He was covered from shoulder to toe in a black cloak, slick from the rain that poured down around him. His jet black hair was plastered to his neck, emerald green eyes glowing in the harsh candelight. Across his back was a scabbard covered by a twisted vinework of silver. The sky flashed white and red behind him as he stood in the doorway, chuckling softly to himself and looking over the crowd. Children huddled in their parents' laps, shying away from the stranger's gaze. In the quiet that followed his entrance, all that could be heard was the rain pelting against the roof above and the gentle sobs of a frightened child.
Saihaya stepped forward angrily to face the newcomer. He thrust his staff at the stranger's face and glared.
"Who are you that disturbs us all so rudely and frightens our children?" The stranger merely grinned and plucked the staff from the Elder's fingers. Before Saihaya could blink he had snapped it over his knee and tosses the broken halves out into the storm.
"Its not polite to point, old man." His voice was that of a madman, harsh and gravelly, with a barely constrained glee at the fear he was causing. Saihaya felt the first stirrings of fear. He could feel the townsfolk watching him, seeing how he would handle himself, taking their strength from his example. He must not let them down.
"It does not matter who you are then, for you are not welcome here. Begone from our village!" he said vehemently. The stranger laughed again, a cruel sound. He looked past the elder at the quivering townsfolk. Thunder roared overhead. The rain beat down.
"I heard... chanting, from here... praises and worship..." He stared thoughtfully at a young mother and her son until the woman wrapped her shawl around her son's eyes and hid her own. The stranger smirked and looked directly a Saihaya. "Tell me old man... who is it that you sing your praises to?" The elder glared at him fearfully. A sense of doom was building in his bones, a feeling of danger the likes of which he'd never felt before.
"W..we sing our praises to Cod, the almighty. Lord of the Seven Oceans and Creator of us all." The stranger blinked in surprise.
"Creator... of... 'us' all?" He threw back his head laughing and the thunder seemed to laugh with him. Saihaya took an involuntary step back - there was no humour in that laugh, nor anything that could be called humanity. The stranger stopped suddenly and stared coldly at the elder.
"Cod had no part in my creation you old fool," he said reaching for Saihaya. "No part at all..."
"Perhaps not," said a new voice from the front of the room. The crowd gasped and turned. The stranger shoved the elder aside and glared at the pulpit. For standing their, resplendant in a shining white cloak and clutching a mug of Jerrysalem's finest Ale, was none other than Seajus Crisco himself.
The townsfolk threw themselves to the floor and started praising him, giving thanks to Cod. Both Seajus and the stranger ignored them, their eyes locked over the crowd for what seemed like an eternity. Seajus was the first to speak.
"I told you not to mess with my people, Carny." The stranger laughed but this time there was a note of caution in his voice.
"These aren't your pathetic 'fishiples', Seajus. These people are just fodder, sheep for the slaughter," said the Carny as he gripped the handle of his sword. "And they belong... to ME!"
With a flash he'd drawn his sword and was racing up the floor towards the pulpit. Seajus leapt to the side just in time to avoid the Carny's Wiffle katana which tore through the wooden pulpit like it was made of paper. The mug of ale toppled to the floor and splashed at Seajus' feet. The saviour swore and lashed out with his foot, snapping the katana's blade in two. The Carny stepped back and threw the shattered weapon to the ground in a rage. The two glared at each other across the smashed pulpit.
"You dare break my sword you worthless Son of Haddock!!" spat the Carny furiously.
"You dare spill my beer again you sorry excuse for a circus freak!!" Seajus countered angrily. The Carny bared his teeth at Seajus, snatched up his fallen scabard and pointed two fingers at Seajus.
"Your time is coming Seajus. And next time - I won't miss!!" And with that, the Carny launched himself throw the shattered doorway and disappeared into the night. The saviour watched him go and then turned to the people.
"Arise my children. The curse that has come to your village is gone." He turned to Saihaya. "Are you all right my son?"
"Yes Seajus, I am fine. A bit bruied from my fall but I'll survive." The elder look worriedly out the doorway. "So long as 'he' does not return."
"You needn't worry about that. The Carny is long gone by now. Though where and and when he comes again..." Seajus stared off thoughtfully. "It does not concern you however. He will not return here. And now I must go." Seajus turned and vanished into the night leaving the bewildered townsfolk to gather themselves.
The village recovered in time. The houses were rebuilt, the crops planted again. The temple itself was deemed tainted by the Carny's visit and was demolished. They rebuilt it on consecrated ground to the south and ever after the village was prosperous. Generations later, the tale was still told of that night and the lessons learned - that sometimes stories are more than myth, that rumor has grounds in both fact and fiction and that the First of the Signs that almost heralded the Acodaclypse happened right there in quiet farming village of Karamakah.
This is the Werd of Cod as written in the Gospels of Schteve, translated by Ignum
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