The Weekly Muse #24

Are You Ready For an Infodump?

Last week in chapter four, our heroes had just realized that they weren’t in our world anymore: now we’re moving forward to… a massive infodump! Yes, my young writer self hadn’t quite absorbed the show don’t tell rule yet, so you’re in for a history lesson, folks! Without further adieu, let’s roll!

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There was a heavy silence as the meaning of Sean's words sank in, only slightly broken by Luther politely offering them chairs in the living room so they could sit down and rest. Each one had a different feeling inside. Sean himself felt a sense of glorious adventure. It was just like one of his storybooks at home. He had come into another world! A world with talking animals, no less! Sean couldn't wait to see what would happen next. He hoped there might be some sort of a quest they would have to go on, or a challenge they had to meet or... Sean's mind fairly raced with the possibilities. For once, he didn't wish he had brought a book with him, as he often did on field trips and other outdoor excursions. Nor was he worried about being outside in nature in this new world. On the contrary, he couldn’t wait to get started.

Contrasting with Sean's eagerness was Lucy's fear. When the full realization had dawned that she had apparently slipped into another world or dimension or something like that, she had felt a wave of fear, which only seemed to increase as time went on. She was cut off from everything she had ever known, stranded in another universe, without any apparent means of getting home! Lucy wanted to just get away somewhere and go to sleep, hoping she would wake up in our world. She kept furtively pinching herself until her arm was nearly black and blue. Nevertheless, the dream, if it was a dream remained. Lucy was forced to resign herself to the fact that she was stuck for now, and she would just have to make the best of it.

Conrad's feelings were a mixture of Sean's and Lucy's. On one side, he, like Sean, felt a thrill of adventure. After all, he had rarely traveled beyond the boundaries of his state. Now here he was, in another world, who knew how far away from home! Not to mention that he would probably have some great adventures here, exploring Sirilan, seeing the castles and Navina, the capital. On the other hand, Conrad had a sense of nervousness. He wondered when, if, they would get back to their world. Conrad also wondered how time worked in that world. Sean had told him about stories where the heroes went into other world and returned at the same time they left, or shortly after it. Conrad was also apprehensive about what would happen if they were injured or worse in Sirilan, as Luther called it. Would they be instantly healed upon return to Earth? Or would they suddenly pop up with unexplained cuts and scratches or worse? Or what if... To be honest, Conrad wasn't quite sure what he thought. It was all so new and different that it was rather hard to take in.

Luther interrupted their reveries to say, "Well, if you are so inclined, l can provide you with a condensed synopsis of our fair country's historical chronicles. Perhaps that will emit some illumination upon the question of for what purpose you have been conveyed to this locality."

Lucy and Conrad looked blank for a moment, then Sean translated. "He said that if we want, he can tell us about the history of Sirilan, so maybe we can find out why we're here."

"Why does it matter?" Lucy asked, "We just came in by accident. Does there have to be an explanation why we came?"  

"Of course, there does!" Sean replied, looking astonished. "Haven't you read any stories? Whenever people go into another world, there's always a reason! There's always a kingdom in peril, or there's a rebellion, or a lost prince, or..."

Suddenly. Luther became intensely animated. He sat up from the comfortable armchair he had sunk into. his eyes widened, his beak opened, and his glasses nearly fell off, so great was his excitement. Sean did not appear to notice this, but Conrad and Lucy did. They wondered what could be the reason for this sudden change.

"Excuse me, but did my auricular cavities comprehend your articulations correctly?" Luther interrupted.

Sean translated for Lucy and Conrad, "He asked if he heard me right, which you did," he said to Luther, "Why, what did I say?"

Luther was astounded. "You do not know? But I had thought, that is, you mentioned it specifically, so I assumed..." The owl deflated like a punctured balloon. "Forgive me," he said sadly, "I had assumed that from you said, you knew of our predicament and had come to lend assistance. It seems I was mistaken."

Lucy felt sorry for the owl. Sean looked confused. "What predicament? You mean your country really has a problem like that? Cool!" he exclaimed, leaping up from his seat excitedly. "What is it? Can we help? What do you want us to do? Will we get to have a sword-fight? Is it a rebellion, a lost prince, a kingdom in danger, a magic sword that's been stolen, what is it?" Sean was so thrilled by Luther's words that he nearly jumped through the roof.

Luther appeared slightly dazed by Sean's rush of words. "Well, I, that is to say. we, the Sirians, do happen to have a crisis of some sort, regarding succession scenarios to the position of preeminent sovereign, but how you could have an awareness of our dilemma when you purportedly have just recently arrived from another cosmos is beyond my level of understanding!"

Lucy and Conrad looked blank until Sean swiftly translated. "He said that they have problems with who should become king in this country, but he wondered how I knew about this stuff, when we'd just gotten here from our world. Oh, and it's easy, really," turning to Luther, "I've read a million adventure stories like this."

"Believe me, he has," said Conrad. "So, tell us about your problem,"

"All right," the owl said, "I will attempt to convey the details of our predicament."

Luther began to tell them the story of the Lost Prince of Sirilan. It was a very long story, made even longer by Sean's having to translate every three or four minutes. What follows is the shorter version of Luther's story, translated into normal English.

The country of Sirilan had once been a happy and prosperous kingdom. It was ruled well by its king. Lawrence, who was called Lawrence the Lionhearted by his people. He was a fair and just king. ruling the people, as he himself would be ruled. He ruled humans and animals alike, not showing favoritism to certain species of animals like cats and dogs over other species like wolves, foxes, and mice. He even made friends with the wild Raccoon Brethren of the Southern Forest and helped them build a town of their own, called Rivenwood. The Sirians loved him deeply.

The only blot upon the proud history of his reign was that King Lawrence had no child. When he died, the crown would pass to his brother, Edmund James Taradash, lord of the castle of Shallot, which he changed to Castle Taradash shortly after he began to rule there.

Lord Taradash was an evil man, consumed by his visions of power and by his hatred of his hatred his brother. He was exceedingly cunningly, and had made it appear that he were harmless and peaceable, concerned only about the greater good of Sirilan. Some believed him. hut others did not, including King Lawrence.

Lawrence loved his kingdom and its subjects, and could not bear to see them fall into the hands of his power-mad brother. Nevertheless, the law of Sirilan was that if the king died and left no heir, than the crown would fall to the king's nearest relative.

Lawrence was greatly troubled by this, for he knew that Lord Taradash would be a tyrant king. caring only for himself, and oppressing the people. Only a miracle could save the kingdom from falling into his brother's hands. Then, about sixteen years before, a miracle had come. Lawrence's wife, Queen Alicia, had given birth to a son!

The newborn prince was called Patrick Levillian Revandi Montisle, and great was the rejoicing in Sirilan when the birth was made known. Every Sirian celebrated and made merry when they heard the joyous tidings.

Every Sirian except one. Lord Taradash was enraged when he heard the news. Now Lawrence had a son, who could take the throne when the king died, and he, Taradash, would be left out. His dreams of power seemed to melt away. Then and there, Lord Taradash swore a terrible oath, that he would not rest until the house of the Montisles was destroyed forever!

To accomplish his goal, Taradash used his wealth and power to form a band of fierce men and wild animals that would be loyal only to him. He called this army of guerrilla warriors the Tara Raiders. They prowled the countryside, raiding here, looting there, following Lord Taradash's orders. The Sirians feared them like no other invaders of their land.

The knights of Sirilan rode out again and again to give them battle, but each time the Tara Raiders vanished, like smoke on the breeze, before the knights arrived. Lawrence called out his armies and scoured the land for days, but he found no trace of the bandits.

The only area of Sirilan he did not search was Taradash's castle. Lawrence knew Taradash was an evil and power-hungry man, but the king would not believe that Taradash was behind the Tara Raiders.

Sadly, Lawrence's trust was badly misplaced. Not only had his brother created the Tara Raiders, hut he had also appointed an exiled outcast to lead the force. His name was Rakkla.

The fox had once been a respected Sirian, a leader in his clan. He could have risen to great prominence in the court of King Lawrence. But then, tragically, Rakkla fell under evil influences and became corrupt. When he was passed over as leader of the fox clan, Rakkla was consumed with a fierce hatred towards the clan.  He led an attempt to take the clan over, and establish himself as ruler of the clan so he could take his revenge. Lawrence learned of the devious plot in time, and warned the clan leader. The evil plot was thwarted, and Rakkla was banished. The fox fled the country, but promised himself that he would return someday.

Taradash sought him out, and promised him a generous share of whatever booty the Tara Raiders collected, if Rakkla would lead them. The fox consented.

Rakkla brought many of his friends to help Lord Taradash, including Lieutenant Ferran of Muldania, the dark land beyond the Northern Mountains. Rakkla also brought Skivvel the Rat to be his deputy and chief spy. Skivvel was leader of the vast network of spies and informers who kept the Tara Raiders connected. They also gathered information to aid Lord Taradash.

Skivvel was a slimy rat, obsequious and flattering to his superiors, but tyrannizing and imperious toward his subordinates. Skivvel was exceptionally cunning and devious, skilled in ferreting out information and twisting it to use for his own purposes. Few people liked talking to Skivvel, because he always seemed to be insinuating something about them, even if they were talking about something as harmless as the weather. Raidda personally disliked him, but the fox knew that Skivvel was a valued spy and informant. So, he appointed him to be his deputy.

The most valuable person Rakkla brought to serve Lord Taradash was not actually a person. She was a cat. Cavanessa Montashleigh was a golden wildcat, over seven feet tall, whose unusually long black-tipped tail reached almost to her head. Cavanessa was totally ruthless, fierce, wild, and treacherous, someone you would not want to meet alone on a dark night. She had always wanted to be the Catqueen, ruler of all the cats in Sirilan, but she could not have this position because the Catlaw allowed only the eldest daughter of the queen to take the throne. Cavanessa had found herself in a position remarkably similar to Taradash's, wanting the throne but unable to take it because a blood relative was blocking the way.

Cavanessa Montashleigh was the one thing on earth that Taradash feared, but he naturally kept this knowledge to himself. He respected her and knew she would be invaluable to his cause, as long as she was loyal to him. Cavanessa swore her allegiance, but Taradash secretly suspected that she did not mean a word of it. Cavanessa became one of Taradash's closest advisers.

With Cavanessa at his side, and a powerful force of raiders to serve him, Taradash planned his assault. He devised a clever plan, which involved attacking the king on a lonely road, when Lawrence was on his way to visit a castle in the Eastern Plains, near the Northern Mountains. According to Skivvel, Queen Alicia was coming along as well, and she was bringing Prince Patrick. The best part was that only eleven knights would be coming along to protect the king, because a great tournament was to begin in two days and many of the knights were practicing for it. Taradash ordered Rakkla to carry out the assault with the entire force of Tara Raiders.

Rakkla attacked the traveling party, on the very day of the fourth birthday of the little prince. Lawrence and his knights fought bravely, but they were heavily outnumbered. All but one of the knights were slain. Rakkla himself executed the king, and his fair queen, but the child was gone. One of the knights had managed to break through the attacking force and had ridden away with the prince. The knight was heavily wounded, and it was doubtful that he survived very long after the battle, but no one knew for sure. Prince Patrick had vanished without a trace.

When Taradash learned of the attack, he ordered the Tara Raiders to search the entire land for the missing prince. They obeyed, but were unable to find him. Taradash knew he could not waste any time. He raced to Navina, the ancient capital of Sirilan, and seized the throne. Thus began a terrible time of fear and oppression. Taradash used his power as king to completely crush any opposition against him. Skivvel and his minions swarmed throughout the land, spying on the Sirians and reporting to Taradash everything they saw. Anyone who even so much as expressed disapproval of Taradash was immediately arrested and thrown into jail.

The Tara Raiders were given absolute power in Sirilan. They did whatever they liked, plundering villages, enslaving the people and animals, and collecting the exorbitant taxes that Lord Taradash demanded. No one was safe.

Taradash also deposed the present Catqueen and ordered Cavanessa crowned in her place. The cats protested, but Taradash's will was law. Once Cavanessa became queen, she immediately arrested those cats who had opposed her and flung them into prison. She also asked Taradash to enact laws that would proclaim her cats superior to the many dogs of Sirilan, and would banish one of her worst enemies, the Canine Commander, Basil Montmorency.

Basil had been a thorn in her paw for years, because of his jovial ways, his garrulous manner, and his unashamed support of the previous Catqueen, whom Basil respected because of her friendliness towards the dogs of Sirilan. Cavanessa had been unable to do anything about him, lacking the power to enforce her wishes. Now that she was the Catqueen, she could finally avenge herself.

Taradash agreed to her requests, and so the infamous Cat Superiority Laws were proclaimed. The dogs were stripped of all freedoms, and banned from choosing a Canine Commander of their own. From now on, Taradash alone would rule them.

Many of the cats opposed these laws, for they wanted friendship with the canine races, and knew that the new laws would cause the dogs to become their enemies. But they did not speak out, fearing the wrath of Cavanessa Montashleigh. The feline legions followed their Catqueen unreservedly.

Other Sirians tried to speak out, but Taradash quickly eliminated them. Some Sirians, including Basil Montmorency, went into hiding in secret places, waiting until the day when they could once again be free.

But that day seemed very far off. Not only were Taradash and his hordes in complete control over Sirilan, but the leaders of the animal races were divided. Skivvel's minions had spread false rumors about each species to another, and to the humans about the animals and vice versa, hoping to spread disunion among the Sirians so that they would be easier to rule.

They succeeded. The mice distrusted the dogs, the dogs clashed with the birds, the wild Raccoon Brethren of the South were wary of everyone but themselves, the humans despised the animals, the animals scorned the humans... Everyone seemed afraid of everyone else, and no one even suggested joining together and rising up against Taradash. And so, the oppressed and persecuted Sirians resigned themselves to their terrible fate.

 Then a faint ray of hope had penetrated the darkness of their oppression. A legend arose about the lost prince, the child who had escaped with the knight and disappeared. The legend said that the prince had been carried away to the South and hidden on a secret island. The Lost Island, as some called it, was believed to be in a hidden lake somewhere in the Southern Forest.

The only problem was that the Southern Forest was the territory of the Raccoon Brethren, who, chattering wildly in their strange language, roamed the trees, and drove off anyone who entered their territory without permission. Few Sirians traveled into the Southern Forest nowadays, fearing attack by the raccoon tribes.

No one dared to venture into the Forest, and most people had not believed the story, for how could anyone survive in Raccoon territory? Besides, Taradash himself had always said that the child was dead, and Cavanessa had drilled this into her cats until many of them began to believe the lie. Skivvel had his network spread the word that the Prince was dead, and most Sirians seemed to believe it. Thus, the legend had been forgotten, for twelve long years.

Then, just before the three kids arrived in Sirilan, the legend sprang up again. No one knew just why the story was suddenly so popular again. Maybe it was because of a rapidly spreading rumor that someone had actually seen him. Or maybe it was because the Tara Raiders, and Skivvel's spies, were suddenly interested again in the Lost Prince, even though they had proclaimed for twelve years that the prince was dead. Perhaps it was because of a vague report that Basil Montmorency had been sighted in the area, and if Basil had come back, then that had to mean that soon Taradash would be overthrown and they would be free!

Whatever it was, the legend of the Lost Island was spreading like wildfire around the country, in spite of Lord Taradash's efforts to stop it.

Many Sirians became emboldened and tried to fulfill the legend themselves. Some had tried to find the Prince in the Forest, but the Raccoon Brethren blocked all such attempts. Others had sought the Lost Island elsewhere in Sirilan, but their attempts had proved fruitless. The Sirians had given up on these rescue attempts, seeming to resign themselves to the futility of seeking the Prince in the Forest or anywhere else, but they still believed the Legend. They still had hope that one day, the lost prince would come forward, the legend would be fulfilled, and they would be free from Lord Taradash and his tyranny. Until then, all they could do was wait and hope.

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Comments from 2023 Me: Okay, obviously this is not a world with the, shall we say, moral subtlety of George R. R. Martin, or even the depth of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Why I thought it would be remotely believable that Lawrence wouldn’t believe the Tara Raiders weren’t connected to Taradash of Castle Taradash, I…can’t explain. Lawrence was a trusting soul, I guess? I dunno.

You’re probably wondering what the whole Catlaw is and whether I get into that further later on, or whether we’ll see Cavanessa, Basil, or any of the people/animals I alluded to here. I don’t remember about some of it, but I do assure you, Cavanessa and Basil do make an appearance! And the raccoons! Oh, there’ll be raccoons.

You’re also probably asking yourself if this whole thing doesn’t seem like an unholy mashup of The Silver Chair and Brian Jacques’ Redwall series. In which case, shush.

Next week: chapter six! Action! Adventure! I think maybe!