Truth

Note: This story uses the made-up genderless pronoun djai [ jay ], and the possessive form, djair [ jair ].

Truth.

A Pre-Reformation-based Yahgahn Fable

By Tristan Arts

Though there is little said about the days before the Reformation, there is much wisdom to glean from it still.

Once, there was a civilization on Traipah called the Nogahj. They were a prosperous civilization, by their own standards, and they set quite firmly with “the one, TRUE religion,” a religion believing that there were only two Deities—one of good, one of evil. Anybody who did not believe in their religion and worship the good god was considered to be evil, and thus hated, feared, and persecuted.

It is here we find Nokwahl, a young Nogahj Trelli who considered djair-self very religious, despite djair doubts of the “Truth.” Yet djai dared not let djair doubt take control of djai for even a moment, lest others think djai were evil.

Nokwahl was the only child of a well-off family in djair society, and thus had many social contacts. Djai also had many courtiers, but djai had not yet met anyone worthy—in djair eyes—of an extended courtship with djai. At least, that was, until Nahtahzoi.

Nahtahzoi was also a well-off citizen, but what first caught djair attention to djai had been djair necklace. It was pure silver, and was shaped like a cross between a star and a swirl. Djai was speechless at first, so taken djai was with it.

“What a stunning necklace! Does it mean anything?” djai asked.

“This? Well… it uh… it means balance between chaos and organization, and it’s also a uh… a protective charm.”

“Ah, I have a lucky charm myself. A certain silver ring I bought once. Soon after I bought it, I found a silver coin on the street, and so it’s been my lucky charm ever since.”

“Interesting. May I see it?”

“Of course.” Nokwahl showed djai the ring. It was of somewhat questionable quality and was a simple triangle design, but djai nodded djair head in agreement, for djai knew that many of the things dearest to peoples’ hearts didn’t have to pretty. So djair opinion of the ring didn’t matter as long as djai believed in it.

“Objects can have great power if someone believes it hard enough.” Djai looked up at djair. “And so can ideas. It’s the power of belief.”

“So… so if I believed strongly enough that a simple old piece of tree bark could ward away evil, it could?”

“Yes. Yes, it could. In fact, the fact that it was once alive might help. If a simple piece of metal could attract luck, it makes sense that a complex thing like the collection of cells that makes up a piece of tree bark could do far better than attract mere luck.”

“Wow… where did you get your necklace, by the way?”

“I made it.”

“You made it? Wow. How do you make jewelry?”

“In the case of this piece, I made a mold, melted some silver, and poured the silver into the mold. Simple. The hard part was polishing off the black tarnish that developed during the process.”

“I’ve never met an artist before. You’re very interesting.”

“Well, it’s not going to be my job. It’s just a hobby.”

“Ah, but a hobby that could make money for you,” djai said.

“True. What profession will you be going into?”

“I plan to be a lawyer, just like my mother and father are.”

“Well, you’ve certainly hit a jackpot then! I’m just going to be a priest, and you know how well that pays!”

“A priest?”

“Uh… yes. A priest. In… in another town. We take vows of poverty, you know. Lots of lawyers in my town; I’m not going to get any rest there, I suspect. Lawyers and politicians always seem to come in to take confession!”

Nokwahl laughed, just like Nahtahzoi had hoped djai would, and Nahtahzoi knew djai had deftly changed the subject. Djai liked Nokwahl too much to keep on that subject.

***

Over time, their friendship grew stronger as they got to know each other better. Yet Nokwahl, being very perceptive, finally noticed that Nahtahzoi always nudged djai away from certain topics, like djair being a priest and speculations on how anyone could believe anything other than what was obviously the Truth. Nokwahl was a little curious, but not really suspicious.

“… and then, come to find out that the entire time I’d thought djai was a secretary, turns out that djai really was a whore looking for some business! Of course, I declined djair offer. I am, after all, a priest. Priests must be married to have sex, and djai was an unsavory looking fellow besides. All in all, it was--” djai looked at Nokwahl curiously. “what are you doing?”

Djai looked up suddenly and moved djair hands back into normal position. “I was doing a mantra. Surely you know what a mantra is?”

Djai started. “Oh! A mantra! Yes, I just couldn’t see your hand clearly enough to tell. Oh, that reminds me, did I tell you the one about the religious politician?”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Well, it’s a fairy tale!”

Djai looked at Nahtahzoi blankly.

“Oh come on, don’t you get it? Religious politician, fairy tale?”

“I got it, I just didn’t think it was funny. A rare occurrence, I might add, though.”

Djai shrugged. “Can’t be a comedian all the time, I guess.”

“No, I guess not. But dear, you can be funny without even saying a word.”

Nahtahzoi looked at Nokwahl blankly for a moment. Then djai burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s a riot! The old ‘you’re funny, but looks aren’t everything’ gag! I haven’t heard that one in ages! Oh, I love you, Nokwahl!”

Djai blinked. “You… you do? You love me, Nahtahzoi?”

“I…” djai blinked, too. Then djai looked thoughtful, then said, “Yes! I love you, Nokwahl! I LOVE YOU!”

Nokwahl laughed and lightly punched djai on the shoulder. “Not so loud, you ninny! You’ll wake up the drunkard in the corner!”

“Nah, nothing could wake djai up. I saw djai down six glasses of ujahkrah in just a half an hour! Djai’s probably got more alcohol in djai that that keg over there does!”

“Probably,” Nokwahl said, smiling.

“Oh, did I tell you the one about…”

***

One night, Nokwahl was sitting outside on djair balcony staring at the three moons in the sky, when djai looked over briefly at Nahtahzoi’s house and saw flickering lights coming from djair room. Nokwahl barely saw it, as djair house was a ways away, but djai knew candlelight when djai saw it. Djai wondered what Nahtahzoi was doing. Out of pure curiosity and insomnia, djai decided to go find out. Djai climbed out of the balcony by going down the tree, and walked off into the night.

Nahtahzoi’s house was tall, slender, and elegant even in the night. Nokwahl always thought that the light of the three moons on Nahtahzoi’s house made it look even nicer than it looked in the daytime. Djai went up to the door, and knocked. Hearing no reply, djai let djair-self in.

Creeping up the stairs, djai began to hear singing. It didn’t sound familiar to djai at all, but was being sung like a love song. At first, djai didn’t recognize the language it was in, but djai liked the tune. Djai pressed djair ears up against the door to hear it better.

“Ohbaia niiahnah, tikinin makoh… nai’shah eviitii aborah nehchoh… For in the name of the All, I will love my Siblings, from the smallest worm to the largest tree… love all people, including me…”

“Wow,” djai whispered.

“In the name of my Deities, in the name of All… in the name of Ahdah and Shoiken I call… I call out to ask for the truth, the truth about my life…”

“Deities?” Nokwahl whispered to djair-self, shaking with the idea.

Then Nahtahzoi fell silent, and Nokwahl looked in the keyhole. Nahtahzoi was in the center of a circle of candles, sitting on a copy of the star-swirl drawn on the floor. Djai was also obviously praying.

Suddenly, Nokwahl put the pieces together, and knew that Nahtahzoi was a priest—just not a priest of djair religion. Djai believed something else, and what Nokwahl heard of it was completely different than what djai had been told about other religions. Djai began having a crisis of faith. Djai was scared of Nahtahzoi’s beliefs, as djai had been trained to do, but djai was not scared of Nahtahzoi. So it was confusing Nokwahl. Djai walked away and went back to djair home to think about what djai had seen.

When djai got home, djai sat up in djair bed and talked to djair-self, argued with djair-self, pulled djair hair, and paced around the room. Djai thought about everything djair religion had told djai, everything djai had felt about religion, and about all of Nahtahzoi’s behaviors since djai had known djai… and finally, djai thought about djair love for Nahtahzoi. Djai tried to justify djair desire to break up with djai by thinking of djair religion and all djair religion said it implied… but djair love for Nahtahzoi kept bringing back the words of the song djai was singing, to their beauty and reverence of life, and how great a person djai was. Djai began to immerse djair-self in the truth about Nahtahzoi, and quite suddenly nothing mattered except for djair love for Nahtahzoi.

***

Nokwahl was still thinking when djai met Nahtahzoi again the next day, but this time djai was thinking about djair need for more information, and about how Nahtahzoi would be djair source.

“Have I told you the one about—”

“Nahtahzoi?”

“Yes, Nokwahl?”

“I… I didn’t know you knew how to sing. You sing well.”

Nahtahzoi’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“Last night I saw lights in your window, so I came over. I heard you singing. You’re a very lovely singer.”

Nahtahzoi just stared at djai, and djair jaw dropped.

“But I was wondering something. What I heard in your song differs quite a bit from what I’ve been told about other religions. Your religion sounds very interesting. Could you tell me more about it?”

Nahtahzoi was silent and shaking slightly for several minutes. Finally, though, djai choked out, “You… so you… you don’t hate me?”

Nokwahl blinked. “Of course not, Nahtahzoi. You’ve shown me no reason for me to hate you. Only, I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell me.”

Djai made a half-laugh sound. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Nokwahl, but surely the reason should be obvious! You said yourself that your religion puts down other religions as demonic!”

Nokwahl rolled djair eyes. “It was a joke, silly. Now shush up and tell me about your religion. I’m curious.”

“You’re curious?”

“Yes. I… I’ve never told you this before, since I thought you were a priest of my religion, but… I’ve had doubts throughout my life about the supposed Truth. I was intrigued and drawn in by what I heard yesterday. Please, what do you believe is the Truth?”

Nahtahzoi shook djair head and recovered. Smiling, djai began to talk. Djai knew that djair Deities had been right when they said Nokwahl was the true one for djai, and the fact that their love had not stopped with their different religions proved this to djai.

“Well,” djai began, “I have two Deities, Ahdah and Shoiken. Ahdah is Organization, Shoiken is Chaos. But they are both good. They are lovers, and their love keeps the Universe balanced. And I believe that we are all connected, that we are not separate creations but all part of One Being that is also Many Beings…”

The moral of this story is that we should not judge others by what others have said about them. We must get to know them as people, not as labels. For the truth is a many-sided thing, easily “changed” by ignorance and preconceptions.