Tihn
Patroclus Andikes included this drawing of a bas-relief from a ruined city
in Upper Egypt in his History of the Nile. Later copies of this drawing
sadly dropped the multiple use of fonts and text placement, though they
preserved this translation of the text.
In 1809, Capt. Jack Horsnby used the Andikes text to discover the location
of the city. Capt Hornsby ordered his detachment to remove any artifacts,
which might be valuable for study. After removing all cartable artifacts,
they cut many of the bas-reliefs from the stones themselves.
The Tihn relief makes it permanent home in the London City Museum of
Natural History. There has long been speculation as to the meaning of this
relief. Since no one had been able to determine the city's location until
1989, when it was rediscovered by the US military satellites looking for
terrorist bases, and as Capt. Hornsby did not note the exact locations
of the bas-reliefs before detachment, speculation was all that remained.
After examining the remains of the city's refuse dump, it is clear that
this city was a jinn nest, where various races of the fair came to meet
in a neutral area governed by the jinn. Jinn have often been known to carve
Essence honorific art into the rocks of their habitats. By comparing a
rubbing of the back of the relief and the surfaces of the rock faces, it
was determined that the relief came from a sheer cliff face. Capt. Hornsby's
detachment removed the relief with small explosive charges. The only creatures
capable of carving the rock with such precision and at such an altitude
are jinn. Their art work by using flame and water as cutting tools has
long been legendary.
This relief display both the cyclical -everything/nothing/everything
- sequence common to jinn poetry, but it contains the conventional theme
of dissipation.
It is difficult to convey the sense of font usage between alphabets.
The text within the box, is actually scattered over the cliff face in roughly
this format.
Gaia
This text was found in a cave somewhere in Africa. Since the person who
made the discovery has since died, no one has been able to locate the text.
This translation, from the original explorer's discovery, is the only one
in existence. The idea of the living earth is not unknown outside of this,
however. Others have learned of the first continent Pangaea and the first
ocean Panthalassa, as well as the Tethys sea. The Tethys sea has since
closed up, after the formation of the two continents Laurasia and Gondwanaland,
but the name Tethys has been remembered. Myths name her as the marine goddess,
daughter of Uranus and Gaea, sister and wife to Oceanus.
Stone
This anonymous poem was found in a Nadao Monastery in Afghanistan. It contains
a series of lines later quoted by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland,
"Life what is it but a dream? Ever drifting lingering golden gleam." Less
recognizable are the mutated elements from Ecclesiastes. The central theme,
however, is one found in Chinese ideology. This quote may be found in the
Sung-kao-shen chi:
When it comes to transformations, the essential spirit of an old pine
tree changes into a gray bull, a crouching tortoise, yellow amber, or a
green stone.
The Huang-shan-sung-shih-p'u cites the Po-wu-chih as saying "The pine
tree is ultimately of the same nature as stones."
Coatlique
This Mexica story has been handed down orally for many centuries. Unfortunately,
there is no original written anywhere, so we cannot be sure of the accuracy
of all points. The Mexica honored the living earth and the sun through
these deities.
Mardaka
This story is recorded in the Aite Book of the Living. It may be taken
to be related to the story of Marduk and Tiamat. The names are of course
similar. More than that, Tiama, like Tiamat, can wear the shape of a dragon.
She is associated with birth and the sea.
In the original version of this story, Marduk kills Tiamat, who is the
mother of all things living and he creates the world from her body. Tiamat
bore monsters and gods in her womb. The original story destroyed the Goddess
for the God. This is a story of a time when they were on better terms.
Tiangon Kaiwu
Many cultures speak of those who have traveled through the levels of heaven
or hell. In this story, the Chinese belief in the seventeen levels of the
underworld, and the cruel swan woman who lives at the bottom level seem
to be the basis. The kudai are good spirits, the aina are bad spirits.
This story also relates to the idea of cave-heavens, and the smoke-hole
which connects the earth and the underworld. In a gourd-heaven there is
another world.
Wind
Stories of the wind pervade all cultures, but this particular account of
wind is from the North American plains. The original peoples listened to
the wind and heard its singing and stories. The clash with Tethys seems
to be a later addition to the story, as Tethys appears primarily in seafaring
cultures.
Thyras
This Wanderer style poem was discovered in a wooden box in the basement
of Lord Cardwiks Cornwall manor. The manor, formerly a Catholic abbey,
was deeded to the Cardwick family by Henry VIII after his dissolution of
the Church.
The manuscript has been verified by stylistic appearance and language
variation to date from the seventh to eighth century in England. It bears
many language topes of Anglo Saxon poetry, ie gift giver, whale road, world
serpent.
The reference to the cadesh connects this text to the selkie, who were
well known to form themselves into cadeshes.
A cadesh as defined by McCallum's Life Among the Selkie is "a unit of
protection from the predators of the sea. The leader of the group is a
male or female selkie who retains the loyalty of the cadesh through gifts
or guidance."
Nada
This story is found in aboriginal Australia. Not much is known. See the
Bestiary for dragon notes.
Green is the Color of Love
Medusa, Siren, Selkie - Eina is all of these. She is the death which results
from seduction, and she weds a sort of death, a fearsome Kelpie. Kelpies
are shape changers, most often taking the shape of a beautiful man or a
black horse. They tricked people into riding them and then threw them,
or drown young women after seducing them. Yet it is green, not black, which
is the color of love. Love and Death, like Eina and Tarn, come to embody
the ability to change.
It is this quality which makes this lais an exemplary example of the
philosophical tone of literature in the court of King Gwidion of Lyoness
of the undersea in the Eleventh Century. This story was written down from
folktales by a court poet who identified herself as Elizabetta of Petit-Bretagne.
Little is known of Elizabetta, other than she came from Brittany. King
Gwidion traced his decent from Elowyn, Eina's youngest sister.
Branoc ap Awrn
Branoc is a familiar character for the fey of Ireland and Wales. He is
a warrior, a wizard, and of course of fair blood. Branoc's adventures in
search of eternal life make up the Branoc Ap Awrn cycle, of which there
are twenty-two manuscripts still extant. His adventures across Europe are
left open in order to allow insertion of various individual stories. Fourteen
of the manuscript copies display different versions of his adventures.
Nine of these stories appear in other manuscripts.
There is a further, much looser, cycle of Branoc stories following the
Branoc Ap Awrn story. There are nineteen extant manuscripts of this cycle,
which are made up of sixty-seven different stories.
This version of Branoc Ap Awrn is based primarily on the Fishbroker
version of the text, using other versions for reference. Branoc Ap Awrn
embodies the Dryad beliefs in the cyclical nature of life. Other versions
with additional stories display a more active, martial Branoc. I choose
to concentrate on the Dryad versions of this story in order to remain true
to their spirit.
This story is a sort of Keltic Gilgamesh. Lloyd Alexander supplied many
of the names. It was actually the custom of the Picts to expose their dead,
before burying the bones in a common burial house. They may not have had
pan pipes, but a magical instrument, which makes people dance, is not an
uncommon theme.
Of Jaguar Men
This story is an account of an Olmec shaman (were-jaguar). We see the documentation
of these shamans through the carved supernatural figures found in this
area of modern Mexico in about 1300 CE. Like most Mesoamerican peoples,
the Olmec made offerings to the deities of the earth, sun, and rain.
Goat
On the green hill of UCSC there stands a grave marker to the memory of
Samantha. Dogs are no longer allowed on the campus following her death.
Rhapsody on a Ruined City
This poem, written in 460 CE by Bao Zhao (zi Mingyuan) was published in
a collection of literature titled Wen xuan. Xiao Tong compiled this collection
in the sixth century, and it was translated in 1987 by David Knechtges.
The poem describes the ruins of the city of Guangling, dating from 486
BCE. The Purple Pass refers to the Great Wall. The city was built upon
the Guangling Ridge, also known as the Kunlun Ridge, and described here
as Kun Ridge.
Sedranh ap Shoeth
On October 17, 1989 a 7.1 earthquake shook the UCSC campus. Elfland, found
on the campus north of Communications and west of Crown Merrill, is a collection
of shrines built of fairy rings and other delightful aspects of the woods
and their inhabitants. Elfland flourished before construction of Colleges
Nine and Ten began in December of 1990, when one of the dens was cut down.
Few people visited Elfland for the next year; now gradually the people
are coming back. But many feel the area has been irrevocably damaged by
the construction.
This prophetic story was found in the Catacombs of Faith in Elfland
just prior to the earthquake in 1989, along with the story Daershryli.
It is believed that other writings lay hidden in Elfland, but to date none
have been discovered.
Daershryli
Moraina, commonly known as the prophet of Rowardennan, most likely brought
these two stories and placed them in Elfland. This story clearly takes
place in the area around Elfland, particularly in Cave Gulch which runs
across the UCSC campus.
Darmok
Star Date 1301983
In the style of a race who speak in references, Corina Mina has written
this stylized poem based on recent events. The Common introduction, and
then relationships. A father and son who do not get along. Two races, one
the logical parent, the other the dangerous child. The next refers to two
people, one supplied with arms by the Federation, the other by the Klingons,
and incited to fight by those two governments. Kras was a Klingon sent
to incite Maab to kill his brother, the ruler of Capella IV, which they
did. New Salem Station was the site of the betrayal by Cornel Green of
his people in the 21st Century. Nona was the wife of the leader of the
Hill people, who were given arms by the Federation. She sought to betray
her husband and was instead killed by those she attempted to betray him
to. The Day of the Dove is the day Klingons and the crew of the Enterprise
worked together to rid themselves of a creature that fed on hate. Daarmak
and Gilaad were stranded on Tinagra and the only way they could live was
by working together. Geordi and Bakra worked together and escaped Galordon
Core because of it. Unification refers to an aborted attempt to reunite
the two races of Vulcan and Romulus. If failed, the time was not right.
Proconsul Neral and D'Tan betrayed and thwarted the attempt. Chancellor
Gorkon was killed on Chronos I attempting to bring peace. Yet his daughter,
Chancellor Azetbur, went on to sign a treaty at Khitomer. Worf, a Klingon,
was raised by Humans and went on to serve on a Federation ship. He symbolizes
that Vulcan phrase Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations - IDIC.
Bestiary
Excerpt on Dragons from Crystal Carroll's monumental work, A Bestiary
on Animales Wandrous and Estrange, as found in all continents of this earthe
under the celestial spheres. |
