This assignment for my writing class was to show someone who seriously considers changing his religion.
Kuhreel took the still-warm body of his son and placed it before the statue of Orn the Bear-God. Prostrating himself, he wailed his grief for several seconds. Then he rose to his feet, thumped his chest twice and began to shout his prayer. “Mighty Orn, strongest of the gods, I call on you to give my son’s body the strength to live again. I am Kuhreel, a warrior before you, and my son will follow behind me. Hear my prayer, Bear-God.”
He looked down at Alahirk’s body, but it did not stir, and the broken bones did not straighten themselves. The women of the village moaned softly behind him, as was the custom.
Gently he lifted the body and placed it before the statue of Reshar the Mother-Goddess. He bowed low before her, and whispered, “Loving Reshar, kindest of the gods, I beg you give my son back to me, for I love him as you love your sons. Please. Hear my prayer, Mother-Goddess.”
Alahirk’s body lay unchanged on the ground, and the moaning of the women grew louder.
The gods were not answering his prayers. And if they would not now, when he needed them most, what good were they?
Suddenly, the women stopped moaning, which was not the custom, and Kuhreel stared at the body of his son, wondering if the women had seen a change he had not.
Then two figures clad in shimmering silver, a man and a woman he had never before seen, came up beside him. The woman bent down and suddenly jabbed Alahirk in the chest with a long needle.
Kuhreel moved to stop the woman from desecrating his son’s body, but the man grabbed him. The man’s grip was incredibly strong, and Kuhreel found himself unable to move.
The man jabbered incomprehensibly to the woman, and she replied the same way. She was now straightening Alahirk’s broken bones, and Kuhreel realized that she was trying to help in some fashion.
A mighty male and a caring female — were these two Orn and Reshar come in response to his prayers? He looked at the man’s face; it did not look like a bear’s. “Are you Orn, powerful one? Is she Reshar?”
The man shook his head. “We are not your gods, Kuhreel. We are not anybody’s gods.”
Then Alahirk made a croaking sound as he gasped in a breath. His body shuddered and he cried out in pain.
The man released Kuhreel, who immediately knelt down beside his son, his living son. Tears blurred his vision. “Thank you.”
The woman in silver said, “He will need to rest for several days while the bones and other wounds heal. You must give him lots of milk to drink, and meat to eat when he is able.”
Nodding, Kuhreel said, “Thank you, Goddess.”
She smiled. “I am not your goddess.”
Kuhreel got to his feet and walked over to the statue of Orn. Placing both hands on its chest, he pushed with all his strength until the statue fell back off its pedestal. Then he attempted to push the statue of Reshar onto its side, but the man in silver grabbed his arm and held it firm.
“Why are you doing this?” the man asked.
“You say you are not anybody’s gods, but you have brought my son back to life. From this day forward, you are my gods, and the gods of my village.”