July 1996
Many are the Gods of Heaven, and many are the things they bring to us, both for blessing and for curse. And one day the Gods of Light created a daughter for themselves, to be beautiful and good and a joy to them; and they named her Puppa, which means doll, and they gave her gifts of magic and of healing, and a great heart large enough to carry all the woes of the world; and there was nothing in her of evil at all.
But the Gods of Night were not invited to Puppa's Naming-feast, and they envied Puppa her perfection, and they were jealous because they too had once been good. And so the Gods of Night brought gifts to Puppa after she was named, and their gifts were deceitful because they were jealous.
So it was they who made Puppa immortal, intending that she should live too long; and Puppa can not die unless she is slain, and the Gods of Night protected her for a long time. Then they gave Puppa the gift of knowing all men's secrets, which is a dreadful gift; for some secrets are best never known. And finally they gave Puppa a wicked Godmother who stole her away to the City and sold her cheaply to the worst of Masters; and they took away all of her magic so that Puppa could not set herself free, but must be a slave forever.
All this the Dark Gods did for spite, because it grieves them to see anything that is good. And there was nothing her Master did not make her do, and it was a cruel life for Puppa.
And that night they created a son for themselves, to be beautiful and evil and a joy to them; and they named him Fawn, for mockery; and they gave him gifts of killing and of cruelty, and pleasure in destruction, and a cold heart too hard for anything to move; and there was nothing in him of good at all. And they dedicated him to war, to spoil and to be spoiled.
Then the Gods of Night said to the Gods of Light: Now let us see who is the stronger: and if your daughter can still hold to you and be full of love and goodness and can still have pity for even one man, then we shall admit that your way is the better, and you may have Fawn our son forever, to do with as you will.
Now the Gods of Night and of Light are all the children of the High Gods, and they are sister-brothers: but they are not the same. So the Gods of Light held themselves from Fawn's Naming-feast, and they made him no gifts at that time, to choose their moment.
Because he was so evil, they held death from him and had him made a prisoner; and he was sent likeway to the City to be a slave of the Masters; and because he had been bad to girls they made him too into a girl, and into his head they placed a magic which could kill him at a secret word that is said twice together; and they gave that word to his Master so that he had power over Fawn to make him do all that he wanted. And Fawn served his Master for fifty years, because the Gods would not let him grow old. And for all that time he was a beautiful girl, and his Master had sport of him.
All this the Bright Gods did for a joke, because they can not bear to see anything that is evil. But for Fawn the joke was bitter.
Then the Gods of Light said to the Gods of Night: Now let us see who is the stronger: and if your son can still hold to you and be full of hatred and evil and can have pity for no-one, then we shall admit that your way is the better, and you may have Puppa our daughter forever, to do with as you will.
Now one day it happened that Fawn saw Puppa, and he wanted her because she was so very beautiful. And that day Fawn's Master gave a great feast, and Puppa was brought there also; and the Masters ate the best food and drank the best drink and played the foullest games with their slaves. And they did as they pleased with Puppa and with Fawn; for the Masters forbid themselves nothing, and theirs were the worst Masters in all the City. And Fawn made sure that the Masters had all that they wanted: and when they had had all they wanted, they slept.
And then Fawn thieved his Master's knife and woke him so that he could see his death. And Fawn killed his Master before he could utter the secret word. And then Fawn slew all the other Masters and everyone else who was there, all except Puppa whom he stole: for in his heart he was still a male, and he lusted for Puppa. And he was evil and wanted to own her for himself.
But now that her Master was dead, Puppa was given back some of her magic; and she fought Fawn with magic all through the night until they were both too tired to fight any longer. And more Masters began to arrive, so they ran away together. And Puppa wanted to be rid of Fawn, but he would not let her from his sight and he offered her protection, for Fawn did not want any man to have Puppa ever again; and he watched over her and would not sleep, lest the Gods of Night take her away.
And Puppa and Fawn stole a cargo of weapons from the City, and they ran to the Forest and joined the Army, and they defended one another and were rivals together, and they tried always to outdo one another in everything, just so as they do even now; for Puppa is wise and Fawn is cunning, and both of them are brave; and each of them wishes to be more like the other.
And when the Masters came to hunt them they made war on them; and at Weary Hill they fought the Masters together; and Puppa and Fawn stood on top of the hill alone, and they killed eight hundred and ninety-two Masters, and no-one else killed them but Puppa and Fawn. And Puppa hated all men in that time, and she was called the Vixen.
But Fawn began to change, because he was fighting the great evil of the Masters; and the Gods of Light had mercy on Fawn, and they ended their joke and let him be free, and they gave him back his manhood. But Fawn remembered what it was to have been a slave girl; and though he still lusted, he had pity for Puppa. And that was the first time Fawn ever had pity.
And Fawn admired Puppa and wanted to court her; but he did not know how, for he had never courted nor been courted. And first he offered as lovegift the heads of all the Citysoldiers he had slain - and they were many - but Puppa had enough already. So then Fawn put his heart into a box and he offered it to Puppa, but Puppa would not take it. And Puppa rejected Fawn and turned her face away from him because he was a male. And Fawn went out into the night and wept.
And now the Gods of Night claimed their victory, for because Puppa was no longer good and was filled with hatred. But the Gods of Light claimed the victory as theirs, for because Fawn was no longer evil and was filled with pity. And the argument of the Gods was thunder in the night.
And Puppa was moved with remorse and had pity for Fawn because he too had been a slave; and Puppa went out into the night to find him. And now all her powers came back to Puppa, and when she touched Fawn he was healed: and whilst the Gods were arguing over them they fell in love.
And Puppa and Fawn then went before the Gods and ended their argument, for Puppa is no longer entirely good and Fawn is not entirely evil; and that was a lesson for the Gods, and they were shamed of themselves. And then Puppa and Fawn were bonded before all the Gods, and they were also made sister-brother, and the Gods sent them back to the world to have a time of freedom, to right wrongs and to have adventures.
And Fawn is the warrior, and he has the evil eye and can stop a man's heart just by his will alone; and no enemy can stand against Fawn and hope to keep his life. But Puppa is the judge of the guilty and the innocent, for she can do magic and knows everything that happens above the ground; and no-one can hope to hold a secret from Puppa. But all those who come with love to Puppa may bring their hurts also, and they will be healed. And in all the world there is no-one like Puppa and Fawn.
Puppa and Fawn and the Grey Man[Up: Phoenicians | Top: Axiomatic Site Index]