The inside of the building, from what Darian could see, was a large open room with a number of mats spread out across its floor. It was dimly lit with candles that hung upon the walls, casting shadows of the humans who were knelt upon the fabric, their heads bowed and their hands clasped together. What tugged at the boy’s curiosity most, however, was what the humans were kneeling in front of, for it was a grand statue set on an elevated platform. The impling boy wasn’t quite sure if the statue was meant to be male or female, but it was clearly human, as well and carved from gold. The figure stood straight with its arms outstretched, as though preparing to embrace some other being. There was a serene look on its face that made the boy feel almost reassured – strange, for it wasn’t something that he normally felt around humans.
“Darian, get down from there!” Henry’s familiar voice cut through the little boy’s thoughts right before there was a sharp tug on his tail. This prompted a squeak from Darian and he looked down from where he’d been perched on a ledge by the building’s window. “Are you trying to get caught?! You know what’ll happen if they see you!”
“Okay, okay! I just wanted to see what they were doing!” Darian hopped down from the ledge, landing next to the older boy. “What’re they doing in there though? They were all sitting in front of some big statue.”
“Darian, we don’t have time for this. It’s late, and the guards are already out, now let’s go!” Henry replied before grabbing the younger boy’s hand. A pout quickly formed on Darian’s face as he was towed along.
“C’mon Henry, what were they doin’? They were bein’ really weird! Henryyyyyyy!” Darian whined, though he took care to keep his voice down even while doing so. It would be bad news if a couple of implings, children or not, were caught within the town’s borders.
“The building that you were looking into was a temple, so they were probably praying or something, now be quiet.” Henry replied as he stopped at the edge of at the alleyway they’d been in, peeking around to check for soldiers. He quickly pulled Darian across the street when he saw none, taking cover in the next passage.
“Prayin’?” Darian frowned as he repeated the answer he’d been given. “That wasn’t prayin’! Me an’ you don’t sit in front of statues when we pray, an’ they didn’t have any prayer beads!”
“Humans don’t pray the same way that implings do, Darian.” Henry said, sighing with exasperation. Darian wasn’t deterred though.
“Well, why not?”
“I don’t know. I guess maybe it’s because they don’t believe in the same gods that we do. Now PLEASE, Darian, keep quiet.” Henry heard the younger boy let out a sigh of his own, but was relieved to find that Darian had at last gone silent for the time being.
This lasted until they got back to the cave that served as their home.
“Henry, what did you mean when you said that the humans don’t believe in the same gods as us?” Again, Darian’s questions returned as his curiosity got the better of him. As far as he was concerned, the older boy’s last statement hadn’t made any sense. “They gotta believe in ‘em. Those’re the only ones!”
“That’s not what the humans think.” Henry said, far more willing to answer Darian’s questions now that they were in the relative safety of their home. “Humans only believe in two gods: Mar, and Mir.”
“Why?” Darian gave Henry a puzzled look as he posed the question. “Don’t they know that there’re twelve? An’ none of them are named Mar or Mir! That’s dumb!” This time, Henry chuckled in response to Darian’s statement, causing the little boy to blink in confusion.
“They’d probably say the same thing to you if you told them otherwise.” the older boy said as he dug around in the bag that they’d put the food they’d stolen in. He pulled out a couple pieces of bread for the two of them, tossing one over to Darian. The little boy fumbled slightly, but managed not to drop his morsel.
“Well, they shouldn’t, ‘cause they’re wrong!” The offended look on Darian’s face was enough to make Henry laugh again. “What’s so funny?”
“What makes you think that we’re right, and they’re not?” Henry asked, grinning to the smaller impling. The answer, Darian thought, was quite obvious.
“’Cause we wouldn’t pray to them if they weren’t.” Darian stated as though it were a matter of fact.
“If that’s the case, then why would they pray to their gods? And have you ever seen one of ours gods?” Henry queried. Darian opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped when he’d actually processed the question and thought for a moment.
“Well, no…” the little boy said slowly, his tail flicking from side to side. “I can see what they’ve made though. Someone had to make the world.” It was a simple answer, but a sufficient one as far as Darian thought.
“What if we were wrong though? What if it WAS made by some other gods?” Henry asked gently as he leaned back against one of the cavern walls. “Do you have a way to tell for certain that it was them who made it?”
Darian didn’t, admittedly, and the little boy was somewhat disturbed by that thought. The child was silent as Henry reminded him to pray to Terris and Merila before eating, and remained as such even after he’d finished his bread. If they didn’t know for sure if the gods existed, then why did they pray to them? Why did they ask for their help? Never before had Darian questioned the belief in the gods, but now the boy couldn’t get the idea out of his head. He spent much of the evening playing with the rosary that hung around his wrist, seemingly deep in thought. It wasn’t until Henry told him that it was time to go to bed that the dark-furred impling finally piped up again.
“Henry? If we don’t know that the gods exist for sure, then…how come we should believe in them?” the child asked as he crawled beneath his blanket and looked up at the older boy. Henry paused for a moment, thinking about it, before dropping down next to Darian.
“Nobody said that we should – believing without proof is part of having faith though. Remember, the humans still believe in their gods, and they’ve never seen them before either.” Henry reached down to tuck Darian in. “Do you still believe? Even if you don’t know for sure?”
Darian seemed to think about it, his face scrunching up as he pondered the question, and Henry had to smother a grin at the sight. Finally, the little boy said, “I think so, yeah…”
“Then that’s all that matters, right?” This time, Henry let himself smile, and he poked the boy’s nose gently. “If that’s what you believe, then never mind what anyone else believes. Now, how about we get some sleep, alright? The two of us are gonna go swimming tomorrow.”
At the mention of that, Darian was only all too willing to snuggle down under his blanket and close his eyes. Henry chuckled before lying down to do the same, and in the dim light of the dying fire, the beads and charms on Darian’s rosary seemed to glow softly.
Megg's Scrawlings 