A new faith in a single God has captured a polity, raising or replacing the old temples and extinguishing the old gods. All except one, a "Tree Mother" whose grove Deep in the wilderness has been out of reach, for all who have tried to burn her put have returned shaken, wounded, or not at all.
Yet one priest is insistent, and takes the task of eradicating this last bastion of paganism to heart. -- Deathshead419
The story is told of a wise teacher who worked miracles like a divinity. He explained the laws of the faith he followed and gave simpler rules for the people to follow. Chief among those were: don't hoard wealth, and be kind to each other.
Naturally, those who were cruel and had a lot of wealth objected to this, and killed him about it. Too late, of course. His followers were both underground and widespread.
His name was Ieshu, and his symbol - for reasons unknown to the authorities at the time - was a fish. The authorities, the kingdom, the soldiers, and even the city in which it happened were all gone by the time Baernadina, minor priestess of a fringe Ieshite cult took up devotion to the faith. She had read the Holy Words and Speeches. Read the stories and scriptures of all Ieshu's apostles. And like many before her, decided that the heretics must be expunged from the known world.
Fortunately for the rest of Alfarell, Baernadina's known world extended no further than the shores of Hagafarven. And even then, not by much. It was a risk to her soul to preach at the docks, and she didn't want to endure the pollution caused by the temptations of rough folk from the demon-cursed seas. Besides, representatives from all the Ieshite sects were there already. Attempting to convert the filthy heathen and redeem the besmirched heretic while there was still something to fix within Hagafarven.
Specifically, the tiny cults within the hard-to-reach places. So she took her books and a foraging guide and set off into the mountains, valleys, caves, and cliffs that harboured heretics and heathens. She was fully prepared to be a martyr, and kept a journal guaranteed to survive long enough to be found by anyone looking for her after the fact. She would sit at Ieshu's right hand if the outsiders ended her life in a horrible manner.
Unfortunately, she could not find any violent and atrocious heathens. They all worshiped Ieshu in various aspects. They all pointed to different areas where they though heretics were, but none could be found.
Everyone she met wore the fish, had their martyrs and saints to pray to. They had their temples, clerics, and infrastructure that was clearly the faith of Ieshu.
Then she heard about the Green Grove.
"They say the cultists there dance naked under the mother moon when she's full," said one.
"They say them heathens down there have orgies every autumn, and no woman among 'em knows who fathered their babe," added another.
"And if a babe's sickly or weak? They roast it and feast on it, giving their tree god its poor little bones," said a third.
"Be wary," said a kindly old goodmother. "Many have gone in to set that tree alight. None have come back."
Baernadina held fast to the fish hanging from her neck with one hand, and to the very thick holy book with the other. "What I do, I do for Ieshu, to bring the light of His glory to all." And if she became a saint because of that, then that was a bonus.
Fearless as only a holy fool can be, she walked unarmed into the vale of the tree cult.
It was beautiful, as any temptation would be. The land was bountiful, the buildings were sturdy and well-kept. The people seemed to be doing ordinary people things. Yet there was no temple. Neither bell nor caller to bring them to worship at the appointed hours. If there were sins against Ieshu here, they were wise to hide them.
Of course they had flowers, vines, and feathers in their hair. Of course their clothing was simple and plain. Of course they greeted her with false smiles and pretended eagerness. Of course they didn't understand that Baernadina was forbidden certain things they considered everyday foods. They didn't know what was unclean or why certain foods were only permitted on certain days.
So she did the charitable thing and educated them. Preaching at anyone who would listen. Reading the Holy Words to anyone who would stand still long enough.
It was not as successful as Baernadina dreamed, in either direction. They neither reacted to her sermons with murderous anger nor rapt interest. They treated her as something to entertain them when they had nothing better to do. Which was very irritating.
Some would attempt to sing along when she sang the hymns or psalms to mark her hours. Some would provide a counterpoint or improvisations with her singing. Any lever was a lever to turn them to Ieshu and away from their barbarian tree goddess.
As the leaves of the forested vale began to turn, Baernadina noticed a significant lack of an audience. Those who came to sing with her and maybe listen to a short sermon were too young or too old to participate in the orgies she'd heard about.
"Where is everyone?" Baernadina asked, suspecting the answer.
The elder nearest answered with, "All of age are asking the favour of the Green. All left here are done with favours or don't want them."
The absolute naked heathenism! "Well. I shall see what manner of favours this... 'god' may offer." Book under her arm, she marched smartly to the heathen grove.
Disappointingly, all present were fully clothed and vertical. Circling a gigantic tree of feminine form, hand in hand and singing. Baernadine could not understand their words and instantly interpreted their music as a heathen, and evil, spell.
Then the tree moved.
It was a woman. A godly, feminine figure with a face from the old, heretical texts. The female aspect of Will o' the Woods. Apito. Goddess of things growing, of flower and fruit. She and her son would encourage growing things to flourish and be fertile. Or so the heathens believed.
"Cease! In the name of Ieshu, I bid you turn aside from false gods! Come into the light and love of the one true divinity!" Baernadina began reciting the rite of exorcism at the top of her voice.
The tree woman rolled her wooden eyes and said, "Another one," in a resigned whisper. A wave of her branches and Baernadine felt her body start to sting and tingle from the toes upwards.
As the bark began to creep across her arms, Baernadine finally noticed that the grove was ringed by very human-shaped trees. Each with a book embedded in the trunk, and a fish hung about it where a neck had once been...
[Photo by Borja Verbena on Unsplash]
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