A Tale of Tails (Tuzi Legends): Fleet.

A Tale of Tails (Tuzi Legends): Fleet.

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Commissioned by Citino

Wordcount: 1026

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Once, there was a Tuzi who went by the name of Fleet.

He earned this name well by traversing ahead of the tribe and returning to them before they reached even a quarter of the way to their goal.

Fleet would speak of both treasures and dangers easily missed, as well as the happenings of the tribe’s destination.

His name is well earned indeed, young one. Not only did he travel quickly, but thoroughly as well, and he did so for the Tribe.

Like many others of the Tribe, he could have ventured beyond the Tribe, absconded with our name, and granted himself both fame and fortune. 

Lords, kings, and emperors had much need for a man such as he, who could bring them both messages and vital knowledge, whilst being impossible to catch. Each stride he made for the tribe, could’ve been a silver piece for him in the employ of another, yet he strode only for the tribe nonetheless upon his return from his Yimin.

Still, a Yimin grants those who complete it great fame, and so his name and deeds reached the ears of a foreigner from beyond the Jade Empire’s ears.

It was a human man, who rode upon a horse with ease unknown to those men of the Jade Empire’s shadow, and he spoke of treasures beyond the dreams of the Tribe for Fleet’s assistance… and the Tribe’s destruction if Fleet did not follow his chieftain.

Fleet, mindful of the consequences of defying an empire that threatened the Jade’s shadow, asked what would be required of him of such import. No other emperor threatened the whole of the Tribe for his service, nor has an emperor ever promised to grant the whole tribe treasure for the same.

The horsed man spoke truthfully and terribly.

The Tuzi would be made part of a burgeoning empire, if Fleet’s worth was proven. Should he be able to live up to his legends and fame,  the tribe would be indicted into a place of honor amongst the fledgling empire. A famed family and household within a great and grand empire, one that focused on bringing forth messages and warning armies of great dangers. An honored, royal service of messengers and scouts never before seen to the world.

The Tuzi would be granted the status of nobility… but lose their right to govern themselves and travel as they wish.

The Elders and council of the time argued for many nights, until Fleet himself spoke.

He would do as he always did, and run towards the destination, and warn of both danger and treasure.

So, leaving behind his family, he went forth.

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Many years passed.

Decades.

Until Fleet’s wife passed, his children were grown, and a handful of their number were adults amongst the Tuzi.

His body was returned to the Tuzi by a procession laden with gifts and treasures.

But, without the message of service that the Tuzi had both feared and expected.

A scroll in the possession of the delivers, without the ability to be read by them, told the Elders all they wished to know.

Fleet spoke of a vaster world than ever imagined.

Of oceans, lands, and mountains never before seen by Tuzi, and with those words came maps of the world beyond the Jade Empire’s reach. However, for every wonder, there were dangers. Monsters, plagues, and wars that made most within the Jade Empire’s borders seem infantile in comparison.

So, though he did his duty well, he chose to destroy his own legacy and fame.

He was able, more so than most, in all the things he was asked for… but not nearly as well as he could’ve been.

He acquired for the Tribe all that he could, while ensuring that they could not be impressed by force by a fledgling empire that would bring the tribe to far more dangers than treasures.

Thus, Fleet’s story came to an end, and while the world no longer remembers him, the Tuzi do venerate him still.

Can you tell me why, child?

He indeed did sacrifice himself for our people, but what did he sacrifice that makes him stand above all the others who sacrificed themselves for the Tuzi?

Many Tuzi have given their lives for the tribe. Warriors are expected to do so. Our families go on without us, supported by the rest of the tribe, and our power is ensured

Yes.

Correct.

He sacrificed his legacy, child.

We of the Tuzi hold to ourselves a great, terrible pride. Much like the gods we dismiss, we value how we will be remembered past our deaths. Our actions, our deeds, and our legacy is what we hold most dear in our hearts. We die willingly, for we will be remembered amongst the ranks of warriors who did the same. We part with our families, because they will be taken care off as all families were.

However, most Tuzi will falter and fail to destroy their own legacy for the sake of the Tribe, especially when they have one that more than the Tribe will remember.

Yet, that is what Fleet did.

His tale could be known to all now.  He could be spoken of with the same breath as the gods. He could be great and grand for all, a model for multitudes, instead of just the Tribe. He could be the forefather of another people, of another nation, that the Tuzi could’ve become.  He would have been the patriarch of a new people, one with great wealth and power, who would immortalize him forever.

However, after seeing the dangers of the outside world and knowing the Tuzi ought to be saved from such dangers, he destroyed his own legacy with his own hands. He abandoned his family, died amongst strangers who did not understand him, and he returned to children who never knew him… whilst doing away with the name he made for himself all cross the world.

…Can I do such a thing, myself?

I hope that I can, child.

But, I hope that you’ll never have to.

Perhaps, that’s all that needs to be said about Fleet, hmmm?