Childrearing:
a tale of the Sanguinary Utnapishtim.
Header: me sitting in judgement of your story submissions
The Blood God by Neillustrate -- used with artist's permission.
This short story was written by William Burns
“I hope you’re free next tenday” said Demelzaz “We’re having a little party to celebrate Uksatha’s First Murder! You should have seen her pick up that poniard and stick it right through the wardum’s eye! We’re so proud of her.”
“Eightfold blessings on her and you” muttered Gokellth. Demelzaz hadn’t asked with faux-concern about Gokelith’s son Chartak’s first murder; she didn’t need to. Every day the other mothers in the neighbourhood were celebrating First Murders and bragging about their children’s love of killing, while Chartak stubbornly refused to kill anyone. Gokelith’s status among her peers was dropping every day.If the child was incapable of killing -- Khorne obliterate the thought! -- he'd surely fail the trials and be relegated to wardum status. There hadn’t been a wardum in Gokelith’s family in memory!
Chartak’s father, Houk, was also growing increasingly frustrated. He had gone so far as to buy a slave for Chartak to kill, but Chartak had actually made friends with her! Houk had ended up having to kill the slave himself, which no doubt fractionally raised his status in the eyes of Khorne, but that wasn’t the point, was it? And anyway a father who raised his son to be a peaceling had failed Khorne in any case, and could count on being relegated to a bloodless eternity. With grim determination Houk did everything he could to nag his child into slaughter.
Gokelith wasn’t sure Houk was doing the right thing. All the childrearing books, including Raising Khorne’s Children which most of the mothers in the neighbourhood swore by, said that the First Murder should be a joyous expression of the natural love of killing which Khorne had implanted in us all, and not simply another chore. A child who viewed killing as a job could never reach the same favour in Khorne’s eyes as one who viewed it as a joyous experience. But Gokelith sympathized with her partner as well. Better a routine joyless killer than a pacifist!
Art by Arlene Lo, part of a gift exchange!
Houk’s latest idea was to get Chartak used to using the knife by practicing on non-living things until stabbing became an automatic reflex. Maybe that way he'd stab someone by accident? So, currently Chartak was stabbing at a board over and over under Houk’s wrathful eye.
But Chartak was bored. Why was everyone obsessed with killing and stabbing? That rage of Khorne everyone talked about? Chartak wasn’t even sure what it was! Houk was now adding insult to the mixture, abusing his child for being a coward and fit only to be a slave, a disgrace in the eyes of Khorne, not even worthy of Khorne’s hate -- only His contempt. Chartak’s boredom soon curdled into hate of the entire tedious situation.
Gokelith heard a short scream coming from the other room. She ran in to find Houk lying on the floor with a stab wound in the throat, his dying face fixed in an expression of pride. Chartak stood over him with a bloody knife. Gokelith felt her standing in the neighbourhood instantly restored. Granted, Khorne cared not from whence the blood flowed, only that it flowed; but parricide was going to be a hard First Murder to top.
on the habblock's fridge door, in the communal dining area.
Art by Arlene Lo, part of a gift exchange!.
Coda: the wonderful Iris Meredith wrote a sequel to this story! She posted it on her blog, so if you want to hear more about this colourful cast go check out Pride Month!