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Lost Mythology of The Water
Nymphs "Alsa dear, this is the most important part." "But we aren't even doing anything to make me look pretty. How are we gonna win if I'm just plain old Alsa Rayne?" "What you don't understand darling, is that beautiful hasn't always meant the same thing. For instance when I was younger, people thought curly hair was beautiful" "Curly hair? Yuck!" "Exactly, but back then all of the young nymphs were curling their hair. I even tried it once. I burnt the tips clear off of it." Alsa laughed. "But you see, the point is, beauty is what everyone thinks it is." "But what does that have to do with being mean?" "Well Alsa, it is an unfortunate thing but sometimes when you are nice to someone, they think you are being nice to make them like you, and their mind figures that if you want them to like you, that they are too good to care about you." "Is that how people really think?" "Well, not everyone, and not openly, it happens in that deep part of the mind, the part you can't really see. But its there, and it is a powerful tool. Besides you only have to be mean to a few fish. Mostly those crushed ice girls you hate so much. Don't you think you can manage to be cold to a bunch of scallops like them?" "I guess so." "Good. Just remember the steely gaze, don't look at them, and don't even acknowledge them. But for everyone else you can be your same old friendly self. Even friendlier in fact! Because you know, this mean trick won't actually make anyone like you; it will just make people think you are more important, because you need them less. That is fine for the snowflakes, but with everyone else you need to develop genuine friendships that will be able to withstand the kind of nastiness Bora Tross can come up with. Do you understand dear?" Alsa didn't understand at all. "I guess so mother." "Come on you said you trusted me." "I will try." "Good. Then we can practice that later, now its time for our secret weapon." She swam through an opening in the cave into a side chamber which was her room. A few minutes later she reemerged with a towel over her shoulder, carrying a strange shell which streamed a thin trail of yellowish liquid behind it. "A palette fish? You have got to be kidding me. Why don't I just curl my hair, make a dress of conch shells, and completely step into the past." "Now dear I know that dying your hair blond is not in style these days, and it shouldn't be. Dyed hair always ends up looking washed out. But we aren't going to dye all of your hair. With that she grabbed a lock framing the right side of Alsa's face. She settled the towel between the hair in her hand and the rest of her head. Then she started striking the shell up and down the midnight lock, back and forth, over and over. Alsa stood, her head bent uncomfortably forward, and worried. Finally after about ten minutes her mother released her and stood back. Alsa stretched her neck, and then looked up to see her mothers face beaming. "What does it look like mom?" Her mother swam back for her room, and
reemerged momentarily carrying a small ivory mirror, which she placed
in her daughter's hands. "No, Alsa, it looks beautiful." "Well.it's interesting." "No Alsa, I'm serious, the attitude you have to have is that this is the most incredible thing in the history of beauty. You have to feel, act, and look, like you are better then everyone else. Only then, will they believe you." "Are you sure it's that simple?" "No, but that and a few more tricks, and we will have them believing anything we want." ______________________________________________________ Alsa Rayne swam into Avinrail square, head held high, just like her mother had told her. She tried to imagine the shimmering lock in her hair as a splendid beam of sunlight. She tried to imagine that everyone was looking at her with envy, and banished the thought that they were looking at her and laughing. The town square was busy with the hustle and bustle of preparations for the dance. She didn't live in a large town, it had been chosen instead for its simple beauty, and the fact that the cliff face surrounding them made the acoustics especially good here Although she knew everyone in town there were many strangers here now. They had been coming in steadily over the past week to help with the preparations for the dance. A population made up predominantly of Merr's and Nymphs, the town now teamed with a colorful collection of Dryads, Dolphins, Lionfish, Whales, Sea Frogs, and even two giant Krakens. Across the way, Alsa could see Bora Tras and the snowflakes, grouped in a threatening semi-circle around Tina Foh, a nymph one year younger then Alsa who bore the unfortunate deformity of having one webbed foot. Because of this, she swam around in a pair of silk slippers, and was consequently teased mercilessly by Bora and her friends. Alsa took a very deep breath. This was it. Then, head held high, she swam over the heads of the snowflake girls in a show of rude bravado, and landed in their midst. Completely ignoring them she turned her focused attention on Tina. "Hello Tina, ooo what's that smell? Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about the midnight dance. I really think that red would be a more dramatic color, although ooo it kind of smells. Come on, let's get out of here" Before any of the snowflakes could get a word in edgewise, she grabbed Tina's hand and together they swam off. Behind them the only thing the startled Bora Tross could say was a weakly shouted "hey what's that yellow thing on your head?" Tina, also surprised, trailed, limply allowing herself to be tugged on by the hand of Alsa. Finally she managed a weak "what do you mean the midnight dance?" "You know the dance that the Queen of Love and Beauty takes after she is crowned at midnight , where she presents herself. I was planning on wearing black to the dance, but changing after I won into something a little more fiery. What do you think?" "I think red is nice. What? No, Bora Tross is going to be the queen Alsa. I mean, lets be serious, she's the prettiest girl in town for one thing!" "She is only pretty because everyone says so. I say you and I are prettier then her, and that we can prove it, by winning that crown. Are you with me?" "Alsa this is ridiculous. You can't make yourself more beautiful then Bora just by saying you are." "Well.my mother has been trying to tell me something lately. Something important. That, if you believe in something that is good and beautiful, and if you believe in it hard enough, and can get other people to believe in it, that sometimes, if you try really hard, you can make that idea a reality. I want to make this a reality, not because I want everyone to think I'm the prettiest, but because it would be wrong to just let Bora win. Now.will you help me? Or do I stand up to her alone? Tina could see there was a steely look in Alsa's eyes. She didn't know the girl well, they were basically acquaintances, but Alsa had always seemed kind of quiet to Tina. Now however, there seemed almost to be a glow about her. It kind of matched that yellow lock in her hair. "Hey what'd you do to your hair anyways?" "It's an accent." "It looks.interesting." "No Tina, it looks beautiful." The last week before the dance was an intense flurry of excitement and action as everyone hurried to get themselves, and the town, ready. Bora Tross and her gang of snowflakes became almost violent during this period, stepping up their regiment of torture and abuse on anyone they didn't like. It was Alsa's mother who had pointed out the peculiar fact that, recently in particular, their attacks seamed to be focused not on the least attractive girls, but on the ones who were most beautiful but were not part of their group. In contrast Alsa had spent the week being as sweet and friendly to as many people as she could. She made friends with all of the workers who had come into town to help with the preparations, the builders, the cooks, the musicians, even the monstrous Kraken construction team. However Alsa's true focus this week had been on the other maiden nymphs who would be at the dance. Several times she swooped in on the snowflakes, coming between them and one of the other girls in town, leading them away before Bora could form a decent insult, just like she had for Tina. Then, she would inform them of her plan to win the Crown of Beauty and Love, and beat Bora at her own game, and she would ask if they wanted to help. Nobody in that situation turned her down. This behavior had turned the snowflakes into fierce enemies. She and her mother had decided that it was best if they stayed in the same room when they slept. The snowflakes wouldn't dare to prank her mother along with her, so she was safe at night, and during the day she simply tried to keep her eyes open. She knew most of their tricks, and was generally able to avoid them. Luckily Bora seamed distracted that week. Finally the day of the dance arrived. The main area, namely the part where breathing by land creatures would be possible, was in the red stone paved square in the center of the town. The krakens who had helped with the preparations had erected enormous pillars all around this square, which rose miles into the sky to touch the very surface of the water. The pillars ended in a semi-circle against the cliff face, which also rose up past the surface of the water. At one end opposite the cliffs, a series of fat pillars had been grouped very close together, with a wide opening in the middle which was the official entrance to the ball. At dusk, Chancellor Neptune, along with a council of elder Merrs, performed the necessary magic to allow land creatures to breathe within the space between the pillars. Using the cliff to round out the circle saved them considerable time casting the spell, which was made complicated by the need to make the water breathable for both land and sea creatures, at the same time. When they were finished, a great bonfire was lit in the center of the clearing, and the dance was announced to be open. At that point, people and creatures of every variety started hopping off of the boats that had been circling on the surface of the water, and started swimming down towards their village. Most had to wear weighted shoes, or tie rocks to themselves to keep from floating away. Occasionally someone would bring a stone just heavy enough to get them half or three quarters of the way down, which left them stuck hanging in mid ocean. However, they were eventually joined by others with the same predicament, as well as genial swimming creatures, until the party formed in three dimensions going from the surface of the water all the way down to the ocean floor. A band made up mostly of night elves and fairies started to play a happy tune on an eclectic assortment of instruments. While the elves preferred lutes, lyres, and sitars, the fairies used a collection of bells which rang in tones ranging all the way down to a deep baritone. A very fat dwarf sat in the front playing the drums. His drum stick had a small cushion tied to it, because he usually played so loud that he would drown out the music from the rest of the band. Everyone knew that the most important part of the dance was the entrance you made. For some girls it would be the only time that Chancellor Neptune would actually look at them, and the nymph with the best entrance was generally named the queen of love and beauty. Bora Tross understood this, and had a plan that had often been used by winners in the past, to use her snowflakes to make a complicated and highly choreographed entrance, featuring herself. However it had been very difficult convincing the other snowflakes to go along with this, as they were made up of some of the most beautiful girls in town, and many thought they had a chance for the crown themselves. It had taken a lot of effort for Bora to convince her friends to do what she wanted. Much of the bullying that she had instigated in the past weeks had been to solidify the snowflakes, giving them a single purpose, alienating them from the rest of the town, and reminding them of what the price of disobedience was. She had also made lavish promises to all of them that upon her appointment, they would be declared members of the royal court of love and beauty, and would share in the glory of the moment. Helping her cause was the courts intrinsic hierarchy, which she held like a hammer over the head of anyone who showed signs of unrest. As she said, better to be a second place winner then a first place loser. What Bora didn't know is that Alsa had also formed a group, and had planned a choreographed entrance of her own. Made up largely of victims of the snowflakes cruelty, they had three times as many nymphs as the snowflakes. Under the supervision of her mother, who was turning out to be a brilliant strategist, they had been divided into two groups; those who would actually enter with Alsa, and those who would enter earlier and make the necessary preparations for her. Alsa was rather surprised at all of the support she had managed to gain. She had always been a fairly quiet nymph who kept to herself and tried not to bother anyone around her. However under her mothers supervision she had been more outgoing in the last two weeks then she had previously been in her entire life. Further, she found that she really liked it, and enjoyed having the new friends she had met around her. She was also surprised that so many girls were willing to sacrifice their own chance at winning to help Alsa. When she had asked Tina why they were doing it, she had said that most of the girls realized that they didn't have any realistic hope of winning. Not only did they have to face Bora and her snowflakes, but literally hundreds of other maidens from around the world including Mermaids, Elves, Pixies, Humans, Lightins, Centaurs, and Eaglets. Widely considered the most uniquely beautiful creatures in the sea, a nymph did often win, but the competition was fierce and left little room for hope in girls who had spent most of their lives being told that they weren't pretty enough. By helping Alsa, they believed they might at least be able to capture some small part of the glory that went with her victory. Besides, they hated Bora, and wanted to see the humiliation of her loss. Bora arraigned her snowflakes before the entrance pillar about a half hour before midnight . It was a late entrance, but it placed them in Neptune 's attention at the prime moment, just before he had to choose the Queen of Beauty and Love, which traditionally happened at midnight . Alsa's own group was waiting in the shadows behind a coral house. After the snowflakes made their entrance, they would move up to the pillared gate. In that way Alsa could enter just after Bora was finished with her performance, thus stealing much of the other girl's attention, and placing herself in Neptune 's eye even closer to the moment of choice. Bora had the snowflakes arranged in a tight circle around her. Each of them was dressed in a pure white gown except for Bora, whose dress contained the additional element of delicate black markings which created the illusion of the holes in a snowflake. Inside the square, Neptune sat comfortably on a throne made from solidified water which rested on a raised platform at the opposite end from the entryway. When the large hulking troll in the tuxedo who stood by the entrance pillar banged his spear shaft against the ground twice, the Chancellor dutifully looked up to see yet another entrance from a hopeful young maiden. Although he had seen some very beautiful girls, and even a few cleverly choreographed entrances, he was starting to get bored with the whole thing. At this point he much preferred the entrances of the males who were attending the dance. They had no reason to make a big show, and so they usually just swam in unannounced. He took another deep swig from his wine glass and prepared for this newest entrance. The water trolls voice was deep and baritone. "LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND CREATURES, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE LOVELY MISS BORA TROSS, AND HER SNOWFLAKES." Bora and her compatriots entered the square trying to maintain the tight circular formation that they had formed behind the entrance. It was a little awkward, but it only had to be maintained until they reached the center of the square. However as they moved, the youngest snowflake, a girl named Lora Nei staggered forward, catching her dress on a sharp edge of the entry pillar and ripping a wide slash across the skirt. At the sound of the fabric ripping Bora turned from within the circle, her eyes dark and furious. "You worthless sea rat." She whispered, and then turned to make sure nobody could see her. The circle of snowflakes still hid her from the view of most in the room, however instead of moving to the center of the dance floor, they had halted at the entrance as Lora tried desperately to extract her dress from the sharp stone without doing further damage to it. Bora could tell that she only had one moment of hesitation before the whole display was ruined, so she acted. "Just get out of here." And with that she pushed the young girl back out through the entrance pillar, ripping her dress even further. Then, turning her iron will forward, she led the snowflakes out to the center of the square. She hesitated a moment, heightening the anticipation. Then, taking a deep calming breath, she sprung upwards, and suddenly all of the snowflakes snapped into action. In graceful languid movements they began to swim intricate patterns around Bora, who moved gently back and forth through the middle of the fray. Chancellor Neptune sitting high above the proceedings could see what had transpired between Bora and Tina. When he saw it, he turned to his wife laughing, "Did you see that? This ones got spirit. I like her." His wife, bedecked in jewels, rolled her eyes. Just past the entrance young Lora Nei sat crying in a huddle where she had been pushed. Now she would never be part of the court of love and beauty, she probably wouldn't even be a snowflake anymore, and she certainly couldn't show her face at the dance at all that night. Everything had been ruined because she was so stupid, stupid stupid. Alsa, who had seen everything from her hiding place, felt terrible for Lora. Even though she was a snowflake, and had taken part in her share of torture and insults, she still didn't deserve to be betrayed like that. Emerging from her hiding place Alsa swam over to Lora, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The other girls followed huddling close around the crying nymph. "It's alright Lora. Now stop sobbing, it's alright." Lora was despondent, not even paying attention to the group of nymphs which were huddled about her. Alsa looked through the entry way and could see Bora and the Snowflakes just reaching the climax of their dance. Looking around at the helpless expressions of her friends, and then at the misery of Lora, she took a deep breathe. "Alright. Lora.I have an idea, but you
have to stop crying and get a hold of yourself." She grabbed the nymph
by both shoulders and forced her to look into her eyes. Lora sniffed pointedly, but the crying did slow down. "What, what are you doing?" "We are making an entrance and we need your help. You Lora, are going to play the role of Aswianna Aralaigh, The Chancellors beloved wife." "But." "No Lora, you have to help us. You don't even have to do anything just stand there, we will make you look good. But this is important." "I don't understand." "You don't have to, come on stand up we have to get ready." Inside, the snowflakes dance was ending. As the girls had swum their intricate patterns around Bora, slowly they had started drifting away; melting into the crowd one by one until only Bora herself was left, hanging delicately in the water. Then the beautiful nymph turned and looked directly into Neptune 's eyes. Blinking demurely, she offered him a small, secret smile, and then she gracefully floated away, moving off to Neptune 's right, relinquishing the center of the square to the guests and attendees of the dance. Merrs and nymphs, centaurs and eaglets all started drifting back onto the dance floor. Suddenly the great tuxedoed water troll cleared his throat and made another baritone announcement. "LORA NEI AND ALSA RAYNE WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT TINA FOH, MARLA HUGH, ALSACE LAS, LAURIA JOS, ALLY HAN, AND TERA SUFF. TOGETHER THEY ARE, GOLDEN SUNLIGHT, AND THEY SEND THEIR COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHANCELLOR. As Lora entered, guided subtly from behind by Alsa, and then the rest of the girls emerged behind them, Bora hissed in fury. Struggling to control her rage she swam deeper into the crowd which had formed around the edges of the central square. Alsa and her troupe rose several feet off the ground and formed a line just past the entryway, then halted momentarily so that the attendees of the dance could get a better look at them. Lora in her white dress stood in front of Alsa who was in a gown of black and red. The golden lock which had framed the left side of her face for the past few weeks was now complimented by a second lock framing the right. Three girls in deep red dresses hovered on her left including Tina Foh, who was positioned closest to Alsa. They each had a golden lock of hair framing the right side of their faces. On the right the same scene was duplicated, except that the golden hair hung on the right side of their faces, and their dresses were pure black. Alsa gently prodded Lora, and the whole group proceeded to the center of the square. As they moved, those nymphs whom Alsa had recruited to enter the party early and prepare for her went into action. One sped off towards the band, where they requested a very specific war song be played, which would compliment the choreography. The Dwarf drummer, upon hearing their request smiled crookedly, and removed the cushions from his drum sticks. Another nymph hurried towards Neptune with a sealed envelope, which she delivered directly into his hands. Curious, the Chancellor opened the letter immediately and read it aloud in his booming voice. The choreography in this entrance is a tribute to the great and heroic deeds of Chancellor Neptune, courtesy of the Golden Sunlight. The chancellor laughed when he read this. "Now this I REALLY like. Aswi, look, its all about me." When the girls reached their positions, the band started playing a heavy rhythmic beat, with a powerful primal feeling. Slowly Alsa began to rise far above the others, moving in gently flowing motions. The other girls also began to move, slowly at first, but quickly gaining momentum as they went. As they progressed, their movements began to tell the story of the beginning of the Southern Kingdom. The girls in red represented the violent demons who had once ruled the seas, those in black represented the spirits of despair that had haunted the water since the beginning of time. In the dance they struggled violently back and forth, colliding and clashing in time with the powerful music. Their actions were wild and fierce and in the center of it all, stood Lora, looking very uncertain. As the momentum grew more powerful the girls became even more unrestrained. Even though they had never practiced it they began to collide with Lora as well, even pushing her down and ripping her already spoiled dress further. Completely confused the young girl screamed, and the beat of the music grew louder. At this point, Alsa dove from high above the fray, her arms forked above her head in the symbol of the trident she swam straight into the center of the chaos with a mighty and decisive force. As she hit her friends went scattering in every direction. As if struck with a bolt of lightning they flew across the hall, landing in seemingly random heaps. Now alone in the center, Alsa took this chance to whisper a quiet reassurance to Lora. "Don't panic, this is working great." Then she rose, and gazed fiercely around her. The girls in red and black began to rise as well. Menacingly they advanced on Alsa, swimming in angry waves to the beat of the drum. Terrified and confused, Lora remained in a heap on the ground. As they closed in on her, Alsa began to swim in a wild pattern. As the other girls entered the squares center, they joined her motions with their own wild and complimentary moves. Threading back and forth through one another, moving at furious speeds to the beat of the drums, they began to appear like a giant creature of black and red, panting at the exertion of making war on itself. Slowly however, as the song neared its end, the violent chaos began to grow more calm, and gradually the motions of the other girls fell in line with Alsa's, until they were actually following her around the square. Then as the song ended, Alsa led them in a line back to Lora, and there taking the girls hand and helping her to stand, they stood in a straight line before Neptune , and bowed. For the first time that evening the chancellor leapt to his feat and started raucously applauding. Hesitantly, the other guests also began clapping respectfully for the girls. "Com forward little Neptune , you have played your part well." Alsa swam forward, and bowed her head before the great chancellor. "I don't have to worry about you trying to take my job now do I?" Alsa smiled. "Well, lets just say, don't turn your back on me." He laughed. "You know I really do like you girl, what's your name?" "Alsa Rayne" "I knew I recognized you! You look just like your mother." Alsa Beamed. "And now, where is that little Aswianna. Ahh there you are, come here child." The young sea nymph swam forward hesitantly, her shoulders quivering slightly. "You my dear were good; I actually believed that you were terrified. Great screaming voice! And it was even better because of what that girl in white did to you before she came on. It really made everyone feel for you. That was part of the act right?" Lora whimpered, "you, you saw that?" Her face blushed a bright cherry red. "How lovely really. And what is your name young lady." Lora shivered and stared at her toes. "Its Lora, Lora Nei sir," Alsa spoke up for the terrified nymph. "Lora Nei, well.." As he spoke, the water around Lora began to curve in a strange way "In honor of my beloved wife," his voice grew louder now "and in honor of love itself, I declare you, Lora Nei, The Queen of Love and Beauty!" At this the water coagulated about her head into the form of a solid but wavering crown, and a spray of waves erupted outward in every direction. The attendants at the dance broke into a wild cheer. Neptune curved the water about the clearing, catching the noise and rebounding it even louder, until the pillars around them shook with the vibrations of the fanfare. It was so loud that nobody could hear the wailing screams of a very upset Bora Tross. "Sir, uh chancellor" Lora reached her small hand up, resting on the giant muscles of Neptune 's arm. "My dear child, what is it?" "I.I can't accept this." Neptune was taken aback. "What do you mean?" "Its.it was all a mistake, and I ripped my dress and." she pulled the liquid crown from her head and swam over to Alsa "and this belongs to her." "This is highly irregular. I mean, this has never been done. You don't want it?" Alsa looked into Lora's eyes, then, ignoring the crown she swam before Neptune . "Sir, might I speak a few words to your guests, I think I might be able to clear up what is going on here." "Well.somebody has to!" Alsa straightened her back and turned to address the cacophony of creatures that had attended the ball. She saw her mother standing in the crowd, looking so proud of her, and she thought about everything she had learned in the last few weeks. "Hello everybody." Her voice sounded week, and frail, so she took a deep breath and strengthened it. "I have something I want to share with you." This time the sound carried across the ocean in a resounding boom. She turned to look at Neptune, who smiled at her encouragingly. Apparently he had used the trick with the water to give her a little volume. "I have learned a lot in the past few weeks leading up to this dance. I've learned about beauty, and I've learned about friendship. " "However one of the most important this I learned, is that this contest does not matter." Neptune was shocked, and a little bit hurt. What was going on here? Nobody wanted to be the queen of love and beauty anymore? Alsa continued. "Nobody can tell you that you are beautiful, or that you aren't. That's just an opinion. If I put that crown on a sea lion, does it make him beautiful? No." "True beauty is self given. It is about believing in your own beauty, and acting beautiful. It has nothing to do with what anyone else thinks. If you truly believe in yourself, nobody can take it away from you, because nobody gave it to you. That is why I will not accept this crown. What I have gained, lasts much, much longer than ten years, and is more powerful then any contest." With that Alsa quietly swam away from the podium, out through the pillar entranceway, and started home. Neptune , bewildered, and a little bit upset, looked around at his guests. "Well.does anyone want this thing?" Suddenly there was a girl's scream and Bora Tross sped like a meteor out of the crowd up to the podium. " Ill take it." Lora caught up to Alsa half way to the entrance of her cave. "Alsa wait." She grabbed the girl by the shoulder and turned her. "Why did you do that?" "Well.its like I said." "Yeah but what you said didn't make any sense." "Yeah.I guess I just don't want anyone else telling me if I'm beautiful or not." "I guess that makes sense." It really didn't to her though. "Alsa?" "Yeah?" "Thank you. I know I haven't always treated you well.but I never wanted to pull any of the pranks the snowflakes did to you. "Lora, it doesn't matter, the snowflakes can't do anything to me anymore. I've beaten them." ______________________________________________________ When she entered the mouth of her cave her mother was already sitting in a chair in the front chamber. Alsa stopped and looked at her. "Mother." "Alsa.darling." "Was that the right thing to do?" Her mother leapt into the air and grabbed Alsa hugging her fiercely. "What makes me even more proud is that you know the answer to that question already. Click Here for Part 1 of This Tale Written By J.L.N. Lewitin, courtesy of AncientThoughts.com |
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