I had not seen the Gods do battle. I had only heard it as a small one. I had seen when the light returned, the destruction it had wrought on our village. Small ones were not allowed into the dark. Sometimes, as the Gods would battle for the light, we would hear the slaughter of lambs against the roaring wind. The elders believed the offerings would quell the Gods' fury. I was twelve now, and I was ready to witness the stealing of the light for myself.

Seeing the battle for the light once was enough for many, for the fear that the Gods might direct their fury upon some unrepentant sinner, and most stayed inside with the little ones. There were stories of some who had been driven mad by the sight of the celestial battle and fled into the darkness never to be seen again. Other stories told of those who were touched by the Gods themselves and burst into flames where they stood. I was not afraid. These stories were told to keep the little ones out of the dark. I was no longer the oldest child, but a young man.

The time had come. I had seen the day orb sink into the ocean many times before, but we were always put inside before the darkness came. I stood upon the great flat rock with the elders and we looked across the darkening expanse of the valley made blacker by the great nimbus looming over it.

I watched the color fade from the world. The muted blues of twilight sinking into grays and blacks. Silver winds lashing dark canopies. The birds were silent. Only the trees protested, and were answered by the brooding sky.

The Earth and sky were dark now and we waited. The wind grew stronger and my face twitched against the patter of rain for the first time. I looked upward squinting against the drops, caught in the deep blackness above me. How good it felt to be in the darkness. At once the sky tore open before my very eyes and a brilliant spear of light was hurled into the valley below. The wind and rain began to swirl around us, soon roaring over the now chanting elders. I stood in awe as the battle raged closer bathing swathes of the world in the light of day before being snatched by the darkness in an instant.

As my face was whipped with rain my world pulsated with light and dark and unending noise. I felt my arms grasped as the elders huddled around me in the raging tumult. I protested and tried to tell them I was not afraid but could not speak above the fury of the Gods. I struggled to be free but the large hands gripped tighter. I was being carried now and bucked violently at the indignation of my captivity. I was placed by many hands upon cold stone. A brilliant spear of light was hurled through the sky as an unfathomable pain ripped at my chest. In the darkness I felt a hideous claw plunge into my soul and at once, brilliantly illuminated, I saw my still beating heart held aloft to the Gods.