C8(1) "History"

"History"
(WC 1481)

“Why were you named Tiala?”
Tiala stopped short at the question. They had been sneaking along the wall of one of the castle's courtyards, but the absence of guards had emboldened Mesyth to ask the question which had been bothering her of late. Indignant that the Jaltikij nobles had locked her new friend away in one of the castle's towers, only letting her out when they wished to ask questions, Tiala had insisted upon sneaking Mesyth away from the castle grounds to show her the city of Calugress. Mesyth objected weakly, but her desire to break the monotony, coupled with her intense curiosity about Calugress had made her resistance weak and half-hearted. This was the fifth evening they had stolen away late in the night.
Tiala was fearless, curious about everything and bold enough to poke and prod until she learned what she wanted. Normally Mesyth would have been scared to lurk through the alleyways of the city so late at night. Calugress was well managed, but no city was entirely devoid of criminal activities. Unsavory characters of all sorts could be seen conducting their evil affairs once the sun had disappeared from the horizon. However, Tiala handled herself with a singular confidence, brandishing her sword aggressively. She had assured Mesyth it would be acceptable for her to use magic on any attackers if they were placed in a dangerous position, but so far nobody had dared to approach them.
“I know some reasons,” Tiala said softly, not turning to look at Mesyth, “Why do you ask?”
“Well,” Mesyth collected her thoughts quickly, “In the temple at Mount Isteray, Tial is a well-known name, but it is not a good name. As priests, we were taught many things about the evils of Tial. We were taught to fear her return. Your name means 'of Tial' and I wonder why.”
“What do the mages say about Tial?” The princess asked after a long pause.
This was an unexpected question. Mesyth had to think about it. “I can't remember the mages ever speaking of Tial.” This suddenly seemed strange to her.
Tiala nodded as though Mesyth had answered her own question, but the young mage was still confused. She wondered if the princess was going to explain herself.
“I want you to meet a friend of mine,” Tiala spoke up again, resuming her walk along the courtyard wall, “Arnold Jaltizhetobek – a blacksmith of Calugress – he'll answer your question best.”
Mesyth stifled another question in her throat, thinking it best to wait until Tiala had answered in her own way before asking any more questions.
Arnold Jaltizhetobek was a huge man, larger than anyone Mesyth had ever met before. His appearance suited his trade well, she thought, taking note of how easily he wielded the massive hammers of a blacksmith. He let out a jolly laugh upon opening his stable doors and seeing Tiala there to greet him.
“Welcome young princess and friend.” He said, smiling broadly. “How can I assist my king's most favored daughter this evening?” The light of amusement danced plainly behind his eyes as he beckoned for them to come in before he closed the door.
“Meet Mesyth, mage of Dour Gujhest,” Tiala giggled with a flourish, but Jaltizhetobek's amused demeanor faded swiftly to seriousness.
“You have stolen the mage from the castle?” He asked earnestly.
“Well, I couldn't just let her sit there and stare at the walls all day...” Tiala put her hands on her hips authoritatively and frowned a little. “I thought you would be excited to meet a mage.”
Jaltizhetobek smiled again. “That I am, your majesty. That I am.” He looked at Mesyth, who stood shyly by the door. “She's a tiny thing.”
“Tiny but strong!” Tiala piped up, “She could defeat you as easily as swatting a bug!” Mesyth doubted this, but it elicited a jovial laugh from the massive Jaltizhetobek.
“That she could,” He agreed, moving back to his anvil to douse a chestplate he had been working on when they came to his door. “But you should both be careful. Without the king's protection... there are many here who would like to hurt this poor girl.”
Mesyth shuffled uncomfortably.
“Her name is Mesyth.” Tiala said, “She grew up in the temple at Mount Isteray and she wants to know why I would be named after the famous evil Tial.”
Jaltizhetobek stopped and looked again at Mesyth. “You were raised by the Eclosei yet you became a mage?” He seemed surprised. Mesyth didn't blame him for that, she knew she could never return home after such a betrayal. Jaltikij distrust of Dour Gujhest paled in comparison to the hatred she had grown up with.
“The Eclosei believe a great many things are evil.” Jaltizhetobek said after a pause. “This is their job.” He frowned, then smiled, then frowned again as he thought. “They aren't always wrong, you know, when they say something is evil. But, they aren't always right either.”
Mesyth nodded in agreement. She hadn't placed much trust in the teachings of the Eclosei. “I only wondered what is significant about this Tial. I know nothing of the name except that the Eclosei believe it evil.”
Jaltizhetobek nodded again. “I grew up in the Ortakij kingdom, did you know that Tiala?”
The princess laughed, “You tell me every time I come here.”
“Well, my father claimed a piece of land north of Celeukra, in territories held by the Ortakij before the great northern assault stole it all away from us. When we lost our home to the conflict, I was very bitter and angry at our enemies for what they had done, but my father laughed at me for it. He taught me to have more understanding for the clans of the north. See, they struggle just to eat every day. They fight amongst themselves and live in danger and desperation. To them, we are the evil ones – we have stolen more from them than they can ever take back. My father said we ought to pity them. Their unwillingness to form a treaty of peace with our kingdoms has condemned them.” Jaltizhetobek nodded to himself, his head bobbing up and down while he agreed with what he had just said. Mesyth found this trait amusing and it placed her at ease.
“See, there are always two sides to every struggle. We can see and understand our side clearly, because it's ours. We feel right and justified in what we have done and what we are planning to do because we understand our reasons. Our enemies are the same way. They feel right and justified in what they are doing because they have their reasons – reasons we may never understand. Just calling our enemies evil is convenient, but wrong. The Eclosei have stopped wondering what the reasons for things are. If they disagree, they just call it evil.”
Tiala found a nearby seat and Mesyth joined her.
“Tial has been called a deity – a goddess – but it is not true. King Solonom knows this and he wants to honor her memory because nobody else will. Our ancestors revered her because of her great power. They did not hate her as the Eclosei teaches now. You may have heard that she is a goddess, yes?” Jaltizhetobek looked at Mesyth, who nodded. “According to the ancient book, she is a protector. The gods are subject to her as are we. She possesses ultimate power over everything in the world – not to rule it as the gods would, but to protect it from chaos.”
Jaltizhetobek pulled a chair of his own over so he could sit and talk to them. “If the manuscripts are true, and she possesses ultimate power, then why would she allow herself to be maligned so by mankind? If her desire was to rule over us, then where is she? There are only two conclusions a reasonable person can come to. Either she is not all powerful like the manuscripts claim and the teachings about her are lies or she is not evil like the Eclosei claim and something has caused her to hide herself from us.
“Do you know why the Eclosei teach Tial is evil?” He asked without waiting for an answer, “It is because she neutered their deity, Smilles. She took some great power away from him. The Eclosei teach she did this just to spite them and make their cause suffer in the world. But this doesn't make sense. She is described as the protector, so if she did take power away from their god, it must have been because he was trying to misuse it. She punished their god and now they are pouting about it.”
Jaltizhetobek smiled broadly. “You ask why Tiala is named after Tial as though this were a bad thing. I can think of no better name to be given.