#Forgotten Gods

[thescarlettbitch]

Honoring Forgotten Gods

I made a post about Gods Lost To Time, and a couple people expressed how sad it made them, how it feels bad, how they wish they could worship forgotten Gods.

You can. I do, here is how I do it. (A reminder: I am not a priest or a priestess, I am by no means an expert. I myself have only recently started worshipping and honoring these Deities.)

But first, I will say this once and not again

This is an incredibly intuitive practice. If you are going to comment "how do you know you're not working with demons faking being gods to steal your soul?" Your comment assumes two things. 1) that I believe in demons 2) that I believe demons are inherently malicious. I don't believe demons are inherently malicious. My mother believes I was possessed by one when I was a child, but I don't. I believe they are a spirit in this world like everything else and that they deserve respect. If they want to come to my altar, that is fine by me. As long as they are respectful to me and my Gods, all are welcome.

Next,

What are the Forgotten Gods?

Forgotten Deities are the Deities that existed in ancient times who's names and practices have been lost to time. Could be from a not-yet discovered civilization, or maybe they're older than the written word, or even older than humans as we know them, or maybe they were lesser-worshipped in known civilizations. There is no way to know for sure if these Deities did or did not exist, we have no way to ask Neanderthals if they had a God. Their names haven't been spoken in centuries. They haven't been honored in centuries. But if we, as humans, have always had some sort of religion, it's not a far stretch to assume that pre-humans did as well. ("How do you even find out about a forgotten God?")

Prayer

Obviously the prayer is going to be a little different from how you pray to your main deities. We don't know the names of these Gods. We don't know what they represent, or anything about them. I usually start the prayer with "To all who have been lost to time" and go on to my appreciation. "Thank you for keeping our ancestors safe. For teaching them how to farm and how to use the land. For giving them fire and animals and plants to nourish their bodies." Etc etc. Then I give them an offering and say a final thank you, or I express my condolences for them having been lost, say a final thank you, and give an offering.

Building an Altar

My altarspace is currently a mess as I'm prepping to move (not moving yet, still finding a place) so I haven't "built" one yet, but I have a few ideas.

I'd start with a space, obviously, set up a place for offerings, and a candle. It could be on your major altar, or it could be its own space. I'd keep it simple, at least while starting out. Maybe something for the elements, but nothing too big or flashy. As you build relationships with these Deities, you can add and change and remove items at will.

Offerings

I do libations, the act of pouring a liquid directly on the ground, but if I had the means I would 100% burn the offerings. Leaving offerings on your alter space is also a good idea.

Here are some ideas!

Water - water has been around as far back as we can tell. Seems like a pretty neutral and safe offering idea to me.

Fruit - figs are the oldest fruit, but anything. Food is important to life, and for all we know, these Deities are the reason we have them.

Berries and nuts - see above - vegetation was an important part of the diet in ancient evolutionary periods.

Flowers - natural, neutral in my mind.

Wine/Mead/Beer - wines, beers, and meads have been around for lots of years, humans have always been fermenting foods to get drunk.

Bread and cheese - also been around for a very long time

As you grow and build relationships with these Deities, you'll learn to differentiate their energies, you'll learn who likes what, who identifies with masculine or feminine pronouns, you may even be able to give them a nickname to differentiate them from the others.

My Own Worship

Currently, my worship with Forgotten Gods does not stray far from a simple thank you, I'm sorry, and a libation. I don't work closely with any one specifically but rather the idea of them as a whole. I try to say a thank you to them once a day.

[offeringstofreyja]

Forgotten Gods: Freyja by Rebecca Larst

[missagonyy]

Mythological Rabbit Hole

I have been wanting to do giant/tiny art for a while on giant mythical spirits, but I am kind of embarrassed 😭

🥲

Here’s a collection of my favorite creepy g/t art-

Credit : https://www.deviantart.com/tobiee

[forgottengodsau]

WOE, INTRODUCTION POST!

the forgotten gods au! an ultrakill au! basically: everything goes to shit™ this post will be an introduction to the characters, with sketches and plot coming soon ^^ this au contains alot of ocs! mine will be marked with blue!, and my friend's with green! canon characters will be marked as red!

V1. The beast. God of death. Aliased as the Angel of Death. Viewing what it shouldn't have viewed drove it insane. It tore itself apart and rebuilt itself from scratch. It is eldritch, and it is ancient. Ichor flows through it, ichor and rage fuel it. It is angry. Physical description: much larger, 4 arms and large wings with distorted legs. Optic cracked, sharp claws, metal stained with blood. Monsterous.

Gabriel. The prince of heaven. Took on God's role. After God's disappearance, and the council's corruption, he slayed the council long before damage could be done, and took on the role of God himself as his right hand. An eldritch transformation, and he's far different than he once was. He and the beast are at eternal conflict. Physical description: 4 arms, 6 wings. Much larger than he was long ago, heavy armor to combat the death angel.

V2. The supreme machine. Goddess of war and peace. Her death was tragic, but a force beyond anyone reached her. Rebuilt her. From her rebirth came a goddess, one to keep the balance. She lives in eternal debt of that outside force- that fellow goddess, much to insistence otherwise. Physical description: 6 arms and large wings. Now sports actual clothes, a long white dress with a crown of golden leaves. Two heads, one dark red and one light red. Both respond to V2.

Mirage. The false. Goddess of the afterlife and dreams. She was the one to bring the goddess of war and peace into existence. To be brought down at the hands of insanity was not her fate, so she brought the machine back. She nows harbors v2 in her domain. Safety. Physical description: 4 arms, 3 long tails. A long white dress with what could be described as a halo, formed from clouds.

V0. the angel killer the divine machine. With heavens slow death, it was driven to insanity, murdering angel after angel, using their flesh to fuel it. In the dawn of the final sun rise, it came to. Everything it had done was just a bad dream, it was divine. It is one of few "angels" that remain in hell. It avoids the angels in heavens, knowing they fear it. It's happy to act as hells gaurdian. Physical description: large, black metal and a bright yellow optic, cracked with the years. Large wings capable of flight, a mixture of an angel's and a machine's. A halo, blood red.

Lucifer. Princess of hell. Ruler of the underworld. After her banishment long ago, she became much stronger when she fell, fighting her way to the top of its hierarchy. Her falling was not without consequence. She is aware of what happened to her brother. She knows of the machine. She knows of the war. She would rather not be involved. Physical description: pitch black skin, large rams horns. Red and grey wings, no longer capable of flight. Heavy armor protecting furr, hooves where hands and feet would be.

Esther, the angel of peace. She allowed the death of the council, and now works on keeping heaven safe from the beast. She is apart of the new council, a group of archangels under Gabriel's command, to not repeat the mistakes of old. Physical description: black skin and hair, adorned with gold markings. Large golden wings, a halo that covers her face. Minos, the moon, lust's king. Sisyphus, the sun, self proclaimed ruler of husks. both survived much longer, but were stuck down by the beast. doesnt change much from canon. Prophet, the fortune seer and the queen of lust. the remaining member of lust's royalty, and minos's wife. took on a prime form in order to keep the remainder of lust's residence safe, she resembles the very earth itself. she is still mostly blind. physical description: greens and blues, marbled, with lights reflecting the earth's, clouds to guide her way. V3, the painter. a later model of the V line, made to control crowds, but took on painting. he was struck down quickly, and brutally. V4, the victim. a cowardly machine, the last V model. much like the model before them, the beast struck them down. V0-M, the terminal. the storage keeper of all of the V models' memories. keeps a close eye on them. in a state of disrepear due to the beast, but alive. physical description: a large, deep red color, lacks familiar wings in favor of extra arms. Hades, Ex king of Hell, God of Death. a cocky man, overthrown by lucifer long ago, but not at all salty about it. hes since taken on a prime form in the case of the beast making its way into layer 9. lives with his "wife". (lavender marriage!) physical description: pitch black skin that asorbs all light, akin to a black hole. markings to represent the event horizon, 3 eyes. Persephone, Ex queen of Hell, goddess of life. a quiet woman who'd rather spend time in solitude if she can. akin to her husband, she took on a prime form incase the beast reaches hell. good friends with hades all things considerd. Physical description: a blindingly pale form akin to heaven itself, representive of a white hole. erm those are the main ones for rn... hehee

[gospel-orchestrated]

shout out to the time one of my abusive parents i no longer speak to was running for an important state position and i got so mad i wanted to publicly pick a fight with her (both because of myself and because her political choices would hurt so many people) but couldn't, so i told Cou "if you don't, I will", and he singlehandedly tanked her political career by letting out the story and rumors of what happened to me under her care. get you a god who will do rightful karma and petty revenge

[mangomonstersurpremacy]

MINI ANIMATION AT THE END

"s = Evine(diety/god talking) + "s ≠me talking

Anything youd like me to keep in mind about food offerings?

"Yes, please no water or drinks that gat stale quick. It bothers me"

Why?- WAIT is this a paleonyx thing?? (In short: Humanoid spirit (what he use to be) with big-cat features)

"Yes atcualy, I hate stale water"

*why i drew his drinking it from a tap* (later down the post*--------‐-------------------—------------

Hey wait- since cats blink to say they love you does that apply to Paleonyxes?

"Yes, some use it for lovers and family, or even to flirt"

Oh neat!

"I atcualy use to frog blink because i was anxious about doing it on accident ^^"

Hi mooties smooties pookies boo boo bears

How was your day?

@johnheart @sparklingwaterhater

[the-cypress-grove]

Prompt: 28

The smooth pebble you plucked from the shallow riverbed was once part of a large statue that was placed in a temple to a forgotten god. Unfortunately for you, while humanity might have forgotten the god, the god most certainly had not forgotten humanity.

[a-whispering-echo]

so this ones not so much a WIP than a family tree for my Gods au - this is the one Sacrifice is from, if that makes it clearer!

once again, big au i have with lots of lore that i dont do much for, so, if interested, ask! <3

tell me if you need any help reading anything! my handwriting sucks ass, im sorry <3

[lamegtu-larsa]

SIRA

NKAN

PURA

[fernthewhimsical]

Fern's Venaris Deep Dive, pt. 1

Title:

Lady of Flowers

Other Titles:

Bright One, Inspiration’s Spark, Bringer of Spring, Joybringer, Verdant Coronet

Meaning name Venaris:

Venaris was a name that I came up with, which was based in, and a continuation of, the word “verdant”, meaning green, lush. Later I found Venaris is also an inflection of the Latin verb vēnor, coming from proto-indo european *wenh₁-‎, meaning “to strive, wish, love”. It is also connected to Venus. Which just fits amazingly well. It might also be connected to Vanadis, one of the names for Freyja.

Lady of Flowers

Venaris is part of my personal pantheon, she started out as a homebrew deity for D&D, but through connecting with the setting and with her, I found that she is actually an unrecorded deity. An unrecorded deity is a deity forgotten through time. Perhaps because they were worshipped so long ago there was no written language yet, or perhaps because evidence of them is not yet found. My Lady of Flowers is a deity of the land, especially of springtime and flowers. She is also a Goddess of love, joy, art, inspiration, and beauty. Venaris invites us to dance to the tune of the seasons, to stop and smell the roses, and see the small wonders around us.

Her Creation

She first came to me as a Goddess for my D&D pantheon. First there was Ghavena: the Wildmother, the Verdant Lady, the Goddess of vegetation and growth and the earth. For this new continent I was creating, there needed to be a continuation from her, one more connected to colours, and vibrant abundance. And so, her daughter, Venaris, was born. It quickly became apparent to me that there was more to her. Where I had first created her as a minor Goddess, not one often worshipped. She demanded more and more attention and was soon woven into the very fabric of the continent. The culture was suddenly steeped in flowers, and gardens, and vibrant art. Flowers were seen in the very fabric clothes were made from, and painstakingly painted around window-and doorframes. Their main export were dyes and meads, all made from their colourful flowers. And through working on this continent that was suddenly steeped in Venaris’ lore, I found her: the unrecorded Goddess underneath.

Associated Deities

The thing about unrecorded deities is that you have to build from scratch. I found myself drawn to several spirits and deities who have helped me form a picture of her and connect with Venaris. The biggest influences were:

Eostre, Germanic Goddess associated with Spring, dawn, and new beginnings

Vána, Valar of Middle Earth, also called Queen of Flowers, valar of youth and nature

Freyja, Norse Goddess associated with love, beauty, magic, and war

Meda, Germanic Goddess, possible name for Freyja, associated with youth, joy, wealth, and beauty

Shelyn, Pathfinder TTRPG Goddess, associated with beauty, art, music, and love

Other deities and spirits I recognize in her are: Flora, Cordelia, Titania, Aíne, Leva, and Creiddylad

[Venaris Masterpost]

[thescarlettbitch]

Hey so I saw your post about forgotten gods and i was wondering - how do you even find out about a forgotten god?

1- thank you for not being a scam bot

2- It's... kinda hard to explain

I'm not going to say I'm the only one who's ever shown appreciation to them, and I'm definitely not an expert, but to me it just... makes sense that they exist? Humans have always had some sort of belief in something other, as far back as researchers can tell. So its not a far jump to assume that higher powers have always existed, even before we fully evolved into homosapiens.

I don't worship or work with any one forgotten God specifically, but rather I honor them as a collective. When I do, I can feel numerous different energies. It's the same as sensing any other spirit. Some of them are very entangled with each other, sort of like how if you melt a bunch of crayons together, they become a giant crayon, but you can still see the different colors.

I made my original post about them what feels like years ago, when I was researching the pantheon of deities I primarily work with. I work with the oldest known pantheon, the Mesopotamian/Sumerian pantheon. And in my research there was a lot of "this deity was worshipped but anything containing its name has been ruined/isn't yet translated" and "this one has a name. But we're not sure what they did."

And reading that over and over felt really disheartening, so I thought "well, I'll still show them appreciation." And then it turned into "Well who's to say there's not a million other gods we just haven't found out about yet?"

I understand it's not a practice a lot of people are going to resonate with or even understand, but I saw a couple of people on my original post talking about it, so I wanted to share more.

"How do you know it's not just a different already named God that's hanging around?" It just... feels different? When I feel Inanna and Lady Ereshkigal they feel distinct, and the Forgotten are more... loose? It's kinda like Kiki vs Bouba if you know what that is. And it's not just about the gods that are older than evolution, but there are believed to have been over 2,000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon alone— that's a lot, and I don't think we know all of their names. So it's about them too.

I wish I could explain it better, but hopefully this answers your question! And like I said in my main post, it's a very intuitive practice. Feel free to ask more or message me, and blessed be <3

[yoannlossel]

Dear friends of the Forgotten Gods, we've officially reached the end of my artbook stock. Here's an inventory of the remaining editions:

25 standard editions, "First Magical Gathering" (100 in French) 64 signed standard editions, "Noble West Forest" (93 in French) 44 signed deluxe editions, "Lustratio" (68 in French) 49 signed deluxe editions, with clamshell box, "Celestial" (55 in French)

https://yoannlossel.com/shop

If you'd like to order, for a gift or for yourself, I'll reserve the next few days for signing and preparing the books (they'll be shipped within two weeks).

Thank you again for this superb adventure, which has taught me so much.

[ghostjelliess]

There are very few things more satisfying than studying mythology and stumbling over such a logical human moment.

The Girl in the Tower classification (ATU 310 type tale) is likely based of an older Proto-Indo-European story involving Dawn fleeing from the night. The most popular Girl In Tower stories are Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty's name is usually Aurora.... which means dawn.

Little Red Riding Hood contains similarities to that story of Thor and Loki tricking the giant Thrymr to get Mjolnir back by dressing Thor up as Freyja/the bride in exchange for the hammer. While the giant comments on Freyja's tired eyes and shaggy hair, Loki gives excuses (all the better to see you with). But also alludes to an older story of Sol, the sun-chariot driver, who is chased by Skoll, who may or may not be Fenrir, the wolf tied up until Ragnarok. Why is Skoll chasing the sun to eat Sol? Well, the constellation of Taurus looks like a wolf's mouth heading west (where the sun set). So if you're lost in the middle of winter, you can look up and find Skoll, who will be chasing the sun (west), and orient yourself from there, and its begotten offspring of a moral tale that is Little Red is also a warning about not getting lost, though one is a tale to find your way, and the other is a warning not to stray, it's still cute that thousands of years between them and we're still like yeah, cool story bro. Tell it again.

Fitcher's Bird is a less popular version of Bluebeard (saved by sisters ATU 311/12) and has many similarities with the Robber Bridegroom and other stories warning women not to be curious, but no one really knows what Fitcher's is. Grimm's said it was probably referring to the Icelandic swan-like bird, some said it is a transliteration of wing (fittich) of feather (feder) or fisher (because the enchanter carries the sisters home in a fisher's basket), BUT Berchta/Perchta was a popular form of Frau Holle, a Fate goddess who had long white hair and black webbed-feet. So maybe it's Fate's Bird, because the sister takes fate into her own hands, and survives by her wit and choices, while the enchanter tries to control reality with evil tricks that distort the fates of his victims. So Fitchers Vogel is more like "Old Web-Foot's Girl" to say she is clever to control her fate (as clever is often used sarcastically). Or perhaps it was a transliteration of "difficult" via Italian, or something else equally mundane.

There's popular Grimm's tale called the Wolf and the Seven Kids, and while it is similar to Little Red Riding Hood in it's simplicity, it likely comes from a different root tale. A mother goat has seven young and warns them when she goes out for food that the sneaky wolf will come pretending to be her, but not to let it in. After some trickery, the wolf eats all the kids and the mother comes home and cuts the wolf open, saving her babies and filling the wolf with rocks. Rather than the previous Norse tradition, this one more likely comes from the Greek (and earlier PIE) story of Rhea feeding Kronos a rock instead of Zeus.

[mx-nix-winks]

Forgotten Gods [drabble/prologue?] future dca/reader

You found the old ruins on accident [everyone only ever finds the ruins on accident], because you had strayed from the group, distracted by a pretty creature, and then wound up lost.

You were a cocktail of mixed up emotions; the excitement and thrill of exploring new hidden treasures, and the cold sharp prickle of fear gripping tight around your throat.

You didn’t think you had wandered all that far before realizing the others weren’t with you, so you didn’t expect to get so lost so quickly. But here you were, each time taking a step in the direction that you thought would lead you home instead seeming to spin beneath your foot and land you in a completely different place. Almost like the forest was playing with you.

You… weren’t sure if it was the friendly or not-so-friendly kind of playing with you BUT! You would hope! Until proven otherwise! No need to give ideas or borrow trouble from tomorrow.

So when you came upon the large ruins you didn’t stop until right up against the edge of the stairs leading up. You were curious- there weren’t supposed to be any buildings near where your group was hiking and staying but the stone was old- weather worn and draped in moss and vines.

The stone was rough against your fingertips, but not as corrugated or crumbling as you expected it to be. The stone was washed in greens from the forest but you could see spots where grey stone shone through. Or was it grey marble? It was hard to tell- but whatever it was, it had stood against time and weather so well that there was hardly any damage. A column here or there was starting to crumble, and a few spots of the walls were missing pieces or had large cracks but overall it looked not to be as damaged as you expected for what you assumed was a temple from the roman period.

Curious, you went to step forward, pausing for a moment before your foot hit the first step, something in you listening for something you couldn’t quite place. You tilted your head to the side, waiting, listening- hearing nothing but birdsong and the regular noises of the forest.

So why were you holding your breath?

A quiet exhale.

A steadying inhale.

A pause, and then, “Hello!”

Immediately heat filled your cheeks as you heard your own voice seemingly echo in the the quite obviously empty area devoid of people.

“I, uh, just wanted to explore a bit if that’s okay?” Stars above you were talking to thin air and looking like a fool for asking it for permission.

“I wont hurt anything or take anything, honest! But- uh, I’m curious.” You flashed a smile around the temple and forest as if this was a totally normal thing to do – talking to thin air as if you weren’t some kind of unhinged person slowly loosing it- and then added, “if, uh, if you’d like me to leave. Please let me know? UH! In a safe way!! If you don’t mind!”

And then you set your foot down on the first step.

…

Nothing happened.

Your face burned but luckily no one was here to witness your embarrassment and you quickly climbed the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a grand entryway, certainly the kind that kings and gods were given back in the roman days. Tufts of orange and blue cloth waved softly in the light breeze, the edges torn and the length shortened to just reaching halfway down the opening archway. Ten feet still too high for you to reach. Stars this place made you feel short.

You peeked your head in the entryway and the sight made you gasp.

“Oh my…” you wandered in, a bit starstruck and still rambling to the air because somehow it felt right, felt proper to do so, “oh wow oh wow oh wow…” you spun in a circle in the middle of the main temple area, looking up at the ceiling just to loose your breath all over again.

“Oh stars above…. That’s gorgeous.”

And it was- a magnificent mural stretching all across the ceiling, a deep midnight blue with bright pops of white, stars and constellations spilling across the ceiling until at the edges where they kissed the walls, it transitioned through purples and pinks to wash the walls in soft warm oranges and yellows.

The colors were faded just a bit but it took almost nothing to imagine them bright in their full fresh splendor.

The temple was beautiful and looked more as if it had been hidden out of sight instead of knowingly abandoned or forgotten. Tall spiraling columns painted like warm firelight spiraled up to meet the ceiling, fading to white at the tops and looking almost like clouds against the starry backdrop. Dust was inches thick on any flat surface, even coating the tops of some of the rounded spheres and carvings.

Your feet made a trail in dust coating the floor that you only just now noticed and cringed, feeling bad for disturbing such a peaceful stillness. But it was short lived as that childish feeling bubbled up in you, the want of jumping into a perfectly still pool to cause ripples and splashes, disrupting the stillness with your chaos. And as you glanced around, you reminded yourself that no one else was here to see you make a fool of yourself. To indulge in your inner childish wants. So you backed up along your previous trail to the archway again before closing your eyes and trying to shake out your jitters.

It was fine, no one was here, no one would see, and- well, really. What was the harm? You hadn’t let yourself do something silly and fun in a bit so.

Eyes snapping open you started off at a giggling run before spinning in the middle, glancing up at the rotating stars above you, before a laugh burst out of you. Once you started you could hardly stop- laughter and giggles escaping you as you ran and jumped around the temple, hooking a hand and arm around a column to swing yourself in a circle around it and off to the next one.

It was silly and childish and maybe a little stupid to do but as you found yourself in a heap on the dirty ground, chest heaving with exertion and laughter, you grinned at the sight of the spinning and looping trails of your foot prints through the dust on the floor. Like a painting you made with hops, jumps, slides, and occasional falls.

A last laugh bubbled out of you as you laid your head back down catching your breath.

Silly…

You giggled in response then paused.

Did… Did you just hear something?

Cheeks burning already in embarrassment you propped yourself up on your elbows then onto your hands, sitting up to look and see which person was present for your embarrassment.

But there was no one there. No matter which direction you looked, you could not see or hear anyone despite feeling like someone was laughing. Maybe not directly at you but- well. You were being a bit silly.

And as if to prove the point you stuck your tongue out at whoever or whatever it was that was laughing.

You think that made the feeling of laughter stronger.

With a soft chuckle at yourself you climbed back up to your feet and started exploring a bit more. There were all the normal things you thought would be in a temple- rows of stone? Marble? Benches to sit on- offering pedestals, symbols all over the columns, walls and interior of the temple. But it was missing one thing.

The statue of what god this temple belonged to.

You searched and searched and finally came to a stop at the very back of the temple where it seemed like there had maybe been a statue at some point. Maybe. Or maybe it was where another column was supposed to have been. Though when checking upwards it did not seem like there was a gap in the night sky above you. So that seemed unlikely.

You kneeled down and traced your fingers across the jagged stone on the floor gently. It had less dust on it than the entire rest of the place making you frown. If there had been a statue here, then it was removed more recently than the rest of this place had been lost.

Strange… you hadn’t seen any other tracks in here before your spinning silly escapade around the main temple.

“I wonder who you are…” you mumbled softly before glancing up and around, searching and analyzing the symbols around you, “I don’t suppose you could give me a clue, could you?” you half joked half earnestly asked, not really expecting an answer.

A loud creak of a door startled you into a yelp that landed you on your butt, heart thudding in your chest as your head whipped wildly around looking for the person who had made the noise. For a moment there was only the sound of your fast breathing before your curiosity took over and you climbed to your feet, eagerly tip toeing towards the source of the sound you heard.

Around the corner you found the door, wooden with chipped paint that you ran soft fingers across. It looked like a painting of something but you couldn’t quite make out what- too much of it had come off over time, peeling and chipping, until you could really only make out faint colors.

Easing in through the door, as you really did not want to push it open and make that horrible loud noise again, you slipped between the opening and into another room. Slightly smaller than the main temple room but immediately it was different. The main temple was gorgeous but this, this was a riot of colors.

Across the walls and even the floors and ceilings were covered in color. Murals and paintings and images that clashed with each other and seemed to have been made at different times with different skill levels covered the whole room. There were masterpieces next to stick figures next to brightly colored paintings where the colors wobbled all over inside and outside of the lines. It made you laugh.

A third of the way into the room it started sloping down and around, like a- oh what were those things called? The ones where they dipped down with seating for plays? It was that- whatever it was, with the stage front and center. There looked to be more tattered cloth hanging from the framing in front of the stage. It was badly aged, the wood rotting and missing in many spots, but you could still make out that it probably once held curtains to open and close in front of the stage.

The stage ground was luckily carved out of the same material as the floor so you felt stable climbing up the side and onto the stagefloor. The back wall was painted with a sunset or a sunrise, you weren’t sure which, but it was beautiful even if the paint was missing and faded much more here than in the main temple. You wondered why that was.

You found the remnants of what you assumed were various props and even some background set pieces, all made of wood and thus very much weathering away and decomposing. But the images of bright colors and fabrics, of laughter echoing in here as plays were put on, it made the smile on your face hurt your cheeks as it went so wide.

“Stars there must have been so much fun here,” you spun on one heel to face back out from the stage and washed your eyes over the whole room. A stage for plays and walls covered in art from kids and adults and whoever else. The place must have been echoing with laughter at one point.

It was so unlike any other temple you’d ever heard about. But surely this still was a temple? There were offering pedestals and even what you assumed was the spot where the god’s statue must have once resided.

A loud and sudden branch cracking startled you into another yelp and jump, hand clenching the front of your shirt as your heart beat against it. You crept down off the stage slowly and quietly before hesitantly making your way towards the door leading back into the main temple. You could hear more and more branches snapping and crunching underfoot and some faint hollering. As you edged towards the door you realized it was your name being called.

Oh! You’d been noticed missing! That was good!

But you felt a bit sad that you couldn’t continue exploring the temple, you were sure there were more treasures to uncover like this theater room but the voices calling your name started turning away and you were hit with the fear of being lost in the woods alone again and started rushing through the main temple, a call almost on your lips but holding back for some reason.

You paused under the arch, in the threshold of the temple, glancing back for a long moment.

Then, mind made up, you grinned made a silly finger gun gesture towards the temple and said “I’ll be back! Promise!” and then you shot off down the stairs and only shouting back towards the group once you hit the dirt, “Over here! I’m over here y’all!”

You nearly skidded right into them, they were so much closer than they had sounded, and a few of you let out little eeps of screams at the near collision.

“Where on earth were you?!” Marcy’s tone was exasperated but you could see in her eyes that she had been worried. Her hands reached out and pulled you into a hug that startled an oof and a giggle out of you.

“Sorry! Sorry! I got distracted! But I was right here!” you hugged her back before jerking your thumb behind you and towards the temple. Marcy gave you an unconvinced hum before letting you go.

“Well don’t do that again. We’re in enough trouble as it is.”

You winced, “oh…. Sorry.”

Khali elbowed you in the side with a laugh, “hey, what’s done is done. Let’s get back before they send a search team out for us next.”

You laughed, “fine, fine, but you guys! I’ve gotta tell you all about what I fou-oh. uh. H-hi Kerry…”

The tall man glared down at you, unimpressed, arms crossed and mouth set in a firm line. He always made you feel skittish- a feeling that you hated so much that you tried to fight it. You didn’t like it when others tried to make people feel small.

You forcibly straightened your back so that you didn’t slouch and tried to meet his eyes head on.

“We found her Kerry, let’s head back.”

Kerry’s eyes took a moment to shift from yours to Marcy’s firm tone and straight face. He looked unimpressed as always, a near static expression on his face, and his eyes flickered back to you just as you started to relax sending all the tension rushing back to your shoulders and chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to separate from the group,” just because you disliked him didn’t mean he wasn’t owed an apology for your trouble, “promise I’ll be more careful.”

His lips twisted in distaste but he didn’t say anything before turning around and leading the way back towards the rest of the group. He un-clipped his radio, switching it on and reporting back “Hiker’s been found. Returning to base camp.” His eyes cut back to you over his shoulder as he re-clipped the radio, “you’re on cleanup duty.”

You grimaced. Yeah, alright that was probably fair.

But tomorrow, maybe during free time…

You glanced behind you with a small smile but you were already too far away to see the temple. No matter- you were sure you could find it again.

[gospel-orchestrated]

i gotta say, there's nothing that makes me feel safer than working with "demonic" entities.

sure, some of them bite, but a man who harrasses girls at my work location pulled through the drive through the other day and gave me his number. like, banned from the store kind of "harassing girls." not supposed to be served. i just didn't know because i was new.

i dropped his phone number on cou's altar this evening.

can't wait to see how this goes.