Posted by Gobnait on January 7, 2000 at 19:51:28:
In Reply to: Stories for your enjoyment. posted by Gobnait on January 7, 2000 at 19:49:52:
The Dim Time, a tale of riddles (one of my first stories and still one of my favorites) In the Dim Time, before a Fela had her wit, or a Felar his voice,
there was a mighty wizard, who had many felar slaves. This wizard was not
like most of the others, however. His passion was Knowledge rather than power
or wealth. Instead of using his slaves in magical experiments, he left them
alone to work his fields while he went on his long travels throughout the
world.
And when he returned, he would regale his poor dumb felar servants
with tales of his travels. He had no one else, not even an apprentice, as he
was gone so often. But we felar were a poor audience then. We had little more
wit than the cats from which we were created. Nay, it is true. We had no wit.
How else do you think we could be enslaved?
The passion of the wizard to explore and to learn drove him so far
that he entered lands that only the gods had yet entered since the beginning.
A young goddess, who was proud of Her own Knowledge but new to Her powers,
grew interested in this wizard and his travels. The goddess challenged the
wizard to a duel, pitting Her Knowledge against his.
The wizard laughed at first. How could he possibly challenge one of
the gods? But the goddess promised to limit Herself to the lands he could
enter and yet live. And the wizard thought he could at least impress Her even
if he did not win.
The wizard ventured hesitantly, "My Lady, what Knowledge will you
give me if I win?"
The goddess smiled wryly. "What Knowledge do you desire? To bend the
elements to your will?"
Laughing softly, the wizard replied, "Nay, my Lady, I have spent many
a long journey enduring the elements, and I have no care to know them
better."
"Then do you desire to know all the shapes of Thera?"
Patting his own body, the wizard replied, "Nay, my Lady, my own shape
takes me everywhere I want to go, and I have already seen most of the other
shapes in Thera."
The goddess looked at the wizard shrewdly and offered: "Then you
desire to summon and bind the creatures from beyond this plane?"
After some thought, he declined Her again. "Nay, my Lady, for they
have not half the Knowledge of my own plane that I already possess. They know
only their own."
"Then do you desire to know what happens in death?"
The wizard quickly shook his head. "Nay, my Lady," answered the
wizard. "I will gain that Knowledge on my own soon enough, anyway."
The goddess thought for some time. Finally, She offered, "I will give
you the ability to speak with every creature in Thera."
The wizard was astounded. Every creature in Thera? How much he would
be able to learn! In awe, he gave his assent, and the contest began.
A fantastic battle raged back and forth as they parried long with
riddles. The goddess answered each riddle swiftly; the wizard often had to
pause and think but always answered correctly.
The goddess was pleased by the extent of the wizard's Knowledge, and
She smiled on the wizard and declared a draw. She looked at the wizard with a
pleased grin and said, "You have not won..."
The wizard opened his eyes wide in shock and tried to interject that
he had more riddles to try to stump her with. "But.."
But the goddess hushed him. "Still I will give you a prize. Choose
just one creature or race and one only with whom you wish to speak."
The wizard bit his lip. What a terrible choice! He thought long,
going over all his travels in his mind and trying to remember if there was
one creature or race with whom he had most desired to speak. He had met so
many creatures during his life.. how could he choose?
Finally, he asked, "May I go home to think on this, my Lady?" And he
winced, hoping that he did not thus anger Her and forfeit his prize.
The goddess smiled. "You are wise as well as learned. When you have
decided, simply say it out loud."
The wizard went back home, full of the tale of what had happened to
him on this, his by far most exciting journey. And only his poor dumb felar
servants to tell it to. Suddenly he knew with whom he wished to speak.
Swiftly making his choice now, he cried, "I wish to speak with the
felar!"
Instantly, the goddess appeared at his side. She grinned
mischievously and purred as she said, "An excellent choice."
She waved Her hands wide over the felar in the fields. Suddenly, the
wizard noticed how like paws the hands of the goddess were... But before he
could look at Her closer, She vanished again with a flash of light.
And the felar surrounded him, all with an expression on their faces
that he had never seen before. One Fela opened her mouth and made a new
noise, as well. With a start that almost knocked him off his feet, the wizard
recognized: "Tale!"
"Tale! Tell tale!"
And that is the story of the ending of the Dim Time, when we gained
our wits and gained our tongues, all because of the passion one wizard had
for Knowledge, and his passion for an audience to share it with.