The Gazelle and the Crane
In the shadow of the Kuria-Digudri once lived a great king who had twelve wives. One day, the king went to war against the Ametics in the far north. After three years, the king finally achieved a decisive victory and set out on his return journey with his troops. But he got lost and wandered through the gray forests, stinking swamps, and withered hills until he came to a miserable river where the sails of an old mill creaked in the wind. When he knocked at the door, an old woman opened the door, looking just as gnarled as the mill. The king asked the old woman to show him the way and asked if he and his troops could camp for the night. The woman agreed.
While the troops set up camp, the king and a few of his followers went hunting. Only as evening fell did they see a golden gazelle on the horizon and chased after it. Blinded by the gazelle's beauty and brilliance, the king killed his followers. Then, before his very eyes, the gazelle transformed into a beautiful woman. Her golden hair framed her naked form. The king fell in love instantly and spent the entire night with her. When he returned to the mill the next day, the wrinkled miller's wife told him the way home on the condition that one of his daughters would marry her son. The king had no daughters, so he agreed.
The old windmill by Blue Fairy ft. Midjourney
As he entered the palace, his twelve wives stood before him. Tears of joy and sadness filled his eyes when he realized that each of them had borne the king a child. There were eleven sons and one daughter. The years passed, and the king's children grew up. The king had grown old and had forgotten what he had once promised the old miller's wife. When a great feast was held in the palace to celebrate the princess's 20th birthday, a mysterious woman mingled with the guests. Her hair shone golden like her sons', and her dress of orange brocade, woven with golden threads, illuminated the entire hall. The king recognized her as the enchantress he had hunted years ago as a gazelle and froze when she stood before him. Then she began to speak and said that the king had once made a promise to an old miller's wife. Then the sorceress disappeared.
Everyone talked to the king, and so he told them about the promise he had made. The princess, however, was not afraid and set out immediately. She searched for several years, but could not find the gnarled mill her father had spoken of. So she asked the trees of the gray forest if they knew of an old mill. The leaves whispered that she must consult the purple snake of the swamp. So the princess set out for the stinking swamp and found the snake, who advised her to follow the stream that fed the swamp. The princess did as she was told and, after three days' journey, found the rickety mill just as her father had once done. She hid her mount, rubbed its clothes, and soaked it in mud so that the miller would not suspect her royal blood. Then she set out for the mill.
The sorceress by Blue Fairy ft. Midjourney
The princess knocked on the door, but no one opened it. She went inside and searched all the rooms. Suddenly, a golden glow enveloped the princess, and the mysterious enchantress from the ballroom stood before her. She recognized the princess as the king's daughter, and the wedding was to take place the very next day.
The groom was already standing at the altar when the bride approached him, but his appearance was so hideous that everyone would turn away from him. The princess, however, bravely approached the altar and took her bridegroom's hand in hers, while the enchantress pronounced the marriage vows.
Son of the sorceress by Blue Fairy 74 - Midjourney-Collage
When night fell and the marriage should have been consummated, the princess found her husband missing in his chamber and searched for him. Despite the sight of him, she wanted to be a loving and faithful wife to him. She found him by the river, bathing his body. The moonlight made the water glitter on his skin, and the princess forgot his hideous appearance, stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the river to unite with her husband.
During the day, the princess helped her husband run the mill; in the evenings, the two made love by the river, and slowly the princess felt a deep connection with her husband. Although the sorceress had hoped for this, she sensed a growing jealousy within herself, and so one night, as the princess made her way back to the river, she enchanted the princess into a crane. She ordered her son to catch the crane for his mother. The son tried to chase the bird, but it kept flying away. The son came to the swamp and came across the purple snake. He asked the snake if it had seen the crane, and the snake replied that the crane was no more a bird than he was a monster. The enchantress's son didn't understand, but he kept searching. Then he came to the gray forest and asked the trees if they had seen the crane. But the leaves whispered the same thing as the snake.
He couldn't catch the crane and so ran back to the mill, where the enchantress was already waiting for him. His mother complained that her son's wife had fled while he was searching for the crane and tried to comfort her son with soothing words. But nothing helped, and her son ran to the river to throw himself in.
Then he saw the crane sleeping upright on the other bank and swam quietly over to it. When he tried to grab it, the crane flew up in fright, and his son could only grab a few tail feathers, which he plucked from the beautiful animal. But as he did so, he saw a bright glitter beneath its plumage and realized the riddle the snake and the gray trees had posed for him. The crane must have been enchanted, and he ran into the forest to make sharp arrows from the feathers and a bow from tree branches.
Flying crane by Blue Fairy ft. Midjourney
Golden gazelle by Blue Fairy 74 ft. Midjourney
He ran back to the mill and asked his mother for help. He had spotted the crane in the forest and asked if she, in the form of a gazelle, could help him hunt. The sorceress couldn't resist, so she transformed into the gazelle and ran away. The son, however, used his powers as a beast and hunted his mother. When he found her, he severely wounded her with the crane's arrows. The enchantress transformed back and lay bleeding among the gray leaves of the forest, which turned golden with blood. Her son rushed to her. Before she could close her eyes forever, she broke the bond of all her spells and died in her son's arms. He covered the dead woman with the golden leaves so that she could become one with the forest, then hurried back to the mill.
The mill was gone, and he saw his wife, but her eyes were filled with tears. He wanted to know why she was crying, and she said that her good husband and their shared home had disappeared. Then he took her by the hand and placed it against the cheek of his beautiful face. "I am here, beloved." The princess recognized her husband and threw her arms around his neck. Then they set out together for the princess's kingdom and were both warmly welcomed by the king and the entire court.
Die Moral von der Geschicht: Pass auf, was du dir wünschst – selbst wenn du eine mächtige Zauberin bist.
Ich finde die Geschichte toll und sie fängt einen beim Lesen gut ein.
Weshalb ich das Ganze vermutlich total überanalysiere:
Der Twist mit der eifersüchtigen Zauberin kam unerwartet, zeigt aber schön, dass auch das mächtigste Wesen nicht immun gegen emotionalen Wahnsinn ist.
Besonders interessant finde ich, dass die Geschichte mehrfach den POV wechselt. Zuerst startet die Geschichte ja aus der Sicht des Kriegerkönigs, wechselt auf die Sicht der mutigen und doch pflichtbewussten/treuen Prinzessin um schließlich aus der Sicht des monströsen Sohnes zu enden. Meist hat man maximal zwei Perspektiven (in diesem Fall wäre typisch die Sicht des Königs als Prolog und dann die eigentliche Geschichte der Prinzessin bis zum „Happy Ever After”).
Der dritte wechsel reißt den Leser (vielleicht auch nur mich) kurz etwas raus, da man sich eigentlich darauf eingestellt hat das dies die Geschichte der Prinzessin ist und nun der Höhepunkt vom Sohn übernommen wird, aber da durch wird der "Pay of" am ende natürlich wieder stärker, weshalb es vermutlich nicht weiter schlimm ist.
Zudem kann die Geschichte so interpretiert werden, dass der Sohn gleichzeitig der Halbbruder der Prinzessin sein könnte (da der König die Nacht mit der Zauberin verbrachte). Das wäre der einzige sinnige Grund, warum er von ihr dazu „verzaubert” wurde, seine Männer abzuschlachten, auch wenn dies später nicht mehr aufgegriffen wird und keine Konsequenzen beinhaltet. Es wäre interessant gewesen, wenn der Sohn wegen der Bluttat jener Nacht so monströs aussah oder besser so erschien, da es ja wirkt, als läge auch auf seinem Aussehen ein Zauber, der mit Gothels ... äh, seiner Mutter, Tod verflogen ist.
A lot of unofficial Challenges
Danke für diese ausführliche Analyse. Ehrlich gesagt, sollte das Märchen ganz anders laufen und einmal die Büchse der Pandora geöffnet, habe ich vielleicht ein wenig den Faden verloren, was der Grund ist, warum sich der POV ändert. Auch den Titel habe ich erst zuletzt gehabt und jetzt wo du es sagst, ergibt es Sinn und es müsste wohl mehr aus der Sicht der Zauberin und der Prinzessin geschrieben sein. Glücklicherweise läuft die Challenge ja noch ein Stück, so kann ich daran noch etwas feilen, auch weil in der deutschen Version noch einige Fehler sind, die sich wahrscheinlich auch in die englische eingeschlichen haben. Nun, da ich das Märchen innerhalb von 5 Stunden geschrieben habe, ist das wohl sehr plausibel. Das nächste Mal, dann doch noch mal ne Nacht drüber schlafen und abwarten bis zur Veröffentlichung. Ich sage Bescheid, wenn ich es umgearbeitet habe. Ich weiß das Feedback sehr zu schätzen ;).
Here are my Entries for the water continent Ulűri̋qi̋