My Communion with Dol Azur

Begin writing your story here...In the temple of the Skinned Saint, I witnessed a rite of flesh and blood beseeching the attention of the god Dol Azur. The devotees ripped the very skin from their bodies in a demonstration of their commitment. My hope was merely to get some guidance: perhaps a sign or affirmation that their god was involved in luring us to their city, and ideally a direction to take. Unlike when I first approached the “god”-king Dreadgrax, I was unprepared to find myself speaking directly to a deity, yet Dol Azur’s presence was unmistakable through Archbishop Eldmor acting as his conduit.
 
“I sense the sacrifice of those devoted to me, but no sacrifice offered from those beseeching me.”
 
To be star-struck is an understatement. My feet felt immovable, welded to the ground, while my voice struggled to resound louder than a child’s bell. His statement carried an expectation, a demand from myself and my companions - Prove to me that you are of my ilk, that you are subservient to my Will, to my Order, and to my Designs.
 
He demanded a sacrifice. Victory at any cost.
 
Dol Azur’s devotees, still moaning in agony and the throes of death, gave clue to what was expected of us as well. Quickly, I calculated what we could offer. First, I drew my companions with me in this endeavor to seek the Skinned Saint’s guidance. It would be unjustified for any of them to make a sacrifice to appease this god. I would not tolerate witnessing their mutilation, either. Second, Dol Azur brought us as tools or pawns to his city of supplicants. Our very presence in this place, seeking a Victory on behalf of his people, indicated that our roles were more than to be mere blood sacrifices. My conclusion could only be that the sacrifice must be mine, but my death or dismemberment would be counterproductive. I also had the unique opportunity that no other being present could offer: I could offer my skin without offering my life.
 
So, I doffed my shell, my skin, my body. It did not have the impact which I had anticipated. Among my companions, I sensed their confusion, and from Dol Azur: disappointment. Albeit reluctantly, Dol Azur did accept my offering, stating that he had grown used to seeing his supplicants groveling in fear or respect, but had long since seen someone offer confidence and irreverence.
 
Thus largely concluded my first encounter with a True god. I would not seek any further wisdom from them. I would not inquire into their nature or endeavor to better understand their godhood. No, this was not the god for me.
 
What I failed to consider in my calculations was that Dol Azur is a god of FLESH. To a god, mortals are barely more than stones or insects that they can manipulate to their own whims and desires. Dol Azur is already isolated from empathy to the experience of mortals. So much further would he be unable to empathize with a creature not made from flesh. Unlike my original nature and the state other of my ilk remain, I’d modified my carapace in such a way that it’d be more easily released. I could imagine that the ease at which I separated created the illusion that my body is modular and disposable. For my companions to interpret my sacrifice as vacuous is a concession I am willing to make. However, for a god to do so as well is no less than disappointing. I gave the very skin of my back, and was met with indifference.
 
A branch may be ripped from a tree, a part of its body. While the tree may grow another, the tree’s loss is still tangible, measurable. A lizard may shed its tail to escape death. While hte lizard may eventually grow another, in the meantime it is vulnerable. Neither creature will ever be the same. So too was I left: naked, disarmed, exposed. Until I can construct or acquire another suitable carapace, I am left with a prosthetic.
 
Dol Azur’s disregard aside, this encounter left me with an acute understanding of what I had previously overlooked: not all gods are the same. In my immediate goal of pursuing apotheosis, I’ve yet to consider an important question: what kind of god will I be?