The Spirit Chaser

&& Shrouds and Toenail Polishes && “Do you not like my dress - - - my cloak - - - my shroud - - - “Lifelike - - - isn’t it - - - some actually believe that it is the skin of a god - - - others - - - the non-believers if you will - - - believe that it is a burial cloak of a god - - - whichever their believe - - - it doesn’t matter - - - as long as they believe me a god - - - and - - - their gold keeps flowing freely - - - “In the Olden Times - - - as do the devout today - - - they believed that to dress as a god was to become a god - - - “Imagine - - - “The Old Superstitious Fools believed that Dressing as a God was to become a God - - - Ridiculous - - - Foolish - - - Ludicrous - - - They believed that - - - Painting some poor fool gold - - - Killing him - - - and - - - then - - - wearing his flayed skin - - - (!!! UGH !!!) - - - Enabled them - - - somehow - - - to assume the power of a god! Idiotic - - - Delusional - - - Laughable - - - “Then - - - “And this is most laughable - - - The Old Superstitious Fools believed that Killing some other poor fool painted black - - - a - - - Night God Mime - - - enabled day to defeat night and for them to make one day change into another - - - for them to enable one millennia to pass into another - - - to enable one galaxy to cross into another - - - to cross the galactic plane - - - “I’ll wear - - - The Robes - - - The Trappings - - - The Crown - - - “I’ll wear - - - This Robe - - - This Gown - - - This Shroud - - - “This Shroud - - - Human - - - you ask? Human Skin - - - you ask?? Human Shroud - - - you ask??? “No - - - Not Human - - - Not Priestly - - - Not Divine - - - “Poor Fools - - - “Poor Deluded Fools - - - “Some - - - speaking freely and boldly - - - Truly believe this shroud to be the Burial Shroud of my Predecessor - - - “Others - - - whispering in the shadows - - - Truly believe this shroud to be the Flayed Skin of my Predecessor - - - “But - - - “It matters not - - - “It matters not what they believe - - - as long as they believe - - - “For - - - “If - - - “The truth be known - - - I made it - - - I painted it - - - painting it in the dark of night - - - painting a face and even toenails - - - painted toenails - - - painting - - - both toenails and fingernails - - - on this piece of leather - - - on this most supple and pliable piece of leather - - - said Four Hands - - - stretching out his arms and turning full circle - - - so that the warrior might see all of the exquisite detail of the shroud - - - “Not only did I make this shroud - - - but - - - I had it copied - - - copied down to the smallest detail - - - not once - - - but - - - several times - - - “Several times did I have this shroud copied - - - “I hired some poor fool - - - some poor fool desperate for money - - - some poor fool even more desperate for fame - - - some poor ignorant fool - - - a - - - fool - - - yes - - - but - - - a fool of the most considerable and most formidable of talents - - - “I hired some poor fool to make copies - - - to paint copies of this shroud - - - but - - - not one - - - or - - - two - - - or - - - three - - - copies - - - but - - - several copies - - - painting several copies on this most supple and loving of leathers - - - so - - - that each shroud would always look fresh and new - - - and - - - ALIVE - - - as if - - - some divinity were protecting it from aging and death - - - “I’ve even had slight - - - imperceptible - - - differences painted into each shroud - - - smiling faces - - - and - - - scowling faces - - - so that it might convey my slightest mood - - - my slightest thought - - - without my even having to speak a word - - - “See - - - “This one - - - said Four Hands Turning so that The Warrior might have a better look at the painted face - - - See - - - This one has a most terrible and ferocious scowl - - - with which to frighten you warrior - - - Are you frightened warrior - - - if not - - - you should be - - - “Yes - - - “Wonderfully Painted - - - Most Wonderfully Painted - - - for I have a shroud for each occasion - - - although I must confess that I have more than double the number of scowling shrouds - - - than I have of smiling shrouds - - - “But - - - “All in a day’s work - - - “All in the day’s work of a GOD - - - “But - - - “However - - - “You must most certainly admit that it is most clever - - - “Clever - - - is it not? “In any event - - - back to the poor talented fool - - - “I kept praising him - - - day in and day out - - - plying him with sweet wines and sweet meats - - - until - - - one day his work was done - - - “Then - - - “When - - - “He came for his money I killed him - - - couldn’t have him babbling to everyone and no one about how he had painted several priestly shrouds for me - - - so I killed him - - - “I could have gouged out his eyes - - - torn out his tongue - - - but - - - it was much easier to offer him a poison in a goblet of his favorite sweet wine - - - which he greedily drank - - - best to kill him and be done with it - - - much easier - - - than to spend even one sleepless night worrying about whether he might blab about his handiwork here - - - thought that he was painting these shrouds to honor my predecessor - - - to be hung around the Temple of Worship - - - the fool - - - but - - - little did he know that he was painting these shrouds to ensure my godhood - - - my power - - - so - - - that I might keep my head along with my crown - - - for - - - a crown - - - sitting on a head - - - which in turn were to be sitting on a pike would be of no avail to me - - - no - - - no avail at all - - - “Ahhh – “The Fools - - - the poor little insignificant fools - - - “How do you like it? “How do you like it - - - warrior? “I could have made the arms rigid - - - like this - - - as - - - Four Hands stretched his arms out sideways - - - but that would have made it most cumbersome to move around - - - I could have folded the arms in front of me - - - like this - - - as - - - Four Hands crossed his arms in front of himself - - - but - - - that would have made it most difficult to snuggle up close to the banquet table - - - so - - - I decided to simply loop my hands through these drawstrings here - - - and - - - slightly tighten - - - so that the hands move with me - - - like so - - - it is much more simple and much more elegant - - - don’t you think??? “And - - - “Have you noticed this? “Have you noticed this - - - warrior? “See This? I’m clever - - - Divinely Clever - - - “I tell the fools that these are the wing feathers of the mythical Khangard - - - mythical - - - for - - - he never existed - - - but - - - in reality they’re really the tail feathers of an exotic game cock - - - nothing more than cock feathers - - - “No one knows - - - “Nobody suspects - - - “For - - - “The only time these fools have seen a rooster is in the meat market - - - when it is hanging dead by the feet - - - already plucked and gutted and ready to eat - - - they’re nothing but city folks here - - - easier to control - - - less independent - - - less resourceful than their rebellious brethren of the plains and - - - especially - - - you - - - Rebellious Rabble of the mountains - - - Rebellious Rabble - - - Bastard Brethren - - - Spurious Sistren - - - Rakish Race - - - “They - - - “Who fear neither god nor man - - - They - - - “Who still cling tightly to their childish stories of messiahs who will appear - - - Messiahs - - - Maidens falling from the Sky like raindrops - - - Mountains walking from - - - from - - - one side of this room to the other - - - ‘Myths - - - ‘Fantasies - - - ‘Myths and Fantasies appearing and reappearing - - - ‘Maidens and Mountains and Who-Knows-What-Else - - - “Rubbish - - - “Let it be known - - - “I’ll gladly burn - - - The Incense - - - The Offerings - - - The Victims - - -