The boy called Pan trudged back up the mountain, his heart heavy with guilt and seeking atonement.  He wasn’t sure what to expect.  Some gods were ripe with mercy, and loved their followers like children.  Others ruled with fire and brimstone, caring very little for the going ons of mortals and showing as little compassion as a child ripping the wings off of a house fly.  Pan was hoping for the previous, of course, when it came to Oriens.  He hoped that the god would understand the error of his ways.  After all, no one had told Pan he was to follow Oriens as a member of the dawn court, until now.  How would he know, if not for Kasil and Florentine telling him so?

Inkheart had made a passionate argument for why he should follow Solis, and he’d followed as blindly as a sheep.  Swallowing the guilt once more as he neared the top of the hill, the boy faced toward the east – toward the place where the sun would rise.  Oriens was the god of the Dawn, so he could only assume that he lived on the eastern side of the mountain.  ”Oriens?  It’s me… Pan.”  His question was met only with the whisper of the wind.  It caressed him, calming him and soothing him as he drew a steadying breath.  Stepping closer toward the east, he fought to make his allegiance known.

”Last time when I was here, I prayed to Solis.  I didn’t know… I didn’t know that you were our god.  But now I do, and I want to let you know that I will follow you above the others… Promise.”  His plea was given with a gentleness and the innocence of a child, and wide eyed, he waited to see if the god of Dawn would flay him here on the mountain.  After all, it was likely that this is what he deserved for following false idols.  Perhaps then, this is why Solis never showed when he asked.

Pan

The mountain was still and quiet – and while he waited in the heat of the morning for punishment to come, nothing came.  Only the wind continued to whisper through the grass, and as he looked toward the rising sun with hope in his heart, the hope slowly died to an understanding that perhaps this was Oriens punishment.  Not to flay him, and not to come to him… but simply to acknowledge the quiet prayer without much fanfare.  Such was the way of the Dawn Court, he supposed.  Simply, not too showy.  He smiled at the sun, quietly bowing his head as he turned to make his way back down the mountain.

Perhaps the next time that Pan came to this place, the god would make himself known.  For now though, it was enough simply to get away from the mountain unscathed.  If anything, it reassured the boy that Oriens was a god of mercy, and not one of punishment.  Had Solis been the god he was supposed to follow, Pan doubted that the reaction would be the same.  Perhaps this is why Inkheart had been so convincing in her urging for him to call to the Day god.  Perhaps if they didn’t bring more followers to the mountain, those in Day would be punished by their god.

It was easy to let his imagination run ramped as he considered all of the confusion around the gods, and for a brief moment, he turned back to look at the peak as it got further and further away.  Making a vow to learn more about the lore, he smiled, and found his way back to the comforts of Delumine.

Pan