Hear me well young ones and I will tell you a tale of long ago. Back then when we
ruled the land and walked as giants beside the gods we never died. But then came
dark Humakt the Separator who was never happy unless two things were separate. He
caused it so that we were separated from the gods and where as they go on forever we must
die. And die we did. We died and we died and we died. And soon there
were dead people everywhere. You couldn't walk without moving through a dead person.
You couldn't breathe without breathing in a long dead aunt or uncle or worse
someone else's relatives. At first no one minded since this meant we could still see
our loved ones. But soon our steads were so crowded that we couldn't do anything
without some dead person being in the way or just watching what you were doing. And
we were never free of our interfering relatives. It can be a right burden to listen
to our parents and grandparents but imagine having your great- and great-great
grandparents around too and their grandparents and so on. They never spoke but they
certainly could give disapproving looks. It was like being at a great feast with all
your relatives. It's fun for a while but never ending? The situation started
annoying the living and the gods. They went to Orlanth the King and complained and
complained and despite his woes and troubles he heard them and went to Humakt.
"Humakt," he said, "You've made a fine mess now. You've separated us
from man and now they die while we live and they're cluttering up the place. What
are you going to do about it." And Humakt shrugged his massive shoulders and
said, "I just separate the things that need separating, I don't care what happens to
them afterward. What you need is an organizer." Orlanth grimaced and went
to see Lhankhor Mhy. "Lhankor Mhy, you help me organize things. Can you
do something about all these dead people?" Lhankhor Mhy frowned and said he
would try. He went around and marked all the dead people with a special rune so all
would know them by sight. Well this pleased no one as it changed nothing and solved
nothing. Orlanth tried other gods then. Eurmal tried to play tricks on the
dead but they were immune to his tricks and the living who were invariably affected by
them got so angry with him that they sewed him into the skin of a nonsense animal called a
walrus and tossed him into the sea. Harst the Reeve tried to put the dead into
storehouses but they wouldn't stay put. Ernalda could not heal them, mother them,
nor lead them. Pella the Potter tried to seal them in jars but they wouldn't stay
put. Roitana tried to dance them away but they just watched her until she collapsed
in exhaustion. The fiercest war god held no terrors for them. They wouldn't
get drunk, wouldn't be herded and couldn't be hunted. No one knew what to do with
them. And then Issaries returned from a trading expedition and found everyone
sad. He asked what was wrong and was told about the dead people. He thought
about them and decided that they couldn't be sold and no one would take them in
trade. He sat and thought some more and then thought some more. And then he
wondered. If the living are bothered so by the dead are the dead in turn bothered by
the living? What if he offered the dead a home in the Other World? He went to
Orlanth and Humakt and proposed this plan to them and they both agreed. So Issaries
went to the dead and he offered them a home where they could be free of the living.
They agreed and he led them off to the Storm Realm and we were free of them. But
after a while we realized that there didn't seem to be any new people born. Issaries
was taking the dead away as quick as they died but no one was bringing new people to
us. This worried Orlanth and he went to Humakt and said that soon there would be no
mortals left. And Humakt shrugged and said, "Dead is dead and living is
living. You cannot alter my nature this way. I separate the dead from the
living and Issaries takes them off to the Other World in his basket." Issaries
piped in, "I've been meaning to mention that. I've taken all the dead to the
Other World and I've never received anything for my efforts. It's contrary to my
nature to do something for nothing. Wouldn't you agree that it's wrong to alter my
nature too?" Orlanth nodded his head yes and grim Humakt shrugged and nodded
his agreement. "This is what I propose, " Issaries said, "I will continue
to take the dead to the Other World in my basket, but when I come back I will bring as
many dead people back in my basket to be born again as new people as I took away.
That way I will be repaid for my labours, for dead people make lousy market
goers." "Wait a minute," glared Humakt, "Dead is dead.
Once they are dead they cannot come back, that violates my nature." Orlanth
shrugged and said, "And it violates Issaries' nature to do something for nothing so I
agree. Besides this way you can separate them again. At the rate we're going
there won't be anyone to separate soon." This mollified Humakt and he agreed
and that's why dead is dead most of the time except when it isn't.
This page last modified Februay 20, 2002
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