Blade and blood

chapter 3a

The fire globe was burning hot high above the sky. Ahanni, ‘Eye of the Tsaush’, they called it. The scriptures mention them as the eye of the fire demon Tsaush.

Tsaush was a fire serpent with one eye on its forehead. It was dark with thick scales and green wings.

The heat was immense. Under the huge Aroshme tree, an old lady was seated on one of the tree veins that spread around the ground. Many children aging from five to thirteen were in front of the lady listening to what she was talking about.

The place was dry and hot wind blew above the ground. The hair of the children swung freely with the wind. They had bronze-colored hair. Their skin was pale, and they were clothed in animal skin. They were skinny but they were tall.

They were fifteen, boys and girls. They were sitting on the ground and listening to the stories the old woman was telling them. The soil under them was red. She was very old, around eight decades. She knows more stories than anyone who lives in the country. She wore buffalo skin around her waist and a deerskin covered her ample breasts.

The old woman seemed fragile but was stronger than she looked. Her voice was clear as the day sky and sharp like a double-edged sword and calm like the waters of Ora Lake.

“Which story do you want to hear?” the old lady asked.

The children told many names but all the voices were intertwined, and the lady could not recognize which one they wanted.

A young girl stood up. She was hardly five years old. She had a thin piece of skin around her waist. The girl pointed towards the sky.

The old lady looked up to see the branches of the Aroshme tree. The canopy of the branches covered a huge area. The sky was hidden from them by the awning of the leaves.

“Little flower, do you want me to tell the story of the Aroshme tree?” she asked with a calm, soothing voice.

The little girl shook her head in denial but kept her hand pointed upwards.

“Tell me little flower, which one do you want to hear?” she asked again.

The girl replied with a low grunt. “Hoghra and Treya.”

“I also asked the same.” Someone shouted from the crowd. It was a girl.

The old lady looked at the girl. The girl seemed to be older than the other children. Might be twelve or thirteen. The old lady thought.

“Have you flowered, beautiful girl?” she asked the girl with a sultry smile.

The girl blushed. Her cheeks turned pink. With a low voice, she replied, “Yes, Merilla.” She looked down.

“No wonder you are asking for a love story.” Merilla teased the girl. “What is your name?”

“Rimina.” She sat down on one of the roots.

“Sit down, little flower, and open your ears wide open, for I am going to tell the story of Hoghra and Treya. They were the daughters of goddess Smiya, the mother of all creations.” The old lady started the story.

The little girl sat on the ground eager to hear the story. Her mother has told her the story many times, yet she wants to listen once again.

“The girls grew beautiful and there was no one more beautiful in the whole universe.”

A young boy interrupted the story. “Who is their father?” He never heard anyone speaking of the father. He always wondered who the father would be. Everyone spoke of the Mighty Mother only.

“They don’t have a father.” The old lady replied with a grin. “Hoghra and Treya were the only ones who came out of the womb of Holy Mother Smiya.”

“Who secured semen in Divine Mother’s womb?” the boy wanted to know.

“The Divine Mother herself. She spits in her hand and kept the spit hidden from light and warmth inside the caves of the sky for a thousand years. In the dark abyss of the cave, the spittle was frozen. Then she removed the spittle and placed it inside her cunt. But while depositing the spittle, it split into two. The mother was unaware of it. A hundred years later, Divine Mother gave birth to two beautiful girls.” The old woman stopped the story of the birth.

“Hoghra and Treya,” the children shouted in a single voice.

The children were hearing that for the first time. They never knew Hoghra and Treya were born of Divine Mother’s spittle. They were searching for their father who never existed.

The old lady was known to know many stories about the gods. She knows even the secrets the gods have. She has her unique way of telling stories and the children run to her whenever she comes to the village. Hoghra and Treya were the goddesses of beauty. Pregnant ladies often go to the temple of Hoghra and Treya and present offerings so that if she gives birth to a girl, she would be beautiful.

Rimina thought about having her spittle turn into a beautiful girl or maybe twins like Hoghra and Treya. She would have her own child just like the Divine Mother Smiya had. She would do that when she went home. She would keep her spittle in a jar away from light and warmth. But she didn’t have a thousand years. She could not deposit the spittle in her womb for a hundred years.

“Hoghra and Treya lived in their mother’s palace in a place high above the skies. They haven’t seen anyone other than themselves. After they came of age, their hearts throbbed with the feeling of love and lust. Soon they fell in love with each other. They loved each other so much that no gods could separate them from each other.”

Merilla took a deep breath. Her eyes became wide. With a clouded voice, she continued her story. “One day, Hoghra and Treya were lurking in the sky. They were happy. They came upon the Frosty Lake in the Icy forest. The whole place was covered in snow. Hoghra and Treya were wearing white clothes like the snow. It was hard to know if they were in the Icy Forest.”

“Then he came. Tsaush. The mighty serpent that lived under the sea. He has a palace made of fire under the sea. He had only one eye affixed to the center of his head. He was dark and horrifying. He came, flying to the Icy Forest to cool his hot body.”

“He saw two young beautiful girls. They were bathing naked in Frosty Lake. Hoghra and Treya saw the creature and were terrified. They came out of the Lake. Tsaush saw their pretty little t**s. He was lustful.”

“Hoghra and Treya wanted to run away from the serpent but Tsaush flapped his wings wide and grabbed them. The girls cried with fear for help. Tsaush took his long slimy tongue out. When he opened his mouth, long sharp teeth were seen.”

The children held their breath as if they were watching the whole scene.

“He was about to savor them when a handsome man appeared. There was a fight between the man and the serpent. A clash that would be remembered for ages. A battle that lasted several days. On the tenth day, the man defeated Tsaush and sent him back to his fire palace under the sea.”

“Who was he?” Merilla looked into the eyes of each child. She was sure they knew the answer. She has told this story many times.

“Rofsh,” the children cried out the name in unison.

“Yes, it was Rofsh. He was the brother of Tsaush. He became angry when he saw his brother attacking two beautiful helpless girls. Rofsh took human form so that Tsaush would not recognize him and also not scare the girls. He battled against his brother to save them.”

“The man was so handsome that both Hoghra and Treya wanted to marry him. For the first time, they quarreled with each other. Rofsh also fell in love with both the beautiful girls. Finally, Rofsh decides to marry both Hoghra and Treya with the grace of Divine Mother Smiya.”

“Tsaush came to know of this treachery and that he had been defeated by his own brother. If Rofsh was in his demon form, he could never defeat Tsaush. Tsaush became angry, and he flapped his wings and flew to the Icy Forest. His one eye burned hot with anger, and it produced a barrage of fire that killed Rofsh. That was the first time death came into existence.”

Rimina hated Tsaush more than ever. It was because of him every man and woman and child in the world would die. Last year, her younger brother died. If there was no death, she would be able to keep her spittle away from light and warmth for a thousand years and deposit it in her womb for a hundred years.

“Divine Mother cursed Tsaush that his eye always emits fire. She said that the world would see light from his eye. Divine Mother Smiya assigned Atyu as the god of light, and he will make sure that Tsaush’s eye remains open. Tsaush pleaded for mercy. The Divine Mother granted time for him to sleep in his fire palace for some time. And thus day and night came into the world.”

“But Hoghra and Treya were sad. The person they loved is dead. Smiya appointed Omragado as the god of death. He granted Rofsh life one day every year. Rofsh could mate with his loved ones on that day. Hoghra and Treya would come out of the Icy Forest when Tsaush went to his fire palace. We see them as the twin moons in our sky.”

That mating day was celebrated as the arrival of the New Year. On that day, two fire globes will be seen in the sky throughout the day. The night will be devoid of the moons. Hoghra and Treya will be in the Icy Forest mating with Rofsh.

“In the night when Tsaush goes to sleep, Hoghra and Treya come out into the sky. They give birth to stars. They love each other. And they will wait another year to pass to meet their love, Rofsh.” Merilla finished the story.

The children burst into chatter. They looked up into the sky with hatred towards Tsaush. But they also knew if not for Tsaush they would be in the dark.

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