Jarash the God-Slayer (Part 1? Maybe?)
("This is an ancient poem that was past from generation to generation by Taro bards. It is obviously a work of fiction, quite possibly the first one in Taro society." - Modernhistorian of ancient Taro culture)
The Coast was dark and stormy. Jarash
led his fearless crew up it, in search of
the treasure of Lorthiom. He was destined
to find this treasure, which was believed
to have been sent upon the earth by the
Sun Goddess, Illuminancia, herself. Each
day,for forty days before he set out on t
hejourney, he made an offering of salmon
to Illuminancia, hoping to win the
Goddess's favor.
Finally, on the forty-first, Jarash
with his crew of twenty of the
most able-bodied men in all of
Taronlia, set off, up the coast.
And so, back to the present. It
a very dark and stormy coast.
The men were tired, thirsty. The
Salt in the air burned their skin
and eyes. But on they went.
The thought of the treasure was
the only thing that could keep
them going.
"Press on!" Jarash shouted from
the bow, holding his mighty club
forward, to press the men on.
Rain poured down on them, lighting
cracked in the distance, but
Jarash showed no fear. He was
dead set on getting that treasure.
Suddenly, off to their port side
there was a giant burst of
water. Jarash looked down, and
saw the massive, dark shape of
a giant Whale. It breached the
water right next to their vessel,
and the crew went into a panic.
"Beast! It has come to kill us!"
cried out one of the oarsman,
who jumped up and away as the
monster came into sight. But
Jarash did not faulter. He looked
at the giant creature, as it brought
its tail up out of the water, and
splashed it down hard next to the
ship.
"We're doomed!" "Its come to
swollow us whole!" "We'll never
be able to escape this thing!"
the crew cried out, but Jarash
was not afraid. He stood firm as
the wake from the giant beast's
splash rocked the ship. Then the
monster's head came up, and
sucked the water, pulling the
ship towards its open mouth.
"Row men! Fast, hard!" Jarash
ordered, holding his mighty club
in hand, ready to be swollowed
up by the mighty whale. The
crew tried valiantly to save the
ship, but their efforts were in
vain. The monster easily sucked
them down.
Inside the belly of the beast, the
men got a chance to see just how
large their adversary really was.
The stomach of the monster was
the length of six long houses,
placed end to end. It was as
tall as the mightiest Cedar tree
that grew on the land.
Their craft sat in the middle
of the monster's gut. It wouldn't
move. The men could not get
it to budge. Jarash knew they
could not stay in this beast for
long. He knew who it was,
Kohori, the ancient Lord
of the Seas. He would not
hesitate to eat any mortal
that crossed his path. For
he was jealous of man. He
used to live on land, until
he lost favor of the gods,
and was banished to the
sea. It was now his realm,
to travel forever. He had
also been given an immortal
life, so that he may suffer
the seas for all of eternity.
But now Man had decided
that they would take to the
waters, and this was something
Kohori could not take lightly.
If ever a man crossed his path
he would not hesitate to eat him
whole.
Inside the stomach, there was
evidence all around of other ships
and men unlucky enough to get
caught by Kohori. Many skeletons
and bodies of starved men littered
the stomach's floor. Jarash knew
he must act quickly to save his
and his crew's life.
"Men, we must escape this beast!
We have to get out!" Jarash cried
to his men, trying to encourage them
to not give up. "We have only one
chance to escape: we must cut our
way out!" The men all nodded in
agreement, then went for their knives.
Just as they were about to carve the
floor of the monster's belly, Jarash
stopped them.
"Men, think! If we cut ourselves out
here, the boat will probably sink to the
bottom of the sea, to be forever lost!
The monster has most likely dived down
to great depths by now. No, we must
bring it back up to the surface. Quick,
start a piece of wood on fire. I have a
plan."
The crew did as they were told, and
lit a piece of wood on fire. They handed
it to their captain, who let it burn up
near the monster's mouth, the smoke
lifting its way up. A giant growl rumbled
through the animal, and it was soon
obvious it was headed up for fresh air.
Jarash held the wood, and gave the
order for his men to start cutting.
Frantically, they began digging at the
beasts stomach, hacking and slashing
with their knives. Blood soon filled the
floor as the men cut and cut. The
growling grew louder, but Kohori had to
surface for air. It would suffocate if it
tried to stay under water, with all the
smoke filling its lungs. Finally, water
began to gush in, mixing with the blood
to make a chrimson liquid floating in
the stomach. "Yes, gut the beast!"
Jarash yelled in triumph. "Take that,
Kohori, for your vileness!" Jarash ran
to the ship, as did the crew, and they
all boarded it just in time for the sea's
foamy waters to pull the ship out of
the monsters belly.
((Been reading The Odyssey in English class so I thought I'd give the Taro's their own epic-ish poem, I know it ain't that good but still fun, more will be added if people like it.))
, and highlighted them in red.
Well, good job!
And I have a gamblet too!
