Hoodoo
hoo·doo
/ˈho͞oˌdo͞o/
A column or pinnacle of weathered rock.
“A towering sandstone hoodoo.”
Deep in distant deserts stands a pillar of sandstone. The locals say the towering sentinel is the source of all life. The wellspring of knowledge, the confluence of leylines, the font of dreams. To stand before the holy mountain is the bare yourself to the divine.
Some beg to differ: life is found in the foundries of industry, the rolling wheels of locomotives, and the pull of a gunfighters trigger. The only divinity left is that which we seize for ourselves.
Gods ascend and fall. Kingdoms rise and are swept away to the sands. Humanity veers towards its terminus. Through it all, Red Stalk stands alone, at the beginning and the end.