Old Tales and Ancestral Knowledge
The Eastern bogs are a diverse ecology of many different creatures, but of the ones who pride themselves in the cultivation of culture there are two distinct branches; the Lizardfolk and the Smallfolk. Before the trespassing of gods on the world the two cultures were divided clearly, as were the people. Lizardfolk would live in the depth of the bogs while the Smallfolk kept to the edges. Some of the key differences in the way the two lived can be shown by a look at examples of their common myths.
An exert from the Lizardfolk epic, ‘the Foolish Eyes of Zodom’
“Zodom, with fiery fury awash on Zodom’s face,Stares at the void, a writer’s wretched space.
Was not Zodom ensnared by Haunted Sister’s charms? Zodom’s skill unmatched, Zodom’s pen poised in but dead felt Zodom’s arms.
Zhuhai, bored, witness to Zodom’s petty fright, inquired why Zodom couldn’t dare to write.
Why not depict the bog’s twisted tree’s boughs? In that instant Zodom’s pen awoke, drawing every detail to arouse.
Zhuhai gazed in awe at the mirror-like art,
This, while Zodom felt cool relief deep in Zodom’s heart.
Zodom’s skills unmatched, beyond belief they soared, As the canvas was replaced and Zodom’s heart roared.
Eager to display more to Zhuhai’s delight,
Zodom yearned for the rushing waters of insight.
But once again, inspiration failed to ignite,
Leaving Zodom bewildered, filled with the sharp freeze of plight.
What form? What style? What shape shall Zodom embrace? Zodom asked Zhuhai, longing for something to trace.
With a sigh, Zhuhai suggested in kind,
Look upon Zhuhai, dear Zodom, for ideas you’ll find.
Zodom produced with pinpoint accuracy, the likeness of Zhuhai that could only come from who painted miraculously.
Zhuhai looked with the boiling splash of disdain. Zhuhai meant to paint what Zhuhai inspires but instead a reflection, From a mere copy could Zodom abstain?
Zodom possessed the skill, but when ideas were to form it was an empty pool
And that’s when Zodom understood The Haunted Sister’s game, so cruel.
Depriving Zodom of creation’s golden fire.
The Foolish Eyes of Zodom is a cautionary tale in which the protagonist, Zodom, seeks skill by way of magic and not by practice, and falls prey to a cursed existence for it. Lizardfolk are fond of magic and art but both passions rely heavily on practice and study, the moral reverence of those acts is most common in Lizardfolk stories.
Here now is an excerpt from the Smallfolk’s ‘Tinderbuilt’s True Heart’
“He stood out at the edge of the bog trying to steal his resolve but it was hard with its creaking, splashing, bubbling.
His father was lost, he had to get him back but what if he too was stolen by a Zizzer? With their flapping, gnashing, and snapping.
He almost ran before even stepping foot in the darkness, back turned towards it, but he heard in the distance a pleading, begging, and beseeching.
Tinderbuilt stole his resolve and marched into the bog with his leather armour and sharpened knife, marching, squelching, treading.
Long did he venture into the swamp, or it seemed like a long time, it can be hard to tell how deep the bog goes within its lightless, twisting, echos.
He came to a point finally, as all light had dimmed, that seemed to be a singular hole sucking in the water to a dark expanse, quiet.
He knew that this was the home of the Ur-zizzer, the great beast that an snatched his father, the evil that rules the night, screeching, clawing, tearing.”
The story of Tinderbuilt’s True Heart is one of courage and adventure but it’s still rooted in the smallfolk’s dedication to a family unit, a key aspect in all Smallfolk legends. The three adjective structure is also a hallmark of Smallfolk stories, using a single adjective to denote a strange place or feeling.
As the two cultures have merged and now the two share communities throughout the bogs so too have their legends joined. This happened in part due to the former Tyrant God nearly removing all knowledge of the Smallfolks legend during its rule. The lizardfolk as well as older lived members of the community saved the stories for the new generations, though the lizardfolk often changed parental figures to knowledgeable elders, to make these stories read true to the less familial, more community oriented lizardfolk sensibilities. The Community of the Ridgemarsh are the keepers of folk tales and have recorded all folk tales of both communities and otherwise in their hollow towers.