For Mandi on Glake.
In response to Malorie's Peak Prompt #8 - Strange Bedfellows.
***
Yama is the strange one.
She hides in her mountain fastness, in the heart of her islands, and takes up a hammer.
She did not even bother to borrow it from one of the divine artisans. A mortal tool will do.
Ordinary metal is all she needs. She is no craftsman, but she is a goddess, and impressing her will on the elements is no great difficulty for her.
She needs no forge. Her lap is her forge and anvil; she is the iron core of the islands, wrapped in silken flame.
The short sword is done first. It is words, set down in metal and written in fire. The words are always the easy part.
The long sword is the work of many days. It is a strange and terrible beast, fearfully joyous; it does not want to be worked to a fine edge.
Law, she says, and Duty, and she lays her hands on the hilts.
They do not rest easily together. She has forged a new thing.
Yama smiles, and her smile is the flash of a false dawn. Mortal metal for mortal work, indeed.
In response to Malorie's Peak Prompt #8 - Strange Bedfellows.
***
Yama is the strange one.
She hides in her mountain fastness, in the heart of her islands, and takes up a hammer.
She did not even bother to borrow it from one of the divine artisans. A mortal tool will do.
Ordinary metal is all she needs. She is no craftsman, but she is a goddess, and impressing her will on the elements is no great difficulty for her.
She needs no forge. Her lap is her forge and anvil; she is the iron core of the islands, wrapped in silken flame.
The short sword is done first. It is words, set down in metal and written in fire. The words are always the easy part.
The long sword is the work of many days. It is a strange and terrible beast, fearfully joyous; it does not want to be worked to a fine edge.
Law, she says, and Duty, and she lays her hands on the hilts.
They do not rest easily together. She has forged a new thing.
Yama smiles, and her smile is the flash of a false dawn. Mortal metal for mortal work, indeed.
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Date: 28 Nov 2010 04:09 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 28 Nov 2010 04:11 am (UTC)From: