LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE PROLOGUE

 LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - THE PROLOGUE

 

 The northernmost border of Korion had been marked by a range of lofty, serrated peaks, seven in number, appropriately named “The Pillars of Heaven”.  Their astral summits (stellar zeniths) were completely obscured by crowning clouds, relegating all perception of their true elevation to the realm of fantasy.  Snow and ice permanently capped the stratospheric part of this mystic range and from the north (the north-pole) the driving, howling winds thrashed the slopes mercilessly, scouring the glacier clean of any life form. Ergo, the popular folklore of Korion had always maintained that the breath of the world was being drawn in through these august peaks. This inhospitable region of sub-freezing temperatures meanwhile had effectively deterred any human from traversing it; yet remarkably, the national lore persisted of an ancient race, old beyond the Earth itself, possessing powers most strange and subtle, dwelling and thriving in this desolation.

 

                                                                                          ~

 

In that never ending cycle of nature, as anew (afresh) the darkness enshrouded (veiled) the Earth in obscurity, on the majestic slopes the falling flakes yet again sought refuge from the relentless scourge of the wind by hiding in crevices and under ledges in swirling eddies. 

 

On this typically forbidding (austere) night, “The Elders of Karn”, an ancient race of people each ranking over six feet tall in height, with long fiery red hairs, pale gray eyes and pale skin, all identically clad in dreary, nondescript garments with hoods, each sporting a different shades of crystal amulet that hung from their neckline- had been seated around the lashing tongues of fire, for an indefinite period, listening with rapt attention to the one named Dwengzur recounting the success of his mission.

DWENGZUR

Silence fell at the conclusion of Dwengzur’s report. The primary, the most ancient one known as “Aegeus”, thoughtfully stroking his long, snow white beard, now slightly leaned forward and without moving his lips, in measured intonation suggested to Dwengzur that the report may need a touch more elaboration.  Before Dwengzur had a chance to show his surprise at this most unusual request, the other Elders displaying an uncharacteristic curiosity added their collective nods and silent murmurs, as if in droning chorus.  “Yes, brother,” their voices burst in his head, tells us more news of the outside world.  “Tell us of the recent changes!”

“This is most peculiar! Much has changed during my long absence; why this sudden interest in the forsaken mortal realms?” Dwengzur locking his mind up and retreating to that private segment that could not be penetrated, a privileged right, he for a spell, pondered. Centuries had passed since the last great struggle that’d in the interim seriously depleted their numbers and erased in its entirety the female gender of their race. From thence unable to propagate, their longevity being the only other boon to their special powers- yes, the final war had been won but at a heavy cost.

CESSARS

Cassars, rock spirit entities, that had eventually been enslaved by Karns and so kept in check- had been the catalyst of this catastrophic dissention (discord) among existing ancient races. Set against one another the other elite powers had all one by one been eliminated, purged, extinguished. As sole remaining custodians of this world, by consensus of the elders of Karn, they had spared Cassars from total annihilation only to imprison them and allowed the species of men to have the sole dominion over Earth.

 Since that time, spanning several centuries now, race of Karn had secretly co-existed with men, in the remotes corner of these icy-peaks; meanwhile, affording mankind that certain measure of safety- as Cassars’ contained or bested by the utilization of ice or water were then indefinitely imprisoned in the protective water crystal amulet that each Karn wore. It was a bane (burden) to be endured till the end of time.

                                                                                ~

The ancient race of Karn had always lived by very stringent tribal laws.  On most rare instance, any would be offender, without mercy and without the benefit of any trial, would be condemned to be a non-entity and then swiftly terminated.

The other unwritten law was that no one got to leave the tribe, willingly or unwillingly, alive.  But then one resourceful renegade Immortal known as Chandor, (also known as Zandar Kuntzu, the name he’d adapted at outside), had succeeded in doing the impossible. 

The day before Dwengzur was to depart on the most difficult and dire assignment, he’d been secretly informed (briefed) By Elder Aegeus (who had the power to only visit the sight and invoking an incantation, pick up all that had transpired there) on the pertinent details relating to this case.

 It so happened that Chandor (Zandar Kuntzu) was the only surviving direct descendent of the primary, the most ancient Aegeus. Chandor hence, carried the Royal bloodline and the rare gene that would enable him, when he reached the Earth years of 40, to be transformed at will, into the most fearsome creature, Dragon.

 Dwengzu’s assignment had been to find and destroy him as well as the children (twin boy and girl)  that he’d secretly sired, well before that time. Extrapolating on this, Elder Aegeus had then revealed to Dwngzur that, in an undisclosed sector of the main Cave, a prisoner had been held for some time now who happened to be the daughter of His Eminence Olavingemar.  Her name was Tekubzan, the most enchanting creature born to the race of Karn. In fact, she’d been the sole surviving female species of their race who had escaped total inhalation   because of her secret (captivity) incarceration.  At the earth age of 10, at the Divination Ceremony where the new generation’s fortunes were read, her ominous prediction had revealed that she unfortunately was the carrier of a seed that would be the harbinger of, utter obliteration (eradication) of their (Karn’s) race.  She was therefore condemned to die by the Chief Elders in a unanimous vote in order to circumvent (avoid, prevent) this inevitability.

OLAVIGEMAR

His Eminence Olavigemar entrusted this task to his most trusted and able assistant Meju, but he at the last moment had found out that he could not carry out this sentence. Instead, he privately consulted the Stars and chose another option, a preferred alternative to her execution. Of course, he’d paid the ultimate price in order to preserve this great secret forever, the very secret that had been discovered only recently due to a strange set of circumstances.  Anyhow, her life had been spared but she’d been condemned nevertheless to a far crueler fate: an imprisonment for life behind an impenetrable, a one piece of solid rock at the furthest point and the deepest recesses of the Cave which the Elders of Karn once a year held counsel. The thickness of it muted all sound from escaping. The council meetings were later transferred at a more favorable location.  For nearly a decade, this fair maiden had languished in the dark, well forgotten, save for her father who secretly still longed for his only offspring.  Tekubzan being an immortal never needed sustenance or liquids; she’d been therefore only provided by Meju (before his demise), some textiles and garments to appropriately (cover her body) cloth herself as she grew up.  She lived in solitary confinement and in pitch darkness behind that solid rock wall that looked to be a natural part of the cave. In time she was totally forgotten, especially by the new generation which Chandor (Zandar Kuntzu) happened to be. 

Chandor (Zandar) at 20 earth years, possessing a curious and explorative nature, more than once had secretly ventured into the forbidden depths of the Cavern. Due to rare, once in a millennium seismic event, a fissure, a crack had occurred on the solid wall, which Chandor (Zandar), on one of his expeditions, came upon. He drew near to examine it.  With his unusual and super-human hearing, he at that point happened to detect the slight sound of stirring behind, telling of a life, a creature that must have dwelled there. He enlarged the gap as best as he could, and holing up a light to it, peered in to investigate the source. He was shocked to discover an enchanting being, clearly a female creature staring back at him. He worked diligently and secretly for almost a year, till eventually he could get the opening large enough to get his physical body through it. The beautiful creature clad in tattered clothing on the other side was frightened at first and besides which, forgotten the vernacular. But no words were necessary for communication. He pitied and same time was terribly drawn to her. From then on, whenever he could he stole away and visited her. In time having gained her confidence, the two grew quite close. They spent many happy moments together and eventually fell deeply in love with each other. Being sort of a rebel in character, he would not shy away from most taboos; but he was nevertheless reluctant to be too intimate with her, knowing the consequence, knowing that if he did, she might be impregnated. When the desire became too great for them to resist, thinking he’d taken apt precautions, the two one night shared a most blissful, intimate time together. That time he’d left after promising to visit her the next day. But unforeseen circumstances had prevented him for many months from calling on her. When he finally could get away, he rushed to the forbidden pace to present her the most precious gift an ask her to be his mate forever. He’d decided well before this to rescue her from her prison and after the two had made good their escape from the mountain, he would make sure she would never be impregnated, to live a long and happy life with him in some secret location, in some remote corner of the world.

Fate unfortunately had intervened to destroy all his hopes and dreams. What greeted him instead, was a heart-wrenching tragedy. He found her long dead with a precious naked twin infant boy and a girl, wrapped in a cloth, beside her. A brief note etched on a wall had recounted her most dire ordeal which she’d courageously faced. Worse, however, been the days of waiting and longing for him; though trusting him, her generous heart had forever absolved him from any blame. Finally, when his eyes beheld the words of her written declaration of lasting love for him, his heart ripped open, and he broke down and sobbed uncontrollably for quite some time.

Eventually a slight whimper from the twin infants, whom she had transferred her life force to after severing the umbilical cord, the poor entities which had waited in darkness and solitude for so many months, had just at that point in time drew his attention. He at once dried his tears, tenderly picked up his son and daughter and pressed them to his bosom. After a long spell, eventually reason took hold. As the ground was hard, he fetched many rocks and reverently covered the body of his beloved in order to provide her at least some solace in afterlife; he said his prayers and then made a solemn wow to take good care of their beloved offsprings.  He’d made good his escape and   disappeared for many a year, living in secret and under disguise, as a woodsman, close to some remote village in Korion.

ELDER AEGEUS

Elder Aegeus abilities being vast and mysterious, he had seen the truth in a vision. For reasons known only to him however, he’d kept some facts that Dwengzu had discovered only later, to himself. Dwengzur at the time had only been instructed to find Zandar and eliminate him and his mortal wife and the chilren they had.

 In truth, for the sake of his twin children, Zandar’d befriended a widowed mortal female (a local farmer’s third daughter,) living alone with a son equal in age to Zonar (boy twin) and Arnora (girl twin). Through mutual arrangement he took her as his mate and settled down to work the fields like an ordinary farmer.  His new wife had been a good-natured, kind soul and, from the start, she’d treated the toddlers Zonar and Arnora as if they were her own. Zonar and Arnora had both been happy children then, though briefly, as they then had an elder brother.

Again, these details Dwengzur had discovered, later and quite by accident:

 Zandar’s twin children Zonar and Arnora were never told of their true heritage; in those early years they had grown up believing the mortal human was their mother. Zandar Kuntzu during his years living among the mortal humans had undergone such a metamorphosis, in order to perfect his disguise, that he had remained successfully well concealed for over a Decade, until the day of reckoning when he had finally been hunted down by Dwengzur and along with his mortal wife and mortal boy and a girl child were properly disposed of.

 Then again Zandar Kuntzu had foreseen this outcome well in advance and had entrusted his toddler twins Zonar and Arnora, separating them as precautionary measure, to the care of two different ordinary mortal families, along with a complete set of instructions that would be visible when they reached teen years. Each Immortal born lived as a mortal being until the age of adulthood, hence they were unremarkable (indiscernible) in that period. After maturity, it was of course, a different story; the Immortal’s congenital (inherited), varied (wide-ranging) powers were fully restored to them and from then on, every time they used their innate powers, it left a subtle subatomic trace that could easily be picked up by those who knew how.

At the time Zandar had further ensured Zonar and Arnora’s safety by purposefully remaining ignorant of the identities of the foster families and by choosing an ancient, infirm go-between (to carry on the transaction) who had died soon afterwards. Any hope of tracing Zonar and Arnora hence, had become practically impossible.  Before leaving Zandar Kuntzu had also implanted a magical command in the toddlers’ unconscious which prevented them, from teen years to adulthood, from knowing of or using their powers while still hidden in Korion.  Unfortunately, it was through this faint trace which had eventually enabled Dwengzur to (detect, locate) find Zandar and his mortal family.

At the time Dwengzur had been assigned to this task of tracking and disposing of this renegade Immortal Chando (Zandar Kuntzu), his immortal twins, as well all his intimate human associations (like his mortal wife and his offsprings), forced as he’d been to the re-entry into the outside world, Dwengzur had been privately instructed, by the most ancient elder, Aegeus, on this taboo (most prohibited) skill, the means with which to track and kill another Immortal.

                          ~                                 

 Back at the Immortal’s hidden abode (habitat), each time Dwengzur had utilized his powers, through a beacon of sorts, Aegeus and the governing body of the elders of Karn, had tracked his steady progress (feat, achievement) and as they did this, in the interim, (as the unwanted side-effect) they had gradually got ensnared by the intriguing affairs of man.  Dwengzur’s latest exploits, the acutely unusual set of events however had been rather ambiguous and warily obscure, meriting (necessitating) at present, an explanation.

“This is unwarranted curiosity,” Dwengzur reticently grumbled. “They should have had, after all these centuries of abstinence, been immune to it and all!  The Elder Aegeus’s present request countered their most sacred of unspoken laws.  Perhaps after centuries of detachment, they’d craved variance; a dangerous precedence, to say the least.”

Dwengzur, as he surreptitiously searched the faces of governing body of Elders seated about, inwardly asked: “What degree of contamination would be acceptable, the inescapable resulting consequence, and in the end, what would be forfeit?”

Casting a wary glance into the recesses of the cavern, where the hibernating groups of the younger (middle-aged) clan members lay dormant, as if in hibernation but regenerating, Dwengzur nodded to signal his eventual acquiescence to their request and opened his mind once more for the siphoning of information.

 His eyes closed, his face perfectly composed, his thoughts perfectly lucid, moment later all seated about heard in their heads Dwengzur’s somber voice resounding with respect and care.

“It so happens I have a singularly intriguing mortal tale to impart, one with a particular charm all its own, as well as an incipient promise of good.  It is a chronicle of good versus evil, a narrative in which courage, loyalty, friendship, honor, sacrifice, romance, is pitted against, treachery greed, lust for power and abominations of every imaginable kind; but firstly, it is a tale of moral vengeance.  You, my brothers, who have long since purged yourself of these and other such frailties, you may assume the task of an impartial judge. And at the end of it, decide whether the prince Nevetsecnuac of this tale had acted in a righteous cause, or was he merely a pawn in the game of fate, a straw dog, blown about by Heaven's breath.”

He rose to his feet and summoned a tendril of flame to his fingertip.  Walking over to the cavern wall, he incised a circle of fire as he invoked the familiar incantation:

               "Zukonaren..koture..lozuk..

               "Yeme..rike..tokure..kizerune..dom..

               "Do-kume..ke..ki..

               "Kazuuuemmm.”

 

The circle of flame instantly collapsed upon itself at its center then exploded outwards, creating the window to the world.

With an expansive gesture of his hand, Dwengzur invited,

 "Behold!"

 

Just then eddies of burning mist had cleared away to reveal a barren coastline.

                                                                                  ~

 

Note:                                                             

 

(Stay tuned for the next post. Chapter 1- Fisherman's prize. As each chapter being so very long, it shall be divided into segments, culminating in many, sequential posts, over time.)              

 

                         

 

The Three Evils

(A Chinese Folktale re-written by BoSt)

 Once upon a time, there lived an eccentric young man by the name of Dschou Tschu. He wore a high hat on his head adorned with two pheasants’ wings; his garments were woven of embroidered silk, and at his side hung the Dragon-spring sword.  He had a wild and mischievous nature which became far worse when he was inebriated. He always intruded into other's business and any ongoing disputes; meanwhile, wherever he went his pranks and tomfoolery, as well, his inclination to forcefully take that which belonged to others, beget or fostered quarrels and brawls. He was hence, furtively detested throughout the neighborhood and whoever offended him had good reason to dread the ensued terrible consequences. As he was blessed with an extraordinary super-human strength however, the law enforcement officers and the village elders dared not rebuke (reprimand, admonish) or punish him seriously. And so, he’d persisted with his unruly ways for many a year.

Eventually a new Official was posted to that district; before the new magistrate formally took up office however, surreptitiously (covertly and under disguise) he first went about the countryside and listened to the citizen’s complaints. They in unison told him that there were three great evils in that district.

The magistrate still under disguise, decided to in person call on Dschou Tschu.

Late that night when most decent folks were fast asleep, the inebriated Dschou Tschu returned from the tavern, along the way slapping his sword and singing in a loud voice.

When he reached his house he noted the man with his head down seated by the door and asked: “Who are you; why are you weeping here so pitifully?”

The magistrate raised his head and glaring at Dschou, replied: “I am weeping because of the people’s distress.”

Dschou Tschu grimaced then threw his head back and guffawed.

“You are mistaken, my friend,” said he. “Revolt is seething round about us like boiling water in a kettle. But here, in our little corner of the land, all is quiet and peaceful. The harvest has been abundant, corn is plentiful, and all go happily about their work. When you talk to me about distress I have to think of the man who groans without being sick. And who are you, tell me that, which instead of grieving for yourself, are grieving for others? And what are you doing loitering at my door in this ungodly hour?”

“I am the new Magistrate,” replied the other. “Since I left my litter I have been looking about in the neighborhood. I find the people are honest and simple in their way of life, and everyone has sufficient to wear and to eat. This is all just as you state. Yet, strange to say, when the elders come together, they always sigh and complain. And if they are asked why, they answer: ‘There are three great evils in our district!’ I have come to ask you to do away with two of them, as to the third… perhaps I had better remain silent. And this is the reason I weep before your door.”

“Well, what are these evils?” enquired Dschou Tschu. “Speak freely, and tell me openly all that you know!”

“The first evil,” said the Magistrate “is the evil dragon at the long bridge, which causes the water to rise so that man and beast are drowned in the river. The second evil is the tiger with the white forehead, which dwells in the hills. And the third evil, Dschou Tschu—is you!”

The crimson hue, the blush of shame swiftly infused the young man’s cheeks, and he bowed and said: “You have come here from afar to be the Magistrate of this district, and yet you feel such sympathy for the people? I was born in this place and yet I have only made our elders grieve. What sort of a creature must I be? I beg that you return to your residence; fear not, I will see to it that matters improve!”

Dschou Tschu at once took off and ran all the way without stopping till he reached the hills. There he hunted the tiger out of his cave. The latter leaped into the air so that the whole forest was shaken as though by a storm. Next he came rushing up, roaring, and stretching out his claws savagely to seize his pray. Dschou nimbly stepped back a pace, and the tiger landed on the ground directly in front of him. Then he thrust the tiger’s neck to the ground with his left hand, and beat him without stopping with his right, until he lay dead on the earth. Dschou loaded the tiger on his back and went straight home.

Dschou Tschu subsequently went to the long bridge. He undressed, took his sword in his hand, and thus dived into the icy water. No sooner had he disappeared, than there was a boiling and hissing, and the waves began to foam and billow. It sounded like the mad beating of thousands of hoofs. 

After a time a stream of blood shot up from the depths, and the water of the river turned red. Eventually triumphant Dschou, holding the dragon’s decapitated head in his hand, rose out of the waves.

He went to the Magistrate and reported, with a bow: “I have cut off the dragon’s head, and have also done away with the tiger. Thus I have happily accomplished your two commands. And now I shall wander away so that you may be rid of the third evil as well. My Lord, please keep watch over my countrymen and, relay to the elders that they need sorrow no more!”

When he had said this he enlisted as a soldier. In combat against the robbers he gained a great reputation and once, when the latter were pressing him hard, and he saw that he could not save himself, he bowed to the East and said: “The day has come at last when I can atone for my sin with my life!” Then he offered his neck to the sword and died.

Fin