Taproot: Open the Way
Where ever it may lead
One title of my personal Patron god
translates roughly as "Opener of the Way."
That's all you get this
time around. I try like blazes not to mention
Names.Anyway, like a
great many things in religion, the title has multiple meanings on multiple
levels. Despite temptation and my low and base nature, I'm not going to dwell
on the obvious sexual one. Sometimes it's amazingly fun to be the
priest.This is the Guy
who knows where the best fishing spot is. This is the Guy who knows the glade
where the deer are calm enough to get within an arm's length. This is the Guy
who knows the secret spot where the sun peeks out
first.In the city, this
is the Guy who knows how to get there faster. This is the Guy who can find the
one working payphone in a ten block range. This is the Guy who can be there and
gone before you knew you needed to
go.Sounds pretty sweet
right? Just the Guy you needed to know,
right?Here's what I
haven't told you.
Yet.That fishing spot?
Sure it's the best around and the fish always bite. But to get to it, you have
to crawl about a hundred feet along a cliff face high over a canyon with your
finger and toe tips. There's no place to hold your fishing rod except your
teeth.To reach that
glade, you have to pass a Buick sized wasp nest and cave that has been hosting
some sort of large carnivore
recently.That secret
spot where the sun peeks out is at the top of an old pine tree with uncertain
footing. Some of the branches crack when you put weight on
them.Sure the Guy knows
the best ways to get there, but you take your life in your hands every time you
follow his
directions.That shortcut
in the city means going up a fire escape and through five locked utility doors,
at least one of which may be wired to an
alarm.And that pay phone
works because it has defenders who will want to be paid. Assuming they let you
get close in the first
place.An interesting
Guy, to say the least. Master of wildernesses urban and natural, he can Open
the Way. If you are willing to pay the
Price.He's not the portal, nor is he the Warden. His job isn't to
keep the nasties out, it's to Find a Way
Through.That's what
makes his esoteric instructions a bit risky. Strike that. Not a bit risky,
highly
risky.His
intervention is always chancy. Which I suppose is only fitting, since the Guy
will tell you at great length that he invented games of chance and gambling.
He doesn't exactly break
the rules, the Guy replaces the rules with ones He wrote. And yes, the Guy gets
off on the excitement. He grooves on the risk, laughing all the
way.He's my Patron and I
honor Him. But you better believe I think twice before asking for His
help.
Posted: Thu - July 2, 2009 at 03:25 PM
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