21 July 2012
Zule fasted and cleansed himself for days as prescribed by the lawgivers before ascending into the holy place. His pilgrimage was required as a rite of passage for male members of the Clan before they were accepted as adults, and accorded all of the privileges that came with that status.
Although Zule had eagerly anticipated the coming of years that would allow him to make his journey, he also was filled with foreboding over it. Clan legends and ritual he had heard since small had told of the great battle fought long ago between Numis, the Lawgiver and the spirits from the skies. Although Numis had been seared by bright lights controlled by the spirits, he had fought back with the land itself, smashing the invading spirits with a great stone until they could fight no more.
Clad in skins of the rock beast, Zule then began his arduous ascent onto the very mountain where Numis had fought for the preservation of his clan. His muscles ached and he had only bitterberries to sustain him, but Zule climbed the rugged terrain and hours later reached the summit. Pausing to say the sacred prayers he had been taught, Zule settled his nerves and strode forth in search of the artifact.
Within minutes Zule found the lustrous spherical disk of mysterious silvery metal, almost as wide as the arms of a clan member could span, metal that was unknown to any members of the Clan. The disk had been pounded and almost flattened by the great blows the heroic Numis had delivered to it, but the strange runes upon the metal surface could still be seen despite their erosion over the years. Perhaps the sages of the Clan would one day determine what "NASA" and "United States of America" meant.
As males of his clan had done for generations, Zule overcome with emotion fell to his knees and began worshipping the Stone of Deliverance that rested beside the smashed metal abomination, tears filling his singular large eye...
The Initiation • Opuss № I