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[365 Toy Project: 198/365] The Sorcerer’s Staff Part 21


Image by nhussein
The journey to Rath took a day and a half, and the travellers reached their destination without incident. Rath was a small town along the banks of the Hafod river. There was a military fort in the town which serves as an outpost for keeping watch over the borders.

When they arrived, the company set out to find a way to cross the river. Aonghas knew of a former pirate named Captain Wallace who operated a ferry service. While there were many ferries that carried passengers along the Hafod river, none of the captains dared risk crossing over to Ombre. This was because it was illegal, but moreso because Ombre was so dangerous that none attempted to go near it.

However, Captain Wallace was an exile from Ombre and was willing to ferry over passengers for the right price. The captain did not bother much with laws, and he did not mind taking risks as long as there was a good reward in it.

Captain Wallace’s ferry service was not hard to find. The locals knew him well, and helpfully pointed the company in the direction of a worn-down hut from which the captain conducted his business affairs. The hut was painted blue with a white door, and built near a quay. There was a huge sign on the top of the hut that read "Ferry for hire". The four travellers stopped in front of the door of the hut, and Aonghas knocked.

"Hello there!" called the wizard.

The door creaked open. A man in a pirate hat popped out of the doorway. He wasn’t a young man as he was about 50 years of age, but he looked very fit and energetic. He had a stubble and an eyepatch, and he was dressed in an outlandish blue jacket and carried a cutlass. He looked at each of the travellers and raised an eyebrow at the princess, who was dressed in her royal light armour.

"What business does th’ crown be havin’ wi’ old Captain Wallace?" he asked.

"We wish to charter a ferry," said Aonghas.

"Does th’ crown nay be havin’ mighty fine ships?" asked Captain Wallace, still looking at the princess. He looked stern and distrustful.

Princess Megan stepped forward and said, "We’re not here on official government business. This is a personal errand. Mortimer has cast a terrible spell on someone I love, and the only way to do this is to go to Ombre and confront him. I am simply another customer seeking a ship to cross the river."

This seemed to soften the old pirate a little.

"Mortimer`s witchcraft has brought tragedy upon ye. That`s a cruel fate fer ye, lass. I mean, yer highness," said Captain Wallace.

"Please, you don’t need to call me that. My name is Megan, and I am asking you as someone who needs your help. Will you help us?" asked Princess Megan.

"For th’ right price, lass. An’ I`d better nay be gettin’ into any trouble with th’ crown fer this." said the old pirate.

"You won’t be in any trouble, Captain. I can pay, just name your price," said Princess Megan, reassuringly.

"A hundred pieces of gold in advance. If I incur any damage t’ me ship, that will cost ye extra."

"Deal."

"Come t’ th’ docks at high tide. You`ll be sailin’ on th’ Sea Monkey."

Princess Megan paid Captain Wallace, and her company of travellers then left to purchase additional provisions for their journey. They had no idea what awaited them, and they needed to be prepared with enough food, water and other supplies. Colm visited the fort where he acquired an additional spear, along with a small shield. Aonghas bought various herbs and roots from the traders near the docks. At midday, they convened at the docks and looked for the Sea Monkey.

—
This photo is part of an ongoing story.

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Artesanias Watakame – Artesania Huichol – Lazaro Cardenas No. 925 Col Emiliano Zapata, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico


Image by antefixus21
Hilda related one very interesting version of the story but there are a number of good books for sale which relate the story in a much better manner than this short version which I cobbled together.

Watakame’s Journey: The Story of the Great Flood and the New World

The flood and creation myth of the Huichol Indian people of Mexico is told through the brilliantly colored beaded or yarn paintings of shaman Guadalupe Lopez Bautista and other Huichol artists.
In the story a Huichol boy plays a role similar to Noah’s, though Watakame’s odyssey is more complex and magical.

The young boy was known for working hard for his own family as well as for other members of his community. He worked particularly hard one day clearing a tract of land with a particularly large and troublesome tree. Almost finished at dusk the young man was forced to stop the final clearance of the huge tree, so he returned early the next morning to find everything as it was the previous day before he had started his work. Again he set to work to clear the land, but again the work was too much for him to complete in one day. He repeated his hard work on that tree for five days. That night rather than returning home to rest he stayed and hid until a fog rolled down from the mountain and an old woman emerged who pointed a stick in the four directions and the pieces of the tree flew back to their original form of a tree. Watakame took up his axe and confronted who’s woman who he thought was a witch, and demanded to know why she was destroying his hard work.

The Goddess Nakawe, the creator of all growing things, had selected Watakame to escape the coming flood and begin human life again in the new world. Nakawe told him to build a small boat and to bring with him water, candles, fire, six of every kind of seeds including squash, beans, and corn, and to bring one companion, a small black dog.

In the fifth year, when the floodwaters receded, Watakame witnessed the recreation of the sun and all living things.

Nakawe helped Watakame find his wife by revealing that it had been the black dog who had prepared his meals since the flood, and instructed him in planting the seeds in the four directions, harvesting, and Tatewari, the God of Fire appeared, providing fire to allow him to make offerings to the Gods and to make his pilgrimages to the sacred land Wirikuta.

Nakawe told Watakame to wait until the black dog had removed her skin to bathe and that he should toss the skin into the sacred fire, but not before preparing a healing potion of tehuino and fire ashes to cure the damaged skin of the black dog who had transformed into a woman. The Huichol people are his descendants. He instructed them in the proper way of living and taught them joyful songs, prayers, and dances to please the Gods and celebrate the beautiful new world that is their home.