The Misfortune of Distorted Truth

No Matter Where You Go

Dehllah has been plainly reluctant to return to Ehmohree's cave to pick up her apprentice. She arrived with nothing more to offer than a bored expression and a wing around M's shoulders. "I didn't think you would be done so soon," she drawled, covering her mouth delicately as she yawned. "Honestly, M - or Lyra, or Modesty, whatever in Fortunia's name I'm supposed to call you now - why would you want to train?"
"I have to sooner or later," M had snapped. "I did not ask to come here; no, I was dragged here against my will, away from my family, as if they weren't already worried enough about Asagwara's disappearance. I've been told, in some way or another, that if I cooperate I will get to go home safely. Right?"
Dehllah had looked at her sadly, her long eyelashes drooping. Her rose gold hair seemed to have lost its stunning glow.
"I thought you were supposed to be my guide," M had said quietly. "But I suppose you won't answer my questions either."
They were now in the Teahdee's cave, which was smaller and less homey than Ehmohree's. There was really not much more than two rooms with creaky, faded blue beds, a lavatory, and a rock counter with plain stone stools. M was sitting on her mattress, trying to ignore her discomfort, and wishing Isaac, Kasa, Kenji Joshie, or even Asagwara could be there with her. She could not find it possible to like Dehllah very much, especially when compared to Ehmohree. He had been so... understanding.
Her Teahdee padded into M's room and eyed the girl sullenly. "I was thinking, Mistress Lyra," - she was speaking formally - "that you ought to begin your training with a history lesson." She smiled the way that a teacher might while giving a lesson that he or she was knowledgeable about, and was well aware that the students would not enjoy it.
M groaned. "You're kidding? What about mind reading? Or, or, you-you know, whatever other cool thing Wedhn can do?"
Dehllah scowled, and retorted, "You're not going to understand any of that unless you first understand the history behind it. Don't be absurd."
"Fine." She put on her best listening face and exaggerated it as much as she could, her eyes open wide with sarcastic interest. M rested her chin on her hands as Dehllah snorted - a snort that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.
The Teahdee positioned herself on the floor, tucking her feet under her, and made an ahem sound. "I'll explain as best I can..."
. . . . .
Ten-year-old Valen Marinos was quick to jump to conclusions upon entering his chambers, dressed appropriately in a white toga.
"Who-" He cut himself off. His imagination was running wild, and yet the best thing he could come up with spur of the moment was "Dog." Squinting in the approaching darkness that was sliding through the windows, Val lit a candle and held it up unnecessarily close to the creature's face. Its reddish gold eyes snapped shut.
"I would appreciate if you would hold that light away from me, child," it said. The boy jumped, and a foolish grin broke across his face.
"A talking mutt! My word, that will be something to tell stories of." Despite his excitement, he managed to listen and covered the flame with his olive-skinned hand. The cracks between his fingers glowed.
"Hush," snarled the creature. "Sir Valen, you have been selected for training. You will be the first of my experiment."
"Who are you, sir?"
"I am not a dog. And I am not a sir," it continued. "I am Duygu, one of the last of my kind, and my species is neither genetically male nor female. My parent recently passed, and I have stepped up as leader of Fortunia, though I am not yet even a thousand years old." The creature sat up on its haunches, stretching its neck proudly, thinking this a great achievement.
"Wow, sir." Val scratched his scalp, ruffling the untidy, greasy black hair that touched his shoulders. "So you're an it then."
"That is an option," Duygu said. "Now, Sir Valen, you must come with me. Your Teahdee will teach you all you need to know about mind-reading, among other subjects. Does this not entice you?" Their mouth, which was lined with gleaming white teeth much sharper than any canine's, widened into a smirk. "You will also be the first Wedhn - a person of, say, unusual magical ability. It is because, child, of these." At that, Duygu reached out towards Val's face, and though their claws were more deadly than the finest dagger, he did not flinch. The creature touched his face, and one of his claws caressed the soft area around the boy's left eye.
"My eyes?" asked Val, his own hand, free of claws, going up to feel his skin.
"I have not yet seen anything quite like them in humans. Rare as they may already be in color, I can sense magic in them. Untold..." Duygu twitched. "U-untold power."
Val walked over to his water basin and kneeled in front of it, staring into the image of himself reflected in the still surface. The waning light of the crescent moon dimly cast itself on the water, illuminating his eyes before him. The irises were rouge, highlighted by crepe pink, outlined in deep scarlet with odd, thin streaks of merlot around the edges and the pupils. Val's spider-black eyelashes were indeed like the legs of the arachnid itself, long and eerie as they curled upwards, as if dead. They only made the pink more prominent, and helped to define the rich olive tones of his young flesh.
"What use could be made of my eyes?" whispered the boy, still touching his face with warm fingers.
"It is best not to ask questions." Duygu's eyes flashed with menace. "I see the great things in your future, child, if you would only assist me in establishing my empire."
"An empire!" The boy pulled himself from the basin and set his candle, its tiny blaze flickering madly, on the sill. He was now twisting the ends of his toga with furor.
The creature shook itself, much like the dog it had denied being, and picked furiously at a minuscule scar on its paw - if you could call it that - until a spot of blood bubbled out of it. Val noticed that its skin, deep red, was smooth and nearly flawless... it had not yet tasted the thrill of battle, no, not then. Finally, Duygu lifted its head, and its cold, empty eyes met the Grecian boy's. "An empire indeed." It sounded like it was purring. "Dear Sir Valen, forget your loved ones, and you will have all the riches and power you have always dreamed of."
"I'm only ten," Val squeaked. His eyes were darting nervously around his chambers. "I intend no disrespect, Duygu sir, but I am not sure I am prepared to abandon the care of my mother and father."
"Pay no mind, child. Pray tell, why would you think such a thing? Young you may be, but you have strength within you that has yet to be discovered. Your Teahdee will be like a father to you. He will teach you all you must know of Fortunia, as your father has taught you of the Bright Land." Duygu smiled, almost comfortingly, but the expression faded into aggravation as they saw that Valen was not convinced. Then the smirk returned as an idea struck. "If you come with me, you will live forever, never to grow old."
Val lit up with something rather disgusting to see on a young child's face: greed. He clasped his hands together and bowed to Duygu with the respect he had been taught his whole life to show to his elders, and authority. "I would like that, sir, I would." He wet his lips and could hardly contain the elation threatening to burst from his chest.
In later years, for whatever reason, Valen could not recall what exactly had happened after that. Or, more likely, he was lying. What he told those who listened was only what occurred once Duygu had taken him to Fortunia.
"What do you think?" the large dog-sized beast rumbled when the pair had entered the main cave of the underground kingdom.
"Magnificent, truly." Val was wide-eyed, gazing in awe at the scene before him. Small it was then, there seemed to be hundreds of creatures pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into its construction. Strange tall mouse-like things were scampering around, apparently unable to decide whether to walk on all fours or on twos when both options were available. Their hands, covered in grey, brown, black, or dirty white fur, were dangling at odd angles from their thin wrists, and their creepily long fingers constantly twitching. "What are those?" Knowing well that pointing was rude, the boy nodded in their direction.
"Those are Mousen," said Duygu. They looked boastful about it, too. "Boisterous, miserable species, really, but they're hardworking and that's all that matters to me. That, and they must be loyal to their ruler."
"Wow, look at that!" Val, unable to contain his boyish excitement any longer. A dark grey Mouse person was sauntering up to him. It was quite tiny, only a child, so it was not expected to be harmful. Duygu looked down their snout at the Mouse, clearly not terribly fond of seeing one of its kind doing anything but working. But then Fortunia's leader glanced at Val, and saw his joyful expression, and something briefly softened inside of them. They waited for a parent to collect the toddler, but no one came.
"You like it here?" Duygu did not let their mask slip.
Unfortunately, the very short time when Duygu had allowed emotion, an almost paternal or maternal instinct to seep into their heart, was when disaster struck. This short-lived moment of weakness would never come again, and they would never admit that it had taken its toll nonetheless.
The Mouse, its nose wriggling, paused to blink innocently up at Val's happy face. The boy had his index finger outstretched, which was considered one of many rude gestures, but this was not the reason the furry child did what it did next. It took this gesture, in fact, as an offering of food, and so leapt as high as it could and promptly bit the finger off.
There was a horrified silence.
Val said nothing. No - although tears flooded from his eyes and he covered them with his unscathed right hand, he did not scream, nor make a sound.
The Mousen, adults and children alike, instantly rushed to Duygu's side, swarming around them. "Is he alright?" came some voices, others making hurried apologies. The crowd of various neutral shades and tints was writhing anxiously in a disturbing fashion, though their concern was of good intentions. A white Mouse and his black-furred female companion came forward to collect the child who had just indulged in its first meal of human flesh, and ran from sight before anyone could so much as memorize their faces.
Soon a brown Mouse scrambled over to Val and put an arm around his shoulder, whispering soothing words into his ear as she wrapped his bloodied hand in scraps of tissue and fabric. Val only whimpered, and held back his sobs. "At least you have your opposable thumbs, child," she squeaked warmly. "The most useful fingers, I think."
At first, no one noticed that Duygu had seemed to turn several shades of red darker. This, however, was made evident as they roared out ferociously, "DEPART FROM MY SIGHT, YOU FOUL CREATURES! I WISH NOT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Their shouts echoed loudly around the cave; the Mousen were quick to dart away as fast as they had come.
"D-d-do not b-blame them all f-for the actions of o-o-o-one," Val pleaded quietly. He was clutching his left wrist so tightly that it was turning white. "Don't banish t-them."
Duygu moved closer to the boy. They thought for several minutes, though Val knew not what these thoughts could have been, until finally they spoke. "Sir Valen, do not think I have grown fond of you. I will do as you beg as you have been the receiver of this injury, not I. You are, after all, the foundation of my new kingdom." The brute snarled, "However, this does not mean I will tolerate those Mousen. Within minutes of your arrival, one of their dirty kind hurt you. I will not permit it. I need you."
Val winced in pain, growing paler still from shock and blood loss, but a wavering smile just showed off dimples in his cheeks. "Y-y-you need me?" He had not even heard his father say something so close to genuine affection before. It almost dimmed his physical hurting.
"Foolish child." Duygu turned from him, their shoulder blades hunched and sticking rather prominently from their back. "I have no need of anyone, especially not a human. Come... come see the Sorrowturtle."
"What is that?" Despite Duygu's harsh words, Val had already decided for himself that he would forever be devoted to the one who had granted him entrance into a new, exciting life - even if it meant the untimely loss of an index finger. So he did not let this lack of compassion offend him.
"The Sorrowturtle is the last of its kind. It seems..." The creature sighed. "It seems many species are dying out, however slowly. But she is Fortunia's healer, and the one who now decides who receives the Gift."
"The Gift?"
"Yes. The Sorrowturtles, as they were once called, had great power. They lived forever, containing ultimate wisdom, and could read any mind or heart. But, in a twist of misfortune, most were killed. The old ruler - my parent - was going mad, and he took out his pent-up emotions on the poor animals. Our only Sorrowturtle, despite her infinite knowledge, suffers from pure loneliness. So she made the difficult decision to share her power with a new generation of 'Sorrowturtles', and chose the receivers to be of the human race. She will only take a few every couple decades or so, sometimes near each other, other times, perhaps, farther apart. She would not wish to cause panic. Some of those given the Gift will stay here in Fortunia. Others will return to the Bright Land and live their endless lives. But either way, these champions will pass on their power every few generations, and it may not be until their great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandchild is born that it appears again. You, Sir Valen, are the first of three humans to be brought here. The very first Wedhn. You see, as the last Sorrowturtle, she no longer truly has a species to call her family. The consequence of giving the Gift to these three chosen ones is that her own power will slowly diminish. All she wants -" A sly expression came across Duygu's snout, and they tapped their chin thoughtfully, "- is for her kind to live on, no matter if it must be in human form, or turtle."
"Will she die?" Val and Duygu had begun walking now, and the great beast led him down one of the several tunnels branching off from the main cave. He stumbled occasionally, still pale in the face, but he was able to retain his consciousness. The shock of his injury had not gone away so soon.
"No, no. I would not think so. The one thing the Sorrowturtle has held on to is the Sorrowblossom, which is a unique flower that grows from her shell. It will grow whether she is alive or dead. She knows this from seeing the bodies of her kind," Duygu added casually when Val gave them an inquiring look.
The boy supported himself with his right hand on the wall, sliding it over the various crannies and cracks that cut through the grey rock. His head was slightly lolling to one side, and he blinked wearily. "So the Sorrowblossom has powers, then."
"That it does." Duygu put on an imperious air and said sharply, "Chin up, child, we're almost there."
"I reckon you haven't lost a finger before," Val murmured. But he trudged on faithfully.
"Anyways, this flower has the ability to induce sadness in the one who holds it. It's often surprisingly useful for getting someone to reveal their inner troubles when they're otherwise too stubborn and proud to do so. This is the most recognized reason why the Sorrowturtles were once the most magnificent healers in all the world, for they could cure sorrow by causing it."
"That hardly makes sense..." For a moment, Val slipped away into oblivion, and Duygu stopped to prevent his fall. Even though the child quickly composed himself, the creature hushed him with a dagger-like claw to his lips and wordlessly slung him over their broad back. As if nothing had happened, they kept on with an interesting explanation of the Teahdeean, while little Valen Marinos lay stomach-down with his limbs dangling rather lifelessly on both sides. But, though Duygu could not see for them self, he was smiling silently for the rest of the journey.
"The Teahdeean, now," Duygu was continuing in a lower and less haughty tone, "are different. There's quite a lot of them around - not as many as the Mousen, but they're not in danger of extinction. They could be fairly compared to equines. They have fore-hooves, see, and back paws with two toes each. Their necks are unusually but gracefully long, perhaps like swans, and they have very long eyelashes. Teahdeean have the manes, tails, and muzzles of equines, I think, though they have spotted horns on their snouts. Most beautiful of all... Sir Valen, they have butterfly wings, and come in more hues than you could imagine. Lovely beasts. The males are generally friendlier, and more tolerant of other species. The females are a bit full of it." Duygu paused like they were waiting for a laugh, or perhaps to reassure them self that Val was still breathing. They went on softly, "Teahdeean are extraordinarily intelligent as well as beautiful. This is why they have made an agreement to serve under me as masters to the human apprentices selected. They love to learn, love to lecture, and love to train. Brilliant teachers; ah, pray tell, what could you not learn from them?" Of course, there was no response. "I have already issued a decree banning visits to the Bright Land, a decree I made after I knew of the Sorrowturtle's gift. Do you know why, child?" A few minutes passed with nothing but the echoes of Duygu's heavy footsteps and the constant pattern of inhaling and exhaling in turn.
Val, his eyes open, watched the blurs of gemstones on the cave walls pass in a rainbow of color. He couldn't quite see clearly, but he was in awe at the beauty of the underground land. Finally, he took a breath, and uttered his hoarse reply to the question. "I-I would not know, sir."
Duygu seemed relieved at his renewed ability of speech. "I want the humans to be safe from us," they said defensively and with determination, as if they had something to prove that was being disagreed with. "We are not part of their world, and they not part of ours. None of us have the right to interfere with everything they know. It was difficult for me as it was to allow the Gift to enter your world, when magic is misunderstood and unappreciated. But as Fortunia's leader, my concern for a dying species of my world had to be put above any other. There is always a price to pay."
Val closed his eyes again, and fell asleep before he could hear anything more.
When he woke up, it was to the sound of running water. He found himself in a large, circular room that was currently occupied by three persons, including himself. The boy sat up with effort, wincing at the searing agony tearing through his entire left arm. He glanced at the injured hand and saw it had been wrapped with clean new bandages that only had a spot of dark red blood seeping through. Perhaps, he consoled himself, his finger wound was not going to bleed for much longer. Val yawned and examined his new location instead, for seeing where his missing finger should have been had started to give him a funny feeling in his stomach.
"It is a very nice place you've got here, madam," he commented politely to the Sorrowturtle. He was trying not to appear too shaken. The turtle was massive, after all, and nothing like he'd ever seen before. She had heavily wrinkled blue skin, legs as thick as an elephant's, and a large protective shell around her. The shell was a rainbow of color and was quite attractive with little sprouts of silvery black Sorrowblossoms covering it.
"Thank you," said the Sorrowturtle. She had a velvety sort of voice, not unlike the silky quality to Duygu's. At that moment, her head was stretched out of its shell, apparently to test the water that was pooling into a shallow pit from a wide crack in the wall. A thick grey tongue extended from her mouth to lap tentatively at the pond. The Sorrowturtle nodded, moved slowly to the other side of the pit, and filled up a crudely made stone bowl with the water. The sound of rushing water grew louder as she dipped it in, yet the pit did not overflow. "Fresh for you, Sir Valen. Do not worry, it is not tainted in any way. The water will help, you shall see." She carefully carried the bowl over to him in her mouth and set it on the end of the bed he was sitting on.
"What happened to the Mouse that hurt me?" Val's whisper was strained. He picked up the bowl and gulped the water thirstily, so that a few drops of it dribbled down his chin and splashed onto his toga. When it had been emptied, he sighed contentedly and pushed it away.
Duygu's head lifted at the question, while the wrinkled skin above the Sorrowturtle's eyes raised in surprise. Fortunia's leader had been sitting patiently by a wall like a dog that had been told to stay by its master - though of course, Duygu had no master. They simply were the master. "I do wonder," they muttered, "why you should ask such a thing, Sir Valen."
"Who was he? Or she? I..." Val bit his lip and he said tearfully, "Sir, the Mouse should not be punished, but I do desire not to see him again. I-I do desire n-n-not to see any of t-them again." His eyes narrowed as he appeared to grow angry, but he made no outburst. He looked at his wounded hand with repugnance.
"Should not be punished?" Duygu's reddish gold eyes were filled with a spark of outrage, yet they, too, did not act upon their inner turmoil. "That Mouse may not have been much older than a toddler, but he should have known better all the same. That Mouse was named Howell, and he has brought shame upon the Hare title. His family will be punished for their nescience, and all Mousen will give up their caves. Those scum don't deserve luxury like that, and from now on the Teahdeean will have it instead, for they have deserved it more anyways. The Mousen can keep their dirty magic to themselves, and -"
"Sir," Val interceded weakly. He had heard the note of irritation residing behind Duygu's air of calm. "Please allow them to keep their jobs. It is not the entire species that is to blame." The boy cradled his left hand in his right, his revolted expression transforming into one of grief. And then it changed once more, into an anger unlike anything the child had felt before at such a tender age. "It is Howell." Val let out a shaky breath, his lower lip trembling.
Duygu and the Sorrowturtle exchanged wary looks. The former seemed... pleased, and the latter had cautiously removed all trace of emotion from her face. "I am thinking Your Majesty shall do whatever is most pleasing to them and the Wedhn boy," the Sorrowturtle said quietly to her ruler. She inclined her head slightly as a sign of her respect.
"Very well," muttered Duygu. "Sir Valen, I have made my final decision. The Mousen as a species will still lose their caves, but they may keep their jobs for now so they may continue to help me build my kingdom. Perhaps, someday, those slimy creatures will be able to pay off their debt. It is not that I blame them all," they added as Val's mouth began to open in protest, "it is that this... little incident made me realize how inexperienced and untrustworthy Mousen are. They are not used to humans. It is understandable that young Howell might mistake you as food, which means that the others could very well do the same. Hence, I say they may no longer visit the Bright Land and will leave alone any human Wedhn I summon here."
"And the Mouse Howell?" the Sorrowturtle cut in. She seemed to have given Duygu a sharp warning glance.
Duygu turned from her and stared violently at the bubbling waterfall instead. Val gazed sleepily at the pink, green, soft blue, and purple glows of the gemstones on the roughly round cave wall until it hurt his eyes to do so. "He, at Sir Valen's request, will not be banned, but will be punished."
Val softly moaned, but not even he was sure if it was a noise in defense of Howell, or encouraging the punishment.
"Tell Buster to bring that rat in," Duygu demanded. They still would not meet the saddened eyes of the Sorrowturtle, who was now soothingly stroking the silvery petals of a Sorrowblossom drooping from her shell without looking at it.
"As you wish." Val watched the Sorrowturtle as she silently stood on her four blue legs, without saying a word. She was thinking hard about something, he could tell. Barely a minute had passed - just when Val was about to ask what she was doing - when a grungy white Mouse burst in with Howell swinging by his scruff in its jaws. As he scampered forward, spitting the baby Mouse out at Duygu's feet to land in a pathetic crumbled heap, Val saw that the Sorrowturtle and her Sorrowblossoms were trembling. Even the gemstones and the water in the pond seemed to ripple with fear.
The dark grey Mouse attempted to get to his own feet, but Duygu pushed him roughly down again with a large, dark red paw to the stomach.
"Have mercy on the child," the Sorrowturtle whispered. Her small bluish eyes were welling with tears. "He does not understand what he has done."
"Look at him!" barked Duygu. "LOOK!" They stormed over to her, leaving the Mouse to restore the breath in his little lungs, and forced her head to see. The Sorrowturtle squirmed uncomfortably, but did not resist her leader's command. "Just look at him smirk," the beast snarled quietly. "That awful, awful smirk, why, I ought to claw it out of him."
"It was an accident," the Sorrowturtle murmured helplessly. "He was hungry, Duygu - ah, Your Majesty - he was hungry, you know the Mousen can rarely eat... They can't feed their children..."
"I don't care!" Duygu spun round and returned to the pile of mangy fur that was Howell. The white Mouse who was presumably Buster seemed to be trying not to watch, and had his hands on his cheeks, scratching anxiously at his dirty fur. His leader snatched up Howell by the tail in their teeth, shook him furiously, and swiped viciously at his trembling mouth with a dangerous weaponized paw. Howell squealed in pain; Val stared blankly at the river of scarlet that was gathering on the cave floor.
He felt nothing.
"He has now paid for his actions," Duygu purred silkily. As they deposited the dark grey Mouse to lay broken in his own blood on the ground once more, Val saw them flash their white teeth in a grimace and glimpsed a second flash of lesser white as Buster disappeared jnto the tunnel. "Sorrowturtle, get him up and make him run back to his parents. He can skulk in the shadows and sleep in the dirt like the rest of his kind, for all I care. As long as he's got the scar for what he's done to Sir Valen."
The Sorrowturtle obediently moved to Howell's side, the Sorrowblossoms on her shell rustling as if gossiping among themselves. She sullenly, gently scooped up Howell in her mouth and placed him on her back, so his body slid forwards to be nestled into the warm folds of her neck. "I will deliver him myself, if you do not so terribly mind." But she had gusted out of the cave like an unusually fast wind before Duygu could respond.
"Will not the people of Fortunia be unhappy about this, sir? Most especially the Mousen?" Val rolled onto his side so that rouge and reddish gold eyes met solemnly.
"The Mousen will be, yes," Duygu admitted, now baring their teeth reluctantly. "But they will not act out against me. The Teahdeean have always hated the Mousen, and will praise me for this." They did not look pleased about it, however. "As for the other monsters of Fortunia that I have not yet told you about, I cannot be sure. Most are already against the Mousen having had comfortable living quarters and such similar privileges, believing them to be a lesser race. Among the Jallap beetles, there will be talk, I expect. Ah, Sir Valen, you would like them. They love a good fight but are cowards when it comes to partaking in one. Funny critters." Duygu shook their large head, then smiled uncertainly at the Wedhn boy. "I will tell you about them, and other Fortunians, someday."
The child thought about this, everything that Duygu had explained thoroughly to him, and found the abundance of information difficult to process all at once. He settled for a simple and kind response, as he was so rattled by the events that had taken place in the course of a day that he could not think of any reason why that sort of response wouldn't make sense. "You are a good, wise leader, sir," Val smiled back tiredly, and was able to drift into a painless sleep.