Edain Lore: A fable

This is the prologue of my current novel in progress.





A Fable





      Long ago, when time itself was new, there was a very young world dubbed Edain.  Before this world, there was a beautiful and kind Goddess and a strong and wise God. With a mere thought, they could make or unmake existence. The cosmic pair was so utterly devoted to one another that they had not needed anything else in their universe.

      However, when the Goddess grew heavy with child, they knew that their love alone could not sustain this life. They worked together; shaping and sculpting a world that their children could have.

      In all, the Great Mother and Father had four daughters: Giltine, Medeine, MariMai, and Faiera, and three sons: Aleric, Ogimus, and Moccus.

      Giltine was the eldest, a truly somber child. She felt a mature need to look after her brothers and sisters and would take responsibility for their actions.

      Aleric was the oldest son; he was strong, bold and chivalrous. He wanted only what was good and right and cared deeply for his siblings.

      Ogimus was the second son who loved stories and poetry. He told tales of past and of future, finding that more often than not his parables would be true.

      Lovely Medeine was a kind girl, the most like her mother. She felt rather attached to little Faiera and so wanted the babe to never to feel sadness.

      MariMai was a destructive child. She was fascinated by chaos and above all else, she loved and devoted herself to her young brother Moccus.

      Moccus was the youngest son and a greedy wicked child. MariMai adored him and gave him anything he could want, while the other siblings fawned over Faiera.

      Sweet Faiera was the youngest and the baby of the children. She was sweet and naïve, knowing nothing of unhappiness.

      The God and Goddess loved each of their sons and daughters greatly. Wanted nothing more than for Edain to be a beautiful paradise for them, they blessed each child the power to change their world in any way that they wished. Lovingly and without sadness, Great Mother and Father kissed each child farewell and left Edain to watch over them from the stars.

      The GodChildren delighted in this  utopian playground that stood before them now as a blank slate. Edain was new untouched, born of a mother and father's limitless devotion. The bare ground of this virgin world  hummed eagerly with infinite potiental and radiated the God and Goddess's  loving warmth.

      Slowly at first, they began to fill the void of their world with what they each liked best. Medeine, more than any of the others, fell in love with this world and wanted it to be green and lush. She blanketed the ground with rich soil and grass and bid the forests to grow. Aleric filled Medeine’s forests and plains with noble and proud animals. Giltine cut at the land with great prescision, creating great oceans, lakes and rivers. Faiera giggled and flowers began to spring up. Ogimus placed birds in the sky and filled the oceans with fish.  In all that the GodChildren created, there was innate magic.

      Moccus was unimpressed by Aleric's creatures. He envisioned beings more fearsome and vicious. In a fit of childish competitiveness, Moccus created giant and powerful dragons in the hopes that they would upstage and torment Aleric’s creatures. The enormous beasts frightened cowering little Faiera and because of this, Giltine felt they were dangerous. Attentively and with respect for her brother, she placed his creations all on a small island in her vast ocean.

      MariMai was unhappy that Moccus’s creatures were cast aside. She pitied the dragons and felt that Giltine was unfair to them. She decided that even though the dragons were thought to be terrible they would be capable of great loyalty. Seeing Moccus sad that his dragons that he had been so proud of were banished, MariMai had an idea. She crafted all sorts of small reptiles that resembled his dragons enough to make her beloved brother smile. She then fashioned a broad desert for her young brother and these scaly creations as a place that he could call his own.

      They continued on like this for a time, happily imagining more and more unique and wonderful sights to furnish the home their parents had given them. Edain continued to grow and become an ever more beautiful, magical and intricate place.  Eventually though, as children often do, they lost interest and grew bored.  GodChildren then agreed the best idea was the to give this land distinctive intriguing life to widely observe, creating People to populate their young world.

      Excited to welcome these creatures to Edain, the Children each gave them a gift. Aleric, the oldest and bravest son, gave them valor and will. Ogimus gave the People languages and poetry, hoping that they would fill their world with amazing tales. Medeine felt so connected to the Great Mother’s love that she wanted the People to love their children as well. She smiled and gave them her nurturing heart. Young Faiera, who loved the sound of laughter, gave the People hope and happiness. 

      The People began to live and love. They were simple happy creatures who lived in unity with the world around them. Enthralled, the Children watched their People excitedly as they started to expand, creating families, tribes, cities. Life was peaceful but to disinterested Moccus and MariMai, it was boring.

      Moccus, as wicked of a child as he was, still gave the People a gift. He declared that they, themselves could perform remarkable feats of magic, in the hopes of getting to watch the People pitted against one another in grand fashion. The simple People began to understand and harness the magic of the land and energy around them.  However, they did not fight with great bouts of sorcery as he had hoped. Moccus was displeased that the People remained so blissfully content.

      MariMai did not care about these inane People that her siblings looked after so faithfully. She cared about her brother Moccus. He was bored and unhappy that the people lived so blindly happy and did not have to struggle for anything. Sneering to herself, MariMai decided her gift would be that of age and death. At once the People began age. Soon they would grow old, die and their spirits would wander the land without rest. Moccus thought this was hilarious and MariMai was happy.

      Giltine was appalled by her sister MariMai’s utter cruelty in her gift. Once again she felt the need to take responsibility for her siblings. As her gift, she created a plane for the souls to rest. The People could now live unafraid, knowing that when they passed on they would be at peace. With a heavy heart Giltine said her goodbyes and left to rule over the land she had created.

Faiera already missed her sister terribly and began to cry. The wailing of the young babe shook the land. Medeine’s heart sunk to hear the innocent child’s cries that echoed reaching every corner of Edain. She held her close and tried to soothe her but could not. Ogimus sang a story to the child tenderly but she would not calm. Aleric bid the animals to aid her but nothing seemed it would pacify little Faiera.

      MariMai was not concerned with this child’s weeping until she noticed Moccus holding his ears. Her heart went out to her brother. The bawling child infuriated her for causing him discomfort. In an instant she would do anything to silence the babe and please Moccus. She snatched Faiera from Medeine's embrace and took her to the far away island of the dragons. There she dangled the baby over the beasts. MariMai hoped Moccus would smile at this but he wouldn’t look at her. He kept is head buried in his arms, trying to muffle the noise.

      She became very irritated with the girl and dropped  her coldly into the dragons. Faiera continued to cry, shaking the ground with her screams. MariMai expected the dragons to tear the infant apart but forgot that she had changed them from feral unruly creatures to be loyal and selfless. They did not see this child as a threat and instead sought to calm her. A female dragon pulled her close and nuzzled her. Faiera saw these beasts being kind to her and cooed happily.

      Moccus looked up, happy that it was quiet until he saw Faiera with his dragons. He screamed, his GodChild tantrum being echoed with great thunder and lightning. MariMai was horrified that she had caused this. She lived to serve Moccus and hated that he was angry. She seized Faiera and the babe instantly began to wail again. The dragons began to screech and roar in protest and with them the other creatures all raised their voices. Moccus howled with anger and hatred toward his baby sister. The discordant noise quickly became unbearable. The terrified People panicked andtook refuge in their homes, desperate to escape the commotion. Behind the din of the youngest children’s screams, Medeine was weeping softly.

      MariMai knew then what she needed to do. She wouldn’t hurt her siblings unless it was necessary and Moccus needed her now. She found Faiera's favorite clearing covered in Faiera's blossoms where MariMai knew that she had loved to play. She thought of nothing but her brother's infuriated screams as she gingerly set the child down. With a dagger of the shed scale of a dragon; she ended the small girl’s cries. 

      Suddenly there was silence. Medeine tore past MariMai to the small frail body of Faiera. She collapsed onto the infant, sobbing but no sound was heard. MariMai looked around and saw Aleric and Ogimus running towards this meadow shouting and angry. She saw Moccus sitting to the side, leaning back on his hands and laughing callously. She saw the animals all still mewling and crying for Faiera. But she did not hear any of these things. All around her there was chaos but she was deafened by the silence.

      And in that instant, MariMai felt her mother’s voice.

      Great Mother was saddened.

      She called MariMai, “For the cruelty of your brother you have sacrificed the innocence of your sister. Because of this, Moccus shall feel the benefits of the gift you gave. Your brother will become mortal with no memory of you or any of his family. Moccus’s selfish greed will know no satisfaction and neither will his descendants’. You will watch him, and all of his sons and the sons of his sons live unfulfilled and die.” 

         MariMai was heartbroken. Moccus would suffer and it would be her fault. In a obscure piece of land, made barren by her touch, she sadly formed ominous looming mountains with craggily peaks. There she exiled herself and prepared to watch her beloved brother mature and die. 

         Moccus awoke lazily in the midst of desert that MariMai had made him, a young mortal boy of about seven years old. He did not know anything but his own name.  The boy wandered for a while when he came upon a small village of People. Soon he saw one of the People practicing conjuring great magic and was utterly mesmermized. He watched from the bushes for hours before he was finally spotted. The old man smiled at the boy’s genuine interest and took him on as his apprentice. Before long Moccus was eagerly working to master the magic that he himself had given to the people.

      Faiera’s body sank slowly into the ground where she laid. Medeine vowed then never to leave this place, swearing she would always stand to protect the hallowed ground. Great Mother and Father saw their daughter's dedication. With a sad smile, Mother bid her kind Medeine to root and grow. Soon the great forest city of Medeine climbed swiftly into the sky, rising high over the normal trees that Medeine had dotted the land with. There, in the center  of the trees, the sacred resting place of Faiera had become known as beautiful Nemetona Grove.

      The People who migrated to live in the new forest city felt the unending love of Medeine. Her nurturing heart still beat in their chests. Feeling the beings that lived in her branches, she embraced these People as her children, becoming connected to them. The People happily accepted the forest’s love and worshiped the trees as their life force.

      Giltine, whose calling was now to usher souls into the next world, saw her sister’s love for the new Medeinan People. So moved by Medeine’s compassion, Giltine sheds a tear each time she must regretfully take a Medeinan soul. The teardrop reaches Edain as a white lotus that opens on the tree in Medeine where that person lived.

      The two remaining sons did not know what to do. To pass the time, Ogimus did what he did best and began to tell a story. The story of the boy Moccus. The apalling tale he weaved was one of corruption, greed, and death. Moccus and all who came after him would be guided by the malevolent hand of MariMai. All of his descendants would be bitter wicked each sons named for him, each seizing every opportunity to become greater than his father. The People would surely one day soon feel the fist of the Tyrant Moccus.

      Aleric was shaken by this. There must be someone to aid the People from this force. He called out to Great Father. "Moccus will live and die but his spirit and greed will plague our People forever. All I ask is the same fate for me that was bestowed upon my brother. Let me live among the People. Let me and my sons be there to protect the People from Moccus."

      So proud of his son, Great Father smiled. “Brave Aleric, your courage and nobility are beyond measure. To be willing to sacrifice your immortality to protect your People, you have proven your worth. My eldest Son, you and all your sons will bear your name and your spirit. Your animals and your people will feel respect and adoration for you. No sickness will ever touch you or yours. Create a kingdom for yourself and you shall rule there, a mortal.”

      Though Aleric did not feel he deserved to be a king, he dutifully did as he was told. He decided he would place his modest kingdom in a frozen wasteland. Beautiful forests his sister had laid over the land only depressed him now. The location he chose was a remote northern piece of land, far away from the great forest city of Medeine. After bidding a quiet apology to his sweet sister, Aleric froze the lush green territory.

      There, he found himself to be mortal, feeling the vulnerability that went along with his new status. The wolves who took to living in the snow, looked to him as their leader. Soon he led a small tribe of the People. They revered him as a king, though it was never his intention. He could have ruled the whole of the People if he wanted but Aleric was a reluctant king.

      Ogimus was then left alone. His brothers were both mortal now, destined to meet and battle again and again. His sisters had all gone. Only he remained. His only company now was the stories created by the lives of the People. He made up his mind and faded into the wind so that he may hear and carry the many stories of his world. Whenever a storyteller opens a tale with a line that catches your attention, it is no coincidence that the wind rustles quietly. You are not the only one who is captivated.