Posted by Zix on January 7, 2000 at 23:17:17:
In Reply to: The Dim Time, a tale of riddles posted by Gobnait on January 7, 2000 at 19:51:28:
> 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.