Burden to bear//delphi&cephas

c e p h a s .

"So I surrender all
All I want is to live within your love"

The burden of our community and the fate we have been chosen for is split amongst the disciples and divine alike. Everyone has their share of the burden to carry, everyone aids in ensuring the church can function and daily can proceed. Everyone has their purpose and a calling from the gods themselves. No one person should be considered more or less, we are all equal in the eyes of the gods. Unfortunately, each burden manifests itself differently in each person that proclaims their everlasting faith.

On a daily basis, I am witness to the plethora of ways everyone takes on their share of the burden. Those chosen to fulfil a life filled with manual labor often come to my mother and I with a heatstroke from the burning sun of district ten or cuts and scraps from the harsh landscape. Those working the stables with animals often come with injuries that occur from taking care of the animals. Whilst majestic, they are in the end nothing more than gentle beasts that cannot control their impulses. Then there is us divine, we take on all the burden in the community spiritually. I have seen even the strongest of men, such as my father, cry at night because he truly believes the weight of the community lays on his shoulders.

Despite the fact that we have all received that tap on the shoulder to follow in the gods calling, we must constantly remind ourselves that we are human. I might be blessed with the ability to perform miracles and heal through the god’s guiding hands, but I am just a vessel for their doing. The same could be said for our oracle. I could not imagine the burden she carried on her two shoulders. Receiving the word of the gods must be physically and mentally draining. The lords have called out to me, asking me to check up on their mouthpiece, their voice to the community.

The timing for this task could have not been more perfect. I was on a mission to ensure that all wounds both physical and mental were given the proper care and those who suffered on the inside did not go overlooked. Mitsy and I acquired the alpacas recently to aid with that, my hope that the beauty of the creatures would bring peace of mind to those who fell ill of the mind. There was nothing that the blessings of nature could not heal, a sign that the gods were good.

I gently led two of the alpacas on a leash towards the household of the oracle. One white as snow and the other a gentle brown that warmed one’s heart. When we reached our destination, I gave the well-behaved creatures a pet on the nose. They seemed to have warmed up to me at an impressive speed even considering I spent the first dew days constantly at their side, watching as they grazed up the dried-up grass of our commune.

The door to the prophet’s house seemed to be unlocked as most houses were. We trusted each other around here; we were all the children of God after all. ”Sister Shephard?” I called out. ”Are you home? I brought by my new friends to say hello and maybe offer you some peace of mind if you would allow it.”