Ruswelsky

Ruswelsky is a legendary hero in Shedzomandalian folk tales. Several manuscripts exist from different sources documenting the these stories. Ruswelsky is much like Hercules or Gilgamesh, or other heroes from before Classical Antiquity. He is not quite a deity, but at the same time he exhibits certain superhuman characteristics.

Ruswelsky is also known as MAKU.LEN in the Shedzarian narratives, as well as Cortenuonsky Dulsky in one version of the shooting star story. However, the latter is likely meant as an assumed name.

Early Life

As a child, Ruswelsky has a dream foretelling his death. In it, he is an old man waiting to board a ship in a distant harbor and is killed by an arrow. The village elders realize that such a dream could only be fulfilled as the end of a warrior's life. They send Ruswelsky to the castle of the their Shedzarian lord as part of their scutage payment.

Ruswelsky becomes one of his lord's finest soldiers, and is subsequently betrothed to the daughter of an ally. He is sent to the ally's tower only to find it captured, apparently by wizards. He is able to sneak into the tower, with help from his friend Wensolsky, or AL.PAL. According to the Shedzarian source, AL.PAL is able to send for some of their cohort, who are slaughtered by the wizards. (The Mandalian sources do not record this.) Wensolsky figures out that these apparent wizards are just very clever thieves who wish to steal the tower treasury, and is able to trick the leader GURU.BA (left untranslated in Chezian and Mandalian) into falling off of the top of the tower, but only after GURU.BA realizes which hostage is Ruswelsky's fiancee. Soon after, they are married.

Ruswelsky is recalled by his lord, who has captured many hostages after that year's campaign, and needs his trusted servant to help guard them. Ruswelsky returns by land, due to his understandable fear of ships. Once the situation is under control, he sends for his new wife, who is to come by sea. On the day of her arrival, Ruswelsky travels to the port, which has been captured by some of the hostages and their turncoat keepers. The port has a dangerous current and ships may only enter based on the signals of the harbormaster; the rebels send false signals to one ship, which is dashed on the rocks.

Ruswelsky suddenly realizes that his knowledge of his own fate is not a curse, but rather an asset. Knowing that as he is still a young man, he cannot be killed in this harbor, and is able to elude and dispatch the rebels while guiding in the ship carrying his wife.

Other Stories

Ssubsequent narratives have Ruswelsky alone and dejected, often in large cities, where he has lost his soldier's commission.

Son of GURU.BA

In one story, a drunken Ruswelsky is coerced by the city tribune into solving the riddles of a wizard in order to prevent parts of the city from being destroyed by fire. [The Shedzarian source may contain an early reference to gunpowder.] Ruswelsky again realizes that this is no wizard, and that his assailant is using these riddles to distract both him and the authorities from the real objective: stealing all the money in the city's treasury. Ruswelsky is immediately reminded of his past adventure against GURU.BA, and later finds out that he is up against the son of GURU.BA, who wants revenge against Ruswelsky.

Shooting Star Story

Unlike the other Ruswelsky stories, which only involve magic which is later shown to be trickery, the shooting star story is much more supernatural. The Mandalian, or early Chezian, narrative as transcribed by Anacorsky Omersky is much different and longer than surviving Shedzarian narratives. Unusually, it is Omersky's version which is more magical and attributes the shooting star to "an evil spirit" or "the spirit of evil", while the Shedzarian story is more naturalistic. Because of this, it is difficult for modern scholars to discern which is closer to the original version.

Both stories start out with the same opening plot devices as the standalone Ruswelsky narratives. He is alone, living a meager life as something other than his martial calling, when the court astrologers realize there is a shooting star falling towards the ground, but it is not ablaze. Without the flame, the astrologers believe that it will not float across the sky, the other shooting stars and embers above a flame do. Also, they fear that without burning up, the whole star will land on the city, instead of a few specks of [star coal] (meteoric iron).

Short Version

Ruswelsky is working as a miner, and is recruited directly by the astrologers to go to the shooting star in a specially-blessed ship. At twilight, the ship is able to sail into the horizon and the stars, eventually running aground on the unlit shooting star. Ruswelsky and his fellow miners dig a mineshaft to the center of the star, where Ruswelsky must light the whole shooting star on fire. He does not appear to escape. Later, after his crew returns to port, and a funeral ship is lit in the harbor, Ruswelsky washes up on shore, dazed, and unwilling to recount how he returned. The ruler realizes Ruswelsky is no longer young and in good health, and, to ensure the prophecy is not fulfilled, has Ruswelsky quickly removed from the harbor to his palace.