[Cape Farewell] An Ardashirian's Story

[Daniel]

Originally posted 19 July 2005.

The following narrative was compiled by Count Ric Lyon of Elwynn after his visit to Caligae, during the time when Elwynn was a county under the Duchy of Hyperborea. The account of this young boy, age unknown, explores culture clashes and the social and political situation of the Ardashirians left, following the masse emigration of the Ardashirian elite and its last baron of Elwynn to Babkha.



AN ARDASHIRIAN'S STORY

Peyman played with me today, hide and seek it was right down in the old fortress. The fortress is so cool and huge. Mum says we're not allowed to be there. I don't really listen to my mum, although I know I should. Peyman and I were there and played and we had great fun. Then the guard came and shouted at me and Peyman. Peyman started to cry. He's so weak. I was brave (I think) and shouted back.

The guard didn't look like me and Peyman, because he and I are Ardashirians. The Guard was pale. He looked almost like a ghost. It was scary, but I didn't say anything to Peyman. I had to be brave and protect my best pal. The guard continued to shout. I don't like when people shout at me. I shouted back more. I didn't really understand what he was saying. I only know Farsi and some Elwynnese. I think the guard shouted in Hyperborean. It sounds really funny when they speak it.

I yelled to Peyman to run away. And he ran. I figured that if I told Peyman to run in Farsi the guard wouldn't understand me. That's why.

The guard looked at me and spitted on the ground. He grabbed my arm and shook me. That hurt. Then he asked me in Elwynnese where my parents were. I told him that I didn't know that he spoke Elwynnese. He just shouted back at me in the funny language. I said my mum and dad lives on Mizaanara Street. So we went there then.

Mum and dad looked sad when they saw me and the guard. The guard talked in the funny language. I didn't know my dad could speak it. He said later to me that since the Ardashirians left Elwynn, Elwynn had to import guards from Hyperborea. Hyperboreans don't really speak Farsi I thought.

The guard left. He seemed happy after talking to my dad. When the guard had gone, dad went mad at me. He shouted too. People always shout at me. I don?t like that. He said that I mustn?t go to the fortress, but stay in the neighbourhood. Maybe I will.

I said that the guard shook me, and then dad got sad. Did he, he asked. Yeah I answered. He told me a story about some islands in the west called Red Antilles, where once cousins to the Elwynnese people lived. The people there was then called Menelmacari. They had this really bad queen called Sirithil. She put many people to slaves and kicked out the minorities. What if that had happened here? If the Hyperboreans had kicked us out, when Ardashir left. Sirithil was a capitalist and a feudalist dad said. I didn?t really understand what he meant, but I think those words meant something bad.

But one day, Sirithil was gone and all her people too. Dad thought that the communists had crushed the Sirithil people and Sirithil too. I said that I thought that was bad. Dad always says that I shouldn't hurt other people if it was not for defending someone from something evil. The communists made a revolution, dad said. They helped the poor people from having to be slaves to the queen. The queen was now dead and the lands were ruled by the communists, the Red Antilleans.

Dad said that one day the red flag of communism would fly all over the Shirerithian lands, and there would be no dukes, no barons, only equals. He hugged me and told me to go to bed, which I didn't.