Images use for Malayari, Tala and Narah-el are copyright free and/or of creative commons (edited using Photoscape X).
Story of Tala
From the sky, Tala fell. She can see the droplet of tears float upwards. Her fishtail flung freely in the air and her crimson hair scattered by the updraft. She felt somehow relieved that her sister The Lunar Goddess Malayari turned her into a mermaid before sending her into this place. The Realm of Eternal Night her sister calls it. A place detached from the real world.
Sensing the sea below, she turned and dove down deep. Below, there is not a creature in sight it was empty and barren. Tala let herself float upward till her head reached the surface. Looking around she saw nothing but a vast and empty sea. A feeling that is unknown to her is starting to choke her heart. She looks up with tears rolling down her cheeks and said, “Dear sister, I am scared and don’t know what to do, please help me.”
A ball of light shot out from the moon. The sphere as it accelerated in the night sky formed a blazing tail. “Thank you, sister!” She said gratefully.
Tala followed it. She keeps swimming and swimming till her mind slowly drifts away to the past that brought her here.
She is a princess of Seville an island nation and was the sole heir to the throne. On her 18th birthday, a young prince came and used a spell to seduce her making himself the next crowned king. Learning of Tala’s plight, her sister the Lunar Goddess Malayari swoop down from the heavens and took her away. Unfortunately, Tala’s heart won’t let her stay far away from the prince. And so, Malayari produced a pearl from thin air and forced it down her mouth before saying, “Only through death shall you be free.” then she started chanting in a language that is unfamiliar to her, and her body started to become that of a mermaid. The rest is her falling out of the sky.
A movement in the water startled her from her reminiscing.
Tala dove down to see what is it. Hunger is the first thing on her mind but that changed instantly as a grotesque fish-like creature came charging at her from the dark. She scrambled then swam as fast as she can and didn’t look back.
***
Tala has lost all sense of time. Tired and hungry she decided to take a rest. She started to float freely, looking at the moon that is still high above and the shooting star that seems to be painted beside it. Her mind wondered if this is a punishment if it is, wouldn’t it be better that she just died than stay here—alone and desolate.
A sorrowful song far out into the sea reached her ears. She desperately tried to focus on it. Under the moonlight, she saw a shadow of a Galleon Warship floating just beyond the horizon. Her heart beats loudly at the sight. Its sails were all torn up and a strange dark aura emanated from it. But her stomach is growling and the loneliness is eating slowly at her sanity.
The wailing starts to get louder the closer she gets. “It is no ordinary ship,” she thought to herself, examining its wooden hull. A greenish liquid oozes out of the cracks and the planks seem to breathe. The ship feels—alive, she can feel a beating heart from inside the vessel sending a soothing vibration on the water.
Tala asked the Galleon, “Are you… alive?” She slowly reaches out to it.
The moment her hand touch it a surge of emotions came to her soul—pain, hatred, misery, all come together in one fluid movement. Memories of the dead filled her head and that of the Galleon Warship Escandalorous and its captain Narah-el. He was a former suitor of her sister Malayari. His love for her sister is true but Malayari didn’t feel anything for him. Jealousy burned Malayari when Narah-el started losing his affection for her and so, she cursed and banished him here without remorse.
Tala drew back her hand. Her fear vanished and pity replaced it. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “Kind sir, will you please help. I am lost and hungry.”
Her voice was drowned by the waling of the souls. She drew in her breath and tried again.
Tala waited, soon enough a shadow turned on the side of the boat. 'That is probably Narah-el,' she thought to herself. The person suddenly raised his hand and bashed the wooden rails, its force was strong enough that she felt a fraction of It. The ship growled, then one by one from forward to stern the lanterns started to light up like fireworks. Souls started to seep out of the ship's cracks, illuminating the dark sea with their verdant glow.
Tala pleaded, ”Kind sir, will you please help. I am lost, hungry, and has no place to go.”
She stared at Narah-el, but the darkness surrounding his visage is making it hard for her to see his face. She imagines him as the handsome young man from her borrowed memories. A sudden splash happened near waking her up from her daydreaming, then she heard his voice.
“Come lass, Welcome to my ship The Escandalorous.” His voice was deep like it came from the ocean's abyss.
Tala looked for the origin of the sound and found a rope ladder hanging by the side of the ship. She chuckled softly then said, “I am sorry kind sir I am unable to. You see…”
She dove deep down making sure she has enough room to burst out of the sea and show him her full form. The thought suddenly made her stop midway, she felt a tinge on her cheeks but paid no more attention. She drove forth then upwards breaking the water's surface, then jumping high up, curving her body for him to see.
Tala tried to gaze at him. She felt more pity at the sight of him, all dried up and only his gray bones framing that old buccaneer coat of his. Soon enough she was back in the water. She watched as The Escadalorous savagely changed. Its hull burst open, tangled souls and flesh squirms inside. A tear fell on her eye as she hears the cries of agony and despair.
The ship begins to sink as it draws in water. As soon as the deck reach the sea it stopped. Narah-el raised a hand and called to her. She swam in response and lifted herself into deck bouncing on it with a thud. She can feel the boat shake as it burst out of the sea.
Tala tried to sit upright but to no avail and just decided to raise her head to say her gratitude, “Thank you kind sir for your generosity. I am Tala from the islands of Seville.” She gazed into him tracing the lines on his skull looking deeply at the verdant glow that is emanating from within. Four souls went past him lifting her, swirling like a gentle tornado till they turn to mist. A feeling she is most familiar with rushes through her fishtail as she flips it.
‘Water!?’ The thought excitedly rushed to her head.
“This is a gift—they will follow you through land, air, or sea and be the very waters that you swim in.” He said calmly but his words left Tala’s ears as soon as she heard them.
Overjoyed and overwhelmed with the new sensations that are almost like flying. She swirled and whirled then swoop around the ship's perimeters, eyeing every nook and cranny. She notice the ship started to move again she followed eagerly. On deck there is a bunch of furniture, utensils, food, moving around by themselves, forming some kind of feast. Tala’s stomach started to complain at the sight. Arms outstretch like a bird she swoops down behind him and asks, “Sir, is this food… can I?” Narah-el pointed her towards the table with palms open. Without a second thought, she went on top of it picking the most colorful and elegant-looking morsel on the table.
She could feel his stare on her but she wondered what could that mean. It is the first time a man ever looks at him like that—even though he has no yes. The thought made her chuckle.
Narah-el asked, “Lass, so how did ye find yerself her?”
Hesitated, thinking of the food that she have not tasted. She turned to him and answered, ”I… I was brought here by my sister Malayari, to save me from a curse.”
Disgust in his voice was apparent. He asked for more details and she complied without complaint. ”A prince curse me to fall for him, so he could be the king of our land and seas. And so, my sister hid me under her care, inside her realm making the curse effective. But I found myself hungry, alone, and scared in this desolate waters.”
She pouted, and out of her moist lips came a pink pearl which she carefully caught with her palm.
Narah-el rubs an imaginary beard as he asks, ”Me reckon that is something—special, but what does it do lass?”
“This is my sister's gift to me, and how I came to her care… let me show you, kind sir.” She said to him. Tala recalled the language that Malayari chanted and did the same.
A familiar feeling came to her again. The feeling of falling but this time she was not crying. Tala saw him helplessly falling. She dove after him, fast and furious as if the whole sky were her ocean, with extended arms she reach out to him. ”Sir, grab my hand!”
Narah-el slowly extended his arm and with an open palm reach out to her. She grabbed it with gusto.
In a blink of an eye, The Escadalorous suddenly appeared in front of her. She can feel his bony hand squeeze hers a bit as he landed on deck. He let go then said, “Thank ye lass, guess me owe you one.”
She slightly nodded then turned her eyes in wonder at How The Escadalorous was able to fly. She wanted to swim out and see for herself but Narah-el spoke out.
”Well, lass is there something you would like to ask of me?”
Her head spun back. She asked with all enthusiasm, “Will you help me break this curse?”
”Me know nothing about it, but…” he paused, and walk about thinking deeply then continued, “…tell me, did your sister ehem, Malayari. Has she told you how to break the curse?”
She paled and cold sweat ran down her brows, as the memory of her sister came but still, she answered, “Only through death shall I be free.”
Tala watched him. A green fume suddenly started escaping out the sides of his mouth. A chill ran up her spine as he continued laughing exhuming the gas all around. He then turned around and said, “Me have a proposition for you, but it is not a good one I might add.”
The sight is still fresh from her mind, but there is nothing she can do with her current circumstances. She just clasped her hand in front of her chest and nodded.
”I can give you death, freedom, and life everlasting—and seeing me owe you one, it will be the best deal I could give.”
She ask the first thing that came to her mind, ”Will I be.. like you?”
He waves his hand In disapproval before saying, ”Nah, If ye agree to be my navigator too—we can sail out of here and ye can bathe in the light of The Great Sun and stay as ye are BUT— ye will be bound to me and cannot go too far unless ye want to die.”
The most important question lingers in her head. It forces its way out of her mouth, ”…and the curse?”
”GONE!” Narah-el said in a booming voice.
She pondered deep, the decision weigh heavy on her mind. Live here till the day she dies where the curse can’t reach her or die here and live under a different curse. Tala still felt luckier to have a choice, unlike Narah-el who has been banished for loving someone else.
Upon thinking about it some more the choice became much simpler for her now. Living with a curse that makes her fall for a prince who doesn’t love her or living with a different curse where she is free and can freely fall for anyone—even a Demon. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth saying “Yes, I agree!”. The souls rejoice and swarmed towards her enveloping her then everything went dark.
***
Tala opened her eyes, First thing she saw was him standing in front of her. She raise her arms and scanned every inch of her body. Relieved that everything seems to be in place. she asks, “Did it work?”
”Aye,”
”I don’t feel… different.”
”Yer the same lass—the only difference is you are no longer cursed by the prince.”
“Am I?” She asked excitedly.
”Well, the only way to find out is for us to get out of here—now chant with me.”
She followed every detail of the unknown language. The next thing she knew The Escandalorous bursting out of a black mist.
Below them is a clear blue sea that is full of life and just over the horizon The Great Sun. Tala flew forward bathing in its rays, with the only thought in her mind being how happy she is to be free. She look back at the captain of The Escadalorous and smiled.
Thank you for reading 😁
Authors Note
The prompt is: light of the moon
This story is told from a first-person perspective. where I am telling the story as the character. (I am still an amateur as a fiction writer but the only way to move forward is to write and learn)
This story is inspired by Rashōmon so this is a single story told using three different characters in three different perspectives publish in three different front ends. Why? This is to declare my affiliations and was inspired to do so.
The Story of Nara-el, is first person told by him personally and is published using Neoxian.city: Link to Narah-el's Story
The Story of Tala told on her side using third person limited will be published in Proofofbrain.blog in Proof of Brain Community
The Story of Malayari told in third person omniscient (what better way to do this other than seeing the story through a goddess's eyes. I am thinking of using an unreliable narrator if possible) will be published in (still pondering where), a few days later. [status: draft]
Else,
Malayari/Mayari is a Philippine deity of the moon. src.
Narah-el and The Escandalorous are both fictional characters that are born out of my imagination.
Afterword,
- Sorry, was doing a major overhauling a 6600kg HIMSEN Electric Generator Engine at work and was too tired to proofread (when night comes, so it took so much time to get published) but refuse to publish until I gave it a better proofread. I still think I can do better though.
Attributions
All links go to Wikipedia.org
- Images used for Malayari, Tala and Narah-el are edited using PhotoScape X, they are copyright free and/or of creative commons license. (click the link on their names for their respective sources).
Else, pictures and banners in this post were taken or made by myself, ©
My Journey so far... 🤣
Click a link for an invite (discord, matrix, or hive) for that particular group
I teleported here from the realm of Wax 🐝. Started my journey as a squire writing a story in the Ink Well ✒️. There I was found by my kin and brought me home to HivePH 👪. Love 2021 💔 broke my heart so I runaway, this is where I was found by the 👑Queen of Dreems and she introduced me to her Kingdom of DreemPort. After recovering from my dismay, I sallied forth to explore this vast Continent of Hive and found the Great City of Neoxian where I register for citizenship with its great ruler Mr. Dragon 🐉. The Queen hearing of my valor gave me a challenge, the dreaded "Freewrite" 😱, this is where I found the great sages of ProofofBrain and became one of its Noobs. Realizing that I have much to learn (and the Bookworm that I am) I joined a group of librarians The Hive Book Club 📚 where we meet every Saturday for something occult. Exploring some more I came to one of the busiest places on the continent The Terminal here I was given the rank of RedFish 🐠 and found a lot of RedFish and Non-RedFish friends. After my long journey, I came home to HivePH, waiting for me was an invite to join the League of Extraordinary "Brains!?" where I was given the secret Identity of Sir Droplet 💧! Last but not the least The Castle and The Alliance where I became a pimp (still new though, so I am washing dishes and cleaning the floors) 😭.