Tale 118: The Seven Brothers (Ash)


"Far, far away, in a land far from here, and in a time far from now, there stood a splendid city where there lived a king who was as good as he was rich and handsome--we'll call him Justin." Ash begins. "His great army was made up of thousands of men and women ready to obey his slightest wish; he owned so many cities, it was near impossible to count them all, and in each city he had ten palaces with silver doors, golden roofs, and crystal windows. His council consisted of the four wisest men and women in the country,  each of whom was as learned as a whole college, and then some. This council always told King Justin the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"What were the names of this esteemed council?" Melody asks

"I'm getting to that." Ash assures Melody. "Now, King Justin had everything to make him happy, but the one thing he desired more than anything was a bride as pure in heart as she was beautiful."

"In other words, a princess." Brock smiles. Happini cheers at the mention of a princess.

Ash just grins at Happini. "One day, as King Justin sat in his palace looking out to sea, a great ship sailed into the harbor and several merchants came on shore. So he decided to ask them if they had seen any princess who is as clever and beautiful as he was. "So he ordered the merchants to be brought before him, and when they came, he said...

"You have travelled much and visited many wonders." Brock fills in King Justin's dialogue. "I wish to ask you a question, and I beg you to answer truthfully. Have you anywhere seen or heard of the daughter of an emperor, king, or a prince, who is as clever and as beautiful as I am, and who would be worthy to be my wife and the queen of my country?"

"The merchants speculated and debated for some time on the king's question." Ash continues. "At last the first merchant said that across many seas, in what is now Sunburst Island, there was a mighty king, whose daughter, the Princess Alani, was as lovely, if not moreso than King Justin, and so clever that the wisest sage couldn't guess her riddles."

"And then?" Misty sighs dreamily as she pictures Ash as King Justin and herself as Princess Alani.

"When asked how far the island was, the merchant said the journey would take ten years at least, and no one knew the way." Ash explains. "If he were to send someone, the whole trip would take twenty years at least."

"That's long enough to take multiple walking tours of every region we've been to and still have time left over..."  Brock muses

"King Justin thought long and hard about this after the merchants left." Ash continues. "Finally, he decided to head for the royal hunting grounds to calm his nerves--for a good hunt always cleared his mind when he had a vexing problem. So after assembling his hunting party, they all departed to the royal hunting grounds. On the way, they came to a green hedge. On the other side of the hedge stretched a great field of Cornn Berries as far as the eye could see."

"Pika?" Pikachu asks, at the same time licking his lips at the thought of fresh Cornn on the cob.

"King Justin looked around the field for a moment, curious as to who owned it." Ash continues. "So some servants hurried off to find out, and found a nice, tidy farmhouse at the end of the path, in front of which sat seven brothers, having lunch after a long day in the field. They wore shirts in every color of the rainbow bound with gold trim, and were so much alike that one could hardly tell one from another, except for the color of shirt they wore."

"Pini..." Happini contemplates what the brothers would be named.

The messengers asked who owned the Cornn field, and the seven brothers answered that it was theirs." Ash goes on. "When asked who they were, they replied that they were loyal subjects of King Justin. When brought before King Justin, the eldest brother reiterated that they were his humble servants, and all alike, save for the shirt he wore."

[What else did he tell the king?] Korra asks, curious.

"He went on to tell the king that their father taught them to be true to the king, to till the ground, and to be kind to all they met." Ash replied. "He had also taught each of them a different trade or skill which he thought might be useful to them, and it was these they were named for. But they were farmers first and foremost.

"Hm..." Misty contemplates what the brothers are named.

"King Justin was pleased with the eldest brother, and asked them their trades and their names." Ash goes on. The eldest, who wore red, was named Evan, as he was skilled in stoneworking. Next came Keane, who could see anything no matter how high or how far away it was. Then came Kenji, who had the gift of speed--both in running and in building ships and carriages. Then came Dolan, who had the gift of stealth. Avery was very skilled in archery, Hunter could find anything, no matter how well hidden it was. But it was Kai, who wore purple, who had the riskiest gift--he could pick any lock and steal things all without the guard having any clue he had been there."

"Pika!" Pikachu is impressed at the different powers.

"How did King Justin react to Kai being a thief?" Misty wonders.

"Despite Kai's assurances that he only stole from those with ill-gotten gains, King Justin ordered Kai thrown in the dungeon." Ash replies. "So while Kai rotted in the dungeon, the others were put to work--Evan built and repaired many stone walls, and Keane gave the king a report every morning about all he had seen. Kenji built a fleet of the fastest ships anyone had seen, and Dolan cloaked them all in a magical veil so they wouldn't be stolen. Avery made bows and arrows for the guard, and Hunter served as a scout for the king's hunting expeditions and on rescue missions."

[Surely little Kai will have a chance to prove his worth...] Mai is worried for the youngest brother.

"One day, the brothers were summoned to the throne room, where King Justin asked Keane to see what was happening on the island where Princess Alani lived." Ash continues. "After looking out across the sea for a moment, Keane reported that the island king was a mighty monarch, but full of pride, harsh and cruel. He would sit on his throne and declare that no prince or king on earth was good enough for Princess Alani, and if anyone asked for her hand, he would declare war against him and destroy his kingdom."

Everyone gasps, stunned at the turn of events. "King Justin was understandably worried, and pressed Keane to tell him more." Ash assures his audience. "Keane went on to tell the king that it would take at least ten years--maybe a little less in favorable weather--to get there. He had seen the army being reviewed, and it had a hundred thousand foot soldiers and a hundred thousand cavalry. On top of that, he had a strong personal corps of bodyguards and a good many archers, making for another hundred thousand people, plus some heroes on standby for great occasions requiring particular courage."

"So roughly 350,000 people all told?" Misty calculates the math in her head.

"That sounds about right..." Brock replies.

"King Justin thought long and hard about what Keane had said--he really wanted to marry Princess Alani, but how he going to do it?" Ash asks his audience.

"I have no idea..." Melody sighs.

"No clue here." Brock agrees.

"I don't know, you tell me, Mr. Storyteller." Misty is just as frustrated.

After waiting a few beats, Ash continues "finally, Kenji suggested Justin take one of his fast ships, where he would arrive on the island in a week. So King Justin called together his council and asked them what to do when he got there. Yet the council, with all their combined wisdom, had no idea what to do."

"Pini?" Happini asks.

"Just then, the court jester suggested to let Kai steal Alani and bring her to Justin." Ash replies. "King Justin ordered Kai set free, and when Kai arrived in the throne room, King Justin spelled out what he wanted done--if he could steal Princess Alani and bring her to him, he would believe his claim he only stole for the benefit of others, and not for his own gain. Kai agreed, and bade his brothers prepare one of Kenji's ships with rare and exotic goods, and sailed off under the guise of merchants. The guards bought their ruse, and even Princess Alani wished to admire the many rare and exotic wares."  

"So did her dad say okay?" Melody asks.

"Alani's father also bought Kai's ruse, and sent 100 archers, 100 knights, and 1,000 soldiers as an escort." Ash assures the audience. "As Princess Alani came aboard their ship and admired the fine wares, Kai told her all kinds of stories about his homeland. Princess Alani was so engrossed in listening to them, she had no clue Dolan had cloaked the ship, and they were sailing back to the brothers' homeland without her escort having a clue Alani was gone."

"What did she do when she found out where was when the ship was un-stealthed?" Brock wonders.

"Now, Princess Alani was well versed in magic, and could transform herself into any Pokemon she wanted by simply singing a song, to name one spellsong she knew." Ash continues. "When she saw she was out in the middle of nowhere, she sang..."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Melody fills in the spellsong.

"and transformed into a gold Pidgeot." Ash narrates. "But Avery seized his bow and shot the Pidgeot in the wing..." He pantomimes shooting a bow to emphasize his point. "and Hunter caught it in a bag. But then he heard..."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Melody fills in the spellsong.

"..and the Pidgeot turned into a shining Goldeen, but Hunter caught the Goldeen too." Ash explains. "But before he could put it back in the bag again, he heard the Goldeen sing..."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Melody fills in the spellsong.

"and the Goldeen turned into a shining Pikachu and ran about the ship." Ash narrates to some laughter. "The Pikachu darted towards a hole, but Hunter caught it faster than any Meowth. Finally, the Pikachu sang..."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Melody fills in the spellsong.

"...and the shining Pikachu turned back into the beautiful Princess Alani." Ash narrates. "Meanwhile, King Justin was watching the sea and dreaming of Princess Alani. Imagine his surprise when he saw the ship in the distance, and Princess Alani aboard it!"

"Pini!" Happini cheered.

"Princess Alani was given a royal welcome, and it was not long before she and King Justin were married." Ash concludes. "The seven brothers were handsomely rewarded, their land made tax free, and Kai was forgiven--because even thieves can steal for a good reason!"

"That was an interesting story..." Misty smiles as she applauds. "I can't wait to see how the master storyteller will top that!"