[Calliope]: 216.Short Stories.Roxelana

Roxelana

  She wandered through the nothingness. Chaos immersed her as it had always done. Her only consolation was the rare visitations of Kitch. He always understood her loneliness and went to great lengths to improve her state. In fact, other than the boredom, Roxelana had very little to cause her discomfort. She had always wished for a companion of her own of course, who wouldn’t in such a realm of dissolution? For centuries she had lurked in the vast vacuum aware of nothing as there was nothing to be aware of. To her own delight however, the nothingness was about to become something.
  While wondering about aimlessly as she was prone to do, Roxelana happened upon Kitche Manitou and Chaos in a heated debate. This in itself wasn’t anything new as the two powerful figures lived to test one another. There was a slight difference in this discussion though, for Roxelana heard it uttered, the challenge that would change the dreary existence she now new. Chaos had always been the more arrogant of the two and as such felt invincible. Kitche Manitou knew his weaknesses but he also knew how to use them to his advantage. This was why Roxelana had always embraced and trusted Kitch more than Chaos, even though the latter was her rightful creator. As the harried discussion continued, Roxelana sat back to listen to the almighty creatures.
  “Chaos, there is no reason for you to become so upset. I have no wish to undermine your authority in your jurisdiction.” consoled Kitche Manitou.
  “You have always thought yourself better than me and I well know it!” replied Chaos, “But I know how to put you in your place once and for all. I challenge you, oh self proclaimed mighty Kitche Manitou, to a competition of creation! We will both create a land and a people - no demons since they destroy much of what they touch - and Roxelana will judge these creations. She will deem who is the better of us. She will say which of our lands and races are worthy of worshiping the Superiors.”
  Roxelana began to sputter at this for she knew very well what would happen if she reported Chaos as unworthy of worship. Kitche Manitou knew the facts just as well if not better as he had knowledge of the powers Chaos was capable of wielding. This was what drove him to make his last stand.
  “This isn’t necessary Chaos. Nor is it fair to Lana.” he began to explain, using his pet name for the slave, “She should not be forced into such a position as to choose between her superiors. No working class servant can honestly judge their commanders for they possess certain amounts of loyalty…”
  “Silence!” interrupted Chaos, “I am well aware that Roxelana’s loyalties do in fact lie with you. That does not deter me however. It will make my victory that much sweeter. To be proclaimed winner against the judge’s wishes and loyalties will prove just how superior I am.” and with a last nod of the head for emphasis, Chaos whirled from the vicinity. Kitche Manitou relaxed into a slouch and let out a weary sigh.
  “Come here Lana.” he beckoned and Roxelana emerged from the shadows. “I’m sorry little one I tried to save you from the outcome. Alas, Chaos has become bored with this life and we are to be pawns in the entertainment. Unfortunately, you are powerless against such a being and I am powerless to save you. It is now in your hands to judge as you see fit. You have choices of course. You may pick the one you feel truly deserves the honour or you may choose the creation you feel will best benefit yourself. I only hope you have the strength to do what you perceive to be right.”
  Roxelana could think of no reply to this so her only response was to nod her head. Her eyes were downcast as custom dictated they must be when addressing a being of power and her posture was submissive. This did not please Kitche Manitou however, for in the future years, she would have to be bold. He placed a hand under her chin and raised her face. When her eyes were forced to meet his he saw for the first time Roxelana’s inner expressions and was momentarily caught by surprise. The hazel green had lines of blue and red coursing through it and they seemed lit from some inner lantern. This lantern could dim though and Kitche Manitou recognized this. Shadow could easily engulf such brilliant colours. Roxelana’s eyes brought forth such feelings that Kitche Manitou made a spur of the moment decision, here would be his inspiration for the forthcoming challenge, he decided.
  “Even if your decision leads to me losing status among my society, I will bear it happily knowing that you continue on contentedly Roxelana.” and with such a declaration hanging in the air, Kitche Manitou left to begin his planning.
  “Kitch…” whispered Roxelana as she reached in the direction of his departure. Her heart was swelling in a feeling she’d begun to associate with the superior. It wasn’t a painful sensation even though it could grow to uncomfortable proportions at times. In fact, Roxelana felt a loss for others since, as far as she knew, nobody else had ever felt such a thing.
  She began once again to wander through the nothingness. Soon it would be occupied with something although Roxelana wasn’t sure what that something would be. Not that it mattered, since she would then have something to do and other beings closer to her status to communicate with. This caused much anticipation to well up inside of the servant yet the excitement was dampened by the inevitable doom that would await her if she chose wrong. Roxelana sat down to ponder all her options and to await the outcome of the challenge. It would be centuries before things began to change for large scale planning needed to take place on both sides before hand. This gave Roxelana time she learnt to value in the coming decades though. Time she would look back on as peaceful.


  After centuries of planning Kitche Manitou was ready to put his plan into action. Everything complemented something in his system and he believed it was time to start construction on his life’s work. Following the inspiration found in Roxelana’s eyes, Kitche Manitou created a beautiful young woman. This woman was named Ah’ki and came to be known as Mother Earth. Ah’ki had skin made up of prairies, deserts and mountains. Her veins were underground rivers while her blood was the water that coursed through them and gave her life. Kitche Manitou also blessed Ah’ki with balance. For this he provided her surface with four sacred directions – north, south, east, and west. After this he graced Ah’ki’s surface with many songbirds. These creatures would plant the seeds of life in all four sacred directions. Kitche Manitou then added mammals, insects and fish, all which lived in harmony with one another. After all of this, Kitche Manitou gathered Ah’ki’s four sacred elements – earth, fire, wind, and water – and made another creature that resembled him. This was man. Kitche Manitou instructed man that he was to live in brotherhood Mother Earth and all that surrounded him as well as name all the beings which resided on her. Man took his job seriously and soon everything had a name, including man himself which took the title Anishnawbe.
  Even with Ah’ki using many of the colours in Roxelana’s eyes, Kitche Manitou still had to create his defenses against shadow. For this he created Gee’sis or Grandfather. Gee’sis was the sun and illuminated all the marvelous creatures that resided on Ah’ki. Kitche Manitou also created Nee-ba-gee’sis or Grandmother. Grandmother was the moon and she embraced all of Kitche Manitou’s children when the hour of darkness presided. She lightened the shadows as much as possible and helped keep them at bay.
  For the kindness shown them after their creation, all of the creatures greatly respected Kitche Manitou. By granting them light he earned their devotion and the Anishnawbe diligently tended Mother Earth. They honoured her as well as Grandmother and Grandfather and bonded with the forces of nature. Kitche Manitou had created a race of man that were proud to be part of the brotherhood of creatures and as such, cared for everything and honoured them.
  Chaos had carefully watched the procession of Kitche Manitou’s creation. There was no hesitation when it came to ‘borrowing’ some of his idea’s for Chaos’ own creation. In fact, much of it was based on Kitche Manitou’s model for out of Chaos emerged Gaea or Mother Earth, Nyx or Night and Erebus or Darkness. Chaos had no qualms about shadow and therefore wasn’t worried about excessive darkness. Still, Erebus and Nyx were encouraged to unite and from this union came Hemera or Day and Ether or Light. These forms created the base of Chaos’ entire creation but instead of expanding on it, Chaos left everything t Gaea.
  Gaea found herself entrusted with the sole creation of a race of creatures to appease Chaos. She set about this demand as best as she could. Gaea gave birth to the sky, Uranus, who she had the 12 mighty Titans as well as a variety of monsters with. From the Titans emerged the Olympians who eventually overthrew their predecessors. These creations were nothing like Kitche Manitou’s men however and they knew that. This led them to develop a complex and label themselves God’s. They assigned different forces of nature to one another disregarding many of Chaos’ first creations. This angered Chaos since it was obvious that Roxelana would never choose egotistical “Gods” over the preserving Anishnawbe of Kitche Manitou. This caused Chaos to set about ordering the creation of similar beings to the Anishnawbe.
  Still lazy despite the source of motivation, Chaos had the Olympian’s create a race of humans and people of this race were to be called Greek. The Greeks developed much as the Anishnawbe had, with one slight difference. Where the Anishnawbe honoured Kitche Manitou and nature, the Greeks had honour only for the Olympians. Very few Greek people worshiped Chaos as was the original design. In fact, very little was known about Chaos at all. While the Anishnawbe spread throughout Ah’ki taking on various names yet always respecting nature and worshiping Kitche Manitou, the Greeks were content to stay in one area. They did not spread to care for Gaea, they did not honour Chaos, Gaea, Nyx or any other superior creation. They only had the Olympian’s to pay liege to and this angered Chaos. As an act of petty revenge, Chaos had another race of people created called the Roman’s. A curse was put upon the Greek’s and Roman’s that until Roxelana put forth her judgment, the two would always be at war. For centuries as Roxelana weighed her decision this is exactly what happened and since both races had inherited much of Chaos’ jealousy and superiority complex, they had many reasons to war with one another. Illiad was a prime example of such jealousies at work.


  Throughout the centuries of development Roxelana had carefully watched the two Superiors. She knew that Chaos had based much on Kitche Manitou’s design and felt that this was unfair. Roxelana had also walked amongst the people created by each. The Anishnawbe were very kind to the unknown judger, offering her food and shelter in return for simple tales about Kitche Manitou. The Greeks and Romans treated her very differently. While they had developed great feats of technology with the help of the Olympians and were years ahead of the Anishnawbe when it came to buildings, politics, and road systems, they were very suspicious of Roxelana. She was never offered food and shelter for tales but was quite often prosecuted for telling lies since her stories demoted the Olympians. In the end it was blatantly obvious to Roxechana that Kitche Manitou had created the more worthy land and inhabitants. Now all that was left was for the slave to decide whether she would judge truthfully or judge to save herself.
  Roxelana took quite a long time pondering the decision and soon Chaos became weary. She confronted her slave and proclaimed that Roxelana have her decision ready for the following day as that would be when the ceremony would be held. Immediately afterwards Chaos went off to preen and prepare for the declaration of the champion, convinced that in no way could Kitche Manitou win. Roxelana was shattered by the order and became engulfed with confusion and indecision. After having watched the care and precision Kitch had used when making his creation Roxelana was overwhelmed with the feeling she had felt centuries ago after his declaration. She had come to call this emotion love and since learnt that it could in fact be very painful. Roxelana left the realm she had called home for over a millennia and went to travel through the deep forests of Anishnawbe territory. Here time passed differently and there was a soothing tranquility that helped her think. As she wandered, Roxelana soon became aware that she was being watched. She paused in a clearing and awaited as a great stag emerged from the shadows of the undergrowth and approached her. The mighty animal stopped directly in front of her and boldly stared Roxelana in the eyes. There was something familiar to her about the wild eyes that seemed to stare into her very soul but she couldn’t place it. As Kitche Manitou continued his assessment from his disguise, he took great pleasure in soaking up Roxelana’s eyes. He had only ever seen them one time and he carried the memory with him everywhere. As he looked into her gaze that was undeterred in her ignorance of who he was he realized something. Her eyes had only grown in brightness and wisdom. Roxelana had been through hardships and overcome them with great dexterity and for that she deserved so much more than he had to offer.
  Roxelana continued to assess the stag and wonder what had gotten into the animal. She’d seen them but never this close or this serene. Suddenly the stag vanished and Roxelana found herself staring, not into the eyes of a proud deer, but into the eyes of the one man who had captured her heart yet who she was never allowed to consider an equal. Roxelana quickly lowered her gaze and took her accustomed submissive stance. This annoyed Kitche Manitou who had for once been faced with the real woman whose life could easily be destroyed by the challenge. No more was she little Lana, Chaos’ slave who needed company. Now she was Roxelana, the woman who’d grown into herself and recognized things that even the Superiors were ignorant of.
  “Roxelana, you must look at me.” spoke Kitche Manitou in his deep, reverberating voice.
  “I cannot.” replied Roxelana, “It is frowned upon for me to even talk to you. To look at you, something that is completely forbidden, is something I musn’t do.”
  Once again Kitche Manitou thought to raise her chin and force her gaze upon him but he knew she must do it herself this once. “Roxelana, something’s are worth sacrifice. For instance, me coming here to talk to you is worth the sacrifice I will have to pay and I will take the punishment gladly even if it is just to hear you deny that you can look and speak to me.”
  Roxelana’s eyes widened. She had never before thought that he could be punished for speaking with her. How many times over her existence had he offered her comfort and then received punishment for it? The thought was unbearable for her. Turning she began to dash across the meadow.
  “Roxelana!” called Kitche Manitou causing her to pause as he strode to catch up with her. “I am not here to sway your decision for it is yours alone. I am here so that I can see what kind of woman you have grown into; So that I can see if I exaggerated you when I used you as a muse for this land.
  Roxelana caught her breath as she raised her gaze in order to gauge the truth of this statement. Kitch’s piercing blue gaze had softened and now scanned her face. Her nerves felt as if they were ready rip away from her being and dash away while her knees were quickly turning into soft spring mud. “Oh Kitch.” she breathed as she slid down a tree to sit on the ground.
  “I love you.” she carried on in a stronger voice, “I think I always have but it was since this challenge that it truly began to develop.”
  Kitche Manitou’s brow furrowed as Roxelana used the new word. “You love me…” he contemplated testing out the new sound on his tongue. “What is this love?”
  “It’s…the be all and end all.” Roxelana sighed, “It’s the motivation that drives me and the emotion that holds me back. It consumes me in a fire and ceases my heart from beating. It’s...impossible to explain.” she finished, shrugging her shoulders.
  “Then don’t explain, show me.” replied Kitche Manitou as he placed his hand on her cheek. Instantly he began to feel what she felt. He felt her discomfort at what she would have to do the next day. He felt the clarity of her conscience that she was making the right decision. Most of all he felt the burning she described. He felt an emotion that took precedence without destroying as many did. Love, he decided, was an emotion worth experiencing.
  Kitche Manitou removed his had and watched as Roxelana’s eyes slowly fluttered open. He smiled and said, “You will make the right decision, I have faith in that. Someone who can be the first to experience such a wonderful and beautiful thing as love is not capable of making a wrong choice. Just be strong and know that you cannot change who you are, you can only make being you worthwhile. Also know this, if Chaos becomes rash and uncontrollable, I will not allow it to be forgotten what you have brought to this world” and then he vanished.
  Roxelana felt that she had been re-energized. Something had happened even if she couldn’t explain it and now she could face Chaos. Now she would reveal her decision and know that no matter what happened she would be taken care of.
  The following day, Superiors gathered in from all corners of the realm. This was the first real entertainment they’d had for years now and nobody wanted to miss it. Roxelana stood at the front of the crowd waiting for silence to descend. As soon as the room quieted she began.
  “For centuries I have been pursuing this challenge. I have watched every creation and every result and taken note of every repercussion. I have made friends with many of the creations and enemies of some as well. I have experience hospitality, solitude, sickness, happiness and much more at the hands of these new lands. I have listened to their tales of creation and I know where their loyalties lie. I know which race honours its Superior and I know which race would rather honour its self.
  “After careful consideration of all aspects and possible outcomes, I am ready to reveal my decision. I, Roxelana, sservant of Chaos and judge of this Competition of Creation deem Ah’ki, Nee-ba-gee’sis, Gee’sis and the Anishnawbe worthy of worshiping the Superiors and even more so, worthy of the Superiors respect.”
  Pandemonium broke loose in the crowd.
  Chaos roared with rage at having being beaten. Roxelana was quickly encompassed by the volatile Superior and had no means to escape. She began to feel her life force being smothered but felt no fear. She knew she’d made the proper decision. As her sight began to dim the thunder of the crowd began to fade. Roxelana felt and peace. Even as her strength waned she found it within herself to smile when Kitche Manitou swam into her field of vision.
  “Brave soul.” he murmured, “I pledge that everyone will know what you’ve done, not for me, but for the Anishnawbe and the Greeks and the Romans. I will not lose you when I have just found you Roxelana but I cannot go against Chaos, therefore I have but one option. Roxelana, consider yourself now to be the essence of love. You shall be the one to visit each race of people and infect them with a feeling like the one you showed me. While your name and story may fade from memory, your contribution to our creations will live forever in the hearts of all creatures.”
  Roxelana sighed in happiness as she slipped beneath a curtain. She couldn’t wait to begin to bring such a feeling of love to all the creatures of the lands.

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This story was a blend of the Ojibway myth of creation, featuring Kitche Manitou, and the Greek myth of creation which revolved around Chaos and Gaea. The following is a proper pronunciation guide for some of the names:
Ah’ki – Aw kee
Anishnawbe – A nish a naw bay
Gaea – Guy a
Kitche Manitou – Ki Chee Man a Too

© Angie O'Connor