The Servants of the Pigeon
I.

There is a common misconception that gods do not die, they do, and it is not something glamorous. A god’s death is as we know it. One last breath, and then they’re dead. Gods, who wielded power, who lorded over people, who were once great creatures, dragons and leviathans, are capable of the most common act, death.

They created out of something unknown, the void -no one has ascertained what this is- Over time their power wanes and their form weakens their forms no longer dragons but rather they became birds. Many gods have gone to large cities, hoping to gather power and influence, although as a small creature, it is hard, though not impossible to gather a cult.

This is the story, from some eternity ago about how one of the oldest gods, a small bird managed to gather a cult, and become great again, truly great. It begins as most stories do, a long time ago, in a land far, far away when gods were as big as mountains and the people were a simple folk. Who would fear these great beasts and worshipped them.

This pigeon god (at the time he was not a pigeon) He fancied himself lord of the sky, he was young and bullheaded. (I will note here his name cannot be written in this tongue), was a great dragon, and had the people worship him for fear of their live. Eventually the worshippers dwindled, and so the pigeon god asked an eagle, who was a god himself and deceitful, though the pigeon god did not know this.

“Why have the worshippers stopped coming, to bathe in my awe? They must know of my power.” The eagle laughed at the pigeon god and asked him,

“Have you seen yourself? You are no more a dragon, but rather a drake, you could not harm them.” This enraged the pigeon god, for he was convinced this was true, (it was only partially true) and in a rage he sent a storm upon the people killing them. He moved on to another village far from the original one.

Some time passed and the pigeon god became less than a drake- a small bird and flew from the people in fear. He fled because he ruled through terror, and the people were not frightened. Eventually after a long time had passed the pigeon god landed on an island which people flourished and built massive towers whose tops would pierce the sky. The towers glowed brighter than the stars and could display fantastic pictures. The pigeon god landed on this island and asked a small bird where the people gathered so they could bathe in his awe. The bird laughed at him and said

“In what world do the people worship birds like us?” The pigeon god who was enraged at the insult called a storm on to the bird, but it was only a gust of wind, for with the diminishing form came diminishing power. So upon this revelation the pigeon god, who himself was a small bird, flew to the highest tower on the island and saw a young person and asked them:

“Where do the people gather, so they might bathe in my awe and give me power once more?” the young human laughed at the pigeon god and ran away. This pattern was repeated for some time, long enough for the pigeon god to almost given up. However the tables turned when an inquisitive rat asked the pigeon god if he was once great and worshipped in a far off land. The pigeon god grew excited said he was and the rat led him to an old man.

“This man is always talking about a sky god who is great but his draconic form turned into that of a bird” the rat said “I am a god, but never was I powerful, I understand what it is like to lose your worshippers.” The pigeon god (who mostly ignored this) walked up to the man and waited.

The old man asked the pigeon god,

“Are you the great god?” (It must be noted again here that the name of the god cannot be written in this tongue) The pigeon god replied that it was so and was then taken to a place deep underneath a building, where the sun could not shine. This is where he was to live and be worshipped.

II.

After many months of being worshipped the pigeon god was dissatisfied with a lack of power and demanded a sacrifice, now the priest, the old man, said that the worshippers were poor and had nothing to sacrifice to the Great Pigeon, as he had became known. (Though he greatly disapproved of this title.) The pigeon god grew angry and sent a rainstorm upon the people of the island. (He was not quite powerful enough to send a proper storm, one of lightning and howling winds.) This caused the priest sent for a sacrifice, a lamb, which was quite hard to acquire in the immensity of the city where farmland was far away. The priest led the worshipers to a hidden part of the island and ordered them to build a brazier, and they did. They set the lamb upon it and sacrificed the lamb to the pigeon god, did gain power although was still undeniably a pigeon. The pigeon god saw the minimal effect that the sacrifice had and he knew that he needed to gather a rather large following to worship him if he was to become great once more.

The pigeon god sent forth to find other gods that may have fled to this island, for he suspected the rat was not the only one. A decree was sent that all gods should be sacrificed to him, in an attempt for him to gain more power. He thought that this slaughter it would ease his torpor and make him a great dragon once again.

This was only partially so, the sacrifice of gods, and even people, did almost nothing for his powers, and the pigeon god knew something was amiss, for there were few worshippers, and he remembered of the countless swarms that used to worship him. The pigeon god declared that he needed more for him to become great. The priest soon began forcing people to bathe in the awe of the pigeon god, a tradition that would be followed by his successors.

III.

This went on for many years, so many in fact that the original priest died. So did his successor and the successor after him. Over time the island changed, the towers grew taller and more vibrant and the people grew in many ways. The pigeon god was still not a dragon. The pigeon god, once he had consumed many other gods and sacrifices decided that he should be the leader of the humans on the island, so he called the newest priest forth, and commanded:

“I want this land to succumb to my will and have all of the people worship me, in a large temple, and have all the people of this island be my followers!” The priest was terrified, for the pigeon god was now very powerful, although whose form had not changed the priest told him:

“I cannot make the entire island follow you, for we worship you because we have seen your immense power, and they will not worship you, because they have not seen your power. If you were to demonstrate your strength maybe the people would worship you.” The pigeon god was not convinced, for he knew that the priest was a trickster and wanted the powers of the pigeon god so that he, himself, could become a god, for the priest suspected that the people would kill the pigeon and he could absorb the pigeon god’s powers.

The pigeon god, who once was a great beast, could not become a dragon without the worship of many, many more, had become wise in his great age, and not bullheaded as he was long ago before he had been ousted by the eagle. The pigeon god knew that power was what called worshippers, but respect is what kept them. The pigeon god saw through the deceit of the priest, and ignored this suggestion, and he told the followers of the deceitful priest. The followers did not react kindly. Winter soon came and the people retreated into their towers and left the streets, allowing the pigeon god and his worshippers to come out of hiding.

“Stay here and prepare me a temple, I am going to where I originated to see if I can find the source of power, and to find why I am not great.” the pigeon god commanded. Over time he had become desperate about his condition. So he flew across the ocean, finding islands and talking to the inhabitants about power, and how he could become great. He was not met with much progress.

Soon, as spring was beginning to show he arrived on a large island with a small village, he landed there and asked an eagle, the same eagle from so many years ago, who was powerful, but not as great as the pigeon god.

“What is the source of power?” the eagle looked at him in surprise, for this eagle had hoped that the pigeon god would be killed, though he did not know this.

“Power is not what we attain it is what attains us, for you (This is where the name of the pigeon god would be if it could be written in this tongue.) Are great, yet you are a bird and are afraid of the people, the power is from yourself not a source from the void.

The eagle was lying for he was the god of the people on this land (who were the original worshippers of the pigeon god) and wanted the power for himself.
The pigeon god had become wise after many years, and he saw the deceit in the eagle’s heart, just as he had in the heart of the priest, and summoned his power to fight the eagle, who had seen his mistake, but was too slow, and was killed by the pigeon god snapping him in two.

The pigeon god suddenly grew, his beak turning into a maw, talons turning into great scaled claws and the wings becoming large. Despite the metamorphosis the pigeon god was merely like a drake, but he was old, very old, and was not dissatisfied in the growth. The pigeon god, who knew that his power was locked to the people of his original land stayed there for several years.

IV.

The pigeon god, who had abandoned the other worshipers on the other island, one of gleaming towers and light, where the people had so much light the stars could not shine. The pigeon god found his power, through his original home from which he fled. As he became a great dragon again, people flocked from far and wide to his domain. The people worshiped him and gave him gifts, not out of fear, although it was a factor. The worshippers saw his age but also understood his power and he was glorified in their eyes as a god.

This is where he died, in his great age he died where he began. He died and the people did weep, for he had been their protector, their leader, and their deity, for him to die, as if he was mortal was a shock for them for he had been theirs form more generations than they could count.

This is an extravagant story, its meaning could be about self, power, or it could be passed off as an old wives tale. What it is is not for me to decide, but, You. You get to decide dear reader, and maybe, those few pigeons among you, may just find what you’re looking for.