An Amazonian Legend..
Apr. 2nd, 2007 02:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helbling...from Tempest's tribe is under the cut.
Weird what you can end up spending your lunch hour writing.
Come here, come here, now sit down and listen. Listen as I tell you why men are everything we do not want to be. Sit and hear my words.
You will know the stories of how our tribe began. Of how, many, many seasons ago; so long ago that even the rocks and the trees can now not remember a time when we were not here with them, we women escaped our oppressors in the armies of the north and ran south and the land became our protector until we could protect ourselves.
So sit and listen and let me tell you about the final battle that turned the tide, about a man’s treachery, and the ultimate power that is nature.
The tribe was growing, oh so long ago, but it was not growing as a healthy tree should; instead of reaching up, tall, straight, proud towards the sun, with it’s roots lovingly tended and burrowed beep within wet earth, we were a shrunken twisted thing, with stunted boughs and curled leaves, stood in a spot where water could not reach our roots.
For you see, the armies of the northerners had not wanted us to leave; for all we were seen as worthless, we did jobs for them that they did not wish to do themselves, and required little payment, and thus they came south after us to fetch us back.
And we fought, and the land fought, and we won, but it was a narrow victory. The land was hurt greatly, and food was scarce as she recovered, and so the tribe fought starvation now, as well as the men.
Then some new women arrived from the north, as was still common in those days, and one of these was a woman who took the name Inelda. The land welcomed them in, as it did with all women, but it welcomed her especially, and though the land was but a fraction of as strong as it should have been, gave her power beyond anything it had ever given before.
This strength of the storm, and strength of the beasts began to run in her blood. She was the first of us to bear a tattoo but hers was not one that was etched with ink, but with lightening and fur was her mark made, across her cheek, and she wore it with pride that made all the tribe mark themselves in kinship, and now this is our mark, and where ever you go you may be sure that should you see a tattoo that bears our hand, you know you have found a sister.
It was this awesome power that began to bring the winds against the men; with wind and rain and storm, with wolf and bear and elephant did she drive them back, so that they turned and ran, and the land recovered. And as it did so, Inelda grew only stronger; for though she spoke not the language of the trees, nor was she a daughter of the elements, all parts of nature would answer her call if she but uttered a request. Forests sprung to life around her, plants and trees growing and bearing fruit where she willed it, storms moving to rain softly on those that needed it, and the tribe became straight, and proud and true, as it should have been.
But there was something that Inelda had never told anyone – that within her breast curled a wrongness, and perversion; for although the land had taken her in and made her its own against the men, Inelda still desired them.
She knew this to be a wrong and shameful thing, and thus did she hide it from all others. Nature knew though, as nature always does, and urged her to rid herself of it, for nature knew, as we know now, that Inelda’s perversion stemmed from the knowledge of a man, her own age, who had shown her comparative leniency when she still lived under the oppression of the males.
And yet Inelda could not let go, for she was forever indebted to what she thought was kindness. And nature did not approve, yet it sung to her as it did no one else, for she was strong in her bond with the land.
Until one morning during the wet season when the man appeared at the borders of the tribeslands.
As was always done, the warriors called for Inelda, for she was the one that was strong enough to deal with any army that may have followed this man. But there was none, he had come alone, and when Inelda appeared, he threw himself at her feet, and begged her forgiveness and her protection.
He said he had counselled his male parent to let the women go, and for it had been struck and beaten and, fearing he would be killed, had run south, as so many women had, and begged her sanctuary.
The tribe said no, as did nature, for he was a man – an untrustworthy, violent creature, unworthy of calling the Southlands home. But Inelda, still a-minded of his benevolence when she was in the north, said yes, and argued with the tribe’s leaders and standing heads for five days and five nights until they allowed him to stay while she controlled him.
Thus did she take him into her standing, where her sisters, previously beloved of her, did not wish to go near the man, and she would not leave him, and thus they missed each other greatly.
But Inelda did not miss them overmuch, for she began to teach the man to make the south his home. She took him to forests and called the animals to her, teaching him which were dangerous and which were friendly, which were rare and which abundant. And he saw her call and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
And she took him to the plains and called the trees to grow there, so he might understand which were slow to grow and to burn, and which were not, and which was depended on by all the creatures around it, and which must feel the kiss of flame to put down root. And he saw her do this, and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
And she took him to the steppes, called the elements and taught him to track over the rocky ground, to find the places where to dig to find cool water underground, and how to hunt and eat the dangerous snakes and animals that lived there. But he saw her call, and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
And then she took him to the top of the rocks and called the storms and the winds and the rains, so he might know how the land needs them and works together, and how to know when the land will flood, or give way beneath foot or how to know when a fire will start that will kill all in its path. But he saw her call the storm in all its awesome power, and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
But all this time, the seed of wrongness in Inelda had taken root and sprouted and thus did Inelda now feel that she was in love with this man and would like to join with him. And she told him so, as is our custom, and he said to her that he felt she was so powerful, he would bring nothing to her, and he could not join with her unless she taught him to call to nature, as she did.
And so did Inelda agree to teach him to call the storm, and because it was Inelda that taught him to ask, the storm did answer him, and he agreed to join with her on the next day.
But when Inelda woke the next morning, she found his hammock empty and his clothing gone.
Fearing that he had been taken by an animal during the night, she tried to call the winds to tell her where he had gone, but they would not answer.
So she ran to the animals and begged them to track him for her, but they would not answer, and snarled at her as if she was not known to them.
So she ran to the forest, and begged the trees to tell her if he had passed them by, but they stood as silent as the winds had been.
So, despairing now, she dropped to her knees, and begged the earth to tell her where his feet fell, but the earth did not answer either.
Thus did she realise, with great despairing, that due to her perversion and betrayal of nature that her bond with the Ladies and the spirits had been broken, and all due to this man.
The tribe saw this, and all shook their heads on the wickness of men. But worse was to come, for not a moon later was an army seen on the winds.
An army the size of which had never been seen before or since, and there was great commotion within the tribe, for they knew that they could not win against this army, But because we are Amazons, and we are true, it was decided it would be better for all to fight and die then to surrender and return in chains to the cold north.
So did Inelda see her sisters prepare to go to battle, and dread, for she knew they went to die. Thus she ran to the top of the highest cliff she could find, from which it was possible to see the ground on which the battle would take place.
And the army came; faster than it should have done, for Inelda’s man was among them, teaching them the ways of the South as Inelda had taught him. And thus did they know no thirst, nor hunger as they walked, and the tribe grew more grim, and prepared vials of poison to feed to their daughters so they would not be taken.
Thus did battle start, and it was long and bloody, for the tribe’s numbers were less than the men, and though they knew the land, now so did the men, and thus the difference was no longer great, and a good many women died under the men’s blades.
And at the head of the army walked Inelda’s man, calling the storm as Inelda, in love, had taught him against her sisters in the tribe, so they died under his wishes.
On seeing this, did Inelda’s heart break, and on its breaking, the seed of wrongness was cast out, and Inelda begged the winds, the animals, the trees and the spirits to answer her, for she knew her perversion and it was no more and she had to help her sisters.
And, seeing she was true, nature returned to her hand once more.
Thus did the sky thunder so loud that the earth shook, and the animals, large and small among them rush to the aid of the tribe, as had never been seen before, and as Inelda stepped foot on the battleground, it is said her own sisters did not recognise her, for she was a true embodiment of the storm and the beasts. Her hair was threads of lightening that struck each man dead in a heartbeat as she passed; her eyes black clouds that were said to see into every man’s heart and thus saw his wickness; her hands were claws that would rend metal as easily as air; her teeth were fanged and put to good use as she ripped out the throats of all men she could reach.
And eventually she stood against the man who had betrayed her, and he tried to call the storm against her, but because she was a druid and a woman and a servant of nature and he was not, his efforts were so pitiful as to not be there, and she struck him dead without a thought.
But the battle went on around her, and though the women rallied to Inelda and fought as never before, still they lost. And Inelda looked, and saw this and knew what she must do, and shouted for her sisters to return to the tribe lands.
And the men saw this and cheered, for they assumed they had won, but Inelda now called the storm with everything in her, as she had never done before. The skies grew black, and all light vanished, and the rain beat down so hard it began to draw blood and the men shouted and ran to take cover under trees that pulled them into the earth and drowned them in soil.
And then the storm began to spiral down, like water in a tub with a hole in the bottom, lightening spiking from it to dash the army into pieces, and the men watched in horror, only now comprehending it was too late, as Inelda stood on the earth, and called the storm to her.
And then did Inelda bring the storm to touch the land. It is said that the other women could only see the cloud touch the earth, and then a great thunderclap rang out, and lightening flashed such that no one could see what happened. But they returned to the battle field to find everyman dead, their bodies charred to piles of ash within their armour, which was half melted into puddles of metal on the field.
But at the centre did they find Inelda’s body, untouched, and with great respect was it taken to a temple of the dead and given back to the winds so she might fly on them forever.
It is that field where we hold the Dia de Vivanueve – Day of New Life now, and on it, we will always remember that it is men who are everything we do not want to be, and why we owe everything we are to Nature.
Weird what you can end up spending your lunch hour writing.
Come here, come here, now sit down and listen. Listen as I tell you why men are everything we do not want to be. Sit and hear my words.
You will know the stories of how our tribe began. Of how, many, many seasons ago; so long ago that even the rocks and the trees can now not remember a time when we were not here with them, we women escaped our oppressors in the armies of the north and ran south and the land became our protector until we could protect ourselves.
So sit and listen and let me tell you about the final battle that turned the tide, about a man’s treachery, and the ultimate power that is nature.
The tribe was growing, oh so long ago, but it was not growing as a healthy tree should; instead of reaching up, tall, straight, proud towards the sun, with it’s roots lovingly tended and burrowed beep within wet earth, we were a shrunken twisted thing, with stunted boughs and curled leaves, stood in a spot where water could not reach our roots.
For you see, the armies of the northerners had not wanted us to leave; for all we were seen as worthless, we did jobs for them that they did not wish to do themselves, and required little payment, and thus they came south after us to fetch us back.
And we fought, and the land fought, and we won, but it was a narrow victory. The land was hurt greatly, and food was scarce as she recovered, and so the tribe fought starvation now, as well as the men.
Then some new women arrived from the north, as was still common in those days, and one of these was a woman who took the name Inelda. The land welcomed them in, as it did with all women, but it welcomed her especially, and though the land was but a fraction of as strong as it should have been, gave her power beyond anything it had ever given before.
This strength of the storm, and strength of the beasts began to run in her blood. She was the first of us to bear a tattoo but hers was not one that was etched with ink, but with lightening and fur was her mark made, across her cheek, and she wore it with pride that made all the tribe mark themselves in kinship, and now this is our mark, and where ever you go you may be sure that should you see a tattoo that bears our hand, you know you have found a sister.
It was this awesome power that began to bring the winds against the men; with wind and rain and storm, with wolf and bear and elephant did she drive them back, so that they turned and ran, and the land recovered. And as it did so, Inelda grew only stronger; for though she spoke not the language of the trees, nor was she a daughter of the elements, all parts of nature would answer her call if she but uttered a request. Forests sprung to life around her, plants and trees growing and bearing fruit where she willed it, storms moving to rain softly on those that needed it, and the tribe became straight, and proud and true, as it should have been.
But there was something that Inelda had never told anyone – that within her breast curled a wrongness, and perversion; for although the land had taken her in and made her its own against the men, Inelda still desired them.
She knew this to be a wrong and shameful thing, and thus did she hide it from all others. Nature knew though, as nature always does, and urged her to rid herself of it, for nature knew, as we know now, that Inelda’s perversion stemmed from the knowledge of a man, her own age, who had shown her comparative leniency when she still lived under the oppression of the males.
And yet Inelda could not let go, for she was forever indebted to what she thought was kindness. And nature did not approve, yet it sung to her as it did no one else, for she was strong in her bond with the land.
Until one morning during the wet season when the man appeared at the borders of the tribeslands.
As was always done, the warriors called for Inelda, for she was the one that was strong enough to deal with any army that may have followed this man. But there was none, he had come alone, and when Inelda appeared, he threw himself at her feet, and begged her forgiveness and her protection.
He said he had counselled his male parent to let the women go, and for it had been struck and beaten and, fearing he would be killed, had run south, as so many women had, and begged her sanctuary.
The tribe said no, as did nature, for he was a man – an untrustworthy, violent creature, unworthy of calling the Southlands home. But Inelda, still a-minded of his benevolence when she was in the north, said yes, and argued with the tribe’s leaders and standing heads for five days and five nights until they allowed him to stay while she controlled him.
Thus did she take him into her standing, where her sisters, previously beloved of her, did not wish to go near the man, and she would not leave him, and thus they missed each other greatly.
But Inelda did not miss them overmuch, for she began to teach the man to make the south his home. She took him to forests and called the animals to her, teaching him which were dangerous and which were friendly, which were rare and which abundant. And he saw her call and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
And she took him to the plains and called the trees to grow there, so he might understand which were slow to grow and to burn, and which were not, and which was depended on by all the creatures around it, and which must feel the kiss of flame to put down root. And he saw her do this, and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
And she took him to the steppes, called the elements and taught him to track over the rocky ground, to find the places where to dig to find cool water underground, and how to hunt and eat the dangerous snakes and animals that lived there. But he saw her call, and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
And then she took him to the top of the rocks and called the storms and the winds and the rains, so he might know how the land needs them and works together, and how to know when the land will flood, or give way beneath foot or how to know when a fire will start that will kill all in its path. But he saw her call the storm in all its awesome power, and asked her to teach him to do the same.
“No,” she replied, “For I am a druid and a woman and a servant of nature, and you are not. You cannot learn.”
But all this time, the seed of wrongness in Inelda had taken root and sprouted and thus did Inelda now feel that she was in love with this man and would like to join with him. And she told him so, as is our custom, and he said to her that he felt she was so powerful, he would bring nothing to her, and he could not join with her unless she taught him to call to nature, as she did.
And so did Inelda agree to teach him to call the storm, and because it was Inelda that taught him to ask, the storm did answer him, and he agreed to join with her on the next day.
But when Inelda woke the next morning, she found his hammock empty and his clothing gone.
Fearing that he had been taken by an animal during the night, she tried to call the winds to tell her where he had gone, but they would not answer.
So she ran to the animals and begged them to track him for her, but they would not answer, and snarled at her as if she was not known to them.
So she ran to the forest, and begged the trees to tell her if he had passed them by, but they stood as silent as the winds had been.
So, despairing now, she dropped to her knees, and begged the earth to tell her where his feet fell, but the earth did not answer either.
Thus did she realise, with great despairing, that due to her perversion and betrayal of nature that her bond with the Ladies and the spirits had been broken, and all due to this man.
The tribe saw this, and all shook their heads on the wickness of men. But worse was to come, for not a moon later was an army seen on the winds.
An army the size of which had never been seen before or since, and there was great commotion within the tribe, for they knew that they could not win against this army, But because we are Amazons, and we are true, it was decided it would be better for all to fight and die then to surrender and return in chains to the cold north.
So did Inelda see her sisters prepare to go to battle, and dread, for she knew they went to die. Thus she ran to the top of the highest cliff she could find, from which it was possible to see the ground on which the battle would take place.
And the army came; faster than it should have done, for Inelda’s man was among them, teaching them the ways of the South as Inelda had taught him. And thus did they know no thirst, nor hunger as they walked, and the tribe grew more grim, and prepared vials of poison to feed to their daughters so they would not be taken.
Thus did battle start, and it was long and bloody, for the tribe’s numbers were less than the men, and though they knew the land, now so did the men, and thus the difference was no longer great, and a good many women died under the men’s blades.
And at the head of the army walked Inelda’s man, calling the storm as Inelda, in love, had taught him against her sisters in the tribe, so they died under his wishes.
On seeing this, did Inelda’s heart break, and on its breaking, the seed of wrongness was cast out, and Inelda begged the winds, the animals, the trees and the spirits to answer her, for she knew her perversion and it was no more and she had to help her sisters.
And, seeing she was true, nature returned to her hand once more.
Thus did the sky thunder so loud that the earth shook, and the animals, large and small among them rush to the aid of the tribe, as had never been seen before, and as Inelda stepped foot on the battleground, it is said her own sisters did not recognise her, for she was a true embodiment of the storm and the beasts. Her hair was threads of lightening that struck each man dead in a heartbeat as she passed; her eyes black clouds that were said to see into every man’s heart and thus saw his wickness; her hands were claws that would rend metal as easily as air; her teeth were fanged and put to good use as she ripped out the throats of all men she could reach.
And eventually she stood against the man who had betrayed her, and he tried to call the storm against her, but because she was a druid and a woman and a servant of nature and he was not, his efforts were so pitiful as to not be there, and she struck him dead without a thought.
But the battle went on around her, and though the women rallied to Inelda and fought as never before, still they lost. And Inelda looked, and saw this and knew what she must do, and shouted for her sisters to return to the tribe lands.
And the men saw this and cheered, for they assumed they had won, but Inelda now called the storm with everything in her, as she had never done before. The skies grew black, and all light vanished, and the rain beat down so hard it began to draw blood and the men shouted and ran to take cover under trees that pulled them into the earth and drowned them in soil.
And then the storm began to spiral down, like water in a tub with a hole in the bottom, lightening spiking from it to dash the army into pieces, and the men watched in horror, only now comprehending it was too late, as Inelda stood on the earth, and called the storm to her.
And then did Inelda bring the storm to touch the land. It is said that the other women could only see the cloud touch the earth, and then a great thunderclap rang out, and lightening flashed such that no one could see what happened. But they returned to the battle field to find everyman dead, their bodies charred to piles of ash within their armour, which was half melted into puddles of metal on the field.
But at the centre did they find Inelda’s body, untouched, and with great respect was it taken to a temple of the dead and given back to the winds so she might fly on them forever.
It is that field where we hold the Dia de Vivanueve – Day of New Life now, and on it, we will always remember that it is men who are everything we do not want to be, and why we owe everything we are to Nature.
