ALMORDIA: A TALE OF MODERNITY - OR durkheim ve ejderhadan mistopik selamlar

My story is from a time of despair and hope. It is a story, dear fellows, about where I belong truly and whole-heartedly. The story of the cured land, where magic was not only in the air but also among the people and their holy conduct of solidarity. Almordia, my land, was far far away from where the Earthlings lived and it was thus purified from their ill destiny. And yet, our destiny was inescapably linked to those doomed creatures. A great man who witnessed the beginning of their destruction and tried to warn them for their survival as a community, was sent to us, reincarnated in our magic land to save us from the most evil end. My story, dear fellows, is his story. I witnessed his spectacular era and I will share what I saw to be loyal to all Almordians and our history. The Elders has named his era, as the era of ‘Modernity’.


Ah, sorry, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I am one of the Children of Almordia. My name is Balthus. I came out of one of the biggest caves in the green mountains of Almordia. I have spent my time listening to the Elders’ tales about the Earthlings who come out of each other. Odd, indeed. We, Almordians, as you know my dear fellows, we come out of the caves either as the Children or the Elders. We get along pretty well with the Elders, pretty well indeed. They are responsible for all the technicalities that we need to survive and function as a sacred community. We, the Children, are very similar to those of Earthlings, as far as I know from the Elders’ manuscripts: We are the imagination and inspiration of Almordia, we make the best sounds of the holy land and we are undeniably tiny. I was told that the Earthlings’ children experience a process called ‘growing up’ to become an Elder. As you know, fellows, we do not grow up, no, indeed. We would not want such a thing. It reminds of the evil curse. No, no. I should stop rambling about what you should already know and tell you the story of Durkheim the great, the wise and how he made us escape the curse. The story of ‘Modernity’, dear chaps, a tremendous part of our past shall guide to your future.


THE CURSE


We were happy, if you may recall dear fellows, we were content. The food were abundant that year, the mountains spread the most healthy tones of green, Lupita, our sun, was shining and the holy land was flourishing in all respects. Everybody knew their place, the Elders were working hard responsibly, the Children were writing songs about the glory of Almordia.


It was then, I saw him, alone. He was sitting on a rock in the Valley of Query, where the confused Elders go to think that they should reappear in the caves as a Child. Durkheim was nothing like an Elder, no. No, dear fellows, he was a man of numbers and spirits. He could speak languages of different realms and could understand the creatures that live at the outskirts of Almordia. No, dear fellows, he was nothing like an Elder indeed, he was a man of a unique nature. He was frowning like no one in Almordia would, talking to himself , stammering with long pauses of hesitation. I approached him with immense curiosity. Lupita’s gold light was sparkling on his grey beard. Beards, fellows, are rare in Almordia, rare indeed. It is a sign for the wise fellows who used to belong the nation of Earthlings and reincarnated in the holy land.


- I beg your pardon, wise fellow, may I ask what darkens your gaze, why should you frown?


- Come along, dear Child, come, come closer so no one shall hear what I have to share. Tell me,


what name do you call yourself?


- Balthus, wise fellow, I am at your service. What troubles you, would you like me to sing it away?


- Oh my friend, the most unpredictable happened, there is no way to sing it away I am afraid.


Come along, sit. I might need your Childish disposition while I am working on the solution.


- How so?


- This morning, while I was at the archives of Almordia, two Elders came to see me with great


panic —


- Great panic, eh? In Almordia? With all respect wise fellow, you must be mistaken..


- Dear child, unfortunately I am right. It reminded me of the times of Earth. Anyway, they came to me and told me that some of the Children started growing up.


- For the sake of all who are wise! Is this an ancient Almordian joke? This..this is absurd. Absurd indeed.


- I am afraid there is more to that..


- More?Oh?

You see, dear fellows, I was so surprised that I had even abandoned the Almordian courtesy. But Durkheim the great was vey patient with me. He took a deep mournful breath and explained for my childish mind:


-Those children, who started growing up I mean, they...um...Apparently they started committing suicide. The Elders urged me to investigate what is going on. Very unlikely of Almordia for sure. I have looked at the crystal eye in my cottage, and read the stars. I have consulted to the most pristine books of knowledge and I came to the conclusion that we are facing with an evil curse here in the holy land.


- A curse! Sweet Lupita! Almordia had not seen such a thing before, what you are telling me, Durkheim the brilliant is unheard in our history. I dare say it is so...so Earth-like what you are saying. Why would..?


- I hear you, Balthus, but we need to hurry if we sincerely want to put an end to this viciousness. I will need your help, since we must move fast before darkness takes over. There is chance that this is only a begging of the curse’s effects. Our sacred peace is at stake here. Dissolution of our community must be prevented. Good news is that I think I have a solution. A complex method to undo this curse. But let’s not spare another minute, I shall declare both the problem and the remedy. Could you please rush to the Mighty Tower and bade all Almordians to gather at dawn. No one should be unaware of what is about to come. Farewell Balthus, I shall see you at the gathering. May your face be enlightened by Lupita until your end.

And thus he were caught up in his own thoughts again. I ran to the Mighty Tower at once, since there seemed to be no point for asking more questions. If Durkheim had a method and a schedule for saving us, there was no room for my query, no room indeed.

You see, dear fellows, we Almordians have no sense of danger, no hazardous agendas to make our hearts beat faster. So, when I announced the gathering from the top of the Mighty Tower, no Almordian questioned why Durkheim the sorcerer had requested such a thing. Trust, dear fellows, was what the curse couldn’t take away from our community.

At dawn, Durkheim was ready at the top of the tower. His beard was shining even more than it did before, showing us that his gumption was at its peak. He moved slowly but comfortably, towards the edge. Muttered a spell for all of us to hear his velvety voice. Oh dear fellows, what a day it was. Even Lupita was listening, I dare say. Then, Durkheim began.



THE SERMON

Dear Almordians, the sacred nation of the holy land! My cherished fellows! I announce you the occurrence of the most dreadful incident. I was alerted by the Elders about the recent death of the Children who started growing up. From the beginning of the Moment, Almordia has never encountered an equivalent pain. As you know dear fellows, Almordians do not age, nor do they desire to kill themselves. No, no it is against our nature. I studied the archives carefully. Clearly, we are dealing with a unique curse that targets the peace and harmony of our society. No need to panic, dear fellows, no need to hum with anxiety. Luckily, I preserve memoirs of Earth’s destruction, as the Elders might know little about it. I came to the conclusion that this is why I was reincarnated. I will fight flesh and blood to save Almordia and use my magic to undo the curse. There are two actions that we must take. I invoke now, dear fellows, for you to avoid malignant egoism and immoderate altruism. This curse, is infectious for our minds and souls, it is a spell that is casted on our mentality. The Earthlings has experienced a similar thing, but they could not survive through this experience. But Almordia will not share the same destiny, no. Let’s name the enemy and the hero first. The curse is rather complex. It does two things to our beloved nation. First, it unsettles the balance of our participation in our community which has been functioning with harmony for longer than we can remember. The longer we are exposed to the curse the stronger it would blur the clear line we have between our cottage-life and the life we have in the valleys wherein we spend time altogether to achieve the most welcomed division of labor. But the curse does not suffice itself with just that kind of harm. It also mixes doubt into our Children’s blood for now, but the Elders might as well be affected. Beware, dear Almordians. Doubt is something that is almost addictive such as the herbs that grow on the Valley of Amusement. It gives your mind a melancholic pleasure and a sharpness that would either lead your development or your end. It slowly drains you if you do not adjust your consciousness. Dangerous, indeed. We need to safeguard our sacred souls. However we might sustain the holy land we should do it with dignity, without giving up our unique Almordian rationality. Once, I offered a similar solution to the Earthlings that I will be offering to you dear Almordians, but I was not harkened by enough people. Of course, Earth had reduced magic, so had the people. You, my dear fellows, you are on the contrary bound by my enchanted words so that you can all understand what I preach and fully commit to our common cause: to the solution. What we need, dear fellows, is ‘moral individualism’. That would do, yes, it would. Moral individualism is, briefly, ‘a religion in which man -that is, how the Earthlings would say to refer a unit of a community- is at once the worshiper and the god’’(Durkheim, [1898]1973:46). We have been believers of various creatures and entities from Lupita to curious fireflies in Almordia, but as you see, our prayers to those gods were not answered. As the curse keeps going further until it becomes our nature, we will become more aware that we are a collection of body, desire, and appetite as well as a socialised personality. True moral action will let us be the truest Almordian, through sacrifices of certain individual desires for the service of the common. It is not just possible, but required for us to avoid turbulent desires that lead to frustration and move forward to organic solidarity by abandoning earlier types of social organisation. Let us accomplish the functional interdependence of all Almordians to live happily ever after! May Lupita witness our innocent wishes of peace and enlighten them even more!



I hear you muttering, dear fellows. I hear you wonder how I will break the curse. As you will follow my word on this new morality here I will start a new journey to the outskirts, where the unspoken creatures live. For doubt to not poison our hearts, we will need a secret elixir about which I came across in the archives. I am short of one very fundamental material for this potion. It is called the Dada. Dada will empower us so that we, the Almordians, preserve our selfhood within our compound future. No need to worry, dear fellows, I know where and how to find the Dada. I will take Balthus the Child to accompany me, he will observe my mission.



You are all bound by this sermon now, you can be dismissed with tranquility. I know you will take good care of the holy land until we come back from far far away. Go back to your duties now, and pay attention to each other so that we shall not witness any more ends in our nation. Farewell, dear fellows! May Lupita enlighten your gaze!






THE JOURNEY






So Durkheim stepped down from the Mighty Tower. I was shaken by his speech and I could feel that most of the Elders were jolted too. He was so admirable, the most admirable among all of us, indeed. Of course, dear fellows, I was honoured to be chosen by the wise and the great. I also feared a little bit, I was not sure if I would be capable of being properly at service for Durkheim. Oh dear fellows, Durkheim had calculated everything! He walked towards a sitting shale and squatted down on it. Then he made a gesture for me to move next to him. He looked so humble and extremely serious that I could not dare to speak for a while. He started combing his beard in slow motion, as if I was not there. But I did not mind, no dear fellows, I did not mind at all. I was amazed by the silver lights that appeared with every movement of his hands. I could tell he was in deep contemplation at that moment. An emerald smoke was surrounding his shaggy head, indicating his sharp mind’s wizardry.


Finally, he uttered his thoughts:


- Dear Balthus, I hope you are not offended by my declaration of your company. I did it without


consulting you. But I want you to be the one who will observe the quest of the Dada, for further generations of Almordia. Besides, it is always asset to have a Child as a friend. Would you give me the honor—


- Oh wise fellow!, I interrupted his words hastily, I am the one who is honoured. When should we start our journey? Also, what do you exactly have on your great mind dear Durkheim?


- There are things that I kept to myself while I was preaching Balthus. It is a precarious path we are heading. And if it is the Devil that made the curse as I guessed—


- TheDevil?!Whatisthat?


- It is a rather Who, dear Child. He is a dark person living in the outskirts. He is an embodiment of


the possibility of the evil and cruel skepticism in Almordia. He was stuck as a possibility because of a pact that the wise Elders made centuries ago. It seems to me, now he is trying his chance to come back and bring his darkness to Almordia.


- Oh..Horrid, indeed. But what makes him so dangerous? Our society is bound with a good morality, how can he harm us so easily if we do not contribute to his intentions.


- Ah!I wish the task was that easy dear Child. But hey— that is why I am bringing you with me, for your capacity to laugh and think with sheer optimism. The thing is, dear Balthus, people always do listen to the evil. If we don’t stop the curse, at some point the Devil will be heard. Even the Almordians are not that strong. Also, the Devil is shape-shifter. Once the harm is done, he will be able to appear as anyone he wants, as if, he is one of us!


- How dreadful! B..but when you compose the elixir it would stop the Devil, right?


- Hopefully, dear, hopefully. Our job is to find the Dragon who hides the Dada.


- Are you referring to the Dragon, Durkheim the wise? The one that has been in the exile since the


beginning of the Moment? That vicious creature...You say she is hiding the Dada? Are we going


to slay the Dragon? It is against all pacts! I—I mean even when I consider the corruptness of the Dragon, still...


You see, dear fellows, I could not deeply understand what the Dada was about. Anxiety, which is against our nature, blurred my senses. I kept echoing the wise fellow’s words with immense shock. I was feeling as though I was being told the most secret words of Almordia. I became more and more on pins and needles with the information I got from Durkheim the great. There was something about Durkheim that made it possible for a Child like me to ask questions and still feel as a true Almordian. I could not tell if it was Durkheim’s unusual charm or it was the scary doubt, the effect of the curse. Durkheim seemed to be indifferent to my improper backchannels and questions, he answered patiently but with great care, emphasising each word for me to understand what is ahead of us.


- The Dragon, dear Balthus, is not a felon or a corrupt creature as you are told when you first came out of your cave. You were told what the ancient wise fellows and the Elders agreed to tell you for the tranquility of our community. She is a creature of a different nature, indeed. Rather odd I dare say. Her ways of communication, fire-hurling and that sort of habits she has...they are undeniably ticklish for the ordinary Almordian’s health. However, not many Almordians know that it is the Dragon whom we owe our holy land’s sorcerous minerals. Her fiery breath is the most nutritious thing for the soil. Her sparkling eyes are what reflects the unique rainbow when Lupita rains. Besides, she is the only powerful being in Almordia who can safeguard the Dada from the reach of the Devil. We need the Dragon, my friend, not only despite its essence but also for its essence. So, no. We are not going to slay the Dragon. No, indeed. We will talk with her and convince her. But first we must be on our way, you will witness how we shall do that. We are already late to move. Fetch the things you will need for our journey and meet me at the entrance of the Gloomy Forest when Lupita is half darkened.


I am not going to lie to you, dear fellows, I was a pretty much startled when I heard Durkheim mentioning the ‘Gloomy Forest’. No Child had ever been in that place before, we usually take the longer way if ever need to go the outskirts. It is field where magic is quite uncontrolled. We do not have many scary stories in Almordia,no, we do not prefer to torture ourselves by spreading unrest. The rare ones we have, though, usually takes place in the Gloomy Forest. However winced I felt, I stilled rushed to my cottage to take some food and the pocketknife that once an Elder gave me. I was singing my good wishes for our journey on the way to the forest, but I tried to keep my voice down so that none could hear the details of it. It might be the toughest thing on Almordia for a Child to sing so hoarsely, and yet, I had to be brave and strong for our mission.


And there he was. Standing with nobility at the foggy entrance. My fears eased off at that moment, so much that I could swear he has casted a soothing spell over me.


- Welcome, Balthus, my dear fellow, I hope you are ready for this. Let the quest begin.


We took a deep breath and stepped into the misty woods with a respectful silence.


I will not tell you much about our journey, dear fellows, Durkheim the wise advised me too keep most of the things I saw to myself for Almordia’s own good. I can only tell you that there were many creatures that one should not encounter. Almordians are much better off if those are left in the shades of the Gloomy Forest. It was a formidable experience, indeed. It took us many days and nights to reach the outskirts. Because we were deprived of Lupita’s light for so long, I have stopped counting the days at some point. I have never actually grown up throughout my life, but I could tell that ‘aging’ must be similar to that sort of consciousness I had in the forest. Durkheim had to fight mentally and physically a few of the creatures we ran up against. He did no harm, of course, no harm indeed. Such a smart and wise fellow, he is. He had create thunders and solve gigantic puzzles to pass each obstacle. I even saw him begging Lupita- with silver tears shining in his eyes to show us some of its light through the draining haze. He was still graceful at each moment of trouble and


relief. He let me sing his desperation away sometimes but even my Childish instincts had its


limits. Singing, dear fellows, as you know feeds from Lupita’s light. My melodies were exhausted in the end.


But I tam telling you my friends, it was worth all that. Indeed it was. When we arrived to the outskirts we were tired but we had developed new abilities to survive. We were now ready to face the Dragon and find the Dada.






THE DRAGON






Ah! The magnificent Dragon! She was dwelling on the majestic ruins of Almordia, flying elegantly above the colourful rivers. She was a wild creature indeed. Of—of a unique nature I dare say. Oh, dear fellows, how frightened I was when I first saw her. She had a dazzling dark blue skin with full of hard spicules on it and two green crystal balls in place of her eyes. If it was not for Durkheim the great, I would have fainted indeed. We shave spent a day or two, for just observing the Dragon’s rituals. Durkheim had taught me how to behave when we reach to the Dragon’s zone. Finally, at dawn, we stepped humbly inside her den where she was sleeping grudgingly. I could see the centre of the den which was surrounded by a strange smoke that covered a little chest with writings in the ancient language on it. Durkheim murmured few hexes to build an invisible wall between us and the Dragon. Then he spoke with great confidence:


-Rise dear fellow Dragon, glamorous lady of the holy land! Protector of the Dada! Rise in good manners so you shall speak to your friends!


The Dragon moved her head loudly towards where we stood, with the wildest look on her crystal eyes. She fixed her eyes on Durkheim the wise, and then made a sound that was akin to laughter. Then she rose. How enormous she was, dear fellows, no Almordian would imagine her size. I was shocked by the serenity of her motion. You see, dear fellows, ‘by that time she would have sent a few fire balls’ I had thought. No, no. Regardless of her wild nature, she had definitely received her share of Almordian courtesy. After a while of lurching and panting she spoke with a heart-touching voice:


- Friends? It is a concept that I am alien to as you very well know, dear fellow. I see you have a beard. You must be one of the wise fellows. It does not look that shiny tough, maybe it is because of the journey you have been through...Tell me, what do you call yourself and why on Almordia would you take the risk to visit me with a Child?


- I am Durkheim. Excuse my beard, it was indeed a rough journey inside the Gloomy Forest. It might start shining again if you accept to help us—


- How can I help a reincarnated Earthling with such power? You should not have come here. I do not like to be disturbed. Your kind sent me on exile for no reason. And yet, I have not quitted my duty on the holy land. Just for Almordia’s sake—


- Please! Almordia is great danger. The Devil cursed our community and bread senseless doubt hearts—


The Dragon interrupted Durkheim the great with much anger:


-How dare you mention that name in my den! Don’t you care for your life? Can’t you recall what that evil being did to me? He pretended to be me, wrecked the archives of Almordia with his liar breath! Mention his name again and you and this poor Child will turn into ashes. Your kind has lost trust in me anyway, I shall have no fear of reputation...



Then she blew fire to the rocks beside her. No flame leaped to us thanks to the invisible wall Durkheim made. I leaned towards Durkheim for support, he remained calm and spoke even louder: -I beg your pardon glamorous fellow! But this curse is no joke. It is also your chance to fix your reputation by helping us beat the evil in front of the eyes of two Almordians. We need the Dada that you have been safeguarding to make the elixir that will break the curse. I brought this Child, dear Balthus, so that he shall witness your cooperation and if I cannot survive the strength of undoing the curse he can tell all Almordians what happened here.


-I see you are an honourable Elder, Durkheim. You are willing to sacrifice yourself for this nation. Odd... Odd but respectable indeed. I hope you endure this sorcery and remain a value to Almordia. I will help you. And Balthus here, should keep his word and prove my innocence to all. I am aware of the my distinct nature. I shall not live among everyone. I am indeed better-off in the outskirts, I would not find peace further from the colourful rivers. But I want to regain my dignity in this land. Oh how sacred I used to be, how valued! You would not remember, for sure. Tell me, what you will do with the Dada. There is no way for me to let you remove it from this den.



Durkheim paused for a second. And then he smiled. It was the first time I saw him with such a big smile.


-No need for any kind of removal, glamorous lady of Almordia. I will make the elixir right here and I will ask you to drink it at once. I promise to add some Almordian blue berries in it. No need to worry,oh no, no worries, indeed. Your fiery breath will nurture the holy land as it has always done , so will the affect of the elixir and Almordia will be purified by the curse even before we turn to our cottages with dear Balthus!



And he did what he said. Oh dear fellows, what I feared became true. Durkheim was consumed by the spell he made. Oh, I resent the Devil so much! He took the Children and Durkheim away from our holy land. If only you could know him..Such a harm done in such a short time!



And yet, Almordia was peaceful once again. All Almordians who were bound by Durkheim the great’s magical sermon kept the organic solidarity before their own interests. Our doubt was balanced by the spell, it had no more evil effect on our community. And, of course, no more horrid suicides to dread. As you know, dear fellows, Durkheim’s cottage is turned to a memorial by the Elders for us to remember his sublime sacrifice. Once a year, when Lupita’s lights are weaker, the Dragon visits this very memorial that we are sitting in right now and sheds crystal tears and offers her respect. Almordians celebrate her each visit with a fire-ball festival in which our love and laughter spreads to all Valleys. And, I myself...Well, as you see dear fellows, I tell you, that is, each visitor, this sacred story of Durkheim. The story of ‘Modernity’.