LPF week 10 - nadir
Jan. 2nd, 2019 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hwangoKrita was very young when her mother fell ill - so young that she still trusted adults and believed whatever they told her. And so when they told her “your mother will get better” and “don't worry,” she believed them and she did not worry.
When Krita's mother died a few days later, Krita found that she was no longer that young. Suddenly she was old enough to know that adults could be terribly, horribly wrong, and that out of ignorance or foolishness they could lie about things of enormous importance. It was amazing how much you could age in a single day.
The adults told Krita that her mother's soul was now safely in the underworld, where it would be guarded by Atzl, who watched over the spirits of the virtuous dead. Krita did not go so far as to doubt the existence of Atzl or the underworld (her mother had told her about them), and certainly did not doubt that her mother would qualify as “virtuous,” but she did want to know how everyone could be so sure that her mother's soul had safely made its way there. The adults told her not to worry.
Well, she had learned what to make of an answer like that. And so Krita decided to make sure for herself.
Krita wasn't entirely sure how to reach the underworld, but there was a cave not far from the village where children were absolutely forbidden to go. That seemed like a good place to start. She packed some food and water and a blanket like she had seen adults do when they were going to set out on a long journey, and snuck out that very night.
There was plenty of moonlight, and she had no trouble finding the cave. She was just realizing that she would need something other than the moon to light her way once she was underground, and despairing that she hadn't thought to steal a torch or a lantern, when she spotted a shallow pool of water in which swam three brilliantly luminous jellyfish. Sitting by the edge of the pool were three heavy glass jars affixed with handles like buckets. She could tell just by looking that she would never be able to manage to largest jar, and that even the middle jar would be a struggle. She carefully scooped up the smallest jellyfish in the smallest jar. It glowed an eerie purple hue quite unlike the comforting yellow of a lantern's flame, but Krita would take what she could get.
The floor just inside the cave angled sharply downward, and someone had periodically carved steps into the rock in an attempt to make the way less treacherous. Krita walked slowly and carefully rather than risk a fall. It wouldn't do to spill her jellyfish.
Krita descended for hours. Eventually there were no more steps, and Krita guessed that meant it was rare for people to travel this deep. She found this reassuring - surely journeys to the underworld were not common, after all, so perhaps she was in the right place.
After quite some time, however, she once again spotted places where tools had been used to shape the stone. Not long after that, she encountered some mole people.
At least, she assumed that they must be people. They walked upright and carried spears, and were about Krita's height - maybe a bit shorter. They seemed very angry to see Krita, and brandished their spears menacingly. Krita couldn't remember everything about all of the stories she'd been told about Atzl and the underworld, but she didn't remember anything about mole people, which she thought certainly would have been a memorable detail.
“Excuse me,” she said, bowing her head respectfully, “but is this the underworld? I'm looking for my mother.”
Seeing that she was unarmed and realizing that she was a child, the mole people relaxed somewhat, and led her into their city.
Krita was very impressed. There were intricate carvings on the walls illuminated by glowing crystals, miniature waterfalls, gardens of fungi and pale root vegetables, and everything you would expect to find in a flourishing, healthy civilization. The guards brought her to the office of a minor functionary who explained that their city was not the underworld that she was seeking, and that ordinarily humans were not permitted to enter. However, they could see that she was on a quest, and they would allow her to pass through their lands. They even provided some food for her and her jellyfish, and allowed her to change the water in its jar.
Krita hadn't thought of herself as being on a quest - she just wanted to make sure that her mom was okay, and hoped to be back home by tomorrow. Surely the underworld couldn't be all that far, or how could people's souls get there so quickly? Nevertheless, she thought it would be rude to disagree with the mole people, and she thanked them for their hospitality and their kindness, and continued on her way.
Some time later, she encountered some ant people. Though stranger and scarier than the mole people, they responded to her much the same. Their initial hostility gave way to a cautious welcome, and they led her into their alien city illuminated by iridescent fungi and lichen. By this time she was quite tired, and they gave her a place to sleep for a while. Then they sent her off with some pale white mushrooms to eat and some fresh water, and wished her luck on her quest. Krita had to admit that it was starting to feel like a quest after all.
And so it went. She encountered all manner of strange people deep within the earth until at last she found herself at a lake of magma. The people there were made of fire and obsidian, and easily the scariest of all the creatures she had met on her quest. At least, that's what she thought until they led her to meet the dragon.
It was huge, and had the sharp claws and teeth that she would have expected of a dragon, but what made it truly scary was its eerie coloring - the massive creature had pale white skin that was mostly transparent. Even its flesh was a bit transparent, and if Krita looked closely she could see its bones seeming to float inside its body.
The dragon under the earth peered at her with what looked like blind eyes, but Krita could feel it seeing her.
“You, little one, are far, far from home,” the dragon said, and then paused to see what Krita had to say for herself.
“Please, sir,” said Krita, “I am looking for the underworld. I want to make sure my mother's soul made it there safely. Everyone back home says it must have, but I don't trust them anymore, because they said she was going to get better and everything would be fine, but she didn't and it isn't. And I didn't really mean to go on a quest but I guess I have and my feet hurt and I'm tired and I don't think my jellyfish is as bright as it used to be and I just want to make sure my mom is okay so I can go home.” It all came out in a rush, and she was crying for the second half, and she felt very small and embarrassed to be making such a speech to such a very large dragon.
“I can understand why you’re upset,” the dragon said. “You have learned the regrettable truth that adults don't always have the answers, and often make mistakes. Maybe they really did think that your mother would recover. Or, If they thought that she wouldn’t, maybe they didn't think you were old enough to understand the truth. Not everyone grows up at the same pace, and besides, adults don’t always remember how mature they were at what age. You, I can tell, have had to grow up very suddenly.”
Krita sniffled in agreement.
“As for your mother’s soul…well there is nowhere deeper than here that you’ll be able to go. I suspect that the underworld that you’re looking for isn’t really a place that the living can visit.”
“But what about my mom?”
“Well, I think this is a case where you can feel certain that you’ve done as much as you could, and almost certainly more than you should have. I expect there are some people back in the lands touched by the sky that are very worried about you by now. Maybe you should focus your efforts on them. Your mother would understand. Every parent knows that their children will have to let them go eventually.”
Krita sniffled some more.
“As for your jellyfish, I don’t know how bright it was when you left home so I can’t comment on that subject, but I expect this whole experience has been very strange and confusing for it, and it’s probably very frightened. Have you explained to it what’s going on?”
“I don’t think jellyfish are smart enough to understand things like that,” Krita said.
“Ah, I see,” said the dragon. It was hard to be sure, since Krita had little experience reading the expressions of dragons, but she thought it looked slightly amused. Krita thought for a moment.
“Oh,” Krita said. She lifted the jar to eye level. “We’ve been on a quest, but we’re going home now. Everything will be okay,” she said to it.
“Are you sure everything will be okay?” the dragon asked. If the dragon had eyebrows, one of them would have been raised archly.
“No, I just…oh,” Krita said. “This is harder than I thought.”
“Another unfortunate truth of the world – almost everything is.”
Krita thanked the dragon for its time and its hospitality and set off again for the surface. As she re-encountered everyone she had met along the way, they all asked her if her quest had been successful. She answered them all that she wouldn’t know that until it was over, and it wouldn’t be over until she was home. They all nodded in agreement and wished her luck.
Eventually, she made it back to the surface, and carefully poured the jellyfish back into its pool. “See, everything is okay now,” Krita said. As far as Krita knew, jellyfish didn’t have thoughts and feelings, let alone families, but it looked an awful lot like the larger two deliberately changed direction and swam over to the smallest one, and they bumped against each other in what it was easy to imagine was a familiar kind of way.
Krita had some suspicions about the identity of that dragon.
When Krita's mother died a few days later, Krita found that she was no longer that young. Suddenly she was old enough to know that adults could be terribly, horribly wrong, and that out of ignorance or foolishness they could lie about things of enormous importance. It was amazing how much you could age in a single day.
The adults told Krita that her mother's soul was now safely in the underworld, where it would be guarded by Atzl, who watched over the spirits of the virtuous dead. Krita did not go so far as to doubt the existence of Atzl or the underworld (her mother had told her about them), and certainly did not doubt that her mother would qualify as “virtuous,” but she did want to know how everyone could be so sure that her mother's soul had safely made its way there. The adults told her not to worry.
Well, she had learned what to make of an answer like that. And so Krita decided to make sure for herself.
Krita wasn't entirely sure how to reach the underworld, but there was a cave not far from the village where children were absolutely forbidden to go. That seemed like a good place to start. She packed some food and water and a blanket like she had seen adults do when they were going to set out on a long journey, and snuck out that very night.
There was plenty of moonlight, and she had no trouble finding the cave. She was just realizing that she would need something other than the moon to light her way once she was underground, and despairing that she hadn't thought to steal a torch or a lantern, when she spotted a shallow pool of water in which swam three brilliantly luminous jellyfish. Sitting by the edge of the pool were three heavy glass jars affixed with handles like buckets. She could tell just by looking that she would never be able to manage to largest jar, and that even the middle jar would be a struggle. She carefully scooped up the smallest jellyfish in the smallest jar. It glowed an eerie purple hue quite unlike the comforting yellow of a lantern's flame, but Krita would take what she could get.
The floor just inside the cave angled sharply downward, and someone had periodically carved steps into the rock in an attempt to make the way less treacherous. Krita walked slowly and carefully rather than risk a fall. It wouldn't do to spill her jellyfish.
Krita descended for hours. Eventually there were no more steps, and Krita guessed that meant it was rare for people to travel this deep. She found this reassuring - surely journeys to the underworld were not common, after all, so perhaps she was in the right place.
After quite some time, however, she once again spotted places where tools had been used to shape the stone. Not long after that, she encountered some mole people.
At least, she assumed that they must be people. They walked upright and carried spears, and were about Krita's height - maybe a bit shorter. They seemed very angry to see Krita, and brandished their spears menacingly. Krita couldn't remember everything about all of the stories she'd been told about Atzl and the underworld, but she didn't remember anything about mole people, which she thought certainly would have been a memorable detail.
“Excuse me,” she said, bowing her head respectfully, “but is this the underworld? I'm looking for my mother.”
Seeing that she was unarmed and realizing that she was a child, the mole people relaxed somewhat, and led her into their city.
Krita was very impressed. There were intricate carvings on the walls illuminated by glowing crystals, miniature waterfalls, gardens of fungi and pale root vegetables, and everything you would expect to find in a flourishing, healthy civilization. The guards brought her to the office of a minor functionary who explained that their city was not the underworld that she was seeking, and that ordinarily humans were not permitted to enter. However, they could see that she was on a quest, and they would allow her to pass through their lands. They even provided some food for her and her jellyfish, and allowed her to change the water in its jar.
Krita hadn't thought of herself as being on a quest - she just wanted to make sure that her mom was okay, and hoped to be back home by tomorrow. Surely the underworld couldn't be all that far, or how could people's souls get there so quickly? Nevertheless, she thought it would be rude to disagree with the mole people, and she thanked them for their hospitality and their kindness, and continued on her way.
Some time later, she encountered some ant people. Though stranger and scarier than the mole people, they responded to her much the same. Their initial hostility gave way to a cautious welcome, and they led her into their alien city illuminated by iridescent fungi and lichen. By this time she was quite tired, and they gave her a place to sleep for a while. Then they sent her off with some pale white mushrooms to eat and some fresh water, and wished her luck on her quest. Krita had to admit that it was starting to feel like a quest after all.
And so it went. She encountered all manner of strange people deep within the earth until at last she found herself at a lake of magma. The people there were made of fire and obsidian, and easily the scariest of all the creatures she had met on her quest. At least, that's what she thought until they led her to meet the dragon.
It was huge, and had the sharp claws and teeth that she would have expected of a dragon, but what made it truly scary was its eerie coloring - the massive creature had pale white skin that was mostly transparent. Even its flesh was a bit transparent, and if Krita looked closely she could see its bones seeming to float inside its body.
The dragon under the earth peered at her with what looked like blind eyes, but Krita could feel it seeing her.
“You, little one, are far, far from home,” the dragon said, and then paused to see what Krita had to say for herself.
“Please, sir,” said Krita, “I am looking for the underworld. I want to make sure my mother's soul made it there safely. Everyone back home says it must have, but I don't trust them anymore, because they said she was going to get better and everything would be fine, but she didn't and it isn't. And I didn't really mean to go on a quest but I guess I have and my feet hurt and I'm tired and I don't think my jellyfish is as bright as it used to be and I just want to make sure my mom is okay so I can go home.” It all came out in a rush, and she was crying for the second half, and she felt very small and embarrassed to be making such a speech to such a very large dragon.
“I can understand why you’re upset,” the dragon said. “You have learned the regrettable truth that adults don't always have the answers, and often make mistakes. Maybe they really did think that your mother would recover. Or, If they thought that she wouldn’t, maybe they didn't think you were old enough to understand the truth. Not everyone grows up at the same pace, and besides, adults don’t always remember how mature they were at what age. You, I can tell, have had to grow up very suddenly.”
Krita sniffled in agreement.
“As for your mother’s soul…well there is nowhere deeper than here that you’ll be able to go. I suspect that the underworld that you’re looking for isn’t really a place that the living can visit.”
“But what about my mom?”
“Well, I think this is a case where you can feel certain that you’ve done as much as you could, and almost certainly more than you should have. I expect there are some people back in the lands touched by the sky that are very worried about you by now. Maybe you should focus your efforts on them. Your mother would understand. Every parent knows that their children will have to let them go eventually.”
Krita sniffled some more.
“As for your jellyfish, I don’t know how bright it was when you left home so I can’t comment on that subject, but I expect this whole experience has been very strange and confusing for it, and it’s probably very frightened. Have you explained to it what’s going on?”
“I don’t think jellyfish are smart enough to understand things like that,” Krita said.
“Ah, I see,” said the dragon. It was hard to be sure, since Krita had little experience reading the expressions of dragons, but she thought it looked slightly amused. Krita thought for a moment.
“Oh,” Krita said. She lifted the jar to eye level. “We’ve been on a quest, but we’re going home now. Everything will be okay,” she said to it.
“Are you sure everything will be okay?” the dragon asked. If the dragon had eyebrows, one of them would have been raised archly.
“No, I just…oh,” Krita said. “This is harder than I thought.”
“Another unfortunate truth of the world – almost everything is.”
Krita thanked the dragon for its time and its hospitality and set off again for the surface. As she re-encountered everyone she had met along the way, they all asked her if her quest had been successful. She answered them all that she wouldn’t know that until it was over, and it wouldn’t be over until she was home. They all nodded in agreement and wished her luck.
Eventually, she made it back to the surface, and carefully poured the jellyfish back into its pool. “See, everything is okay now,” Krita said. As far as Krita knew, jellyfish didn’t have thoughts and feelings, let alone families, but it looked an awful lot like the larger two deliberately changed direction and swam over to the smallest one, and they bumped against each other in what it was easy to imagine was a familiar kind of way.
Krita had some suspicions about the identity of that dragon.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-05 11:04 pm (UTC)