Skamper
Legacy Name: Skamper

The Aeon

There once was a queen of kerubis, who had one small child, a daughter. One day the toddler was naughty and nothing could make her behave. In her exasperation, the queen looked out the window and cried, "I wish you would turn into an aeon and fly away! Then I'd have some peace and quiet." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the young dawn kerubi turned into an aeon and flew right out the window.

Some time later, one of the king's huntsmen, a young chibi kerubi known as "Scattered Skamper," was exploring the woods bordering the palace grounds. His unfortunate epithet, thought up by his fellow huntsmen, was prompted by his tendency to be easily distracted while hunting. "Skamper," they jeered, "your head is always in the clouds!" On this particular day, he noticed an aeon fluttering above his head. Delighted, he pawed at it, when suddenly it cried out! "Don't hurt me! I'm an enchanted aeon - the king's daughter by birth," she explained, "but you can set me free. If you go farther into the forest, you will come to a house where an old bhakoru lives. She will offer you food and drink, but you mustn't take any. Stay there for three days, and at two o'clock each day, go to her yard and wait for me. Each time, my carriage will be drawn by four legeicas

Skamper promised wholeheartedly to do just as she asked. When he reached the house, the old bhakoru came out to meet him. "Poor boy," she croaked, "you're all tired out. Come and refresh yourself." "No," Skamper declared, "I won't eat and I won't drink." But she gave him no peace. "Just take a sip from this glass. One little sip doesn't count." And he let himself be persuaded and drank.

Shortly before two o'clock, Skamper went out to wait for the aeon. Suddenly, he felt so tired that he couldn't resist the temptation to lie down. "I'll just watch the clouds to pass the time," he said to himself. He had barely stretched out when his eyes closed of their own accord. At two o'clock the aeon came driving up in a carriage drawn by four arid legeicas, but already she grieved in her heart. "I know he's asleep," she said to herself. When she arrived, she alighted from her carriage, shook him and called him with all the might of an aeon, but nothing could wake him up.

At noon the next day the old bhakoru came again with food and drink, and although Skamper refused earnestly, he was persuaded to take one more sip from the glass. Thus, the perilous events of the day before repeated themselves. This time, the aeon drove up in a carriage drawn by four marsh legeicas. Already her heart was bowed with sadness and she said to herself "I know he's asleep." She tried her hardest to wake him but to no avail.

The next day the old bhakoru said to Skamper, "You don't eat and you don't drink. Do you want to die?" More determined than ever, he replied: "I must not and will not eat or drink!" But she set a dish of food and a glass of wine down before him, and when the smell rose up to him he couldn't resist and fell to.

When the time came, Skamper went out to the yard and waited for the king's daughter. But this time he was even more tired than before and gave up all pretense of cloud-watching and slept like a log. When the aeon came in a carriage drawn by four twilight legeicas at two o'clock, she shook him and called him with all her might and tickled him with her wings, but she could not wake him. Sighing, she put three things beside him: a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a bottle of wine, and no matter how much of them he took there would be no less. Next (with some difficulty), she fitted around his finger an ebony ring with her name engraved on it. Finally, she left him a letter, saying: "I see you can never set me free here, but if you still want to, then go to the Golden Castle of Alpendale. It is within your power, I am sure of that."

Not long after the aeon left, Skamper awoke and read the letter. Unfortunately, he didn't know where the castle was. After wandering aimlessly for three weeks in the dark forest, he discovered a cottage that looked tiny because an enormous dillema was standing in front of it. Skamper trembled for a moment, but plucked up the courage to approach the house. When the dillema saw him, he said, "it's good you've come; I haven't had anything to eat for days and days. I'll gobble you up for supper." Skamper gulped. "I wish you wouldn't. I don't like being gobbled up. If it's food you want, I have enough to fill your belly." The giant dillema bellowed a hearty laugh that shook the ground and made his big button heave up and down. "In that case, you've nothing to worry about. I was only going to eat you because I had nothing else." So they went in and sat down to the table together and no matter how much they took, no less was left.

When they finished, Skamper asked: "You wouldn't happen to know where the Golden Castle of Alpendale is?" The dillema replied, "Well, I'll just look on my map. It's got every town, village, and house on it." After fetching his tiny, delicate reading glasses, the dillema interpreted the ancient, waterlogged letters. There at last was Golden Castle of Alpendale, but it was thousands of miles away, on the other side of the polar ice fields. "How will I ever get there?" Skamper sighed. The dillema said, "I've got two hours to spare, I'll carry you on my back to the neighborhood of the castle." Upon arrival, Skamper thanked the dillema and they parted ways. He walked on by day and by night until at last he spied the gleaming castle, situated on the peak of a mountain of pure ice that never melted. Overjoyed, Skamper made enthusiastic efforts to climb the mountain, only to slip down every time. When he finally realized he couldn't reach the princess, his heart ached, and he resolved to stay at the foot of the mountain and wait for her. So, he built himself a hut, and stayed there for a whole year.

One morning, Skamper awoke to the sound of three robbers fighting. Skamper burrowed into his pillow to muffle the noise, but the more he burrowed, the louder they seemed to argue. "I'd better investigate," he thought. Looking out the window, Skamper saw a mortiking, a darkonite, and a pherret throwing punches at each other beneath him (the mortiking was winning). He approached them and asked why they were fighting. The first robber said he had found a staff that could open any door just by knocking; the second said he had found a knit hat that could make him invisible, and the third said he had found a hikei that could carry anybody anywhere, even up the icy mountain. The trouble was, they couldn't decide whether to collaborate or go their separate ways. A sly grin spread over Skamper's face. "I'll take them off your hands, if trading for an everlasting meal sounds fair to you. Only first, I must test your treasures to make sure you are telling the truth." They handed him the staff, and then let him mount the hikei and put on the hat, after which they couldn't see him anymore. Then, Skamper gave them a good hard beating and cried out: "There, you good-for-nothings! You've got what was coming to you. Are you satisfied?" True to his word, he tossed them the food and drink, and then rode up the icy mountain.

When he got to the castle, the gate was locked, but he knocked at it with the stick and it opened. He went in and climbed the stairs. In the hall sat the king's daughter with a golden cup of wine in front of her. She couldn't see him, because he was wearing the hat, and mischievous as he was, he pulled off the ring that she had given him and tossed it into her cup, clink! "That's my ring!" she cried, "the kerubi who can save me must be here!" The courtiers looked all over the castle but they couldn't find him. After he'd had his fun, Skamper threw off his hat, took the king's daughter in his arms, and...well, you know the rest. :)

Credits:
Adapted from Ralph Manheim's translation of the Grimms' tale, "The Raven."
Overlays by User not found: sitar
Coding help from Shakespeare and SubetaLodge