Friday, April 16, 2004

Trapped In the Machine
“We should go around to the front of the building,” Ms. Greanwyloe said.
“I hope everyone made it out alright,” said Theo, then he stopped walking and reached gently for her arm. His grip was firm but not threatening. He looked directly into her eyes and said, “Do you think you know what is going on?”
“Let’s keep walking and I will tell you what I think is happening,” she said, and patted his hand with hers. She smiled in that way she always would in class just before she started a new lecture topic. He wondered if she knew how disarming her smile could be.
She talked as she walked toward the university building, “If you take Miss. Hidaka’s Folklore and Mythology class next semester you will have a better going of it but I will try to tell you what I know. There is a popular story about a princess and the island in our lake.”
Theo interrupted with a sudden cheerfulness, “You mean the story of Princess Tevaria,” he exclaimed. He had always loved the story of the princess bridge.
“Yes, well the stories that they make into those books and movies are very different than the classical myths that they are taken from. In the oldest version of the tale nine Daemons fought for control of a place called Raddel, which means next to, or in the middle of in the Karnorg script. When the Nine Deamons came to the point where they had almost destroyed the entire universe one of the Elder Gods, Jasmynee called for a Derpagh, which was some kind of tribal gathering, and after the Elder Gods had concluded the Derpagh a list of rules was imposed on the universe that would reduce the power of the Daemons and limit there ability to travel from world to world.” She paused for a moment and Theo could tell she was collecting her thoughts.
“But where does the princess fit into all of that?” He asked. It was clear to Theo that Ms. Greanwyloe was a smart woman. She blinked only briefly, startled by the question he guessed, and then launched into another explanation.
“Princess Tevaria originally is one of the nine Deamons and not a princess at all. She is portrayed as a very temperamental and unpredictable being and is often associated with a Volcano that created this lake and the little island of Shaunnorra, who by the way is called the daughter of Tevaria. Anyway, this is where some of the more popular legends get skewed; you see one of the most important rules was that no Daemon could travel from one world to another without permission from another Daemon. This rule was supposed to prevent the Daemons from roaming about at will and wreaking havoc through out the universe. Tevaria believed that if she married another Daemon and could manipulate the wedding vows she would eternally have permission to roam where ever she wanted.”
“Sounds like she was a bad guy, or something. Which is weird, because the stories I always hear have her as a helpless victim in a marriage arranged by a terrible Daemon who wants to rule the world.” Theo said.
“Well, you see eventually she is the hero of the story, even though at first her motives are selfish. She enters into a bargain with Udothusaki, the Daemon of Hurd, but before she can complete the ceremony her handmaiden, Yasnithynee, informs her that Udothusaki is planning to imprison both Tevaria and her handmaid at the center of the world, and use her wedding vow to force the remaining Daemons to acknowledge him as their king. At this point the story is very convoluted, and basically is an elongated morality tale about honesty and promises. Tevaria allows herself to be poisoned by her handmaid to avoid making her vows. She promises that from the world beyond the living she will bring forth a daughter who will be a model wife, and it is from this part of the tale that almost all of the modern worlds wedding vows are taken.”
She had taken so long to explain the importance of the myth to Theo that he didn’t notice they had already circled the building, which they had just earlier escaped from, without finding any trace of any one else.

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