The Traveler's Tales: A Minstrel's Journey

[FlamingRuby]

Episode 16: An Adventure in Kaina


After saying our farewells to Melodisa and the crew of the Moltres, we took a stroll around the city of Kaina. The stone walkways immediately brought back memories of the wharf around Mavi, but Master was not in the mood to buy me fish that morning.
It was apparently market day when we arrived, judging from the sturdy wooden stalls thatched with island grasses. Unlike the wooden stalls at home on the mainland, the stalls in Kaina were a darker color--and no doubt it was a stronger wood as well. Exotic fruits, jewelry and carvings were on display in every stall, Master particularly liked a Gorebyss necklace made of stone in one stall.

Before long, we had wandered into the town square and made ourselves at home at the local tavern, the Laughing Taillow. It was unusually loud inside the tavern as we entered, but I guess most of it came from the crowd heckling (or egging on, it was hard to tell) a mage clad in maroon and purple robes that was boasting of all kinds of things--he claimed to have slain a Salamence with his bare hands and ridden a pegasus with a blue flaming mane (or at least those were the only two I could hear clearly) We left him to boast and made ourselves at home at a table by the left wall.

A waitress brought Master a glass filled with a light orange liquid with dark swirls from another type of Berry, saying it was named the Oran Island--a clear mind drink often served to welcome visitors to the islands. Master took a sip and nodded with approval, then took a moment to tune his harp.

For some reason, that was enough to quiet the boasting mage and the crowd of hecklers as Master played a quick improvisation in A minor to warm up. They applauded when the last note died.

I just smiled and lapped at some coconut milk as Master segued into Marista's Song, then began a tale. "Long ago, every mountain, valley, hill and plain was covered in red roses and other flowers. The Beedrills and the Beautiflies would flit about and drink the nectar from the flowers, but the Beedrills would save a little extra to make honey, which they then shared with the Ursarings. It wasn't just the Ursarings that enjoyed the honey made from rose nectar--every other Pokemon did as well." Some "mmm"s wafted through the air as Master played a few bars of "The Beautifly" as an interlude. "But alas, time went on, and the Pokemon took for granted the gifts the gods had granted them...and some became greedy. For example..." he mused as he played a soft interlude. "One day a family of Bunearies came upon a field of roses, and after one taste of the red buds, they gorged themselves on it, and when one patch was empty, they moved on to another. By the time the summer ended, the Bunearies had eaten every last rose. The Stantler caught onto this, and before long, not only were the flowers missing, but so were the leaves and the stems."

"So what did the Ursarings do?" a man asked.

"They were none too pleased about getting fewer honeycombs, and asked the Beedrills what was going on." Master replied. "The Beedrlls replied that they had found less nectar, which meant less honey for everyone." After playing a quick interlude, he continued "Autumn soon came, and winter followed, and the Ursarings returned to their caves to hibernate. All winter long, the Pokemon dreamed of the hills bursting with flowers and berries come springtime."

After playing a long glissando to symbolize the passage of time, he continued. "Springtime finally arrived, and new flowers came with it, but the Bunearies went to work eating them all again. In their anger, the Pokemon cried to the gods to help them, as they did not want to lose their flowers to the greedy Bunearies a second time. Anima heard the Pokemon's cries of anger and how the Bunearies had ravaged the rose fields. So one day, Anima led the Pokemon to Her secret garden, filled with all sorts of flowers and roses. She told the Bunearies to have their fill of roses, whatever was eaten in Anima's garden would grow back again in a matter of hours. The Ursarings protested at first, but Anima just smiled, as if quietly assuring the other Pokemon that She knew what She was doing. No sooner did the Bunearies settle in to eat the holy roses, did they howl in pain from the thorns dotting their faces." Laughter filled the air at this.

"Anima told the Bunearies that the holy roses had thorns to protect them from the earth's greed, and that the earth's roses would have them as well--and they have had them from now until then, as a reminder to the Pokemon to be content with what they had--that is why the rose has thorns." Master concluded to some applause.

While most in the crowd dropped a coin in the harp case and left, a teal haired girl approached us. "Wonderful, Sir Minstrel--a voice and skill on the harp like that would be enough to coax the fae from the glen at Starshine Ridge." Just then, she caught herself. "Ah, look at me rambling! My name is Kyari, a linguist scholar by trade."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Kyari." Master replied as he made a place for her at our table. "What can Kissa and I do for you?"

"My current project is to see if their is a link between the holy tongue and the language of the fae." Kyari explained. "But since no one has heard the fae tongue spoken nor attempted to write it down, I cannot prove or disprove my theory until I hear the fae tongue with my own ears. The closest place to here I know the fae appear is Starlight Ridge--a little hill overlooking town."

"You have my word we will do our best to help." Master replied.

We met Kyari outside town that evening and hiked the short distance away to Starlight Ridge. Master decided to sit against a tree, his harp in hand. I laid next to him, and Kyari sat close by on a rock watching and listening for any sign of the fae.

For a while, all was quiet, until Kyari decided to sing in an attempt to lure out the fae. Far and away, through this world I roam, without a place to call my home. And under Dorcha's silver dome, I must find someone to guide me...

"Interesting song..." I mused.

"It's a tune I heard one Rainbow Day, entitled 'The Runaway's Ring'. Kyri explained. "It tells of a runaway who has to bring a ring to a powerful mage before a greedy lord can take it from her."

"Let's see here..." Master mused as he experimented with the melody on his harp for a moment.

But no sooner had he struck the strings, did he hear a clear voice akin to a young girl singing Mued am aseie, wos hes fis a zwag, whesol ieeya wuera re fues qia prina. Am yosad Nisieeya's chesad nina, a qoars mem chinaga re caba qa...

The noise startled me. "What was that?"

"Could that have been a fae?" "Kyari gasped. "Play it again, please!"

Master nodded and began the introduction to the tune again, and at the appropriate time a singer would begin, he heard what sounded like a young girl's voice very clearly singing Mued am aseie, wos hes fis a zwag, whesol ieeya wuera re fues qia prina. Am yosad Nisieeya's chesad nina, a qoars mem chinaga re caba qa...

He looked again and saw a fairy clad in red gathering some dew from a daisy, singing to Master's harp all the while. Kyari was furiously writing down the oddly hypnotic words the whole time, but even so, the fairy never knew we were there the whole time.

To Be Continued...

 

[FlamingRuby]

Episode 17: The Town of Solarosa


From Kaina, we explored some more of the islands. It was a lovely walk with the palm trees and exotic flowers everywhere, and the songs of the exotic birds seemed to inspire Master--he actually had an entertaining conversation with a leafbird with his whistle (if you can call partly improvised songs a conversation). He would play a little bit, then the leafbird would answer, then play a little more. This went on until it flew away an hour later, allowing us to continue through the brush.

After wading through the vines and trees, we came upon a village nestled in the forest. The houses were very simple in design--bamboo walls with stone for reinforcement and some thatch for the roof. Some children were running around a statue of a blindfolded boy holding a mirror to the sky, chasing a stone hoop all the while. The adults were either working in rice paddies or Berry fields, and whoever wasn't was weaving something at their looms or cleaning the simple bamboo houses.

Master made himself comfortable on a rock overlooking the small village and the statue, took his harp, and began playing a calm yet wistful melody to pass the time. A girl stopped running around the statue no sooner had he played a few notes and called to the other children Menyana! The children immediately abandoned chasing the hoop and crowded around Master's feet, mesmerized by his song.

"Welcome to our humble village of Solarosa, menyana. a boy began. "If you need anything of us, please ask, and we will do our best to help."

"Thank you..." Master replied, still playing his song. "As thanks for your hospitality, I will tell you a tale from the mainland." He then segued into Marista's Song before beginning "There was once a man who had five sons that looked all alike--and each one had their own unique gift. The eldest, Akira, was very smart, and could outwit even the Lord of the Night with his wisdom. The second son, Haruto, was agile enough to reach things no mortal could reach. The third son, Hagane, had a head as strong as steel. The fourth son, Kenta, had skin as thick as iron. And the youngest, Yuki, could withstand the harshest cold."

"Wow!" The children were impressed by the gifts.

"As the five boys grew, they learned to master and appriciate the gifts given to them by Anima." Master continued, quieting the whispers. "The years went by, until one day, the man came down with an illness none of the healers could cure. He called Akira to his bedside and told him that he feared his time to die was close. But Akira assured his father that he knew the cure, and asked his brother Haruto to reach out and take the pearl in the royal palace that was said to have healing power. Once Haruto had the pearl, Akira called his brothers together and instructed them to boil the stone in water. They did this, and when their father drank the water containing the pearl's power, he was healed again, good as new."

"Thank Anima he was all right!" a boy smiled, relieved the father was going to be okay.

"But before Haruto could return the pearl to its rightful place in the palace, the king discovered it missing, and ordered his men to find the thief." Master continued over a tense interlude. "It wasn't long before they burst into the man's house and arrested Akira, thinking he had done the deed. Akira was brought to the palace, tried, and sentenced to die. But before the soldiers could take him to the execution plaza, Akira told the king he at least wished to tell his father goodbye."

"He's not going to die, okay?" I heard a boy comforting his sister, who was shaking in fear as tears streamed down her face.

"The king let Akira go spend one last night with his family, as per a prisoner's last request." Master continued. "But Akira sent Hagane in his stead to the execution plaza the next morning, and no one was none the wiser, as the five boys looked exactly alike. Try as the executioner might to cut off Hagane's head, he could not." There were some tense giggles as Master played a series of glissandos and hard chords to represent the executioner fruitlessly trying to behead Hagane.

"So what did the king do?" another girl asked.

"He figured his usual execution method of beheading was not going to work, and ordered the executioner to intead stab Hagane through the heart with the sharpest sword he had." Master explained. "When asked if he had any last requests, Hagane requested one night with his family, as his brother Akira had done. Hagane sent his brother Kenta in his stead, and try as the executioner might, not even the sharpest sword in the royal barracks could pierce Kenta's skin." Laughter went up from the children as Master played several hard chords representing a sword trying to stab thick skin.

"And then, milord?" a man asked as he passed through the square, piqued in the story.

"The king then decided to leave Kenta on the top of a high mountain, in hopes he would die in the cold." Master went on. "Just as his brother had done, Kenta requested one last night with his family, and sent Yuki to the palace in his stead the next morning. Not only did Yuki survive an entire day and night in the mountain's harsh cold, he also found many jewels in the snow. The king was surprised at the jewels, and offered to set Yuki free and forgive his family in return for a share. Yuki accepted, and returned home to a great celebration. That family never forgot their children's gifts from that day on...and that ends the tale of 'The Brothers that Outwitted a King'"

The children applauded at the tale's end and hurried off as an older woman met us on the square. "Thank you, traveler, for keeping the children entertained for a while. You must know much of the mainland."

"That I do, Lady..." Master started.

"Mendora--I am the healer of this village and the keeper of the island's tales." the woman replied. "As thanks for sharing your tales from the mainland, I will tell you a tale from this island--specifically the story behind our statue.

"I was about to ask about it..." I interjected. "Why does it depict a blindfolded boy?"

"To answer that question, I must first give you some background." Mendora explained. "It is said that long ago, the dragon Pokemon were stronger than they are today. In some places even today, they are revered as guardians or as incarnations of the gods. In others, they are monsters to be feared."

"I see..." Master mused--he had told plenty of tales involving dragons, both good and bad.

"Long ago, it was believed that whenever there was an unexplained death in a town, the dragons were to blame." Mendora went on. "Those that did see them often didn't live to tell the tale, and once they took up residence in a town or a city, they brought terror on all its residents. In those days, a dragon Pokemon's eyes shot a deadly elemental blast, so any that looked upon them died in an instant--this was why no one could kill one of these great beasts. They typically took residence in a cellar or some other dark place--this was because a dragon Pokemon's elemental stare could even kill another dragon Pokemon."

"Thank Anima the dragons are no longer like this..." Master smiled, relieved as some townsfolk joined us in listening to Mendora's tale.

"But suppose someone did survive the dragon's stare--then what happened?" I asked.

"If someone did survive the dragon's stare, they would die by one of the dragon's other attacks, be this its elemental breath, its claws, or the poison spikes along their backs." Mendora replied. "It was no wonder the people often spoke of the dragons--they told of the maids that found one in the attic of their house, and the children attacked as they played. It wasn't known how many had died from a dragon's hand, but everyone knew one thing--there was no known weapon that could defeat a dragon. So when one took up residence in a town, every man, woman and child in that town would hear the cries of 'Beware...beware....'"

There was a brief silence for a moment as Mendora surveyed the crowd, as if searching for anyone still brave enough to hear how a dragon of old could be defeated. But no one left the area--every eye was riveted on the blue and silver clad woman with slightly graying black hair. Even Master was watching her, calmly plucking out a quiet melody on his harp in anticipation of what happened next.

Finally, Mendora spoke again. "For some time, our fair town of Solarosa was spared from the dragons, but one day, the tavern's barkeep sent an apprentice to bring up a new barrel of ale from the cellar.When the apprentice did not return after an hour, the barkeep figured he had gotten distracted or into the ale, and sent a second apprentice. When that apprentice did not return, rumors began flying, and before long everyone in Solarosa knew that a dragon had taken up residence in the tavern cellar.

The next morning, everyone gathered in the town square to discuss the dragon. Yet no one had any idea how to deal with a dragon."

"Surely someone knew, didn't they, Lady Mendora?" a girl asked.

"Finally, a boy announced that he would be the one to slay the dragon." Mendora continued. "The people tried to talk him out of it--they said he would never hear the dragon coming, but the boy said he would know. They said that the stare would kill him, but the boy said he would blindfold himself for protection."

"What was he going to do?" I stammered--either this boy was very brave or a fool to take on a dragon.

"Just listen." Master assured me.

"After many pleas and rebuttals, they allowed the boy into the cellar after praying to Anima for protection, blindfolded and carrying a mirror." Mendora made a prayerful gesture, as if representing the people's prayers to Anima. "It didn't take long for him to find the dragon--it roared and blew a stream of red flame at the boy as he approached, but his blindfold and the protection of Anima rendered the flames harmless. The dragon then slunk to the bottom of the stairwell as quiet as could be, but when the boy arrived on the last step of the stairwell, he aimed the mirror in the dragon's face, allowing it to burn in its own flames!" Cheers went up at this. "The people hailed him a hero and erected a statue in his honor--the statue you see here in the square today." Thunderous applause filled the air at this.

"Well told, Lady Mendora...I would be honored to share this story on the mainland." Master smiled.

"Please do--it does this healer proud to know the tales of the islands are enjoyed everywhere." Mendora replied.

We departed Solarosa and the islands later that night. Yet as I watched the moon rise above the sea that night, I was confident Master would be able to do the tale Mendora had told justice--and seeing how it is one of his most requested tales, he definitely has.

To Be Continued...

 

[FlamingRuby]

Sorry for not having an episode in a while--regular updates will resume after the holidays.