Long long ago in a time before the now, there was a small community of primitive humans that contracted a virus - though they knew it not as such. The Virus killed off the weak and the sick and then fell back asleep leaving the strong and the young alone in their misery. This continued year after year.
One day a particularly observant person, noticed that the ‘Virus’ appeared within the community about the same time that the moon shone between the two peaks and speckled the water surface under the oo goo tree, their special tree. The young observer ran to the chief whom immediately demanded that they build a shrine near the oo goo tree and adorn it with the special trees fruit. This they set about to do at once and when it was finished went back to the chief.
The chief after some deliberation carved an effigy into a piece of wood. He carried the effigy to the new shrine and bathed it in the moon kissed water after which he placed it on the altar and submissively fell to his knees. He cried out to the sky and beseeched the as yet unnamed sprit that his effigy represented, to treat his people well and take no lives that year.
That year the virus took no lives inflicting each person with merely a passing fever and the chief was pleased. He assigned two people, which they called the keepers with the task of keeping fruit and water upon the altar, and the new religion and the new god was born …!
Unbeknown to the primitive human community and in the shadows of the oo goo tree was a diminutive and very cunning demon who watched the procedural events with much interest. Hmm thought the demon maybe I can benefit from this in some way, maybe I can pretend to be the very spirit of the effigy and demand reverence and gifts and adoration and my name shall be ----- ! And so it was…!
Over many years and many moons - the community prayed and adorned their new spirit. Some years the spirit punished them badly and many died and some years the virus was mild and gentle.
One night on the full moon that shone between the two peaks one of the keepers of the effigy heard a whisper from the shadows under the oo goo tree. The voice floated gently almost imperceptibly into the mind of the keeper, and he heard the name ----- !
Many years later a sailing ship happened upon the community and with it some people from a far away land. These people recorded with sticks and on sheets strange symbols, often pointing and gesticulating at the shrine and effigy. Then one day they left as mysteriously as they had arrived.
One year the spirit was very very angry at the community of people and everyone died. In the shadows under the oo goo tree the cunning demon sighed. He leapt up from from the darkness and entered the body of a bat. He guided the bat to the ground and sank his teeth into the body of the last to fall. He then forced the bat to drink from the corpse the liquid blood, before it congealed and could no longer be imbibed. The virus was ingested and the bat was infected and the demon was seen no more.
to be continued……
J