Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Dayel's Discomfort, Part 5

On August 2, 2017, P.T. Wyant posted a prompt at ptwyant.com involving a festival.

Danyel (one of the major characters from Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest) was really excited about going to such a festival.

Dayel wasn't. He did his best to hide in my imagination, pulling Danyel with him, nudging Christopher forward. After all, Christopher was the star of my preludes Waiting for Rebirth and Unwilling to Be Yours at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com. He's also the main character in Stealing Myself From Shadows, the first book of Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest. Better to pick on him.

Dayel's discomfort was more than my sadistic, energetic muse (who currently bears a great resemblance to Naruto) could bear. My muse didn't just inspire a post. He inspired a Monster Post, which I've had to break into segments.

There's been four parts so far, posted both here and at my Facebook Author Page.

Here's Part 5 of Dayel's Discomfort.

“Are men and women at war?” Danyel bit his lower lip, which trembled. “Are marriages and marriage feasts a way of fighting each other?”

“Very likely.” Mel gave a short, grim nod. “They cannot completely destroy each other, since they need the opposite gender to reproduce. Instead, they try to curb their mates’s power, to dominate and destroy their spouses.”
Perhaps Mel based her observations on Jupitre and Juno’s behavior. It all seemed a bit overly simple and neat. 

Dayel glanced at the men and women milling around, chattering, filling the air with noise. Men argued with men. Women shook their fists at women. Not all of the anger was directed at men towards women, or women towards men. 

These loud, strident creatures weren’t going to cooperate by fitting into a pattern of women versus men. They’d struggle and fight. 

For the first time, Dayel wondered if this wasn’t a good thing. There was something tragic and doomed about Mel’s pattern. Not that Dayel cared much for people or strangers in general. He still felt a little guilty by dismissing them as part of such an angry order. 

“What nonsense!” Juno made a reproving, tutting noise in the back of her throat. “To think any daughter of mine would reduce the sanctity of marriage to subversion. Not to mention accuse the stately arachnocratic ladies of murdering their husbands.”

“I speak as I have seen and found.” Mel shrugged, indifferent to her mother’s indignition. 

“Children, pay no attention to Melyssa’s dark ramblings.” Juno smiled as best she could at the twins, although her jowls still quivered with anger.  “Marriage is the foundation of the family, the basis of civilization and culture. Not to mention a means of peace and strength.”

“How so?” Danyel closed his mouth, but his eyes were still wide. “Isn’t marriage when two lovers decide to stay together forever? Or is it for raising children?”

“Ah, child, marriage is so much more than those things!” Juno sucked her lips inward, wrinkling her mouth. “A true marriage happens between a man and a woman, who join for something far more enduring than fleeting, romantic passion.” She pursed her lips.


Perhaps her own words tasted sour. Particularly the words, ‘fleeting, romantic passion’. 

To be continued in Part 6...

1 comment:

  1. Danyel: (frowns) This sounds rather limited, doesn't it?

    Dayel: When one tries to impose limits from one's own mind onto everyone else, the limits snap back and recoil.

    Danyel: Only she can't impose them on everyone else. Can she?

    Dayel: She wouldn't be the first to try.

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