blogwithvalor

The chisel worked away tirelessly at the modest piece of marble on the table before John. He meticulously tapped away piece by piece, revealing the war god bust within. He was commissioned by the local temple to create one following the recent battle the city of Fracas had won. Anyone that led a group to war and died on the battlefield was escorted into the heavens to receive godhood. Over the past 800 years of the city’s existence, more gods existed than anyone had time to memorize. There were 48,000 gods in their mythology and not one that wasn’t attributed to a war. It was said that the gods ruled over the land like a committee. They voted on how the world should go, each having their own desires and motives. That was why the world was so complex and confusing. Some even postulated that the gods held their own wars over decisions and that’s what brought great storms, floods, and earthquakes.

John was finishing his third bust from this recent battle. It was a small brawl, but bloody like most. Only needing three busts after a battle was small. He had his apprentice only work on one and finished the other two with enough time to put the final touches on the third. His apprentice, Samuel, was a good lad that was always watchful of John’s hands while working. He was a great imitator, but rather slow. Samuel had time to quicken his pace and John appreciated the help. Given enough time, Samuel had completed works nearly worthy of display in the temple, but John always came in with his final touch. Something about the little details John added gave sculpture a realness that everyone recognized. Try as he might, Samuel hadn’t acquired that skill yet.

Stepping back, he could admire his work. Three new gods watching over the city of Fracas. John called Samuel over and they both said a prayer and thanked the gods for their protection. Then they loaded the busts for transport to the temple.

Samuel pulled the cart with the three carefully packaged busts along the cobblestone steps towards the temple of the gods. Its large exterior was simply decorated, but the inside was extravagant and even larger than its exterior made you think. The temple dug into the earth and extended outwards under the neighboring buildings. Every god was on display, not tightly packed away. Any citizen of Fracas could walk down the endless halls of the temple and see the faces of the gods that watched over them, read their names, and the battle that brought them their godhood. It was a magnificent work of craftsmanship and John would often take a day to walk down a new hallway and speak with each god individually.

As they brought the three busts up to the temple, a priest came out to welcome them. His robes hardly concealing the armor he wore underneath. John was sure most of the priests’ armor was decorative and lighter than true battle-ready metal. Many priests who grew into old age were still wearing it and never seemed too burdened. The priest uncovered the cart and admired the new additions to the halls of the temple.

“Magnificent work as always John. The gods are honored greatly by your work.”

“Thank you, Gunnar. It is always my pleasure to honor them.”

The priest, Gunnar, opened the door to the temple and Samuel pushed the cart through the door. As they proceeded to wheel the cart down the halls to the resting place for the new gods, an earthquake began. Most of the busts were solidly placed and were meant to handle this. At least once a year one would occur in the city of Fracas, and they learned to prepare for them. However, this one was larger than most.

One of the tall statues of the first gods tipped over and fell towards John and Samuel. They both saw the heavy statue fall towards them and knew their lives were forfeit, but a robed figure jumped in front of them and raised two gauntleted arms above his head.

Gunnar took the blow of the falling statue on his forearms and guided the statue to the side. John realized his long held belief about the priests’ armor being decorative must be false. That statue was solid marble and weighed hundreds of pounds. No simple unarmored person could withstand a blow like that.

Gunnar yelled at the two of them, “Go, get outside to safety. The other priests and I can handle this. GO!”

John and Samuel ran outside to find people standing in doorways or in the middle of the street to avoid falling debris. As they walked towards the street, John looked up and saw a large stone falling from the top of the temple heading straight for Samuel. Samuel only saw John as he rushed towards him and knocked him over. When Samuel sat up, John was crushed by the stone on the front steps of the temple.

The earthquake ended shortly after John died. There were not many casualties, but Samuel was distraught by the loss of his mentor. Gunnar visited him a few days later. He had news he was bringing Samuel. They spoke over a cup of tea in what was now Samuel’s workshop.

Gunnar slowly sipped then set down his cup. “There’s been a revelation by one of the divinators.”

Samuel looked at Gunnar incredulously. Expecting to hear a request for a new bust, but he hadn’t heard of any recent battles.

“The gods favored John. His creations were so favored by them that his death ended their war that caused the earthquake. They have made an unprecedented decision. John has been granted godhood as the first god of craftsmanship. We would like to ask that you make his likeness for display in the temple.”

Samuel wept. Realizing that this was a great honor for John and the best way he could think of remembering his mentor.

Over the next week, Samuel worked diligently on John’s bust. His memory of John was so clear in his mind that he hardly needed any portraits or other references that laid about the workshop from fellow artists. It was the fastest bust Samuel had ever finished. He looked at the likeness and saw every bit of John there within it. He even gave him the crooked smile John usually had while working.

When he brought the bust to the temple, Gunnar took a long look at it. “John has clearly passed his gift onto you. That is every bit the man I remember. I have a special place for our new god.”

There were 48,000 gods in their mythology and now one wasn’t attributed to war. John was the god of craftmanship.