Legends of Belariath
Callie Volopa
A Tale of Gashan: Bowala, the "Night Demon"
A Story of the Verlosi Vulpine Tribe
As Told by Callie Volopa
Twenty-two hundred years ago, Verlosi'ka was being terrorized by a barbarian who moved swiftly through the night, murdering every vulpine who got within striking distance of his scimitar. Man, woman, young, old, it mattered not to him-- only the thrill of violence, the joy of murder. It's believed that generations before him, his tribe had been all but annihilated in a war with a now-extinct vulpine tribe, and he was looking to avenge himself upon the entire vulpine race.
His name was Bowala, and the few people who saw him and lived to tell about it mentioned several details about him-- he had tanned skin, was barechested and barefoot, with long dark pants and a bald head. The most striking thing about him, though, was an expertly crafted tattoo of a viper snake, perfectly positioned between his shoulder blades. As he slew his victims, the tattoo began to glow golden, getting more and more intense the more blood he spilled. He was given a nickname by the fearful Verlosi he hunted-- “Kalva Untama”, the Night Demon.
The Verlosi High Elder came up with a trap to ensnare him-- disguising soldiers as common merchants in the marketplace, having them close the shops late at night while concealing their weapons in the hope that Bowala would come and they'd have their chance to end his threat. He came, all right, and the soldiers drew their weapons, but they were too slow to defeat Bowala, who killed them before they could even really get a good look at him.
Three months after Bowala's initial appearance in the village, a young mage soldier named Gashan returned home from a far-off battle only to learn that his wife and daughter had met their deaths at Bowala's scimitar. Gashan, though a good warrior himself, had heard the tales of how Bowala had effortlessly defeated the Verlosi undercover guards, and so rather than go off half-crazed in his search for vengeance, he wisely went to his laytaki-- his grandmother-- Qupala, for advice on how to defeat this most fearsome of enemies. In her younger, more formidable years, Qupala had been one of the most talented water mages and great war heroes in the history of the Verlosi.
Qupala created a formidable weapon for him indeed-- a handheld, adhesive disc that, when placed on a target, would cast repetitive Desiccate spells on its target, training water from his body until he was too weak to fight back. It fell then to Gashan (using Change Self to disguise himself as a male Drak Sen) to place the disc on Bowala. But if the disc were pulled off by Bowala, the magic would stop affecting him, and Gashan's cover would be blown.
Therefore, in the marketplace late at night, Gashan lay in wait until Bowala appeared. True to form, he began hunting and murdering the few vulpine who remained there after dark-- a considerably fewer number than before Bowala's attacks, for the people feared what the Kalva Untama might do to them. And as Gashan had predicted, Bowala ignored him, because he appeared not to be a vulpine. Gashan waited for an opportune moment, and then, as Bowala drew his scimitar to strike at a young woman tending her fruit stand, Gashan slapped the Desiccate disc on Bowala's back– right on the snake tattoo which had haunted so many Verlosi dreams. (This spot, the nearly-impossible-to-reach spot between the shoulder blades, would be forever immortalized in Vulpani as the “niyama'fa”, the “snake spot”.)
Enraged at the apparent attack (though Bowala did not know that the disc had been slapped onto his back), the barbarian whirled and swung at Gashan with his scimitar, but the weapon was expertly blocked by Gashan's mithril spear. They fought a mighty duel in the marketplace, neither man successfully striking the other as they tumbled over fruit stands, jewelry displays and, infamously, a cart full of watermelons. But though Gashan could not strike a blow against Bowala, the disc was doing its work just the way Qupala had designed it to-- sucking a little bit of water out of Bowala moment by moment.
Eventually, the dehydration caught up with Bowala, who fell to one knee and began desperately trying to get the disc off his back-- dropping his scimitar in his panicked state. Gashan wasted no time, and ran his spear through the Kalva Untama's heart, ending his life.
Verlosi'ka was saved from Bowala's wrath, and it continued to thrive and flourish. And the young lady whom Gashan saved on that day, named Salipa, fell in love with Gashan, married him, and helped bring about an entire legendary family of water mages-- of which Callie Volopa is a part.
In Verlosi'ka, May 19 of every year is called “Yi Zethan Nu Le Kalva Untama Kovu” (“The Death of the Night Demon Day”, or “Kalva Untama Kovu” for short). It's celebrated with a day-long re-enactment: Bowala comes to Verlosi'ka and starts his murdering of the innocent citizens; Bowala evades the trap set for him; Gashan returns to Verlosi'ka to find his wife and daughter murdered; Gashan requests the aid of Qupala; Qupala crafts their plan; Gashan and Bowala fight in the marketplace (the tipping of the watermelon cart is always a favorite with the village children); Gashan slays Bowala; and finally Gashan and Salipa marry. The re-enactments begin at sundown on May 18, lasting throughout the day, and the battle between Gashan and Bowala begins at sundown on May 19.