Sorry, added a source. The artist wrote a pretty gruesome story there. Quoting directly:
The rest of the crew was missing. Whatever dangers the jungle held for a group of lost explorers was nothing compared to what we were about to witness. The natives ambushed us when we entered a clearing and tore us down before the men even realized what had happened. Our weaponry was confiscated and we were stripped of our belongings. Tied together with vines the natives herded us like cattle. Though we felt relieved for not getting killed on spot like the other raiding party last night I couldn't keep myself from imagining the horrors they'd have in store for us.
I hope I had been right. What they had in mind was certainly horrible, but I couldn't have imagined something like this in my wildest nightmares. We were brought to an ancient temple site. Due to my studies in native culture and a quick appraisal of my surroundings suggested that this was a ritual site- a place where offerings to the gods were to be made.
I am not a religious person, but men are prone to change their views in a blink of an eye, especially after being exposed to something that is not explained by common science. A deity, an avatar, an angel, no, before me was standing something that could not be explained by anything short of god. While human in appearance, she was the size of a spanish galley and had the looks of an angel, with distinctive tribal markings and decorations. I had studied the native's worship of harvest gods and protectors of the land and how they would show themselves during times of trouble. Troubling times were ahead indeed, especially for me and my men.
The natives were a cruel and ruthless race. Our history books depicted them as people who prayed to the gods for guidance and rebelled when their expectations weren't met. Apparently the gods weren't always willing to spill blood in their name, so the people sometimes had to force their hand.I had not the slightest clue as to how this was done, but I could see this was such a situation, as the harvest god before me appeared to be chained down to the cold temple ground.
She seemed to be terrified of what was to come, as if she had experienced this all too often. I almost felt sorry for her, but my sympathy was cut short by someone prodding me with a spear. We were forced to climb a series of wooden ladders on top of what looked like a primitive watchtower. It was when we reached the end and I saw the plank leading towards the giantess that her eyes widened and she began to violently shake her hands in a futile effort to free herself. Tears were pouring from her eyes and she had no chance but to accept her fate. The situation only dawned on me when the natives forced her to open her gigantic maw and started to push my men towards the plank...
|
