The Lore of the Land (3 of 3)

When I presented my last couple of blog writings to Darcy Fielding for publication, he literally giggled.

"What's funny, Darcy? Share the joke."

He struggled to straighten his face. "You. I never thought you'd become an investigative reporter. I must be a bad influence upon you. And look at your face!"

"What?" I regarded his amused visage and realised he was right; I was frowning. "Oh, alright. I was curious about the Treefellows and I suppose I felt I was in danger of being manipulated."

"So you did something about it. I'm proud of you, old friend."

He continued to type in my words into his computer thing, talking as he did so.

"It was interesting that Mulder Honey-Fox came up in your chat with Newton. Have you met him?"

"A little small talk at one of Frasier's barbecues. Not a proper conversation. Why?"

"Because I think your investigations are worth taking further. Find out about owls' part in the origins of Sylvania. What Newton called the lore of the land. I'm interested and I'd be happy to come with you to see Mulder. We had a good chat a few months ago and I get the impression he likes to talk about his work."

 

And so arrangements were made to call on him early that evening. 

o 0 O 0 o

"The owls?" said Mulder as we settled in his unusual office. "Yes, all records I've seen suggest they were amongst the first settlers, dedicated to establishing Sylvanian codes of conduct. I can't say they were the very first settlers but they are mentioned amongst a few others."

 

"What others would there be?" asked Darcy.

"From memory, there were a couple of rabbit families - Wildwoods and Babblebrooks, I think. Some ancestors of the Evergreen and Timbertop bears, Thistlethorn mice... I'd have to check my files for a longer list."

He seemed confident and I wondered how that came to be. "How do you know this?"

 

"Ancient writings from different sources independently mention them."

"What do we know about the other families?" said Darcy, to the point as usual.

"They will have arrived later. I get the impression these initial families were the Sylvanian pioneers."

"That poses a couple of questions," said Darcy, "namely, how did the pioneers and their successors get here, and how did they know to come here?"

Mulder looked at us both. "How much do you know about the creation of Sylvania? What lies deep below us, the mysterious energies?"

I had to drag the words out of me. "Speed tunnels?"

Mulder nodded. "Okay. You're not completely in the dark. There are things most Sylvanians don't know, don't wish to know and are happy with that. If you are aware of the tunnels linking all the mountains of Sylvania, that they have unusual properties, then it will be easier to describe the best theory we have about the origins of our land. How it came to be populated with critters with the desire to love and respect both nature and each other."

 

"The lore of the land?" prompted Darcy.

"In a sense," said Mulder. "Remember that it is but a theory - the best guess we have combining archaeology, geology and common elements of the many ancient creation myths Sylvanian critters have invented to explain our world."

"Understood," I said. Darcy nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Here goes."

o 0 O 0 o

There is a large world out there. Much larger than Sylvania. Humans tend to dominate the land masses but there are a host of other creatures. That includes rabbits, mice, foxes but not like us. Similarly, there are bears, cats, dogs and representations of every other critter in our land. The theory is that we developed from some of these creatures and ended up here.

Before you ask how that happened, I need to propose a popular theory on how Sylvania was created. It fits in with many of the creation myths, including that of your Snow Queen. Try and visualise this analogy.

A sandy beach represents the larger world. A crab - representing the Sylvanian mainland and all outlying isles - thrusts its arms into the dense sand. It takes a lot of power but the claws dig deep and grasp beneath the surface to maintain a hold. The sand is compressed.

Now compare that to Sylvania being grafted onto the larger world. Wild energies provide the power, and deep beneath the ground distances are compressed, creating subterranean cracks. These are the speed tunnels, as you call them. You can think of the crab arms equating to mountains.

If you ask how or why this happened, we don't really know. That's why we usually resort to creation myths - an attempt to explain the inexplicable. The Snow Queen is a good example. She became aware of the planet the humans call Earth. Your legends say this was via a chance encounter with a particular human, close to death, and she became curious about the world from which he came. She discovered that the world was rich with life and began to learn about the inhabitants. 

The Snow Queen particularly empathised with a host of critters who had a heartfelt need for a happy life but had no means to fulfil that need. She realised she could create a land for them, provide a means for them to reach the land and become transformed into a Sylvanians, versions of themselves but more prone to form a harmonious community. The problem was that it would take more than she could physically provide - unless she sacrificed herself in the process. Which she did.

 

She found a blighted area of land in the human world and melted herself to create the substance of Sylvania that grafted upon it. We don't know if Sylvania is now physically part of planet Earth or that passages connect the two worlds. I understand that some speed tunnels emerge into the human world.

o 0 O 0 o

Mulder paused from his monologue. "Does that sound reasonable?"

 

"I suppose so," I said.

"The Snow Queen part is more or less what we were taught," said Darcy, "but our lessons never adequately explained how the critters came here."

The side of Mulder's mouth twitched. "I haven't got to that part yet."

o 0 O 0 o

When I speak of wild energy, that isn't a casual description. However Sylvania was created, a portion of that energy remains and its effect shows itself in different ways. For example, it has caused geological changes that made chocolate grow in a cave - the chocolate mine, as we call it. Another rare but likely effect is that gateways to other realms can be created - one reason why there are guardians in the speed tunnels. 

There is also the belief that it is the catalyst that transforms animals into Sylvanians. There are views that this process must be controlled, and there are indications that this is done by a group of individuals commonly referred to as the Sylvanian Order.  I suspect that they live on one of the outlying islands but no one knows where. They supposedly bring newcomers to Sylvania. 

 

Logically, they must be the oldest inhabitants of Sylvania, predating the owls or the other pioneer settlers. Their origins are the real mystery. If you subscribe to the belief in the Snow Queen, maybe they are her final legacy - providing a way for Sylvania to be populated.

o 0 O 0 o

After we left Mulder Honey-Fox, walking along a sparkfly-lit alleyway, Darcy was pensive. "Not suitable material for the Mellowdene Examiner as I'd hoped. But interesting."

I agreed. "The owls were there at the beginning, which is good to confirm. I was surprised about the other pioneer families though. Do you think they had specific tasks like the Treefellows?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. The fact that owls fly gives them a unique perspective on the land."

 

"I suppose so." We walked in silence a while until I had a thought. "Hey, what about the Sylvanian Order?"

Darcy stopped, looked thoughtful, and then smiled.

"I'll have a pizza."

Trust Darcy.

o 0 O 0 o