The Gift From Poseidon: When Gods Walked Among Us (Volume 2) (22 page)

BOOK: The Gift From Poseidon: When Gods Walked Among Us (Volume 2)
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Marseea gazed in Achaemenes direction.  His role as the Arachna king of old now beckoned.  Arachna not owners of the most expressive face, the one of this present day king playing an ancient one appeared especially vacant.

“Aside from the gods delivering something of their own hands,” Achaemenes announced, “no matter our efforts, nothing my kind creates can top this golden clepsydra.  Not only today, but most likely every day to come thereafter.  The prospect of giving a gift after you received one with no equal – what can I do?”

The Arachna king took a quick moment to glance to each side.  He then pushed forward two finely crafted rolling cages.  One pink and one baby blue cloak covered each.  With a dramatic pause, he pulled off both at the same time.

“Perhaps cute, cuddly, and living will do the trick.”

Gasps and cheers greeted the sleepy gazes of the very young male and female giant pandas.  Hezekiah came up alongside one and Judiascar the other.  The sudden sight of this gathered trio instantly woke the pandas.  Innocent, adorable, and lazy without a doubt, pandas also owned keen senses and a better than average sniffer that loathed Gryphons and Arachna with equal prejudice.  These young ones no different, they now barked and hissed in fear as they turned in tight circles.

Seeing the doors to both cages swing open, each bolted through the doors as if in a race.  Escaping ramps dead ahead – the little balls of fluff more tumbled down the ramps gracefully than clumsily bounded down them.  Once at the end of these ramps, both thankful baby cubs landed in the cradling arms of their regal protector: Queen Medea.  Having knelt down to receive them, she sprung to her feet.

“Are those mean old Gryphons and Arachna trying to get you?” Medea asked playfully as she flashed a wide smile for the now fawning audience.  The little creatures nestled into her richly colored robes as if Sapiens babies.  With one in each arm, the pandas peeked toward the audience.  After a handful of grateful whimpers, Marseea could have sworn she saw them nod their heads to answer.

And with this grand entrance by way of a hasty exit, the performance ended.  Standing ovations and stuffy parties to last far into the night would come next.

*****

Arachna Majora were unique creatures with two very different sides.  The first was that they were brilliant beings.  On the other side, however, they had no choice but to rely on their most basic instincts to feed themselves.  That they refrained from attacking an animal as helpless as a panda was perhaps the greatest sign of their intelligence.  Gryphons were brilliant as well, but could not always help themselves.  Mermaids wielded the power and skill to keep this savageness in check, but even they could not do so
all
the time.

This thoughtful gift to Queen Medea – from a kind the giant pandas despised no less – just might have saved the species.  During this age, as Atagartis did not yet stand in their way, Sapiens had begun to expand west of Elkabydos.  Rolling hills wandering into scenic beaches that washed into the sea – who could blame them?  Those moving west would have most likely hunted and killed those pandas too curious to hide from the spears of men.  That the black and white bundles of fluff could melt Medea’s heart suggested that they would make wondrous pets and domestication took hold swiftly thereafter.

Since the Knowing Time began, gold, jewels, land, and livestock had defined riches.  But there were so many of those things and so few of these gentle animals.  More soon living inside the city walls than outside them, giant pandas fast became
the
symbol of wealth.  Hundreds alive for thousands who craved one, with each new day, the value of pandas rose ever higher.  Status symbols of the rich, famed, and glamorous, Sapiens used them to lead golden chariots – up to four at a time.  Owners of little endurance, this was just fine as purposeful application was hardly the point.  None still left in the wild, the remaining pandas of the current age lived in the handsome stables to the southeast of the Sapien prefecture.

*****

The cool calm of spring melting into the searing scorch of summer, on the morn of midsummer’s eve was when Marseea first heard of it.  Word had come from the west – from Hezekiah, of course – that Mermaids braving the northern waters captured a most heinous monster.  This monster came to them not by way of force, but willingly.  A grand prize, a main attraction – careful heavenly creatures!  Beware your bestial trophy.  To parade about such a wild creature tempts disaster no matter the care taken to keep it caged.

Chapter Eighteen
DON’T PET THE TROLL

 

A good historian rarely seeks out and finds events ripe for the scribing.  Much more often, she instead stumbles upon history in the making whether she intends to or not.  On a voyage out to sea that I had little interest in taking, I did just that.  One might call Theodoric a fool for ordering such, but what is the worst that can happen?  We are Mermaids after all – drowning is not a fear the gods have burdened us with.  Husband to Queen Diedrika, father to our Gift from Poseidon – BE BOLD, THEODRIC!  For failure to do so would be the quickest path to dishonoring them both.

 

– Penelope, Mermaid Historian

– End of Spring, Year 4,253 KT
[22]

With each coming year, Centaurs found they had less to trade with Mermaids than the year before.  The seafood harvests Mermaids gathered in late fall of each year were critical to Centaurs; without this bounty, some would most likely starve during the savage winters.  Meats, fruits, and vegetables farmed by those of the East were in no way enough to offer in return, however, so Centaurs traditionally tried to make up this gap through building projects throughout the land.  They had built Atagartis – not Mermaids or Gryphons.  Large structures and monuments aplenty in both the shared city and every capital; in truth, there was little left to build.

“Perhaps on land this is true,” Theodoric told Diedrika in early spring, “but what about the sea?  Our fleet of single-sail fishing ships are slow and near ancient.  The new ships Viracocha showed me last year are much faster and more can be caught with them.”

Penelope nodded her agreement.


Theodoric
,” Diedrika replied as if speaking to a youngling.  “The noose I have carefully tied is now draped around the Centaurs’ collective necks.  Ready to tighten my grip around those of the East,
my
husband – the closest thing to a captain we have – suddenly wants new ships to play with!”

Queen Diedrika sat in the most elegant of thrones.  Made of mostly marble and some Kauri wood, Iisinia was the first Mermaid queen to have occupied it.  Its ancient builders had overlaid all of the wood in gold leaf, but this was hardly the throne’s most spectacular detail.  Not even its base perfectly molded for Diedrika’s tail drew one’s eyes to it first.  What made one who had never before seen this throne stare at it in stunned silence was what its sculptors had molded not below, but above.  The massive head of an Orca carved from bronze rose over the top of the throne.  And if this majestic detail was not enough to capture one’s awe, then the bejeweled Gryphon wings that sprouted out from just behind each eye and spanned six full pike lengths across certainly did.

“Did you hear, Judiascar?” Diedrika called.

Out of the shadows from behind her throne stepped forth the king.  A throne to her right available for him, he only sat in it when other Gryphons were in the throne room.

“Viracocha has designed fancy new fishing ships,” she continued, “and Theodoric wants them.  So not only are we going to give Centaurs something to actually trade with this year, but also, at the same time, give them the
perfect
reason to whine about wanting more seafood because we now sail better ships.”

“From the eastern edge of the old city west,” Judiascar growled, “Mermaids rule the northern waters.  What is the point of fishing ships when the greatest predators in the sea are under Mermaid command?”

“You are right, Great King,” Theodoric replied.  “Orcas are indeed the Grim of the seas, but same as the Grim, they hunt for but one creature at a time.  Each year we need to catch hundreds of thousands of fish – not just a few.”

“Centaurs are already in deficit to us for a full two years of harvests,” Penelope reminded them.  “How many ships does Viracocha promise and for how many years do they expect this trade to account for?”

“Twenty-four,” Theodoric answered back.  “Twenty-four newly built ships much better than ––”

“The
only
reason,” Diedrika interrupted, “I ever allowed the Centaurs to fall into deficit was so we could stockpile Arachna silk.  We are close to gathering all we require and the time is near when we will no longer accept such terms.  I will demand of the Chiron that this trade – a trade I am still wary of – clears only the current deficit and nothing more.”  Diedrika took in a deep breath and looked long and hard at her husband.  “Are these ships
really
that important to you, Theodoric?”

“I promise my darling wife; next year, as if my lips are stung by a thousand bees, I will keep my mouth shut and ask for nothing more.”

Diedrika smirked at this.  Next, her eyes pointed in Judiascar’s direction.  “What do you think, my trusted protector?  Do I dare grant such a wish?”

Judiascar practically purred as he circled Theodoric.  After his second time around, he stopped in front of him, sat down, sniffed the air, and then looked directly at him.  “A purely selfish request – I like it!”


Seriously?
  You merciful fools are killing me!” Diedrika cried as she threw her hands into the air.  “
Fine
, Theodoric, you can have your fleet of wooden toys.”

*****

Alexander gladly accepted Queen Diedrika’s terms for new ships.  Their old ships used oar power and only a single sail; a half dozen sails as well as oars could propel these new ones.  But one material allowed such grand vessels – Arachna silk.  Silk held thrashed planks of wood tightly together.  Multiple strings twisted around each other let a creature raise or pull almost any load and, when woven in with other fibers, silk helped to make the result a great deal stronger.  There were but two ways to cut a thick silk strand: The clear, pasty goo Arachna used to dissolve their food before eating or a white-hot flame.

Twenty-four delivered fishing ships later; Theodoric just could not wait to break one in.  So excited to get his chance to do so, he begged Penelope to come as well.  “Once we unfurl its massive silk sails and point her in the right direction,” Theodoric bragged to her, “this new ship will race across the sea faster than an Orca can swim.”

Penelope was not fond of ships or sails, but had little else to do on this day and grudgingly accepted.  Theodoric was probably the most experienced mariner of any Mermaid, but this was not saying much.  Lords of the northern waters, worshippers of the god of the sea; curiously, Mermaids were rather poor sailors.  That they lacked legs and instead relied on swinging from rigging and bouncing on their tales about the deck – perhaps
this
was the simplest answer as to why.

Theodoric, his first mate named Kybernus, Penelope, and thirty other Mermaids would sail on this maiden voyage.  Upon boarding one of the handsome new ships, they eagerly pushed off.

“These shallows so close to home bore me, Kybernus,” Theodoric declared soon after launch.  “It is time to set free this grand vessel upon the open water.  Give the command, my friend, and let us do so.”  The first mate happily did as ordered.

To beach this new ship on some rocky coast and have to swim home was probably the worst that could happen to these green sailors of a bluish hue.  Mermaids, of course, had no fear of drowning.  Still, for such clumsy sailors, this was a rather rash command.  The heavenly creatures still mortal, there were other ways to die at sea.

Made from a more red than brown, sweet smelling wood, the ship was about twelve pike lengths long.  On a single level and at each side were twenty-two oars stations, forty-four in total.  Along with four smaller sails, two huge sails – one a good bit behind the other and strung to offset masts – towered over the ship.

Midsummer close, it was a dazzling day.  A sun that had not set in weeks – and would not again for a few more – peaked out every now and then from behind the fluffiest of clouds.  Although a Mermaid could swim on and on until she ran out of sea, Penelope rarely ventured far from Atagartis.  At first wondering why she allowed her day to be wasted, the further they sailed into open water, the more the sights and smells of it all delighted her.

Atagartis far out of sight, it became clear that the power and ability of this novel ship was too much for the unproven sailors to handle.  Quite simply, they had no experience with such a sleek vessel.  Lacking the skill to sail the ship through trained instinct, Penelope watched nervously as the sailors had to stop and think about each next step before actually doing it.

The winds that swirled across the sea now blowing straight west, no one intended to follow the route that could lead to madness.  To wander too far from the Pool of Torment and Discovery resulted in forgetting all that led you to that point in the first place.  Once such confusion swept over the mind, the Grim pranced just behind.  Theodoric wanted Kybernus to sail east, but their best efforts could only point them due north – this was even worse than heading west.  If they found themselves in the shadows of the northern glaciers, there would be no time for madness.  Only death.  And not of the wandering kind.

Although the weather was still warm, for the last league or so, they noticed a good many ice flows in the water.  Theodoric commanded his crew to halt their northern trek; they were now dangerously close to the Land of Abomination.  A dying wind helping as well, the ship was soon no longer adrift.  At least twice, Penelope could have sworn she saw a massive shadow upon the sea with the outline of a giant bird, but saw nothing both times she looked skyward.

“Direct the lead sail in a more westerly direction,” Theodoric instructed Kybernus.  “This will allow the winds flowing in the same manner to turn our ship around and head east.”  With his hands, he directed why and how the western winds could turn the ship in the opposite direction a novice might expect.  The first mate – now at Theodoric’s right and facing the bow of the ship – looked up at the wind-filled sails and nodded his understanding, but said nothing.

Kybernus was a rare sight.  Although his position (second in command) surely suggested ability, he was a portly male who appeared more untidy than not.  In regards to Mermaids, these last two unflattering qualities were quite rare.  Penelope was even further to Theodoric’s right and a little behind Kybernus.  Little else to do but listen and learn, she kept one eye on them and, to her left (the ship’s port side), looked across the sea with the other.

“Let us go north no more, my friend,” their captain continued.  As he peeked to his right, Theodoric locked onto Penelope’s bulging eyes and quivering lips.  With a single finger, she pointed over his shoulder.  “We don’t want to run,” following this finger, he looked over the port side as well, “smack … into …” he cocked his head.


A Yeturi
,” Penelope mouthed.  Theodoric could not hear these words – no one could – but this mattered not.  Her horrified look needed no explanation.

Theodoric likewise beheld the shocking, though depressing sight staring back at them.  Dejected, sun-beaten, and sitting atop a small ice flow was a member of the very race they feared crossing paths with – today or
any
day.  Theodoric slowly turned to Kybernus.  The first mate oblivious to the stranded Yeturi a few dozen pike lengths to his left, he still looked skyward at the sails they were just discussing.  With his right hand, Theodoric placed an open palm under the first mate’s triple chin.  Fingers wrapped around the chubby face, he gently turned the squishy head on its blubbery swivel to the port side of the ship.  The colorless terror suddenly in sight, Kybernus screamed and bounced back awkwardly on his tail.  Wobbly for a moment, he then fell hard to the deck.  His bulging belly did not cause him to trip over himself, but most likely helped pick the direction in which he tumbled.

Theodoric helped Kybernus back onto his tail.  Penelope joining them, the three glided to the port side of the fishing ship and leaned up against the edge.  The first mate’s screech as if kindling to fire, within moments, word had spread of the sighted Yeturi and every Mermaid now made his way to the port side.  With trembling hands, Penelope hurriedly pulled her charcoal stylus and a few bamboo strips from her pack.  She then began to draw what shocked eyes told her.  A few moments later, Kybernus stole a quick peek at Penelope’s barely started sketch.

“I’ve seen them in drawings and paintings,” he drawled after a long, thoughtful pause, “but never a live one.  Would almost feel sorry for it if not such a heinous monster.”  Kybernus turned to Theodoric.  “Don’t suppose you know how it wound up stuck in such a predicament?”

“Although I have never heard of it,” Theodoric replied with slow, careful words as they continued to watch the Yeturi bob up and down with the waves, “my only guess is that, well, maybe this unlucky ogre is an outcast.  Banished from its colony perhaps?  As only one settlement exists that we know of, where else is there for it to go?  I must admit, I am curious though.  How did it manage to float so far out to sea?  As it is still alive, whatever happened to it could not have come about more than a couple of days ago.”

Theodoric directed the ship to come close to the strayed brute, but still far enough away so that the Yeturi could not easily climb aboard.  Curiously, it did not even bother to make the attempt.  The snow-white troll just watched.  After loading some jugs of fresh water onto it, the sailors lowered a boat tied to a silk rope.  All looked on in shock as the Yeturi swam to and climbed inside the small craft.  It gulped down every jug of refreshing water and then just sat its fluffed rump in the middle of the boat.

“Well,” Kybernus drawled, “now what?”

“That is a good question, my friend.”  Theodoric peeked at Penelope.  Her wry smile and intense stare made it obvious as to what she believed he ought to do.  He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a small smirk of his own.  “As Atagartis has been rather quiet for a while … I suppose we could bring it back home with us?”

“Bring
that
monster to Atagartis?  I really don’t ––”

“I could not agree more, Theodoric,” Penelope interrupted in a proud voice.

“Oh, I was just about to say that too!” Kybernus blurted as both his chins and belly nodded up and down.

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