Odessus

The words of Odessus.

For seven days we chanted, adrift upon the seas, for seven days we called upon Poseidon to come forth and bless us with his presence. Seven days, in which we chanted continuously, from dawn till the late hours of the night, till finally we would collapse one by one, sleeping only when we had no more strength to utter another word in his praise. So desperate were we to look upon the countenance of he who blessed us with his power. So deeply was our conviction that we must know his true words, and hear, from his lips, the truth we had only before felt in visions. For these seven days and nights we ate only when rising from our uncomfortable slumber, eating sparsely not knowing how long we would be waiting for him to answer our call.
The only provision we had brought too little of was fresh water, and by the end of the seventh day our throats were as dry as the sand of the beach we had first departed from. Knowing it would only harm us we could not help ourselves from drinking the cool water of the oceans. That night, the night of the seventh day, a strange revelation overcame me, I realised suddenly that the motion of the seas and the rocking of our so small conical, that we had prepared ourselves for this purpose, was no longer alien to me, and in fact that the water had become more stable, more welcoming to me, than the land I had left. And so it was that on the eighth day, just as our food was at an end, and our bodies wracked with pain from hunger and quenching our thirst with the salt water, that he answered our call. The disturbance in the water was at least a mile away but it was visible from our conical, there in the distance, a churning could be seen, as if of something rising through the water. I was not the only one to witness this, and I am thankful lest I would be taken for mad, or driven to hallucination by the diet of salt water. There rising from the waves he came, Poseidon himself, Lord of the Oceans and shaker of the land. First we viewed the points of his Golden crown rising from the deep, each larger than the tallest tree, the blazing metal reflecting the bright glare till it shone like the sun. Then his head rose beneath it, a mane of long black hair, so dark it was such as night itself, falling in perfect rings to his broad shoulders so that it, combined with the dark beard of similar perfection framed a face that at once contained the Passion, the Strength and the Knowledge of he who the seas called master. He rose, his bare chest showing the strength of this mighty ancestor, he manifested before us. I must confess that my three fellow worshippers and I were very taken aback by this magnificent countenance, we gazed in awe upon our Ancestor and then, as our fear was only held at bay by the power of our faith and conviction he spoke. His words will stay with me for my existence. �Who comes so far, calling my name?� His voice, golden and yet as strong as the oceans, it came to us and was at once a sound beyond our comprehension and yet reassuring and welcoming. Finally I found my voice and replied, �We four, your most humble servants and worshipers almighty Poseidon.� At this he gazed down upon us and to our amazement smiled. �Wise Odessus, noble Dreba, faithful Veron, Humble Francisa. Do you not think I recognised your call, do you not think I knew your purpose? You are welcome here upon my waves, have you not felt the change, have you not realised this is a home to you now. You have endured the cruelty of the oceans, and they have not found you lacking. Truly you have proved you courage. And your faith. But know this, You do not serve me, no more than I serve you, you do me great service upon the lands, you teach those who would pass upon my realm to respect it, to acknowledge that the lands they pass upon are not theirs to own, they belong to me and those who dwell within them, but you teach them well that if they are respectful, they may travel in peace, and that if they give appropriate thanks, they may take what bounty my kingdom may choose to grant them. And in turn I serve you, have there not been times when your people have been injured, have not you called upon me and I have granted the power to heal them, have not your enemies threatened you and you have found the power to protect your peoples. Truly neither I serve you, nor you serve me, we serve each other.�
He reached out his hand and we felt the strength of him flow upon us, and we were revitalised, it was as if we had feasted upon the finest foods and drank our fill of the freshest water. This done Poseidon nodded to us and spoke once more.
�You have come seeking answers, there have been questions that have troubled you. This I understand, very well, you may each ask one question, choose wisely for I can never reveal to much of the truth to you, there must always be more for you to discover, there must always be secrets.�
At this we pulled our gaze from him and looked at each other, unsure as to who should ask their question first. Finally it was Dreba, the proudest of us who spoke first. �Great Poseidon, with your great power, why do you not crush your enemies, why do you not sweep the lands of Edreja clean of those who are evil, those who defy you?�