Mario By
Mario
Book 2 ‘The
Spirits’
Kane
1st
January
Writing as the
cool crisp wind of an early autumn wraps the town, I find myself trying to
remember how many seasons have passed since my first calling. The problem, one
must remember is that in those bygone days time was not measured by digital
watches and I have no idea how much time had passed. I do remember myself deep
in the river, quietly and quickly rising and risking a breather. Soon, I grew
more confident that there was no sign of my pursuers, but one could never be
too sure and I dared not leave the water. The river seemed to widen and there
were signs of human settlement on the banks. One must remember that I had come
from the island of Huta and had never seen any sort of human activity which had
produced anything larger than the citadel back at home. I had been to
Santorini, but there had only be ruined gates, walls and rubble. I had been to
Morc but I had only seen the palace. Here was acollection of huts that seemed
to stretch for miles. The eeriest feeling was one of silence. The place seemed
to be deserted.
2nd
January
As the river
flowed through my fingers I heard screams and a whole population fleeing away
as the rain pelted down, as a cloud I well knew choked the sun. But there was
more, the earth shuddered, hot lava seeped through the region. Poor people,
with no idea where they were going, nor what they were running from. The water
gushing through my palms as I waded in the shallow edges of the river had more
stories to tell. Individuals who leapt into the river not knowing how to swim,
of mothers and children in panic, leaving their homes and all they knew behind,
heading for the mountains or for the sea. Either way they perished. There was
little suffering, or most of it was brief. Yet the river acknowledged that some
had managed to escape and survive, the cloud’s darkness, it’s famine and
drought, it’s earthquakes, it’s lava. But it was the presence of another force
that struck terror into man’s hearts. Faceless ghosts that could not be hit,
wounded and yet they could pin you down at will.
A Digression
3rd
January
It is not the
practical way to start a story and then write its historical background at the
end. However it is time that a little explanation of the way things had come to
this end is needed here. If you find historical facts boring, please skip this.
4th
January
In those early
days, people’s notion of geography was vague. The Centre Sea was the focal
point for most of the gentry of the day. There was no America, we definitely
knew nothing of it. Africa was one looming mystery behind the Sahara and the
Land of The Pyramids. Some had travelled beyond, fewer returned with strange
tales of weird powers and fantastic creatures. These were taken as facts and
probably these ‘facts,’ were not far from the truth. Fact is an oxymoron. Jesus
curbed Thomas for doubting unless he saw or touched. Did the Holocaust really
exist? Some believe that it never did, although I would advise such doubters to
visit Aushwitz. Did we come from the apes? Was our earth the result of a big
bang? These are today’s frenzied facts. So I believe that the people of those
days were justified in believing what they were told.
5th
January
This is the
knowledge that I learnt at the time, a little from Nena’s books, from Othello’s
library and others. Ala was so called because many claimed that it was shaped
in the form of a wing. The so-called 7 Wings of Ala were actually 7 peninsulas
or as called by the people of Ala, the Feathers of Ala, in Alain the Rix of
Ala. The shape of the Centre Sea has changed considerably since then. It
covered what is now known as Syria, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary,
Romania, Albania and what used to be Yugoslavia. They regarded themselves as
the first people to come to the Centre Sea. Each Rixa was an autonomous state
under the patronage of one sage king. The King of Ala. The feathers eventually
broke and formed most of the islands that dot the Ionian Sea. Humans however
shared the Centre Sea with other creatures. Fish and animals had larger brains
and wisdom than the ones we know today. Some of the wisest living creatures
were not from the human race. A race of Giant Bulls roamed for example on the
fertile plains of Toro, which was both the name of their land and the shape of
their country.
6th
January
They were
however a warrior race and did not tolerate human activity in their
country.They set their eyes on the fair crescent of Morc, the Land of the
Crescent Moon which was also the name and the shape of the country. They bore
red flags with a gold cresent and thrived as Ala’s western Allies from time
immemorial.
The family of De
Costa, were so-called because they hailed from the coast of the 3rd Rixa
of Ala. They actually left to explore what was beyond the Centre Sea, but
joined forces with the people of Morc. The Bulls perhaps rightly reiterated
that Morc was actually the second horn which had seperated itself fom their
land in times gone by when their legendary King Torrero, (the huge bull of
terror which is the root of the word terror,) punished the bulls for not
keeping his day sacred. It was a day of much feasting when the bulls romp or
stampede across the country from dawn till dusk and beware of getting in their
stride.
7th
January
The Costa’s
however decided to try and solve the dispute by going over to Toro and settling
the affair peacefully. The De Costas thus gained the title Matador, which ran
through the family and was my uncle’s title. The de Costas showed the bulls
ways of irrigating their land and farming which made Toro prosperous. This
meant that they could trade with the humans they had previously wanted to
fight. Some humans were even encouraged to come to Toro and till their land.
The bulls of Toro were so appreciative that they asked the De Costas to settle
on part of their land, the right horn of the Land of Toro. The De Costas called
it l’Onda, the wave, for it broke the sea beyond the Center Sea and suffered
terrible storms. The bulls of Toro did not know what to do with this land that
was constantly being flooded by the sea and was considered unsafe and useless.
Onda or Anda as it soon became known soon became the third largest power in the
west after Toro and Morc. De Costa and their people were reknowned for their
wisdom and it was said that they could grow tomatoes out of rock, grapes out of
salt and their orange trees were taunted to feed on the sand. Soon the crop produced
from the barren slopes of Toro and Onda found envious buyers all over the
Centre Sea. The city of Anda itself, in the center of the right horn was a
rocky and a mountaious nightmare, but just as the Andean had tamed the bulls,
they tamed the mountains. They found precious stones, made steel out of the
rock ore and had a maze within the mountains that allowed creatures with the
right sense of direction get all over the land in record time. This the De
Costas had learnt from the ancient scrolls of the Bulls of Toro, once one of
the ruling creatures around the Centre Sea, till they infuriated the spirits
and shamed their leader Torrero.
8th
January
Dalma himself,
had lived for some time in Anda and was well versed with the bulls’ way of life
and transport systems, information which his armies later used to fill the
mazes with some evil liquid cutting off all communication lines. Dalma chose to
strike when Don Jacques and his mother were in Toro on a state visit. King
Pedro De Costa was in Ala and Pitru was on one of his travels. This is where my
story took off.
9th
January
Now I will get
back to the country that interests us most. Ala as I have said before was
divided into 7 states called Rix ruled by his excellency The King of Ala. The 1st
Rixa[1]
was the Land of White Cotton, the 2nd Rixa was the Land of Blue
Fish, The 3rd was the Land of
the Green Flower, The 4th was the Land of The Golden Flower,
the 5th was the Land of Water, the 6th was the Land of
the Red Rose and the 7th Rixa was The Land of The Unspeakable, The
Land of No Return and was all dry and covered in desert sands.
The 1st
Rixa was known as the White Rixa, the Land of Cotton. It was the last feather to
establish itself as a kingdom and was probably a result of emigration from the
other Rix seeking new lands west. It had long been known as The Land of The
White Carpet due to the cotton fields which were always plentiful in the
region. It was probably this factor that attracted the first settlers. It was
in fact a restless kingdom bent on travelling and seeking new lands. Piede, the
large stretch of land was just a few days away over an oily calm sea. However
when the White Rixa became a kingdom allied to the other feathers of Ala, the
people of Piede broke away and refused to pay any taxes to their leaders, and
cut all ties with the king. But the Kingdom of The White Rix sent its
messangers to Piede with the king’s decree. “The newly formed kingdom of The
White Rixa will not persecute, nor impose any sanctions on the people of Piede
who have been our brothers, most of whom are our distant cousins. We will not
force you to pay for the produce you have gained from the Land of The White
Feather. Let it be a gift. Those of you who want to continue our friendship feel
welcome. Those of you who think can get by without our help, we wish you the
best of luck.”
However the
people of Piede were obstinate and all ties with the Land of the White Rixa
were cut apart from some coastal settlements. The people of the White Rixa
thrived whilst Piede fell into poverty. Indeed the name of the country Piede
and the term ‘barefoot people,’ became synonymous.
10th
January
The 2nd
Rixa was the one of the Blue Fish. It was the mecca of the philosophers,
artists and scientists of the time. It did not produce much by the way of
commerce but it did produce good wine and olive oil. It entertained Alains with
its theatres, books and proposals of political fresh reforms. They introduced
sport events and competitions. They embraced any new invention and cared not
whether it was of any use or not. It was often the case that inventions were
enthusiatically reproduced and sold on such a grand scale that every house was
soon full of gadgets no one knew how to use and even less remembered what they
were meant to do. Two villages prospered into cities Corinda and Ath. They were
ruled by powerful rulers and great stories of their achievements which later formed
part of what is now known as mythology. When the fetahers of Ala scattered at a
later point in time these feathers formed much of what became of Greece and the
foundations of Corinda and Ath grew into Corinth and Athens.
11th
January
The 3rd
Rixa was known as the Green Flower. Luscious forests and the most beautiful
women thrived there. Animal sages also built their own kingdoms there and lived
harmoniously with humans. The people here banned hunting and when they wanted
new farming land, their animal allies were consulted and an agreement reached.
The rulers of the Green Rixa built a wonderful palace in the middle of an extensive
forest and only a few ever made it to the palace without a guide. There were
times of the year especially in the height of summer when the thorns and the
blossoming branches blocked the way in or out. The palace was divided into
numerous chambers to hold the Bison King and his entourage, Pegasus and his
winged horses, his cousins the Unicorns, The Stag and his uncountable deer
subjects, Castor the Queen of the beavers reknowned for their medicinal
knowledge, Brokko the Emissary of the badgers, Ezo king of the Eastern wolves,
HuHu Prince of the hyenas, Ursa Queen of the northern bears, and Spelaeus king
of the cave bears and their cousins the brown bears, a court of felines loyal
to the Cave Lion who’s territory lay to the North East, Sylvan King of the Baboons,
and other apes, Qaws and his birds, the
list is endless.
12th
January
However it was
this harmony that caused disharmony at Ala. As the kings of the 3rd
Rixa tended to retire into their palace in the forest and hold council with
their animal allies in the forest, they started to lose touch with the world
around them. When the animals complained that in the other Rix humans still
hunted their brethren the kings of the Green Rixa protested and tried to make
Ala impose a ban on hunting. Unfortunately only the Rix of Gold and Blue agreed
and this is how Ala developed into an Eastern and Western divide with one ruler
representing the Rix of the west and another representing the Rix of Water and
the Red Rose to the East. The Rixa of the White Cotton remained neutral. The 7th
Rixa was by this time a dark horse no one spoke about. No one dared go beyond
the mountains that lay between the Rixa of the Red Rose and the Land of the
Unspeakable. Many believed the Spirit’s wrath to have wiped out any human in that
forsaken land. The Western three wings were soon overpopulated with animals
seeking a safe haven. There were even animals who broke the pact. Attacks on
humans were not unknown. The citizens of the Rix of Green, Gold and Blue were
not so happy about this as one might imagine. However after long talks with
their animal allies a balance was found.
13th
January
The people of
the 4th Rixa, known as the Land of the Gold, obviously were so
called because they had mastered and crafted gold. It was not sold, nor used as
currency but was put to practical use as the most long lasting uncorruptible
thing that man could smelt out of the earth. Gold is as pure as a pure heart,
once the heart goes sour, the gold turns black and needs to be cleaned again.
Such a philosophy these people lived by. It was also rumoured that whilst
digging so deep into the ground they had come across the great huge golden
wheel that turns the Centre Sea around and had met the strangest creatures who
had once roamed the earth and had now decided to live beneath it, in darkness
for some reason which only the Alains who met them knew.
They had no need
for growing crop or hunting animals. Their natural resource was the very
fulcrum of this Rixa and they only focused on how to mould it, into what, how
to improve it and how to find its hidden inner power. For gold as an element
has strength. If you look at it for too long it will captivate your brain. It
could also turn you into a lifeless statue of gold. So it was covered until it
was necessary to look and hastily covered again. Gold rings and bracelets
wrought by special smiths however could be worn for they strengthened its
beholder. The king had a spearhead made of gold and this was the most powerful
weapon in Ala. It could penetrate everything if the man who launched it had a
pure heart. Again if the man threw it against an enemy out of spite or out of
an injust cause the spear would turn black and crumple harmlessly on impact
14th
January
The 5th
Rixa, the Land of Water was populated by people who hugged to the water’s edge,
whether sea or river or lake. Many built thier homes on stilts embedded in the
seabed or around their lakes. Some of the people still had fish tails instead
of legs and could stay under water for long periods. In the northern regions
village folk were known to disappear under water when it got too cold and the
water froze on the surface. Their main diet was plankton, seaweed and other
vegetation. Yet their palace on land boasted coral, shells and other ornaments
from the deep. They battled water dragons together with the fish. If a water
dragon took over a lake, the people fled for the dragons were big and strong.
If the dragon chose to pick up a lake where a village had been established then
the king sent his generals to help. These generals grew in stature, in power
and in wisdom and their popularity amongst the fish kingdoms opened up new
friendships which led to King Pilip’s father setting up a dolphin colony at
Delfa and De Costa’s close relations with other sea creatures. These were
humans who felt just as home on land as they did under the sea and did so in
harmony with all the creatures they encountered. In time a peace treaty was
arranged with the water dragons, just as the De Costas managed to do later at Toro.
15th
January
The 6th
Rixa was the one of the Rose. Roses and all types of flowers grew in abundance.
The people that lived there did so in the harshest conditions, in rugged
mountains, treacherous swamps and cragged deserts. Yet they knew how to make
their way in a sandstorm or a blizzard and found underground water streams in
the most parched areas. They were a tall strong race, their skin as brown as
the soil and their hair any colour of the rainbow, naturally red or purple,
though the men were known to dye their hair blue or yellow according to their
standing in society. The people of the other feathers feared them for they were
a warrior race, a practical race and were wonderful in architecture and
geometry. They built bridges to cross unsurpassable rivers and dykes to hold
back the water and directed rivers wherever they willed.
16th
January
Their main diet
was meat however and they had littles respect for the animals which they hunted
or reared to kill. This was a sore point between the Rix of Ala and the Rix of
Gold, Green and Blue in particular. The Rixa of Water remained neutral,
although they disliked the idea of men eating fish, their fellow sea comrades.
It was this neutrality that kept the people of the water comparatively safe,
for they too believed in strength and often had to battle agains the water
dragons or other ferocious beasts along the rivers like crocodiles, water
pythons in the lakes, and sharks or dogfish in the sea. It was also a fact that
the Rixa of the Rose and that of Water were the parts of Ala who supplied the
kingdom with a trained army, experienced generals, therefore with security.
These two Rix were the muscle and backbone on everything that had been achieved
and passed on their building skills, expertise and man power to the other Rixa.
The Rixa of Gold provided Ala with golden artifacts and other craft, the Rixa
of Green understood the forces of nature, while that of the Blue theorised and
philosophised, offering wise leaders and entertainment. The Rixa of White Cotton
supplied the land with cotton and other agricultural products and food. They
too realised that neutrality kept them in business for they got their security
from the Land of the Rose and the Land of the Water and their main clients were
in the other 3 Rix.
17th
January
The wise men of
Ala realised that such a nation could not hold out much longer so a king was
appointed over all the other 6 rulers, one that would rule Ala. The king would
be chosen by all the rulers of the Rix after noble and accepted candidates from
each state vied for the post. Each candidate had to spend a lunar year in each
Rix, learning the local people’s ways and thus gaining their respect and
knowledge. After 6 lunar years these nobles would come to the throne and one
would be King of Ala.
Under the King
of Ala, the first king being Zeus from Corinda, a strong man who impressed the
elders of the Rixa of the Rose by single handedly killing a bear twice his size
and then crying at the act. Indeed later as King, Zeus enacted that animal
hunting would continue to be practiced in the Rixa of the Rose and that of
Water, whilst domesticated animals could be slaughtered, eaten or used as
beasts of burden in the Rixa of White Cotton, but that it was disallowed in the
other Rix of Gold, Green and Blue. Zeus impressed the nobles of the Green Rixa
by demonstrating his knowledge and mastery over the weather and how the force
of lightening could be used for man’s needs. The Feather of White Cotton he
charmed by wearing garments made out of their cotton and linen and only Zeus
passed the test of the Gold Spear in the Rixa of Gold, as he was pure of heart
as pure as gold. The people of the Land of Water did not dare oppose what
seemed to be a unanimous decision.
Yet King Zeus
was a good, sensible king and married a woman from the Rixa of Water and the
empire of Ala became strong and united once more. Many other kings followed
supported by a court of advisors never bettered by time.
18th
January
One might think
that I forgot all about the 7th Rixa. Unfortunately there is not
much to say. No one in Ala dared speak about it. It was the Land of the
Unspeakable. It was the land where all Alains had originated from and yet
something had happened to scare all the men who survived away and none dared
retrace their steps. It was the source of an evil, an evil that not even Dalma
dared kindle.
It was however
at this point that I came to my wits. The river passed through my fingers with
no more stories to tell. The number of huts pettered out into one huge stone
wall that seemed to be the remains of some gigantic palisade. I found a little
hole in the wall and dried myself to sleep.
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