Friday, March 16, 2012

The Lake Goddess


About a week ago Zac S, from Playing D&D with Porn Stars, posted the above image in commemoration of the passing of Moebius. It caught my eye and started to weave little adventure seeds in my imagination...

The Lake Goddess sleeps in an alpine lake at the top of a mountain, and is a destination for many pilgrims world-wide. The trek is not an easy one, but the view certainly rewards the tenacious. The sleeping form of the goddess is watched over by a sect of monks that live in the mountain-top caldera that holds the lake. The lake water is warm, heated by volcanic plumes, which in turn keeps the environment of the caldera warm as well... a welcome grotto in a place that would otherwise be snow-covered due to the elevation.

The monks charge a tithe from all pilgrims that enter the caldera, and in turn keep the area relatively safe and clear from invading monsters. The monks also keep the environment clean from the pilgrim's trash, which includes the body of the Lake Goddess herself, for pilgrims are known to row out to her form and camp upon it seeking deeper visions and enlightenment. (This can be dangerous, for while it is known by all that sleeping overnight in the caldera can offer transcendent dreams to some... gifts from the Lake Goddess... actually sleeping on her recumbent form can be psychically dangerous, with nightmares wracking the unwary with threats of insanity or death.)

Will the Lake Goddess ever awaken? No one knows. Her body appears resistant to almost all forms of damage, physical or magical. Although, she does appear to feel, for exceedingly irritating attacks on her form have been known to generate deadly responses in the form of turbulent weather and lightning strikes, the appearance of crystal nixies in the water that lure intruders to their death, or even something as simple as a virulent curse.

Some philosophers have went as far as to ponder what it must be like inside the Lake Goddess, for indeed, her nostrils are large enough to allow entrance into her very body for those of small stature and exceedingly foolhardy temperament. Does her inner form liken to that of a human body, with organs and fluids, and an internal defense system? Or is it more like an echoing empty temple of rounded corners and blue marble? One trance-dazzled sage has even foretold that an ancient relic lies hidden in her belly, guarded by thousands of snakes.

2 comments:

  1. Very evocative treatment of a single image - I would play that adventure. The idea calls to mind the feel of a Clark Ashton Smith story.

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  2. Which reminds me again I need to read some of his stuff.

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