Questioned, a story for the Giraffe Call (@Inventrix)

For [personal profile] inventrix‘s prompt.

Mikary had heard the calling so loudly she had thought, for a moment, she was going deaf.

She had taken that calling and hitched her wagon to it, packed her whole life into two packs and gone questing.

“Why now?” her mother moaned. “The lovely boy down the street was just beginning to look at you properly.”

“Why there?” her father frowned. “There’s dangers on the road you can’t imagine, and monsters in the woods.”

“Why Andrung?” Everyone wanted to know that. “Why the Missing god, the lost god, the failed god?”

“Why Paladin?” The boy down the street was as lovely as Mikary’s mother said. “Why god-touched, why pure, why would you go adventuring at all?”

Mikary had no answers for them, so she gave none. The voice of Andrung was loud in her head, so loud she could barely hear the questions anyway. She packed up what few possessions she had, and she walked.

“Why now?” Villagers could see the godhead about her, and that was enough for them to give her sustenance and shelter, to ask her for blessings and prayers. It was enough for them to ask questions. “The roads will be wet with mud and thick with brigands, now.”

“Why there?” The other Paladins she passed were generally polite enough not to sneer at her choice of faith, but her choice of locations, on the other hand… “That forest has been blasted and useless for generations.’

“Why Andrung?” Even the Paladins asked that eventually. “Why the god that left, the god that does nothing, the god with no light?”

Mikary had no answers for them, so she gave none. She gave blessings – Andrung had no light, but there was warmth aplenty. Andrung may do nothing, but the gift of the god allowed Mikary to do plenty.

On the road, at least, nobody asked “Why Paladin.”

“Why now?” The forest was dark, and the voice of the god had left her head. The only voice was the traveler in front of her – tall, taller than the tallest man in Mikary’s village, and nearly as broad as the road. “Why do you travel now, when the farms need tending?”

“Why here?” His companion stepped from the forest. Only half as tall as the first one, he was twice as wide. “Why come to the depth of the world, where the monsters live”?

“Why a paladin of Andrung?” This one was a shadow on the other side of the road, with a voice like a granny. “Why the god the world bypassed? Why the god who was thrown off?”

For them, Mikary found she had answers.

“I come now because I was called. The roads are muddy, the crops need tending, and the man back home will have found another girl when I return. But now is when Andrung called me.

“And here is where he called. I answer the voice of my god, to the forest dark and blasted and perhaps full of monsters, because the god called me here. Where else would I walk?

“And who else would I choose? Andrung chose me, when naught else would satisfy. The forsaken god, the forsworn god, perhaps, but I come here, I came now, I came for Andrung. Because Andrung called me.”

“Then come to your god.” The three spoke as one, and Mikary understood, finally, why she had come.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/507478.html. You can comment here or there.

0 thoughts on “Questioned, a story for the Giraffe Call (@Inventrix)

          • <shrug> I can only keep track of so many threads and/or reread to catch up on the ones that aren’t in my head, and have been trying to admit that I can’t do/read/etc all the things. And I am fond of endings (and sequels and spinoffs, but also endings). What arcs (not whole ‘verses, just individual story arcs) are within spitting distance of wrapping up?

            • That is a very good question! I’ll go through and make a good look at that this evening/tomorrow to give you a full answer. Preference for ‘verse? DND, of course…

              • DND, Aunts, Fairy Town (which does not appear on your meta landing page, btw), Stranded, Reiassan, Unicorn/Factory, Science! (not very arc-y so far), and Space Accountant (single-threaded, so far). And sometimes Planners and Shadow Rebellion. I feel like Vas’s World and Facets of Dusk should be interesting, but they’ve never really grabbed me. <considers recruiting to team up to pester you to finish the DND arc with Junie and the gremlins and the various and sundry would-be kidnappers>

                • Off the top of my head, I could probably wrap that one up in 2-3K, and the Aunt Family storylines: either the pregnant Aunt, Beryl and the boy vs cat vs. necklace, or the Heroes and Sidekicks in 1-3K The kirkevare storyline seems pretty wrapped up. Not sure which other ones I have open there. Unicorn/Factory doesn’t have a lot of arcs so much as a theme. Ditto Planners.

                  • Unicorn/Factory has the arc with the foal and the new administrator and the off-his-rocker assistant and the notes. But as you say, it’s not very arc-y. Dropped a note to Rix.

                    • Oh! Looking at my Djinni icons reminded me that I could probably wrap up the Goatless Carriage story in the same time frame. Word frame. Whatever.

                  • Fairy town: this post suggests a continuation in progress for Fairies in the Church, which I don’t remember seeing posted. Was it? And there was that one about the new cop noticing the beggars disappearing … Not that I really need to add to the list. :} Nor has Rix rescued me from deciding. Aiee!

  1. This is a pretty excellent beginning it has good rhythm. I think whatever comes next is going to break the pattern of questions somewhat. But will also be interesting. I’d like to read it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *