Tasur'Ke Folk Tales: The Legend of Yadi'nea

By: Skye Posted on: February 28, 2004

~With each dive we take, we go deeper and deeper into the Lord's realms, one day we might reach the bottom, and return home. One day, we might finally return to Yadi'nea~

I was born a Tasur girl, simple in mind and life, divided my time between playing and pearling. Though my childhood had been less than happy, my better moments were spent on the knee of my now late grandma, listening to tales of old folk lore. The Garden of Whispers, Lanford and the Dozen Sharks, The Cat Who Could Swim, The Wishing Pearl, some stories were obviously made up for children, others exaggerated, then there was one that we believe has remained true to every word. It was one my grandma had told to me, as I prepared for my first dive, it was one that her father had told her before she had taken her first dive. It was the story of the Tasur, who we were and how we came to be; The Legend of Yadi'nea.

In the depths of the sea, far below the billowing waves and even beyond the undersea kingdom of Riparium, was another land. That land was called Yadi'nea, the city of pearls. The people of Yadi'nea, were unlike the merfolk, and yet alike. They walked on two feet, at the bottom of the ocean, with gills upon their backs they breathed underwater. The roads of the city were shards of impossibly large glimmering iridescent pearls sliced into thin disks and the buildings large and made of pearls ground into dust and made into bricks. It was the most beautiful city to be seen, and it was ruled by a King. Handsome and regal, King Sur'adan was respected as a great leader, loved by all his people, but he was also sad. His wife, the Queen had passed on after giving birth to their only child, a daughter who was filial and loved her father dearly.

For many years, the King ruled just and fair, despite the growing burden in his heart from the sorrow and loneliness. Though his daughter, now grown into a fair maiden gave him the strength to continue on, even she could not elevate the restlessness that grew in him. She tried ways and means to bring light into his life, even so far as trying to find him a new queen. But nothing worked, and the King remained in his own emotional shell.

One day, something came upon the land of Yadi'nea, falling slowly, upon the streets, fragments and pieces of artifacts from the lands above undoubtedly remains of some poor ship that had met its doom amidst the treacherous waves. Amongst these items was a faded portrait of a woman standing along the beach in the bright sunshine. The King pondered this portrait for a long time, and a longing seeded itself in his heart. Sunlight was an unusual thing for the city was so far beneath the sea, little if any light reached it, only the glow of the pearls and the magical fires of the shamans kept the city from being plunged into darkness. He decided then, that he would go to the world above for a time, and live a new life in the sun. Reluctantly his daughter agreed, promising to rule well in his stead whilst he ventured to the strange lands above. Among the vows she made, one was to send oysters everyday, to mark him a route to return home. For Sur'adan was the King, it was unbecoming for him to walk upon the ground without pearls to pave his path.

And so it came to pass, Sur'adan left Yadi'nea, to the lands above the waves. Though initially his life was hard, unused to the rigors of the common life and the air above, he slowly grew accustomed to the culture of the land dwellers and common folk. He remarried, had children, and grew numerous. However, not long after he began to regain his lust for life, he became aware of another gnawing in his heart.

As he stood by the shore, listening to the waves, he became aware of the sad silence that wrung his heart dry every time he was away from the ocean. He then knew that he needed to return to Yadi'nea, to see his daughter and his people once more. Into the water he dived, swimming along the path that the oysters marked, yet as he swam deeper, he grew horrified to find that he was unable to breathe… the gills that had aided him in breathing underwater had sealed shut. He had become a land-dweller. Although the marks still remained on his back, they no longer functioned as they used to. Reluctantly he ceased his futile attempts to dive, and let the currents drift his desolate body back to shore.

From that day, till the day he died, Sur'adan stood by the sea, looking out in hopes of just a glimpse of the city he loved and the daughter he would never see again. On his deathbed, with his dying breath, he made his children, and their children swear to find a way to reach Yadi'nea. It is an oath that even we as descendents of so many generations hold to. We are children of Sur'adan, of the village of Tasur'Ke that his children founded, and till our dying day, we will continue venture, deeper and deeper. We will fulfill the oath sworn on the first day we enter the Lord's kingdom, and return home to Yadi'nea.