Saturday, March 30, 2013

Clay Golem

When I felt the priest's withered hands draw me from the clinging earth, I knew that I had flesh.    When I heard his voice singing softly over me, then I knew that I had ears.  I watched the moon pass nine times across the black bed of the sky as he labored over me, and that was when I knew that I had eyes to see.    one day he bade me seize a young tree, and pull it up by the roots and break it in two, and I did, and then I knew I had the might and main to smite and to slay.  He cut a rune upon my brow, and the rune was as a door.  Through the door he blew a breath, and whispered long in a strange tounge, and his speaking drifted and curled like smoke inside the stuff of me, and there it changed to something bright and hard, that burns and is watchful in me still.  He said:  "You will guard the gate."

I guarded the gate.  Sometimes the priests would come to the temple, and I would let them pass, but no others.  Sometimes not-priests would try to trespass.  I would seize and break them, and leave them bleeding in the door for the priests to find.  And the priests would come and exclaim, and the old priest would look at me and say I had done well.

The moon passed many times through the sky.  So many times did she pass, that there came a day when I could no longer count her passings.  The old Priest stopped coming.  I wondered why.  One day I thought of the men I had broken in the doorway, how they stopped walking, talking, being, when I broke them. Men can break.  I cannot.

Still I guarded the gate.  One day an army came.  They smote the walls and gates of the great city with rams and guns, and spilled through the gaping breaches into the streets, women and dogs and dishonored soldiers of the city fleeing in panic before them.  Some came near the temple gate.  These I broke, and let them lie, but I did no more.  It was my task to guard the gate, that task and no other.  After a time, they let me alone.  The city burned, the towers tumbled.  The people were dragged away.  The soldiers left.  Dogs snuffled and wailed amoung the ruins.  In time, even they were gone.  I guarded the gate.

I watch the clouds roll and climb across the sky, and  the tree-roots that creep like searching fingers among the crumbling walls year by year. Where women in bright dresses once laughed among the market stalls, now monkeys swing and scream among emerald branches.  In the halls which once echoed with the footfalls and the chanting of the priests, there is now only the drip of water, and the mumblings of the wind.

I watch the sun and moon climb and descend, climb and descend.  The birds perch upon my head and shoulders and dishonor me with their droppings.  The rain washes me, the sun dries me again... 



...I guard the gate.

15 comments:

  1. Splendid post!
    BTW is the scenary the kind for fish tanks? I often look at such items in garden centres and weigh up potentialities...

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    1. Thanks, T! Yep the Cambodian building and the head are from Petco...but they must be pretty widely available because I think Erny has one of the heads too... I

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  2. Hey Mouse, I think you should give this loyal fellow a day off! I think he needs to expand his horizons. Wonderful back story for him and a terrific looking mini. My son just walked in a said, "Wow, Mouse has a cool site."

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  3. Thanks, PW! Your son has good taste. Not surprizing, considering his dad.

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    1. Hey, Thanks, Mouse! Out of nowhere 2nd ed. 40K is dominating my thoughts at the moment. Would you like to have a game? Perhaps a small quick one? RT Orks vs. RT Orks?

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    2. I'm down. I haven't played 2nd edition for about 20 years, but I think I still have the books gathering cobwebs in nooks and corners. Maybe a modified 'fight at the farm' scenario? 2 small Ork gangs fight over treasure buried under the farmhouse? A squad of Imperial Guard malingerers are hiding out in the farm and present a token obstacle...(?)

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    3. Sounds great, let's do it! And it doesn't have to be 2nd ed. if there is another set you would rather play. I'd be equally as happy with a Rogue Trader game or Imperial Commander or any sci-fi shoot-em-up system at the moment. This is great, Mouse!

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    4. 2nd is fine, it actually wasn't a bad set of rules, I just have to dig up the books. I also have plenty of Eldar figures from that period that are painted up and ready to fight. Older paint jobs so not as pretty as I'd like, wee could do Orcs vs Eldar if you prefer....Want to shoot for this weekend? Saturday night, maybe?

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    5. Hi Mouse,

      2nd it is. And Eldar and Saturday night, sure. It would probably have to be after 10:00pm before I would be able to play though.

      As I was going through my RT stuff The Ulysess Gang jumped out and said, no they demanded!!, that they see some action. So how about Eldar vs. Pirates? Maybe 20 or less guys per side. No points. A fun four-turn skirmish?

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    6. Sounds awesome! Even better, I've found the old rule book and wargear book, plus the 1st Eldar codex! Still looking for my old Ork codex...I know it's around here, somewhere. I have ten old school Eldar pirates I am in the process of painting. I figure my force will consist of as many Eldar as I can finish painting by Saturday night. Hopefully, that will be 20. Maybe it will be a little less...

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    7. Latest change...I think I want to do Orks, after all. Can't find my Ork book, but don't really need it for what we're doing. Codex Imperialis gives enough info for our purposes...I figure I'll have 3 squads of 5 Orks each. Each squad will have a Nob leader and some sort of heavy or special weapon. I'll have a minor hero (Big Boss in 2nd edition parlance) for my force commander. He will probably have power armor and claw, and that's about as fancy as I'll get for wargear. I'll start a thread here on the ol' blog here pretty soon so we can work out the other details...

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    8. Yeah! I'm getting pretty excited. Ulysses will probably be a Major Hero armed just with his two bolt pistols. The other guys will most likely have plain old trooper stats with whatever weapon they are carrying. Also, I'm planning on using the Zoat (whose name is Bert), if that is alright. I'll post up my gang tomorrow night on my blog. I'm looking forward to this, Mouse!

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    9. Sounds good, Friend! Talk to you tomorrow!

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  4. Great story and the mini is perfect - he certainly looks devoted to his task!

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    1. Thanks, Thantsants! I do love the old Andrew Chernak D&D line...wish they had done more...

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