Before the spirits were made, or the razing of the mountain Chiphunbathi, or the cloak of darkness descending on Vilirati, the children were playing. For their love of word games, Vilirati and Valk searched for their sister Kurumbushai, who was sleeping in the forest. Because of what had happened, she slept deeply, and could not be waked. They waited for night to come, and to see their father, for he dragged the cloak of night along behind him.
“Father,” said the twins. “We wish to hear Kurumbushai play with the words. But she will not wake.”
“You know what has happened. Let your sister rest.” said their father. And continued walking along the ground to carry night. Behind him came the moon, round and full this night, and on it rode their cousin Ishka. Ishka whispered, so that Vistral would not hear, “I saw Epi building in the farthest east. If you visit him, he may wake your dear sister.”
So the twins mounted and rode to the farthest east, in the dry mountains where Epi was building a dark tower of black stone. The twins beseeched “Cousin, Ishka tells us you may wake our sister with your construction.” and Epi said “That I may. I give to you the pillar that wakes the sleeping. Set it down once, next to your sister. And wait.” And so the twins took the tower given to them by their cousin Epi and laid it next to their sister Kurumbushai. But nothing happened.
Now the midday sun was being pushed into the sky by Ishka, and he heard the crying of his cousins, and went to see what was happening. “Kurumbushai will not wake” they wailed, “Epi’s tower does not work.” Ishka, feeling ashamed at his lie, said, “Girls, your uncle Arzat-Ragsh is here in the forest today hunting. Perhaps you may find him. I am sure he will be able to wake your sister.” “Where may we find him?” asked the twins, and Ishka told them “He is in his aspect of the bear, hunting at the edge of the lake of uttermost clarity.” And so the twins went to the edge of the lake and beheld a great bear thrashing at fish. They approached and were recognised by their trickster uncle.
“My neices” he growled, “You have come to me whilst hunting. Who told you where I am?”
“We were sent by Ishka, uncle. We wish to wake Kurumbushai, who will not wake for what has happened.”
“I am very busy.” snarled Arzat-Ragsh. “It has been all day and I have only found one fish.” At this he breathed in deeply. “One fish, and two girls.” And he opened his bear mouth wide, but at that moment, Ishka who had followed the girls shone bright sunlight onto the bears face and instilled in him such a good mood that he forgot his irritation, and remembered that the girls before him were his nieces.
“My dear nieces, I am sorry. I feel better now. Come, let us move to where Kurumbushai sleeps and I will use my aspect to wake her.”
At Kurumbushais resting place, Arzat-Ragsh first prodded her with his great nose. When she did not wake, he pawed her head lightly. When that did not work, he extended one claw, and every so carefully poked her cheek.
“Uncle, you are so big, and so strong, yet even you cannot wake our sister!” cried the twins. Feeling embarrased for his weakness, Arzat-Ragsh extended his paw and hit Kurumbushai with a force enough to split a melon. This, too, did not wake Kurumbushai, and the twins began to laugh at this foolishness. This flustered Arzat-Ragsh even more, and shook Kurumbushai vigorously, but this too did not work. Many things he tried, while the twins devovled into raucous laughter. At last, he grew upset and ashamed and snarled, “She will not wake. I will not wake her.” and trudged away into the woods.
When the twins beheld their sister again, they saw that the great bear form of Arzat-Ragsh had torn their sisters skin, covered her in scratches, and broken many of her bones. The twins began to weep, for their sister lay dead beside them. But then came a sound of crumbling rock, and the pillar they had placed beside their sister dissolved into the earth. A great covering of moss and ferns covered the three children, and inside the plants whispered the Valk, granting her secrets of their control. In the darkness Vilirati heard the second whisper of Death so Near. Now the ferns pressed tight and the girls feared they would suffocate, so Valk used her words to calm the ferns and push them away. And when all three were cleared of the overgrowth their sister Kurumbushai was restored whole, and opened her eyes.
When she spoke, it was with a voice like that of a frog. She said “Because of the pillar, my throat is constrained. My precious words may be lost to me. Please, sisters, tell me of your tale.” When her sisters told them of her tale, Kurumbushai laughed, and as she laughed her words become clearer. And her voice was returned whole. And the three girls played word games with one another, though Vilirati spoke less than usual, until night came again and their father shepherded them home within The Veiled Dark. And to this day, voices across the world must remember to wake up seperate of their bodies.
Scholars notes: This is the only version of this tale that includes a construction of Epi, who (if many established canon theories are to be believed) did not talk to anyone after his arrival in The Farthest East. The tower described here resembles an ancient construction visited by Vilirati in The Day Decay Came. There is of course a key problem in that the ancient construction went “a mile or more” into the earth. One wonders how two children might carry such a entire tower across the world to their sister. It seems more likely the “tower” was something more akin to a staff. Even if it is to be believed that two children could make the difficult journey east, it seems unreasonable that Epi would have had time to build it in his time between entering the furthest east and fleeing for the stars entirely. Why this author chose to include it at all is a mystery, though the tale seems customised already. One will note that Vilirati here is referred to as female, which is not in line with modern understandings of the god of death. Perhaps the tale was modified for a triplet of daughters? The inclusion of Epi’s tower may have referred to something in their daily lives, maybe inserted by a father to add more recognition to the tale. This tale may also be the earliest known placement for the second whisper, though it conflicts with many later records, and indeed the supposedly canonical record in The Day Decay Came itself.
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