Casting bones

Desdem

The young boy sat cross-legged in the dirt of his humble hut. His two dogs were sleeping in a corner behind him, gently breathing, side by side.

On the floor in front of him he drew three intersecting circles with a carved stick in the shape of a snake.

He reached to the leather pouch around his neck, loosening the string. Teeth, bones, a few dry beans and cotton seeds, cedar and sage. A gold coin, a bent nail and a four-sided dice made of a sheep's shank. Three faces covered in delicate red glyphs, the forth empty.

Berus poured the contents outside the circles and lit three candles made from lamb tallow. His hands moved dexterously over the pouch. He burned the sage and the cotton, cupped in his hands , which he moved around his head until the hut was filled with the aroma of the herb and plant.

He closed his eyes breathing its scents, allowing his mind to open and his hand drift. He whispered a cant over and over again, voice low, as low as, he could muster. So low that he almost could not hear them, but only sense them inside his mind and vibrating around his body.

His heart raced. He passed the palm of his left hand over the flames of the candles. One felt cold while the other burned.

"Fosia and Noraura. Yther and Viher. Rises and Falls."

The third flickered and went out. He dipped his fingers into the melting wax before being compelled to grab at other objects.

"The Void made flesh. Seeking. Lost. Alone."

He felt the bent nail dig into his finger drawing a tear of blood, as his hand touched the bones.

His mind went blank. His hands controlled by the powers deep within his soul.

When later he opened his eyes he saw the nail driven into the dirt, inside the central circle, and some charred bones.

"A strike to the heart... Betrayal. A god walks the land. His song strong."

The gold coins touched the line where two of the circles intersected. The dice showed its empty face inside the left circle. A scatter of teeth dug grooves along the dirt breaking its line.

"Broken. Unbound. Ancient secrets brought to life."

Sweat poured down his young face. Hands trembling. Without much energy left, he blew the candles out and passed out next to his dogs.