A Final Moment for the Gathering 1114

My last sketch from the 1114 Gathering is of a mummified body placed in repose near the Sunset circle. All things come to an end eventually, for me it was a visit to exotic lands, unfortunately for some good souls at the Gathering the end is of a more permanent nature.

For those of us who have fallen I hope you are at peace.

God of the Sky

On the final morning of the Gathering I returned to the Sunset ritual circle, beside the statue of Anubis was the statue of a god with the head of a bird. My knowledge of Jackals culture and belief falters at this point, I am not sure if this is Ra or Horus, I intended to ask a member of the Jackals but it slipped my aging mind at the time. However, it would have been wrong to miss the striking image from my sketchbook. I will make a point of learning more when the nations next meet. Perhaps I will be able to buy someone a drink and return the hospitality the Jackals showed me when I visited their camp on the evening of the second day.

Update: Thank you to Alrisha of the Jackals for informing me this is Thoth, ancestor of knowledge. The head is the form of an Ibis, a bird sacred to him.

The Dry Fountain

Stone surrounds and rushes held the false promise of an oasis. Skeletons around the edge reached for the mirage of water. A young family wandered up to share the scene. Their youngest member looked up to her father and said “Daddy, the skeletons must have come to life and drank all the water,”

The Circle of Skulls

Stepping out of my studio in the cold light of dawn I took a walk down to the Sunset ritual circle on Jackal lands. It was deathly quiet at that hour of the morning in more than one way. The first scene before me was a circle of stone around a vast cluster of skulls and bones. Some skulls were the size of giants, others were tiny and tucked into gaps or even eye sockets. The macabre piece was my first study of the 1114 Gathering.