
The soft whispers of chanting floated amongst the heavy smoke of incense as though the words themselves were using the smoke to travel to the one they were meant for.
"Yaa Devii Sarvabhuuteshhu Maatrirupena Sansthitah
Yaa Devii Sarvabhuuteshhu Shaktirupena Sansthitah
Yaa Devii Sarvabhuuteshhu Shaantirupena Sansthitah
Namastasyaih Namastasyaih Namastasyaih Namo Namah"
(Goddess Durga is omnipresent. She is the personification of Universal Mother. She is a Mother, who is present everywhere and who is embodiment of power and energy. Great mother, who is present everywhere and who is embodiment of Peace. I bow to that mother, I bow to Durga, I bow to Shakti.)
Chanda knelt before the altar of the temple, her face solemn as she recited her prayers. Typically she wouldn’t be here so late, as she knew the devadasis were uncomfortable with having the temple occupied without them around, but her spirit had been in so much turmoil lately that she simply had to have a sacred space for her to worship and ask the goddess to grant her clarity and serenity in her time of need. They trusted her with a key to the temple on the stipulation that she would guard it and its scriptures as though they were a part of her own body. Chanda had told them, without hesitation, that the temple already was a part of her, there was no need to pretend. So, because of that, the tiger mononoke was extra alert to her surroundings as she prayed. True it meant that her prayers were not as deep and focused as they would have been, but a vow was a vow, and the moment she heard the soft shuffle of steps and the quiet creak of the wooden floorboards beneath the carpet she silently bolted upright.
"Yaa Devii Sarva Bhooteshu Chetanetyaabhi Dheeyate
Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namaha"
(I bow again and again to the Devi, who abides in all creatures as realization.)
She continued her prayer as though nothing had happened, not wanting to alert the intruder to the fact she had noticed their trespassing. Her ears swiveled to try and pick up just where this person was; but after their initial entrance they were much quieter and it was difficult to pinpoint where they were. The mononoke’s tail puffed up and twitched in agitation as she stalked through the halls of the temple. Her sense of smell would have greatly helped….if only the whole place wasn’t so thick with incense. She would have cursed if it wasn’t sacrilegious…but it was, so she simply emitted a low, frustrated growl. Very few things riled Chanda’s temper, but messing with her faith was a surefire way to experience her wrath.
Oh yes. Whoever was here was certainly in for a world of pain.