[https://i.imgur.com/ksylSAM.jpg]

* - /ʃiziˈdʒiə/

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And so it was that the next day I spent in their settlement. I tried to ask both the shaman and Liide about my four orbs but was told that they would remain with the shaman for the time being. When I asked about the purposes of that, I was told that it would be explained to me later. With the story of the poor sacrificed folk still in my head, I felt extremely suspicious, even though I heard no “wallawa-ma” around me.

The next night I was once again taken to the ravine with the carved pole. The ritual was repeated, and like before, I was seated at the fire in front of the shaman, who told me a new story – this time about Serpent Niqh.

***

Since the Second Fire Serpent Niqh had been hiding in the sea. After the world settled in its current form, he got out and crawled under the rock. He was hungry but had no food. The rest of the world already had the custom of sharing by that time, so everybody and everything shared with each other, but nobody shared anything with Niqh, because nobody saw him as he was hiding. He was hungry and he was not shared with, and he was growing upset, and in that state, he was found by a weidefia called Khiriifia*.

Khiriifia asked him why he was so upset.

“I have no food! ˮ Niqh said. “I have nothing! And everything else has so much, and nobody is sharing with me. How can I not be upset? ˮ

Khiriifia considered this and said,

“Why, I can help you, nasty creature! But in exchange for my favor, I need a favor from you. Catch me the Raven, filthy scavenger who killed my parent the Sky Bird, and I will bring you food. ˮ

So they settled, and Khiriifia went out into the savanna. It was the season of antelope hunt, and people were out there with their spears and javelins. Khiriifia turned itself into a Holy Antelope and appeared before Yuunjiide, who was leading one of the hunting bands.

“Hark! ˮ it said to the astonished Hunter. “Be proud, for you have found me! Do not indulge in your pride for long though, for it'll now be your demise! I am the Holy Antelope, I am the one with the magical hoof! I will strike it now, and I will burn this savanna, and I will burn Suru, and I will burn the sea, and I will burn the sky, and you will burn with it! ˮ

Frightened for their lives, Yuunjiide** and his fellows begged of the spirit,

“But please don't do this, Holy Spirit! We were mistaken for hunting you all these years; we will not do this anymore. Please, tell us how we can remedy this! ˮ

The spirit said,

“If you want to live so much, then bring me food every time the moon dies out. Bring plenty, bring me anything that you can get, grasses, meat, fish and fruits. Burn it in the old sanctuary Bazo, and I will get it. ˮ

Yuunjiide and the hunters immediately returned to their settlement in Suru and told their peers what the Holy Antelope commanded them. When Yuunjiide's twin brother Onjiide*** heard it, he asked, bewildered,

“But why would the Antelope want to eat meat? ˮ

Nobody listened to him though. They sent envoys to the nearby settlements, and soon people from all over the country gathered in the old sanctuary, Bazo. They brought a lot of provisions with them, and they burned them all. The fire spirits took the provisions and went up in the air; there Khiriifia snapped it up and brought it to Niqh, who satisfied his hunger and grew bigger.

As he grew bigger, he demanded that the spirit bring him even more food.

“But what about the Raven? ˮ the spirit asked.

“I am hungry, too hungry to hunt anybody. Bring me food, and I will catch the Raven for you! ˮ

Khiriifia turned into the Holy Antelope again, appeared before the Yuunjiide's tribe, and said,

“Bring me more food, if you want to live! Bring me big animals from the savanna: elephants, horses, aurochs****, rhinoceroses, anything you catch! ˮ

The people were petrified. Onjiide, however, was doubtful again.

“Why would the Antelope need big animals for food? ˮ he asked.

But nobody listened. All tribes went out into the savanna to catch big animals. They spent many days there and lost many men, but got plenty of game. They dragged it all to Bazo and burned it under the dying moon, and Khiriifia took it from the fire spirits and brought it to Niqh.

Niqh ate the game and grew even bigger.

“More,ˮ he roared at the spirit, “bring me more, I am hungry, can't you see? ˮ

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“But the Raven? ˮ the spirit tried to ask, but Niqh snapped at him.

“Bring me food! ˮ

Khiriifia appeared before the tribe again.

“Share yourself with me,ˮ he commanded, “if you don't want to die in feral fires! ˮ

The people were horrified. Onjiide was still in doubt.

“Why would an antelope need human flesh for food? ˮ he asked.

“Oh, cut it! ˮ his twin-brother Yuunjiide snapped. “You're always doubtful about everything! Because of you, we may all die in the upcoming fire! ˮ

The people agreed, that Onjiide was too doubtful about everything and not to be trusted. They were discussing how to settle the matter, whom to give to the Antelope, and whom to spare when Onjiide left the settlement and went into the Dry Mountains to search for the Dog's Cave.

An immortal shaman lived in that cave, who knew much and was capable of a lot of things. Onjiide spent seven days roaming the mountains, looking for the cave, and on the eighth he found it. A big black angry dog met him at the entrance of the cave. It jumped at him barking and growling. He was calling for the Shaman while defending himself with the shaft of his spear. It was a long time until the Shaman showed up at the entrance.

“Do you need something? ˮ he asked Onjiide.

“I do, Shaman! ˮ Onjiidae yelled, forcing the shaft into the dog's maw.

“I don't believe you! ˮ said the Shaman and returned back to the cave.

Onjiidae fought the nasty animal some more until the Shaman came out again.

“I really need your help, Shaman! ˮ Onjiidae screamed.

“I don't believe you! ˮ the Shaman answered and went back into the cave.

And then it happened for the third time that the Shaman did not believe him again, and only when the sun got low, and the mountains got cold, and the shaft of Onjiide's spear became all too short having been gnawed by the dog, the Shaman came out and said,

“Well, you fought for long. Maybe you do need something. ˮ

He called the Dog off, and the brother, tired and exhausted, tumbled into the cave.

The Shaman gave Onjiidae water and food, and let him rest. After resting, Onjiidae told the Shaman about the spirit of the Antelope, how it appeared before his brother and how it demanded food; how it kept demanding more and more, and how it now demanded that people of the tribe sacrifice themselves to it.

“Why would an antelope need meat of any kind, save the human’s kind? ˮ Onjiide asked.

The Shaman agreed that it would not need any flesh and figured that this might have been a fraud.

“But how do I explain it to my people? They do not believe me, they think I doubt too much. ˮ

After long thinking, the Shaman gave Onjiide a sheaf of grass called giwellir and a stick made of cedar (which was considered in these lands to have enormous power). He told him to go back to Bazo, and when a new sacrifice happens – throw the sheaf of grass into the fire, and pierce the fraudulent spirit with the stick.

So did Onjiide. He returned to Bazo, and just as he returned he saw a pyre and on it – many of his brothers and sisters from all around the Lake. The flames were already engulfing their bodies, and the rest of the people stood around them weeping.

Onjiide rushed through the crowd of his tribesmen and threw the sheaf of grass giwellir into the fire, and the grass burned and produced grayish smoke. The smoke rose up and, to everyone's astonishment, a swarm of fire spirits appeared in it. They were rising up with the sacrificed folks in their laps and throwing them into the maw of the shiny spirit Khiriifia. Onjiide hollered to his tribesmen,

“Behold! You did not believe me! You thought I was too doubtful and too wavering! Behold! This is not the Holy Antelope, this is a fraud who stole food from us and is now stealing from us our fellows! ˮ

Khiriifia jumped up and rushed to the east, and all the people who were present grabbed their spears and javelins, and arrows, and bows and sprinted after it. They chased it all the way to the east, to the place where serpent Niqh was standing near the rock he had been hiding under before. They saw the spirit throw their tribesmen into the maw of Niqh, and they saw Niqh chewing and swallowing them down.

With their anger, they charged at the fiery spirit who was running away, and caught it and asked it,

“Why did you do this, wretched one? ˮ

“The serpent wanted food! He promised to catch the Raven for me if I give him food. But he didn't catch the bird, and he didn't get enough, and he keeps asking for more, and he keeps growing bigger every time I give him more! ˮ

The people wanted to kill the spirit right there, but the Serpent was now towering over them and was ferocious, and evidently was ready to swallow them too. The Serpent charged at them, but the people dodged him. It charged again, but the people pulled back. It went on like that for several days, as the beast kept charging at the hunters, trying to catch them, and the hunters were dodging it, waiting for it to become weaker. And so, on the third day, it became so weak it couldn't move anymore; it was at that moment, that all the people jumped on it and started to beat and slash, and Onjiide took his cedar stick and jumped on it too. He pierced the heart of the wretched beast with the stick, and the beast fell apart, and many rotten bodies of animals and people fell out of it. Then a small hissing snake snuck out of the pile of dead bodies and hid under the rock. The hunters tried to catch it, but it dug into the earth and could not be reached.

So, the fraud was ended. They buried their dead, whom they could not help, and they praised Onjiide, whom they had not believed, and Yuunjiide himself begged for his brother's forgiveness.

Thus ends the tail of Shizijia – “atrocityˮ is the meaning of this word. It should be a lesson for the listener, for the Treacherous Serpent Niqh is still roaming the world, hungry for blood and evil doings. There are tribes in the north, east, and west who still praise this beast, who still think of it as a holy spirit, and those tribes are not to be trusted. Be wary of them!

As for the fraudulent spirit Khiriifia – he escaped from the hunters while they were going for the beast, and hid in Bumvanur, which is a marshland in the north – at the mouth of the Last of Rivers, where it flows into the Maragor Sea. A traveler who happens to contemplate the marshes at night will see it spark and blink here and there, now and then, quietly, without a sound. It never approaches anybody and just hides in the marsh, ashamed of its failed deeds.

***

And so that story was over, and we went back to the settlement. Another night was spent there.

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* - /kiriːˈfiə/

** - /juːnˈdʒiːdɛ/

*** - /onˈdʒiːdɛ/

**** - Auroch - an extinct species of wild cattle; IRL could be found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa.