To Shake the Gods

By: Kirrh Posted on: October 18, 2006

I stood before its woven majesty,
in each line written joy or tragedy.
Unravelled 'fore my eyes, the fabric which
contains the world inside each careful stitch.
I shuddered to behold the mighty Weave;
despite my fear, I knew I could not leave.

I saw my life--a thread upon the loom,
and ever slow, my eyes sought out my doom.
"My Lord," I cried in hopeless, sad despair.
"The knowledge I now have I cannot bear."
But not a word the Weaver gave to me,
His eyes upon the fateful tapestry.

The endless warps and wefts ran 'round my head,
and I awoke in fear atop my bed.
The Weaver, I swore, I would soon destroy
for treating my life as His mortal toy.
That night I fell again to troubled sleep,
awash in fevered visions dark and deep.

I found myself before great Maya's throne.
Her voice made clear that I was on my own.
"Salvation shall not be bestowed on you."
I cried out, "Is there nothing I can do?"
"Be-gone from these great halls, o' blasphemer."
I turned my back on Maya, cursing Her.

As I retraced my steps, I walked between
such portraits on Her walls as I'd not seen.
No peasant worked her way to hallowed fame;
'twas only my own face stared out the frame.
In horror I passed each depiction by,
because I saw in them how I would die.

But when I reached that tormented path's end,
a labyrinth awaited 'round the bend.
I was still lost inside the maze so deep
when, rising slow, the sun pulled me from sleep.
I spoke an oath to see the Mother fall--
and not just Her, I would bring down Them all.

Ten years of life I spent upon my plan,
and then one fateful night, it all began.
I climbed atop Ascension's shrine to shout:
"Wherever You be, o' my Gods, come out!"
But no Divine arrived to heed my call,
as though They had not heard my plea at all.

A day and night I waited on the ledge,
determined still that I'd fulfil my pledge.
But as time passed, I slowly gave up hope.
Un-vindicated, I slunk down the slope
and promised that still Their demise I'd see
for daring to ignore one such as me.

Another decade I spent in my schemes,
humiliations running through my dreams.
The bitter taste of failure fuelled my thoughts
and gave a creeping madness to my plots:
I should not be content with just the Gods,
I could take down the world, despite the odds!

At last I fell upon a flawless plan.
Assured that it would win when I began,
I started setting up a masterpiece
to scatter the Divine like frightened geese.
And in their absence, I knew, I would rule
above all those who used to call me 'fool.'

So silently, I stole out to the Cave
which quickly would become the Mother's grave.
I spoke a spell, revived from long-lost scrolls,
to hinder movement from the passing souls.
Soon Sapience would be thrown into strife,
for Lady Maya would not grant them life.

The bodies piled up near where I lay.
I cackled to myself to hear them pray
and beg the Goddess to help in their plight,
for I alone knew She had lost Her might.
Then something happened I did not expect:
despite my trick, She could still resurrect.

No spell, however ancient could compare
to mighty Maya, hidden in Her lair.
In pained defeat, I tore myself away--
no revolution would occur today.
Still I refused to give up on my plot,
I knew that I could do what she could not.

I made my way to far-off Inbhir Ness,
whose Dwarven natives often did profess
a hatred of the outer world so wide.
Here I would take advantage of their price.
The Mother they would overthrow so their
loved Father Phaestus could take o'er Her chair.

But Blackrock held another Dwarven clan,
whose bitter loathing for the Smithgod ran
so deep that they'd unseat Him handily.
With just that step there would already be
two hated Gods deposed due to my work,
and war among the Dwarves--an added perk!

With this in mind, I purposef'ly set out,
but when I saw the first guard, short stout,
he would not listen to a word I said.
Before I could control it, he as dead.
And after that, of course, it was quite hard
to to talk without a fight to any guard.

Thus foiled again I sadly turned around.
It seemed like nowhere could success be found
until I hit upon another plot--
in one fell swoop, I would destroy the lot!
As power-drunk I stumbled my home,
I saw my plan's great flaw--I was alone.

In theory, I would need at least a few
to aide me in what I had planned to do.
I sat and thought about how I could mend
this new dilemma: I would need a friend.
But I'd not spoken to another should
for twenty years, since I had set my goal.

This realisation brought to me such real,
sad grief as I'd not thought that I could feel.
I'd never been that fond of mortal means,
but throwing them away based on my dreams?
the madness slowly crept away and I
had nothing left to do but sit and cry.

Bereft of all my lofty plans as well
as company, I sought out a new spell
and spoke its mystic words with halting voice.
For fear aside, I felt I had no choice.
Ambition can in haunted vision keep--
forevermore, I'll rest in dreamless sleep.

My life is useless since this sad affair;
I tried to shake the Gods, but they're still there.