Hush

Written by Leigh_Wright

Children, hush now.

Remember that my stories are not just tales of fancy. Listen and learn, or find yourself short of knowledge and good sense when you need it most! Buyu was brave. Buyu was strong. On two legs he was taller than most, with a shell so striking that heads turned wherever he went. Coloured a pale green on burnt orange with incredible golden highlights, Buyu’s shell had twice the number of scutes as the average Toi. He was born with the rare condition we call Mul, which means that the body develops in unusual ways. Some have missing or extra limbs - that’s right, like you, dear Niole - and you’ve all heard stories about beautiful MuMu: two heads singing in perfect harmony. I’ve never heard anything more wonderful than that, and likely never will.

Now, some say that Mul makes Toi different in other ways: seeing or knowing things the rest of us don’t, or even being able to use magic like our friends, the Sha. You let us know, Niole, if you have any visions or find yourself able to fly like an Eager – I’ve seen my fair share of strange things in my long years, I can tell you! But Mul is no guarantee of anything. We are all the same despite our differences, and we’d all do well to remember that. Buyu had his magnificent shell, and it made him proud.

He had heard all the stories I’ve told you and more, and longed to make his mark on the world. Buoyed throughout his childhood by the attention he received because of his extraordinary shell, Buyu developed a self-belief that he was destined for greatness, and with it a reckless regard for lore that even I couldn’t shake him of.

The very day after his coming of age ceremony and celebration, Buyu left the Burrow looking for adventure. He had practiced daily for years to become skilled with Takbaku and bow. He had built his strength until he could run great distances before needing to rest. He had weaned himself onto a meagre, traveller’s diet.

Darken Woods. It was Darken Woods he was determined for, and there was nothing I could do to dissuade him. The mystery of that place was too great a temptation for the young fool: too full of himself to believe that some things are best left unknown; too naïve to understand how much things can change.

Buyu took with him a reckless party of four, none of them much older than he, all looking to be heroes so they’d have songs sung about them. They stuck to the trees as far as they could, but sooner or later, if you want explore Skaraeldinn, you have to go across open land.

Grandscape by The Ephemeral Man

They lost two of their party the first day out in the open grassland. Caught by surprise, it was all they could do to retreat inside their shells, claws secured into the ground, while the Eagers attacked. Eager talons aren’t strong enough to damage our shells, but their beaks can leave a mark, and not one of the survivors was left unmarred. The Eagers harried them, making sport of it, flying off only to swoop in to attack with little warning. Buyu had learnt his lesson, and no one else died, though several weapons were lost. Finally, it was Buyu himself who managed to break the wing of an Eager with one great swing of the sharp end of his Takbaku, cutting off its shrieks with the blunt end. The remaining beasts flew off in silence, and for a while the survivors were left alone.

It was a hard time, getting to Darken Wood, but three of them got there, much more wary and wise than when they first left the Burrow. Their map had told them to look for a peculiar formation of low hills we call Toi Down. Legend has it that a band of Toi warriors fought a great battle against monsters there, and lost. In honour of their bravery, the land rose up, forming hills around the shells of the dead.

Darken Wood lay Northward from Toi Down. No Eagers roamed there. Buyu felt a strange combination of shame and pride now that he had reached his goal. Two Toi had lost their lives. It had seemed like such an adventure from the safety of the Burrow, but reality was different, not nearly as fun as he imagined. Still, he was determined that his quest would have meaning, that they would discover the mystery of Darken Wood and return home heroes.

It was soon to dark, but Buyu was impatient, and determined to take a peek inside the boundary of trees. As they approached, they could hear strange noises: crackling, weird tones, broken rhythms, spectral voices. This is what they had come to witness. Buyu, buoyed by a lack of fear, walked deeper into the Woods, in awe of the sounds he was hearing. There was light of many colours glinting somewhere deep within the trees; he was drawn to it with no thought for his companions. They did not follow him into the trees, so survived to tell the tale. Buyu never returned from within Darken Wood, but his foolishness unleashed something. The sounds intensified, colour bursting from within to create eerie patterns in the darkening sky. Then sound and light became manifest in six shrieking phantoms that burst from the trees to haunt the land. They feed on the lifeforce of the living and are particularly drawn to people who do bad things. Naughty children are a delicacy. Between the Toi and the Sha we’ve banished three of those phantoms, but three still remain. They can appear anywhere at any time, mind, and if that doesn’t caution you lot against behaving yourselves, then nothing will!

Now begone with you, off to bed, that’s all you’ll get from me tonight.