The Dice Game of Stripes or Spots (Short Story)

This is one of the new stories I wrote for my upcoming collection, Gnoll Tales. 

When the world was very young Aranya carved the first dice from a piece of the bones of the world. Oanyu, who painted the colors of dawn and dusk had a bit of black left over and he added it to the sides of the dice to give them different meanings. He and Aranya enjoyed rolling these dice and guessing what the results of each die would be. From this, they devised the first gambling game, and taught it to the other gnoll gods, and then the gods of all the other peoples of the world.

Aranya had a reputation with dice, and it this is why the realm of chance and fate became hers to direct. If she wanted to, she could know the results of the dice before they were even rolled, but she found there was no fun in that. She like to be surprised, and not knowing the result was the part that mattered most. Only when she wanted to impress the other old gods did she push and pull against the currents of fate.

Everything then was new, and the forms of the gods was ever changing. Since he had painted spots on the dice, Oanyu made his fur spotted. Aranya, who enjoyed streaks of luck the dice could give chose stripes for her fur. The question though of what to make their people look like was one of hot debate among the gnoll gods. They had settled on the shape  they wanted to give their children, but the patterns of their fur they could not decide.

“We should be one people, shaded like the earth,” said Uratu, the goddess of the hunt. “It will give our children an advantage in their hunts.”

“Perhaps so,” responded Nin’nan, the protector god of clans, “but should they be striped or spotted?”

“Do we need markings?” asked Urantu.

“How would they know who each other were without their noses? The other gods are making their people all a little different,” said Aranya. “Why shouldn’t we follow their lead?”

“They could just paint on their markings,” offered Svinya, goddess of war.

The oldest gnoll god, Hirash, the gnoll god of knowledge, then spoke up. Even then, when everything was new and still changing, he had seen much, for he had been first among the gnoll gods. It was he who had made the others, and they all respected his counsel.

“My children, you each have chosen to mark your fur differently, and it would be foolish to think our children wouldn’t want to do the same. Perhaps we should use the dice Aranya has carved and ask them.”

Aranya felt her hackles stand up. “Should such an important choice be left up to the eddies of fate?” asked Aranya.

“It is better that than endlessly arguing amongst ourselves. I want you to carve us a die of six sides, and have Oanyu paint two faces with lines and two faces with spots. Leave one side blank, and on the final side, paint one spot and one stripe. I want neither of you to roll the die while you do this. Aranya, you will be blindfolded after you carve the die, and so you will not know which sides Oanyu has painted.”

The gods grumbled at Hirash’s choice in painting the dice, but each agreed to this. Uratu was the only one who favored not having markings, while the others were even split between stripes and spots. The task set, Aranya went to carve the die. As instructed, she did not roll it. She then gave it to Oanyu and was blindfolded. Oanyu carefully painted the markings on the die, and when he was done, he set it down on the blank side to dry.

The next day, the gnolls met to decide how to paint their children. The die was presented to Hirash, and he carefully inspected it. He smelt the stone to make sure it was true and wise. He tested it with his fangs to make sure it was solid, and when he was satisfied, he gave the dice to the blindfolded Aranya.

“Roll it. Whatever fate we see, we shall all abide by,” he told her.

All ears perked forward, muzzles lowered as she vigorously shook the die, and then threw it into the gathering of gnoll gods. They all refused to breathe as it sailed through the air and struck the earth. It bounced across the smooth stone ground of the meeting area and came to rest with the stripe and spot side showing.

“What is the result?” asked Aranya, for she could not see the result.

“Is the side with the stripe and the spot,” said Oanyu, picking it up.

“Roll it again then,” intoned Hirash.

Oanyu gave the die back to Aranya, and twice more she rolled the die, and each time it fell on the side with the stripe and the spot. After the third time, Hirash picked up the dice and threw it himself, and it again fell on the same side.

“It’s weighted,” accused Urantu, with a snarl.

“I cannot see what sides the symbols are painted on,” said Aranya.

“There is no need to fight over this,” interrupted Svinya. “War will come to the world later. Let us each roll and see what comes of it.”

There was a murmur of ascent, and each of the assembled gnoll gods rolled the dice, and each came up with the same result, except for Oanyu, who rolled last and got a spotted side. There was much shock about that, but from this, Hirash understood the currents of fate. He decreed that most gnolls would be spotted, but that some would also be striped, for we as a people should not all be the same.