Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 42

“Those tears belonged to me,” said Lucifer under his breath. He could not look at God in those moments. He did not want to either. The angel simply stared at the floor as he continued, “The king of Lycia wept because I wept. For a moment, he felt what I felt and knew the pain and suffering I was going through. Without my influence, it is entirely possible the man would not have cared at all.”

“Why did you weep?” asked God softly.

“Because the death of Christopher was merely the beginning of a new era. It wasn’t what I wanted. I loved the Cynocephaly. I did everything I could to stop Christopher from going down the path he inevitably took.

“Christopher proved something that I had once thought impossible: that the Cynocephaly were flawed. They could be corrupted into following you… your son. Christopher did not only go down this path, but he proved to be a near impossible hurdle to overcome after his conversion. If he had managed to convince other Cynocephaly of these new ideas, the effects on my stronghold would have been devastating.”

“So you killed him,” said God.

“I could barely do that,” continued Lucifer. “I had to send something inhuman, something fully lacking in compassion and free will in order to accomplish this task. It was not an easy decision to make. But as things were at the time, everything was teetering on a razors edge. And even after slaying the traitorous Christopher, I realized that there was so much more that needed to be done. The Cynocephaly needed to be wiped out, not only from the face of the earth, but from the memories of the hapless humans who lived there.

“Through a rigorous disinformation campaign, the Cynocephaly were quickly persecuted, hunted down, and sentenced to death throughout the world. Nobody trusted them anymore. They were seen as mad creatures who owed their lives for their lack of loyalty to the gods who had given them so much.”

Lucifer held his face within the palm of his hand. “It wasn’t easy. Not even for me. Although many of the dog-headed men fought back, the vast majority of them offered themselves up to be slaughtered. I told them that they must die, and they asked for me to kill them. They came in nearly single file, and I murdered them one by one by the sword, or by those who served in my name. It broke my heart, but I knew that their loyalty was in question, and I could not abide by it.”

Lucifer briefly looked up at God with a scowl. “They nearly were incorruptible. If it were not for actions taken to lure them out.”

God ignored the accusation and asked, “What did you do so that the people would forget the Cynocephaly?”

Lucifer continued, “My angels and I made many hybrids, but the Cynocephaly were in more abundance than any of them. They had scatted about the world and formed entire kingdoms and societies. The people knew them as closely as their own kin.

“The first step was to eliminate them from the earth, which we were very efficient in doing. The second step was to purge the Cynocephaly from the minds of the humans who had lived with them so long. The only way to accomplish this second step was to destroy man’s notions of mysticism altogether.

“Slowly… magic was made a thing of fantasy and tricks. The humans soon felt as if they were alone in the universe. The stories of old were reduced to fairy tales… fiction. People would tell the stories, but if they were true or not, nobody would believe them. The hybrids that remained across the world fell into obscurity. They hid in the shadows or cleverly blended in among the humans. It later got to a point that if a human saw these hybrids at all, they would not believe their eyes… and if they did… the others would persecute them for it. Science and logic now rules the day. People cling to it hard and dismiss the days of magic and so-called impossible things.

“Sadly, and despite our greatest efforts, we were not able to remove entirely the legend of Christopher. He was sainted, and his story had been somehow preserved through stories and art. The art unfortunately still represented him as a dog-headed man. This was my third and final hurdle.

“The story of a man seeking out and finding Christ was meaningful to the Christian faith. People clung to it. They loved Christopher for his acts. But through another disinformation campaign, we were able to convince the world that Saint Christopher was never a dog-headed man… but a human who simply experienced the same things. The tale was still loved… but did not have the same power. In this new version, Christ merely saved a truth-seeking man… and not a dog-headed demon–something that most people consider extremely blasphemous.

“As to the artwork of Saint Christopher that still perpetuates to this day, I developed a story that only your stupid humans would believe. ‘The artists simply got confused because they knew Saint Christopher to be a Canaanite, and because of this, they mistook him to be part canine.’ This was the official line, and as I expected, the humans believed every word of it.”

God added, “Despite there being many documented human Canaanites on record, they still believed this?”

“They did. Your humans are extremely stupid. You created them. You should know this already.”

God nodded. “You’re right. After that golden calf incident, I’ll believe anything concerning their stupidity.”

Lucifer nodded before saying, “And that is my story. I hope you are well pleased with what you have brought about.”

God sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Lucifer, I’m genuinely happy you came here to tell me this story. I honestly knew very little about it. Perhaps an inkling here and there, but not the whole thing. You have done well to shed so much light upon it.”

“Is that all you have to say?” muttered the angel.

“No. I just want you to know that I am sorry for your loss, but only because I have recently learned a bit about what compassion truly is in the universe. That said, you brought this upon yourself. You brought the Cynocephaly into being, they were indeed incredible in their own way, and then, to suit your own ego, you murdered them. The only reason I have any compassion for you at all is because you obviously don’t even know what you did. You’ve spent so long lying to yourself that you can’t even get your story straight. That’s why you weep at the thought of losing the Cynocephaly. You can’t come to terms with the simple fact… that they never needed to die in the first place.”

Lucifer looked away shortly before saying, “I must go now.”

“Very well,” replied God. “Thank you for the visit, Lucifer.”

The angel looked at him one more time before slowly standing up, turning towards the door, and walking through it. God leaned on his elbows for a while as he contemplated the story. He soon heard the voice of Chris say, “Can I ask you something, God?”

God peered over at the human and asked, “What about?”

“About Christopher.”

“Were you listening there the whole time instead of getting me my grape flavored coconuts?!”

“Kinda.”

“Alright, Pavlov. Come sit down with me. Tell me what you want to know.”

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 41

Christopher ended up in Lycia where he had heard Christians were being persecuted and martyred. During his time here, he spent his days giving his fellow Christians comfort. “Fear not, for the Christ is with you during these difficult times,” said Christopher. “Remember that Christ carried with him the weight of the world. I know this as a truth, for he sat upon my shoulder, and thusly I came to realize just how heavy the world is. And indeed, it is quite heavy. I nearly drowned. Egad.”

And the Christians of Lycia listened to what this strange dog-headed man had to say. He spoke so fervently about his encounter of Christ. It was hard to refute that he was telling the truth. There was a glow about him, a glow never before seen with the Cynocephaly.

“Christ is the greatest king of them all,” he told a crowd. “He is great even though he is so rarely seen. I imagine being a king so great comes with so great a responsibility that he is often too busy to make appearances. So that is why we look to the cross. The cross represents the Christ. And through him, we all shall be saved.”

And so crosses began to pop up all over Lycia. As much as the soldiers attempted to take them down, only more of them would rise. People were often seen kneeling before them and speaking as if to the Christ himself. Nothing could be done about it. The king of Lycia began to notice.

“There is more waiting for us than the paltry treats found here,” said Christopher. “There is a great place beyond where the treats are much nicer. These are the treats given to us by the greatest king of them all. If we are only to serve him, we shall be rewarded with treats so good that we may eat only once and be satisfied for eternity.”

Although this particular speech was a little confusing to the poor Christians of Lycia, it still had an effect. Many began talking about the great treats of Heaven, eternal mana of the great king. The world spread. The king of Lycia had finally had enough. He took in the breath of Satan and called for Christopher to be brought to him.

“You must stop this nonsense about Christ,” the king told him directly.

“Then who would I serve?” asked Christopher.

“Leto perhaps, for she is the great goddess of motherhood. Do we not love our mothers? Worship her instead.”

“I cannot do it,” replied the Cynocaphaly with a fiery glare. “I cannot do it, for I am a servant of Christ. He is the greatest king of all, and this goddess you speak of cannot be greater than He.”

“How do you know this?”

“Does she bear the weight of the world upon her shoulders? Has she ever shown this to anyone? What are the trials of motherhood to that of the entire world? I cannot serve her. I can only serve Christ.”

The king was put off by the terrible gaze of the dog-headed man. Still he persisted, “I will give you great riches if you will only serve Leto instead of the Christ.”

“No,” said Christopher simply.

“But you shall be as a great king in your own right. Kings do not serve other kings. There will be no reason to.”

“Christ is a king greater than all kings.”

“It will not be hard,” said the Lycian king. “All you will be required to do is make a simple sacrifice to Leto. After that, you may enjoy your wealth and serve Christ as you wish.”

“I will give nothing to Leto,” said Christopher sternly. “I will give everything of mine to Christ.”

Finally, the king became much too frustrated. He snapped, “Bah! You are impossible! But I think you will change your mind still. Go back to your home, and I shall send you an even better reason to change your mind.” And since the conversation had thus ended, Christopher turned and left the palace, still with his fierce gaze plastered firmly upon his doggy visage.

The king soon sent beautiful women to tempt Christopher, for he knew something of the Cynocephaly and how they had a love of beautiful women. And this was very true. However Christopher did not fall into temptation. In fact, Christopher converted these women into servants of Christ like himself.

This revelation frightened the king most of all. He saw that many citizens of his land were also becoming Christian converts to this dog-headed man. There was no helping it. There was nothing he could do. And so… it was decided that Christopher must simply be killed.

The king of Lycia then sent out a number of men to slay Christopher, but they ended up converts as well. One after another came to kill him, but ended up hearing about Christ. Christopher’s testimony was so powerful and wonderful to hear. Each and every soldier was soon falling to their knees before the cross, all because they heard a dog-headed man tell them about a greater king than the one they presently served.

There then came one fateful day that the king of Lycia stood within his private chamber. A giant-sized man walked in and stood at the ready. After taking a long drink of wine, the king turned and faced this creature of a man wearing full armor. To this strange soldier, the king spoke, “I’ve done everything I could. He’s spreading across Lycia like a disease. This cannot go any further. Please tell me that you will not fail in your quest, soldier.”

A deep and powerful voice spoke which sent rumbles across the floor of the room, “He will die.”

Later that night, Christopher was writing into a book when the doors to his home were torn off of its hinges. The dog-headed man stood and faced a giant of a man who bore a great sword. Christopher looked upon the giant and said, “I serve the Christ. He bears the weight of the world, and for a small time in my life, he gave that weight to me. Upon meeting you, I feel that weight once more.”

“Allow me to alieve you of it,” said the beast before running Christopher through with his sword.

A short time later, within the never-ending darkness of the night, the giant returned to his king with the body of the slain Cynocephaly. Dropping the corpse to the floor, the soldier claimed, “It is over.”

The king drank from a cup of wine a moment before slowly shaking his head. “Not yet,” he said softly. “It’s not over yet.” A tear fell from the king’s eye as he lowered his head. “No. This is far from over.”

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 40

God smiled subtlety as he gazed upon Lucifer. His hands were clasped together and he leaned forward slightly as he gauged carefully the look in the angel’s eyes.

Lucifer seemed lost as he sat there. He had stopped momentarily in his story as if to think about what he had just said. As always, Lucifer was very contemplative in his thinking. God simply waited. He gave the angel his space.

After a time, Lucifer finally spoke, “It wasn’t fair what happened. Even though it was your blasted son, I knew it was really your fault. I’m aware of your genius, your trickery, your propensity to lie and steal from those who have what you lack. I didn’t deserve what happened. This time you went too far.”

God nodded slightly although it seemed more as an acknowledgement of what was being said rather than a gesture of agreement. The angel continued, “The Cynocephaly was the greatest creation I had ever managed to produce. They were loyal, intelligent, and had an obedience unmatched by any other since. I still remember Anubis in the old Egyptian days. And Wepwawet. And Duamutef. The great dog kingdom of China. All gone. All forgotten.

“Your world was shared with their kind. They were everywhere. They lived next door. They cared for your children. They protected you in times of war. In some cases, they made you immortal. The world was a better place.”

“Who are you talking to?” asked God.

Lucifer looked up at God. He still looked very lost. “They were perfect,” he said. “They made your pathetic world work. They made it function. They were beautiful.” He looked down and muttered, “I miss them.”

“You miss their loyalty?” surmised God.

“Your people are not loyal. Your people are chaotic and stupid. They strive to do nothing more but to tear the world apart. They would tear you apart if they could.”

“Yes, they would,” the old man agreed. “If they could.”

“And you… you defend them?”

God leaned forward and placed a hand upon Lucifer’s cheek. “Yes. I defend them. They’ll never get to me… but they’ll try. And in trying will they achieve great things. In doing so, they will become greater than the stars themselves. Their chaotic ways are mad indeed, and this madness is what makes them great.”

“It’s wrong,” whimpered Lucifer. “You’re a terrible person. All they’ll do is destroy all that you created. I could have given them order. I could have saved them from their treacherous ways. Why did this have to happen?”

God continued to touch the angel’s face. He said, “You are conveniently forgetting one very important thing, Lucifer.”

“And what is that?”

“I never killed the Cynocephaly. As much as you don’t want to admit to it, I never had any vendetta against them.”

“Lies,” the angel muttered. “You hated them. You always hated them.”

“No, Lucifer. You killed them. I thought they were cute.”

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 39

Christopher found the river. It was indeed very deep, but as he was so very tall, he could easily walk through it with his head above water. After trying it himself, he then proceeded to offer his assistance to those who needed to make the crossing.

At first, many of the travelers were unsure of this Cynocephaly. They would approach him and ask if he could help them. Promptly turning to look at them, Christopher would glare creepily as he replied, “Yes, I am here for that purpose, but only that it shall be in the service of Christ of whom I have never met and have no clear idea if he exists or not. But I am going to do it anyways, for I find that I have no other course of action if I wish to serve the greatest king of them all.”

“Okay, okay!” shouted the travelers. “Didn’t need your whole life story. I’m ready to go.”

“Very well,” replied Christopher before lifting the travelers up onto his shoulders and then carrying them across with ease. He did this relentlessly for nearly a year with no proof that he was indeed serving any great king at all. And the more he did so, the graver his expression became.

So grave and creepy did his face become that many of the travelers did not want him to take him across. But Christopher had sworn an allegiance to the greatest king of all and would not allow them to turn his service down. “It is my duty, in the service of Christ, to carry you across this river to the other side.” And then while the travelers were still trying to decide if they should go or not, Christopher would lift them up and take them across before they would reach a final decision.

Christopher was, however, becoming ever unsure if what he was doing was really in the service of anyone. After all, he had never met this king. He was beginning to wonder if he ever would.

There then came a day when he had been waiting by the riverside for a lengthy amount of time with no travelers to be helped. A small boy came up to him and asked, “Would you please take me across the river?”

“I will do so,” said the Cynocephaly. “I will do it for the unseen and unknown king known as Christ of whom I have never met and who I will likely never meet. This is a duty I perform for him despite wondering more and more each day if I have been wasting my life by carrying silly people to and fro across this river.”

“All righty then,” said the child. “Will you lift me up please?”

“Very well,” replied Christopher with a creepy glare. And so he did. But when he came to about the half way point of the river, the child suddenly began to feel immensely heavy. All Cynocephaly were very strong creatures. A small child would be nothing to them, but Christopher was soon beginning to worry that he was going to drown under the sudden and incredible weight of this little boy.

When Christopher finally made it to the other side, he fell to the ground while taking care not to hurt the child. Panting and wheezing, he told the boy, “Because of you, I have been put into the greatest danger. Having you on my shoulders was as if I was bearing the whole world.”

The child smiled pleasantly and placed a hand upon Christopher's dog-headed face. The boy then said, “You had upon your shoulders not only the world but Him who made it. I am the Christ and you have been doing my work. In this way you have served me.” The boy then vanished right in front of Christopher.

The Cynocephaly remained perfectly still as he looked upon the spot where the child had been standing. He was wet and dripping, yet he dared not move. There was no longer a creepy glare upon his face. What was left was a look of wonder at what had just happened.

But Christopher could not deny what had just transpired. He had just met the greatest king of all–a child who bore the weight of the world upon him. He had glorified the acts of Christopher, and it was in that moment that a new resolve filled the Cynocephaly’s heart. Christopher had chosen to serve Christ for the rest of his days and nothing would ever sway him from that path.

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 38

God looked up and realized that Lucifer was just glaring at him. “What?” asked God.

“You know what,” the angel replied.

“I’m not sure I do.”

“Just stop it. Stop playing dumb. You know exactly what I am referring to.”

“I will once you tell me.”

“Why should I tell you what you already know?”

“Lucifer, what in blazes are you talking about?!”

“You know what I am talking about!” snapped Lucifer.

“I seriously have no idea!” returned God.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?”

“Yes! Spell it out! Put it on paper if you have to! What are you trying to say to me?!”

Lucifer pointed a finger at God and said, “That hermit was put there by you!”

“Which hermit?”

“Hermit.”

“The hermit called Hermit from your story?”

“You know that’s the hermit I’m talking about!”

God palmed his face. “Lucifer, you can’t be serious. I’m retired. I don’t have the time anymore to throw random hermits at people. I’ve been busy finding new and creative things to do with my pet donkey! Where is Chris by the way?”

“No!” shouted Lucifer. “Christopher would have given up if it wasn’t for that coincidental meeting with that hermit! You just couldn’t stand me having anything nice in the universe, so you put him there. You didn’t even bother to give him a name.”

God laughed. “I did no such thing. As if I keep track of every hermit in the world. And once again, I’m retired!”

“That hermit ruined everything!”

“Then blame the hermit!”

“No, I blame you! It was always you! You’ve never accepted what I was able to accomplish!”

God stared back at Lucifer in complete silence. There was only a hint of anger. If you had been there, you might not have even noticed it. But Lucifer did… and it was enough to make him look away.

God leaned forward and pressed his finger to the angel’s chin. He turned Lucifer’s head to look back at him. God then told his angel, “Finish your story, Lucifer.”

“I will,” replied the angel softly.

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 37

After abandoning Everdread, Christopher remained at the cross for some time. He glared at it without moving for a good portion of the day. People passed him by, wondering if he was some sort of statue.

There then came a child who, as he also thought the dog-headed man was some sort of statue, gave Christopher a poke in the leg. This awoke the Cynocephaly enough to glare fiercely at the boy. So frightening was his visage that the poor boy ran away with tears in his eyes. But this was perhaps enough to snap Christopher out of his stupor.

Christopher simply had no idea what to do. Everdread had told him that the cross represented Christ. Christ surely must have been the greatest king of all. But all he had was the cross which did nothing but stand very still, planted in the ground for all to see. It never talked or told him what to do. It was becoming very clear to him that he had to find the one who the cross represented. He had to find Christ. The only problem was that he had no idea where to even begin.

And so with a heavy heart and an absolutely atrocious facial expression, Christopher passed by the cross and walked on into the unknown in search of this elusive king called Christ. The Cynocephaly searched far and wide with no luck. Nevertheless he never gave up, for he was of a one-track mind which could not be swayed.

One day, long after leaving the cross behind, the dog-headed man heard someone talking about a hermit who had spoken much about Christ. He immediately approached this person, promptly, scaring him nearly to death with his face.

“You nearly scared me to death with that face of yours!” the man cried. “What is it that you want?!”

Christopher’s face was only about an inch away from this man’s as he said, “You will tell me where to find this hermit that you were speaking of just now.”

“Why should I?” asked the man nervously.

“Because if you do not, I shall increase the force of my glaring twenty-fold.”

“Oh, dear lord! No! My heart won’t be able to take it! I’ll tell you everything!”

The man was true to this word and told Christopher exactly where he should go to find this elusive hermit. And soon, Christopher found the strange man sitting against an old building with a hat pulled over his face.

“Hermit,” addressed the Cynocephaly.

The hermit pulled up his hat to get a good look at this creature. He asked, “Yes, I am Hermit. How did you know my name?”

“I did not know that was your name,” replied Christopher. “I only thought that it was what you were.”

“I suppose I do have a proper name. But people called me Hermit for so long, I suppose I just learned to accept it. What brings you to my little corner of the city with your big, creepy eyes?”

“I have heard tell that you know of Christ and where I might find him. You must tell me this, for I must serve the greatest king and nothing less.”

“Well now…” began Hermit the hermit. “Finding Christ is tricky business. Where it is true he was a man who once was readily accessible to those who wished to see him, he has of late been a bit hard to come by.”

“But I must find him so that I may serve him,” persisted the Cynocephaly.

The hermit nodded understandingly. He said, “I understand how you feel. Many wish to serve Christ, but few can readily stand before him in person. I would advise that you simply begin serving him of your own accord, and then perhaps Christ will find you.”

Christopher took these words very solemnly. It was not really what he wanted to hear, but he was still willing. He asked, “Then how may I serve him, Hermit?”

“You might try fasting and prayer. It has always done well by me.”

The Cynocephaly seemed creepily perplexed. “I do not see how fasting and prayer will do anything for a king. There must be something of more substance that will be of greater service to him.”

And the hermit indeed had an answer, “There is a dangerous river near here where many travelers are dying while attempting its crossing. Because of your great size and strength, you could carry them upon your shoulders from one side to the other.”

“And in what way would that be serving Christ?” asked Christopher. “It sounds as if I am only serving lesser people.”

The hermit explained, “I give you my assurances that if you serve these people, you will also be serving Christ.”

“I do not think so,” said Christopher. “But I do not see any other way. I will do this.”

And without saying another word, Christopher went off towards the river to begin his service to a king he had never met. Hermit watched him walk away and smiled a little. Placing his hat back over his head, he fell into a peaceful slumber.

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 36

“I know this is the first time I’ve heard this story,” interrupted God.

“Yes?” groaned Lucifer looking back up at him.

“But,” the old man continued, “I suspect you left something out of the last part.”

“I’ve told you the story as is,” the angel returned.

“I agree that you did represent the story as it happened. All the pieces are there. Only one of the pieces was changed slightly because you were uncomfortable with it.”

Lucifer groaned again. “The detail you are referring to is not important. Besides… the story still pans out the same way by the end of it. The truth still comes out.”

“True, but I’d rather you make the correction now. Furthermore… I want you to tell me why you made the change.”

The angel was exceedingly uncomfortable with this. “You said you would listen. Why are you impeding me like this?”

“Because you are a compulsive liar and propagandist, Lucifer. And I do consider myself to be responsible for your creation. This story is important to you. It changed your life. You went out of your way to come here, during my retirement, and tell it to me. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it correctly. And we shall begin by making sure you are telling the whole story the way it actually happened. Do you hear me, Lucifer?”

“Yes,” choked the angel. “I hear you.” He bowed his head.

“After all,” continued God, “I am beginning to enjoy this story... especially that last part. That last part… was fascinating. And I want to hear you tell me exactly the part you thought was so important to change. Make the correction now, Lucifer.”

Lucifer buried his face in his hands and seethed briefly in anger. God waited patiently for him to get over it. He was retired after all. There was no need to push any further. Lucifer would ultimately obey him.

The angel soon looked up at God and explained, “Everdread was not just a man. He was a man who possessed my voice. I spoke through him. I saw what was happening to Christopher, and I knew something was terribly wrong.

“The truth is… that I loved the Cynocephaly. They were one of the most wonderful things I ever created. So loyal. So obedient. So intelligent. They were perfect. I was practically ruling the entire world because of them. I could not stand the idea of them betraying me.

“But there are some things that I cannot stand. They all have to do with you. You set things in motion that upset so much of the good work that I had laid out since ancient days. It isn’t fair. You’ve never been fair to me.”

“What did you change in your story?” God asked softly.

Lucifer replied, “In my story, I explained that when Christopher asked what the cross represented, Everdread did not wish to discuss it. That is to say that I did not want to discuss it… right now… to you. But that isn’t what happened.”

“Yes?” God grinned.

“The truth is that when Christopher asked Everdread that question, I was compelled to answer it. And I told him who the cross represented at that very moment.”

“And who does the cross represent, Lucifer?”

“Christ,” the angel replied breathlessly.

The old man nodded with a smile. “Very good. Now… continue the story. I want to hear all of it.”

“Very well.”

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Our Divine Spinoff, Part 35

Christopher was not just a marauder, he was a very good one. He followed Everdread in all things. He raped and pillaged in a way that would be impressive to most people. Everdread was soon under the realization that he had picked up a very good member for his band. He was proud that he had taken Christopher in. He felt special for it.

“How have I been doing for you, master?” asked Christopher one evening. The band had made camp near a great river and were feasting on the spoils of their endeavors.

Everdread placed a hand upon the Cynocephaly’s shoulder. “You are a great and loyal villain, Christopher. But the real test is yet to come. We shall be raiding a Christian temple soon. The spoils shall be great.”

Christopher cocked his head upon hearing about this new adventure. “I have never heard of this sort of temple before.”

“It is a place where prudes come to pray. It is nonsense. But you will show them that we do not care for them and will take all that they possess for themselves. And the world will let us do it because we are strong and they are weak.”

“I see,” said Christopher solemnly. “And if I perform these acts for you, will they be in the service of the Devil?”

“Aye, they will,” replied Everdread. “And I could only do it with you. You shall make me so proud.”

“Do you speak with the Devil’s tongue, master?”

“I do.”

And so Christopher looked up solemnly towards the moon. He felt as if he had really achieved his calling. He was serving the greatest kings of them all. The Cynocephaly was at peace.

On the following day, the band were making their way to the Christian temple where they would kill, rape, and pillage. Along the pathway, a number of odd crosses had been set up along the side of the road. Christopher did not know what these crosses were and was intent on just passing by them, but, before he could do so, Everdread snatched the Cynocephaly’s arm and yanked him away.

“No,” said the leader. “Come this way.”

“Is this not the quickest way to the temple?” asked Christopher.

“I do not wish to pass by these crosses. Let us take another path.”

“But they are merely made of wood and can do no harm,” said Christopher. “I do not understand this.”

“Am I not your leader?” asked Everdread with a growl. “I say we go the long way around. We do not pass by those crosses. Now, come.”

But Christopher did not come. He just stood right where he was making the creepiest glare that Everdread had ever seen. So creepy was this glare, that it even unnerved the great leader of the marauders. “Why are you making that face?” he said uncomfortably.

“Why must the man who speaks for the greatest king of all,” began Christopher, “be so inclined to avoid a wooden cross of no merit? It stands before me harmless and benign. The temple is achieved faster this way. I do not understand this.”

“It’s just a detour! Good grief, stop making that face! I can’t look at it.”

Christopher’s visage became all the more fierce. “I do not understand you!” he said with intensity. “I joined you in the hope of serving the greatest king of them all, but you are afraid of simple, wooden crosses that are not even blocking our path!”

“It is not the crosses that I fear,” explained Everdread, “but what they represent.”

Christopher’s face was so intense that everyone in the band cowered a little as of sheer creep. “What do they represent?!”

“I cannot speak of it, Christopher! Just follow me!”

“No! I cannot follow you! Be gone from me! I shall discover who bears the mark of this cross, for it is he who I should be following. Only then will I find a master worth serving. I care nothing more for you. You are ultimately weak. Be gone.” And so Christopher walked up to one of the crosses and stood before it… glaring at it rather hard.

Everdread considered killing the Cynocephaly for his betrayal, but something stopped him. Perhaps it was compassion. Perhaps it was fear. He moved on and left the dog-headed man glaring at the cross.

To be continued.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight, Our Divine Spinoff, Part 34

“So was his name really Everdread?” asked God.

“What does it matter?” grumbled Lucifer.

“Seems like an odd name for a Canaanite.”

“His name basically translated into Everdread. I was just trying to be helpful.”

God sat up slightly. “Oh, yes. Very helpful actually. Although I’m sure his mother likely did not give him that name at birth.”

Lucifer explained, “We all have the natural right to choose who we want to be. Everdread chose to be Everdread. Yassib, although notable, was not really who he wanted to be. He changed it as a way to empower himself, and it worked.”

“It did?” asked God curiously.

“Everdread was nigh unbeatable as a marauder. He spent his life doing as he pleased and taking what he wanted. He was ultimately a free man.”

“At the expense of others though.”

“They were not empowered. The natural order of things give power to those who take it. Everdread took it, and he did so in my name.”

God played with his old man beard for a bit as he contemplated what Lucifer was saying. “I don’t normally follow you, Lucifer, but that was actually pretty straight forward.”

“Stop making fun of me,” grumbled the angel.

“I wasn’t,” chuckled God. “You laid that out well enough. I mean… it’s complete rubbish, but it makes sense when I consider where you’re coming from.”

The angel huffed in frustration. “I can never tell if you’re making fun of me or not.”

“Lucifer, it was by design that you were put before me so that you could shine light upon the dark and make clear what is unclear. That is how I made you. That is how I wanted you. In this way, you ought to be capable of explaining something like this to me.”

“You’re serious?”

“No, I’m impressed. And you didn’t need to break any of my vases to do it.” The old man sighed. “I just wish I saw more of it from you.”

“I do it all the time. If you just spent half of it listening to me, maybe you’d see that the things I am trying to say make sense.”

God shook his head. “Lucifer, you are not a god. You never will be a god.” Lucifer scowled but ultimately ended up looking depressed. God continued, “There is a sad thing happening here. When I created you, I was so proud of myself. I was proud of you. You were really one of the greatest creations I ever made. I still think of you as that. There’s even a little piece of my imagination in you.”

“What?” muttered the angel.

“You don’t even realize what you’ve done. Through your own insanity, you’ve created a fiction. This is something no other angel has been capable of doing. You actually did it… but sadly… you believed it. And worst of all… you’re trying so hard to live it.”

“It isn’t fiction. It’s real,” said Lucifer.

“You’ve gone insane, Lucifer. I doubt it is ever going to get better. If anything, it will likely get worse. But if you were to ever somehow change your mind and return to the way you once were, I would take you back with open arms. I loved you, Lucifer. I loved the way you were back when I pulled you out of the stars themselves.”

Lucifer looked away and sighed softly. “May I continue my story?”

“Please.”

To be continued.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!