The Giantcatcher
A rejected muse believes there's a secret hiding in his island's erratic weather patterns...
In the beginning, it was all an archipelago…
Cards made from weatherproof cardstock were shuffled and spread over damp ground, occupying Amore’s hands as he waited, crouched at the shoreline.
The weather was unpredictable here. Waves lapped at the island’s marshy ground, threatening to rip it to pieces again. Amore’s camp could have clear skies one morning, but then in seconds… BAM! Lighting storm incoming. Sometimes the sun would go black, but without rainclouds to cover it, nor signs of a sunset. Just a random nightfall, only for a moment, before the daylight switched back on.
Amore was lucky. He lived on one of the largest islands humans had found. The landmass was more stable, and that meant he had time for pursuits other than fighting for his life. Like practicing his card reading.
His friends called it frivolous. And they still called him Baldwin Apollo, not understanding why he’d taken on his new name, Amore.
Much like his cards, the name change was a spiritual practice for Amore. But his friends weren’t as willing to honor his Goddess, Gi. Though his camp knew who She was, well… They assumed She didn’t care about them. She never sent signs. Technically, in part, a Goddess of Secrets, her lack of communication had even earned Her a title: The Silent Goddess.
But Amore knew better. There was a pattern to these bizarre celestial phenomena. It was a code from Gi, Goddess of The Stars. And he was going to crack it.
Like what you’re reading? Be sure to check out other stories in World of Gray…
A Cloudless Snow - A clergyman struggles to keep his faith amidst a wrongful Holy War. Takes place approx. 60 years after this piece, also features more of Amore.
Amore Borealis - A simple and sweet Valentine’s Day story. Set in the present-day World of Gray, approx. 100 years after this piece. Yes, the name’s a reference to the very Amore featured in this story.
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Amore laid out three cards in a line. When he flipped them over, they were blank. Gi would soon signal to him what should be on the canvases. He knew She had something to say, something that might save his camp from the deadly weather. And he had to be the one to hear her out. Poor Goddess, trying so hard to speak when nobody wanted to listen… Amore perched a paintbrush on his lip and focused his attention upwards.
The sky went dark. But it was only seconds after sunrise! This is it!
Weather came at him faster than he had ever known. Wind scattered his cards. Mud crashed into his face. Despite dirt and debris crawling all over him, Amore knew he wasn’t on the ground anymore. His ears roared as hailstones drummed his back. Amore had hit the clouds!
He wiped away the mud clogging his face, getting his bearings. He could hear echoing ‘oooohms!’ bouncing through the skies. Goddess… She was trying to talk to him!
And Amore needed Her help! He reached out a hand, focusing on Love, the way he always liked to lead. When tapping into the Goddess’s domain - Love, The Stars, and Chaos - one could use Her magic. It would create a divinely magnetic beacon, drawing in all magical energy around him. Which meant he could pull Her closer!
Amore leaned into the joyful wonder he felt when he saw the chaotic weather and lovingly forgave his Goddess for it. He channeled all of his emotions into his fingertips. Closer…
He felt something starting to pull on him. Closer…
He swung to the side, a massive force slamming into him just as he turned the magic on. Blazing light formed a comet trail over him as the force magnetized into him. Air boiled… Goddess, you’re fast!
Too much… Amore’s hand fell limp, and he screamed, releasing the charging power. Luckily, when Her magic’s beacon had absorbed enough energy, it could be ejected out again.
Dust, paper scraps, and boiling light stormed off of him. The debris glittered as Her light caught onto it, like stardust, twinkling in soft hues of pink, gold, and violet. Mud clumped together as it was caught in the blast’s vortex, catching the glitter.
Amore tried to angle the blast to send him down into the sea, but something blocked him. He felt stuck to the clouds.
Amore made the mistake of looking down. He was nauseatingly high up! He turned back up and saw… The weather?
The stardust had collected into a huge glitterball, almost like he had painted a galaxy across the clouds. Amore could see the sun peeking over the shimmering ball, warm rays glowing rose gold as they reflected off its surface.
But something else was distorting them… And, how hadn’t Amore fallen yet?
He was right! This wasn’t just random weather! Amore couldn’t tell exactly what was there, but there was definitely something. He felt the being tugging at his jacket. His body’s momentum waned as he was pulled slowly to the side.
The sunlight bent around an invisible object, the hole the creature created making its silhouette visible, even if the thing itself was invisible. Though he couldn’t see it, the same-shaped hole consistently broke clouds and light apart as he and it drifted through the sky.
The round spot where light consistently stopped was at the top of the shimmering debris ball… A head? Two trails of its interrupting force curled out from the head, whipping rippling gaps into the clouds. Looking at the holes punched in the clouds, it appeared as though the force was twisting into gigantic antlers.
What was this? The ball of stardust debris clung to this strange sky being like a coat of wool. Like a sky… sheep?
A sky-sheep! Yes, his Goddess had sent him a sky-sheep! And it was beautiful… Amore’s heart was pounding. Stunned, terrified, amazed… Moved to tears! Amore’s people had to see this! He had to show them the proof.
But the sky-sheep was too high up for anyone to notice it. And even if Amore told his camp the story of it when he returned, they wouldn’t believe him!
He scrambled to see if he still had blank cards on him, finding one floating in the sky beside him. Suspended by some kind of new gravity, just like he was. Am I… in orbit?
Amore caught the canvas and twirled his paintbrush between his fingers. He wanted to draw the sky-sheep from every angle. Its stardust wool was stunning, the ball of debris a rainbow of shimmering minerals. He started sketching… How was he going to capture the essence of those horns?
Aha! He had an idea! He’d absorbed some of this being’s energy before… What if he tried absorbing it into- No, that was ridiculous.
Amore swam closer, making note of the colors on the sky-sheep’s flank. Did this little- well, big guy have feet? He had to be sure.
Amore looked down again. And saw a circle of tents. Saw his friends preparing fish for dinner, washing their clothes, starting a- Wow, they were a lot closer to the ground than he expected!
When he rolled back over, he was nearly touching its face.
The sky-sheep’s head was invisible yet clearly present at the same time. The hole punched in the clouds was like a furious ram’s face glaring down at Amore. The stardust debris beside its head cracked and crumbled into the hole… Into nothing. A black hole?
Amore smelled burning… My clothes! The horns licked towards him, the air around them emitting an energy that made his body sting. His fingers visibly stretched before his eyes… He was getting pulled into the black hole!
The sky-sheep howled a loud ‘oooohm!’ again. Then they picked up speed.
A wave of fire gushed over Amore’s feet. The ground was skyrocketing towards him, or no, he was falling… Crash-landing… This was a meteor strike!
His village was doomed! Getting hit by that huge hunk of mud… If only there was a way to shrink it down… Amore had to try! He loved his home too much to roll over and let them die.
His fingernails dug into thick cardstock for dear life. He lined up the card, positioning his sketch perfectly symmetrical to the shape of the sky-sheep, the reference helping him focus. Then forced his other arm to lift.
He concentrated Gi’s magic into his fingers. He’d absorbed the sky-sheep’s energy before. He had to do it again now…
The sky-sheep warped, stardust circling around Amore as the sky-sheep absorbed into him. His skin was painted with burns, his body quaking, but he kept his eyes on the card.
Distracting himself from the pain, he watched the creature’s form shrink as star bit after star bit broke from the sky-sheep’s wool. Comparing against his sketch, he could see the sky-sheep was getting smaller, three quarters, half… the size of what was in the original drawing.
Amore couldn’t contain the energy forever. Goddess, help me! What was he going to do? He couldn’t risk releasing the sky-sheep and having it charge his camp again. And as dangerous as the sky-sheep was, Amore was an agent of Love, and he couldn’t bring himself to kill it.
What if… What about that idea he’d had? What if he could absorb the creature’s essence into the card?!
He was already burnt to a crisp. If he didn’t try everything he could, his friends would die. What did he have to lose?
Amore closed his eyes, pulled the card close to his chest, and focused all of his thoughts on it. The air started to cool. He felt the debris blanket crack off of him, the skies around him clearing. The card was the last burning ember remaining, though his skin was still licked by a flaming pain. Did it… Did that really work? Well, he’d tried his best…
Amore crashed into saltwater, feeling the foam bathe him, feeling his burns cool as he plunged into the depths.
He just wished they could’ve seen it…
He checked the card and found a perfect replica of the sky-sheep embedded into the paper. Amore let the illustration go into the flow of the tides, praying to his Goddess that it, and possibly he, would find their way back to camp…
He drifted to sleep, rocked gently by the waves, at peace knowing his people would be safe.