IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 537

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding Fantasy, this insight was startling: “I see the fantasy genre as an ever-shifting metaphor for life in this world, an innocuous medium that allows the author to examine difficult, even controversial, subjects with impunity. Honor, religion, politics, nobility, integrity, greed—we’ve an endless list of ideals to be dissected and explored. And maybe learned from.” – Melissa McPhail.

F Trope: good vs evil (If you’ve never read THE DARK IS RISING series by Susan Cooper – you should!)
Old History/Current Event: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/12/politics/ukraine-russia-sanctions-us-eu/

Asmita Makarov had finished drawing the proper symbols on the floor of the partially destroyed building in Lviv.

Elnur Kuzmin said, “You sure this is a good thing?”

Asmita stood, studying her work and said, “Putin tried to invade Ukraine in 2014 and we beat him then using conventional weapons – now he’s trying again. This time we need stronger weapons.” The abandoned “re-education camp” Putin had reclaimed outside of Moscow still had plenty of empty buildings. They’d gotten in an found a room of the proper dimensions.

Elnur scowled. “What’s stronger than anti-tank missiles and a determined army and the people?”

She shook her head, “Putin doesn't just want to beat Ukraine, he’s out to get his name in the history books. He wants the entries to read ‘Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, Putin.’ He wants to erase the stain of Gorbachev. All he wants is to be included with the most brutal Soviet dictators whose aim was to make every country a satellite of Russia – even America, Brazil, and ultimately China. He’s not interested in anything less. While only Satan can be evil incarnate, he hopes to overthrow even that trope. There’s only one way to stop him.”

Elnur shook his head and said, “When you summon Perun, Morana, Triglav, and Belobog, we’ll be only the first of the people who are collateral damage…”

“It’s not worth it to try and save our country?”

Elnur wouldn’t look up until he finally did and said, “Yes. It is.”

Asmita stepped back, grabbing the bottle of blood from the bull they’d sacrificed at sunrise. She glanced at her cellphone and said, “It’s two minutes to midnight.” Elnur nodded and walked around the circle to the other side. Pouring the blood on the first symbol, she said softly, “We summon you Triglav, three-headed god of heaven, earth, and the underworld; or the past, present, and future. Come to us on your black horse!”

Elnur dumped his portion and said, “We summon you, Belobog, god of good, you are the Sun in the sky, in the underworld, the mountains, and the lowlands.”

Asmita had moved to another spot, spilled blood and recited, “We summon you, Rerun, god of thunder and weapons, and the towering mountains, and nobility; king of gods!”

Elnur, the last to go, repeated the move, emptying the container and saying, “We cry out to you, Morana, goddess of death and winter…” He paused, looked across at Asmita and whispered, “You think I should have summoned the dudes and you summoned the women?”

Asmita rolled her eyes, “Don’t be so old-fashioned, Elnur! This is…” she stopped talking as her eye kept rolling and the air around them began to pulsate like a massive heartbeat…

Resources: https://rabydosverse.fandom.com/wiki/Slavic_mythology
Names: ♀ Nepal, Russia; ♂ Azerbaijan; Russia
Image:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/71/e5/9871e52bbc09c525af21b8f6471eab15.jpg