Lamekis

by Charles de Fieux

  Our history says that for centuries there was a guard in the very place where the first Tumpingands were found and they caught many more. But one day they caught three hideous basilisks, the sight of which killed two thirds of them and the rest were so scared they ran back to the capital to tell the tragic news. The King who was reigning at the time wanted to take charge himself and led even more guards than before to meet this enemy of our species. The King himself and most of the guards behind him lost their lives.

  The next King proved himself no less determined and made it his duty to find a way to protect his people from these new enemies. To accomplish this he had a bunch of traps dug, but his efforts were useless. The elders of Kin-zan-da-or were afraid that if they kept guarding the place all the Trifoldaysters would be destroyed, so they ordered that in the future there would be no more guards in the places where the basilisks chose to live.

  This wise precaution was a grand success. Two centuries passed without any Tumpingand showing up and without any new incident, which caused us to almost totally forget about the past events until today.

  Za-ra-ouf, the prince reigning today, whose intelligence and activity earned him the throne, was coming back very late from the hunt one night and came across a Trifoldayster on the road who said to him, “Stop, Za-ra-ouf, here’s what’s bothering me: the torch of happiness enlightens strange people whose kingdom is inaccessible. Up there is a Princess the color of Ascalis who is the object of desire of all the Kings. I hope Za-ra-ouf will not let himself fall under her charms. The terrible enemy is keeping watch over his spouse. Fear the fate that has been prepared for you, a just punishment for ravishing the wife of your chief minister! Oh cowardly elders of Kin-zan-da-or, your disgraceful tolerance will get the punishment it deserves. Za-ra-ouf, the only way to appease the anger of Ver-fund-ver-ne is to lay your scepter at his feet, go back into the nothingness that you were tricked out of and under the sacred vaults of the temple atone for the crimes you are stained with.”

  Za-ra-ouf was taken aback by the boldness of the Trifoldayster. He paid back the oracle with a swipe of his zenghuis that laid him at his feet. But whatever he did, he could not get the words out of his mind. His soul was sunk in melancholy. Alone and lost in thought he fled to those who had once been so dear to him and shut himself up in the heart of the palace. He often spent many months there without a public appearance.

  One day, being more absorbed than ever in his dark thoughts, he was absently looking at the tradition of his people73 to distract himself and he stopped at the place where the Tumpingands appeared for the first time. The story interested him so much that he looked at it several times.

  The next day he gathered the elders of Kin-zan-da-or and informed them of a voyage he planned to make, he said, so as to dignify his reign by discovering in person the spot where the Tumpingands tried to invade the kingdom and he would find a way to put guards back there after such a long absence.

  The Council tried in vain to stop the project by telling him that it had been so long since a monster or basilisk appeared that he should leave things alone. But nothing could shake him. He left with only one of his ministers and after being away for three dikhados, he reappeared carrying the beautiful Princess I talked about. He told the elders of Kin-zan-da-or all about his voyage and after winning over the great Moulhoubouk74 he convinced him that Ver-fund-ver-ne had forever destined the abducted Tumpingand to be Queen of the Trifoldaysters and that she would give birth to a magnanimous Prince who would open the gates of happiness for them and exterminate the whole race of enemy basilisks.

  The elders of Kin-zan-da-or were fooled by this trick and not only changed the law that forbade the King to marry, but also, in consideration of the benefits promised by the Princess’ tubes, abolished the law requiring every Tumpingand caught in the kingdom to be put to death. And to indulge the people’s prejudice, which could have resurfaced against the future Queen, they decided that instead of death, as the old rules demanded, they would mutilate the species, as I said.

  Now, Tumpingand, (the worm man finished up) you can get over your surprise at hearing me speak your language. I am an elder of Kin-zan-da-or and it’s one of my privileges and it’s lucky for you that you fell into my hands. If you take my advice and your instinct is strong enough to ask for your monstrous limbs to be cut off, I promise to make your life easy here and you will never stop thanking Ver-fund-ver-ne for the good fortune of having met me.

  Boldeon in Trifolday

  To make me trust him more the monster spit in his hand and smeared it on my face. That’s how these people make an oath, a practice I would have willingly forgone, along with everything else. After this ridiculous ceremony whose heady smell made me sneeze, it was his turn to ask me hundreds of questions that I answered the best I could.

  After three days of walking we came to the capital where the palace, as you no doubt know, is the entire city. There they led me into Za-ra-ouf’s chamber. He seemed buried in deep sadness and at first would not even look at me. The monster who brought me had a long talk with him; then we left and I was put inside a prison cave.

  “I’m as surprised as you are,” the worm man said, “at the treatment they’re giving you, which I wasn’t expecting. I can’t understand why the King is so upset. He must suspect you of evil designs because he gave me a stiff warning to keep a close eye on you. The Princess herself is coming here for something. But whatever’s happening, don’t worry—I didn’t give you my word for nothing. I’ll go to the court and when I find out what’s going on with all this, I’ll come back and fill you in. What I suspect, however, is that Za-ra-ouf is maybe remembering the prophecy of the Trifoldayster whom he killed on the hunt. There’s a bad feeling in the air. Ver-fund-ver-ne preserve us lest the state be destroyed forever.”

  Saying this the monster left and I was drowned in a thousand thoughts, each one more troubling than the last. The intelligence and courage that I should have had at my age were useless to me. But what else did I have? Should I have ignored the fact that the older we get the weaker we get? The dangers and perils that I faced trying to get back your father’s throne, Motacoa, were nothing compared to what I was facing then. I looked sadly around my underground prison where the weak light filtering through the cracks was only good for highlighting all the horror.

  I was kept in suspense for three days awaiting my fate. Sad, woebegone and listless, I could not even bring myself to eat. The food was so different than what I was used to that I could barely look at it. But my body, devastated by an overlong fast, could no longer fight my devouring hunger and I pounced on the roasted slug that lay among the food they gave me. I was eating this awful meal against my will when I heard the rock rolling back from the opening. I shuddered at the sound, but rushed over to learn my fate. I saw the monster I knew and listened to what he had to say to me.

  “Tumpingand, I have lots of news to tell you. You were right to think that the same thing was happening to one of your comrades. He was captured the same day as you and the sadness you saw the King sunk in was from the interest the Princess showed when she saw him. He suspected that the monster was from her country and he became jealous like he’d already shown. He imagined that this Tumpingand was maybe the Princess’ lover and had come to steal her away from him, as was tried once before by one of your species who was put to death and later discovered to be her father.

  “Duly warned, the King gave secret orders that the Tumpingand be brought to him. But what bad luck! And what is everyone’s worst nightmare…the hideous basilisk that you saw caught in a trap has escaped. Everyone is scared. Why was its life saved by the leniency the King showed for the Princess? When we brought the animal to him the Princess assured him that the species was common in her country and that they only had to give it to her—she knew how to tame it and far from being a threat she would make it useful by slowly getting it used to the people of the kingdom. She convinced him that the harm coming from its eyes only happened when it was
really angry. The King was seduced by all kinds of things like that and allowed the monster to be handed over to the Princess—fatal trust! She might be the cause of all our ruin.

  “So, duly warned, as I said, that the Princess’ interest in the Tumpingand held a mystery, Za-ra-ouf secretly hid under the Princess’ throne so that when he was brought in, he could catch them as accomplices or lovers. But oh, the disastrous consequences! When the monster of your species was first brought in the Princess fainted. What more can I say? The basilisk broke its chains and protected the Tumpingand with its deadly looks and murderous foaming mouth. But their days are numbered. Everyone ran away scared and is relying on the traps to catch the terrible animal again. The elders of Kin-zan-da-or have assembled and I told them about you, bragging about your reasonable instinct, which might be useful to us on this sad day, but they argued with me and want me to bring you before the Council. So, follow me and if you can be of any use right now, you will have our fullest gratitude.”

  The monster had barely finished talking when a crowd of his kind showed up in the cave opening. Their buzzing was horrible and scared me. “Don’t be afraid,” the worm man said to me, “it’s me they want. They’ve come to tell me about some awful new turn of events.”

  One of the monsters was very animated speaking with him. He finally turned back to me, slapped his face and cried out, “Great Ver-fund-ver-ne, what have I just been told? Za-ra-ouf is dead and the Princess stolen away. The basilisk is responsible for this tragic turn of events; everyone is running away from it. The people are desolated and the elders of Kin-zan-da-or want to see you right away.”

  Then the monster grabbed me and leapt out of the cave. I was brought to the Council followed by a huge crowd of people buzzing bitter laments. Right as I entered a deep silence fell over everyone. The elders whispered together and then the one who brought me put me in their midst. “Tumpingand,” he said, “the elders of Kin-zan-da-or have discussed our sad situation and the assurance I gave them that your species lives above ours and was born in the land of happiness where the principles of light are. Now they want me to tell you that the throne has been vacated by the death of Za-ra-ouf and they will promise to make you King if you deliver us from this horrible monster who persecutes us. Take this zenghuis as a faithful pledge of our word. Go and if under your auspices we are victors and the basilisk falls, you will be carried straightway into the divine temple where the great Moulhoubouk will place the sacred crown on your head.”

  I was so surprised at this extraordinary proposition that I took the zenghuis without saying a word. It was barely in my hands when all the elders of Kin-zan-da-or surrounded me and made the customary oath by spitting in their hands and wiping my face. If I were in my right mind I would have used the weapon they gave me to avenge this ridiculous ceremony, but at the time I could do no better than suffer it. Figuring that I would meet up with you, I guaranteed the elders that I was ready to do anything they wanted. The spitting intensified and they led me into the palace where I met you.

  Motacoa’s reunion

  The Princess confirmed what Boldeon had just said and was about to add a few other details when I looked to the right and interrupted her with a cry of joy. “Oh Heavens, my mother and Lodaï are at the edge of that spring where a greenish elixir flows. Vilkonhis, I am in debt to you forever!”

  I spoke so loudly that they heard me at the spring. My mother, sitting there sunk in deep reverie, heard the sound of my dear voice, jumped up and recognized me from afar. “Oh son,” she cried rushing toward me, “you’ve come back. I won’t cry anymore.” She had no time to say more; I was already in her arms. My dear mother’s joy was so overwhelming that I feared she might die of it. Lodaï, who was running up, stopped to gather some useful herbs when he saw my mother’s soul ready to fly away. As dear as I was to him and as curious as he was to know why I had been gone for so long and who the strangers were, he continued to help my mother and only paid attention to me when she was completely over the shock. Then he showed me all the joy he had at my return.

  We spent more than an hour sharing the pleasure of seeing each other again, fumbling through what had happened to us. Lodaï told me he thought as much because he suspected that the center of the earth was inhabited. He even told me that he had once caught a glimpse of one of the monsters I described, but was so scared of being caught that he was very careful to never again wander off farther than two karies from his home, which was why he repeatedly warned me to stay nearby. He often repented not telling me the whole story, but knowing how precocious I was he kept quiet, afraid that my curiosity would do what chance ended up accomplishing. Then he told me about how desperate my mother was while I was gone and that it was a miracle she never gave up.

  After the first bursts of emotion at our reunion, Lodaï recognized Boldeon. The two longtime, close friends looked at each other with inexpressible joy. My mother could feel something about the Princess and about what I felt for her and she hugged her with as much tenderness and affection as if she were her own daughter. Then we started off for Lodaï’s house and when we got there Boldeon told his faithful friend and my mother everything he had told me about my usurped throne. The two great men of state agreed on what should be done to win it back for me without running any risk. In their plans the beautiful Nasilaë had to get married. I was ecstatic when I saw that everything was heading for my happiness, but even more so when I learned all about what the Princess had sacrificed for me.

  After a few days of well-deserved rest we begged beautiful Nasilaë to tell us how she came to be carried away by the monster Za-ra-ouf. She was more than happy and when she introduced herself as the Princess of Amphicleocles, Boldeon and Lodaï spoke up. Lodaï said, “We shouldn’t be too surprised at this extraordinary news. What strange chance, great Princess, pulled you out of such a mysterious state? Allow me,” he turned to me, “to tell the Prince why we are surprised. It will be a good introduction to your story.”

  The story of the three sons of the Sun

  The kingdom of Amphicleocles borders that of the Abdalles. Tradition says that the people never had any relations with their neighbors from your state, Motacoa, so, it’s not surprising that you don’t know about these things. But, that you might understand the Princess’ story a little better, it would be good to tell you a few things about this extraordinary kingdom.

  Our history teaches us that the people originate from Hor-his-hon-hal, the third son of the Sun. They say that one day the Father of Light was about to go back to his aerial palace when he spied a girl bathing in a river in a dark forest. Her name was Phiocles. The tradition is interrupted at this point to show that it was the first creature to appear in the world and that before this mortal was created, the Earth was inhabited only by animals and it owes its being to the intervention of the Sun and the Moon by a ray that fell straight down onto a female serpent, which died giving birth to the world. The same tradition says that Phiocles was nursed by a she-wolf, which took care of her until she did not need her help anymore.

  Hor-his-hon-hal, the meanest of the Sun’s sons, conspired with his brothers to rid themselves of their father who punished him often for his evil inclinations. Their father learned about the parricidal plot and threw them down to the Earth, saving them from harm by forming a cloud that vanished when they reached Earth.

  Phiocles was returning to a grotto where she would spend the night when she met Abdalles, the older brother of Hor-his-hon-hal. Instead of running away she gladly went up, enraptured to see another like herself. Abdalles was charmed by the beautiful mortal and soon got over his exile after Phiocles took him into her grotto. The nation of the Abdalles owes its origin to the night of this first encounter.

  One year later, while Phiocles was returning from the forest, she met Thumipgand, the other brother of Abdalles. The sight of this child of the Sun, the handsomest of the brothers, enchanted fickle Phiocles. She responded to the desires of the new lover, but afraid that Abdalles woul
d catch her and punish her for her crime, she hid away in another grotto where she spent three years with him. After this period of living in darkness flighty Phiocles abandoned Thumipgand while he was sleeping. Tradition does not say whether Phiocles’ fickleness produced any children, but as I’m speaking and thinking about what happened to you in the center of the earth, I suppose that the Tumpingands, who are spoken about so much, must owe their origin to Thumipgand—they are the same name even though they are pronounced differently.

  Phiocles was racked by remorse and decided to flee as far as possible in fear of meeting some other of her lovers’ brothers. One day as she was going down a hill she saw a man coming up to her. She started to run away as fast as she could, thinking that it was Abdalles or Thumipgand, since she did not know they had a third brother, Hor-his-hon-hal, who was the person in question. When he saw the beautiful creature his desire was awakened. He chased her but only caught up to her in the night as she fled into a grotto.

  Since she knew she could not escape from Hor-his-hon-hal and was sure that it was Abdalles or Thumipgand who had caught her, she threw herself at the feet of the third son of the Sun and spilled her secrets, praying for forgiveness. Hor-his-hon-hal heard her story and suspected that she was talking about his brothers. He was delighted that the charming lover had fallen into his hands, but did not want her to commit a third betrayal, so he locked her up in the grotto every time he had to go out to get food. As time passed he became head of a numerous race and passed a law that put to death anyone who had any communication with the neighboring states, which was daily growing bigger through his brothers’ posterity. To prevent his people from disobeying the law he had an insurmountable wall built around his kingdom, which took 100 years to complete. The wall was so high and so closely guarded that our history claims that only one man ever left the state of Amphicleocles—a man named Zo-ra-hod. He was a philosopher, curious to know the truth of all things through personal experience, and his intelligence told him that beyond the great wall he would find other men and other lands. He imagined he could fly by imitating the birds, so he fashioned wings and one day when he was on guard duty on the wall he unfolded them and soared away on the winds. He drifted into our country and it was through him that we know the history of the Amphicleocles. The Princess can tell us if what I just said is confirmed by the tradition of her country.