It was absolutely ages ago now, but does anyone remember DIY Mythology? (https://ravensblog2017.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/d-i-y-mythology/) Well, I *finally* have something to share lol. It’s a little weird…but that’s what you expect from me anyway, right?
They say, don’t they, that if you see a white stag, he’s there to lead you to something? Something special, something important, total disaster…quite possibly all three.
So he knew, the second he saw one emerge from the trees, that he needed to follow him.
Holding his breath, he walked over to the Otherworldly creature. It towered above him; at least twice the size of the red and fallow deer he was used to seeing. Also unlike the deer he was used to, this one had three eyes; one on each side of his head, in the regular fashion, and one in the centre of his forehead, below his impressive set of white antlers.
All three soft, pink eyes watched the man as he carefully raised a hand in greeting. The stag let the man get close; close enough to reach out and touch him, close enough for him to hear the man whisper, without quite meaning to say it aloud, “Gods, you’re beautiful”…And then he was off.
Never too far, though, and never too fast. Always close enough for the man to see where he was and follow him.
After a little while, the stag had led the man to a small valley with a steep, rocky embankment…and then, impossibly, disappeared from sight. There were no trees he could have hidden behind, he was just…gone. Wondering what was supposed to happen next, the man scanned the embankment. About two thirds of the way up was a little cave, and on the ledge the man could just see a large, cream-coloured egg; smaller than, say, an ostrich egg, but certainly larger than anything laid by your standard chicken or goose.
No explanation was required. Without hesitation, the man began to climb up towards the egg. He was not exactly an athlete, but with a little determination he got himself up there.
Cautiously, he peered into the small cave mouth. Inside it opened out into a little cavern, in the centre of which sat the egg. What the man had not seen, from down on the ground, was the elderly giantess guarding the egg.
The first thing of her that he saw were her skeleton hands, resting protectively around the egg. The rest of her was curled up at the back of the cave, her knees up by her chin. Her ancient and wrinkled face was, to his relief, smiling at him.
She did not speak, but somehow the man knew what he was supposed to do. Perhaps it was instinct, perhaps the giantess communicated it to him somehow, perhaps the creature within the egg itself told him what to do…either way, he scraped together the scraps and tufts of dry grass littering the cave floor, found a pair of twigs, and set about making a fire.
It wasn’t easy – the tools available were far from perfect – but with a little perseverance he managed to get a spark, then a tiny flame. Gently he coaxed the flame, encouraging it out across the pathetic heap of grass. Once the little fire was going, he scooped it all into his lap, and placed the egg into it.
The man and his clothes remained unburnt, but the egg charred from it’s pure and soothing cream to a deep, earthy reddish-brown. The man felt the being inside begin to move, and it was not long before cracks appeared on the darkened shell. Who knew how long this egg had lain dormant, but now, it was hatching.
He had not been sure exactly what he was expecting, but it was not this. The creature who broke free from it’s egg was somewhat like a bird, with striking red, black and purple plumage. But it was also reptilian in ways; it had a snapping mouth full of spiky little teeth, and claws on it’s wings clung sharply to the man’s bare arms. The half-skeleton giantess beamed down at the pair of them.
“Take it,” she said.
With his new little friend clinging to his top, the man climbed back down the embankment. When he reached the bottom, the stag was there again, waiting for him. Ready to lead him on.
