The Resurgent Dream
08-10-2004, 07:17
There was nothing special about the Barony of Providence, not really. Human peasants toiled the land. They were not overworked, at least not greatly so. The village had a cobbler and a smith, both skilled artisans. Everything needed was found within ten miles at most. What was strange about Providence, truly bizarre, was its baroness. Oh, in many ways she was a sidhe like any other. She was obsessed with pomp but also with honor and she was a brave, inspiring leader. She was also a minor sorceress and could do some rather impressive tricks. Her people were ignorant. There were no priests of Danu in the village. There was no library. She worked the only magic they'd ever seen first hand. The radiance of the sidhe was also impressive and the villagers had never seen another. Thus, in their ignorance, the villagers went to a small building on the edge of the woods in whose heart the baroness had her holding. There, they gave her offerings, not tithes but sacrifices, and they worshipped her as their goddess. No king of queen had ever done such a thing. The lords and ladies of the greatest powers in the world did not normally do such a thing, though at least one had accidentally become an object of worship. Yet, through ignorance, fear, and petty tricks, the baroness of a backwater piece of land in an isolated corner of the Resurgent Dream, had gained worshippers in the literal sense of that word. If it were a simple scam, it might not matter. But, truth be told, she was as honest as any other Gwydion. She presented herself as divine because, in her heart of hearts, she believed it. What would be the price of such insolent pride?