible creature. I will admit, I didn’t expect you to follow me. Not you, but I am glad you didn’t abandon me, my good brother.”
Once fully readied, Qisigu hugged his brother, who quickly hugged back. Qisigu responded to him and said, “Well, why wait? Every second lost is one of further danger for him. I’ll get my old steed ready. Let us meet at the gates of my home.” Though it was most sinful, he felt anger at having sacrificed his strong young horse at the glorious deity. Before hearing a response, the man speedily ran out of the building, stopping his swift limbs at the doorway to say,“ Do not delay.” He then ran with all the strength imbued in his frame, back to ready his steed at the stable shared between him and his tenants, running all the way back to his lands with breathtaking speed. He muttered to himself, “I should’ve freed the beast of its bonds before going to suit up. I ought to concentrate, think straight!”
He quickly freed the old beast, with muscles worn, its drooping lips and hollow eyes. He quickly climbed atop the still mighty beast, a masterful work of muscle sinew and hide woven by the Lord of the Cosmos. He uttered a quick order to it, “Let us go!” Great forcefulness was imbued into his voice. Having heard it countless times, the aged creature began to move, still in possession of a vibrant fire within its limbs. They stopped at the nearby home of Qisigu, the still gathered crowd moving away from the fearsome creature and the angry man. They still remained close so as to see and hear. They had to satiate their curiosity, its never-ending thirst. There he impatiently waited for a very small amount of time before uttering to the beast, “Is my brother a turtle? Why does he linger so much when such danger lurks!” After some more moments he added in an even more bitter tone, “Now, when I need him most he fails me! Some brother of mine I’ve got! But I suppose he’s always been the kind of man to break under the slightest pressure.”
In spite of his brother's bitter musings and thoughts, Juja did not sit idly. Soon he arrived and bowed still atop his steed, followed by an agile hunting dog. A well-trained one from a good bloodline. The horse was broken and tamed, but not an aged pile of bones and worn flesh as Qisigus was. Qisigu judgmentally uttered, “So you finally arrived! Are you a snail or a slug, incapable of movement? Is your skull naught but one of their empty shells, that my words flew through one of your ears and left straight through the other?” Juja remained proud and calm in spite of his brothers fearsome words and let apologetic words fly in a rapid manner, “Forgive me dear brother, I went as fast I could.” Qisigu couldn’t find it within himself even in his painful state to continue his bitter musings against his good brother and said to him, “Very well, let us go. Let us stay together, who knows what kind of tricks the demon will play on us if it catches us alone and unaware.”
The final words were uttered as they already went on their horses. Even in such a rush, Qisigu understood the space needed to explore was vast and it was simply not possible to gallop the whole way with the mighty and aging beast. And so the two of them rode in silence observing the shadows the early morning sunlight caused when it danced around the haughty trunks of trees both old and young. Great organisms which had survived galloping winds and the buzzing pests all the same. Upon their roots there stood no human corpse; their spirits were wild and untamed. They moved in the cool morning air, very much unlike the great heat reached in the middle of the afternoon. The frustration of Qisigu was laid clearly for his brother to see, who noticed the way his fingers contorted in myriad forms even as they gripped the reins and the way his eyes increasingly looked upon the world with quickness. There was nothing, no one clue or mark, that anything was out of the ordinary. The winds danced, the hatefuls sun rays toyed and mocked cheerfully at them, and the birds talked with one another about meaningless things in a tongue foreign to man.
Juja began to speak and blunderingly uttered, “My brother, we are no strangers to death. It should not be a hateful thing-” Qisigu interrupted him in a sharp and brutal manner, “Indeed, we are not strangers to it.” He locked his gaze at his brother, “But my son is not dead. Have you so little faith? I am confident he is still alive. Every second you waste your breath with such an empty wind is one during which you could be focused, searching for him. Put those eyes of yours to good use.” At such words the flaming breath of life within Juja was made lesser. He could not find it within himself to answer to his brother.
Yet as they kept searching Qisigu was no longer capable of fully concealing his doubts to himself, not as they searched through stones and through trees, through bushes and grasses and found nothing. Nothing was heard but the cacophony of wildlife that prowled in that time. The buzzing flies, the galloping winds, the singing birds and the battling locusts all struggling for dominance of the clear air. They continued for much longer, some sparse attempt at conversation finally brotting out between them as they moved. The cool air of the early morning was replaced by the warmth of noon as their search proved entirely fruitless. It was both sweet and hateful, for the fate of his son remained uncertain. He dreaded the wait, yet dreaded the moment of truth all the same. Such fickle beings are human kind, with thoughts that swim and wriggle to one corner and to another without questioning each other so as to coordinate themselves.
Juja began to let fly some far more serious words once more and spoke out, “My good brother, please listen to me.” Qisigu tensed up slightly at such words but responded with haste, “Yes?” Juja finally let fly the remaining words like swift arrows, “Qisigu. We’ve been making our horses walk for hours now, piled ones upon others. They aren’t lively rivers, they can’t continue running forever. Especially not yours. Look at the way it struggles for breath. It has not aged well, and even this slow trot tires it.”
By now, Qisigu no longer had a look of anger plastered on his firm face. It had been replaced by one of anguish, only barely kept at bay by the strength of his powerful will. “You’re right about one thing, my horse barely can keep going.” He clenched his jaw with absolute rage, “But I will not finish my journey. Even if it is necessary, I will-” The words seemed to stop flowing out of the man's mouth. He struggled to let some out but managed to achieve nothing coherent, nothing loud or powerful. He in many ways resembled a drowning rat in its final moments.
Juja took some time to realize his brother had stopped, and continued trotting on his horse for some short while. He turned back after a little while and looked at the expression of sheer horror on his brother's face. He questioned the man with a grave voice, uneasy and seeming as though he dreaded the incoming answer, “What is it? What ails you brother?” Qisigu, great public speaker though he was, couldn’t find it within himself to respond with clear words. All he did was move his hand, and point with a single finger at a nearby tree, at that which was nestled within its bony branches.
Juja took some time to measure what kind of figure lurked within the bony branches, but soon it was laid bare on his mind. Soon creeping horror wormed and chewed its way to his unprepared brain. The white shimmering bones were human, irrevocably so even though it had been stripped of flesh and though many bones laid on the black and drying earth. Qisigu finally let out a deadly scream of sheer pain. He came down from his horse and ran towards the corpse. It was but a pile of bones yet he looked at them and turned them time and time again as if wishing to obtain the greatest amount of information from them. Though it may be impossible, it seemed like he wished for the bones to talk back to him and give him answers.
While awestruck Juja could not bring himself to proclaim what he knew to be truth, as he had prior. He timidly spoke out, attempting to soothe his brother's clearly torn psyche, “We must not jump to conclusions-” He was sharply interrupted by Qisigu, “It is him.” Juja asked once more, “There is no way you can be sure-” Qisigu simply clenched his teeth and hugged three bones closely, as a child does a straw doll. His words didn’t have passion within them, simply cold acceptance, “It is him.” The heavy cloak of silence hung over the both of them for some time after that. Juja could not find strength to respond in any way, to comfort his brother in any way. Too full of grief was he as well as seeing the boy he’d known from back when he was a smiling babe reduced to such a manner. Qisigu began quietly mumbling, growing louder as the words flew by one after another, “I know his rising cheekbones. I know the tooth he lost the other month, we buried it in the graves of our ancestors. Oh! And know here he lay! Mangled! Destroyed! Torn apart as a wretched dog does a mere doll!” He clenched his teeth in great rage and agony for some time, inciting yet greater grief within both himself and his brother.
But they weren’t allowed time to rest or speak with one another as laughter echoed from the bushy crowns of the haughty trees. It mockingly spoke out with words that flew and dug deep as arrows into not only their bone but their marrow, “Oh, foolish little man! Some leader you are, hunched, keeled and clutching those dead bones. Let us see, what does that remind me of?” Immediately the voice responded to its own question, “Oh! Precisely! A stinky and unfinished child, something far from perfect. Oh, how your ancestors would laugh at you right now!” It made some small noises, disapproving clicks and continued, “But they don’t see you right now in this disgusting, pathetic state. Do they?” Once more it responded to its own question as if desiring to keep the facade of a conversation while leaving all of its thoughts clearly and evidently bare. It let out some galloping laughs and continued, “So dust yourself off, and let us talk like dignified creatures. Separate from these crawling beasts, quiet trees, and the parties of your humans scampering like rabid dogs at anything they see in the woods. I’ve an offer to make to you, there are important things to talk about.”
Qisigu was shocked when he first heard the words, but soon found rage surge within himself like a fire reborn from its smoldering coals. He questioned it in a slow tone, only barely containing his tremendous anger, “So you are the demon who killed my son. That feasted upon his corpse and scattered his bones as though he were a mere straw doll.” Echoing laughter resounded, coming from all four cardinal directions at once. She responded swiftly, “Indeed! His flesh was quite delectable, your little spawn clearly never knew need or want. I even made my spirit enter the bodies of moths so as to devour even the cloth in his body. Would’ve been better with some kind of spicy sauce, some salt and a bitter kind of juice. But it's hard to get those when you’re a miserable vagabond such as I.” Such words only increase the rage of the man. While the creature continued its monologue he readied his crossbow and placed his bolt within the contraption of wood and thick string. He let it fly swiftly as a dove through the air.
The bolt continued flying and fell without first being able to glut itself with the warm blood of living organisms. He was met with resounding laughter, “So this is the game which you want to play, eh?” Qisigu continued preparing for another attack with the crossbow at the same time, unbothered by the mocking words. At the same time the demon frightened the horses with a terrible and loud noise, causing the terrified Juja to swiftly fall off from his beast. He would run and hide behind a tree, barely paying attention to the continued events unfolding around him. All he did was whisper to himself as he hugged the tree with his scraped limbs. Dark blood oozed from him as he prayed and desperately closed his eyes. Perhaps he was like a child, deluding himself into believing the demon wasn’t present so long as he no longer saw it. The creature swiftly let out a sound resembling a sigh, “This is not what I wished for, but it is not particularly unexpected either.” After another bolt was fired at thin air the creature answered in an arrogant and regal tone, “Your aim is good, but I’ve much experience with this. Your crossbow is nothing but two pieces of wood and badly-worn string, you could never nail me with that. You’ve got your great-grandfather's spirit. He was a good man, far better than his son. But enough ramblings, I wish to have a proper conversation with you. There is no need for all these meaningless struggles.” Qisigu awarded the fierce demon with no response as she continued uninterrupted and in a voice oozing arrogance stated, “I can promise you this; your aim will never strike true, you-”
‘
Another bolt was let fly, this one striking with true aim as a measly pigeon fell from the sky. He arrogantly proclaimed, “I see you’ve some inglorious vessels, very reflective of your wretched being!” Its limbs were unbuckled and life left it. The demon, the false idol, was entirely quiet for some time as if incapable of formulating a response. She soon regained her composure and from three cardinal directions she soon let out a more pained and forced chuckle, ”It seems I’ve underestimated you. You have killed a part of me. Fine! If you are so determined to inflict damage on my hosts, come and search for me! I won’t make it easy for you.” Noise filled the air as the creatures' dozen wings and dozen eyes guided by myriad brains made the air dance and gallop, mixing it around. The dog had fruitlessly barked at the air, but now it prepared itself as Qisigu said to it as he ran, “Come, dog, and make yourself useful! There is a demon upon which we must inflict great pain.” As he followed along the dog which guided him he muttered, “Some coward that demon is. Even you’ve more bravery than her.”
The man ran with great swiftness alongside the hound as they searched for the beast. They twisted around the forest as if flying in a myriad of manners, soon asking, “You think you can kill me? Inane fool, your mind's death is addled like that of a grieving mother by your son's death. You should be ashamed of yourself!” The man gripped his short spear tightly and responded with haste, “I know I can make you suffer, and that is all that I desire!” The creature let out a groan and vanished from the man's sight. Qisigu turned the dog on and ordered, “Search, dog, search!” The creature soon ran before the man, muscles rippling beneath its skin and fur as it ran towards the path within which the birds were moving, helping him keep track of them even when they were banished from view. He clenched his teeth once more in abject rage as they sent down mocking words, stating, “I simply wish to converse with you in a rational manner! Is that so much to ask, human? But If you are to chase me, must you do it in such a slow and sluggish manner?”
The man simply shouted firm words of his own mocking, “Come down, and do combat with me, one on one as we ought to do! You’ve clearly got mightier vessels than that one. With these mere birds you didn’t drag off my son and devour him down to the bone. ” The creature let out a sigh and explained in a slothful tone, “I devoured him in the form of a fearsome cat of the mountains. But I’ve no need to destroy you; you are more useful to me alive and under my control than dead. I won’t give up hope on you so easily.” She let out a horrible shriek that cut through the prior atmosphere. Qisigu went on-edge but the demon resumed its conversation as though nothing had occurred,”I’ve killed you son, when will you submit to me!?”. He clenched his teeth and simply uttered with great rage, “You are among the most foolish creatures in this world! That is all I’ve got to say to you.” The chase continued without mocking for some time, as the man ran and let fly some words and crossbow bolts with fury yet without any certainty. He was cut out of his thoughts as he heard the bright yelp of the hound which tore through the air like something sharp. He saw a poisonous serpent biting at the leg of the hound, one most horrible and venomous. It was thick as rope with skin that appeared from mere sight as rough as one too. He responded with tremendous quickness and attempted to stab the serpent's head with one fell swoop of his firm spear. It proved itself of sufficient quickness, and removed the creature of its life and blood. The creature controlled by the spirit of the wretched demon grew silent, that part of the demon itself going through physical suffering. Something which brought great pleasure and joy to furious Qisigu.
Despite himself he let fly chuckles, “Weren’t you screaming to the heavens how you weren’t going to kill me! Incomprehensible beast, the dog here had far more sense than you in all ways!” Before the creature could respond he readied his crossbow and let fly serious and steady words, “Is this how you plan to dissuade me, horrible wretch! Every beast you possess that I destroy brings me much joy!” The creature's voice came from another fluttering pigeon flying and hidden from view, a mere mutter to itself, “Why must you be like this?” Qisigu knew better than to respond to the meandering thoughts of the beast and felt the invisible force of uneasiness creeping down and up his back. She continued, “I’ve manipulated the serpent's venom. It slew the damned mutt but I’d make sure it would paralyze your muscles with little pain. I tried it out on an old man just this morning.” Qisigu had inklings of who he was talking about, but proved unable to forment a retort. Especially as he heard the dangerous snorts of a powerful beast. His eyes grew wide as he beheld a dangerous hog charging at him, the muscle and tusks controlled by the whilly mind of the spirit. Unlike the other twisted corruptions, which resembled ordinary creatures on their exterior, this was clearly touched by a demon even just using sight. Its tusks were unnaturally long, its eyes wide and great like a fearsome beast, and its fur mottled in the forms of horrible writing. Delighted, the spirit let out a voice from the mouth of the hog itself, “How will you deal with me now, eh? With no horse, no dog, alone, how will you fight and escape? Did you not wish to do this the hard way? Then do not whine like a slimy child! ”
The man moved swiftly and paid the spirit's words not the slightest heed. He climbed a tree with many great branches with utmost speed, struggling as the fearsome hog charged enraged with cunning intelligence visible in her deadly eyes. The beast led out laughs and was joined by the other fleshy creatures possessed by the spirit. She spent some time delighting in the fear of Qisigu until he finally calmed himself. Until he left the well dry. The spirit chuckled and said, “I’ve finally got you where I want you. Alone. Incapable of running to any region, either in pursuit or fleeing. Together, your village lot would have destroyed any physical attack I could ever hope to muster. But alone, I can destroy your frame with ease. But I don’t desire that. I only wish to talk, and I can promise you no other spirits will interrupt us.”
Qisigu finally let out frustrated words simply asking, “Well? What will you say, foul fiend! Have you cornered me just to gloat on how you devoured my son or will your wretched form let out anything of value.” The hog continued charging and circling around the tree but the birds which were perched directly above him soon began to let fly words. “Here’s the thing, I do not want to do all of these terrible things to you a lot. You are my own people and I care for you.” Seeing the look on Qisigus face she chuckled and let out some words, “Oh of course, I’ll devour some of you. Just a shepherd of the plains will devour some of his flock. But I don’t desire your destruction.” The great leader soon retorted, “Demon, your kind knows no true love. You are nothing but arrogant tools of the hateful Sun!” The demon soon responded in a hasty manner without delay, “Oh please, I’ve no want to argue about your Heretical gods' moronic ideology. Not any more than you would like to know how I devoured your son.” Qisigu appeared uncertain as to his next course of action. And so, a bright idea wormed its hideous way into the horrible demon's head. She fiendishly spoke out, “I didn’t consume all his flesh as once you know, a pleasure is best if it lasts longer.” he was left without words for some time, “No, I devoured it with far smaller bodies than this one, like the small bipedal birds that tear at trash. I delighted in every muscle, every tendon, and every organ I devoured” The horrible creature focused the eyes of the fierce hog with those of Qisigu, “ Would you like to hear more, or can we move on to actually useful subjects?” The great leader let fly some words, “Why you-” Yet the creature continued without delay, this time slightly louder.
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“The time after my defeat by Sini Naqihu was most painful and most wretched. I am a goddess after all, reduced to being a miserable member of the fae! It's been many years, decades even, since I last possessed a proper human body and dwelled in a proper place. All of my territories went on to worship your moronic god due to that accursed man.” He laughed as winged words soon left him, having steeled his nerves. He simply refused to let the demon have its way during this conversation. His mind had been stirred since his son's death and he cared little if he was to live or die, “Do you hope to elicit sympathy from me? Do you possibly think I will feel anything other than joy when hearing of just misery befalling you, horrible demon? Especially so soon after slaying my son? If you were human, I would have long since wringed your neck with my bare hands.”
The horrible fiend let out a sigh and bitterly remarked, “Did your parents not teach you it was rude to interrupt?” The hateful demon received no immediate answer to its question as Qisigu tried to look for a way to escape. While he had long realized that there was nothing he could do other than remain on top of the tree he did not wish to break before the fiend. The horrible demon controlled the body of an unnatural hog and would maul his limbs and fleshy face. As silence reigned between the two of them the human finally let fly bitter words, “If it were up to me, my ears would not be grazed by your horrible speeches. I would tear apart all the bodies you possess with deadly spears alongside others following me..” His mouth broke out into a smile, “We would delight ourselves as life slowly left the bodies you possessed. It is only a shame that when a part of your disgusting being is attacked, the rest doesn’t feel pain. The fat hog whose soul you’ve sent to meet the good Lord would make a far more enjoyable being to destroy than your squirming pigeons.” He let out a laugh, “But of course, you’re too arrogant and cowardly to fight truly and properly. You’ve not a hundred the bravery of a rooster. It is as full of glory as you are lacking in it. And you think you could make humans bow before you?”
The demon finally let fly her own words, full of arrogance and bite, “And yet you were foolish and charged alone with nothing but a single mutt and your tiny, useless spear to charge at me. Huse Napasa, the welcome hit. And now you pay the price.” Qisigu simply clenched his teeth in great rage. The words dug themselves deep into his very being, and he could not find a quick retort. The horrible fiend soon continued speaking, this time the hog being the receptacle of voice she used, “Fine. Since you’ve determined yourself to make this as unpleasant for the both of us as you possibly can, I will get straight to the point.” Without meaning to, the muscles on Qisigu's broad frame tensed up once those words galloped into his round ears.
“I want to be worshiped. I am tired of crawling, slithering, of being a sneaking and wretched creature. I wish to inhabit a human body and a human dwelling place once more, and lead a group of you, a shepherd does sheep and as I once did. I am willing to forgive all of you for your ancestors' crimes against me. That. That is what I want. Merciful, isn’t it?” Qisigu was shocked to silence for a second by the absurdness of the words combined with the sincere tone they were spoken. His frame froze not by fear but due to his mind's incapacity of processing the words spoken. Then, slowly at first but faster as moments passed he let fly galloping laughs, one after another as they progressive rose up in strength and quickness. Whether the demon was telling the truth or not didn’t matter, he would play along with its twisted game. They came out like a great river and drowned out the other noises that struggled for dominance in the immediate vicinity. The demon looked at him with a dozen soulless eyes, from half as many corrupted brains, incapable of showcasing emotion in proper facial expressions as it had done in a prior age.
Signs of laughter eventually dried out, for nothing in this world is infinite, not even when coming from the sublime frame of man. “How funny,” he muttered, “mere moments ago I never would have thought booming laughter would leave my frame! Oh fiendish demon, what you have of malice you lack in wit! Your head is hollow, hollow I tell you!” Those words lifted the fiendish demon out of its horrible stupor as she used the twisted hogs body to charge with blind fury at the tree and the figure that hung on top of it, its white and fierce tusks scraping off bark. Yet it stood strong, for in power it far surpassed the beast even if she twisted it to her horrible will . Words soon left it, “Must you ail me so! I reveal my innermost desires, in a fair agreement, and this is your response? Oh, I desire nothing more than to steal a pterosaur's frame and slowly impale you with its terrible beak. Watch as the blood and the life left you, as your smile disappeared and as your innards were laid bare for all to see! Horrible, Horrible human.”
But such words only helped to inflame the spirit of the sharp-minded man. Qisigu had a welcome reminder that the demon was limited, that it was no deity, no goddess. It may be capable of destroying his body, but his spirit and soul could never be touched by that horrible creature. And so, he had to stand strong. He was the one who let out mocking words now, “Oh, foolish demon, false idol. Here you are, throwing a tantrum and scraping wood and dirt like a child! Your mind is badly made, as expected by your mother, the weak shadow of the good lord's absolute magnificence!” The beast appeared to wish to retort but could do nothing but continue charging at the tree and stirring up the dirt, muttering curses to Sini Naqihu and eventually saying to him, “Enough about your deities' moronic theories, you sound just like that accursed man! ”. He continued with his words and arrogantly proclaimed, “Only a group of fools would worship you, people as miserable as our ancestors were when you guided them to this stretch of land. But no more, our loyalty is unbreakable. Of course, a being as wretched as you could never understand true loyalty and devotion. You’re nothing but a slithering worm.”
The creature screamed out with half a dozen mouths in unison, “Enough!” The word was repeated three times from both beak and maw. She soon continued, “ You truly are your great-grandfather's spawn, with how you manage to reduce me to a creature of seething and rage. And with all the horrible qualities of Sini Naqihu, you are his horrible reflection in spirit if in neither blood or flesh.” It gritted its teeth after that but soon continued, “Look, you inane fool. It is you who is foolish and whose mind has been scrambled by empty lies. Your god is nothing but a silver-tongued liar uttering honeyed words. Telling you useless fools about how grand and godlike you are. But guess what?” Qisigu did not respond, content to look at the beasts the demon puppeteered with a look of oozing arrogance. He was delighted in seeing the horrible creature lose her composure, it had been even easier than he had expected. “You are not. You are nothing but amalgamations of flesh piled upon bone. Like all other twisted animals the ancient gods created.” Winged chuckles left her, which flew in an irregular manner, “I would have thought that seeing your sons bones scattered, the remains of my deadly mouths would have dissuaded you, but I see your skull is hollow. Whatever images wriggle and dig into your eyes like worms leave through your round ears. Useless creature.”
Qisigu sharly cut her monologue as a knife does butter and said, “Your ramblings are those of somebody mad. Your words are empty wind. Whatever actions you take against us will break before us! I would rather die than lick and kiss your feet as if you were one of the good lord's blessed sons!” The creature responds in an annoyed manner, “And at that, perhaps you would.” It let out the sound of a deep sigh from half a dozen throats, and then let out a guttural noise from the deadly hog. The two of them stood there, one from the other for a good long time, no words leaving them as the heavy iron blanket of silence was hung over them. Neither of them wanted to break it with the sharp knife of speech. Qisigu coolly analyzed the quiet and brisk movements of the many empty shells the demon possessed. They had been stripped of an independent soul and spirit. A horrible spirit now moved the strings, now made the creatures into horrible puppets. Once more, he found no way to flee. He debated jumping down and meeting his death against the horrible creature and joining his son, it ought not count as suicide. It wasn’t likely he would soon get as opportune a chance as this. The demon proclaimed she wouldn’t kill him, but rage had clearly gotten the better of it. Such thoughts galloped in his brain with increasing rapidity. But he whispered quietly to himself, “Remember, you are a shepherd of your people. You can’t abandon them, not right now.”
Another bird flew in and whispered unknown words both into the haughty pigeon's heads and the fierce hogs ears. The hog once more fruitlessly charged at the powerful tree, which resisted its attack as it had the galloping winds of a thousand storms. Qisigu mockingly said to her, “What angers you, has the bird mistaken your empty skull with an empty tree hollow?” The creature gave no clear indication of having paid heed to the man's words, none other than a slight snort. She opened her cavernous mouth in the mockery of a smile and said to the man, “It seems you useless village folk finally got together at last. How opportune for you! A great group of broken horses, slobbering hounds, and men armed with spears and other such weaponry have come.”
Qisigus mouth parted into that of a smile, “And you will leave, run away like a mere cat escaping a hungry dog?” The demon let fly no winged words to respond to them, only the wild cicadas and the rustling of the playful winds. “Now, who is the one running away like a coward from here?” He chuckled darkly, “Useless demon, and you dare proclaim yourself a goddess.”
Words soon flew from the hogs vast mouth, pained yet firm and cool as ice, “I’ve never been a particularly powerful goddess. And yet, I remain alive and I am finally ready to destroy or subjugate you a lot. Deities have no need for bravery, such a crutch is for mortal beings such as yourselves.” It gritted its horrible maw and uttered, “You think you know much woe? You think your son's death is where I will end this, I will intrude upon you as you sleep and as you wake. Nowhere will you be able to look without my eyes looking back upon you. I will punish you with more severity than a father does an arrogant child, you townspeople will wish they were struck with belts a thousand times over in every centimeter of their flesh. From the youngest smiling baby to the oldest elder with the saggiest skin.”
Qisigu sharply responded, “And you think that will dissuade us, do you think you can uproot our determination, eh? We will not bend before you, no matter what you do!” The demon continued speaking, herself recovering some of its arrogance and none of its composure, “So you say, and perhaps you indeed will remain faithful till the end. ” The horrid creature charged at the trees round the trunk and let fly ever louder words, “But I am a goddess, and I know how to read people like you simply can’t. It is a skill gained as one grows older, making a full tapestry with pieces unwillingly revealed, and even the oldest human elder is a toddler when compared to me. And I do know one thing-” Qisigu interrupted the beast with loud words, not wishing to give her even the satisfaction of finishing a triumphant sentence, “What, tell me, oh, grandest of fools.”
The creature was entirely unfaced by the man's words, and it delighted let fly word after word, no longer reviewing them in her horrible head, “I know that you fools proclaim devotion, but a breaking point exists for all groups. Your people will bow before me even if you keep refusing.” The same bird flew back and whispered into the hog's ear with ever greater urgency. It muttered more curses but soon spoke with overflowing arrogance and not the slightest composure, “I will leave but remember this, even if you forget the rest of this conversation: You’ve the power to stop me, and settle things down into a peaceful routine, end this struggle. Goodbye.” The cohort of bodies, all controlled by copies of the same horrible spirit left with astounding quickness, leaving naught but the dancing winds, the chirping crickets and the screaming cicadas.
He dared not leave the safety of the tree, the demon was a disgusting and pathetic creature but she still possessed intellect. Now that she was done with its horrible threats the idea of remaining alive was firmly nailed into his mind. It was highly possible that naught but wind, woven lies, had left its beak and snout. He ought not leave the treetop until others came. She claimed she didn’t wish to harm him, but he couldn’t be sure of that, not when he saw rage grip its limbs and move the puppeteer around like a measly puppet. Soon enough heavy relief hit him as he heard the sound of barking dogs and the hooves of powerful horses charging with great speed towards earshot. He screamed out, “Here! Here I am, be wary, the demon came in the form of a mighty wild hog and it might still lurk in the woods. Don’t lose the chance to destroy it if it comes near.”
Soon enough they came into view as he beheld first the running dogs and then the horses with the mounted riders, resembling a single grand being when they were mounted atop the mighty beasts. The first to speak was Juja who proclaimed, “We will heed your words oh brother! I am sorry to have left you, once you ran off with the hound I couldn’t find you anywhere!”
Qisigu bitterly looked at his brother and remarked, “It all worked out in the end, the demon got scared and ran away like the crawling worm it is. I never expected you to follow the creature, I was surprised when you came to help me in the first place. You're not the countenance of a true shepherd of the people, and we’ve all known that for a long time now.” Juja looked at a nearby tree, averting his brother's gaze. Such words stirred much bitterness within his vast spirit, yet he couldn’t find it within himself to argue against his brother's words. Sugihu attempted to lighten the mood, and said to them all, “Well, cousin! If the hog the demon has made hollow is as hefty in weight as its wretched spirit is full of cowardliness and other horrible attributes, the entire town could feast upon it!”
All present laughed cheerily once they heard that, even Juja and Qisigu. Sugihu then questioned his cousin in a more serious manner, and in a far quieter tone, “What should we do? Should we chase the demon and try to rend the flesh from the living corpses it moves around?” Qisigu shook his head, “It’ll be of no use. I waited for a good long time in that tree without company before you arrived. The demon is a twisted insidious being. She knew you were coming long, long before you arrived through the winged bodies it possesses. If she comes, she will charge blindly as we leave this place. But I think its nerves have been cooled down” Qisigu clenched his teeth with fierce strength, “Fiendish creature! I only managed to get close to her because she wished to serenade me with her blind delusions and wicked threats! Oh, the hog had its body warped in unnatural manners by that horrible being.”
All present looked at him with sympathy as the dogs ran around and sniffed the ground for the scent of the creature. Juja and Sugihu exchanged a silent glance, coming to a wordless agreement. Juja spoke, “I trust my younger brother's judgement, let us go back to the settlement. Defend ourselves instead of hunting.” Sugihu finished the thought, “lest it all be like chasing mist. Horribly dangerous mist. Who knows if she won’t strike us with a cloud of poisonous winged creatures?”
Jujas son spoke up, “We can inflict more damage upon her, make it know suffering and strip her of all assets. Please, father, uncles, let some of us go into the thickets to destroy part of that damned beast.” An older man completed the young man's thought, “She ought not stand a chance with all our hounds, our numbers and spears.” Qisigu said to them with words that flew in a somber manner, “Indeed, but the disgusting creature knows that. That horrible demon knows no honor, no bravery, no pride. Even the most immoral and lowly members of the human race are more dignified than that foul creature. It’ll remain away, she only struck me because my anger pushed me to leave the company of others. Because she wished for me to become her damned prophet of all things! Your search will be in vain. Possibly a trap”
Juja, eager to please his ailing brother, sternly told his spawn before he could turn it into a heated argument, “Listen to your uncle, young man. His wisdom is great even now that loss addles his wits. We ought to focus our attention so the beast doesn’t strike others, young and defenseless, back in our settlement.” Grumbles continued to slip in a sloozy manner from the group that rode out back to their home as the sun continued its fall. She no longer held the zenith of the sky, hateful and horrible kabam, wretched and most terrible mother of evil. Qisigu looked at it with hatred, curses and other wretched thoughts clogging his bright mind. He desired nothing more than to rend apart the terrible ruler, one who inflicts suffering upon their subject rather than ending them as a ruler ought to, to rend it's horribly bright face apart limb into bloody pieces.
Ensuring none heard him, Sugihu whispered so as not to incite undue anger or fear into the people, “Qisigu. What happened with you back there, in what way did that horrid and putrid entity poison your mind with her disgusting words?” Qisigus eyes darted around to assure himself that the rest of the group was too busy with their own trivial conversations than to listen to his horrible account. Once his spirit was sufficiently assured he looked at his cousin and said, “Most horrible and deluded things, it is clear the demon has gone mad in the last decades since our forefathers casted it out.” Juja scratched his own neck with great force and finally let fly words that suddenly flew, “What quantity of things does that horrible creature desire? Oh, I struggle to think; does she want all of our children and women to eat? That we build her a tremendous palace of blood and sweat while we lack shelter? Oh! I am sure whatever she wishes for is just as horrible.”
Qisigu solemnly nodded and responded with haste, “I see your brain is working brightly. That, at least, you’ve no lack of. It’s only the other aspects of the soul which wilt within you.“ Qisigu ignored his brother's expression and continued, “She wishes to be worshipped. Worshipped!” He clenched his teeth in anger and struggled to keep his voice down. She desires nothing else, and she will go to any length to achieve her goal. Oh, that disgusting slug, that pile of arrogant mold, who could possibly worship something as weak in spirit and lacking in flesh?”
Both Juja and Sugihus muscles went tense for a second before they loosened at the ensuing words that flowed from Qisigus' silver tongue. Eventually, Sugihu mustered some words out from his lungs, “That horrible being, well, we ought to stand strong. We ought not give her what she desires, not abandon the good lord.” Qisigu responded quickly, “I am confident that we shall stand strongly. Never will we bow down!” Juja nodded, even if far less enthusiastically, “Let us hope so. Let us pray to the good Lord for strength.” They continued riding slowly in between the haughty trees. Juja and Sugihu, in spite of themselves, looked at every shadow and noise which tore in between the meaningless chatter which sounded from the group which followed behind them. But the demon knew its limitations and so they did not find the horrible creature in any visible manner. It hadn’t yet abandoned the possibility for a future of subjugation which didn’t involve rivers of blood.
Before any of them knew it, they arrived within sight of the settlement, the church's shadowy figure rising above the rest of the adobe shapes. The vast wood looked beautiful with its engraved patterns, simple yet harmonious even from such a distance. Fields of corn rippled very far from the actual settlement. Even under the light of horrible Kabam. Juja spoke to his brother and mentioned with great difficulty, “I brought your son's bones back to the town. After abandoning you, I believed that was the least I would do.” He whispered quietly, “They were awfully small. It is a shame that little life left this world so soon, so young.” Qisigu could initially do nothing but nod, the great speaker struggled but eventually could only just barely bring himself to utter, “Indeed. Let us pray and labor, that the beast may one day be destroyed. Not just in body, but in spirit.” Sugihu finished the thought, “As Qejonu was. Let us pray.” Such thoughts remained with the tree of them as they entered the town's streets. The mood shifted as such a thing happened, Qisigu burying his feelings for the moment, raising himself up to a triumphant and proud stance and his mouth contorted into a proud and arrogant smile. He had to, now was not the time to falter. He was a shepherd of the people after all.