Chapter 14: Concerning the Key
The elves, Medfeln and Cseson, took the star back to Oquelon, to Tierney, with the intention of getting Tierney’s guidance before setting out on a journey to return the star to its rightful pedestal. But this did not happen. When they arrived in Oquelon, they were exhausted from traveling and defending themselves from the evils encountered on the journey. Their first desire was to rest and then to let someone else take care of the star.
Over the next 900 years, the elves kept the good star stored away, hoping that most men would forget about it. But, if anything, the men became more aware of it, since the elves, with every passing year, became stronger. In 3744 CL, men interfered in the strength of the elves. A group of men who knew most of the land of Lataria and were educated in the true histories and myths traveled with the star intending to put it back in its pedestal.
They had a rough start as the elves did everything in their power to keep the men away from the star. An army of men distracted the elves so a different company of men could steal the star and head south. They knew that its pedestal was in the south, but where exactly they did not know. They traveled quickly, but scoured the land thoroughly, making sure not to miss the pedestal in their haste. They encountered numerous natural barriers, causing them to take more time in getting through certain places. Some died in this mission, but those who survived returned home, asking for more men to travel with them.
Anything they asked for they received, including twice as many men to aid in completing this mission. Years passed as they wandered, looking for the pedestal, until only a small group of men was left, frantically searching the same places because they knew time was running out to restore the star. The star had been out of its pedestal for almost 1000 years, and they wanted to keep the balance of power by returning the star.
After a year of searching, many of them were convinced that this mission was hopeless and that perhaps there was no pedestal, so they began retracing their steps back home. Stumbling into a glade surrounded by dead trees, they saw it: a tall tree stump that would make the perfect pedestal. The man who held the star sprinted forward, stretching forth the star to put it in the pedestal. Right before he could put it back, the dip in the pedestal where the stone would have been set glossed over. The tree stump then grew into a tree, with thick branches sprouting out at different angles and heights. A few figures stepped out from behind other trees, but the men did not need them to explain what happened. They sank to the ground in despair. They were too late. The 1000 years had passed.
A figure, a man who looked like them, approached them but did not say anything. Then, to their surprise, the tree reversed its process—growing shorter and losing its branches until it again became the pedestal. The man holding the star did not know what to do and so simply continued kneeling on the ground. The figure stepped forward, took the star, and placed it in the pedestal. He then told them that he was Parrazanad, the god of knowledge, and that the 1000 years had indeed passed. He explained that there had been two forces placing illusions on the pedestal because both enjoyed their power: the elves, and Sanguinar. Both forces cast spells and enchantments to disguise and hide the pedestal so the men would not find it. By the nature of the stars and the pedestals, these 1000 years should have been the end of the good star. However, once again, Xaiyar interfered. Xaiyar noticed how the two forces fooled the men and wanted power for selfish reasons. And Xaiyar also noticed the faithfulness and resolve that the men had demonstrated in seeking the pedestal. Therefore, Xaiyar restored the pedestal to reward the men in their mission and to punish the elves and Sanguinar by not allowing them to gain complete power yet. This would be the only exception, however. Parrazanad stressed that Xaiyar would make no more such allowances, for Xaiyar had already interfered too much.
The men displayed their gratefulness by guarding the pedestal and sending the extra soldiers back to their leader. The events were relayed and an army of well trained and well equipped soldiers marched to the pedestal where they kept a constant watch. Only the guards were allowed to step near the pedestal.
The practice of guarding the star and pedestal continued for about twenty years until a young woman, wanting to see the star, journeyed to the pedestal. When she arrived she was not allowed to see it as the guards followed their orders. Yet she managed to speak with the guards off-duty, who described the pedestal to her, and the unsightly crack or gaping hole at its base.
When she returned home, she worked on a secret project, letting no one see her work. Several months later she emerged from her workshop, wearing a necklace. Unlike other necklaces, the chain was plain silver, and earned a few laughs and jeers from the other women and men. But she cared not about the chain, it was the thing on the chain: an oddly shaped, jagged piece of emerald.
She returned to the southern pedestal and talked the guards into letting her see if the emerald could serve as a kind of key. Since the guards let her pass without asking any questions, her traveling companions guessed that she had taught herself some kind of sorcery or magic, because only the supernatural could keep the guards away from her. A small hole in the base of the pedestal had been described to her on her last visit, and she tried to create the emerald so it would fit perfectly. It fit inside the hole, but the fit was not snug—the key was too small. To her dismay her key would not work. Nevertheless, she took out another piece of emerald, this one too large for the hole. Sitting before the pedestal, she cut it to size. Surprisingly, by her own knowledge and wit, the emerald was made to be the key to the pedestal, and she created bands, or fingers so to speak, that would close over the star, holding it in place. Therefore, the only way to remove the star would be to unlock the pedestal with the emerald key, at which the bands would bend backward no longer protecting the star, but unobstructed so anyone could remove it. One of the gods, recognizing the importance of the key, enchanted it so that its keeper would live immortally. The thought and intention was: better one keeper than many. And so it was. One keeper of one key for all of Lataria, all who had come before, and all who would come to follow.
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About the Lataria series: The History of Lataria provides supplemental material to the Lataria world. If you liked these characters and mythology, then see my other book entitled Lamia, available at Amazon and on Kindle. Other stories and books in the Lataria series are also in the works, so stay tuned!
About the author: Katherine Lashley teaches essay and research writing (not as much fun as creative writing, of course!) at several colleges and universities in Maryland. Currently she is a Ph.D. candidate in English at Morgan State University. When she is not playing around with fiction and creative writing, she is researching and writing her dissertation. She has published one other book, a memoir, entitled My Younger Older Sister: Growing Up With An Autistic Older Sister.
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