Kaber and the Widow

[Wekua]

Kaber and the Widow

Kaber and the Widow cut north to Boreana,
A path that every shipwright had thought to someday take
When raging 'cross the waters, the Skaemn came to view,
And set his sights on Kaber to sink him in the lake.

Kaber took the Widow and brought her round and back,
toward the shore he’d known before where friendly waters lay
But Skaemn had the faster ship and ushered the attack,
Gaining on the Widow fair to sink her there that day.

The Widow was, young Kaber knew, the older, smaller ship,
And many captains gave their lives to grant her such a name
But Kaber was as rugged as the ship he now commanded,
and turned again to face the Skaemn, soon to gain the day.

The Skaemn had the prouder ship and brought his vessel starboard,
To better strike the Widow down and take her for her worth
But Kaber’s was a merchant ship and didn’t carry guns,
So Kaber took the Widow port and stole away their berth.

The Skaemn was a vicious man who’d scuttled many ships,
And seen his share of brave attempts to rail against his might
But never once had merchant ship with neither gun nor ram,
Been so intent to forge ahead and rally to the fight.

Kaber took the Widow up against the Skaemn’s ship,
and drew across its hull as the cannons fired down
And though the Widow gained a wound, Kaber turned her back,
And forged ahead to ram again, the Skaemn’s ship to drown.

The Woderveyer spirit was moving in the waters
And came upon the battle on the surface of the sea
And when it saw the speed of Kaber’s Widow 'round the Skaemn,
It called upon the serpent Shøm: “Come and watch with me.”

The serpent heard the call and brought himself up from the depths,
For Skaemn was the dreaded one who terrorized the sea
So diligently Shøm came up to see with rising interest
If Kaber and the Widow had come to set them free.

The Widow came around again and struck the Skaemn’s vessel;
For every wound the Widow gave, the Skaemn gave it two
But angling the bow to press into the Skaemn’s hull,
Kaber struck the final blow and tore a hole clean through.

The ocean started rushing in, the spirit right along
to guarantee the sinking of the Skaemn and his men
While leaping Shøm fell from above to crack the ship in two,
His might alone to claim the lives of twenty-four and ten.

The Skaemn sank into the sea, his vengeful cry submerged,
While Kaber brought the Widow 'round and took him for his worth
The spirit and the serpent were free again to reign,
Now that Kaber and the Widow had made a greater berth.

[Wekua]

Kaber - A mythological figure in Sandscapian Wodervey culture. The fable Kaber and the Widow is centered around the titular hero defeating the Skaemn, a treacherous individual that oppresses the sea and its inhabitants.

Much like the rest of the fable, Kaber is ambiguously described, though some aspects of his person are made apparent in the tale. Kaber is a sailor and a captain of his own ship, though some tellings suggest he is also a shipwright; those few historians who entertain the idea that Kaber actually existed suggest he was likely never a shipwright at all, considering the time consuming nature of both shipbuilding and captaincy, and that Kaber’s status as a shipwright is merely a superfluous detail added to the legend for flare.

Kaber is described in legend as rugged and brave, though some argue his actions are more accurately described as impulsive and foolish. The Kaber and the Widow legend involves Kaber, captain of the Widow, engaging in nautical combat with the Skaemn and his ship, a vessel far larger and heavily armed. The Widow, by comparison, is quite small, slow, and lightly armed or totally unarmed, depending on the telling. Regardless of the deficit, Kaber always overcomes the more experienced Skaemn, usually by ramming and sinking the villain’s ship. Some tellings claim Shøm, the Woderveyer, or both are involved in the conflict as well, although Kaber still receives credit for the victory.

Kaber has been immortalized in song, literature, and architecture throughout the Wodervey region since the early Second Age of the Sandscape. His likeness is used to represent the collective cultures of the region, and he is often viewed as a symbol of self-deliverance in the face of oppression.

The Skaemn - A fictional antagonist from Wodervey mythology. Although he is mentioned and appears in a number of Wodervey fables, he is made most infamous by Kaber and the Widow, a tale that highlights his demise.

The Skaemn, or simply “Skaemn”, is often described in myth as a tall, broad, and fierce sailor and captain of his own ship, though the name of his ship is seldom shared, and it is believed the original telling never named it. Some iterations of the myth call it Silecotter, while most assign a wide variety of sinister names (Revenge, Plague, Devil, etc.). The Skaemn himself seems to be human, and in early mythology is said to hail from the far east. It’s widely accepted that the Skaemn represents the Thymic pantheon and subsequent culture as it rose to prominence in the Capital region and spread its influence outward.

In early Wodervey mythology, the Skaemn is described as terrorizing the sea and its people, robbing their coastal villages, sinking their ships and poisoning their waters. The anchors of Skaemn’s ship are described as being as wide as a village, and early fables emphasize his callousness when they describe his anchors dragging across the seabed and destroying the many civilizations there. Most often, the Skaemn is depicted as sporting a number of pirate stereotypes.

Many tellings of the myth suggest Shøm and the Woderveyer are in some way oppressed or otherwise restricted by the Skaemn. Although those gods are real, the Skaemn merely represents the harmful expansion of Thymos’ reign, so it is most likely that Shøm and the Woderveyer here represent the sea itself and the native biome within it, respectively.

Kaber and the Widow describes a conflict between the Skaemn and the hero Kaber, the captain of a comparatively weak vessel, who bravely engages in combat with the pirate. Regardless of the telling, the Skaemn meets his match, and ends up either sinking with his ship or falling from the edge when the Widow rams it. In one southern telling, Shøm eats him whole as he sinks into the sea.

It is undetermined what the meaning of Skaemn’s name is, although there is a leading theory. While most of the developed Sandscape believes the Four Above Four Below myth in some form or another, The Wodervey cultures believe that Shøm and the Woderveyer are the true gods, and that life in the ocean brings one closer to Iddo, a heavenly afterlife believed to exist deep underground. Most historians agree the Skaemn was originally called “the Sky Man”, emphasizing the topside origin of the culture and belief he represented, and contrasting him with the divine nature of the ocean depths and Iddo. It’s believed that shifting language gradually brought about the name “Skaemn”, which was then immortalized when the fable was recorded.