The Trials of the Minotaur

Part Two: The Oracle's Mortification (Chapter Three)

That was all Velthar had the courage to say to the god that first night now that he had chosen to bless him with his voice, though his soul was afire at the thought of what was to come. He dreamed that night of a temple at the heart of Alari, where the king of his people ruled, and within that temple were he and the beast god and together they ruled the spirit lives of the people as the king ruled the their blood and bone. Such dreams were not unusual for him – he had always suffered so from omens and other torments – so he recognized this sign for what it was.

The next day he told the god of his dream and what it meant. The beast studied him in silence with his dead eyes, which Velthar knew could pierce deeper than any seeing orbs. At last the Minotaur spoke: “These are the concerns of the living. Once, I was one of you, but no more.”

Velthar the Sufferer understood what the god was saying. It would fall to him to see this prophecy come to truth. He swore to himself that he would not rest until it was so. That day he went to all the penitents gathered outside the cave, perhaps a half-dozen men, and told them that the god had spoken to him. They all murmured, some in awe, others in consternation, but he held up his hands.

“The god’s eyes have been taken from him so that he may see. Ask of him what you will.”

One after another the penitents entered the cave, crawling forward on their hands and knees, and asked their question. The god’s replies were vague and inscrutable, as gods often were, and several of the men left the cave weeping, so overwhelmed by being in the beast’s presence. Velthar took each of them into his arms and then told them to share what they had experienced that day with all they encountered, that the entire world must know of the god and the wisdom he had brought them.

The men left the following day, and when others came in the days that followed, Velthar brought them before the god and then sent them away to tell of what they had seen. Many others undertook the journey to the cave in the following weeks, to ask of the beast what they would of the future or the nature of their lives. Some were fellow penitents like Velthar, who stayed and prayed in the forest surrounding the cave, while others were common folk who desired only to know what the god might tell them. His answers satisfied and word spread further still, and by the next winter the Minotaur had gained the reputation as a great seer, one who should be consulted on all matters of consequence.

In the way of such things, the Minotaur’s fame grew, until word of his power came to Alari, where Thedeo ruled, the greatest of the barbarian kings of those parts. Thedeo was intrigued by what he heard of the new god who could see where others could not, and he endeavored to see the beast for himself. The king was deeply troubled by his wife, who could not get with child. His dreams had been filled with fields of vines, heavy with grapes, which, once harvested, shriveled and turned to nothing. Several of his advisors had interpreted the dream to mean that his seed was barren and his wife would never conceive. Ever since then he had dreamed of nothing else, until he had been unable to sleep for fear of watching the fruit shrivel to ashes again.

Thedeo came with a retinue that covered the hills and forest around the cave. He brought with him offerings of gold and silver, the finest of spices and sweetest of perfumes and oils from realms far to the south. These he had his servants bring to the mouth of the cave and set before Velthar the Sufferer, who welcomed the king with the deepest of bows. Rising to his feet, he gestured for him to enter the cave, telling him that he must go alone. Thedeo went, crawling into the darkness as all the penitents did, and soon he was within the cavern and could feel the presence of the god. There he told him of his troubles with his wife and his dreams and the interpretation of his wisest advisors.

The god was seemingly oblivious to his presence, neither stirring at his arrival nor at his speech, and when Thedeo finished the god made no acknowledgment. The barbarian king waited on the ground, his knees sore, and still the beast said nothing. Thedeo began to wonder if he was to receive a response or if he should just go on his way.

When the Minotaur spoke at last it was as if he were a great distance away, deep within the cavern. “Do not let the fruit grow too ripe on the vine.”

He would say no more, and Thedeo withdrew and returned home with his advisors, all of whom mulled the god’s phrase, wondering at what it meant. It was only once they had returned to Alari that they understood what the god had meant, for in their absence a revolt had stirred up amongst the peasants of the land. The crops, which had been plentiful, were left to rot as they marauded through the countryside, bringing famine to Alari and all the towns of the realm. The onset of winter and the famine allowed Thedeo to bring the rebels to heel. After he had scattered their forces to the wind, he and his advisors realized that the god had been correct. Had he attended to his lands rather than to his own petty concerns about siring an heir, the rebellion would never have come to fruition and the land would have been spared the blight that had befallen it.

The next spring, Thedeo returned to the cave to see the god and prostrated himself before the impassive beast. He thanked the god for his wisdom: “Had I but seen it, I would have saved myself and my people much misery and death.”

The god offered no reply, nor even an indication that he had heard. Thedeo hesitated a moment, wondering if he should test the wrath of the beast. After several heartbeats, which seemed to him to echo throughout the cavern, he summoned his courage.

“It would do me and my people an incalculable honor if you would return with me to Alari, the finest city in the land, to be our seer, just as the sibyl is on Hizen.”

The Minotaur turned to Thedeo and said, with what the king could almost imagine was a smile, “I thank you for your generosity, but I am not of this world.”

“You will not reconsider? Our people have a great need for guidance from one such as you.”

“I am here to serve all men. If your people will grant me a place in your city then I will come and all may call on me wherever they come from.”

“We shall build you a temple,” Thedeo said, forgetting himself in his excitement and rising to look at the beast. The god did not say any more, and Thedeo retreated from the cave to find Velthar the Sufferer.

“The god has agreed to bless Alari if we build him a temple,” Thedeo said to him.

Velthar bowed and smiled as though he had expected the king to say exactly that. “I shall see to his journey when the temple is ready.”

Thedeo nodded and thanked the penitent. He left for Alari, his heart as light as it had been in years.

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This is the eleventh chapter of the Trials of the Minotaur. I will post a chapter a week (there are over 30), but if you enjoy what you're reading and don't want to wait, you can buy this book at Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. Thanks for reading.