Minnesota Live Adventure |
||
The Millennial Gathering - the Quest of the Gods |
|
In the Heavens The heavens were rumbling. Occasional flashes of lightning were seen and every once in a while a small shower burst out. Sitting on his throne, the God of All the Heavens held his head in his hands and moaned slightly. |
"They're giving me the biggest headache. Why can't they just have a quick arm wrestling match and be done with it? All this shouting and posturing is driving me crazy!" The Goddess of the Earths sighed and patted his shoulder, ducking suddenly to avoid a stray chunk of hail. "Every millennia we have this same discussion. You know it's not that easy. They all want to prove how important they are to mortals; none of them want to be relegated to the halls of forgotten gods. |
What I don't understand is why you don't cast them down sooner to complete their quest. You wait until your head has been pounding for days and then you finally do something about it." "There are rules and rituals to follow, you know that. If we send them down too soon the mortals aren't ready and it would be complete chaos down there. That's why we send the omens, to let them know to get ready. They should be in place any time now, gather the candidates and let's get this over with." |
The Goddess of the Earths clapped her hands - across the heavens all could feel the vibrations. The lesser gods who had been waiting for this signal gathered themselves and sped to the throne room. "It is almost time," she said. "Prepare yourselves." |
Heavens |
Heavens |
Heavens |
Heavens |
|
On the Earth "Prepare yourselves," the oracle said to the village elders, "it is almost time." "Time for what," the Mayor asked? "Time for the millennial coming. We must organize the festival at the sacred grounds. People will be coming and we must prepare for their arrival." "We know people are coming, but why? I didn't announce any festival; it's nowhere near harvest time! You're making no sense." complained the Mayor. |
The mayor of the village was getting cranky. For weeks now things had been getting weirder and weirder and he was fed up. First the priests who tended the sacred shrines reported that the shrines had started to glow. Then new shrines had suddenly appeared in various spots on the sacred grounds. Finally they had heard that caravans were heading in their direction - lots of them. |
"Some are coming because they have heard the stories and are curious, others because they think the stories are false and they want to laugh at the others, and some come.. Well, some come because they can't help themselves. They are simply drawn to this spot." "What stories!?!?!?!" By now the mayor was losing all patience. |
The oracle gave him a look. He had forgotten the mayor was an outsider, one who wouldn't know the ancient stories. "In the heavens there are not just the Great Gods, the ones you pray to regularly, but also the Lesser Gods, the ones you pray to all the time without realizing it. Every time you send up a wish that your kitchen fires will light, or that your child will win a foot race, or that your wife's singing will improve (the mayor grimaced at that one), you are praying to a Lesser God." |
|
"There are untold numbers of Lesser Gods in the heavens. The stories say that each of the Lesser Gods wants to be considered a little more important than their brothers and sisters. Once a millennia, their squabbling over rank becomes so intense that the God of All the Heavens intervenes. He chooses those that are fighting the most and casts them down to earth to prove themselves." |
"Each time they come, they come here, to the sacred grounds. A festival is held, new shrines are created, and each of the Lesser Gods strives to gather as many followers as they can. Once the festival is over, they return to the heavens - their places in the ranks of the Lesser Gods determined by how many choose to follow them." "Oh, is that all." |
The mayor had a headache now. Even without this festival, the sacred grounds attracted pilgrims on a regular basis. Many insisted that the grounds gave off auras, especially around the ancient shrines, that affected them strongly. All hoped that the auras would help them in some way. Feeding and housing the pilgrims weren't always easy and now who knows how many more were coming. The oldest of the village elders spoke up. |
"We will feed them, and there is room on the grounds for them to camp. We will charge those that can afford it, and we will take care of those who can't. We were put here to protect these grounds, and to care for those who visit - either from heaven or earth - and we shall do so. Meanwhile, maybe you should send your wife to the Music Shrine - it couldn't hurt." The other elders tittered and the meeting broke up as the mayor strode out of the room. The oracle gazed into his bowl of water, watching the swirls. "It is time." |
|
This site is best viewed using full-screen mode of your browser. |
These web pages were updated December, 2011 by Jan David Fisher using Tanggaard SoftwareTSW WebCoder 2011 |