An idea I had for Sinja week on Tumblr. I didn't plan on finishing it first, but we'll see how far I'll go with it. An Alliance of Love should get an update soon btw! I'm working on the new chapter.
Dark clouds filled the sky the moment Ja'far had set foot in the country. In summer, Ja'far usually found himself wrapped in his scarf, hiding from the sun in attempt to evade a heatstroke. It was something he didn't need here, where the sun didn't seem to touch the land. Every time he looked back, he could see the last rays of sunshine from the neighboring state slowly fading away.
The forest he had wandered into, seemed abandoned with not even the sun trying to shine into it. With the lack of sun the trees gave of a dark shade, wildlife didn't show its face. There was supposed to be a village in the forest with a good trade. Yet it seemed that there was nothing willing to live inside the darkness.
The sky rumbled as the clouds broke out into a sudden downpour. As it had been clear day moments before, the forest looked like it was stuck in an eternal night. The trees couldn't give him any shelter, the sound of thunder in the distance making it even worse to stay outside even longer. He had to find a place to hide, perhaps a hole somewhere. It didn't matter to him. Anything would be fine.
In the distance there was a light. It was a soft, light red, glow through the trees. Something was there, perhaps a fire. For a fire to stay on in this weather that meant that there was a shelter of some kind or the thunder had struck a tree and set it on fire. Either way it was worth checking out. Through the pouring rain he ran. The thunder followed his every step as he tried to find the source of the light.
The trees became thinner, smaller until they eventually disappeared. He was left in a bare space where even the grass would barely grow. Rocks lay down a path to a small hill where a small building was placed. Inside of it was a fire. A big fire, almost enough to be seen as a threat if the building itself wasn't strange enough on its own. It didn't matter to Ja'far. His clothes were soaked and the storm didn't seem to stop any time soon. He ran inside the small round temple, finally sheltered from the downpour. Inside the building was an altar on which a fire was burning. Something was wrong with the fire, although Ja'far couldn't tell what it was in the beginning. Perhaps the sound of the raging thunder was playing with him, perhaps it was something else. It didn't matter in that moment. He could wait inside for as long as the rain was going on.
"Do you enjoy barging into people's homes?" A sudden voice echoed through the building, startling the traveler. A man was sitting in front of him on the altar, dangerously close to the fire. His long purple hair fell over his shoulders as his golden eyes stared into the distance. The sudden appearance came as a surprise, but Ja'far couldn't say he felt intimidated by the presence.
"Do you want to say you live in this place?" Ja'far frowned.
"A temple is the house of a god." Sounded the voice, "You are looking at a god." The man smiled as he ran a hand through his hair. "And this is the temple I claimed."
"I thought Solomon was supposed to be the god of these lands." Ja'far couldn't say he knew much about the gods of the region, but any place that had honored Solomon was a lively and peaceful one, opposite of the region he was in now.
"And what if I told you I'm Solomon?" The man grinned, leaning closer as the downpour went on.
"I wouldn't believe you" Ja'far stated, no expression forming on his face.
The so-called god leaned back again, pouting slightly. "So you came to the house of a god only to insult them? You hurt me…"
"I was only finding shelter from the rain. I don't care about any gods or whatever they think of me. The gods left my side long ago."
"Really now? You stand in front of the most beautiful god of all and you don't care? You are… interesting." He smiled. His hands ran through the fire, petting it as the storm seemed to calm down. In that moment, Ja'far hoped to leave the temple, to any place that wasn't this temple, but the god had different plans. In a quick movement he grabbed his wrist and pulled him close.
"I would hate to see you leave these woods. Surely you will come to see I am the god who will get you back into believing." His touch was hot, burning against Ja'far's skin. Golden eyes had turned bright yellow as he looked at the traveler. Then, he let go again.
"There's a town not too far from here. Go there." The god spoke before he disappeared and the fire that had been burning at the altar extinguished.
…
Surely there was a town a few minutes walking from the temple although it had seen better days. Surrounded by hills and the forest, the houses gave of a solemn impression. In some way, Ja'far thought, it fitted the gray forest surrounding it. Every step he took in the village, he could feel eyes watching him. In the middle of the town was a small altar where townspeople were constantly performing rituals of some kind. Ja'far decided to ignore them as he entered a small bar opposite of the altar.
"A traveler?" The man behind the bar looked up surprised when Ja'far entered. "You don't see those a lot. Not since the latest incidents."
"Do those incidents have to do anything with those people?" Ja'far asked as he pointed in the direction of the altar.
"Sadly yes." The man sighed. "You probably don't know what is going on here, but you must have noticed the dark clouds hanging over the place."
"Clearly. I got soaked in a downpour not too long ago." Ja'far tapped with his fingers on the counter, trying to ignore the ongoing sound of chants from outside.
"That won't be the first time. The chants out there are to satisfy the gods again, to make the clouds go away again."
"Hasn't worked so far, I guess?" Ja'far noted as he ordered himself a drink. "The clouds seem pretty dark here."
"People are fearing god left us." The man's eyes were locked on the dark clouds as the sky rumbled again. "We were never in such a situation before, it looks like Solomon no longer loves us and we don't know what we did wrong."
So the town had been worshipping Solomon after all. Still Ja'far was sure that the man he had seen earlier was not Solomon. And yet…
"Is the temple in the forest meant for Solomon then?" He had to ask, because one simple answer could mean a lot.
"It is," again the man sighed deeply, as if the temple itself was a reason god had abandoned the place, "but the fire stopped burning there when the clouds came."
"But there was a fire burning there when I went to find shelter from the rain." Ja'far lifted his sleeve a little, where dark lines of the god's burning touch were still present. There had been a fire there, Ja'far was sure of it when proof was still visible on his skin.
The man shook his head, "That's not possible. There is no fire in that place, we have tried visiting it many times. There is no god in this place anymore."
The problem was however that there was a god. The god just wasn't Solomon. Whoever it had been that had taken the spot, was not generous to the villagers. If anything, he brought them fear and terror.
"If the clouds were to lift, how would it benefit your people?" Ja'far continued to ask, glancing at the man through his messy bangs.
"We could open up trade again. The woods have valuable plants and woods that we can collect. With the constant thunderstorms however, no one dares to go into the forest again."
Simply said, it meant that there was profit in helping the people out. If he were able to stop the thunder, Ja'far could find himself into a strong situation.
"There was someone in your temple, If I go back to him to ask if he can stop the storming clouds, will that help you?"
"It would save this town and we would be forever grateful." Ja'far no longer cared about any kind of profit. These people were being ruined by a single person, a thing Ja'far had gotten to hate over the years.
He didn't say much more as he paid for his drink and left. Outside, people were still performing the rituals, more and more as the dark sky rumbled again.
…
It wasn't until Ja'far reached the temple again that the first drops of rain fell from the sky. The altar was abandoned, the building looking as torn as the barman had said. Perhaps it had been the bad rain from before that had distorted his vision, making it seem like a beautiful building. Now, with soft rain dripping down from the sky. As soon as he stepped into the building however, a small flame lit up on the altar.
"I didn't think you'd come back…" The voice echoed through the small building. "Did you miss me in those few minutes." Every word brought more rain with it, until the downpour was back to its power of the first storm.
"I didn't come back because I missed you, I want you stop this weather. The town is suffering and fears that god has abandoned them. You won't even show your face to them." Ja'far said, feeling himself speak into an empty space.
The burn on his arm started to act up and looking at his side, he saw the bright yellow eyes looking at him.
"Give me one good reason why I would want to do that? They haven't shown any respect for me. Only beg for Solomon to return, they don't try to work with me." His soft brown skin glowed in the light of altar, where the fire had started to grow more and more.
"Perhaps they wouldn't want Solomon back if you didn't ruin their lives with your storms." Ja'far grumbled, looking away from the god to watch the new thunderstorm, "No one can live when the weather is always like this."
"Once they honor my name, then I will stop." The god smiled as he let go of Ja'far's arm and walked back to the altar.
"Then what is your name?" Ja'far asked as he watched the man sit down in the fire.
"I won't tell you that. I need to see dedication in everyone's devotion." And with that, the god was gone again. At that moment, Ja'far knew he was going to be staying here a lot longer than he wanted.