The Fable of Dōvun
A Thursday Prompt story

©2020, translated from the Kashlanin by Walter Reimer


Prompt: fear


“Draw near, and hear me; I shall tell you a tale.

“In the youth of the World, among the Islands of Mist, there dwelt a kam named Dōvun. He was tall and upright in the sight of the Deities, and walked the path of the Law of Two Hands as they were given to shlani by the Speaker-for-the-Creator. To him had been given great craft and wisdom, such that shlani called him ka Rimdhōrek, which is The Thinker, or The Philosopher.

“Dōvun was seated by the sea one morning, facing the west as the sun rose, and said, ‘So long as shlani reason, they should not fear anything.’ And the wind and the waves bore his words far and wide, until they were heard by the Deity M’Ziram.

“Now M’Ziram is the Deity into Whose power is given Death, and the endings of things, and It was moved by Dōvun’s words and said, ‘This kam speaks ill, that shlani should not fear,’ and It resolved to prove Dōvun and set his words at naught.

“And M’Ziram summoned forth a vra’pudh, that is a spirit, and commanded it to prove Dōvun. And it came to the World, and it took unto itself the form of a vir, and she came upon Dōvun by the shore of the sea as he taught his student.

“’I come from M’Ziram,’ the vra’pudh said, ‘to prove you, and set your words at naught, for shlani should fear.’

“Dōvun smiled and said, ‘Then come, prove me, and show unto me and my student why it is that shlani should fear. I shall take it upon myself to teach three lessons,’ and he held up his left hand to show his two fingers and his thumb.

“And the vra’pudh took upon herself the form of a great sea-wave, that builds itself up across the wide salt sea until it seems a mountain of water approaches. Then Dōvun smiled, and moved himself to higher ground, him and his student, and watched as the great sea-wave spent its force against the land until a wavelet moistened the fur on their feet.

“’This is the first lesson,’ Dōvun said unto his student, and he held up the thumb of his left hand. ‘Reason tells us that all that is natural has limits; so that a shlan has limits to their lives, so the seas and water has limits as well.’

“And the vra’pudh was displeased, and she did follow after Dōvun and his student until they entered a thick forest where borzogun grew in abundance. Then did the vra’pudh take upon herself the form of a jorhim, a huge monster of great size with a fearsome aspect, and it hiss-barked and charged at Dōvun and his student. And his student quailed at the sight of the jorhim, and fled to the nearest tall tree and climbed up it, for jorhimi cannot climb; yet Dōvun remained on the ground, and reached out with his knife and cut a branch of borzogun, taking care not to touch its thorns.

“And the jorhim checked its charge, and quailed at the scent and sight of the branch, and as it ever tried to get to Dōvun, the Thinker did move the branch here and there to bar the jorhim until the beast wearied of the quest and departed.

“’This is the second lesson,’ Dōvun said to his student, and he held up the first finger of his left hand. ‘Because they cannot reason, the beasts of air, land and water know fear; and the thorns of borzogun are to be avoided, as they carry swift death for any creature who may be pricked by them. Yet a shlan who reasons may know the correct place to set their hand or foot or tail.’ And the teacher and his student proceeded deeper into the forest.

“The vra’pudh became wroth with Dōvun, and when the teacher and his student left the forest she presented herself to them a third time, in the guise of a vir cloaked and hooded in saffron, which is the color of a mourner.

“And the vir drew back her hood, and look! Her fur was in rags and patches upon her skin, and such as there was had matted with dried blood, and blood dripped from her nostrils and lips. These were all signs of the Burning Plague.

“Dōvun’s student quailed at the sight, and turned to run; but Dōvun stayed a tail’s full length from her, and evaded her attempts to touch him until he turned to admonish his student. Then did the vra’pudh seize Dōvun, and pressed her lips to his, smearing blood upon his mouth.

“And Dōvun did tremble, feeling the nearness of death; and the vra’pudh exulted, and she derided him saying, ‘What has your reason to say to this, Thinker, as you appear to fear one thing, that being death.’

“And Dōvun smiled, and held up the second finger of his left hand. ‘This is the third lesson I shall give. I tremble at the Burning, as do all shlani, whether of high or low degree, for it is painful as the blood boils and the flesh burns, and not all of the craft of priests and healers, save one, can prevail against it,’ by which he meant the Speaker-for-the-Creator, who healed a vir of the Burning to show the power the Creator had placed within him. ‘But while the road to death may be painful, as with the Burning, or easy and gentle, as a passing into sleep, yet the reasoning shlan cannot fear death.’

“’Why?’ asked the student.

“’Because death is unknown to shlani,’ Dōvun replied. ‘No shlan, whether kam or vir or chat, has returned from that realm that M’Ziram holds sway over. Being unknown, there is no way to tell whether it is a delight or a travail; in the fullness of time a shlan will, in truth, come to know what death is. Therefore a shlan must live their life without fear, yet with the certainty that when their lives are fulfilled they shall finally know.’ And Dōvun smiled, and sat himself upon the ground, and waited for the Burning to take him.

“And the vra’pudh saw that Dōvun was without fear, for he had reason to guide him, and even death held no terror for him. Then did she bow her head to him, and wiped his face clean of the blood and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Dōvun, for I had but been sent to test you, and you have prevailed against me.’

“’Not I,’ Dōvun reproved her, ‘for when the Creator Itself gave gifts to all Its creation, whether to bird, or fish, or gves, It gave Its greatest gift to shlani. The gift of clear sight and clear thought, to see the beauty of the creation as It intended, and to reason, which can even overcome fear.’

“And the vra’pudh returned to M’Ziram, and related all that she had done, and all that Dōvun had said.

“Thus it is, from that day to this, that shlan are gifted with clear sight and clear thought, and even death holds no terrors for them, for death is not an ending, but the fulfilment of a life.”


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