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Chapter 1

The Legend

There is such a legend of a golden elephant and her silver baby son. The treasures and peacekeeps of Calciana. Where Mother Nature herself took up the disguise of an elephant and her son, the hope of the people and all living things in Calciana, in the form of a silver elephant. Back then, the kingdom was abundant with riches and beauty as far as the eye can see and where animals were respected as equals in the grand scheme of life. People always had food in their bellies and smiles on their faces. Legend also says that the sound of the elephant's trumpet was so majestic and beautiful that the whole kingdom was said to stop and listen to the sound that righted all wrongs. It was a sight that even the blind could see. It truly was a paradise. With vines creeping up walls, orchads of fruit trees and feilds of crops always growing, exotic flowers and trees blooming and larks and mockingbirds of various colors sand sweet tunes at the break of dawn. Wildflowers of different hues of blues, oranges and violets scattered all around the meadows, just beyond the feilds, where the elephants were always sighted. Man and animal alike, worshipped them like Gods, kneeling down before them when blessed with their rare presense. Mother Nature was never unkind and was always protecting Calciana's hope who was growing good and strong. But nothing in this world lasts forever.
Soon after, the kingdom was suddenly plagued by greed and jealousy. The first victim that started it all was the King. And everybody knows that the state of the kingdom mirrors the state of the king. His name was King Sadeth the first and he was the founder and the first ruler of Calciana. He as jealous that these elephants,these "mere animals" - were his words,

were held in higher regard that he was. It was the first time that anybody has ever heard someone talk about animals like they were beneath them, let alone these

ones. It was just unthinkable and the villagers ignored him. Outraged of being cast away so quickly, he let jealousy guide his actions. And on that very night, he planned on capturing the two greatest treasures of the entire kingdom.
Now nobody knows what really happened that night, except the king and the captain of the guards who executed this plan, but whatever did happen that night is the cause of why life was never the same again. Some say that the king ambushed the two elephants and tried to kill them for their hides and only managed to kill the baby. Others say that while trying to capture them, the two got seperated and the baby ran into the woods, never to be seen again.
I don't believe either, but then again, i wasn't much into rumors from the start anyway.
Either way, Mother Nature was stricken and blamed all of mankind because of King Sadeth. The grass turned brown and the trees shrivaled up. Natural disasters sprang up, wrecking havoc on the citizens of Calciana while the golden elephant stampeded away leaving a trail of destruction. Deciding to give mercy, the earthquakes and tornadoes ceased to exist when Mother Nature gave one final cry. Then blinding light flooded the kingdom, starting fires to the village's homes and food storages. When the light disspersed, the golden elephant was nowhere to be seen. People began panicking and tried their best to take out the fires but did not succeed. Black smoke hung in the air like fog and for the first time in Calcianien history, the sky was red, like it, too, was on fire. And the once, proud castle turned black from all the smoke in the air.
The villagers were left with nothing. Distraught, starving and without Mother Nature's protection, the plague of jealousy and greed spread like wildfire through everybody's mind. People began wanting what their neighbors had and slaughtering more animals than they needed. Even the royalty wanted always more and more money. The kingdom was ill since.
Everybody knows the legends of the elephants and the prosperity and greatness of the kingdom before. It was basic history. I have the tendacy to question whether or not the story has been exaggerated and stretched throughout the years to the point where what originally happened is just a kernal of truth hidden in the big monstrosity of lies and rumors people throughout time have added their own spice to it. No matter how hard the reasonable side of my mind tries, i always end up daydreaming about that time, ever since i was a little girl. I would imagine it to the point that i could practically smell the flowers, see the golden gleam of Mother Nature's hide or feel the textures of one of the many tapestries hung on the walls inside the castle halls. And what else can explain why the castle has black walls now or why everybody is poor, surely, then, the rumors must be true.
Life is hard and consists mainly of work. Many are homeless and the few that do have homes, are falling apart and are trying desperatly on keeping it. The villagers have lost hope on life becoming better. The unreasonable part of me says it's because of the lost silver elephant that represented our hopes.
The crazy, delusional, completly out-of-whack side of me intended on finding it.
Unfortunetly, i had no idea where to start looking. Now after 17 years and 11 months of working, i can now say that finding elephants is no longer part of my every day worries. I live in a house, just outside of the main part of town, with my father and grandmother. It's thanks to her why we have this house. Back in the day, she was a well-respected shamen and healer. Now she is bedridden and my responsibility. My mother works and sleeps in the castle as a servant just so we have one less mouth to feed, and my father works from sunrise to sunset on our feeble ranch, selling anything he manages to grow. So Mama Cutzi, my grandmother, was the one who raised me mostly, showing me the ways of the land, healing rememdies and stories ever since i first opened my eyes to this world.

Chapter 2

The Festival

"Arian? Shouldn't you be gone by now?"
I turned around from packing my bag."What do you mean? Dad's not back yet and i'm not visiting Mom at the castle until i know that someone will be watching you."
Grandmama's eyes stared steadily back at me, giving me one of those famous Don't-think-that-I'm-stupid look. "You know what i mean." Mama Cutzi mumbled, shaking her head in a dissappointed matter. I must have looked confused because she further explained.
"A young, pretty girl like you shouldn't be spendin' your days holed up here taking care of an old crone like me." She choked out, followed by a series of coughing fits. With practised hands, i handed her a wooden cup filled with water and patiently waited until she finished drinking. She looked at me, expecting an answer, but i just simply turned my head and resumed packing.
"The festivities will begin soon."
"I know you're thinking the same thing that i'm thinking."
"If you're talking about running away, it's not gunna happen. I have responsibilities here and 'here' is reality."
"Not running away, simple escaping this horrid life and making something of yourself."
"I'm not leaving! That's the same thing as running away. We go through this every month, and if you seriously expect me to find the silver elephant in one of your crazy stories, then you have another thing coming to you!" I spoke trying with every fiber of my being to stay patient. Who was she to think that i would just leave my family behind, leave everything i knew, behind...and for what? A make-belief fantasy fed to young children? Even if i could find this mythical being, i wouldn't know where to start. In the woods? Well, that's a laugh.
My stomach dropped when i saw the pained look in her eyes.
"What happened to that little girl who was so intent on finding hope for her people? Tell me, have you become like everybody else now?" Her words rang in my head. In her stories she always described that a few kids were immune to the plague but left untreated, would grow up and become ill like everybody else. Have i, unknowingly, become like that?
I opened and closed my mouth, but the words that i layed out in my head ceased to come out. Mama Cutzi gave me a stern look that made me feel small and insignificant. I shook those childish thoughts out of my head. She immediately looked sad and spoke softly.
"You know you can't protect me forever."
"Of course i can." I said nonchalantly.
"I can't live forever, you know."
"Don't say such things grandmama!" I panicked, wiping off Death's word off my shoulders, as if it wasn't present enough now. Shivering unintentionally, i shut the windows. "Why do you say this? You, out of all people, should know how it is a bad omen." I spoke while looking out the dirty window, wondering what was taking Dad so long.
"You wan't a reality check, I gave you one."
I glanced over at her to see if she was mentally well. She just extended her arms towards me.
"Now come here child."
I smiled, she was probably the only person i know who would still call me child even though girls younger than me are married now. Before i even reached the side of her bed, she slipped off a ring on her thumb. I stopped because i never noticed that ring before.
"Open your hand." She saw that i eyed her suspiciously and continued, "You wouldn't ignore my dying wish, now? Since you never know when i'm gunna go..."
I stretched out my hand with my palm up before she could go on. Pleased with herself, she placed her hands in mine. Her skeleton fingers had many marks, reminding people of her golden days when her hands were covered with rings of many purposes and varieties before she sold them off, one by one, for taxes. This ring is the sole survivor and for a second, anger pulsed through me. Why hadn't she sold it when, for so many winters, we barely had a meal each day. Then i reasoned that it must have alot of sentimental value and calmed down. She placed the ring in my hand very gently, and what i thought to be, very dramatic, and then receeded back into her bed.
I inspected the ring more closely. It was quite beautiful. It was a gold band that windened in the middle to depict the image of a golden elephant with an upturned trunk and a smaller silver elephant right beside it, also with its trunk turned up. Crystals embedded the edges of the ring and the elephants eyes. This, was no doubt, the elephants of legend. I looked up at Mama Cutzi, wondering what she wanted me to do with the ring, but she fell back asleep and she looked so peaceful that i didn't have the heart to wake her up again. So, slipping the ring on my thumb like grandmama wore it, i returned to packing my stuff.
Without turning around, i knew my dad has finally come back when i heard his familiar stomping of his boots on the straw mat outside, his quick habit of knocking twice on the wooden door and finally entering with a little shoulder shove he always does to open the door.
"Hi Papa!" I greet cheerfully.
Spotting me, Dad gave a weak, tired smile but his eyes reflected joy no matter the physical state he's in. "Hey Arian, you're still here?" Without waiting for my reply, he continued. "It's almost dark now, the Starry Festival is going to start any second now. I thought you would be with your mother by now."
I smiled. "How can i leave without saying goodbye to you?" And on that note, i slung my pack over my shoulder that held a supply of dinner and tomorrow's breakfast and lunch as well as my simple knife and my violet headscarf, i gave a kiss on grandmama's cheek, hugged my dad and started on the long, dangerous dirt path towards the castle. I was never one to shirk away from danger though. Dangerous, because many a night, bandits are sotted here looking for extra coin, hence the reason i took a knife. Looking ahead, i could see the black castle in the distance. Even in the distance, i could see the numerous dots that i knew were lit paper lanterns, lined on every terrace, tower and window that make the castle light up instead of blending in the night. To my left and right was the woods that already began its symphony of crickets and choir of frogs. Closer now, i can start to make out the festivities that are held at the base around the castle but still inside its protective walls.
I never quite understood why they called this festival "The Starry Night Festival". It happens only once a year and during a full moon. The same, never-failing moon that always makes traveling down this road at night, easier. And the very same moon, that not only brightens up all the gloom at night, but also obscures other stars from shining their brightest. The stars are probably the only jewels i could claim as my own as i stare at them every night. So why not the "Full Moon Festival"?
Arriving at the festival finally I took out my headscarf from my pack and while smoothing down my brown hair placed the scarf on my head and tightly knotted the ends under my chin. The headscarf is a very valuable item since the dye had to be extracted from lavender which was one of the few things that one of the very rare merchants beyond our borders sold and he had to get very far away from here, and the only colorful thing i owned. I have no idea why Mama Cutzi would trade one of her rings for something as useless as this since nobody wanted to trade any food for a headscarf, but at the time it was the most beautiful things i have ever seen and i promised grandmama that i would wear it on every Starry Festival, the only festival in the whole year.
Swerving among the many dirty mass of bodies, i tried to maneuver myself towards the castle's side entrance where the servants enter and where my mom should be waiting for me. Stall after stall of yelling, bargaining and cursing. FInally breaking free of the crowd, i entered my favorite place of the whole festival. A giant courtyard that is lighted by paper lanterns criss-crossing from post to post making a make-shift ceiling for the dancing area below where fiddlers and people playing all sorts of instruments are playing. Thre's music,laughter, rosy cheeks and drunks. Girls were twirling and flirting in their best skirts and i stood out in my trousers and a simle commoner shirt. Then the coup de grace is where the entrace of the castle is. Where the big double doors open up is a wooden deck that is elevated from the floor by one foot and is continued like a walk-way. It is the one and only time that citizens get to see the royal family where they are treated with the uptmost respect. Anybody who insults them in anyway, guards called "peacekeepers" are ordered to drag that person out of the festivities.
I have only saw the royal family once when i was nine. There's King Sadeth the seventh, the queen, Irene, who is known for having her way with the king, and Prince Derek. Derek's name is one of the few famous example if Queen Irene getting her way. The argument that the king and queen partook that night was one of their most heated discussions, whether to call their son Prince Sadeth the eight as of tradtion, or Derek. The ueen obviously won. I remember being hoisted up on Dad's shoulders to get a good view of the precedings. He was 10 years old at that time, exactly 7 months older than me. I remember feeling sorry for the prince in his indigo dyed suit which was starched and made him look pinched and pale in it. His black hair was violently pushed away from his eyes and he looked like he just got up from bed. As a child, i had the foolish notion that because of his black hair and my brown hair, that we had a lot in common and that maybe we both could be freinds. That was before i was educated in the ways of tyrannical rulers and learned all about the cruel royal family.
My mom's voice among the din of the festival is what shattered my thoughts. Without any curiosity to see the faces of the people who kept this kingdom in poverty while they lived in the lap of luxary, I ran into my mother's arms.
She hurried me to the side of a black wall and pushed down on one of the many looking square stones that the sinister building was made of. It was so well hidden that unless you were a servant that worked in the castle for at least 3 years, you wouldn't be able to find it.
My mom's tired eyes had a familiar mischievous glint to them that i haven't seen in a long while. I couldn't help but smile.
"Mom, what is it?" I asked.
All she did was put a finger to her lips and beckoned me to follow her. After traveling some distance inside the castle, we finally ended up in my mom's servant quarters. It wasn't much, if you outstretched your arms, you would barely graze the walls with your fingertips and being 5 foot 7, the ceiling tended to mess up the top of my hair.

Impressum

Widmung:
To my mom who inspired me

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