Best wishes,
Hans van Halteren
The Glorious ReEntry of Dayzatar
from the memoirs of Estorex, High Priest of Osentalka Dayzatar
You ask me what was the best time of my life? Well, the birth of Osentalka of course. You want to hear all about it. No problem. I have time today.
It all started here, back home in Yuthuppa. My life had been full, studying the stars, striving to be more like Dayzatar. People called me "Holy" and all said I had surely reached the most perfect state a man could ever attain. But yet something was missing. I had never been able to do what the priests of other Gods did regularly. I had never seen my God, Dayzatar. Such contact was ever impossible, since Dayzatar had, as you surely know, retreated from the lower realms. He had been forced to choose between contact with his followers or contact with his father Aether and, through him, with Ezelveztay. Rather than risk pollution of the One, Dayzatar left the world.
Then, one day, the stars told me that I might yet find that experience I had been missing all those years. I saw that a new Light was growing in a land called Dorastor. At about the same time I received a message from the Emperor, saying that there was some kind of God-making project sponsored by a council we had just joined and bidding me to go check it out. I checked the stars again and saw that indeed a God would come into the world. Since I saw the Light in that God and knew that all the old gods of Light had already returned, a great hope came into me: would the world have regained sufficient purity to allow the return of Dayzatar. Surely I had to do all in my power to make it so and see, yes even help, the return of Perfection. And whoever the new God would be, I was certain that at his Birth Dayzatar would be there and that even if it was not Him, I would see Him at that moment. So I went to faraway Dorastor and did what I could to further the creation of the new God of Light.
What? You need help with your astrolabe? Of course I can help. Excuse me for a moment. One of the novices needs help. I'll be right back.
Well, that's done. These young ones need help every once in a while. And I make it a rule to keep in touch even with the novices. One shouldn't be sitting alone in one's tower all day. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. Let's go on with the story.
So there I was, at the Birth of the new God, Osentalka they were going to call him. And at the Birth the sky cleared and a pure shaft of Light shot through the air. And my life's most fervent desire was fulfilled, for I recognized the Light of Dayzatar. I had now seen my God.
About my other hope I wasn't too sure. The God was a God of Pure and Harmonious Light and a child of Aether, but wasn't the Dayzatar I thought I knew. For one, the God was born a female. Of course, it later turned out, during the Initiation of the God, that She was also male, but it did start me thinking. Was it my own imperfection that had polluted Dayzatar's return into the world and brought impurities in this most Pure of Gods?
This journey to Dorastor and the work on this God project had opened me up to so many influences that I had always been safe from at home behing my telescope.
I met with followers of the barbarian Gods, who the Emperor told me were now allies. In talking to them I learned of the many strange beliefs they hold. But these were still recognizable ideas even though they were based on the belief in strange Gods. Another man, I think it was a man but he had a strange third eye in his forehead, didn't seem to pay attention to any God at all. His whole life seemed to made up of making and selling things. At first, he seemed friendly to our beliefs but later I started to suspect it may just have been to get the Darra Happan court to become customers.
I swapped many stories with that enormously friendly Gold Wheel Dancer, Speaking Wheel. Emboldened by that contact, I even discussed the Stars with a sorceror from the Western lands, one Raltosar. He told me many things about the sky in his land, which seems to be different in a number of respects. But his stories contained many strange concepts, and afterwards I doubted the wisdom of speaking to him.
Even more harmful were my dealings with my own Court. I had seen in the stars that the Emperor Khorzanelm was moving towards his doom, brought about by his blindness for his Other. When in his presence I tried to talk to him about this, but he just wouldn't listen. In fact he seemed to turn against me after that. I should have taken that as an omen to stay away from the court. Unfortunately, I didn't and later on was forced to compromise my peacefulness by assisting in the release of Shargash. I could have refused the Emperor this service, but then all hope of Dayzatar's return would have been lost. Later I had to witness the murder of the Emperor Khorzanelm by the hand of a foul creature of Darkness. However, as the creature explained, the Emperor had brought this upon himself by some foolish action. My fears about his fate were confirmed. Things got worse when this murder led to the usurpation of the throne by the Emperor's seemingly loyal servant, Mathiman. When it became clear that Mathiman was turning into a power-mad drunk - this was the infamous Mathiman the Impaler - I turned away from the court as much as possible and concentrated on the God project.
And it turned out that it was high time, too, since the God did not contain enough Light by far. In fact, Darkness dominated. But the determination of the God's Self was yet to come and this was the critical bid. In order to help the cause of Light I confronted my most overwhelming aversion and engaged Cragspider, the bidder for Darkness, in a theological discussion so that she would not be in the project hall in time for the bidding. I was already at the edge of my sanity by this close contact to a digijelm, so when something cast Dark magic at me to break my concentration I went utterly mad. I still don't know what I did during my time of madness. Fortunately, my sanity returned to me and I was told that we had indeed succeeded in adjusting the creation of the God sufficiently so that his True Nature, that of Light, could come about. However, what effects had my madness had on the Perfection of Dayzatar?
Yes? He has made a mess of the alignment again? No, I'll come. Excuse me yet again. Responsibilities, you know.
Here, that didn't take long, now, did it? Where were we? Ah, yes the ReEntry of Dayzatar.
So Dayzatar returned to the world, but it wasn't the Dayzatar we knew before. While in retreat Dayzatar had come to know his Other. He had reconciled and joined with his Other and, in this joining, had become even closer to Perfection and to the One.
I always hope that my finding of my Other during the God project has helped in some way to bring this about. I left my solitude behind my telescope, where I never thought anything but fixed thoughts and went out into the world. I talked to many people, learning about other beliefs and recognizing that these, too, were true beliefs.
When the Emperor didn't want to learn about his spiritual side, I started to realise that I myself should avoid the same trap and should also pay attention to the world down here. The second time I helped releasing Shargash, I still didn't like it, but I did it voluntarily to help keep my people in Yuthuppa safe.
When the bidding for Osentalka's Self threatened to fall into the hands of Darkness because the Light was divided, I put my hand to politics to bring the opponents together. There were two factions. The one that had had my sympathy so far was led by Kestinelm and contained Speaking Wheel, whom I had already befriended. It contained many more, also some women, such as Kanora the ManaAlkElsor and Penemara, the Wife of the old as well as the new Emperor. About Penemara I feel I must say that I mistrusted her at first, even so far as to subject her to a Detect Truth spell on asking her if she really supported the cause of Light. When I found she did, I was ashamed and trusted her from then on. The other faction was led by Palangio, the Iron Vrok, and had the support of, among others, an Elf called Saratin and the leader of the Kralorelan delegation. Kestinelm's faction wanted a peaceful God. Palangio's faction wanted a violent God. This major difference was further complicated by the fact that there seemed to be hatred between the two cousins. It took me all my patience and tact to bring these two together and make them agree to a peaceful God who could turn wrathful on being attacked. I myself had already accepted such a compromise. Had I not acted in the same way when releasing Shargash when it was necessary?
The reunited faction of Light won the day and so we came to gain the presence of the Pure Light, Osentalka, who before has been Dayzatar.
What do you mean, I told you two stories and which one do I really believe? No, you don't understand. They are both true, or rather, it is all true. It is just as with that Dragon companion. There never was a Black Dragon that I then turned Golden. There always was an ever-changing Black and Golden Dragon. My use of the Divine Power of Enlightenment did not change the Dragon. No, it showed the Council and the world that the Dragon was both. Some digijelm actually tried to "change it back", but that was nonsense. I guess some people just cannot be enlightened.
No, Osentalka is not Impure or Pure, but is Whole. Osentalka is not Male or Female, Light or Dark, Peaceful or Violent, or whatever choice you may want to force. Osentalka is all these things, is always both sides of any choice. Osentalka is not the One, but is as close to the One as anything can get, by always being both of the Two. And this is the Perfection of Osentalka, the reason that I say Osentalka is indeed Dayzatar returned.
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #127
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