The Sixth Cycle
| The Sixth Cycle | |
|---|---|
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| Literature | |
| Author | Unknown |
| Genre | Fictional Prose |
| Printer | Scholar’s Court Press |
“The Sixth Cycle” is a work of the Zvorun Ailor, rare for its capture and then survival in the hands of Wirtem soldiers sometime around 189 AC. It was passed up their chain of command as a gift of conquest until it landed in the lap of a tactician named Franz Weber. Weber was a collector of books in his spare time and, intrigued by the tale, he kept "The Sixth Cycle" for some 30 years as he worked to translate it. After his death, his family bequeathed the collection to the Scholar’s Court, who soon plucked out and published The Sixth Cycle as a unique piece of literature. Despite the annoyance of the Zvorun who have demanded its return and the destruction of all copies of the materials, their requests have been ignored. The text is unique for depicting characters and creatures which the vast majority of Ailor would be unfamiliar with.
The Sixth Cycle
Part 1
- It was then the Sixth Cycle
- The Sixth time of death and rebirth
- The Sixth era of loss and gain
- And the Gods were content
- ”Let us feast!” did cry Džiaugs, wings spread wide
- And so the fermenting did begin
- The Šilšvi plucked the ripening berries
- Then succulent tasting did commence
- ”Prepare the music!” did cry Zaliony, wings spread wide
- And so the fervent plucking did begin
- Głosas came and began to play in joy
- With all eyes on him and his delicate wings
- The Goraviriesi came late
- Their climb so long and hard
- Much laughter came of this, and Hukaudra teased
- The Goraviriesi came and sat
- ”Let us dance!” did cry Miłość, wings spread wide
- And so the dizzy dancing did begin
- The branches did shake, and joy consumed them all
- The blue and red did cross in quiet passion
- Deep in Kres did stir Śmiertis
- It who was born from the husks
- It who was had from the first crossing of the moon
- Śmiertis hissed in hatred
- ”My roots, my roots do tremble!”
- ”My land, my land does shake!”
- ”Damnable Gods, party and fun and I am stuck!”
- “Stuck to feel the tremors of joys for ages more!”
- Śmiertis uncoiled and there is sat
- The egg of doom, of deceit
- The child of darkness, the seeker of revengeance
- The end of the Gods
The text breaks off
Part 2
The Gods appear to have been warned of their coming doom by a Wiewiórkavyes, a small rodent-like creature whose species is said to seed the nuts of the Eternity Tree in Kres so that it will always have strength to draw on during the changeover between the Cycles.
- ”Quick, head down with me, down to Kres!”
- ”Rush down to save the Tree!”
- ”Džiaugs, how did you allow such news!” did cry Hukaudra, wings spread wide
- Džiaugs emerged from hidden places and said “None guarded the gate.”
- Hukaudra proclaimed the Paštininkas to forever stand in guard of the festivals
- Hukaudra said that the Paštininkas should never stray from their role of defense
- ”Ready me and my bolts!” did cry Hukaudra, wings spread wide
- Jūlijs rose and rumbled “You will not go kidling, this is a job for those old in the world.”
- There was tension, and for a moment blows were near
- Głosas emerges from hidden places and played his tune, which calmed all
- ”We leave together” said the host, and thus they left
- They left Džiaugs to his festival and his games
- They left Džiaugs to the drink and meal
- They left him so he could prepare for greater
- Downward marched the Goraviriesi
- Downward flew the Duzyviriesi
- Downward slid the Goraviriesi
- Downward soared the Duzyviriesi
- Rathe, the little, led them to knotted hole
- Rathe gestured into the dark beyond
- "A light, a light, for Kres is dark, and your eyes do not see”
- Paržvirinti shuddered forth and birthed an Amžina Świeatła
- The screams of Szałtas echoed on
- The sobs of Szałtas echoed on
- The Gods did descend into Kres, along the rootways
- Rathe, the lesser, led them down
The text breaks off.
Part 3
The Gods appear to have run into trouble down in Kres, as only four of them make it to the lair of Śmiertis.
- The dark horse met them at the threshold
- The gray goat bayed them to leave its doorstep
- ”Why have you come into my domain?”
- ”Have you finally found it in your heads to invite me to the party?”
- Jūlijs rumbled ”Your foul traps have felled our fellows!”
- ”Their limbs are trapped in so much webbing and rootage!” did cry Hukaudra, wings spread wide
- ”We know what you possess” said the host, and thus they moved
- They passed the threshold, the doorstep
- Dark coils met them, purple and violent violet
- Scales of richness and fangs of ferocity rose up
- Śmiertis roared in glee, roared in joy
- ”Then you have come to die!”
- Žiemė rose her fists
- Jūlijs made ready his club
- Hukaudra gripped his spear
- Žvoronna notched her bow
- Žiemė locked her feet
- Jūlijs beat his chest
- Hukaudra summoned his strength
- Žvoronna made ready for flight
- The battle was a whirlwind
- The wings worked hard against the ripping air
- The bulky bodies stood firm and held their place
- Śmiertis sought to tear them apart
- The fangs dug into the stoney flesh
- The wings beat against the dead air
- The claws scratched at the open flesh
- The cries wrended the silent void
- Śmiertis fought on four fronts
- Śmiertis battled in a quadrant
- The dark serpent protected its egg
- And the Gods despaired as a crack began to form
- The Kres roiled, the roots quaked
- Śmiertis lost its concentration
- The serpent found and weakened the defense
- It tackled Žiemė and Hukaudra
- The spear clattered to the wood
- The hands scrabbled at the knots
- Their heads were clouded as their life was taken
- Śmiertis focused on their deaths
- Quickly, Žvoronna took action
- “Strike!” did cry Žvoronna, wings spread wide
- Her silence had let her elude Śmiertis
- Her silence brought her to the final shot!
- Out of the nest, the egg did tumble
- Out of safety, the egg did fall
- The arrow lodging had sent it flying
- Right to the feet of the God
- Jūlijs wasted not a second, and down went the club
- The Kres fell silent, the roots ceased trembling
- The egg was smashed
- The end had been prevented
The text is completely indecipherable past this point, and appears to be written in a different tongue. Suggestions of what occurs are that the defeated Śmiertis lets the Gods go while it wallows in misery, or that it futiley curses them all to the Kres.
Part 4
- It was the Sixth Cycle
- The Sixth time of death and rebirth
- The Sixth era of loss and gain
- And the Gods were celebrating
- ”Let us feast!” did cry Džiaugs, wings spread wide
- And so the stepping did begin
- The Šilšvi plucked the ripening berries
- Then succulent tasting did commence
- ”Prepare the music!” did cry Zaliony, wings spread wide
- And so the fervent plucking did begin
- Głosas came and played in happiness
- With all eyes on him and his delicate fingers
- All celebrated and drank in full
- All wept with gladness at the end
- The egg was gone, and the Gods, alive
- All rescued from the traps, all healed from their wounds
- ”Let us dance!” did cry Miłość, wings spread wide
- And so the dizzy dancing did begin
- The branches did shake, and joy consumed them all
- The blue and red did cross in quiet passion
- Glory to the Sixth Cycle!
Trivia
- Some believe that the Zvorun asked for all copies of the text to be destroyed because Franz Weber’s translation was both incomplete, and based on only a crude understanding of their native Language. As a result, the piece of prose sounds far more crude and uncivilized than it actually is.
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