The Avatar: Part II

A Name.

He heard it as if from a distance, muffled by something. But the sound, the cadence, it spoke to him, and he knew it for what it was: his Name.

There it was again!

He strained to hear it, now stirring within the King Oak, and vines and tendrils that bound him to it tightened as if to keep him still. He heard the Name once more, and this time fought against the constricting movements of the tree. At last he heard it, he heard the name, and reached for it, strove for it with all his will.

"HERREL!"

There was a sudden burst of bright light, and now the King Oak no longer tried to hold him back, but instead thrust him out, naked and blinking, into the harsh light of day. Panic stricken now that he'd been set free, he tried to scramble back inside as the last of the vines detached and the bark closed seamlessly to shut him out.

"Herrel. You can't go back. Not yet. Perhaps not ever. We will have to see what Fate decrees."

Herrel: that was his Name. And with it now memory came flooding back to meld with his dreams. He scratched at the tree until the one who'd called him forth laid a hand on his shoulder and turned him around to look at him. "Herrel. Your name is Herrel of the city of Thornhaven. You were Midsummer get, conceived on a night sacred to both the Goddess and myself, and as such She claimed you as the Oak King. But that time is over, and now I claim you as mine. You will return here at Imbolc to fight once more, but the time between you will walk the earth and do what must be done."

"Herrel of Thornhaven, I claim you as My Eyes, to see the wrongs that must be righted. I claim you as My Ears, to hear where Evil hides in the dark. I claim you as My Mouth, to tell others My Judgement. And I claim you as My Hand, to mete out My Justice"

The figure seemed to grow taller, antlers appearing to branch high for the sky. Herrel knew this being. It was Herne, the God.

"Herrel of Thornhaven, I Claim you for My Self, for so shall you be in all you decide."

And then the newly proclaimed Avatar of the God some called Herne and others Cernunnos fainted dead away at the God's feet.

The god sighed.

"I think we better get some food into you first."