Asullus Anguli III ... Asullus’ Corner
FAMILY MATTERS
So, Asullus’ here, fer all ye oldsters an’ wee ones alike as ha’ been writin’ wi’ yer requests an’ demands — some more polite than others — to be informed o’ the most serious an’ needful questions o’ our time.
Well, welcome once again weary traveler. Asullus here to bring enlightenment to the dark corners o’ yer inquirin’ mind concernin’ topics o’ mutual interest an’ satisfaction an’ such, no’ to mention a touch o’ the arcane.
Today I ha’ picked out a scroll sent by one James the Storyman (must be a teller o’ tall tales, I guesses). In anyway, he reports confusion regardin’ one o’ the Family Trees as is connected wi’ our tale o’ me Master’s life — specifically that o’ Molly O’ the Willows.
Now, it’d be some time since I ha’ looked at the document meself, granted, an’ havin’ done so, I do find a little bit to argue wi’ him aboot the quality o’ confusion-ness. So, since a bit o’ illumination may be o’ use here, Morphia, our Spritae scribe’ll again be goin’ o’er all this business an’ see what may be made o’ it.
So, accordin’ to the various texts Master Vacticannti ha’ allowed us to peruse, all the fuss began wi’ the great Daemon A. I’m told he was called A as he was the first. He, it was, made all to happen, taintin’ most everything wi’ his evil essence an’ such — bein’ a Daemon an’ all. That, it’s said, accounts fer all the imperfections observed everywhere in the Universe. Must ha’ been quite the effort, though, as he blew himself up to pieces an’ those very same pieces, in the process, fanned out into quite a cloud.
Now, ’tis said in some parts he was spread thick, but in others quite thin. An’ in some o’ the parts as were thin enou’ there could be good, here an’ there sproutin’ out — one such example bein’ our own Earth, formed by the Lady, herself. But, as parts o’ A diffused throughout, somehow a bit o’ his private business got attached to Bellona, sister to Mars, headin’ Earth’s way wi’ a cargo o’ all sorts o’ lesser Daemons on it, endin’ up smackin’ right dab into our Terra.
None too pleased was the Lady regardin’ that, especially when she discovered she got wi’ children o’er the whole affair. An’ that’s where, ’tis said, the four Intelligentsiae came from. An, after bein’ spent an’ all, that piece o’ A ended up in the land o’ what was to become the Cin, takin’ on the form o’ the world’s ugliest tower, don’ ye know.
Now, as it happens, one o’ the myriad Daemons as was on Bellona at the time it crashed into the Earth, an’, as a consequence, formin’ bright Luna, was Babaiaga, who ha’ the distinction o’ being the only female Daemon makin’ it to this place an’ time. How the odds favored that business seems to me to be one o’ the most mysterious parts o’ all the Mysteries that be.
Needless to say her date calendar was soon full to burstin’ wi’ all manner o’ Daemon hopefuls, but after a space, ‘tis said she decided all this was no’ to her taste. And, though all her compatriots was stuck in the Earth’s fiery insides as a result o’ the original impact, she, alone was able, on occasion, to make it to the surface, comin’ out near the future site o’ the palace o’ Udanax. How, that was, ’tis another o’ those Mysteries to me mulish mind an’ e’eryone else’s, too, I gathers, as no other mention o’ it e’er occurs in the Literature — that accordin’ to our late Brother Vaticannati, who ha’ mentioned such matters to me once before, sad enou’, he was ta’en at the great Battle o’ the Linden Trees.
In any event, durin’ one such burst o’ freedom, Babaiaga chanced across one o’ the early men, Groton the Black I. Now they, somehow, achieved an understandin’, ’tis said, an’ Lilith o’ Cobbly Knob, me own dear Nanny, was the result. Now, I ha’ read reports that old Master Silvestrus an’ her was related as third cousins an’ such, but I could ne’er verify that an’ he ne’er much seemed to want to talk aboot it. So, Lilith, herself, went on to take after some man named Adam, but he, it was, was already a-fianced an’ there was quite a to-do aboot all this, but that’s a story fer another scroll.
At some point later, the Lady, herself, who would also visit her Earthly plane from time to time, did run into that very same Groton the Black I an’ they got all along fairly well, too, ’tis said. Would ha’ liked to ha’ met him at some point, I must confess. Must ha’ had quite a way wi’ the ladies, I’m thinkin’. Anyway, him and her, they had two wee ones — one Merriwhiddle and Groton the Red.
Now Groton the Red later took up wi’ a lass by the name o’ Joline — a fiery-headed lady, I’m told. O’er time, they had kids who had kids an’ eventually it led to two brothers, Groton the Black II and Hectorus.
After this, Groton the Red, no’ one to just sit around, found himself another lovely named Jessica an’, through more generations, came to produce poor Melaphen and her twin, Faran.
Then, through various twists and turns Hectorus an’ Melaphen come across each other and ’twas love at first sight, wi’ our street-thief-turned-Consul, Rolland of Frantilla bein’ the result.
Now, while that all was goin’ on, Master Silvestrus did meet up with Merriwhiddle, as ha’ been described elsewhere, an’ they had the twins, Fabia and Fabrica. Well, ha’ you Readers been payin’ attention, ye’ll surely recall the outcome o’ all this fuss — the Intelligentsiae tellin’ Master he’s to go back to Mistress Geanninia, Merrwhiddle not carin’ fer that a whit, then the four ladies takin’ the babes an’ leavin’ piggies, Merriwhiddle killin’ the piglets an’ all that. My goodness. The story puts the “ r ” in drama, it do.
Now, where were we? Oh, yes. So the Intelligentsiae bring the twins — identical they was — to Groton the Black’s mama to raise. Now Groton II did come to love these little babes, which set off a whole ‘nother chain o’ events involvin’ Aephisto o’ Graecolia. The result o’ all this sad mess was that little Fabrica was stollen off to the palace o’ the Graecolian Pashata where his beast o’ a son — one Ignace — made it so that the poor little darlin’ ne’er left the place alive, whilst little Fabia was sold off to Nytus o’ the Fountaindale Thieve’s Guild, then gi’en o’er to Faran to look after. It was there that Fabia met Rolland.
Next, luck — or, Fate, should ye prefer — brought Groton the Black II to that very same Fountaindale thieve’s den, followin’ his settlin’ scores wi’ Ignace. At some point, Fabia’s name changed to Molly-O’-the-Willows an’ Groton went on to become the young girl’s mentor an’ life saver.
Then, pushin’ the boundaries o’ Fate an’ such e’en further, it was through Rolland’s later — an’ initially unwilling — association with Zoarr, Prince o’ Mauretesia, that his lordship got to meet up wi’ Molly.
An’ to add just one more layer, eventually, Zoar’s git an’ Rolland’s spawn, themselves came together down the line, an’ there ye ha’ it.
Whew ! An’ the rest, as they say, is history. So I hopes this ha’ been an instructive use o’ yer time. It’s a lot o’ words fer just a few scratches on an old parchment, I dares to say.
Well, I’m off to check me supply o’ fruit o’ the red type. So, more to go on aboot next time.
Fare-thee-well.
Asullus
Mule-in-Residence
The Great North Tower, Northfast
Louis Sauvain is an international bestselling fantasy author. Thaddeus of Beewicke, Thaddeus and the Master, and Thaddeus and the Daemon make up the first trilogy: the College of Sorcerers. The second trilogy, the Tower of Cin debuted with Thaddeus and the Ancient One. It will be followed by Thaddeus and the Emperor and Thaddeus the Faithless. Wait, wait … there’s more: the third trilogy, the Tower of the North will go live in 2025. Follow him on his website and discover your fantasy astrology sign. website: LouisSauvain.com
© 2024 Louis Sauvain.
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