I don't know that this would be to anyone's taste. It is a story about how the world came to be as it is, in a way. A story teller's tale.
Spoiler
"Come one, come all, come listen to the tale that is told each fall," whispers a voice that seems to creep through the halls of the Keep. "Come one, come all, come listen to the tale that is told each fall." The whispers continue as Magis from all over the keep come and gather in the great hall. They gather with uneasy laughter. They gather in the depths of night.
In the center of the great hall sits a woman on a low three-legged stool with flame in a brazier by her seat. Her black and grey robes pooling onto floor mark her as a Magi. Her black her with a few hints of silver is left loose and wild around her, almost reaching the floor...and the fire.
She looks around at the dark hall, seeing none of the students, but they all shiver anyways as her gaze passes by them. With her fire the only light in the great hall, she knows that for the duration of the tale, she will be their entire world. A story teller's world.
She smiles out at the darkness just on the other side of her fire, "Make yourselves comfortable, for my tale may be longer than you expect and I'll tolerate no interruptions once the tale has begun," she pauses and listens as the crowd in the great hall shuffles and rustles and mumbles in all directions. As the noise dies down, she begins her tale. "At the beginning of time there was no winter. No autumn. No summer. No spring. There were no seasons at all. This was a dull life. An existence of little colour and little life. Humanity came to be, as did other dull and dreary beings. Life continued thus for time untold...Until something strange happened...." her voice, that had filled the great hall dissipated into silence. She could feel her audience lean closer to hear her.
An ear piercing whistle accompanied by a light spins up to the great ceiling from her brazier and bursts into all the colours one could imagine. The audience gasps and there is even a shreak or two as they watch the sparkling lights shimmer down towards then and disappear before they can be touched. "The first Magi came to be," she drops those words into the silence. "The First was kind and gentle and wished all things wondrous. The First wanted knowledge and companionship. The First brought the world to life...or so the story goes," she smiles in amusement at the crowd, inviting them to disbelieve her and hears a few chuckles in the audience.
"The tree grew tall and strong! Vibrant and green! The deserts spread far! strange mystical lands! The sky burst into shining blue!" on the word 'burst' an other firework takes off from her brazier as she raises her hands high into the air. The audience "Oooh"s and "Ahh"s. She settles her hands back into her lap. "That, of course, is only the beginning of the tale."
"The First gathered other Magi and gathered all the creatures that came into being with world made bright. They lived in peace and prosperity. Life continued to grow and grow and thrive beyond expectation for many years than this poor storyteller can tell you. Life continued to grow until forests became solid walls of living timbre. The meadows became so dense with grasses and flowers that you could walk across them without every crushing them beneath your feet. Even the creatures became too much. They could hardly find room to make their homes and Magi suffered just as much as any other." The fire in the brazier dimmed until only shimmering coals were left. "The world was suffocating with the life had brought such joy." She sighs with sorrow, gently shaking her head. She looks at her hands as if wondering what she could have done to make a difference.
Speaking to her hands she continues, "In great suffering a young Magi, not much older than any of you begged an audience with the First. 'Life has become too much for any of us to bear. You created it, surely you can take it away and end this suffering.' The First...did nothing," her breath hitches with the helplessness of that moment. "Other came to beg the First for help, but the First ignored them all. 'Life is good! Life is colour and laughter and joy!' The First would do nothing."
The brazier starts coming back to slow life. Adding light, but also adding dancing shadows that seem to have eyes and hands, claws and tails, shapes and flora and fauna from across the world. Look too closely, though and any images disappear. Perhaps it is just a trick of an over active imagination.
"The First had a beloved and many many children and even more grandchildren and even more great-grand children. Who knows how many generations lived at once? The First's Beloved seeing the suffering in the eyes of their children finally asked the first to put a stop to life. Enough was enough, no? Still the First refused. The Beloved would not make that choice," she finally looks up from her hands, her eyes fierce and determined, the flames in the brazier burning brighter, higher, hotter.
"The Beloved devised a spell and brought about a new thing. A thing called Death. Death would come from every living thing. It would come for the trees, the flowers, the grasses. It would come for the creatures of the woods, the mountains, the waters. It would come even for the Magi...But all in it's own time." She relaxes, the flame settling to a steady burn.
"Death is a slow thing. It comes so gradually, you might not even notice it. The Beloved was the first one taken. That was the price for being the one to unleash Death on the world, but no one noticed, because all knew that the First and the Beloved had argued and were not speaking. The trees were the first things to be noticed," she raises a hand as if to reach up and touch a branch. "The leaves changed colours, such vibrant colours. The world though that life had simply become even brighter than it was...until those leaves began to fall." Her hand slowly comes back to her lap, mimicking the motion of a falling leaf. "Once Death had claimed the trees it was easier to claim other things. Slowly all the bight colours and all the joy and all the laughter disappeared." With her words the flame dies down to little more than the size of a candle flame, "But not everything was claimed by Death. The First had time to watch all that had been created be destroyed. The First realized the Beloved was among the claimed, though none would know for many ages that it was the Beloved that had set Death loose on the world."
"Those who still lived went to the First 'Please!' they begged 'Please bring life back to the world! We cannot bear all the Death, all this loss!' but what was the First to do? Anything that was brought to life would surely be taken by Death. The First spent time in mourning for the Beloved and eventually in remembrance. With love and compassion the First planned a careful balance so that neither Life nor Death would be the only thing in our world. The plan took much time and it is said the First had much help from those who remain alive. The creatures and the Magi, working together." She straightens in her seat, her eyes casting about the room as the fire brightens and flutters as if in a breeze.
"They worked hard and long and others were claimed by Death, but still they worked until finally...they had a spell." The flame becomes unnaturally still.
"Do you know what they named the spell?" she asks the great hall, breaking the intensity of the moment. She smiles into the dark silence. "They called it Seasons."
The flame moves once more like a true flame and she continues the story, "The spell was cast and the seasons of the world came into existence. Spring was the first season that came, bring life in its wake. Summer came next and the creatures and Magi began to worry that life would once more become overwhelming. that they had not crafted their spell well enough...Until Autumn came and the leaves changed colours. The Winter, when the cold swept through the land and many things seemed to die. Again, they worried that Death would crush the world. But Spring soon followed and all rejoiced in the balance," she smiles at her audience.
"Do not fear Death, for it insures Life. Without it, we would surely live in misery. Fall is the harbinger of Death, the sign that the world is in balance, that is why we tell this tale each fall." With that the lights all around the hall slowly come to life and the audience stirs and begin to quietly talk amongst themselves. Many have questions, they always do, but no two story tellers ever give the same answer. By the time anyone thinks to ask this particular story teller any questions, they realize she is gone leaving only an ordinary brazier and little three-legged stool.
In the center of the great hall sits a woman on a low three-legged stool with flame in a brazier by her seat. Her black and grey robes pooling onto floor mark her as a Magi. Her black her with a few hints of silver is left loose and wild around her, almost reaching the floor...and the fire.
She looks around at the dark hall, seeing none of the students, but they all shiver anyways as her gaze passes by them. With her fire the only light in the great hall, she knows that for the duration of the tale, she will be their entire world. A story teller's world.
She smiles out at the darkness just on the other side of her fire, "Make yourselves comfortable, for my tale may be longer than you expect and I'll tolerate no interruptions once the tale has begun," she pauses and listens as the crowd in the great hall shuffles and rustles and mumbles in all directions. As the noise dies down, she begins her tale. "At the beginning of time there was no winter. No autumn. No summer. No spring. There were no seasons at all. This was a dull life. An existence of little colour and little life. Humanity came to be, as did other dull and dreary beings. Life continued thus for time untold...Until something strange happened...." her voice, that had filled the great hall dissipated into silence. She could feel her audience lean closer to hear her.
An ear piercing whistle accompanied by a light spins up to the great ceiling from her brazier and bursts into all the colours one could imagine. The audience gasps and there is even a shreak or two as they watch the sparkling lights shimmer down towards then and disappear before they can be touched. "The first Magi came to be," she drops those words into the silence. "The First was kind and gentle and wished all things wondrous. The First wanted knowledge and companionship. The First brought the world to life...or so the story goes," she smiles in amusement at the crowd, inviting them to disbelieve her and hears a few chuckles in the audience.
"The tree grew tall and strong! Vibrant and green! The deserts spread far! strange mystical lands! The sky burst into shining blue!" on the word 'burst' an other firework takes off from her brazier as she raises her hands high into the air. The audience "Oooh"s and "Ahh"s. She settles her hands back into her lap. "That, of course, is only the beginning of the tale."
"The First gathered other Magi and gathered all the creatures that came into being with world made bright. They lived in peace and prosperity. Life continued to grow and grow and thrive beyond expectation for many years than this poor storyteller can tell you. Life continued to grow until forests became solid walls of living timbre. The meadows became so dense with grasses and flowers that you could walk across them without every crushing them beneath your feet. Even the creatures became too much. They could hardly find room to make their homes and Magi suffered just as much as any other." The fire in the brazier dimmed until only shimmering coals were left. "The world was suffocating with the life had brought such joy." She sighs with sorrow, gently shaking her head. She looks at her hands as if wondering what she could have done to make a difference.
Speaking to her hands she continues, "In great suffering a young Magi, not much older than any of you begged an audience with the First. 'Life has become too much for any of us to bear. You created it, surely you can take it away and end this suffering.' The First...did nothing," her breath hitches with the helplessness of that moment. "Other came to beg the First for help, but the First ignored them all. 'Life is good! Life is colour and laughter and joy!' The First would do nothing."
The brazier starts coming back to slow life. Adding light, but also adding dancing shadows that seem to have eyes and hands, claws and tails, shapes and flora and fauna from across the world. Look too closely, though and any images disappear. Perhaps it is just a trick of an over active imagination.
"The First had a beloved and many many children and even more grandchildren and even more great-grand children. Who knows how many generations lived at once? The First's Beloved seeing the suffering in the eyes of their children finally asked the first to put a stop to life. Enough was enough, no? Still the First refused. The Beloved would not make that choice," she finally looks up from her hands, her eyes fierce and determined, the flames in the brazier burning brighter, higher, hotter.
"The Beloved devised a spell and brought about a new thing. A thing called Death. Death would come from every living thing. It would come for the trees, the flowers, the grasses. It would come for the creatures of the woods, the mountains, the waters. It would come even for the Magi...But all in it's own time." She relaxes, the flame settling to a steady burn.
"Death is a slow thing. It comes so gradually, you might not even notice it. The Beloved was the first one taken. That was the price for being the one to unleash Death on the world, but no one noticed, because all knew that the First and the Beloved had argued and were not speaking. The trees were the first things to be noticed," she raises a hand as if to reach up and touch a branch. "The leaves changed colours, such vibrant colours. The world though that life had simply become even brighter than it was...until those leaves began to fall." Her hand slowly comes back to her lap, mimicking the motion of a falling leaf. "Once Death had claimed the trees it was easier to claim other things. Slowly all the bight colours and all the joy and all the laughter disappeared." With her words the flame dies down to little more than the size of a candle flame, "But not everything was claimed by Death. The First had time to watch all that had been created be destroyed. The First realized the Beloved was among the claimed, though none would know for many ages that it was the Beloved that had set Death loose on the world."
"Those who still lived went to the First 'Please!' they begged 'Please bring life back to the world! We cannot bear all the Death, all this loss!' but what was the First to do? Anything that was brought to life would surely be taken by Death. The First spent time in mourning for the Beloved and eventually in remembrance. With love and compassion the First planned a careful balance so that neither Life nor Death would be the only thing in our world. The plan took much time and it is said the First had much help from those who remain alive. The creatures and the Magi, working together." She straightens in her seat, her eyes casting about the room as the fire brightens and flutters as if in a breeze.
"They worked hard and long and others were claimed by Death, but still they worked until finally...they had a spell." The flame becomes unnaturally still.
"Do you know what they named the spell?" she asks the great hall, breaking the intensity of the moment. She smiles into the dark silence. "They called it Seasons."
The flame moves once more like a true flame and she continues the story, "The spell was cast and the seasons of the world came into existence. Spring was the first season that came, bring life in its wake. Summer came next and the creatures and Magi began to worry that life would once more become overwhelming. that they had not crafted their spell well enough...Until Autumn came and the leaves changed colours. The Winter, when the cold swept through the land and many things seemed to die. Again, they worried that Death would crush the world. But Spring soon followed and all rejoiced in the balance," she smiles at her audience.
"Do not fear Death, for it insures Life. Without it, we would surely live in misery. Fall is the harbinger of Death, the sign that the world is in balance, that is why we tell this tale each fall." With that the lights all around the hall slowly come to life and the audience stirs and begin to quietly talk amongst themselves. Many have questions, they always do, but no two story tellers ever give the same answer. By the time anyone thinks to ask this particular story teller any questions, they realize she is gone leaving only an ordinary brazier and little three-legged stool.
Edit: (the following day...) And it only occurs to me now that a story of how the Magi came to be already exists. Completely slipped my mind in the midst of inspiration. -sigh- Oh well. I definitely won't win, but it was fun to write anyways and after having done the work I don't want to just delete it out of hand.
