night maras...

woke up from a nightmare

something perched on my chest

heavy as a corpse

no breath

frozen

.

this screen a window out of the room
a world of numbers; structure
comprehensible

here's an old story i told around a campfire, carrying a lantern and a sacrificial dagger, curved like a three-day moon, sharp as crimson-lacquered talons, tusks and viridian tattoos, a golden star in the centre of my brow, softly glowing...

((As told at The Night of The Star, Feb 10th, Undercity courtyard, Maelstrom.))

DA NIGHT-MARA

Once dere wuz a lonely old troll carpentah who wuz haunted by Night-Maras. Now, as every liddle troll knows, dese Maras dey be evil spirits; dey perch on yah chest at night and whispah bad tings in yah ear...

Dis old troll, he heard 'nuf, but he knew as he could ne'er catch dat Mara by hisself, cuz such fairies dey weave webs o great drowziness o'er dere vick-teems - but he conspired wit his friend, a chandlah, and dey laid a tricksey trap indeed...

One black night, de Carpentah went ta sleep, and hiss friend de Chandlah, he sat hidden with a stingin' nettle under his bum-hole, so as if he did sleep he wake up quic-as-a-flash like! Heh heh. And sure 'nuff, in de hour afore dawn...

in troo de keyhole, e'er so slowly-like, dere crept a fat white lizzud, glissnen like Da Mooon, an it plopped on de floor and slinky-slunk towards de bed where lay de Carpentah. And de Chandlah grew sleepy, like some voodoo song be ringin in his ears...

Den Suddenlee he sit down and yell out!

"OUCH! Sweet Momma Mah Ass Be A-Stinging!"

And he rushed to de door and stuck his candle in dat keyhole, and den out he went like a light!

Meanwhile, de Carptenah he be awoken by all the shoutin', and seein' da Lizzud he grabbed is hammer and nail and wit all his might he nailed dat mean spirit-tings front paw to de floor. Den like a coconut falling from a tree he too fell into de land o Nod.

In de mornin, de two trolls woke up, and were supprahzed to find a byuutifool and honey-eyed troll girlie in dere room, nekkid as de day she popped outta her momma! Skin smooth and white like Alla-Bastah she done had...

An' hair like woven silvah...but her hand was blood red and scaly and nailed to da floor...

As soon as dey beheld her de trolls dey fell in Lurve....

"She's a-Mine!" yelled de Chandlah. " Twas mah candle dat kept her from runnin'!" "BAH! She's a-Mine!" replied de Carpentah. "Twas mah nail dat kept her here!" And so dey argued back and forth and soon dey come to violent blows...

"ENOUGH!" de Mara-girl suddenly screamed. "Cleea-lee ya both have a right tah mee - yah magick spell-charms be holdin me in dis cursed place." And she wailed like a wolf den...

(For as any young troll-un knows, de normal everyday tings o dis world are magicks to dem from bee-yond, juss as dere mudanities be sorceries and hokuzz pokuzz to uss...)

So den de two trolls dey be driven tah madness bah her words, and each one he rushed to de odder ones 'charm' and tore it free. Dem stoopid trolls...

"No candle now!" yelled de Carpentah "Ya be free o him!" "No nail now!" yelled de Chandlah. "Yah be free o him!"...And den de troll-girlie smiled a wicked smile, and out from her lips dere came a long pink tongue, and wit it she licked her own eye...

"Ha ha!" she laugh, and den she wuz a liddle white lizzud, pale as Da Mooon, and like lightin' quickasaflash, out de keyhole she skitted. Lickety-split! All in her glory...And Dat...

is da end o da story!