Of Elder Gods and Men

We made our way cross-country through the colors of autumn– browns, reds, yellows– and the ground was damp, though not spongy. I inhaled the odors of forest and earth. Smoke curled from a single chimney in the distance, and I thought the Elder Gods and wondered at how they might change things if the way were opened for their return. The world could be a good place or a nasty place without supernatural intervention; we had worked out our own ways of doing things, defined our own goods and evils. Some gods were great for individual ideals to be aimed at, rather than actual ends to be sought, here and now. As for the Elders, I could see no profit in intercourse with those who transcend utterly. I like to keep all such things in abstract. Platonic realms and not have to concern myself with physical presences…

Snuff the dog in Roger Zelazny’s “A Night in the Lonesome October”