Ancient Gods

Paul Cross
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Preface

Welcome to my book, shitlords.

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Contents

I O’ Pan 1
1 A Land of Mist 3

2 The Lamplighter’s Tale 7

3 The Scholar’s Tale 9

4 The Apothecary’s Tale 11

5 Into the forest 13

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iv CONTENTS
Part I

O’ Pan

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Chapter 1

A Land of Mist

Upon a cliff sat an inn. A small, decrepit, and ancient inn. Yet an inn,
nevertheless. Though, in any other time, it would have been discarded, this
particular building sat as a beacon of civilisation to any wandering traveller.
Many people found themselves on paths between towns, lit by amber light.
But as ever, the paths were treacherous, claiming many lives with countless
souls swallowed up by the maw-like crags that lay hidden within the mist.
To strive off any road here was almost certain death.
At the foot of the cliff lay a great expanse of forest. It stretched far
beyond the horizon, it’s vastness consuming even mountains if one was lucky
enough to even see that far. The forest itself always seemed to sit below the
mist, eerily silent. For even though the forest seemed free of dangerous falls,
another danger fell there. For it was dark. For it was silent. For you could
always know, if you found yourself there, that He would be watching you.
For that dark, dark, dark expanse was Pan’s Forest, and His alone.
The inn saw itself marked with time, as rot had taken hold of the many
thick wooden trusses that lay throughout it’s foundation. Candle light illu-
minated many parts of the inn. At the front door, ghosts of the past had
etched their memory upon the threshold, with small markings detailing their
name and year with some reaching as far back as a thousand years. Who
knows how long the inn had really been there. Yet the fact it remained
standing was seemingly a miracle, but the church ensured that the inn never
went untended, for it was too important to lose.
Yet now our story does not concern Gods, history, nor churches, but
instead travellers on their ways to places unknown. People who found them-
selves unlikely patrons of that decrepit inn. At a centre table, three persons
spoke amongst themselves. A scholar, a lamplighter, and an apothecary.
In the farthest corner from the bar, a young man passed out in an alcoholic
fugue was snoring loudly. Attempts had been made to engage with him prior,

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4 CHAPTER 1. A LAND OF MIST

but he merely shunned any approach. The bartender, as ever, quietly tended
to the casks and glassware while carefully listening in on the tales of the inn
that passed through its wall.
“T’was no trick o’ me eyes,” said the Lamplighter, “I have seen many
things in my years n’ that I can be sure of.”
“Certainly, I do not doubt your claims sir,” said the Scholar, “But in my
humble experience, I have not seen these wisps you speak of personally. The
mists play many tricks on the mind. And perhaps, though they may be real
to you, they are nothing short of imaginations.”
“Hah! n’ how long have ya travelled, sir? How can the mist construct
something so haunting yet beautiful, something so striking and colourful,
something so out of it’s grey endlessness?”
“Hm,” said the Scholar, “I could not tell you now and I have only just
begun my travels, in pilgrimage to that farthest point on the continent, to
seek divine truth.”
“Ah,” said the Apothecary, “So, you are a holy man?..”
“Quite. As part of my studies, I am to travel to the Foregone Abbey and
it’s library to read the most ancient texts,” said the Scholar.
The lamplighter was old, and adorned a thick leather jacket. His hands
were callous and covered in soot, and though his facial hair was thick it did
not do much to betray a smile. The scholar, however, was an aloof young
man with clothing of an eastern-make, beneath his subtle off-white cloak.
This covering featured a star-like embroidery pattern on its back and front.
The apothecary was a pale woman with her styling appearing as a mixture
of dark purples and murky greens. Upon her head was a hat with a feather
fastened to its brim, perhaps as a keepsake or ingredient.
“Hah,” said the Lamplighter, before taking a swig of his ale, “I have met
many of your folk in this place, none the wiser I say to treat such things as
delirium, if ye beg me saying so.”
“Hmm... no insult is taken, friend,” the Scholar replied, “But it is inter-
esting for you to be dismissive of me. I find this interesting as you appear to
act for the Light, not against it.”
“Aye,” responded the Lamplighter, ”For it is precisely your denial that
makes ye so vulnerable. As ye travel, ye’ll see it and it will draw you in...
And I light the lamps precisely because I fear the fate that lay for those who
venture into that mist”
“I have heard many stories my friend, and I thank you for your concern,”
said the scholar ”But tricks are what I expect.”
“So, I take it,” the Apothecary continued, “as part of this pilgrimage,
journeying through this land is how you confront-”
“The darkness, yes.” replied the Scholar.
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“Fascinating, t’is always interesting to hear such foreign things,” The

apothecary responded. The scholar smiled, knowing there was no good reason
to continue.
As they spoke, the day grew old and darkness soon fell upon them. During
the night was when the paths looked particularly ethereal. The lamps of
amber light shone brightly, at equal distance. The fog, now as thick as ever,
seemed like an ever undulating wall; parting at the pathways, and dancing
around lamplight as though a ghost drawn towards yet wary of flame.
Inside the inn, it had grown quiet. The bartender had withdrawn to
his quarters. Now, it seemed as tiredness was seeping, the conversations
turned sombre and grew ever deeper and more personal, with alcohol as
their gatekeeper. Soon, each traveller would speak of their souls...
6 CHAPTER 1. A LAND OF MIST
Chapter 2

The Lamplighter’s Tale

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8 CHAPTER 2. THE LAMPLIGHTER’S TALE
Chapter 3

The Scholar’s Tale

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10 CHAPTER 3. THE SCHOLAR’S TALE
Chapter 4

The Apothecary’s Tale

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12 CHAPTER 4. THE APOTHECARY’S TALE
Chapter 5

Into the forest

This was a sight almost indescribable to any persons, to any animal, or to

any thing. For the creature that stood before [name] had glowing green-eyes,
with pupils that appeared as flame set deep in the sockets of a skull. Yes,
a skull, as perhaps the only way to truly explain what could be seen would
be to think of a corpse – a skeleton – of several animals or persons. Deer,
goat, and man. Skeletons of things that had somehow become animated
through possession by a living and moving tree, with the skull of a deer atop
it’s body. Yet, this was no bone but rather a dark wood, perhaps that of
an Elder tree, or something unearthly yet to be discovered. This heaving
abomination stood taller than any man, on two goat-like legs, with moss
was falling from its person, as though to be skin that had been flayed and
ripped away. At the centre of it’s human-like ribcage was an inhumanly large
heart with an eerily green glow to it, with several tendrils emanating from
it’s centre. And, finally, a large claw-like hand that glowed the same eerie
green.

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14 CHAPTER 5. INTO THE FOREST