The Tale of Thayilos
He the middle of four brothers being the Oldest, the Twin, Himself (his name being Thayilos), and the Youngest. The Oldest was already tall and well-formed by the time of Thaylios’ coming into the world. The Twin, being hatched of the same brood but of a different egg, was distinct and grew of his own accord. And by the time of his birth, the Youngest was already larger.
For his part, Thayilos stopped growing at less than two years. For all of the exotic features, eccentric body plans, or random phenotypes he could have been endowed with, his body was one of a simple housecat. He tipped the scales at maybe ten pounds, he was grey and brindle colored with silvery eyes, and slim build from nose to the tip of his tail.
Although his Mother loved him just the way he was, his brothers chastised him. They treated Thayilos according to his appearance, as a housecat. They fed him scraps from the table, not even granting him a chair, gave to him a litterbox (in cruel jest), and, along with his Mother, forbade him from leaving the house (although his Mother forbade him for fear but his brothers forbade him for shame). Worst of all, his brothers enjoyed scaring him as he was easily startled or, as they put it, Thayilos was a “scaredy cat”. They all, Mother and brothers, were normal enough they could pass in town and live their lives.
But Thayilos was kept at home as a housecat. Occasionally, Thayilos would try to find ways to escape but he could do no such thing as he had no thumbs. From the window, Thayilos would chase pigeons but could never reach them with the glass pane between them. There was a time when the Mailman, or sometimes Missionaries, would come to the door. They would knock or ring the doorbell and Thayilos would scamper to the window. He would purr and the people would look into the window and Thayilos would look them in the eyes.
His family was wise to his tricks would never fall prey again, strangers, however, made the ideal thralls. By looking into their eyes and concentrating sufficiently, Thayilos could compel them to do all manner of things. In the beginning, he would compel them to do humiliating things like running naked or slipping him money under the door. They would, of course, not remember these encounters and simply wake up bewildered when Thayilos lost his concentration.
In later times, Thayilos’ antics became more mischievous. He compelled his thralls to try and open doors and windows for him. At times, this would damage the house and his Mother would punish him. The mischief turned to malice as Thayilos used his thralls to gather neighbors, big and small, young and old, whom he then turned as well to pound on the walls until their knuckles ran with blood.
Law enforcement arrived and contacted Mother. Mother rushed inside and “consoled” her “traumatized housecat”. Luckily, law enforcement chalked up the incident to mass hysteria. But Mother knew the truth of the matter and the consolation, once the doors had been closed, turned to punishment. She cried and bawled over her son’s behavior and turned to her sons to enact the appropriate response to Thayilos’ actions.
The Oldest locked Thayilos in the bathroom during the day and, at night, the Youngest would come into bathroom to talk to his brother of ancestors past. “My brother,” he would always begin, “Every one of us has a place in this World. Perhaps it is time you accept yours as being in this house and being seen.”
Thayilos would take offense to these remarks as he thought of himself as charming, intelligent, and handsome (at least by feline standards). To keep such a gift confined was an insult. For such a remark, Thayilos leapt at his brother and clawed at him in anger. The Youngest threw his brother off in anger and slammed the bathroom door, leaving him there for the night.
At an hour past midnight, the Twin entered the bathroom door. The Twin reminded of how, in days of old, each one of the Chot’ath had a purpose and a placement and though that World of Old had crumbled, their nature had not altered. Mother was under enough scrutiny as it was because of the incident the previous day and, as a family, could not bear another incident. Any more blood would be across all of their hands.
The Twin proposed a solution: Thayilos ought to rid the world of some of the more meddlesome monsters. Thayilos eyed his brother with consideration in the dark and wondered to what he was referring. The first monster the Twin suggested was the Blithebog, a spirit of fear, and the second monster the Twin suggested was the Delk, a spirit of challenge. Thayilos dismissed the first as easy being he was without fear, he was beyond such troglodytic notions, and the second, he accepted being he would defeat challenge itself. If Thayilos could provide documentation of his triumph, then he would prove himself to be worth a part in the play of the World and not just a piece of the periphery.
Thayilos accepted and he Twin calmly let his brother from the bathroom and out into the alleyway to prove himself. Day and night, Thayilos dashed through the city until he reached the forest wherein the spirits of old were said to dwell. As he trotted down the trail, he came to a fork of three. There he was met by Obnox, the spirit of confusion, who sensed one like himself.
“I am Obnox,” Obnox stated.
“I can see that,” Thayilos responded.
“I am Obnox,” Obnox repeated.
“Indeed,” Thayilos said.
“I am Obnox,” the creature said. Thayilos tried to look beyond the swaying creature but was captivated by the absurdity of his distant relation. Obnox was a tripod (two in front and one in back) of approximately seven feet in height, his torso was human-enough, his three jaws were crudely splayed (one was of normal length, one was an underbite, and one was an overbite) and felt stitched together in places, and his forehead took up the bulk of his body growing long and skinny before curving back the same length tapering into a sphere ever so slightly wider than the mouth and from this came two eyes on stalks which deceptively appeared to be protruding from the cheeks. “I am Obnox,” Obnox interrupted.
“Yes,” Thayilos responded, “I am looking for the Delk, which way is she?”
His reaction could not be understood as Obnox smiled and grimaced and with each of his three pudgy, malformed, hands, pointed to a trailhead. “On the left will take you to the Delk; on the right, will take you to safety; in the middle will be Blithebog,” Obnox rattled on, none of his directions seemed to be consistent with themselves or with his words.
Confused, Thayilos attempted to ask for clarification but his hastiness and irritation over the antics of the creature won out and he set down the path to the left.
He trotted lightly on his paws and only rested to get drink and to retrieve a fish from the brook. Down the trail he continued until late at night when he finally reached the end of the trail. Looking from left to the right, up and down, there was nothing. Thayilos swallowed and gritted his teeth. His eyesight was good, the best, especially at night. But there was nothing. Frustrated, Thayilos crept into a tree, cleaned himself, and settled down for the night.
In the morning, Thayilos looked from his vantage point. Up down, left, right, forward, backward, nothing! From his perch, Thayilos jumped down and scampered up the path to return to the fork. “I am Obnox!” Obnox proclaimed.
“Your directions were wrong Obnox,” Thayilos shouted, “I seek glory! I seek the Delk!”
“The Delk is this way,” Obnox exclaimed, not pointing in any direction.
Thayilos grumbled and pushed past the creature and down the path to the right, assuming Obnox had simply reversed the empty path and the path inhabited by the Delk. Fortunately for Thayilos, it was still relatively early when he departed from the fork and he made good time. At the conclusion of the path, he beheld a mountain of a wall. He looked from the left and to the right, but the wall continued. With no way to go, Thayilos exposed his toes and attempted to grip his way into the wall but it was too soft and crumbled beneath his paws.
Nothing…again. Thayilos sighed and turned away as there was nothing here for him. Again. He turned tail and began to head back down the trail. What Thayilos, in his haste, had not noticed how well the Sun had obscured the tree branches and the cliff ledge far above them.
From this ledge, the Delk descended carefully using the seashell silk from her spinneret and silently she sunk to the surface. Eight long and thorny legs outstretched each one ending in a single spear-pointed backwards curved toe. Her abdomen to her thorax must have been as long as a pick-up truck yet her humanoid torso uncurled, and the tips of her shoulders would have been able to stare at the tops of the tallest elephants.
But from tucked between her came her most distinctive feature: clad in the platinum, alabaster, and charcoal scales interrupted by magenta battle scars of old. Like the neck of some arcane serpent or sinister swan, this was tipped with the head of the eyes of the latter. Above the bill were the eyes arranged and numbering like those of an arachnid but built like a duck and there, further above, was the crown, the Delk’s pride, joy, and most distinguishing feature were her antlers not unlike those of a bull moose.
The birds of the forest grew silent as the creature walked upon the ground. Consumed by his frustration, Thayilos did not notice he change in sound. The Delk followed close behind him and for her size, not a single decibel of sound was made by her movement. Her arms outstretched and each of her three-fingered hands was tipped with railroad spike claws.
Out of the corner of her eyes, the Delk saw it and her she smiled coyly to herself: the perfect stick. Closer and closer she crept up to Thayilos and then finally her toe had reached the stick producing the snapping sound she hoped as she placed her weight down upon it. Thayilos turned around sharply to identify the cause of the sound only to have the eyes of the Delk looking deeply back into his own.
Thayilos meowed loudly, leapt several feet into the air, and shuddered into his spirit. The Delk grinned and watched Thayilos came back down, claws now fully extended and prepared to battle. Such encounters were not too unusual, although rarer and oft separated by centuries, and the Delk was versed into her purpose, she knew how to react. She caught Thayilos in her hands and held him back just far enough to where he could not scratch her.
The small feline-like creature growled and the Delk stuck out her forked tongue in jest. Thayilos blinked a few times but then he stretched his eyes open glowing bright green and stared deeply into the eyes of the Delk. The Delk focused back and one by one her eyes turned to the same phosphorous green. Her grip loosened and she slowly lowered Thayilos who began to smile, his mission near completion.
“Just kidding,” the Delk laughed, tightening her grip, raising Thayilos back to eye level, and her eyes returning to normal.
Thayilos continued to thrash and struggle but eventually, he tired against his titanic opponent. “Who are you?” the Delk inquired.
“I am Thayilos,” the small creature grumbled.
“And what is it you want, Thayilos?” the larger creature asked.
“I want to prove myself,” he exclaimed, “to take down the challenge of challenge that I can stand with those of old.”
“Indeed,” the Delk raised an eyebrow, “Are you one of the Old?”
“No,” Thayilos said, beginning to squirm again, “I am one of the New.”
“Then you are one of the Hemihuman,” the Delk said, she scratched her chin thoughtfully, “One part divine and a second part mortal.”
“Come! Fight me!” Thayilos shouted.
“I shall do no such thing,” the Delk retorted, “To an individual is an individual challenge. Why if defeating me were all it took, we would all have conquered challenge and I would cease to be…or something.
I am going to put you down now. You are going to listen to me and if you want to conquer your challenge, you will listen to me.”
Thayilos continued to thrash about but the Delk stared back at him and eventually his antics subsided, the Delk placed him on the ground. The Delk paused a moment to think of a sufficient challenge to this newcomer. Thayilos struck the Delk at the ankles only to find his claws could not make a dent and when he reached the scales, these were so sharp that Thayilos ended up cutting his mouth. “Are you done?” the Delk asked.
The ruckus continued and the Delk sighed and continued her lecture. “You are looking to prove yourself. On your own. And you need proof,” she paused a moment to hum and then appealed to the human half, “I would like you take one of my antlers, it will grow back, and bring it to whomever you are trying to prove to as evidence of your accomplishment in defeating me.”
Thayilos backed off in disgust. Such a suggestion literally made him sick to his stomach. Nausea crept over him as the idea was a direct insult to his pride. Appalled, Thayilos violently shouted, “NO!”
“Well,” the Delk said, “If you’re looking for challenge around here then the only other one is Blithebog. I do not think you’d want to face him, and you know what happens if you fail…”
“That’s a chance I will have to take!” Thayilos shouted.
With that, he turned tail to leave his pride being insulted enough. The Delk had to admire such determination and pride and considered what ideal Thayilos represented best. Hemihumans usually did not have that luxury but then again, most resembled their native parents. Of all the random combinations he could have been, Thayilos was born into the form of something most would consider to be docile and controlled. And that had to be the key to his purpose. Consumed by curiosity over the cat, the Delk turned to her columbiform associate, Pihoihoi, “You know what to do.” she said.
Pihoihoi nodded and followed silently behind Thayilos who soon found himself, again, facing the creature of confusion known as Obnox. “I a-“ Obnox started before getting interrupted.
“I am Obnox!” Thayilos boasted, “Yes, I know!”
He headed down the final trail and down to face his challenge, Blithebog the creature of fear. He paid no heed to his warning by the creature of challenge nor did he care what the creature of confusion was rambling about. But night came soon and although he had good night vision, Thayilos had to sleep. Furthermore, he needed to eat.
Thayilos swatted at some nearby pigeons but could not capture any of them. Whatever. He needed to sleep. His mind altered between his wounded pride, at the hands of the Delk, and the situation before him with Blithebog. He exactly how to bring back a sample of Blithebog as a trophy but to do so would require all of his concentration and his cunning. His mind shifted to his stomach then to his tiredness then his pride and then to his anticipation.
Before Thayilos knew it, morning had come, and the day of destiny had come upon him. Groggily, Thayilos staggered to the ground and stretched. He paused by the creek for a drink but could not stand to be so near water. Thayilos started at a slow trot but quickly gained speed, the water giving him enough of a jolt to formulate a plan. But the trail dragged on for what felt like days, all the way the Sun felt like it held itself high, but at the edge of the trail, the light finally felt to be dimming.
At first, Thayilos could seldom believe his eyes but no matter how many times he blinked, it was still there: a cave. He walked quietly towards the cave but on entering, he found is far quieter than he could have expected. Stopping for a moment, Thayilos listened and could hear the faint breathing. Entering the inner chamber, he found the creature of fear, Blithebog.
Much to his surprise, Blithebog was asleep. Twitching in itself, but asleep, nonetheless. Blithebog was just as described being six-armed, a putrid orange, malformed vaguely corpse-like skull, two legs ending in two toes, and a stubby tail. Most distinctive of all was the swine-skull like formations scattered around his body which, true to the stories, formed into tumors and detached themselves almost as sweat. They shared the serenity of their “parent” and slept placidly. Everything was moving according to plan and Thayilos moved in.
Paw by paw, he crept in ever so careful to not make a sound. For Thayilos knew that the slightest sound would have dire results. Thayilos opened his eyes widely and focused on one of the porcine tumors. They did not have much of a mind but enough of one for Thayilos to compel. His mind was awash with the stories of Blithebog, that the slightest misplacement of pressure would cause them to explode into a puddle of pus and cartilage and that may not have been their worst trait. Thayilos’ eyes began to glow green and he backed up slowly, the object of his focus, a tumor, began to hop after him.
A smile finally graced Thayilos’ lips as he continued to creep backward, his plan succeeding. Paw after paw, success. Then a paw landed on something soft and porous. Horrified, Thayilos knew instantly what he had done and the tumor beneath his paws exploded thrusting pus and cartilage in every direction. Blithebog began to stir amidst the shower as the tumors began to activate their sinister secondary function: the squealing. The tumors did not have much of a mind of their own, but they did hold some memories of their attachment to Blithebog being in a colony or a cluster with others like themselves. When they detached, and became cognizant of that fact, the tumors realized they had no friends and no sensory organs. In fact, the only thing they could feel related to their singular organ: their larynx. By using it, the tumors could feel something which elevated their loneliness and fear: the tumors screamed at prodigious levels not unlike the swine they so resembled. Their squeals could only be interrupted by their propensity to pop at random. The lives of the tumors were short and felt nothing but fear and loneliness. For his relationship, Blithebog had given up on attempting to console them seeing no point and their incessant squealing, when their plight came to light, prohibited any sleeping on his part.
Enraged, Blithebog turned to face Thayilos who had already lost concentration. The tumors awoke one by one coming into awareness of their plight and a cacophony of squeals permeated the air. Thayilos, even though he had grown-up hearing the stories, was so dumbfounded he stood completely still amidst the chaos. Then the tumors began erupting and the cave was awash with bodily fluids. Blithebog grabbed at his tumors his anger seemingly causing more to grow and ripped them from his flesh and began chucking at the intruder! Some tumors exploded in air, others exploded on contact, and all of them screamed through the air.
Thayilos turned tail and began to retreat, all the while being pelted by tumors, but as he reached the mouth of the cave an epiphany hit him. He was being cowardly. No more! Thayilos ran as quickly as he could paw after paw and lunged at his assailant. Clawing his way to the top of the beast until he Thayilos was at the face of Blithebog. The screaming permeated his ears but Thayilos dug his claws in to the cheeks and his teeth into the nose of fear. All the while, Blithebog flailed to remove his aggressor but Thayilos dug deeper.
Blithebog moved to his feet and staggered, preparing to slam Thayilos against the cave wall, but slipped in a puddle of pus. Stunned, Blithebog tried to get to his feet but Thayilos had already released his grip and locked himself into the eyes of Blithebog. His eyes widened and glowed green. But fear would not be so easily conquered, but Thayilos kept his focus and a third eye opened between the first two, his eye glowing green as well. Blithebog got to his feet but Thayilos jumped backward keeping his focus, his ears slowly resembling those of a caracal with curved spiral tufts and his tail became split at the tip. Blithebog’s movements began to slow before he finally fell onto his tailbone and fell asleep.
Thayilos smiled and was well pleased by his accomplishment, but he was not done yet. Tumors were still exploding their fleshy explosions around him, but Thayilos kept his cool. With one eye fixated on Blithebog, he kept the monster at bay while with the other two eyes Thayilos he focused on controlling the tumors. This proved to be more difficult as while the tumors had their trademark porcine faces, they had no eyes. Not to mention, they still exploded at random.
Eventually, Thayilos had to settle for waiting for all the tumors to pop. From there, Thayilos had to settle for Blithebog to shed/sweat more which, fortunately, did not take long. As Blithebog himself was asleep, these younger tumors were asleep themselves which made them much easier to influence. Thayilos managed to teach the tumors to follow them.
One tumor, that was good, it would prove his success. However, one might not survive the trip as they were still pressure sensitive. Thayilos licked his lips and decided to go for a spare. Two tumors, that would be sufficient…Except two just wasn’t enough, it wasn’t a solid enough number. Thayilos grabbed a three and led it into line behind the first two.
That’s better.
It wasn’t… Anybody could do three and, though his mental fortitude was becoming taxed, but he had to prove his worth. Four was good, four was very, very good. It was not enough. Thayilos had to show he was not just better than everyone but far better. A fifth one would work. His nose began to bleed but five worked for him.
Thayilos turned around, holding his tail firmly in the air, and, exiting the cave, the five tumors hoped in suit. The felid creature began to grow light-headed from his hunger and blood-loss, his head hurt, and he struggled to keep his focus on his train of tumors. He saw the pigeons along his way, he felt like they were teasing him, and had to forego his hunger just to get home lest the tumors explode.
As he crossed paths with Obnox, Thayilos ignored the being’s greeting which began to ring throughout Thayilos’ head like some crude catchy elevator music. He didn’t have time to care or despise the entity. Thayilos had to get home and fast. The odyssey seemed to last for weeks but in truth only took a day and a half.
Thayilos, and his caravan, snuck back into the house. His mission was a success and Thayilos gifted himself with food and water, but it would still be a few moments before his lightheadedness subsided. However, the battle would soon be won when his family came home. Thayilos curled up on the couch for a catnap as his family would be home in an hour or so. He could do it; he had conquered himself, and Thayilos relaxed as his features returned to that of a housecat.
His eyes closed as he curled up on the couch overlooking the window, he could see the suburbs, a place he could finally explore. An unknown time later, it could not have been long, two distinctive taps could be heard on the window behind Thayilos. He was startled, but his concentration (on maintaining the tumors’ calm), was unbroken. Truly, Thayilos had conquered fear, and he was no longer the scaredy cat his brothers’ claimed of him. Thayilos spun around and stared at the pigeon which disrupted his sleep, not knowing this was Pihoihoi, the servant of the Delk, who had followed him since the second trail.
“Begone bird!” Thayilos said, attempting to scare away Pihoihoi. Pihoihoi cocked her head and Thayilos hissed through the window and stared her down and leaned inward. Suddenly, Pihoihoi’s head, wings, and feet exploded outward as they were attached to springs and Thayilos was so startled he meowed. His concentration shattered and the scattered tumors woke throughout the house.
Pihoihoi chuckled, her mission was accomplished, and she flew off. Thayilos ran to recover the tumors but one by one, he heard the five fleshy explosions throughout the house. The house as covered in pus, cartilage, and bile. This was not good and Thayilos’ mind raced furiously.
Then he heard four car doors shut, the engine turned off, and the front door’s knob began to jostle. His mother and his brothers were home and there was no time to recover from this mistake…
Pihoihoi returned to the Delk report on the progress. “Welcome back Surprise, what news” the Delk smiled.
“I did as you commanded Challenge,” the Pigeon responded, adjusting her limbs back into their sockets, “I got him just before his family returned home, I saw them down the road.”
“Good,” the Delk said, “I would have preferred he won his challenge than try to conquer fear, which none ever truly do, but his purpose is clear.”
“What is his purpose Mistress? What was his challenge?” Pihoihoi inquired.
“My friend, Thayilos is the spirit of envy. He can control others with limited power. His place his to be locked in a room where he can be kept in check but release him and only disaster will follow,” the Delk said, “His challenge was a simple, and a common one, but the most difficult one to offer. His was to accept help when offered and not let it sully his pride. Had he done this; he may not have found his purpose, but Envy may not have known this anyway. For this is the nature of envy, to not find the beauty of what is in front of you or what you have been given. Furthermore, His nature is such that he will never find appreciation in these things only in what he thinks others to have.”
While I initially conceived of this story as an epilogue, it has occurred to me that this doesn't really work that Dau'lush still has influence when his creations leave him. This story is designed to illustrate that the Chot'ath are capable of hybridizing with humans and how these "hemihumans" function.
