Lamekis

by Charles de Fieux

  I was in a sumptuous room lying on a bed surrounded by aerial spirits who were talking together in an unknown language. One of them hit me with a crystal wand that had a wonderful effect: I could instantly understand their foreign language.

  “Princess,” the Spilghis said, “the time has come for you to lose everything that is dearest to you. Sacrifice it to the one you worship. The loss will be replaced by someone who will make you happy and the most powerful Queen on Earth. His name is Motacoa. Remember this name well and remember also that Vilkonhis is the Universal Master and he should be worshipped everywhere you rule.”

  Saying this the spirit disappeared. In his place a frightening monster brandished a zenghuis. I screamed in fright. It looked like that insidious Za-ra-ouf and he was trying to grab me. A handsome young man showed up ready to help me, but he was snatched away by another enemy of my peace. I was so affected by the violence that I jumped up to stop it, but as I stretched out my arm my hand was sliced off. It hurt so much and seemed so real that I woke up with a start, panting bitterly.

  (I could not help interrupting Ascalis Nasilaë here (Motacoa said), surprised as I was by the perfect similarity between her dream and mine. The Queen, my mother, and those listening were also fascinated by the peculiarity. After answering a few questions on the matter, the Princess continued her story.)

  Although the dream made a strong impression on me, it was nothing compared to the second conversation with Za-ra-ouf. Indeed, how could I have anticipated the new persecutions being prepared for me? What kind of proof of love was that? No one ever did the likes of it! After repeating that I had become the most precious thing in the world to him, the tyrant told me that since it was not the custom in his country to have legs, thighs and all that, he managed, in order to prove his love, to have them cut mine off so that nothing would stand in the way of me being his Queen. It was useless for me to protest that I did not want to be his Queen or to be mutilated. Looking proud and confident, which angered me, he tried to prove that both were necessary, stupidly dwelling on how much better it was going to be for me afterward.

  As firm as Za-ra-ouf was on the matter, his passion for me delayed the barbarous operation. But alas, I paid dearly for his acquiescence. One night while I was brooding over my unlucky destiny, I heard someone walking softly, trying not to make any noise, in the room next to mine. I trembled in fear and screamed out.

  “Stop screaming, Ascalis Nasilaë,” said a voice that went straight to my heart, “or you will lose your father who is risking his life to see you again.”

  Oh Heavens, how delighted I was to hear that! I got up, went to meet him and threw myself in his arms. A long time passed in this sweet embrace until a thought broke in: we could be caught. A dozen worm women were on guard in the next room. I told this to the Lindiagar and he said, “I am prepared for everything and I know that it is morally impossible to escape my fate. But my daughter, I will die happy.”

  “Father, let’s go, let’s run,” I urged. “We don’t have to risk our precious lives. We must be able to get out of here if you could get in so stealthily.”

  “I only hope that the extraordinary means that brought me here can fulfill our mutual desires! I will tell you, but first, hide me somewhere so I can wait for the plot to unfold that alone can accomplish our desires. If we can get two days, Za-ra-ouf will be finished and you will be free. That’s what I need and it will work, if the glory of the sovereign mover of all things allows it.”

  I was pretty stunned by what he said, but without saying a word I thought about where I could possibly hide my noble father from prying eyes. I did not want to take any risks—chance always destroys the best-laid plans. My bed was big and I spent almost all day and night in it crying, so since I had no reason to leave it, that is where I hid the great Lindiagar. He agreed that it was the best place. After getting as comfortable as he could, he told me how he came to be there.

  The Lindiagar’s adventure

  As heart-rending as your abduction was for me, Nasilaë, I did not lose my head. I ordered my Froul-bracs239 to do their best to follow you and promised that whoever could tell me where you were would be given a province as a reward. A few days later one of them came back. He had kept you in sight and left only when he saw you enter this place. I was so happy with the news that I showered him with riches to add to his governorship and he was so thankful that he offered to risk his life to take you a message and bring one back, but, my daughter, I loved you too much to confer this mission on anyone else. This loyal subject and I prepared to come find you together and steal you back if possible. The plan I drew up was irresponsible, but I was defiant; I paid no attention to hurdles or snags.

  No sooner had I formed the plan than I put it in action. The Froul-brac and I left and after a long, tiresome march we came into the center of the earth. I will spare you all the dangers I faced and the close calls I escaped. It would take three days to tell you everything and right now time is too precious to waste. I will only tell you about the adventure we had near the capital, which gave me hope of seeing you freed. The great Vilkonhis did this, I’m sure, for our mutual consolation. I hope that he wants to bring it to a happy end!

  While crossing a rocky place, we heard ghastly screams from somewhere nearby. I stopped and looked around, but it was so dark there that I could barely see a thing. I slipped between two huge stones and saw something awful. 20 monsters were surrounding another and torturing it violently: the strongest were holding it down while some were bringing up basketfuls of rocks and others were stuffing them into the mouth of the poor thing. They forced the sharp stones down its throat with an iron rod all the way to its stomach. I shuddered at the sight. If I were able to help the sufferer, I would have done it, but what could I do against 20 monsters—the strength of one of them was enough to bring down an entire army of our men. I prayed to the Supreme Being to take pity on the worm man and it did not take long to see that my prayers were answered.

  In fact, soon thereafter all the monsters abandoned the sufferer. When I figured that it was safe to approach, I did so. The worm man was stretched out on the ground, barely breathing. His stomach was so full of rocks that they were coming out of his mouth, which was ripped open by the last stone forced in. It made me more tearful than fearful. “Heavens,” I cried out, “how can creatures of the same species be so savage to each other?” The words I poured out from my heart made the dying monster open its eyes and seem to recognize my compassion. Its heavy hand reached up to take the cruel stone out of its mouth, but it was too weak. Its hand dropped and its eyes closed again.

  A humane sentiment took hold of me and I said to my loyal Froul-brac, “Let’s try to take out that stone and, if possible, the others that are killing the poor thing. Maybe a little help will do some good.” I wasn’t wrong. After a great deal of effort, we got the stone out. The monster opened its eyes again and breathed, or rather sniffed. It was easy to see that if we could dig out his throat it would get back the life it was on the verge of losing. Thus inspired we set to work. Its throat was so big that we could both stick our arms down it at the same time. For eight hours straight we removed the rubble covered in blood and sand. There was no end to it and we started to worry that we would not be able to take out everything that was crammed in. Then nature, clever as always, did better than us. Breathing easier now thanks to our efforts, the monster sneezed so violently that it threw us 30 feet away. Luckily we landed on a bed of moss from where we saw the monster vomiting piles of rocks and sand. He was holding his sides and trying so hard to throw up everything that the caves around us resounded with his retching.

  After a good hour of discharge, the worm man slapped his hands on his scaly240 butt,241 made a huge leap, dried his face with sand and looked around as if searching for something. He saw us, spanked himself again and jumped over to us.

  My natural reaction was to imitate Froul-brac, who ran away as soon as he saw the monster heading for us, but an idea held me back. It
is not natural, I thought, that a man be ungrateful for such a vital service as we just did. So, I waited.

  “Tumpingand,” it said, licking my face242 with its huge tongue, “don’t be afraid. I owe you my life. I was sentenced to death by the cruel Za-ra-ouf for opposing his marriage, which the laws of the state forbid. Without you I would have entered the void. There is nothing in the world that I won’t do for you to show my gratitude. Without asking why you are here in this place I will serve you like a slave. That’s the rule243 here when you owe your life to someone. I conform to it with pleasure, especially since you had no reason to rescue me. You risked your life to save mine. Bour-bourouk.”244

  I congratulated myself silently for putting the monster in a position to be beholden to me and I considered how I could put his obedience to good use. Oh daughter, imagine how comforted I was in knowing that not only was he going to help me, but he was ready to second me in my secret plans. And he told me more. He said it would be his great pleasure to take vengeance on Za-ra-ouf. He even added that his justified anger urged him to it; he was set on punishing him. He swore that he himself did not deserve what he got and so it was a matter of honor to overthrow the tyrant, who was hated by everyone for his savagery. He also admitted that the death of the King had been coming for a long time, but he had made himself so imposing that no one had tried to attack him yet. It was different now. By wanting to marry you, my daughter, his crime would weave the web in which he would inevitably perish.

  So, it shouldn’t surprise you, Nasilaë, (my illustrious father continued), that I got into the palace so easily. The monster became my slave and since he was all-powerful before his disgrace and his family holds almost all the high positions at the moment, he secretly met with his relatives and they conspired together to put Za-ra-ouf’s brother on the throne. They will take advantage of his time with you to stick him with the grangard245 and they promised to help us escape as long as you give the conspirators time to enter your room by keeping the tyrant with you as long as possible. They say it won’t be hard for you. He loves you beyond words and you haven’t done a thing. It’s not hard to make it easy for them. And it’s a matter of your freedom and happiness. The barbarian deserves to die because of the outrage that we’ve suffered and we should be ever so happy that the Heavens have worked in our favor so plainly.

  Nasilaë witnesses a bloody tragedy

  I had nothing to say to all this and I promised to do whatever they asked. My father’s slave monster came back at the break of day and told us that everything was ready for the plot. Success seemed assured, but the Heavens were looking unfavorably on our attack. Za-ra-ouf was too much in love or had some kind of premonition about his fate: he arrived when they were not expecting him. My father and his slave were talking with the pretender about how they should free me and the clever monster, instead of exploding in anger, snuck away and ordered his guards to come back and catch us. The unlucky conspirator was handed over to the death squad again, which he had now earned twice, and my father was strangled by the tyrant’s own hands.

  The bloody tragedy took place right next to me. I was so desperate that I tried to kill myself. Za-ra-ouf stopped my hand about to plunge a sword into my breast. Although he tried to make me feel better, I continued to grieve. He could not know how hard it was for me see the death of the one he called the Tumpingand traitor. When he finally realized how inconsolable my grief was, he had the body taken to the mausoleum, thinking that this show of respect would appease me. But his efforts were in vain! The only way to ease my sorrow was to take his life.

  While all this was happening, Za-ra-ouf’s Council and the people were pressing him to hurry up with my mutilation. He tried to talk me into going to the punishment peaceably and then threatened to force me if I refused. In this situation I knew I had to stall him, so I promised that I would give in if he found two of my species to set an example. My guarantee filled him with joy. He ordered the public tracking and promised extraordinary rewards to his subjects if they brought him the Tumpingands—they had become so rare that I figured I would never be mutilated. I had the tyrant’s word and having learned the customs246 of the country I had no doubt that he would keep his promise to the letter.

  While the savage King was working hard to bring his plans to fruition, a public calamity broke out that made the people bitter against him: Falbao showed up. The monsters remembered the fatal effects that his kind always had and that all their precautions were useless. They thought they had to sacrifice everything not to become its prey and they grumbled against their Ruler, saying that his breaking the laws had brought this scourge upon them. Za-ra-ouf was not surprised by the rumors and worked it so well that the basilisk (as they called the loyal dog) was caught. Everything I was told made me very curious to see it and become its master. I wanted to get hold of the animal so I could protect it from the hateful monsters. That was the reason I pretended to have knowledge that I did not have.

  The rest of my story you already know, Motacoa, (the Princess of the Amphicleocles continued). You were caught and I awaited your arrival in fear. I thought I was done for when Za-ra-ouf told me that he had finally got hold of the two Tumpingands who would be mutilated with me. In order to make the ceremony as authentic as possible he put me on the throne where I was bound to reign, he said, forever. Some Trifoldayster, jealous of my promotion, had made him suspicious so he hid to see if he was right. He knew your name, which he had learned from the monster who had taken Boldeon. He remembered you. So, I was trembling and recalled the mysterious dream in which you had play such a large part. Your coming proved it was real. I fainted when I recognized you as the one from my dream. When I came to, I was next to that savage Za-ra-ouf.

  I don’t want to say anything else (Nasilaë said) because the Prince has told you what happened after our fortunate meeting. I owe him everything and I will never forget it! Otherwise I would be the most thankless creature on Earth.

  Motacoa and family go into hiding

  We thanked the beautiful Princess of the Amphicleocles for being kind enough to tell us her story. We admired its singularity and we spent the rest of the day thinking about it. At the break of dawn the next day Boldeon went to see how we could leave the Inner Earth. He came back that evening and told us it was easy if we just went back the same way we came into the monstrous regions. The next day we set out and on the third day we reached Boldeon’s house where we took all the necessary precautions to hide ourselves carefully.

  Boldeon informed us the next day that my father had learned about Nasildaë’s innocence through his experiments and had gone down into the pit of Houzaïl to look for her, but there had been no word from him since then. He said that the chief minister was dead and Ruraos, who had married his daughter, was more powerful than ever. He had killed or exiled everyone who might try to put me back on the throne. Not satisfied with this savagery (our firm friend continued) he made a thorough search for everyone who was attached to the former King.

  “This place is not safe for you, Prince,” he turned to me. “We all have to go to the other end of the kingdom, live quietly and raise no suspicions about who we are until the time is more favorable. There we can wait for the results of the covert plot I put into action to get you back on the throne. I will tell you later, but when it’s time, you will show yourself for who you really are and take back the place that is rightfully yours.”

  We knew Boldeon too well. He knew too much for us not to do exactly what he said. Three days later we left and when we arrived here the Princess of the Amphicleocles wanted to unite her fate with mine. It was decided that she would return to her kingdom and put me on her throne. But Boldeon, who had been sent on her behalf, said that after the great Lindiagar’s departure, the people revolted, reestablished the worship of Fulghane and declared the Princess incapable of ever governing. The cruel turn of events was instigated by the priests who had been chased away. My loving wife was sourly affected by the news because she realized she co
uld not give me the crown that her generous heart had wanted for me. I was very grateful, of course; such sentiments are worthy of admiration and I swore to her that she was more precious to me than all the thrones in the universe.

  We lived a calm, easy life until the death of my mother the Queen disturbed our tranquility. We missed her a lot and she deserved it. Ruraos was occupying my throne and, what I had just learned, Lamekis, (Motacoa continued) changed my situation a lot. See, after Boldeon put us there, he stayed incognito at the Court on my behalf. I had just got news from him to keep myself ready to leave at the first sure sign that the party that he had formed for me was in power. I would be on my ancestors’ throne soon. That, dear child, (Motacoa told me as he squeezed my knee), is where things stand at the moment for me. It would probably be better not to talk about the important service that I did on the day before bringing you here when I saved your father’s life, but it is far too much to your interest not to give it the attention it deserves.

  One day as I was coming back with Falbao from fishing, something I did since coming here to hide my identity, I spied the boat you were on, with the others dead or dying. Being curious and humane I hurried to reach you in time. Night was falling and I could barely see things around me and by the time I had waded through the waters it was too late. Your boat was sinking fast and the others were drifting off. I was about to leave when Falbao dove into the sea and brought you back up, Lamekis. I guess you’d been forgotten on the boat. I was glad that I could at least save you and I carried you to my home. The next day I learned in the neighboring town that they had caught some whites and taken them to the King. I was sure that they were the poor folks who had drifted off the night before and my curiosity led me to where they were being held. The majesty of the old man earned my sympathy. I explained to him what happened very simply and imagine my surprise when your wise father thanked me because he spoke my language as well as I did. Just then I was alone with the venerable old man and told him how sorry I was that I could not save his life and that I was not lucky enough to do for him what I had done for you. He interrupted me excitedly and asked me to describe you. Recognizing you from my description he looked up at the sky, screamed,247 and told me you were his son. He said he could die happy because you were saved. And he seemed so, in fact, and told me about some of his adventures and the persecutions that he had endured at the hands of the savage Semiramis. I was keenly interested in this detail and learned from him how to keep you from falling into the hands of the King by dying your face the color of the people here. He thanked me effusively and left you to my care. I was going to reassure him on the only regret he had in seeing those who were with him die by telling him that only white males were subject to the cruel punishment, but the guards were suspicious of our long conversation and forced me to leave. I have heard nothing since then of your noble father, but it is likely that he suffered his fate. The tyrant was too jealous of the destruction of the whites to pardon him and that is why I told you he was dead. By the Father of Light I hope I’m wrong and he was saved so that he will have some solace one day.