Common Goal

Desdem
JP with mdmanosfan and Omni

Ch’Truta thought of the god he worshipped. Uctilo’rhu was not two representing life and death. He was the embodiment of life and death in the same being. He provided life from the swamp to those who sacrificed to him. Many outsiders considered the swamp a place of death. Ch’Truta had seen its life. Uctilo’rhu was the life within the deadness of the swamp. To one who strayed into the swamp at night, he was death. He also brought death to those sacrificed to him.

“Uctilo’rhu was once considered dead. Yet he lives,” Ch’Truta solemnly affirmed.

“What is Uctilo’rhu?” Silina questioned, though she thought she might regret knowing the answer.

“Uctilo’rhu,” Ch’Truta’s voice grew dark, “is what he wants to be. He was once a man. In deity, he has many forms. A great lizard. A black panther of death. A swamp bear. A giant heron. It was he who left behind the feathers of my headband. It was in that form I have seen him accepting the sacrifices we presented to him.”

Silina was revolted by the thought of this man’s alleged god, and knew in her heart there was no room for any others than the Twins. Not even the forbidden third whose name was unspoken. She would tolerate the broodman for a time and listen to him speak of this creature, this daemon, but it was challenging not to express her disgust and speak her mind.

“I see… Well you are in the land of the Twins now, you should not speak of such things in front of others.”

Ch’Truta spied the grim face and of Silina and understood that those outside of the swamp did not know the dangers they faced. Every day they faced life or death situations. Even the plants could bring certain death.

Although once a lush land, the Still Valley transformed with Uctilo’rhu falling from the sky in flames. In a sense, Uctilo’rhu was the creator of the swamplands.

So, with her grim look, Ch’Truta left out the spirits, which were the souls of those who would never leave the swamp. Victims of Uctilo’rhu. It was they that led Ch’Truta to Islana. Sister Locust.

There was some kind of connection between these lost souls and the sisters. Otherwise, how did the spirits of the swamp know to lead Ch’Truta to Islana. Could not t have been fate?

“Do you suppose there is communication between our gods?” Ch’Truta thought aloud. “They all seem to have the common goal. Are they cooperating together?”

She stopped abruptly. She wanted to scold him and tell him that The Twins would never parley with daemons. It was the Ozainae belief that all so-called gods were no more than powerful daemons.

Instead, she held it back and simply shook her head. “Where is the rest of your brood? Did the spirits send you all? Maybe this Uctilo’rhu knows that it is right to amass with the Sand Horde to repel the invaders before they become strong enough to take our lands . Nothing more.”

Ch’Truta hesitated before answering. He realized he was treading upon quicksand. Ch’Truta carefully thought out his words, for he didn’t wish to insult her or her god. She didn’t see that the swamp was a kill or be killed place. His brood fought to live every day. So, their god was a god of survival.

“I admire your commitment to the Twins,” Ch’Truta began, which was the truth. As far as he could see to this point, Silina was not an enemy of Islana. Her devotion was to the Twins and her people. She was being cautious. But, why her silence on other’s verbal opinions that Silina should have been chosen by the Sisters, instead of Islana.

“The spirits sent only me,” Ch’Truta confessed, “although there are those of other broods being sent as well. It is difficult to get people from different broods working as one. Perhaps, the spirits are guiding us in that path. Helping us see the importance of banding together by sending leaders of the different broods with the same mission.”

He grinned as he turned toward Silina. “And perhaps, for us to see that the other folk of Arcadia are not as bad as we thought.”

Silina's thoughts were a complex tapestry of skepticism and diplomatic neutrality. The mention of a 'deity' so starkly different from her own revered Twins, Yther and Viher, unsettled her deeply, challenging her to reconcile her staunch beliefs with the necessity of a fragile alliance. She glanced at Ch'Truta, a man marked by the trials of his homeland, now standing with her under the vast Arcadian sky. She answered his grin with a small hopeful smile of her own and sighed, " I will not pretend to understand Uctilo'rhu or your spirits, but I cannot deny the need of our combined strengths against the invaders."

Ch’Truta nodded. In the swamp of Still Valley, the people tended to look at other’s differences. Even the separate broods, even though they were from the swamps and followed Uctilo’rhu, the fact they were from a different brood made them an enemy. Ch’Truta was beginning to see that he must accept those differences and pull together to work toward a common goal.