Lack of Soul to Lack of Light

My Aunt Doris was the storyteller of the family. No one knows where she learned it all, but she had an explanation for everything. Whether it be the seasons, the random chills that pass through the body, or the cause of the clouds of the sky, she had a fantastical myth for every question. Some of them were questionable, but the one I find hardest to shake is the cause of the eclipse.

It all started in the kingdom of Selene. In ancient times, Selene was the picture of life and prosperity. There were fountains in every courtyard, murals on every wall, and great buildings that seemed to deny the laws of physics. In fact, all architecture in this great kingdom defeated the architecture of every other kingdom in the country, perhaps even the world. You see, its ruler, King Luzifan, had made a deal with the Great Spirits. It was agreed that so long as the city remained beautiful, it would grow to be the most prosperous kingdom in the entire world, and that he would achieve immortality.

As strange as it may seem, the promise rang true. There were fish ever flowing in the rivers, bountiful crops regardless of the season, and rain even when the rest of the country was in drought. When the King determined the mountains to be mined, gold was struck on the first ring of an axe. King Luzifan remains not only alive, but as strong and healthy as a man half his age. For nearly a decade, everything was perfect. The people were strong, well-fed, and joyous to be living in such a wonderful place with a King that had made such an intelligent deal. Until one day, when an accident occurred.

The Great Courtyard was located at the center of the kingdom, just outside the castle walls. It was built in the shape of a star, with points stretching out between the shops that ringed the edges. The very center contained a grand fountain. No one could completely agree on the shape and nature of the fountain. It had been a gift from the Great Spirits, appearing one day when lightning struck in the middle of rainstorm. To some it was tall, spiraling with arcs of water appearing at odd angles. To others it was wide and low, with pulsing water that mimicked the mood of the people around it. Everyone saw the fountain in their own unique way, and while it was always different, it was always enchanting.

On this fateful day, a culmination of perfect atrocities occurred. If you had been watching from above, it would have appeared as a domino effect, spiraling twice around the courtyard before finally reaching its fate in the center of the fountain.

It began with the blacksmith, rolling his cart through the middle of the courtyard as he did every day. On this particular day, his unfortunate cart hit the edge of a root just right, causing the wheel to crack and the cart to tumble over. All his metal-working tools came tumbling out, causing a terrible clanging sound that frightened the birds, which took off into the air squawking. The squawking scared a horse that was tied to a post, and the poor skittish horse ripped the post from the ground and fled across the courtyard. The post knocked down a fruit cart that was nearby, sending the many fruits tumbling to the ground. People and animals alike ran at once to grab the fruit, which unfortunately led to the appointed officials running forward to stop the blatant thievery. One of the officials tripped over the edge of a large stone, and resulted in kicking it out of place. It was quickly discovered that this stone was holding a carriage wheel steady, and as the carriage held a great weight in gold, it immediately went tumbling towards the courtyard center. It would have been unfortunate enough had the cart only hit the fountain and cracked it. Alas, the result was far worse. The cart not only cracked it, but pinned a calf between itself and the fountain, all three of which imploded upon impact. Gold spewed from the carriage, and a mixture of water and calf’s blood came pouring from the broken fountain. The courtyard was covered in an instant. The people barely had time to process what had happened, before storm clouds rolled in. The anger of the Great Spirits was immediate and unforgiving.

Until the fountain was fixed, the kingdom was unrecognizable. The rivers stopped flowing, the crops all died, and the mines showed only shallow streams of gold where once they ran twelve hands deep. Even though the kingdom was covered in gray clouds, no rain would come. Fourteen died of starvation, the last passing only two days before the fountain was righted. Once it finally stood proudly again, free of cracks, the land became as it was before.

The people were once again joyous. There were fantastic parties held for a fortnight, and not a single job was completed in that time. King Luzifan may have been the only one in the kingdom not celebrating. Instead, he was locked in his study, temple creased in thought. In the two months of darkness, his body had come to match his true age. He had tiptoed past death’s doorstep, barely avoiding the maker, and it filled him with fear. Everything he held close to him could disappear in an instant. While everyone else spent the weeks partying, he spent the time brooding, plotting to keep his youth, wealth, and power.

By the end of the fortnight, new rules were posted. Within moments of dawn there were murmurs throughout the town. Never had so much been required of the people. They had been asked the typical things of course, such as treating others with decency and avoiding the deadly vices. However, this new list, this treaty of commandments, required them all to make extreme changes to their lives. It read as follows:

1.    All people will clothe themselves with fine fabrics and will not leave the house without such covering.

2.    All women will adorn themselves with jewels daily, such as they would on a Holy Day or other special occasion.

3.    All people, including children, will be expected to meet pre-approved body dimensions, and there will be monthly check-ins.

4.    Any disfigured body parts or skin conditions are expected to be covered.

5.    There will be a special force appointed to ensure these new policies are followed, and they have the same power as any other appointed official in town.

Any who does not currently meet these expectations must stay inside until a time when they have made the necessary changes.

These policies may seem extreme, but do not take them lightly. Be wary of those who may lead you astray, and do not easily forget the horror our province has recently endured. We are Selenians, and we must stand together to ensure the livelihood of our people, our children, and our Kingdom.

***

Once the initial disturbance had passed, everyone in the kingdom accepted the new rules without question. Only the King’s eldest daughter, Princess Fortuine, seemed to take issue. As a princess, she had been showered with fine fabrics and gems. Even more fortuitous, she had been granted beauty and poise, with a body and soul to match. Everyone in the kingdom knew her as nothing short of perfection. You can imagine her shock when her father commented that she was beginning to thicken in her midsection.

What kind of spirit praises love and holiness while expecting material gratification? Fortuine wondered. It didn’t make sense to her, nothing about this followed what she’d been taught. She had always considered her father a level-headed man, but now she hardly recognized him.

For the first time in years, Fortuine went for a walk through the kingdom. Nothing within the castle walls felt the same to her, so perhaps she might find peace elsewhere. She began with no location in mind, but after a short time felt a pulling sensation. Fortuine felt as if her feet were no longer her own. From time to time everyone will have this. Some call it fate, others say intuition. Regardless, it’s a mixture of chance and purpose, which allows someone a future they may not otherwise have known. She found herself walking along unfamiliar streets, through a darker section of the kingdom than she’d ever been guided to as a child. It’s a difficult place to explain, because while all of Selene was beautiful, one specific area was blocked from sunlight by the mountain range. It left a chilling, haunting beauty among the buildings.

Her destination revealed itself as a pub, and a rather dinky one at that. She wrinkled her nose at the smells leaking from the cracked door. She hadn’t ever been allowed alcohol, and from what she’d been taught it didn’t seem overly appealing. Fortuine considered leaving, but the longer she stood before the pub, the stronger the pulling sensation became. Finally, she entered.

Had someone given her years to anticipate what she would find behind those doors, she still wouldn’t have been prepared.

The first thing that hit her was the music. It was strange, nothing like she had ever heard before. In the castle, they played music that was easy on the ears and mind. It was beautiful and simple. This music was provoking. It wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t ugly. Within moments it evoked more emotion than she had felt in the past month. Secondly, she noticed the smell. It was thick with body odor and smoke. The pungent clouds made it hard to breathe, and yet, she was entranced. It was authentic, full of life she could never have imagined. Finally, her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and almost wished they hadn’t. Since her father’s new rules, she had never seen anyone or anything unseemly. Before her, that was all that existed. There were people with deformed bodies and faces. Some were covered in bumps and patches of varying colors and sizes. Some were missing patches of hair or skin. One man she bumped into had reptile-like eyes, and she felt her own go wide as she skittered away. No one there was covered in fine fabrics or jewels. No one there met the new bodily requirements. No one there was happy to see her.

“Aha! So the king has gotten so paranoid as to send his own daughter in spying?” cried the man with the reptilian eyes. The pub went silent immediately, even the off-key music spluttered quickly to a stop. A gruff-looking round woman marched up to Fortuine immediately.

“What’ll he have us do then?!” she shouted. “We can’t go out in public, we can’t enjoy the sunlight, and we don’t own the fine jewels he persists upon wearing. We find one place where we may be less than miserable -in the BOWELS of this kingdom- and now we can’t even have that?!”

The crowd grew angry, and a variety of slurs and threats were shouted at the princess. Some threatened disfigurement to herself and all the royalty, others simply cried about how terrible their lives had become. It wasn’t until someone threatened sending her to the castle with her limbs removed that she felt tempted to speak.

“Wait!” she shrieked. “I agree with you!”

The pub stood in shocked silence. Likely it was more from confusion than agreement, but nonetheless they remained silent. Against her better judgement, Fortuine chose to continue.

“I don’t agree with my father. I don’t understand his new laws, or the person he has become. I used to love this kingdom! It was rich with soul, and love. Now it is only rich for the eyes and draining on the soul. People have become green with envy, and red with embarrassment. What good is having bountiful land, if the people within it must suffer? I don’t know why I was brought here, but if you will help me, I want to end this reign of falsity.”

“Tis a pretty speech, princess,” the gruff woman responded. “But what good do your words do us, when we can’t even walk through the town in daylight?”

“If you can’t walk in daylight,” Fortuine began, “then it appears we must strike at night.”

Perhaps Fortuine hadn’t left the castle with plans for rebellion, but by nightfall everything was in place. The shunned Selenians had gone to gather others who shared in their cause, and by midnight the pub was bursting at the seams. When the signal sounded, chaos broke loose.

The less-than-desirables flooded the streets, trashing and burning everything in their path. Those large enough to handle a mallet had been instructed to break everything in sight, especially if it meant disfiguring architecture. Nothing was left unscathed. In the mere month that the new rules had been in place, enough anger had seeded that the rebellion produced a crop of fury. As the crowd reached the Great Courtyard, the were backlit by the kingdom set ablaze. For anyone viewing from the castle, it would have been a truly horrific sight.

“STOP!” came a strong voice from behind the castle gates. It was none other than King Luzifan himself.

The courtyard fell silent. No one dared talk, move, or even breathe, until Fortuine stepped forward.

“No.”

With that one simple phrase, she took a mallet from the ground, raised it over her head, and smashed the fountain’s edge to pieces.

The Great Spirits could stay silent no longer. They were so enraged at the blatant display of disrespect, that rather than cutting off resources as they had in the past, the entire kingdom was swallowed straight into the depths of Hell. As the ground evaporated beneath them, the people cried a sound of pure anguish. A sound so full of pain and despair that even the sun became afraid and hid his light. The entire world was plunged into darkness and the only sound to be heard was of raw agony. The Great Spirits no longer have the hold on our world that they used to, but every twenty years they send us a reminder of their power. For a short while, the light is blocked out, and great areas of the world are once again thrown into darkness. They say that to this day, if you listen closely, you will still be able to hear the tortured cries of Selene.