(Cont.)
Then it happened, that same night, that the Volcano said to Jerubbaal: “Take another fawn from the streets of this place – lo, those creatures are congesting the intersections – and prepare it, and put it in a basket, like you did earlier; then bring the flesh to the midpoint of the realm, where your mother has installed that book display,” for Jerubbaal was the son of the doe-eyed huntress Diana, archon of Nara and perpetual moon-virgin, who kept, in the most prominent zone of Deer City, a display of books, whose contents were exclusively Gideon Bibles (that is, they were published by the Gideons International, an evangelical Christian association known for distributing free copies of that scripture worldwide;) “then,” continued the Volcano, “lay the flesh upon it, and build of it another outdoor grill, the way that you witnessed me do to the rock this afternoon; thus, in addition to serving as a storage for ancient prophecies, where citizens can go to read my poetic tales, it shall also become a convenient cooking station, which will help to curb the city’s deer population.”
Then Jerubbaal in eagerness went out immediately, at that very hour, in the middle of the night, and did as the Volcano had instructed.
And when the citizens of the City of Deer arose early in the morning, behold, the Gideon Bible Display had acquired a grilling-altar, whose plaque commemorated Yahweh as Baal. And there was venison, cooked and seasoned, upon a banqueting table in the grove that was beside it, and stemmed glasses of wine. Also, several fawns were standing before the grill, as though volunteering to be the next feast.
And the Narans remarked one to another: “Who did this? I was just here yesterday, and it was a regular book display, stocked with Gideon Bibles; but now it’s got a grilling-altar attached, and those steaks look delicious. I will certainly come here more often, to read the scripture and to dine.”
And they reviewed the last night’s footage from the city’s security camera, and when they got to the scene where Jerubbaal was shown striking his glittering sword against the display and making jags of lightning engulf it, they all gasped as one, and then they replayed that part of videotape over and over.
“Ooh, at last, we have identified the magician,” the Narans then said one to another: “our secret benefactor is Jerubbaal, the son of Diana, Deer City’s archon.”
Then the Narans went over to the Temple of Diana and prayed: “O doe-eyed huntress, bring out your son, that we may offer him thanks, because he has superlatively altered our altar: it is now much better, its books are more Baal-like; and he also made improvements to the grove that is beside it.”
And Diana the doe-eyed moon-virgin said unto all: “Ah, so my son has lived up to his name! Just as the patriarch Israel seized greatness and earned the title god of gods by enacting his own name’s meaning: ‘god-wrestler,’ so my son has attained the position of Lord of Lords by being Jerubbaal: ‘LORD-contender.’ He has earned his place among the elohims. It looks nice, what he did: I can see the display from here. His having blessed our city in this way proves that Baal is the living deity Yahweh, as the plaque declares: and may he conceive immaculately many more such births as Jerubbaal through my womb, whose virginity is continually renewed with the moon.”
Therefore, on that day, Deer City gave Jerubaal the nickname Gideon, saying: “Because he has amended the Bible Display.”
Then all the Narans mixed and mingled with the wayfarers and visiting Midianites. And the other easterners who were there also joined in and melded. Many more attached themselves to the caravan, and some of its wayfarers settled in Nara.
§
Now Jerubbaal went to Mount Armageddon and meditated on the volcano of potential, and he said in his mind: “These Narans claim that your spirit suffuses me. Is that right? How can I know, without performing a scientific test? Therefore, behold, when next we meet, I will position my prayer mat with its top facing Mecca, like so, here in this niche; and if flames ignite round the mat, while the mat itself remains flameless, then shall I be sure that my faith is true, and that you are with me.”
And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, at the time of the first daily prayer, and straightaway flames from heaven blazed up around the mat, and he was surrounded by an ocean of fire; yet he did not burn, for the prayer mat itself remained unconsumed.
Jerubbaal then meditated upon Armageddon yet again, thinking as follows, toward the volcano of potential: “Do not be insulted if I request another test, for I wish to prove that the first time was not just a fluke. When next we meet, let the mat now burst into flames, while all the ground around exudes a mist, without any fire.”
And the Volcano did so that night: for a misty and sparkling perfume arose out of the ground and stood in the air encircling the mat, while the mat itself, with Jerubbaal upon it, was roaring with flames. Yet the fire did not hurt him.
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