Mirror Me

25: Stories from the Doddledrum

All evening I practiced sending the walnut soaring out of the mirror in Martha's lap. After a while, Daarith suggested we make a game out of it and soon we were holding the mirror up and pointing at each others' open mouths so that I could send small bits of food for us to catch and eat. Everyone laughed and had a good time. Even Owen and Daarith seemed to be getting along.

By the time the sun began to set, I had gotten pretty comfortable at scrying small objects. The miserable morning had led to a quite enjoyable evening. Daarith even shared a few of his stories from the time he was in the army.

These stories had everything from romance, to dastardly villains, to creatures I've never heard of before. If I had a pen and paper, I could finally write that book I had so longed to create.

The story about the Murdock family being a group of outlaws and cutthroats threatening civil war excited me the most. Mainly because Daarith described riding alongside centaurs swinging his fiery blade so named, Persephone's Fire, after the Murdocks had killed his wife, Persephone. I learned a lot about Daarith that evening. He had a troubled past, a falling out with the military, and a passion for music.

I found the most troubling part of his story was the time a town was attacked by ojos, invisible creatures that can only be seen through the corner of the eye. While the true form of an ojo is unknown, they are easily recognized by the moving black blur when you turn your head and a smell of burned paper. It is said that if you feel a tickling on the back of your neck, the ojo is breathing behind you and your death is certain. Surely, I hoped to never encounter such a beast.

"Oh my gosh! Those were amazing stories!" I cried like a fan at a rock concert. "So where are these centaurs?" I asked imagining the half man half horse beings I'd seen so many times in movies and books. "When are we going to meet them? How many are there? Are there other magical creatures?"

"Haha," chuckled Daarith. "I'm glad you enjoyed my tales."

"Tall tales," added Martha rolling her eyes. "Don't be filling that girl's head with too much nonsense."

"Well," said Daarith shrugging. "For the most part they are fairly true."

"It doesn't matter," I said bouncing up and down on my horse. "I still enjoyed them. But seriously, what other magical creatures are there in Tartarus?"

"There are many different kinds of creatures out there," said Daarith leaning back on his horse. "There are your rare beasts like unicorns, trolls, goblins, hobgoblins, sprites, giant snakes, and dragons. And then there are your weird ones such as squirrels with top hats who act as messengers, turtles with goat heads that enjoy poetry, and fish that walk out of the water sporting all manner of outlandish clothing from frilly lace to powdered wigs."

"You have to be joking. All that stuff sounds like something from a person with an overactive imagination."

"Exactly," interjected Martha. "Imagination is the key to that statement. You come from a place with strict rules and laws. The opposite is true for Tartarus. At times this world lacks the idea of rationality such as when rivers move uphill and rise up over cliff edges. Ancestors of yours who did not possess the ability to travel to Tartarus could view our world through their dreams. It is how your stories of mythical beasts seem to match our own."

"Oh wow!" I said. "I'm starting to see the connections." My mind was all a flutter with excitement. "I can't wait to see these creatures!"

"You won't so much in Juprus," said Daarith from his horse.

"Why not?" I asked.

"About fifteen years ago the Juprus king, King Caesar III, was overthrown by his younger brother, Cassius, after tensions arose amongst the people fearing the fulfillment of a prophecy. King Caesar, the Queen Pompeia, and his son Christanos, along with much of his court were slaughtered. The new king, King Cassius, did not like anyone different from himself and seeing as he could not control any non-humans, he sent a decree across the land for the eradication of mythical beasts. This became known as the Eradication Act. All magical creatures were to be subjugated to either death should they resist or a lifetime of servitude. Many magical beasts that had aided the nation in times past were hunted and killed. Even today the discrimination and bloodshed continues. Many magical beasts have thus gone into hiding or fled the nation entirely. That is why you won't see much here. The nations of Plutus and Neptus are far more welcoming. I for one," said Daarith, "quite enjoy the diversity. One reason why I left the military and the city life to live the rest of my days as a simple farmer."