The Writers' Circle

The Mellte
by Scott Ballantyne
      If we lived in the sky, high up, like a star, and looked down at the earth we would see a beautiful planet with land and water. If we came a little closer we would see that the land and the water were not all the same. Some areas of land are much bigger than others; some of the waters are great oceans and some are small rivers. If we came even closer still we would see that some of the land is flat and some is mountainous; some of the rivers are large and some of them are just little trickles. 
      If we stayed at this height in the sky, where we can tell which are mountains and which are big rivers or small trickles, we would be able to see forests and hills, beaches and streams. But if we did stay at this height there would be much that we could not see. We would not see the things that lived on the land and the creatures that lived in or by the water. So, we need to get closer for our story.
      As we get closer we can see things moving. Things by the river which we will call naiads. Things by the sea which we will call men. Things in the forest which we will call dweorgs. From where we are in the sky we can see them all, and what they do. Because they are on the ground, and live apart from each other, the naiads, the men and the dweorgs cannot see each other. They do not even know that the others exist. But we know because we can see what is happening when we are up here in the sky. From up here we are going to watch something that happened on the earth many, many years ago. Before even your grandparents were born. We will watch from one part of the sky. We will watch one part of the earth which we will call Middle Land and although it is only one small part of the earth, we may see from this story how similar things can so easily happen in other parts of the world. When you have finished this story, come back and read these sentences again, and think about it. See what you think. 
      In Middle Land the huge mountains and overshadowed hills look to each other through mists and fogs. These fogs are formed by the cold, wet airs of the high lands touching the warmer draughts which are sucked upwards from the coast. The mists and fogs are chilled by the frequent snowstorms that join with the wind to batter the slopes into barrenness. The melting snows find springs of icy water to swell the flow into rivers which twist and turn, tumble and tatter and gouge their way to the sea.
      One such twisting spring gathers enough ice to create itself into a powerful, cursing, spitting river. It carves through hard rock, gathering boulders to thrash against its banks to cause wider rifts for its ceaseless waters. This river is known to those who see it as the Mellte River which means 'The Great One'. From the tallest reach of the Middle Land the Mellte River finds a wound in the hard rock of the highest, darkest mountain and there it first cuts its ways downwards.
      Where the rock is softest, the Mellte River rends the steepest valley which is called Ustradmellte. Here, finding a shelf of hard rock and then soft rock below it, the river disgorges over the upper, hard stone to form an angry waterfall. The rumbling noise as the force rushes downwards can be heard from many miles. The sheer force of the flood sends up a spitting spray that waters the steep banks on both sides of the fall. Here precarious trees cling to the thin soil and stretch their boughs towards the slender line of sky that canopies the narrow opening of the valley's roof. At the river's edge there are large boulders and stones which halt the slide of the soil and save it from being swept to the river. Amongst these boulders and stones there is life. There are those that live there. They are the naiads. 
      Like all rivers, the Mellte flows to the sea. Where it reaches the sea there are long, sandy beaches but no-one lives there. The storms from the sea are too powerful as they attack the coast and throw huge, salty waves deep into the land. Between the sea and the mountains there are gentle hills and then thick forests. Coming from the coast, the green valleys with their rolling meadows and sweet flowers take the land to the forests; the forests then take the land to the dark mountains. The mountains and the forests are not places for men to live, they stay in the sweet meadows where the sun is free to feed the land and those who live on it. The men are tall and strong and are happy living in the meadows.
      The Mellte River has to pass through the thick forests before it reaches the meadows. In the forests the river finds it difficult to keep its power as the thick soil and thirsty tree roots drain its strength. By the time it reaches the meadow, it has lost its anger and it is a gentle river. The men who live there now see it as a good river. The men like to catch the fish of the river and eat them. They also drink the water from the river. They also use it to wash in. It is very important to them.
      The men had never been into the mountains. They had no need to go there. Their meadows gave them all they wanted. They had never seen what the Mellte does in the forest. They had never seen those who live there. 
      The men had never dared go into the dark forests for they feared that they might never find their way out. The creatures that lived in the forests were not afraid of the darkness, nor the thickness of the woods. They were used to it. They had always lived there. These people were very small, bigger than elves, but only about half the size of men. They were broad and strong. They looked just like men but smaller. Their faces, however, were not the same as men's. They all had beards, sometimes very long beards and they all brushed their hair into points above their heads. They had blue sparking eyes, tiny noses and smiling mouths. They all wore clothes made from animal skins which they coloured green or brown. They never killed animals, taking the skins only from dead creatures they found in the forests. They ate only berries and plants and roots. These people were the dweorgs.
      The dweorgs lived along the banks of the Mellte River which flowed through the forest. They drank its water and swam and washed in it. They had even made boats with which they travelled up and down the river as a quick way of getting around, but they never went into the meadows or up to the mountains. They had learned how to make steel from the ore they found in the rocks in the forest and made axes with which they cut down trees to build their huts and make their boats. They were a happy people who loved the forests and woods and took great care of it. They were content there and didn't wish to leave until one day they were forced to. 
      The great waterfall in the valley of Ustradmellte is called Scoor Y Pandour, which means powerful rush of water. Where the waterfall becomes a river again it is dark and dank. The valley is so steep and the mists so thick that the sun cannot easily get its light into the dingy dell. This suits those who live there. They are the naiads. They catch and eat things that fly into the valley, things that cannot see as well as them in the dark. A naiad is very small, about half the size of a dweorg. Naiads are like sprites; they dart quickly everywhere. They can fly very quickly but not very high and not very far.
      Naiads are grey, like the light in which they live. They have two arms and two legs and a thin body. On their backs they have two pairs of tiny wings. Their faces are pointed and evil. Their eyes are bright and sharp and miss nothing. Their noses are always lifted into the air, smelling for food. Their fingers and toes end in tiny, sharp claws with which they catch their victims and tear them apart before chewing them with their razor-like teeth. They live amongst the boulders and rocks and in caves and at the base of the skinny trees that cling to the bank. At night, when they are not hunting - for they hunt during the day and night - they hang upside down from tree branches like bats. They talk in high pitched squeaks and gurgle in laughter when they catch their food. Naiads eat butterflies and birds, flies and wasps, insects and grubs, rats and snakes, fish and toads, poisonous berries and weeds.
      One year, after there had been great storms, the naiads were delighted to discover hundreds of toads swimming down the river and over the waterfall. They had never seen toads like these before. They were huge and dark brown with large red spots on their skins. Naiads liked to eat toads and immediately attacked them. The toads, however, did not want to be eaten and as soon as they saw the naiads they blew up a huge bubble in their throats and spat a yellow poison at their attackers. The poison stung the naiads like acid and they screamed when it touched their skin. Quickly they flew away. The toads kept coming down the river, day after day, hundreds upon hundreds.
      The naiads were angry that so much food was escaping from them until one day, a young and hungry naiad discovered that if he flew very quickly onto the back of a toad and bit it at the back of its head, then the toad could not turn around to spit its poison. Then the young naiad put its tiny fingers around the toad's throat and cut and squeezed until the bubble burst and the poison came out. The naiad was able to quickly pull his hand away before the stinging poison got onto his fingers. The other naiads saw what had happened and tried it for themselves. Soon, all of them were able to capture the toads, release the poison into the river and then eat them. Each of the naiads caught and ate at least twenty a day, but still the toads kept coming over the waterfall. The naiads were delighted with this easy source of new, fat and tasty food. 
      A few days after the naiads discovered how to capture and eat the toads, the dweorgs down in the forests started to become ill. Some of the dweorgs even died. They were very confused and started to wonder if it was something they had eaten. They examined all their food but found nothing unusual. 
      A few days after the dweorgs started to become ill, the men down in the meadows noticed that their fish tasted different. Then some of the men became ill. Some of them even died. After a few more days they noticed dead fish floating in the water. As the days passed more and more dead fish were found. 
      A week after the dweorgs started to become ill, they noticed that the river had started to change colour. There was yellow in it. They noticed, too, a lot of dead fish. 
      A few days after they discovered the dead fish, the men noticed that the river was becoming yellow. 
      The naiads had started to become greedy. They feared that the harvest of toads would soon stop so they ate more and more. When they couldn't eat any more, they found a way to trap the toads and keep them in shallow pools. Then, when they wanted to feed they simply caught a toad, flew with it into the air and opened its throat over the river. This went on for week after week. They didn't care about the dead fish they saw floating in the water. The toads were fatter than the fish and much tastier. They also didn't care because the fast, furious flow of the Mellte River quickly carried the dead fish and the yellow poison away from their homes. 
      Soon, the dweorgs were afraid to drink the water of the Mellte and were even afraid to travel in their boats. They knew that if they did not find out why the river was being poisoned and stop it then they would soon die. So, one day, they held a great meeting of all the dweorgs and they decided that they must follow the river upwards and discover where the poison was coming from. All the strongest and the bravest were to go. They gathered their axes and strong sticks, they collected food and put it into parcels because they did not know if they would be able to find food where they were going. They were not sure where they were going but they were not afraid. They knew that they must do this thing or else they would all die. 
      The men soon realized that they could not eat the fish nor drink the water nor bathe in it. They decided that they must do something about it and called a meeting of all the men. At the meeting the men resolved to find the source of the problem and cure it. They knew that they would have to follow the river which meant going into the dark forests. They were afraid but they had no choice. They collected all their weapons of swords, axes and knives, gathered food together and set off towards the forests. 
      After a few weeks, the toads stopped coming over the waterfall in such great numbers, but the naiads had plenty of them in their pools. As the numbers grew less and less the naiads became worried that this food supply would soon stop but then they noticed that there were baby toads in some of the shallow pools. This pleased them and they worked even harder to catch the last of the toads and found, or made, new pools for them.
      Very quickly, the baby toads grew big and fat and then they produced babies. In the valley of Ustradmellte the thunderous roar of Scoor Y Pandour was matched by the bilious croaking of thousands of toads and the squeals of the naiads as they ate their harvest. The hideous noise echoed through dark, misty air. As the yellow poison polluted the river, the stench, held by the thick and yellowing mists, enveloped all around it. The trees started to wither. The birds and butterflies, insects and animals sensed the foulness of the atmosphere and did not go there or did not stay. Soon, the only food that the naiads had was their toads. 
      When the strongest and bravest of the dweorgs had gathered everything they thought they needed, they set off. They knew all of the forests very well, so they had no problem following the river to the northern edge of the forest. It was only when they came upon the mountains that they started to feel a little afraid. They were then in lands that they had never seen before and they were not sure what to expect. They did their best to follow the river close to its banks but it was not always possible. Sometimes, the banks were so steep that they could not climb down them. Sometimes, the rocks and boulders were so many and so high that they tired of trying to climb over them.
      As they followed the river upstream they noticed how much faster and how much more fierce the current was. All the way, they kept seeing dead fish and the yellow was getting thicker. The further north they went, the steeper was the valley and darker was the air. Eventually, they found themselves in the Ustradmellte valley. There were thick mists and fogs following the river so the dweorgs had to stay close for fear of losing each other. They noticed how much colder it was in the valley - colder than anything they had known before. They were very grateful for their animal skins.
      When they got close to Scoor Y Pandour, they heard the strange noise that came from that place. Each one of the dweorgs stood still and held his breath as he listened intensely at the sound that was both amplified and muffled by the thick fogs and mists. They didn't know what the sounds were but they could hear the roar of the Mellte as it plunged over rocks; they could hear the deep gurgle of thousands of toads; they could hear the squeals of the naiads as they captured their food and the guttural laughter as they ate it. The dweorgs listened hard as they tried to identify the sounds. Eventually, in whispers, they started to talk to each other and gave each other courage.
      When they had got used to the noises they moved on as quietly as they could. They did not need to creep so quietly as nothing could be heard over the sounds from Scoor Y Pandour. Slowly they followed the rushing river, their eyes staring so hard through the fogs and mists that it made them sting. When they came close to the waterfall, daylight, what there was of it, was starting to fade. The deep grey of the valley was already turning to black when the leader of the dweorgs saw his first naiad. He held up his hand for those behind him to stop. They stopped and crept alongside him to see why he had halted them. They were disgusted by what they saw. They saw the yellow fluid oozing from the dying toads and falling into the river. They knew, then, the reason for the poisonous river. The smells of poison and decaying toad hit their nostrils with such pungency that they wanted to be sick. The sight of the tiny naiads tearing open the throats of the toads and the screams of delight that the naiads gave each time they bit into the back of the neck of the toads made the vegetarian deworgs turn away in horror. They did not even want to look at such a sight.
      Then, one of the naiads lifted its head towards the sky, pointing its sniffing nose into the mists. It sniffed, smelled something new and quickly turned its head towards the terrified dweorgs. It screamed a call of delight. It could smell new food. It called to the other naiads and they all turned in the direction of the dweorgs. 
      The men gathered together at the edge of the river and said goodbye to their wives and children. They did not know how long they were going to be away and they did not really want to go, but they knew that they had no choice. As the sun brought dawn to the river, the light reflected from the silver scales of the dead fish and served to remind the men of the importance of their journey. Reluctantly, they followed the river to the edge of the forests. Before they ventured amongst the trees, some of them looked over their shoulders whilst others turned and faced the meadows for what they feared might be their last view of daylight for some time.
      As they entered the forests they soon found it difficult to see. It was dark; the trees were so thick and so close together. The high tree branches and leaves formed a ceiling that let no sunshine through. What light did come through was in a varied shade of green as the leaves filtered the sunbeams through their thin veneers. Following the river was very difficult. Sometimes, the trees and bushes and plants that thronged at the banks of the river to sip its waters were so thick that even the biggest axes of the men could not carve a way through. So, the men had to leave the river bank to find a way around the trees. In doing so they were forced farther and farther away from the river and deeper into the dark forests. Sometimes, they lost their way and it took several hours to get back to the river. Often they thought they heard strange noises and stopped to listen and look but they saw nothing.
      By the end of the first day they had only covered a very short distance of the river's length. As the day came to a close, the sparse, green, filtered light turned deeper and deeper in colour. Soon, the green became black and the men could not see where to go. At first, they tried to follow the river by listening for the sound of the running water but they constantly caught their toes or shins against roots and dead tree trunks that they could not see. They then decided that it was foolish to walk in such dark and stayed where they were for the night, sleeping on the ground. Their sleep was not deep as the sounds of the night creatures startled them and kept them awake as they tried, hopelessly, to identify the noises. 
      The leader of the dweorgs swung his axe through the air as hundreds of naiads suddenly flew out of the darkening mists towards the startled dweorgs. The axe swished as it carved the air, but the naiads, used to catching the fastest birds and flies, found it very easy to avoid the whistling blade. The other dweorgs quickly copied their leader and soon the roar of the great waterfall and the croaking of the toads was joined the whooshing sound of a hundred or more swinging axes. The squeals of the naiads as they evaded the axes confused the dweorgs who could not understand how they were missing the darting, screeching naiads. Soon, the sprites realized that they could easily escape the axe strokes and started to attack the heads and necks and shoulders of the dweorgs. The naiads' scratching fingers scraped through the dweorgs' skin as they tried to sink their razored teeth into their victims. The dweorgs, sensing that their axes were useless, tried to catch the naiads with their hands. They tried grabbing at them as they clawed into their necks and faces, but the naiads were far too quick for them. Soon, every dweorg was bleeding. Some, trying to run away, slipped and fell into the poisonous river and were never seen again.
      Finally, the leader of the dweorgs yelled through the noise for everyone to get out of the valley. Every dweorg ran as fast as his short but powerful legs would go. The naiads tried to follow but soon had to give up as they could not fly very far. When the dweorgs knew that they were no longer being chased, they stopped and looked back. Several of those that started out on the journey would never return to their families as their bodies lay along the side of the river, covered by screaming naiads who were now eating them. Those that had fallen into the river were luckier. Their bodies would be washed up onto the banks and found and buried. It was very important for dweorgs to be buried when they died. Not being buried when they died was the thing they feared most. As they stood and watched and thought of those friends who had died in that futile battle, they also wondered how they were ever going to stop the poison coming down the river. They knew they could not beat the naiads with their weapons and could not fight them with their hands, so they did not know what to do. Then, the leader told them that he had an idea and that they must all return to the forests as quickly as possible. No-one disagreed and they hurried through the night and all through the next day before they returned to their huts and families.
      The following morning, before the sun had started to colour the canopy, the dweorgs gathered in a meeting. The leader told his people that they all had much work to do and that everyone, this time, must go to the great waterfall. It would take all of them to defeat the naiads, they were told. Soon, they were all rushing through the forests collecting what they needed to defeat the naiads.
      Within two days everything was ready, everyone knew what to do so they set off again for Scoor Y Pandour. They halted their journey only to bury the bodies of those that had fallen into the river. At least they were buried, it was so important for the dweorgs to be buried. They planned they journey so that they came to the great waterfall when there was the maximum of light, just after noon. Then, the bravest of the dweorgs went to where they had fought before while the others clambered up the steep sides of the valley. Behind every dweorg with an axe there was another who did not carry an axe.
      It was not long before the naiads smelled the dweorgs and screamed with delight as they darted towards them expecting another easy meal. The dweorgs swung their axes in the air but the naiads just laughed as they knew they could avoid them. This time, over twenty naiads flew at each dweorg. Just as the sprites reached the swishing axes, the dweorgs stopped swinging and the other dweorgs, who were behind them, jumped in front and started swinging something else in front of them. The naiads didn't care. They kept coming forward knowing that they could escape any swinging weapon. Just as the naiads were about to attack, the dweorgs at the front released what they were swinging through the air. Suddenly, the naiads were trapped. What they thought were other weapons were finely woven steel nets. Those dweorgs who had climbed the sides of the valley also had nets and they threw them down towards the naiads. The screaming and tearing and slashing noises that the naiads made became the loudest noise in the valley. Soon, every one of them lay tangled in nets and fell to the ground. The dweorgs, however, did not kill them but left them there while they carried out the second part of their plan.
      With more nets, they went to the pools where the toads were kept and they captured every one of them. The toads were then dragged down the river, past the screaming naiads who were screeching louder now as they saw their food being stolen, and taken out of the Ustradmellte valley.
      The leader of the dweorgs released the naiads when he knew that the toads were too far away for the naiads to fly to them. He told the naiads that the dweorgs had more nets and that if the naiads tried to attack him and his people when he released them, then they would be caught again and never released. He didn't know if they would understand but when he released them they immediately flew back into their caves, boulders and trees. The dweorgs then joined the others who had the toads. 
      For three days the men struggled to follow the river and when they came to the northernmost end of the forests they were delighted. They felt so good to be out into the free air again, but soon they were surrounded by fogs and mists and were colder than they had ever been before. They noticed that the yellow poison in the river was thicker as they went north, even though the river was flowing much faster.
      As the weak, noonday sun hazily struggled with the mists, the men came close to the valley of Ustradmellte. They heard the same strange noises as those heard by the dweorgs. For a while, they stopped and listened, and then they moved on and up again. Through the mists they saw the dweorgs. They had never seen dweorgs before and were not sure what to do. So they watched and waited. Soon, when they saw what was happening, they knew what to do. 
      When all the dweorgs were together again, at the entrance to Ustradmellte, they discussed what they were going to do with the thousands of toads that they had dragged with them. They decided to see what would happen when they released the toads. They thought that the toads would be grateful to escape from the naiads, but instead of going downstream the toads started to crawl upwards, back towards Scoor Y Pandour. The dweorgs then realised what was happening. Toads, they remembered, always return to the place of their birth to create the next generation of toads. Nothing would stop the toads from going back. The dweorgs knew that if they allowed the toads to go back, then the naiads would simply kill and eat them as they had done before and poison the river.
      They had no choice. They had to kill the toads or, ultimately, the toads would kill the river and then dweorgs would die and so would the forests. So, while the toads were still in the nets, the dweorgs took out their axes and started to chop at the thousands of toads. The toads, of course, spat their poison, but the skin of dweorgs is thicker than the skin of naiads and they were not bothered by the poison. They continued to hack at the toads in an attempt to kill them all. 
      The men, who were watching the dweorgs, saw the drawn axes; saw the axes being used to kill the defenceless toads; saw the gallons and gallons of yellow poison oozing from the toads and decided that this was what was killing the river. They had to stop it. All they saw were the dweorgs, the axes, the toads and the yellow poison which was killing their river and their people. They knew what they had to do.
      They drew out their swords, their axes and their knives. The tall men then rushed at the small dweorgs and attacked them.
      The dweorgs, who were exhausted from their climb up the mountain and from their fight with the naiads, were taken by surprise. It was no battle. The dweorgs swung their axes bravely, but the men were too tall, too strong and their swords and axes were much longer and very soon every single dweorg was killed.
      Some of the men got injured, but none were killed. When the battle was over, the men cheered. They looked around and saw that they had been too late to save the toads - they were all dead - but the yellow poison soon stopped flowing.
      The men looked at the dweorgs that they had killed. They knew nothing about them but were sure that they must have been evil to kill toads like that and to poison the river. They picked up the finely woven steel nets and wondered at the skill of the makers. They knew that they could never make such fine nets. The nets were stained with poison so the men left them where they were. They then turned and headed back towards the forests and their homes in the meadows. They didn't even bury the dweorgs. 
      By the time the men reached their homes in the meadows, the yellow poison was already so thin in the river that they knew it would not be very long before they could catch fish again, drink the water again, bathe in the river again. What they did not know is that one day another huge storm will come and wash brown, poisonous toads down the Ustradmellte valley and over the Scoor Y Pandour waterfall. What they did not know is what a naiad is. What they did not know was how to catch naiads. What they did not know was how to make the finely woven steel nets. What they did not know was what they had done. 
 
      The end.