Ometz
Legacy Name: Ometz

The Story of "Courage"

A lone gargoyle has been standing guard in the graveyard for a long, long time. The townsfolk have wondered about its age, origin and creator. However, it seemed that no one knows. Soon, the murmurs ceased, and the stony figure became a passing thought in the minds of those who were forced to pass the gloomy resting place of many.

Little do they know, that although the secrets of the the stoic guardian of the dead were never probed, it knew every dark secret it oversaw, every lie it overheard.

No one ever realized that the stone gargoyle is alive

Made out of stone but owns a heart, the gargoyle was a proud masterpiece of a young sorcerer who whirled spells around on a whim, but treated all his creations kindly. Some time ago, he carved a gargoyle out from a single block of stone while trying out a new enchantment, and with immense satisfaction, gave it consciousness. Although the most it could do was shift its eyes, the young man was overjoyed when he spotted its eyes focusing on him, and gave it a name - "Ometz".

With a name, a heart develops, and 'it' becomes a 'him'.
For Ometz, the following years were memorable, and the time his creator and master spent talking to him made him long for the ability to speak, and the realization of the human feeling called 'happiness'. Sometimes he wondered why Master would enjoy talking to him that much, but the sorcerer seemed to see through his frustration and simply patted his head, saying that he was not a wordy companion, something which he liked. Ometz was confused, but since Master seemed to like him that way, he stayed content.

Years passed, and the young sorcerer grew old despite his mastery over spells which no other human can perform. Realizing that his end was near, the sorcerer placed Ometz in a secluded clearing surrounded by willow trees, and promised that he would come back, asking Ometz to watch over his land. The name 'Ometz', he added with a smile, means 'courage'. Find the true meaning of courage, Ometz. And then he left.

Days passed into months, and months became years. It was not long before Ometz realized his master would never return, but he remained silent and faithful. Years turned into centuries, and one day he realized the landscape around him had changed so much that it was almost not recognizable. How long would he need to watch these frightening changes, not being able to do anything but watch? For the first time since his awakening, he tasted the sourness of 'fear'.
It was all he could do to frighten the townsfolk with his moving eyes. At last, the talk of renovating the sorcerer's land became a unanimous agreement by the nearby townsfolk to turn it into a graveyard. He sighed inwardly with relief, glad that the place would remain mostly unchanged. By this time, the alternative coldness and heat have cracked his stone skin, and some parts of him crumbled with time, but he paid no notice, his eyes only ever looking forward, watching over the land as he was told to do so by his beloved Master.

For the next few centuries, all Ometz could see is the growing number of humans buried into his Master's land. After a while, he noticed the place starting to be inhabited by spirits, sprites and ghosts. Troubled, but unable to talk, he could only watch in silence as the land became haunted by those unable to leave the earth because of regret, hate or immense sadness.

Soon, he became aware of crimes being carried out in the graveyard, and blood was shed before his eyes many, many times. There were murders, rapes, tortures - the list of horrible events kept growing, but Ometz could not shut his eyes to it even if he wanted to. It seemed that his duty was to watch silently and record the ugly nature of humanity, not to judge. Secrets, filthy with the scent of human money, reached his ears.
The townsfolk knew the graveyard as the best place to reveal their true nature without worrying about any humans prying,and Ometz actually felt an urge to shed tears, in pity of their darkness within.

What courage should I know, Master?
What do you mean by the true meaning of courage?

He watched, watched and watched. Through the long years he kept his eyes trained on the events happening before him.
One day, a young boy came up to him.
He was a curious human - petit because of his age, but the eyes looked wise beyond his years.
"Mister statue," he spoke in a childish voice, "have you been looking at this land for a long, long time?" Not receiving an answer, he simply peered up into Ometz's eyes.
Why would a child speak to him? Ometz resigned himself to the fact that he could never speak.
"Did you see everything that happened here?"
...That was a strange question.
"You are so brave, Mister."
...what?
"All the adults, even mama, papa - they like to pretend they didn't see anything when they did." The boy promptly sat down and rested his shoulder against Ometz. "I told them I saw someone carrying a, a...dead body over their shoulders through the window last night, and I told mama and papa about it, but they only told me not to say I saw."
...
"You never close your eyes, do you Mister Statue. You see everything that's going on." The boy suddenly quirked a smile, and Ometz had to resist not moving his eyes in order not to scare him away.
"You're so brave."
...what did he say?
A warm touch on his ragged stone wings, and Ometz found himself yearning for the gentleness he's been missing all those years. Perhaps, that boy...?
"Ah! I have to go now. See you later, Mister Statue!"
He watched the boy go with mixed feelings.
The next day, the boy returned to talk to him again. And the next day. And the day after. Ometz soon found himself wondering, however, at the increasingly panicky look on the boy's face.
"Some uncles have been really scary to me..."
"I swear someone put poison in my food - my dog died after it ate it by accident."
"I'm scared, Mister Statue."

Ometz wished he could do something to alleviate the boy's fears. Perhaps next day, he would try to move his eyes at him, to show he's there and he's listening the whole time?

That day never came.

That very night, Ometz found himself staring into the boy's dying face. Choking and bleeding profusely, the boy crawled up to rest beside the gargoyle. "They want to kill me because I saw them that night..."he kept repeating, his voice gradually going lower, lower and lower. Ometz could feel the cooling of his body, and for the first time in many, many years he wished he could move. To help.
"No one's listening to you, boy! The graveyard is surely the best place for you to stay quiet." A chorus of evil laughter followed, and Ometz was forced to watch a bloodied axe swinging down for the last blow.
"I'm sure Mister Statue knows the truth...."The boy gasped out, his face fearless now that his end was coming. "He will watch, and pass testimony to whoever judges us one day."
"It's just a statue." A man sneered, and the axe struck.

The truth.
Not running from the truth - is that the courage you meant, Master?
Truth is so cruel...if only, if only I can escape it.
Perhaps the reason why I was given life, is to make sure no one can escape from the truth, ultimately.
Is that right, Master?