Fox in the Henhouse!

Entry #11

I do not think Kankoran are suited for farm life. My people were meant to live with nature. We do not try to change it so radically. Humans destroy what is already on the land so they can try to grow new things. They do not just move to where these things already grow. They seem to show very little respect for nature.

That is what I used to think. But I have worked on this farm now for twenty-one days. It has been the 24th of Grekar for every one of those days. I now understand that Humans just have a different respect for nature. I have seen the care and effort put into growing these crops. I have seen their reverence for the land. It is not a killing of nature. It is a death and rebirth of nature. How very Bennu of them. Or should I say how very Khonsu?

But I am writing backwards. I will start from the beginning.

The Blood Moon ceremony to Khonsu was very exciting. The Nameless Man and Ursus put a lot of work into making it go well. All of us in CrIsis helped as we could. Even a priestess for Isis named Keira Antal lent her support. It seemed the ceremony pleased Khonsu because He spoke to us through Ursus.

After the ceremony we were unexpectedly whisked away to an old farm. The fields and the farmhouse suffered from years of neglect. I think we were all confused. I know I was confused. But The Nameless Man understood what happened. Seventeen years ago this was his farm. Seventeen years ago this is where his wife and son died.

He told us that Great Apis had graced him with this chance to bring his family back from the dead! She had also given him time to help them re-establish their life. It seems that very little time will pass for us while we are with him. When we are finished we will return on the same day when we left. The Gods are great and powerful indeed!

Xerx’ses. Ursus. The Nameless Man. Father Indaris. Together they all helped to excavate the graves of The Nameless Man’s family. Instead of getting to help them I was asked to accompany Grignak. He had taken the form of a cat to honor his Goddess Bast during the Blood Moon ceremony. He was still in the form of a cat. Like his Goddess he was capricious and carefree. He wandered away to explore the wild fields and his cat-like abilities. CrIsis members should not wander alone. I followed and stayed with him.

I missed this opportunity to help The Nameless Man. This saddens me. The others worked with him to recover his family. They laid out their bodies. The Nameless Man used the legendary spell of Athanasia to return them to life. Meanwhile I watched Grignak chase and pounce on rats and mice. There were a lot of mice and rats. I do not know agriculture though. Perhaps this was normal in untended fields as nature reclaimed the land.

When we rejoined with CrIsis I was introduced to The Nameless Man’s revived and confused family. His wife is named Crystal. His son is named Bron. I was pleased to learn I would not have to call them The Nameless Wife or The Nameless Son. Bron is a young pup child who could not have seen more than 5 or 6 winters. It is strange to think that this child named Bron would be as old as I am if his life had not been cut short those seventeen years ago.

There was concern about fixing this farm. For once we returned to Wisdom would the neighbors notice a suddenly prosperous farm in the morning? Would they find it odd? So Xerx’ses teleported us all to Nisi. There we could find safety for The Nameless Man’s family. We arrived and people quickly noticed us. Soon throngs of fans swarmed the others in CrIsis. I was unknown to them and merely a curiosity. The Nameless Man grabbed Crystal and Bron and leapt away from the mob. He hoped to bring his family to safety. The mob was so thick I could scarcely help.

It ended with the appearance of Father Philip. He and other priests dispersed the crowd. The Nameless Man and his family returned to us. We told him our reason for arriving. We needed a safe place for Crystal and Bron. He suggested a recently vacated farm. Before we left Ursus wanted to talk with Father Philip about building or doing something. He had trouble explaining and asked that I help him to communicate telepathically to Father Philip.

I tried to link all our minds telepathically to Father Philip. This was a mistake. Not just because CrIsis still reacts so weirdly when we do this. But because of the powerful overwhelming thoughts transmitted all at once. There was a backlash. I quickly ended the connection. But did I end it too late? I have been keeping an eye on my friends to see if what I did hurt their minds. If it did then I must help them. It is the least I can do. I think I should talk with other Internalists in the guild upon our return.

Alu Demons attacked us as we left for this farmland. The others in CrIsis rushed to meet their threat. I stayed back to protect Crystal and Bron. I erected a telekinetic shield around them for their safety. It disappeared quickly. I did not know why. Did the Alu Demon’s cloud of anti-magic affect it? When we return to the guild I will seek this answer too. Instead I took Crystal and Bron to safety as CrIsis slew the demons. The two of them were just as scared of me as they were of the demons. I do not blame Crystal for fighting me when I approached. Bron convinced her to trust me. At the end of the battle I brought them back to The Nameless Man.

That is how we arrived at the farm. The Nameless Man could tell this was excellent farm land. It was ready to be worked. There were already laborers present ready to work. I do not think they are slaves. On this farm we met another priest of Isis. His name is Bartholomew. He promised to watch over The Nameless Man’s family. He said he would give his life in service to Khonsu’s Reaper.

I said a prayer to Apis. This is what I said. “Great Apis, your bounty and your generosity sustains and overwhelms us. Thank you for this gift to The Nameless Man. Thank you for this opportunity for his family. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your great works.” I felt Her spirit consume me. Nothing like this has ever happened before. In my mind she spoke to me. This is what she said. “It is well and good. This is as the Gods would wish. we shall protect them in earnest.” Then her spirit left me. I gave her message to CrIsis. I am proud to be a part of Her great works here.

During our stay I gave a gift to Crystal. I noticed Crystal and Bron could not speak the language of the people in this land. I recently purchased a magical ring which could translate all spoken languages. When I bought it I hoped it would be useful to CrIsis in some way. I cannot think of a better use than this. I asked The Nameless Man’s permission. As was proper. With his okay I then presented that ring to her as a gift.

Father Indaris also had a gift to bestow during our stay. His was much more substantial. He presented his legendary rune weapon The Three Sisters of Dawn to Bron. This was so Bron could help protect himself. He said it was time for The Three Sisters to move on to other hands. The Nameless Man became concerned that his young son might hurt himself with the weapon. Father Insaris made sure to spend time teaching Bron how to wield it safely and properly.

Xerx’ses has been a big help on the farm. He came up with great ideas for how to work with some crops. Even some new crops which The Nameless Man had not considered. His strength has been a major boon as well. It is unfortunate that Grignak and Ursus separated from us on the way here. This whole experience has been a great blessing by the Gods. The Nameless Man’s family lives. They will be prosperous. When our quest ends he will have a home to return to. Is there any greater gift which the Gods can provide? No, I do not think so.

*Note:* This is an excerpt from Silent Dream’s journal. It was written in Elven on the twenty-first 24th day of Grekar which Silent Dream experienced, in the seventy-second year of the Great Wolfen Empire.

Image Credits:
Medieval Farm courtesy of Dulcote, Somerset
Space Warper courtesy of Imagination Station Toledo