The Legend of the Shadow Shoyru: Part One by ditzydarlin |  |
It was a dark, misty night in the foothills of Mystery
Island, when a shadow-like figure passed over the moon, and swooped low, over
the inky tide pools, over the soft waves, and into a hidden cave, concealed
by a rock outcropping near the sea which surrounded the island.
Nymsese the Shoyru was a dark figure, painted
Shadow, with a compatible disposition. While not the dark, dangerous figure
that many of the Mystery Island villagers made him out to be, Nymsese Shoyru
was indeed a sorrowful, and mysterious figure.
No one on the island could say how old Nymsese
was, but if you asked any elders of the Coconut Tribe, they would tell you that
"Nymaksu", Coconutian for "shadow-dweller", had been on Mystery Island since
the first explorers landed there, possibly before that. The great mystery was
how he could have been there for so long. As we all know, Neopets do not die,
but Shoyrus, while considered a loyal, steady species, had never been known
to spend such long periods of there lives in one, small area. But, think as
they might, the island elders could not remember a night when the mysterious
Shadow Shoyru had not momentarily darkened the moon's silhouette, on his way
to his hidden den, near the beach.
Nymsese never entered the village, nor had he
ever been known to mix with any of the Island's other occupants. Of course,
there was always the odd person who claimed to have had some contact with him.
"I was cornered once, by the Shadow Shoyru. It
was night, and he was on his way to his den. But, I fought him off! I just grabbed
my Sparkshooter, and..." So went many stories, told by elder pets on the isle,
but few believed them. However, it was by these stories that the Nymsese gained
his ill-proven reputation as a figure of menace, a negative entity, and a solitary
scourge of the Isle.
But this night, like all others, Nymsese thought
not of what the villagers thought of him, or indeed, of anything at all. Solitary
figure that he was, it was on these quiet, moonlit flights over the shallow
tides of Mystery Island, that he was most at peace. At peace with himself, with
the world, and with the ghost.
It was because of the ghost that he was still
on Mystery Island. He spent his days in his den usually, thinking about the
ghost. The ghost of Nymsedor Shoyru. The ghost of his father.
Of course, as I said, Neopets never die. And
so, obviously, The Ghost, he wasn't really a ghost. He might as well have been,
though...he had changed so much...
Nymsedor Shoyru had lived on Island for 60 years.
The mysterious Shadow Shoyru, solitary figure, over the night waves. Sound familiar?
But, it hadn't stayed that way long, after Nymsese was born. With a mother living
in Neopia Central with her owner, Nymsese chose to remain with his father, on
Mystery Island. It had changed Nymsedor's way of life, forever. But, that was
the way of things, as it had been, for hundreds of years...
The answer to the great "mystery" of the Shadow
Shoyru was literally right under the noses of the Island villagers. Sleeping
in a secret cave, hidden by rock outcroppings, by the sea.
***
Nymsese relaxed his powerful black wings, and swooped ever lower over the
tide pools, until he came to land on a narrow bed of sea-grass washed up on
the beach. He reached over, stretching his back muscles after the long flight,
and then walked toward the low rock wall which separated the beach, and the
grass shelf above it. He pressed his hand up to the tiny, almost invisible S,
carved in the sea-stained rock. Slowly, and without any noise, the rock wall
slid away, revealing a low entrance. He bent over, and on all fours, crawled
through the hole, which closed behind him.
Nymsese walked over instinctively to the right,
and felt for the rock slab covering his storage hole. Although no one but his
family had ever entered this cave, he always stored his most valuable possession
safely away, yet close at hand.
Finally, he found the rock slab, and pushed it
away, to reveal his Fire Sword. He picked it up, admired it briefly, as he often
did, and then turned around, and shot two fireballs at the back of the dark
cave.
FWOOSH. The fireballs ignited immediately,
setting alight the blanket of fungus on the back wall of the cave.
"Ah, cave fungus", thought Nymsese. Half the
reason his great, great, great, grandfather, Nymdosar Shoyru had chosen this
cave as his home, was the magic cave fungus. It burned for several hours when
lit, and always grew back by the next day. Combined with the Fire Sword he had
inherited from his father, it was the ideal home lighting system for a solitary
Shoyru.
Nymsese flew slowly to the back of the cave,
smiling in the comfortable heat of the flaming fungus, and at the prospect of
his warm kelp-bed. It was his happiness at being home again, and the fact that
he was very used to being watched, that stopped him being wary when a low, cold
voice emanated from the only dark corner of the cave.
"Home, are you?" drawled a glowing figure in
the corner. Covered in a silvery, shivering light, the figure moved towards
the flame-licked back wall.
"Good evening, father," responded Nymsese, calmly
looking in the direction of the voice. "Come into the light! It's warm!"
Nymsedor Shoyru strode slowly forward. He was
a Ghost Shoyru, deathly white, and glowing, with frightening red eyes. No longer
the strong Nymaksu, Shadow Shoyru of old, he looked worn, and as shivering and
weak as the light surrounding him.
"You came, father! I...please, tell she didn't...
did you...did you find her?"
"Yes, I found her all right," said Nymsedor,
frowning at his son. "Now, you remember. I told you that I knew this might happen,
and I did my best..."
Nymsedor had just returned from a trip to check
on Nymsese's mother, Nimrodel, a Rainbow Shoyru living in Neopia Central. It
had not gone well for him.
"She told, didn't she," Nymsese's voice sounded
dead as he said the words. His fathomless eyes looked like large black marbles.
His eyes downcast, he breathed heavily threw his nose, and fought the anger
rising inside him. She had told. His mother had told. And now, everything was
lost. Their secret was out.
Not long after Nymsese was born on Mystery Island,
his mother had left with her owner, who had been visiting the island for a year,
staying with cousins in the village. Nymsese had decided to stay with his father,
rather than return with his mother, and her owner, whom he did not know, to
a world he had never visited. He loved the island!
Nimrodel had found out, months before Nymsese
was born, that Nymsedor was the infamous Shadow Shoyru of Mystery Island. She
had promised not to say anything to anyone, promised not to break the chain.
But, she had.
To be continued... |
