Part of the Seventy Ravens Chronicles, the short Elliot Hayes of the Cursed family tells the story of Elliot Hayes, a withdrawn boatman who has inherited a family curse. Found upon the shores of the Seventy Ravens Province, he is locked away to speak with Gwen Casto, a priestess.
As the lady Casto speaks to the boatman, she does a discovery that will change the fate of the duchy forever.
As the lady Casto speaks to the boatman, she does a discovery that will change the fate of the duchy forever.
It had been raining for 3 days when he was found washed upon the shore of the Seventy Ravens Province, and in those 3 days the town had been flooded by water and dread alike. The boatman had only been able to tell the soldiers of the Duchy that his name was Hayes, Elliot Hayes of the cursed family, before he fell into a slumber of days.
By the time he woke up, the rain had stopped.
The Seventy Ravens Province knew many cursed families, but most had been lost for many years. For there to be a person left was therefore an abnormality, one the town was desperate to explain. Some families had been cursed for stealing, others for unspeakable acts of violence, and again others for rebelling against the soldiers of the Duchy. Elliot Hayes of the cursed family must therefore be an outlaw, one of sin. Yet, when the priestess of the town of fallen mountains sat in front of the chained boatman she saw no sin. Elliot Hayes was an impenetrable fortress of chocolate-brown, with a single opened round gray eye that reminded her only of stormy skies. His hair was silky, the curly black strands spilling over muscled shoulders hidden in an oversized shirt of a deep purple.
He spoke and behaved like a gentleman, but his hands betrayed a shyness that she, Gwen Casto, knew could not be faked.
Gwen adjusted her glasses, fending her cherry hair back into place. It seemed her bun had come loose yet again.
“Elliot Hayes, what happened to your left eye?”
- “I cannot open it anymore, my lady.”
“Why can you no longer open your eye, Elliot Hayes?”
- “It would kill the first person to look at it, my lady Casto.”
“Your eye would?”
- “Yes my lady.”
Not all curses command the death of the bearer, most, like the feelings used to create the curse, only command the death of its wielder. It seemed that old man Casto was not lying when he taught his only daughter this. And so, Gwen Casto listened when Elliot Hayes, Elliot Hayes of the cursed family, said:
“ I was allowed to ride my first horse by the time it happened. We lived near the mirroring lake; it was only a three day ride. The town was a small one. Just 4 families living in the glen east of the water. Most merchants overlooked our little settlement. The only way to get water was driving out to the lake and take water back. It was a stormy night when my father rode out. He was the youngest. Brisk, tall. A real grump, when it came to weather. It was always too warm, too cold, too dry.
He never came back.
When my brother followed, he too went missing. I learned later both drowned themselves in the lake. They had gone. My mother passed shortly after my sister died, and I was left alone. A family had been punished. My family had been cursed, was what the people of the village said. ”
Elliot Hayes lifted his head. The binding that covered the left side of his face had started to come loose in the salt water. It was still damp. He could feel the knots slipping. Soon he would have to close his eyes. Bound as he was, he could not reach it with his hands.
The lady Casto remained silent. Silent as the raven’s grave. And she was beautiful. The grace of an old kingfisher was a virtue she had inherited from the Gods themselves. Her hair too, reminded him of a fiery crown, broken only by the bright mirrors that where her eyes. She was beautiful, and she was a priestess. The Gods were lucky, to have such a maiden at their call. They were always lucky, and any one should be lucky to meet as such a fire crowned maid, even if they came upon the raven’s grave itself.
Elliot Hayes of the cursed family sighed before continuing to speak. And Gwen Casto listened, when Elliot Hayes, Elliot Hayes of the cursed family said:
“They hunted me out of the glen, and out of the fields, but they would not follow me to the mirroring lake. I took only what I could, and it wasn’t much. One bread. One dried piece of meat. One knife to cut both. One wooden cup. It was all I had.
The lake was wide. An endless pitch black surface, smooth as the nine-eyes. Even with the wind blowing there were no ripples breaking the water, no fish. No bodies. No sign of my father or brother. Even though not many suns had passed, there was nothing left. Nothing but two black feathers. My father and brother had come across two ravens. Two curses that must have led them to their deaths.
They must have told you the story, my lady. The story of seventy ravens, carrying seventy curses to harbor the demise of seventy families. This place too, must have at some point had one family. A family that found a single black feather at their doorstep. A door that led to their deaths. My family wasn’t killed by the curse, they killed themselves instead. If I had traveled back to the glen I would not have to kill myself either, for the settlers would. I would have ended up dead either way, and so I attempted to stay hidden. I build myself a settlement near the tree I had first found the feathers, and with the wood it provided I created a small raft.
For twenty years I have lived as the boatman of the mirroring lake, and there was never a third feather to be found. Yet, I have been cursed either way.”
Gwen Casto had heard of the dark boatman of the mirroring lake east of the mountains. The boatman who never showed his face to any woman to cross his path. He carried only people to the other side, never anything else, and was only ever seen during the warm months when the lake could not be crossed by foot.
“You are the dark boatman of the mirroring lake, then, Elliot Hayes of the Cursed family.” She concluded with a small smile. “I have had you carry me to the other side of the lake once.”
- “You are correct, my lady.” Still, his answers evaded his eye.
“And what of your eye, then, boatman?”
- “I have kept it safe, my lady.”
“Safe from what?”
and Elliot Hayes smiled, his teeth white in his chocolate face, head lifted high to face the priestess. “I will keep this eye from killing every woman but the Ravenbound Queen of this Province, who took the lives of my father and brother.”
It seemed like a promise the boatman would keep.
By the time he woke up, the rain had stopped.
The Seventy Ravens Province knew many cursed families, but most had been lost for many years. For there to be a person left was therefore an abnormality, one the town was desperate to explain. Some families had been cursed for stealing, others for unspeakable acts of violence, and again others for rebelling against the soldiers of the Duchy. Elliot Hayes of the cursed family must therefore be an outlaw, one of sin. Yet, when the priestess of the town of fallen mountains sat in front of the chained boatman she saw no sin. Elliot Hayes was an impenetrable fortress of chocolate-brown, with a single opened round gray eye that reminded her only of stormy skies. His hair was silky, the curly black strands spilling over muscled shoulders hidden in an oversized shirt of a deep purple.
He spoke and behaved like a gentleman, but his hands betrayed a shyness that she, Gwen Casto, knew could not be faked.
Gwen adjusted her glasses, fending her cherry hair back into place. It seemed her bun had come loose yet again.
“Elliot Hayes, what happened to your left eye?”
- “I cannot open it anymore, my lady.”
“Why can you no longer open your eye, Elliot Hayes?”
- “It would kill the first person to look at it, my lady Casto.”
“Your eye would?”
- “Yes my lady.”
Not all curses command the death of the bearer, most, like the feelings used to create the curse, only command the death of its wielder. It seemed that old man Casto was not lying when he taught his only daughter this. And so, Gwen Casto listened when Elliot Hayes, Elliot Hayes of the cursed family, said:
“ I was allowed to ride my first horse by the time it happened. We lived near the mirroring lake; it was only a three day ride. The town was a small one. Just 4 families living in the glen east of the water. Most merchants overlooked our little settlement. The only way to get water was driving out to the lake and take water back. It was a stormy night when my father rode out. He was the youngest. Brisk, tall. A real grump, when it came to weather. It was always too warm, too cold, too dry.
He never came back.
When my brother followed, he too went missing. I learned later both drowned themselves in the lake. They had gone. My mother passed shortly after my sister died, and I was left alone. A family had been punished. My family had been cursed, was what the people of the village said. ”
Elliot Hayes lifted his head. The binding that covered the left side of his face had started to come loose in the salt water. It was still damp. He could feel the knots slipping. Soon he would have to close his eyes. Bound as he was, he could not reach it with his hands.
The lady Casto remained silent. Silent as the raven’s grave. And she was beautiful. The grace of an old kingfisher was a virtue she had inherited from the Gods themselves. Her hair too, reminded him of a fiery crown, broken only by the bright mirrors that where her eyes. She was beautiful, and she was a priestess. The Gods were lucky, to have such a maiden at their call. They were always lucky, and any one should be lucky to meet as such a fire crowned maid, even if they came upon the raven’s grave itself.
Elliot Hayes of the cursed family sighed before continuing to speak. And Gwen Casto listened, when Elliot Hayes, Elliot Hayes of the cursed family said:
“They hunted me out of the glen, and out of the fields, but they would not follow me to the mirroring lake. I took only what I could, and it wasn’t much. One bread. One dried piece of meat. One knife to cut both. One wooden cup. It was all I had.
The lake was wide. An endless pitch black surface, smooth as the nine-eyes. Even with the wind blowing there were no ripples breaking the water, no fish. No bodies. No sign of my father or brother. Even though not many suns had passed, there was nothing left. Nothing but two black feathers. My father and brother had come across two ravens. Two curses that must have led them to their deaths.
They must have told you the story, my lady. The story of seventy ravens, carrying seventy curses to harbor the demise of seventy families. This place too, must have at some point had one family. A family that found a single black feather at their doorstep. A door that led to their deaths. My family wasn’t killed by the curse, they killed themselves instead. If I had traveled back to the glen I would not have to kill myself either, for the settlers would. I would have ended up dead either way, and so I attempted to stay hidden. I build myself a settlement near the tree I had first found the feathers, and with the wood it provided I created a small raft.
For twenty years I have lived as the boatman of the mirroring lake, and there was never a third feather to be found. Yet, I have been cursed either way.”
Gwen Casto had heard of the dark boatman of the mirroring lake east of the mountains. The boatman who never showed his face to any woman to cross his path. He carried only people to the other side, never anything else, and was only ever seen during the warm months when the lake could not be crossed by foot.
“You are the dark boatman of the mirroring lake, then, Elliot Hayes of the Cursed family.” She concluded with a small smile. “I have had you carry me to the other side of the lake once.”
- “You are correct, my lady.” Still, his answers evaded his eye.
“And what of your eye, then, boatman?”
- “I have kept it safe, my lady.”
“Safe from what?”
and Elliot Hayes smiled, his teeth white in his chocolate face, head lifted high to face the priestess. “I will keep this eye from killing every woman but the Ravenbound Queen of this Province, who took the lives of my father and brother.”
It seemed like a promise the boatman would keep.
YO, Rayven here. I hope you enjoyed my first short for The Black Pudding Tutorial!
Please tell me what you think of it in the comments section!
Please tell me what you think of it in the comments section!