Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #17 August 2015 | Page 33

SHIVA XIV

not believe what they heard. No one had been named
the next Bodanya for hundreds of years.

by Lyra Shanti

The High Priest then wet the boy’s forehead
with colored sand and water mixed with scented
oils. Soon Meddhi-Lan began chanting in a droning
hum, which had been performed by The Holy Dei
for thousands of years. With this ritual, came the
collective resonance of the entire priesthood. One
by one, their song grew greater with each voice that
contributed to the epic drone.

Prologue: Birth of Shiva the
Fourteenth

When the Queen first ordered that her son be
proclaimed “Shiva the Fourteenth,” it was already
known to the priests of the planet Deius that the infant
would be the one to bring balance to the stars.
He was judged, and bathed, and welcomed
with holy water, as with any other child born into
the royal line of The Shiva. However, from the first
sight upon his body, the high priest himself knew that
Queen Amya’s son was the next true Bodanya, the
second coming of The Great Adin.

Joining their collective song, the priestesses
of the temple fell to the floor in the ecstasy of their
tradition. Then, the royal infant was raised by the
hands of the High Priest.
Meddhi-Lan waited a few moments, and with
his eyes alone, he asked those present for silence.

So they prayed. They prayed into the early
morning onward to the Gods of old while the priests
sang and chanted, waiting for a sign or for guidance.

“This boy has been named Ayn by his birth
mother, Queen Amya. It is her right to call him this,
but no commoner in the kingdom shall know him as
Ayn. He will be known henceforth only as Shiva the
Fourteenth.”

By the third evening, the high priest, known
as Meddhi-Lan, declared that he had been given
understanding by the previous Shiva about the child’s
true identity. Then, the priests brought the child to the
altar where only his birth mother was allowed to be
present among them.
Meddhi-Lan then held him up to the ancient
statue, The Star of the Sun, so that the child’s eyes
could look upon the spirits with awareness. After
gently placing the newborn back onto the blanketed
altar, Meddhi-Lan walked to the center of The Holy
Room, facing The Council: The Holy Order of The
Dei. All the priests of The Dei then gathered in a circle
around the altar, praying silently for guidance from
their revered gods of old.
Speaking with a resounding, clear voice,
Meddhi-Lan declared, “No knife, nor stone, nor
instrument of incision shall wound this child, for he
will be now and forever known to us as the Neya
Bodanya!”

Then Pei, the adolescent student priest of
Meddhi-Lan, raised his hand, holding a replica of the
great sun-star, Siri, and proclaimed, “All praise the
Neya Bodanya, Shiva the Fourteenth! Rejoice! Adin!
Adin!”
Soon, they all began to repeat Pei’s chant
as the infant was anointed by Meddhi-Lan with the
symbol of the Siri-Star, the revered sun of Deius,
encircling it with the holy light of Adin. Even Queen
Amya began to chant, though she was not particularly
religious. She was, however, extremely proud of her
beloved child.
Gently, with his forefinger, the high priest drew
the symbols upon the child’s forehead, coloring it with
gold and silver sand. Then he, and all the priests and
priestesses, fiercely prayed.

Silence fell upon The Council as they could

“Please, great Siri, the holiest of our gods”

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