A Friendship Forged - Or Carved
… Carved from palistrom wood, the palisman is a tradition unique to the Boiling Isles that has resisted all efforts to spread to other parts of the demon realm. Those who have migrated to other continents of partial-titans and have taken their palismen with them have reportedly never passed them down, their palismen choosing to pass on with them and in death rejoin our own Titan.
The art of carving palismen predates written record on the Boiling Isles, with some historians suggesting its age ranging from simply long before to being one of the earliest magical traditions of all. Given the lack of hard written evidence, the true origins of the art are likely lost forever, as Oracle magic has been remarkably ineffective in divining these particular origins.
However, stories and songs that have lasted and been recorded offer some ideas.
Some tales have claimed that the first palisman was a gift from the Titan. These stories vary on whether it was a renowned hero given the strength to overcome a great tyrant or a gentle soul who was given a friend. A few believe these stories are one in the same, fragments of the same story.
Others claim that any number of their own ancestors originated the carving of palismen, though these are generally disregarded as fanciful at best by the wider academic community.
The most popular, especially among modern palisman carvers, is the story of Ash the Elder. The story goes that Ash, a simple woodcarver, picked up a fallen log of palistrom wood — at the time all but forbidden to carve due to its incredible innate magic that was considered sacred and also potentially dangerous to carve — to make a gift for his wife Elma.
What he carved varies from telling to telling, ranging from a direwolf to a dragon, from an alicorn to a dove, the woodcarver presented the statue to his wife. Joyful at the gift she kissed him and reaffirmed that she wanted them to grow old and happy together. This wish was strong enough to awaken the first palisman, who bonded with the woman and explained what it was and how it had come to be.
Ash and Elma worked together to carve a second palisman for the man himself, and they began the tradition of carving palismen for others from their own home, a labor of family and love that would grow with their few hand-chosen apprentices.
Though the tale shows clear signs of romanticization, it is clear from its age that the story resonates with-
Jasper closed the book he was reading, A History on Palismen, and looked around at the group of assembled Hexside students ready for yet another Palisman Adoption Day before the great hollow nest that housed the volunteer palismen. Spirits were high, of course, as everyone was eager to bond with a lifelong companion. Jasper stood at the back of the crowd, carefully quiet and letting others for groups to chat. Though he had gotten much better in recent weeks of attending Hexside, he still was far from a sociable person.
Finally, Principal Bump and Eda the Owl Lady stepped forward with their now traditional speech and introduced the Bat Queen to begin the main event. Jasper watched carefully as the other students stepped forward and presented their deepest wishes, from a large boy with glasses in the Oracle track who bonded with an elephant over the desire to record and remember peoples' stories to a Miladon demon in the Plant track who wished to save endangered plants was chosen by a toad.
One by one the students were chosen until only Jasper was left. He thought ruefully to a few stories he had asked for about the ceremony and how Mattholomule had done just the same.
Jasper stepped forward, eyes flicking between Bump and Eda before resting on the Bat Queen. The massive demoness watched him impassively, though there seemed to be a glimmer of intrigue in her tilted eyes. He stopped before the pen that held the palismen, all of them gazing up at him, and announced his wish.
"I want to carve my own path," Jasper said. "My life has been short and confusing, with others hoping me to become a shadow of another, and I want more than anything to make it my own."
There was still silence for a few long moments … and nothing else happened.
"Are you certain that is what you want?" Bump asked, concern in his one open eye as Frewin watched curiously from atop Bump's staff.
"It's all I can think about," Jasper said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.
"I am afraid none here relate to such a thing," the Bat Queen said, her voice with its strange accent heavy with neutrality that did not quite mask the compassion, rather than scorn. "The next moon will bring another chance with another brood, if you wish to try your hand again."
"Thanks," Jasper said, nodding to the Bat Queen and turning away. He ignored how the other students were whispering to each other, his ears burning with humiliation.
"You okay, kid?" Eda asked from behind him.
"What do you think, Owl Lady?" Jasper asked, no longer hiding his feelings, before he walked stiffly away, gloved hands in his pockets … with no staff to occupy one of them.
As always, it seemed that word spread around the school with unbelievable speed. Wherever he went, he could feel the bitter sting of pity in the looks sent his way as students and even staff whispered. On occasion, he lifted his gaze from the ground to meet someone else's, and they quickly looked away and pretended they were busy with something.
The ceremony had been during the first class of the day, so Jasper made his way to his locker to gather his equipment for his second Potions class and then toward the alchemical lab. As always, he made it with time to spare, dropping his things at his seat and burying his head in his arms to wait for Mrs. Flint to start the class.
"Heard you struck out."
Jasper groaned at the predictably brusque comment and shifted his face to look up at Boscha, who was looking back at him with a neutral look. She blinked all three eyes and shrugged. "Ah, what do they know?" She settled next to him and began organizing her own equipment. "It's their loss."
Jasper lifted his head and bit and snorted at Boscha's attempt to be supportive, though he did appreciate the effort. He organized his things and prepared for class, too, deciding to treat this as a normal, not-terribly-disappointing day.
He also kept a careful eye off of Maya and her attempts to urge Boscha to play during class, bitterness ready to rise and kept down by sheer force of will.
As he'd hoped, the day had not been terribly disappointing after the ceremony. Boscha had done her best to glare off everyone who was whispering about him, while Amerlia and Cat had offered more silent support in warding off classmates who might try to offer verbal pity.
Even Hunter and Willow showed respect by silently pocketing their palismen when he walked in the door. Willow, as usual, brought an irrational blush to his cheeks and a lurch in his stomach as she smiled kindly at him. Damn his resonance with Hunter — did the guy have to be so freaking enamored that it bled so heavily into Jasper?! As for Hunter, he kept a level, thoughtful gaze on Jasper all through their classes together.
When classes let out, Jasper found out why Hunter had been looking at him.
"Jasper, you got a minute?"
"Make it quick, Wittebane," Jasper said moodily, continuing to walk.
"I'll cut to the case, then," Hunter said mildly as he easily kept pace. "I've heard about what happened this morning-" He held up a hand as Jasper prepared to spit something back, "-and I have an idea or two for a solution." That shut Jasper up long enough for Hunter to summon his staff. "Come on. There's someone way better to discuss this with than me." He mounted the staff as they left the school and gestured for Jasper to do the same. Jasper groaned … and mounted behind Hunter, his stomach turning as they kicked off and flew toward Bonesborough.
Rather than fly into the heart of the city as expected, Hunter veered and skirted the city to head deeper into the forests. Jasper looked around below them in confusion, hoping for landmarks to show where they were going, but found none. However, Hunter seemed perfectly relaxed, and Jasper got the feeling he had flown this way many times before.
Soon they began their descent into a clearing on a low hill between Bonesborough and the distant Ribs. A homey cabin was built upon the hill, old but well cared for. Hunter landed and his staff vanished into Lil Rascal, who tweeted and perched on Hunter's shoulder. Hunter himself gestured for Jasper to follow, taking point and leading them around to the back of the cabin.
They found a large, open shed acting as a wood carving workshop, and sitting on a bench was an old man with wild grey hair that brought the Owl Lady to mind, a nose even more hooked than Jasper's or Hunter's, and scars so extensive that they put Hunter's to shame. The old man was humming as he pruned a small, blue sapling in a pot. Was that a palistrom tree? Finally, a small yellow bird palisman with a scar across his beak and bushy eyebrows seemed to glower without malice sat perched on the man's shoulder.
"Hello, Hunter," the old man said without looking at them, his voice aged but warm and welcoming. He put down the pot and pruning shears he held, removing an eyeglass from his eye and turning to face them, his visible eye brightening at the sight of both of them. "Ah, and is this who I think he is?"
"Hi, Dell," Hunter greeted warmly, stepping to the side to gesture at Jasper. "Dell, this is Jasper. Jasper," he gestured at the old man, "this is Dell Clawthorne. Eda's father and my mentor in palisman carving."
"Uh, hello," Jasper said awkwardly with a small wave. "It's- erm. It's nice to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, as well," Dell said kindly, taking up a cane and leaning against it with both hands. "Hunter's told me a bit about you. It's nice to finally put a face to a name."
Jasper was saved from trying to respond by another voice coming from the cabin. Out the back door came a stout woman and a purple, fur-lined dress who also strongly favored the Owl Lady, though her eyes were more like Lilith's, and was carrying a tray of several tall glasses of slimeade, while a very large palisman styled after a hawk rode on her shoulder, too.
"Hello, Hunter dear," the woman said warmly, and more exuberantly than her presumed husband. She placed the tray upon Dell's work table and offered one to him, which he took gratefully, brushing his fingers along hers with a smile heavy with meaning. The woman chuckled and handed Hunter and Jasper drinks, too.
"You must be the famous Jasper Bloodwilliams," the woman said appraisingly.
"Apparently so," Jasper commented blandly.
"I'm Gwendolyn Clawthorne," the woman said, offering her hand to trade grips, which Jasper took up in place of verbal comment. He grunted at Gwendolyn's grip, surprised by her strength, and had to shake out his hand a few times when she let him go, much to her apparent amusement. "Just call me Gwen," she added cheekily.
"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of this introduction?" Dell asked, making his way around his work table to join the group.
Jasper felt shame congeal in his belly, somehow also gluing his mouth shut.
"Today was Jasper's Palisman Adoption Day," Hunter explained candidly.
"Ah, I see," Dell said, clearly understanding the situation. "So, Jasper, are you interested in carving a palisman of your own?"
Jasper stepped back in shock at the words. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind, even though hindsight spelled out that it was the only reason Hunter would have brought him to a renowned palisman carver. "Well- Um, I-" He rubbed the back of his head in sudden nerves. "Maybe?" he settled on.
"Well, let's see what we can do," Dell said with another small, amused smile. He tromped with his cane to a locked strongbox that he opened with a traced spell circle, the ratcheting sounds of numerous locks and bolts unfastening for nearly a minute before the door swung open to reveal a few sizable pieces of palistrom wood. He removed one and slammed the strongbox closed again, then placed the wood on his work table and reached down to retrieve a set of woodcarving knives.
"Hunter? Would you mind guiding him?" Dell asked. He traced a spell that brought several hand carved stools zooming from the workshop to scoop all of them up and settle them in a square. "I hope that's alright, Jasper."
"Ugh," Jasper grunted, settling his stomach. "Sure, I guess?"
Hunter handed the piece of wood to Jasper before taking up the knives and selecting one that he also handed handle-first to Jasper. "Do you have any idea what form you would like to carve?" he asked.
"Erm, uh-" Jasper babbled, blush rising. "I-I dunno."
"That's fine," Hunter said calmly, offering a reassuring smile. "I find that a free mind makes a better carving, anyway. It lets you free the palisman from their surroundings." He took Jasper's hands and positioned them and the knife above the pale-blue wood. "Whenever you're ready," he said.
Jasper nodded jerkily and swallowed down his nerves. He slowly brought the knife down … and for an instant he saw the visage of a cracking palisman. Jasper lifted the edge before it had even touched the wood, suddenly breathing heavily.
"Jasper?" Dell asked, eyes wide with concern. "Everything alright?"
"Fine," Jasper said, the word strangled to almost a squeak. "Everything's fine." He took a deep breath and tried again … and he saw Belos's gauntlet crushing a palisman, glowing green magical essence pouring between his fingers as he breathed in the sheer power of a soul. Jasper yelped and dropped the wood and the knife, scooting backward as more and more images flashed through his mind.
His mind's eye was bombarded with images of palismen being murdered and fed upon for their essence, as Belos's condition had worsened so quickly in the weeks leading up to the Day of Unity.
And given that his teeth were not tingling, this was not from Hunter. These were all his memories.
"Jasper?" Gwendolyn prompted, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I can't," Jasper said, his voice tight. "I helped kill so many, I- I can't just make one."
"That's why I want to become a carver," Hunter said. "To help pay back what I helped destroy."
"I'm not you!" Jasper shouted, fury rising as he surged to his feet. "Can't you get that through your head?!" Everyone looked at him with shock, and Jasper's sudden anger evaporated to be replaced by horror and shame. "I-" He took a step backward, stumbling over his stool. "I'm sorry, I-"
"Young man-" Dell tried, reaching out to him, but Jasper turned and bolted into the forest.
"Jasper!" Hunter called, but he ignored the sound. Jasper just kept running, pulse pounding and lungs heaving as he bobbed and wove between trees and over roots. He ran into a few trees, but pushed off and kept running until the burning in his legs was too great and he stumbled to the ground, rolling a few times until he settled to a halt, gasping for breath and covered in leaves and twigs.
As he rolled over onto his hands and knees to suck in rattling, calming breaths, his instincts whispered that he was not alone. He blinked and looked up a bit to see a shadow circling around him. He blinked again and looked up just in time to see a small vulture land beside him with a raspy hiss, its head cocked.
"Whoa, hey!" Jasper shrieked, or would have if his voice hadn't broken and sent him into a quick coughing fit. "I'm not dead!" rasped, much like the vulture had.
The vulture just looked at him with something like patience, and it was at that moment that Jasper realized that this bird was far too small to be a real vulture, somewhere between a normal palisman and Hawkley. Plus, he noticed cracks along its bald head and some of its feathers were splintered, like wood. The vulture lifted its foot to reveal an interlock, confirming his suspicions.
"You're a palisman," Jasper sighed, his voice still rough but getting better. The vulture lowered its foot and nodded with another rasp.
"One of the Bat Queen's?" Jasper asked. Another nod. Jasper rolled his eyes and fell back onto his haunches with a sigh. "Then you'd better get back."
The vulture palisman did no such thing. It — she, he thought for some reason — just continued to stare at him. She rasped again and skulked forward, the only term he could think of for her hunched body stepping closer.
"What do you want?" he asked suspiciously. She rasped at him. "You want to know why I'm here, or what?"
No rasp. Just wide, black eyes that seemed to stare into his galdorstone heart.
"I ran from a palisman carver, okay," he said moodily. He wasn't sure why he was talking to this random palisman. Maybe because it was probably smart enough to understand but could not give judgemental replies. "Today was a chance to adopt a palisman from the Bat Queen," he continued. "I'm sure you know about that." The vulture nodded in reply.
"Well, no one matched with me," he said, pulling his legs up to rest his chin on his knees. "Big surprise. The grimwalker, a freak made from death, didn't get picked." He snorted derisively. "I wouldn't want to be my palisman, either."
The vulture rasped and skulked closer, head tilted almost ninety degrees.
"You know what the worst part is?" Jasper asked. "I really don't know what to ask for as my 'greatest wish,' or whatever." He sunk into his folded arms. "I mean, do I want to strike out on my own and prove I'm my own person? Yeah, I do! That should be what I want most, right?" He scoffed. "But that's the biggest problem. What I should want. Belos had a plan for me. A crazy, twisted plan. And now I'm scared I don't know how to be my own person, no matter who helps." He grit his teeth.
"Not that anyone just wants to help," he said bitterly. "Everyone's got an ulterior motive. Boscha wants another crony, or likes me, or whatever." He sighed at the strong and somewhat mixed feelings he felt for the queen bee of Hexside. "Cat and Amelia feel sorry for me and are following Boscha's lead. The van Aken's are keeping me for Boscha, not for me. Even Hunter's probably just keeping an eye on his clone in case I go nuts or something."
He felt his eyes burn as an epiphany hit him. "And I'm jealous about Hunter's palisman. Not just that he has one, but that he has a companion who cares so much for him. That doesn't care about the terrible things he's done or how screwed up he is." Jasper huffed a breath and brushed his eyes.
"That's what I want, I think. A true friend who cares for me … for me."
The vulture rasped, drawing his haggard gaze. She locked her eyes to his … and then flapped into the air to form a staff. Jasper gasped and lunged to catch her, fumbling a bit before settling.
"…What?" he asked in shock.
"How very interesting," came an aged voice. Jasper looked up to find Dell, Hunter, and Gwen all watching from their suspended staffs with mixtures of surprise and pride.
"I think this calls for a visit to an old friend," Dell said sagely.
"How very interesting," the Bat Queen mused from her perch, a coincidental echo of Dell mere minutes before.
Dell and Gwen, who had apparently witnessed all of the major events of the bonding, told the tale while Hunter corroborated and Jasper simply stood back and held his new staff.
His new staff.
"Little Walker," the Bat Queen saud, "step forth." Jasper swallowed and did just that, his grip on the staff growing tighter. What if the Bat Queen disapproved? What if she tried to take it away? Would this palisman remain loyal to her protector over him? As he slowly drew close to the Bat Queen, the staff vanished and the vulture flapped and settled on his shoulder to begin preening his hair with those rasps of hers.
It felt … like a doting mother.
"Have you heard her voice, boy?" the Bat Queen asked.
"Not yet," Jasper admitted with a wince.
"Do not fret over such a thing," the Bat Queen replied. "Such a thing can take time. Especially," she lifted an eyebrow with a sardonic air, "for those with poor ways of showing emotions." Jasper blushed, but his palisman rasped and rested her head upon his, the motion calming.
"Your new palisman is named Liza," the Bat Queen said. "She has most tragic tale. I am truly surprised that she took up a new charge." She smiled a little. "Surprised, but not badly so. Care for her, and she will protect you will all that she is."
"Th-thank you, Bat Queen," Jasper said, bowing at the waist as he would have for Belos before the Day of Unity.
"Go then," she said. "All of you. It is time for babies' bath."
"That's our cue," Dell said quickly, his palisman expanding into a staff to sweep him away, followed quickly by Hawksely and Lil Rascal doing the same for Gwen and Hunter. Even Liza did so, scooping up Jasper and rocketing away as his shout of surprise was left behind.
As he settled on his staff, quickly adjusting, he looked over at the easy rides that Hunter, Dell, and Gwen were having. They all seemed so comfortable on their staffs. With their palismen. Could he and Liza ever have that, when he wasn't a witch or biped demon, or even a human?
'Do not fear, little one,' Jasper heard in a soothing, motherly voice as Liza rasped again, and a gentle wave of comfort settled over him. 'You will be safe with me.'
"Thank you," Jasper said, tears threatening to fall.
He'd talk with Dell and Hunter about caring for a palisman … then probably return to the manor and show off to Boscha and Maya.
chapter 14, another Jasper chapter. I never expected to get so much mileage out of my OC grimwalker, but he has a lot of possibilities to explore. Weird, huh?
If you have read "Ash & Ebony" and have an idea for a sideplot to be explored, let me know in a comment.
*The origin of palismen is something that has prodded my mind a few times over the years and I was happy to build upon that a bit. I was briefly tempted to have the legendary originator be related to the Clawthornes, but decided that was too fanciful. The idea of the person predating surnames comes from the history of the Potter family in the "Harry Potter" franchise - it's really a fascinating idea.
*Ash the Elder is something of a double-pun. Ash is not only the result of burning wood, but a type of tree that is prized for carving and, in Norse myth, the species of Yggdrasil the World Tree. Elder is both a botanical name and an indicator of respect. Elma is named after Embla, a word that either means elm wood or vine, the first woman in Norse myth whose husband was Askr, the Old Norse word for ash wood.
*Dell's strongbox is keyed to his own magic. If anyone else tried to open the strongbox it wouldn't do anything.
*Yes, Jasper's "I wouldn't want to be my palisman either," was a callback to Luz in "Hunting Palismen." It remains my second favorite episode behind "Any Sport In A Storm."
*Liza is named after Elizabeth from the novel "Frankenstein" - a reference to Jasper being a grimwalker, in which I have always found parallels to Frankenstein's monster. The palisman was originally going to be a male named Victor, as in the main character of the novel, but the Ancient Egyptians tied the vulture - whom they believed to all be female and to lay eggs independently, making life from the "death" they ate - to the idea of motherhood. This led to Liza being a maternal and protective palisman, like Jasper needs.
*Liza's voice, to me, is Cat Bauer, in the style of Perdita of "101 Dalmatians."
As always, I hope it was a fun read! Leave a review if you like! And may your own works be fun to read and to write!