Free The Shattered Goddess by Darrell Schweitzer Page A

the birth of the first god, and the second circledit in four strides, with which the seasons were divided from one another, winter, spring, summer, fall, as the humor of the god changed. Next came a goddess, who took the dust of the first god and the bones of the second unto herself. She set the Earth spinning; she placed the crown she wore in the sky to be called the sun, dewdrops from her hair to shine as stars; she gave birth to men and beasts,and when she died a new deity arose out of her remains, out of mankind, and out of the beasts. The world grew larger with each age in the lifetime of each god, each goddess, each one of which was both god and goddess, each cycle burying the past, until time encrusted the original seed, layer upon layer, like the skin of an onion.
    Ginna looked up when he had finished.
    “Well, do youbelieve it?” Hadel leaned over his desk, his moustache twitching. He had never looked more rat-like.
    “I don’t know.” The boy didn’t know what to say. Those strange poems he had copied said somewhat the same thing as the passage he had just read, only this was a lot clearer.
    “Well, it’s best you don’t I have a theory of my own, namely that the world festered in a dung-heap for aeonsupon aeons until parts of it became animate and began to write books on the subject Which of course means that you and I and everyone in the world and everything in the world is just a piece of sh-e-e-e-i-tt and there’s not much more to be said...”
    He sat back in his chair behind his desk and laughed a dry, hoarse laugh like bits of old leather being rubbed together.
    The boy didn’tknow what to say. It was a very strange moment.
    “Remember this profound truth,” said Hadel. “It’s comforting when you’re depressed.” He laughed again and waved Ginna away.
    * * * *
    “As long as you are here,” said Hadel on another day. “I might as well teach you something. Look at that”
    He pointed to his desk. Ginna saw only the usual clutter.
    “Look more closely.”
    Now he saw a tiny flower, a violet such as might be brought from the riverbank during the wet season. It was growing out of the wood of the desk top. Then there was another, and another, and grasses sprouting between them, until the whole desk had been transformed into a grassy knoll.
    Ginna looked to Hadel in amazement and saw the old magician standing in a clump of wild rosebushes.
    Something caught his eye, and he whirled about. There were trees stretching away as far as he could see.
    He was standing on damp, soft ground covered with dead leaves. He turned around again in time to see the remnants of the study waver and disappear.
    He was in the middle of a dense forest. It was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen. The greatest marvel of all was directlyabove, an infinity of green branches blocked out the sun. He had never before believed the tales of such forests, which travelers claimed grew to the north, beyond the borders of Randelcainé.
    All sense of direction was lost, but there came a gurgling sound from where (he thought) the window had been.
    “Is it water?” he asked Hadel, then flinched inwardly at such a stupid question.
    Yes, but if you find it, don’t drink. If you do, you’ll stay here forever.”
    “What?”
    They pushed through some underbrush. The forest floor rose into a little hill and fell into a valley beyond. Still he didn’t see any stream.
    “You’re still in my study,” said Hadel, “but if you partake of anything here, you won’t be.”
    “Huh?”
    Suddenly something slammed into Ginna’sface. The forest was gone. He was back in the study, rubbing his nose where he had walked into a wall. He felt around with his tongue to see if any teeth were loose.
    “Well, I hope you learned something. You have experienced a very important distinction. Shallow magic is illusion, but if you go too far into it, you become illusion too.”
    “Huh?”
    “Aren’t we articulate today? Ginna,I only obey