Fractured Paradise (Volume I)
Story: Cren's Vision of Law
Fractured Paradise: A Novel In Progress
by Oliver Smith
OliverSmith@CyberPoet.com
< Addewid Index < Fractured Paradise Index < Volume I Outline
Synopsis : Story
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Fractured Paradise (Volume I)
Story: Cren's Vision of Law Fractured Paradise: A Novel In Progress by Oliver Smith OliverSmith@CyberPoet.com < Addewid Index < Fractured Paradise Index < Volume I Outline Synopsis : Story |
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[synopsis here] |
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Because she could, Hesbrid Walked the paths of her spirit within the others and images came to her of colors and shapes. It was chaos at first, without consistent form or purpose. Then there were thoughts, and the thoughts led to questions and the questions led to uncertainty and confusion. Then Temlad cried, "Out! Away from me! Do not Walk my spirit!" Hesbrid withdrew, surprised at the reaction, "I was expecting gratefulness," she said, "not anger." "I am grateful," said Temlad , "You have breathed life into me. You gave me consciousness. You gave each of us an identity separate from each other, but I want to be alone now, separate from you, free of your presence." Temlad 's presence cascaded into Hesbrid, unlocking feeling within herself: anger, embarrassment, shame. She regretted sharing her spirit and tried to remove it from them, but the others resisted, refusing to allow their newfound spirit to slip away. "You will not be able to remove your spirit from us now Hesbrid," said Deveg, "You have given of your spirit, and now we are part of it. We call it good and demand that it remain. Through this spirit we have apportioned to each other that which we are. We have become separate, distinct and whole, but we are still one in Spirit. My laws are as much yours as your spirit is mine. We are one pool with many currents, each flowing in its own way, yet carrying Elements from the others. It is this freedom that we cherish now and we must preserve it. For this reason it should now be forbidden for any of us walk another's spirit. "But how can we enforce such laws?" said Ruvel, "The power that each of us receives from Nerth is equivalent to each of the others. If Hesbrid wishes to Walk our spirit how can we stop her? She is the source of our spirit and she is able to use her will without opposition." "Individually, we can't," answered Nerth, "just as each of us is unable to prevent you from controlling the aggression that you have shared with us, but together we can. Our individual wills are incapable to resisting the will of one who is the source of some Element. Deveg can enforce his laws as he chooses, but we would have no assurance that his will would not overcome ours. We need to join our wills together in order prevent one of us from using their own Source Element to their own ends. We must find some way of allowing each of us to share our Elements, but only insofar as our collective wills allow them to be used." "We need a place, outside of ourselves, where we can present our own will regarding each of Deveg's laws," said Dothen, "a place where we will all agree is the place of Lawgiving." "But how can we all be assured that this place will be maintained in a fair manner," followed Ruvel, "preventing any one of us from gaining control of the place and exerting their own influences upon the Laws?" "We would also need guardians of this place," answered Dothen, "and guardians would be responsible for protecting the laws that have been established there, but I don't know how such a place could be defined and who the guardians of this place would be." "I can make such a place," said Cren, " and I will call this place Addewid, as a promise that our laws will be defined fairly and upheld consistently, throughout Addewid, and this place will be greater than all of us, large enough to allow us to co-exist and move about as we wish, for I will create a sea that will carry Hesbrid's spirit throughout Addewid, to wherever we might be. This sea will be called the Biola Sea, for it will contain the waters that will carry Hesbrid's spirit. Upon this sea I will create an Island that I will call Inniscren, the place of my creation. "Within the soil of Inniscren, Hesbrid's spirit and the Elements from each of us will soak in and bring forth life of its own, bringing with it that which we have each shared, as far as the life is able to show it, and from this life I will give shape and substance. From this soil I will bring forth Prenau, who will be rooted deep within the soil, who will draw upon Hesbrid's spirit within the soil and spread out into the air around them, watching the land, protecting it, and speaking with each other. The Prenau will possess Elements from each of us, making them stronger than we are individually, yet only capable of serving us as we have dictated through our laws. Upon their branches will grow leaves that will use these Elements. It is through the roots that these guardians gain their sustenance, but it is through their leaves that their power is exercised, whether they are attached to a Prenau, or released. No leaf can ever be removed from a Pren except through its will. No one, not even myself, will be able to control these guardians, preventing any one of us from diverting them from their task of guarding the land of Inniscren and embodying the Elements we have given. There will be many different kinds of Prenau, each with their own purpose and appearance, each with their own connection to Elements drawn from us, ensuring that we will each have a presence upon Inniscren. "I will also bring forth from the land creatures to serve us, creatures that can move across land or water, and creatures that can fly through the air. They each will have their purpose in helping us when they are in their chosen forms, for each of us will be required to take on a shape if we are to be on Inniscren. These shapes will limit our abilities while we are in them. If we do not take shape we will not be able to interact directly with the physical aspect of Addewid, only the spiritual." "Why must we take on a physical form in order to interact with Addewid?" asked Gebod. "Why can't we just command something to happen? Are we not all Henin?" "We are Henin," agreed Cren, "but Addewid is my creation and it is only through me that you will have access to Addewid. Any shape that you take on will have to come through me. Only Hesbrid can give my creations life with her spirit and only Treven can give creatures within Addewid an instinctive understanding of Addewid. You, Gebod, possess all knowledge, but you have no power within yourself to change without Newid and no ability take on a physical shape without me. The choice is yours, take on a physical form and exist within Addewid, subject to Law, or remain formless and outside of Addewid, free from Law, but unable to directly affect events within Addewid. Within Addewid, you will be subject to the Laws of Addewid. As a formless Henin there are no laws to govern us. You will be able to speak with any of the creatures within Addewid through your spirit, though. This will allow you to influence events within Addewid indirectly." "For travel on the Biola Sea I will form creatures from its water that I will call Ceffylmôrau. They will have the ability to travel the great distances on the Biola sea, allowing them to reach new islands created there. "For travel on land, I will form creatures from the soil that I will call Ceffyltirau. They will be able to travel across Inniscren, or any other island on the Biola Sea, wherever there is land. "From the air, I will form creatures from Hesbrid's breath, with wings to lift them high above the land and sea. They will guard Inniscren from the sky and will be watch over the land. These I will call the Ceidwadau. "And as workers, to help us in Addewid, when we are in our physical aspects, I will form from the soil of Inniscren the Llafurwyr. They will dig mines, create new islands and build shelters for us while we are in our physical forms. They will be available for any of our needs. "Upon Inniscren I will cause a mountain to grow and overlook the land, high enough to see all of Inniscren, to the shore and beyond, to the farthest reaches of the Biola Sea. I will call this mountain Cynulliad, for it is on the top of this mountain that we will all gather together to establish the Laws of Addewid. It is here that I will hew out a place where we can each take our preferred form and meet, to decide how Addewid is to be, in such a way that it will be fair to each of us. This place I will call the Lle Caeëdig Lân, for this will be the place of Law Giving. The guardians of Lle Caeëdig Lân will be the Derw, the Prenau of Lawgiving. "I will cause Cynulliad to be formed from Dedfryd stone, which Gebod has given the ability to record all of our history, including our Penderfyniadau, our decisions of Lawmaking. Llafurwyr will dig mines deep into Cynulliad Mountain and extract stones of a size sufficient to hold one Penderfyniad, which is to be placed within the stone by one of the Prenau within the Derw Grove. One stone will be given to our chosen Pren of Lawgiving for each Law being established, and the Penderfyniad will be placed into the stone by the Derwen." "Where will these stones be placed?" asked Resam , "And how can we be assured that the stones will not be violated by either the ground they lay on, or others who may wish to remove or change them? If you are going to create so many creatures, and if we have the ability to influence these creatures, I have very little confidence that these stones will be left alone." "A circle will be etched in the ground with a branch from one of the Derw in the Grove. This circle will protect the stones from any force desiring to violate them. Nerth will instill the line drawn with the Derwen branch, with the power to ward off those wishing to touch the stones. The ground within the circle will be cleansed by the fire from Llosgi leaves placed within the circle. The burning of the leaves will cause a pit to be created within the circle. This pit will be called a Ffoscyfraith, and as long as the stones within the Ffoscyfraith are not violated, the leaves of the Derw within the grove will enforce the Law throughout Addewid. The Derw will watch over the Ffoscyfraith and give warning to me if there is any attempt to disturb the Ffoscyfraithau. No Law will take effect unless there are exactly twelve Dedfryd stones within the Ffoscyfraith, each stone containing the Penderfyniad of a different Henin." "What is the ritual for lawgiving?" asked Dothen, "That we all may be prepared once Cren has created Addewid and all that is within it." "The Lawgiving ritual will be as follows," said Cren, "Nerth will request one of the Prenau in the Derw Grove to release one branch, which will fall to the ground in front of him. He will direct one of the Llafurwyr to lift the fallen branch from the ground and hold it up to the Derwen which released it. Another branch will be lowered to touch the one held by the Llafurwyr and pluck the leaves from the branch offered for Lawgiving in the Ffoscyfraith, making room for them on the existing branches. This is to preserve the Lawgiving power of the Derw Grove, which comes from the leaves in the grove. "The yielded branch will be taken by Nerth and used to etch a circle in the ground within the Lle Caeëdig Lan. This will be the Circle of Binding for Addewid Law. Then leaves from the Llosgi Grove at the base of Cynulliad Mountain will be placed into the circle. These leaves burn with a fire of cleansing, but are never consumed. Their flames will destroy anything which is untrue or threatening to Addewid or the Henin and will cleanse the ground within the circle. When placed within the Circle of Binding, they will flare up and burn a pit, leaving the leaves scorched, but whole. This pit will be called called a Ffoscyfraith, where the Dedfryd stones will be place when the Henin have expressed their Penderfyniad. "Only Nerth can etch the Circle of Bonding and only Deveg, being the Henin of Law, can express the law being considered, and only the Derw can place a Henin's Penderfyniad into a Dedfryd stone. "In order for a Henin to give their Penderfyniad for Lawgiving, one of the Derw must be selected for placing it into a Dedfryd Stone. Over many Henin Breaths, from one Cylch Hir to another, each Henin will select one of the Derw for Lawgiving. "For each Henin, a stone is given to the selected Derwen, which holds the stone in its branches. When Deveg expresses the law in the presence of the Derw Grove, each Henin will approach their Derwen and allow it place the Perdenfyniad within the stone. Each Henin will then place their stone into the Ffoscyfraith. "As each stone is put in place the power of the twelve Henin converge to decide the Law being considered. If there are more stones supporting the law, than there are against it, then the law will be enforced by the Derw throughout Addewid. If there are an equal number, or less, in support of the Law, then the Derw will not enforce it. The decision will remain in effect as long as the Ffoscyfraith has not been desecrated, and the Derw will protect all of the Ffoscyfraithiau with their very existence, with all of the power which will have been given to them." "I am satisfied with this means of making Law, Cren," said Nerth. And the rest of the Henin, except Ruvel, consented with Cren's vision. "I would prefer that Nerth establish all law, and that I enforced it," countered Ruvel, but I will not stand in the way of Cren on this." Ruvel's agitation was felt throughout the Henin and fear entered into their consciousness for the first time. Cren then set out create a place outside of the Henin, an eternal plane that extended below the Henin that was covered with the waters to be filled with Hesbrid's Spirit, which she called the Biola sea. Upon the sea she caused an island to form, with soil she had raised from below the waters of life. She spread the soil flat, making it extend far in all directions, so far that the Henin became afraid that even they may have difficutly moving upon the surface of his land. Within the soil lived Hesbrid's Spirit, which she gladly shared with Cren, for she wanted to roam this place, just as she did within Cren's stories. Only if we can assemble enough will from us Henin to enforce them. Cren, you are the Creator. Make for us a place where we can go our separate ways, but also where we can gather together to create laws. We shall call this creation Addewid, for it is a promise that we preserve for ourselves. There are twelve of us, so we will meet every twelve breaths and we will call these twelve breaths a Cylch Hir. During each of the twelve breaths in the Cylch Hir one of us will be allowed to reign during that Breath, giving their own Element greater influence upon Addewid, in the following order: Ruvel, for the initiation, Hesbrid, for the filling of spirit, Newid, to bring about change, Temlad , to give us feeling, myself, Nerth, to instill us with power, Cren, for our creative energy, Resam , to organize our thoughts, Gebod, to collect and share all our knowledge, Deveg, who will establish our laws, followed by Treven, to instill us with our deepest instincts, Amser, to provide the sequence of time, Dothen, for wisdom, Chapter 3 Inniscren The creation of Addewid It was when she started creating these stories for Treven and Hesbrid that Cren realized she preferred their presence over the other Henin. She created new ways for the three of them to be together, to the exclusion of the others, and one way for them limiting their existence to a specific place and time, taking shapes that were pleasing to themselves, as well as to each other. She created an actual place called Inniscren within Addewid, an Island within a vast body of water she called the Biola Sea. She created a grove of Hoedl trees that grew along the banks of the Duwies river in the Gorthwr valley, just at Cren had described them in her stories. Hesbrid released her spirit to these trees, whose roots passed the breath of life into the waters passing by in the river, and this river would feed this spirit to the Biola Sea, allowing all within Addewid to have access to Hesbrid's spirit. This meant that the Henin could roam the unmeasurable breadth of the Biola sea as they wished, always being in contact with Hesbrid's spirit by partaking of the waters from the Biola Sea, but Cren, Hesbrid and Treven remained on Inniscren together, existing within their chosen forms of the serpent and horned cow who lived in the tall grass of the Gwelltal plains of the Gorthwr Valley, and the dolphin, who swam the lengths of the four rivers on Inniscren, the Duwies, the Glas, the Oerfel and the Atavod rivers that flowed into and out of the Biola sea. Their bodies opened up sensations that they could explore between themselves, not shared with the other Henin. Nerth, was not pleased with the behavior, feeling that his power was being usurped, and that the unity once held within the Henin was being violated, so he demanded that all of the Henin gather on Inniscren to discuss the matter. At Nerth's request Cren created a large mountain in the midst of the Amddiffynfa Mountains, with a flat top, called the Cynulliad, and it was there that Nerth decided that the Henin would meet at the beginning of each Cylch Hir to decide how Addewid should be how the Henin should behave. |
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( Count from 08/09/2003 ) |
