A Story of Forever

Part 15

Now Sakava was the personal servant of Thrash’s wife Tovera. And Tovera was very radiantly beautiful. This was because she never had to get herself dirty and sweaty with work. This was because she could afford the most intricately-prepared mix of herbs and plants and honeys to wash her face and her body snd her hair in. All prepared by Sakava of course. Tovera was beautiful because she had the time and the resources to take a hot bath every day. And she could sit around having her long hair be brushed out. And she could afford many many beautiful dresses.

Sakava saw how beautiful her mistress was, and how plain she herself was in comparison to her. She felt a great sadness in her heart at this, for she felt like she was nothing in comparison to her mistress.

Naia and Mamon saw this, and tried to explain to her that Tovara’s beauty was all on the outside. True beauty was what was on the inside. Tovara was pretty because of what she had, not because of who she was. If she were to lose what she had, she would no longer be pretty. Sakava on the other hand was beautiful because of who she was, and no-one could take that away from her.

Sakava listened, but she still didn’t believe. There was still a great sadness in her heart.

So Mamon set out to show how shallow and fallible the Uzras beauty truly was. They took a small knife that they made with their magic. And they hid it deep within their clothes. And they snuck into Tovera’s chambers through a tiny crack in the wall. And there, in the darkness of the night, they cut her long, beautiful, shining, golden hair. And they thought of Sakava, the sweet, sad-eyed girl. And they smiled.

Tovara woke up and she was outraged. She was humiliated. She looked at herself in the mirror and she had a fit. She cried and screamed and threw things against the walls and tore at her clothes. And all the other Uzras saw this and they laughed. They saw her and they laughed.

Naia took Sakava aside and explained to her that Tovara was still the same person she was before. But without her hair, something that is external, she had been reduced to an ugly creature. And so this was how Tovara’s beauty was. Shallow and external and fleeting. Meanwhile Sakava’s beauty was much deeper and much more enduring.

Sakava understood this now, seeing Tovara’s beauty crumble before her eyes. And she smiled softly to Naia, and the two shared a small, secret hug before going back to their tasks for the day.

But all was not good, however, as the Uzras figured out who was behind this little prank. They went up to Mamon and they beat them until they were full of bruises. For they often beat Mamon. This was the way that they always dealt with Mamon, by beating them. But they did not account for the fact that their hands and feet always struck Mamon’s body, never their spirit.

Mamon admitted to the prank, for what other choice did they have? And the Uzras stated that today was the day. Today they would finally kill Mamon. But Mamon pleaded their case, saying that they would do anything if they were allowed to live. Mamon did not want to live for themselves of course, death would be a much better fate than the type of life they had to go through. But Mamon needed to live for the sake of all the children.

The Uzras decided that they would let Mamon live, but only on one condition. Mamon had to get a potion for making hair grow. And they had to gain treasures for the Uzras in order to make up for all the destruction that they had caused.

Mamon was used to bringing the Uzras wealth. It was what they had been doing for most of their life. But they got a foreboding feeling about the task they were sent to undertake. They knew that, for some reason or another, it would be much harder than the other tasks that the Uzras made them do.

So Mamon went down to Arvenhom, which was where all the workshops were. There they asked the masters of the workshops to please craft for the key Uzras in high places a potion for the growth of hair and some other treasures. The masters of the workshops had many Yemars to aid them and could make very fine crafts using their Yemars.

But they refused, saying that they would only make these treasures if they were given recompense. For they were a very greedy lot, and did not do anything for free. Not even for the highest of the Uzra, who ruled the Uzra lands.

Mamon knew that they were in trouble, just as they knew that they would be. For, you see, the Trash and his people had not given Mamon any coin with which they could complete the task, and so therefore Mamon had nothing to give the masters of the workshops.

They needed to think of a plan.

From observing the Uzras there, Mamon saw that there were two groups of Uzras that were at odds with each other. One group was Garvali and his brothers, and the other group was Hatali and his own brothers. Mamon could tell that the two groups were in great competition to each other. And so Mamon got an idea.

They went over to Garvali’s workshop, and looked over the work. There they declared that Garvalli’s work was so good that no other group of workshop masters could compare. There was surely no competition on who were the better craftspeople. This trio was the best. This Mamon spoke loudly, so that all could hear it.

This enraged Hatali’s trio very much. But still they did not do anything to stir the pot. Mamon knew that in order for their plan to work, they would have to stake higher bets. Mamon did not want to do this, but they were afraid of Thrash.

So Mamon bet their own head that Garvalli’s trio could create better treasures than Hatali’s trio.

In hearing this, Hatali’s trio grew very greedy. For they had a bloodlust and would love to take Mamon’s head. And they were sure that they could win any competition against Garvalli and his brothers.

And so they declared a competition. Each would make a group of treasures for the rulers of the Uzra kingdom. And whichever group created better treasures, they would win and would receive the prize of Mamon’s head.

Mamon was terrified, but they had faith in themselves that they could get out of this somehow.

And so the masters set their workers to work. For ten days and ten nights they worked in the forges. And eventually, they all created treasures for the Uzra rulers to have.

Hatali and his brothers won, and they demanded their payment as a result.

Now, Mamon had already thought up a plan to save themselves. They told the Uzras that they had promised to give them their head, but they had not promised to give them their neck. So according to the agreement, the brothers could not hurt their neck.

Now, the Uzras were very enraged at this, but they could not do anything about it, for the agreement they made was magically binding. This did not mean, however, that the Uzras could not do anything horrible to hurt Mamon.

So Hatali and his brothers declared that since Mamon’s head was theirs, they could do whatever they wanted with it. And what they wanted to do with it was to sew Mamon’s lips together. And the other Uzras agreed that yes, it was only fair for them to do as they wished for they had won the wager.

Mamon was horrified, but Mamon was also brave. And they knew that they would have to face this terrible punishment. And they knew that somehow, somehow, they would get over to the other end of it. And they would heal. And so they let their body be puppetted into what the Uzras wanted it to do.

Thrash held Mamon down with his hammer, a new treasure that he only had because of Mamon’s ingenuity. And from underneath that hammer Mamon could not move, no matter how much they tried. Though they didn’t try. They only held themselves stone-still, as Hatali came close to them with his awl.

All they felt was pain, pain, bright horrible pain. It radiated all throughout their face, streaming out from their mouth. They did not know what was happening, only that it was too much, too much, and they couldn’t get away. And they couldn’t face it. But they had to face it, being held down there with the horrible ripping, tearing feeling in their lips and the burning feeling of leather being pulled through open wounds.

When it was finally done all the Uzras looked at them and laughed. Tovara remarked that Mamon was not so smart now, with all of their clever words being taken from them. Trash commented that Mamon could now no longer do the thing that they loved most, which was to talk. Mamon did not say anything, because they couldn’t. And because they didn’t want to dignify the Uzras with a response.

Mamon went out to the sparsely wooded lands just outside of Karkion’s estate. There they sat down, with their lips bleeding and fever-hot. There they curled into themselves and cried silent tears that mingled into their bleeding blood. They pulled at the leather around and inside their lips with their magic, but they could not no matter how much they tried break the chord. They realized that there must be a really powerful enchantment on it, and that it was meant to hold.

How were they going to tell their stories without their mouth?

Naia had seen the whole terrible spectacle of the binding of Mamon’s lips. And she had gone out looking for Mamon afterwards. She searched all the estates of the Uzras and all the lands surrounding them, worry sparking in her heart.

Finally, she found Mamon, sitting by a tree stump, sobs wracking their body. She saw Mamon and she immediately knew that she had to help. And so she sat down beside them and asked them to keep still while she worked.

First, she felt the binding magic keeping the leather in place. She reached her own magic towards the bonds around Mamon’s lips. She took time to go over it and understand it to great depths. The spell used was a very powerful one. But Naia’s strength was in unbinding. And there were very little binding spells that she could not undo. This was a fact that the Uzra did not know.

Now, Wolver’s chains were far too strong for even Naia to unbind. Though she tried her best and tried for a long, long time and still did not give up.

But these spells, these spells were not as difficult, though they were powerful in their own right. But Naia could break them.

And so she sang her own spell. A spell made of rivers rushing, beating down rocks. A spell made of ice cracking, of water freezing in crevices and inching them apart. A song made of rain beating down mountains. A song made of lullabies sang to despondent children.

Eventually, eventually, eventually, slowly and all at once, the leather snapped into a hundred different pieces. And carefully, carefully, carefully, Naia slowly picked the pieces out of Mamon’s lips.

Mamon used their own magic to seal all the holes in their mouth back together. The flesh around all the little holes joined together until they no-longer hurt, until they no longer bled. Mamon was were scarred. And they would be scarred forever. But they were, thanks to Naia’s careful attention, whole.

Naia carefully cleaned the blood from around Mamon’s mouth. And then the two of them kissed. And it was sweet and it was sad and it was victorious and it was desperate. Aching tenderness amidst unspeakable violence.

Mamon told Naia that the Uzra would be very surprised when they saw. When they saw Mamon’s lips unbound and whole.

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