From the Waters of the West I Come

[RedPiggy]

I've really started to get the hang of my Hensonian theology, LOL. While all the real world religions exist in this world (according to humans), on the flipside, such as the Underground, they have their own traditions and explanations of things. I think I've come up with a nifty Hensonian trinity of sorts with the King of the Universe (how he fits in with the Boss who also exists in my ficverse is something I haven't really delved into yet). As such, the little red book from the movie Labyrinth was turned into part of a trilogy, though we've only seen two of them so far. It's bugged me for years that Sarah enters the Labyrinth and gets surprised so often, yet she's been reading that playbook ad nauseum in the real world and memorized 99% of the lines and she really doesn't understand how this works? That's like being a hardcore Trekkie and not knowing the bridge positions of the Enterprise when you find yourself there. Grrrrr .... LOL.

The second and final arc is going to be a lot easier to write now that I know how I want Mizumi's quest for the King to play out. Kyvan is a hint of things to come ....

 

[The Count]

Hah... No, Sarah's surprise is, and now that I think of it very much like Alice's. At the beginning, when she's daydreaming while one of her sisters (unsure if it's Lorainne Charlotte or Mathilda) is reading her the book without pictures, she starts going off on all the explanations of how her dream world works. And then when she follows the White Rabbit down into the rabbithole she's like "What?!" and "That's nonsense" and "I'm not myself you see."

Second arc huh. Is this the one with Candlewick?
Dunno if I said it, but I kind of thought another branch for your fic could be what exactly the family is Marjory has that whisked her to Grouchland/Trash Kingdom at the end of Comeback, Act 1.

 

[RedPiggy]

No, Candlewic and the reason for his story will be in another story altogether. This second arc, the first one being how the McMooch family was exiled to the swamps, deals with Mizumi having to take her place as Queen of Moraine while searching for the King of the Universe.

I realize that Comeback can rely a lot on implications, but my idea was that the Queen of Trash, who makes trash come alive, is technically Marjory's mother. I think she had an uncle too in one of her songs, but I'm not sure. In essence, the Queen of Trash is the mother and all sentient trash creatures in the kingdom are her family.

 

[The Count]

Oh, okay, that makes sense in a creator parent figure sort of way.

Yes, Marjory refered to her Uncle Maqximillian.
Philo: Maximillian doesn't have a Q in it.
Marjory: He spelled it with a Q.
Oddly enough, she thought it was a crossword answer.

 

[RedPiggy]

Chapter 14

Mizumi sat in the clam-shaped carriage as it rose through the waterfall, flipping through the pages of the book she had been given. Frowning, she tossed it aside. Upon reaching the top of the waterfall, the rotund form of her mother, resting in an ice throne carried by light blue dragons whose nostrils spewed out frosty mist, appeared.

Mizumi exited the carriage, not forgetting to take the book, and bowed. “The McMooch family --.”

“Spare me your tales of woe,” retorted her mother curtly. Turning her back on her daughter, she continued, “Follow me and speak only when spoken to.”

Mizumi nodded sullenly and followed a few steps behind her mother.

As they traveled, Mizumi’s mother sighed. “Take us to Ydro,” she told the dragons, who bowed accordingly. Peeking behind her, she explained to Mizumi, “You have made the Keeper of the River of Time quite irritable.” Chuckling, she continued, “I have never seen her so upset. Well, there was that one time ….”

“Mother --.”

Her mother snapped her fingers and the dragons stopped abruptly, hissing and growling. “Was I not explicit? Your mouth does not open until I give it leave to do so, daughter. You seek the King of the Universe, as does every female from here to Oz, but you are messing with magicks you do not understand. The galaxies quake at his mention.” She shot her daughter a dirty look. “Hand me the text the peddler gave you.” Mizumi did so silently and her mother briefly skimmed it. “I see. How far have you gotten in the text?”

“There is no text, Mother. The pages are blank.”

Her mother’s face fell suddenly. There was a long pause and Mizumi grew very uncomfortable. Snapping her fingers, the dragons continued their walk throughout the kingdom.

At long last they both arrived and entered the room where Ydro was napping. Instantly awakening when the visitors arrived, Ydro coughed and trembled, bowing her head. “Your Majesties.”

The queen threw the book at Ydro. “Darkness threatens. Our great kingdom is in danger. Provide for me your gentle words of encouragement.”

Ydro sighed. “I would if words would suffice, dear Queen, but I fear,” she continued, glancing nervously at Mizumi, “the River of Time provides little comfort, for darkness comes from the past, present, and the future.”

The Queen huffed angrily, snorting. “And who is to blame for such things?”

Ydro bowed, trembling. “The daughter of Moraine.”

Mizumi gasped and averted her eyes, her pale cheeks blushing.

The Queen glared at her daughter. “It is this business of finding the King, isn’t it?”

Ydro interjected, “The ramfications of the universe’s ablation --.”

The Queen gasped and jerked her head to face Ydro. “Ablation? What ablation?” she asked in a panic.

Ydro trembled, whether from fear or age they could not ascertain. “Your Highness, her quest for what she cannot have split the universe asunder.” She lifted a knotty index finger. “However, deep into the mouth of the River of Time, I see an attempt at healing, though it is all for naught, as the waters are swirling into chaos.”

Mizumi stepped forward, her voice growling. “I have done none of this!”

Ydro grit her teeth and glared at the princess. “I see you in distant past, in distant future, and in the present – and in all cases, you are the focal point of the swirling waters that threaten to drown the universe.”

The Queen sighed, shaking her head. “Really, Mizumi – is this king worth so much trouble? Can you not enjoy a simple cup of tea like normal folk?” Tears started welling up in her eyes. “How is it Mizumi cast ablations anyway? Such magic is known only to --.”

“What is an ablation?” Mizumi blurted out.

Ydro stood and conjured a sphere of water, which then split into halves and reformed into two separate but identical spheres. “An ablation is a separation, usually of a single characteristic. It is a function long held to be the most dangerous of all powers and the reason the King of the Universe fled from his reign.”

Mizumi sighed and sat down, rocking gently. “So many tales of the King, but which are true?”

The Queen sat next to Mizumi, huffing and grunting. “Why seek the King, Heir to the Throne?” she asked in a quiet, almost uncharacteristically compassionate tone. “How can he compare to you?”

Mizumi stood and turned her back on her mother. “I desire nothing less than everything, Mother. I have been restricted from my potential and I can only experience my totality under his gentle wing.”

The Queen sighed and stared at the floor. “And yet his wing is not so gentle,” she said, glancing up at Ydro, who nodded.

Ydro twirled her arms slowly and a watery screen developed in the air between them, with images surfacing as she narrated:

Deep into the blackness of the earliest skies, amidst the stars barely visible, a group of Ancients, tasked with managing the Universe as created by a singular power of enormous creative potential, searched the stars for those who could take the task of keeping the peace.

They found simple creatures and bred them until there came about one who was made King of the Universe, as he was the most powerful of all creations. However, as he tried to manage such disparate creatures as Delvians and UrSkeks, he found himself torn amongst the conflicting wishes. Piercing his heart, he created three beings: Humility, Hunger, and Hubris. The universe filled with those who feared this power, realizing such a creature could threaten all of existence. However, Hunger preyed upon the Universe and fear turned against those who held it. Millions suffered and died as a result. For thousands of years terror reigned. Yet Humility and Hubris wanted no part of it and fled across the universe, ending up combining what remained of their powers to fashion a door that split a part of the universe and hid it within the larger picture, which is what we now call the Underground, so that the natives of the world and the citizens of the universe could not find them, for if all three are killed the universe dies. And so it remains to this day. The King of the Universe means nothing but ruin for all.

Mizumi stared at the images, the color draining from her face and tears flowing from her eyes. “I am to believe I am the cornerstone of all this tragedy?” she whispered.

The Queen struggled to stand, her face drooping in sadness. “You cannot stay the hand of destiny, but like any river, its banks can be … altered … to suit oneself.” She sighed and looked at the swirling river image flowing around the room. “I was like you, Mizumi. I craved the security of tasting such infinite power.” She glanced at the floor, her lip quivering. “I regret my desires and hope forever I can at least restrain the damage my wishes wrought. I clearly fail in so necessary a task.” She glanced at her daughter pleadingly. “I beg you, my dear Mizumi – forget about the King. Go back to your studies. Command your servants and subjects. Do not seek the weapon already wrenching its way into your heart.”

Mizumi turned from her mother and faced Ydro. “Why can I trust your assessment of the past?”

Ydro snarled. “Dare you insinuate my powers of hydromancy are insufficient?” She held out a book. “The past speaks to me in words that stay, Future Cup of Moraine,” she continued with a sneer. “With all three books, what’s left unsaid shall soon be said.”

 

[The Count]

This was a very interesting chapter.

We get more of a glimpse into the character of Mizumi's mother, how the ice queen became so frosty and how she's not so different from her daughter in some respects.
Chuckled at the line of how Mizumi fawns over wanting to meet the king of the universe, just like every other female from Moraine to Oz.
Caught the references to the other "fantasy" races and the creation of the underground realm.
Hubris is clearly Jareth, despite what Pearl may say... I kind of deduce that means Humility would be Hoggle. So I take it that would that leave Maldiz as Hunger. Which brings us to Ydro's comments of seeing Mizumi as the source of chaos in all three facets of the River of Time's roiling rapids, if those of us reading will remember all the things that have happened in your ficverse.

Thanks for posting, I enjoy your writings. Now go slay some pyramids.

 

[RedPiggy]

Yes, I wanted to make Mizumi's mother more interesting, and there's a reason she's so cold and loves her tea, but that's for a later chapter, LOL.

I really like the ancient histories found in Farscape and I realized I could merge that history rather well. Basically, my concept is that faes or other supernatural human-looking creatures on Earth or in the Underground are basically "rough drafts" of the genetic experiments used by the Eidelons in Farscape around 30,000 years ago. This is why they have powers that appear to be magic to the rest of us. However, eventually the Eidelons decided against such super-powered creatures and wanted something more controllable, and developed the Sebacean race, known later as Peacekeepers.

I decided I didn't really want to keep the merged universe at the end of Maybe It's Not Too Late After All. However, by preventing that solution, I'm going to be really frustrated trying to fix all the ramifications. Fortunately, the ablation concept can help me, but we'll have to see how well I can make that work.

 

[RedPiggy]

I deeply apologize for the inconvenice of not posting. My keyboard was spouting jibberish so it had to take a trip to Staples. I've been borrowing my mom's computer to post, but since a single chapter can take hours, I haven't felt comfortable doing that to Mom. I think I can get it back tomorrow. *crosses fingers*

 

[The Count]

*Hopes Kelly's keyboard is able to make a full recovery before it can be released from the Staples Hospital.

Don't worry, we'll still be here to read when you're able to post such wonderful stuff.

 

[RedPiggy]

Chapter 15

Esker sat near the banks of the lake as the sun rose gently over the horizon, eating frozen fish. A shadow appeared and he smiled, turning and looking up.

“Milady,” he said.

Mizumi calmly and sadly sat beside him and leaned against him, catching him off guard and making him choke.

“Milady?”

Mizumi sighed. “My father finds me naïve and my mother finds me the cause of the destruction of the universe.”

He chuckled. “I would take care to listen to your mother.”

Mizumi shot up, gritting her teeth, her eyes widened and her face flushed. “Were you not listening?”

Esker stood, tossing the remainder of the fish aside. “Princess, though the news be grim, at least your mother acknowledges your potential.”

Pacing angrily, clenching her fists, Mizumi ranted, “How can I believe either of them? No matter how hard I studied, no matter how my power grows, I can never be rid of their constant ridicule!”

“The world of politics, dear Princess,” he retorted, shrugging. “It can be so tiring and petty.”

Mizumi screamed and took a swing at the air. Further enraged by the ineffectiveness of her own actions, she thrust out her arm and the lake heaved and lurched away from the shore, revealing glistening mud and smooth stones of multiple hues. It took several minutes for the water to rush back into place. Grunting in frustration, she squatted down and sobbed.

Esker sat beside her, hesitating to drape his arm around her shivering shoulders, but he did. “Milady,” he began softly, “how may I be of service to you? It pains me to see you so frightfully unwell.”

Mizumi sniffled and laughed, burying her head in her knees. “Can you bestill the universe’s wrath against me?”

Esker shook his head slowly. “Milady, I cannot stop the universe, but I shall take care to see you survive it.”

“How?” she uttered bitterly.

Esker smiled. For several long moments he merely sat there, silent, letting his presence infuse her with his strength. For a brief second, he felt as though perhaps it was literally happening. Caressing her cheek, he nodded. “Milady, you require the strength to face your fears and the knowledge of fear to resist it further,” he continued, trying to hide a frown from his face as he turned away.

“What does that even mean?” Mizumi asked wearily.

Esker sighed and held her hand. “You must see with new eyes, my lovely Princess. Take my strength. Take … take,” he stammered, releasing his hold and walking a few paces away, “take your … your mother’s knowledge of fear.”

Mizumi gasped and stared at Esker in bone-chilling silence.