Areyllian Legends and a Confession

“Seeds of blessings to you and your people.... Computer."

"..."

“My name is Lalencikia

Pronounced: luh-len-sih-key-ah

Mnemosyne. I have been instructed to inform you... an artifact... about my past. I am unable to understand what this will accomplish… however I shall comply with their wishes.

“I am what your culture refers to as an "elf". Although that term does not exist in our language... we refer to ourselves, collectively, as Areyllians or, singularly, an Areyll.

Pronounced: ah-real, fluttered r

Despite my relative youth, I have already surpassed the finite amount of time that humans have been allotted to live. I understand that ‘immortality’ is something highly sought after among the human race. This concept is very confusing to me, as I think of my prolonged life as a curse not a blessing. I have lived scarcely over a century, and am capable of living through nine more cycles…

“I was born with a rare condition, which can be considered both a curse and a blessing, as it were. It is Ywaine’s

Pronounced: eye-way-n

sense of irony that allows every situation to carry either a positive or negative light, depending on how we choose to interpret it. Even murder can be considered a blessing to those who stand to benefit from it…

“This conditi- my condition is referred to as Itsusis

Pronounced: it-sue-sis

by my people. I can speak for no other but, as a nascent Areyll, maturing was not a pleasant experience. I was always set apart, and I had to learn how to perform my tasks with no guide. Due, in part, to this, I grew up to be much more intuitive than rest of the centennial brethren.

“…I do not know what background you have—if artifacts such as yourself can be considered to have an identity... which you don’t appear to—on the reproductive system of our culture. Regardless, only three or four Areyll are born each century and all the births take place on the same day. This is why Areyllians associate generations with one-hundred year cycles. Most Areyll who hope to take home a child receive nothing but disappointment. However, nothing is considered better than receiving an Itsusis. A family who takes home one such as I, is considered worthy of pity... though this was not always the case.

"Our elders, who are responsible for passing down our history, often pontificate on the tale of Itsusis—the man and the condition. Our powers are said to have resulted from a great sacrifice. Cycles past, when Areyllians did not exist, there lived a great man whose name was Itsusis. He was revered by many as a god, for he had a vast amount of power—control over plants, animals, humans and weather. Then a horrible madness, grown from seeds of evil, covered the earth, turning its people against each other. Itsusis fought bravely, tirelessly… endlessly. It was not enough, there is only so much one man can do.

“This is where the elders would always pause to give a brief lecture about how this was Ywaine’s way of showing that men should never consider themselves to be gods... I never understood the lecture. From the stories, it seemed obvious that Itsusis, himself, did not think he was a god. Why should Ywaine punish him for another's transgressions?

“Itsusis realized the futility in his continued fighting and collapsed in the middle of the battle field. Not out of weariness, though he was weary, but to prostate himself before Ywaine as he cried out for mercy for the people of the land. Ywaine answered him… the force of his voice slammed everyone still standing to the ground, causing many deaths on all sides. The content of those words were no less dangerous. All the power that Itsusis controlled could be dispersed to a multitude of people, allowing them to fight as he did. However, in order to release his power, someone who loved him had to kill him. Itsusis rose to his feet and left the battlefield; which now contained only figures struggling to regain their feet and those, whose legs had been crushed, attempting to crawl towards safety. He ignored the cries of his allies and friends, deaf to all in his anguish, as he trudged toward his beloved wife, Areyll. Though none know of what occurred in his house that night, people are wont to speculate on the unknown. It is said that his wife refused to kill him. Itsusis then broke the mind of his wife, took control of her body and used it to drive his sword, still bloody from the battle field, into his own heart...

“It makes for a grand tale, but I am not convinced that the legends are accurate. If a being is capable of caring enough about other people to kill himself, would he not be even more concerned about the fate of his beloved? Others claim that Areyll killed Itsusis of her own free will… and the act destroyed her sanity. Regardless of how it happened, the result was the same.

“The moment Itsusis died, everything stopped... as if the whole world was caught in moment of silence for the passing of a great man... then everything slammed back into motion and over ten thousand people found themselves in the possession of powers they had only dreamed of. However, each person only gained one of Itsusis’ abilities, along with that the knowledge of how to it. That day saw the birth of the Areyllian people—people who had received Itsusis’ power.

“You may think it is odd that we took Areyll’s name but it was done as a reminder of her great sacrifice. A sacrifice that was greater even than Itsusis’ for he had died in honor, granting victory to all people but she lived on, broken and in pain…

"One year from the moment when her hand drove the sword into her husband’s chest, Areyll received a child from the sky—that was when the Areyllian people discovered their women were unable to give birth, instead they were faced with the possibility of receiving a child, regardless of their marital status. They did not yet know, that this possibility came but once a cycle…

“Areyll's child was small, his body was blotched and his face distorted. Naturally, she named him Itsusis. However, Areyll was incapable of taking care of anyone, even herself, so the baby grew up as a child of all the Areyllian people. Years slipped by, yet the baby never grew out of the unnaturally ugly form it arrived in, however grew into his powers with grace, able to control and manipulate the weather, animals and plants. This was touted as a blessing from Ywaine, and despite Itsusis’ terrible appearance, he was treated like royalty. Loved by all, for being a poignant reminder of their great king.

“Needless to say that tradition disappeared as cycles have passed. My family did not bother to honor the still accepted custom of treating Itsusi

Pronounced: it-sue-sigh

with respect—regardless of the underlying disgust that usually exists even in those who honor it. I was treated worse than the family trees…

“I do not know if artifacts, such as yourself, interact with trees. From what I have observed, the humans mistreat the plants in their care. Areyllian family trees are considered sacred. Areyllians believe that nature is pure and prefect. I believe this is evidence of the Areyllians overcompensating. To prevent another occurrence of Ywaine's wrath, the Areyllians started worshiping Ywaine and all the plants and animals he created. Those who desecrate nature are considered abominations to Areyllians and are purified by fire for their crime. However, that has little to do with my background... As an Itsusis, my culture's reverence was not engrained in me the way it is with the other nascents.

“My inherited birthright is the ability to control plants and animals. My affinity to animals is weaker than that of plants, and I only discovered it recently. However, as a nascent, I often subconsciously called on plants without realizing it. Once I had grown enough to understand what was happening I developed lessons for myself. I tried to learn my limitations… I fear as inexperienced as I was, I failed to divine which abilities were important and which were merely… convenient. I learned that through the plants I could listen to other’s conversations. Which is not to say that plants have ears… the vibrations in the leaves and fibers can be translated to speech. By frequently touching plants and connecting to them, it becomes easier to connect with them without physical contact. Each plant is unique and this must be done with every individual plant that you wish to… remotely access...

“It is rather difficult to find adequate words to explain something involving magic and perception to a piece of metal that lacks the ability to harness magic... I am not sure why I am attempting it. The humans thought as a ‘fae’, I would find it more comfortable not to talk to a human. I think it is more frustrating, I have no knowledge of when you understand my words... although you do not appear capable of responding, or asking an incessant amount of idiotic questions. That I can appreciate...

“In reality, it matters little who, or what, I am speaking to. I simply do not want to talk about my past, or to remember it, regardless of my audience. One of the curses that Areyllians face is a memory that does not forget. Even one hundred years has not yet dimmed my memories of childhood…

“I know what is required of me… and I have been wasting time going through my people’s history instead of my own. It is disgusting that I should fear my memory more than a blade… but my past has the power to wound me more severely than any physical object.

“Only two cycles before I came into existence, my family was blessed with a son… One cycle and a passing after my birthing ceremony, word came to me—through my only confidants, my plants—that the humans were organizing something. What? I did not know but everyone was enraged. At that time, I had never seen a human and I knew next to nothing about them, aside from the known fact that they were considered lesser beings. I soon found out that the humans wanted the Areyllians to form a council. This council would help guide a group of many warriors, formed to fight the evil forces. Apparently, these evil forces had remained hidden from the humans for many cycles, attacking only from the shadows. Now that their presence was revealed, they were attacking overtly, leading to many massacres. This led to—Pardon me, I have gotten off topic again.

“I was greatly confused when, despite the human’s relative insignificance, our entire race was going to bow to their wishes and form this council. Two representatives from each of the five recognized Areyllian clans were chosen. My father was furious that he was not one of them. Proof that, although, our race is perfect, physically, we are not exempt from all forms of ugliness.

“My brother, Kyluthyn,

Pronounced: k-eye-l-uh-th-in

was upset by this slight against our father... and extremely distressed over the Areyllian people bowing to the human’s wishes. It was merely a few passings before Kyluthyn left. My parents were miffed, though not concerned by his absence. During the next three years, I heard about a rogue “elf” who was killing humans. I did not want to believe it at first… but when Kyluthyn returned, there was madness in his eyes. One day, he brought a human woman into the clan area... he sliced her up so badly she was unrecognizable as a human, I thought she was an Areyll until Kyluthyn referred to her as an insect... I could not believe how distorted Kyluthyn had become…

“he enjoyed hurting her… And I—

“I killed him.”

Word Count: 1,982 (not including popnote text) or 1,993 (including popnote text)