The Forest Shrine: Sacrifice
#2 of Forest Shrine
The Forest Shrine II
Sacrifice
Once upon a time, long ago when magic was still plentiful in the world there was a village near a forest. The eldest of elders told tales of a small shrine in the forest and how it was dedicated to the old beliefs and how it was built of old stone and in the ways lost to the Buddhist and the Christians. However none knew if the tales were true or not as the villagers where afraid of the forest. They claim that the woods were haunted, that the animals were bewitched and they would not willingly enter its shade let alone the forest major.
Little did they know that for many years this shrine had lain forgotten and unused in its bamboo forest, long enough for the gods in attendance to forget themselves and become little more then the animals they resembled. However, this all changed over a generation* ago when a maiden of the village invaded the slumbering forest seeking the shrine and the old beliefs in an attempt to escape the future her family wished to impose upon her.
The maiden found the temple and made a covenant with the god of the forest itself. She became its bride and bore the god a child, and as she struggled to give birth to their daughter the following winter, she transcended her mortal flesh and became a fertility goddess. The influence of the new Forest Mother grew and over the years, the other gods within the forest slowly began to awaken from their animalistic slumbers. It became customary for the newly animal gods to the various animals of the forest to come and to court the Forest Mother, and every spring she would lie with one of them and bear unto him a child that following winter.
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It was spring once more, and the rutting festively was starting to begin anew. The forest Mother stirred from her slumber within the temple, the various noises made by the gathered gods outside had awakened her newest son and he had started to cry. She awoke at her leisure, knowing that no harm would befall the young prince with so many of the forest gods in attendance. After checking on the squalling red panda cub, she brought him to her breast to feed before exiting the shrine major with a slow deliberate grace so that she wouldn't disturb her suckling child.
The Forest Mother moved along the sun-bathed vestibule of the shrine to kneel at the soft furred mat she had prepared the night before. She closed her eyes and felt the sun's warming light caress her skin. Smiling she looked down upon her cub who was sucking hungrily at her teat before turning her gaze to the spring festival and all the gods who had come seeking audience with her this year, to mate with her and spread her divine blessing to their kin.
Each and every one of the animal gods had brought bright trinkets that shimmered in the sun like the cool, clean water of the stream that feed the nearby lake, and each god had prepared tales for her amusement as well. Both the trinkets and story where meant to woo her in an attempt to impress upon her their kin's desire for her blessing, and as she gazed upon the scene a blank spot in that shimmering ocean opened to her eyes. It would seem all had brought her an offering save the dour little badger god, who sat alone and forlorn amongst the energetic antics of the other gods,
He had come to court her a few times since the twin son and daughter of the fox god had reached an age to hunt for themselves and she could remember both occasions with mix emotions. Badger had sought the first audience so that his kin could compete with the foxes during the hunt and had brought a golden-green dragonfly trapped in amber as his prize. The second time he sought audience was several years later and again begged her to bear him a child to ease the suffering of his kin and had brought her some tinder made of his belly fur. Both times there had been other who had needed her blessings more them his kin and had to pass him over.
The Forest Mother broke the unspoken tradition and called for badger to come to her while she rested on the temples sun-bathed vestibule. The other gods stopped their foolish festivities and fell silent slowly parting as Badge hesitantly made his way forward; shoulders slumped with the weight of self-consciousness. The other gods began to whisper and jeer at the Badger god until he stopped and growled low in warning, very few of the gathered could take the brunt of his wrath and very few of those who could couldn't match his ageless experience.
"Tell me my Lord what is wrong, why do you not bring offering for the audience you seek?"
Badger rose to his hind legs tiredly before stooping in a reverent bow. " But Mother, I bring before you all that I have left to give to you. I bring you myself. With my life I wish you to renew my kin as you have the fox and hare, the tiger and the deer."
The Forest Mother was taken aback by Badgers words and she spoke without thinking first. "You no longer wish to live, but why my lord? Do you no longer wish to feel the sun's warmth in your fur or to chase your dreams during the night?"
"I am old now Mother. The sun no longer banishes the nights chill from my bones and I go to sleep to tired from the days hunt to chase my dreams any longer. I only wish to bestow one last gift to my kin before I depart this realm one final time."
The Forest Mother could do nothing but think on the words of the animal god in silence. Could what he had said be some sort of game of chance? In truth, she had spent very little time with the god but he had always been up front with her on his opinions and motives so she doubt that to be the case. The god was one of the elder gods of the forest, so perhaps maybe what he said was true. Perhaps he truly no longer wished to exist on the mortal coil or maybe he knew that the time of his mortal shell was almost to an end and he wished to give his people one last boon before his soul was reborn anew.
Thinking of this the Forest Mother looked down upon her naked body. She was no longer a maiden, but a woman filled with her life. Her form was free from disease and more then likely her skin would remain young and beautiful, free from the ravages of aging until the time she herself succumbed to her body's natural shortcomings and die. Would she have the strength of character to give unto the forest one last boon knowing that the act would be her last?
Badge growled with a benign anger and dropped to his more comfortable quadruped stance as the forest Mother rose quickly to her feet and called to the assembled gods for attention. "I thank thee for coming to attendance this spring my Lords and my conscience is heavy with regret over your squandered time but I have chosen the Lord Badger as my consort this year. Please do not bear him or his kin any enmity for as always it was I who choose my husband and such feelings should be burdened to me accordingly."
Silence echoed loudly across the field of assembled gods at the Mother's words, each and every god's voice seemingly locked within their reeling minds. It was the sly fox god who awoke first, clapping his hands and calling in approval before quietly collecting his trinket and departing. Slowly the others joined in the celebratory cheer before leaving the gods to do what they where to do.
"I am sorry to bring them and you disrespect Mo..." Before the god could finish his apology the Forest Mother bent low and kissed him softly on the muzzle. "Fret not my lord. They to know, as you do, that this way of settling whom I will bless is sometimes hurtful but just. Come now my Lord and let us prepare for the upcoming rituals."
The Forest Mother found that she would have to spend time with each of her husbands, to get to know them and care for them each before she could conceive a child to them. The time had different for each one; a mere week for the otter god whiles the tiger took near until the spring's zenith. Day by day, the weeks passed and they spoke of his kin and his love for them as well his readiness to depart from the world and on the night of the spring's zenith she spread her legs to him and invited the god to come play with her, lovingly knowing that she would conceive his child.
They where alone in the temple, an animals' heat fueled her wanton needs and filled the enclosure with her aroused scent. As the god entered the temple major she rose to greet him with reverent bow, he responded to the goddess in kind. She turned her back to him but he could hear the soft whisper of rustling of silk against silk and knew that she was loosening her garments so that she could disrobe for him.
The Forest Mother began to disrobe with a deliberate slowness and the badger chirred as the soft pearl colored robe slid from it place to show her delicate shoulders. The fabric continued its whispering slid down her smooth back until she caught the kimono in the crooks over her arms, leaving the fabric to rest at her hips with just a bit of her slender thigh exposed to the god. She heard him chirr again and the scrap of his long claws against the old stone of the temple and turned her head to look upon her soon to be lover. He was trying to control his urges despite the room being saturated in her musk and her naked form, but his need was betray by his fully unsheathed penis.
She turned to Badger god then and released the garment to let it fall into a pool behind her. She reach her hand between her breast and began to trace a line over her smooth stomach with a finger from her sternum to her navel where she pressed more firmly as it continued its southern descent to her Mons and finally her cleft of Venus. As her fingers separated her vulva she arched her back and let loose a guttural moan.
She fell to her knees beckoning the badger god as her fingers kneaded her needy labia and he did not hesitate. Instantly he was upon her, his muzzle buried in her sex as he licked and rubbed her feminine scent into his fur and nose. She cried out in the sharp joy as she felt her orgasm spasm along her vagina and contracting the smooth muscles of her womb repeatedly, it felt as if he where trying to work his way into her body and impregnate her from the inside. Unbalanced by her orgasm and the gods vigorous grinding of her genitals, the goddess fell awkwardly against the temples alter.
She had little time to reposition herself before the god was on her again, his stout forelegs hugging her pelvis and his penis thrusting in and out of her opening, catching against her g-spot roughly and bring her to another climax quickly.
The sexual afterglow soon faded however as the god continue his rutting into her and the exertion of keeping their squirming bodies aloft made her legs feel leaden and sweat began to bead along her flesh. Suddenly the badger gave one last frantic thrust into her depths and she felt his seed wash into her hungry womb, sating the fire within her.
Panting heavily she slid the rest of the way down the alter to let her body rest against the floor, the badger slowly bucking against her groin. A tear of sadness rolled down the goddess check as she petted the animal between her legs, he had given all of himself to his people and had died when her ejaculated into her.
Long into the night she lad there with the god's body between her legs, petting what was left of him and mourning the passing of his experience. His spirit would be reborn somewhere, sometime but it would not be this badger, this badger would be forever lost.
*for the purpose of this story a generation is 15 years