27 January 2013
In the Oklahoma panhandle exist five small caves carved naturally by erosion out of the sandstone. Within the caves may be found a number of petroglyphs or carvings into the stone which have been dated to be approximately two thousand years old. Remarkably, the petroglyphs are thought by many to reflect Egyptian and Celtic motifs although such groups are traditionally not thought to have extended influence into the North American continent.
Sadly, the caves have been subjected to graffiti since the 1930's, and have also experienced damage from improper efforts to copy the etchings contained within them. Such occurrences are offensive to the ancient people for whom the caves held significance, as well as to their deities. The old gods may have fewer followers, but to the true believer they only slumber, perhaps awaiting restoration of the old ways.
The intentions of the latest cave violator were not honorable, and involved only profit. As he hacked away at a segment of the sandstone wall to remove an inscribed slab for sale on the black market, the desecrator was so intent upon his work with hammer and chisel that he failed to notice a shadowy figure emerging from the recesses of the caves, insubstantial and mist-like at first, but gradually assuming form and substance.
The robber of antiquities turned about to behold a muscular male body to which was attached the black head of a jackal, the eyes of which regarded him with a deep and penetrating stare that reached to the core of his being and his innermost secrets. The thief began to scream, but a powerful arm drove into his chest cavity, emerging with the man's still beating heart clenched in its fist.
The hybrid of human and animal regarded its bloody trophy dispassionately. The heart would be weighed, and no doubt be found wanting. The Dark Lord Anubis, Keeper of the Scales and Lord of the Dead, howled his pleasure at that prospect...
The Jackal • Opuss № I