The Forest Monster of Oz | Page 7

I do not know of your Lunechien Forest, but I will do all in my power to assist you."
[Illustration: Lurlin��, leader of the fairies]


CHAPTER 5
THE QUEEN OF OZ
The magic of Oz began with little more than a simple wish. The man who ruled at that long-forgotten time, King Ozroar, was not a very happy monarch. He ruled the beautiful land, but he had no magic with which to insure the happiness of the people. Sickening fogs would envelop the land from time to time, and the area was never very prosperous. Still, it was too beautiful to go overlooked by the fairies. These magical beings are able to see things as they should be, not only as they are. One fairy who was especially interested in the land of Oz was a leader of fairies named Lurlin��.
Lurlin�� was no ordinary fairy ruler, though. She had especial insight into the things that made beauty what it is. It was her keen insight that once brought her to Mount Olympus. This legendary mountain has long been said to be the home of many ancient Gods. According to the Ozian storytellers, who still today will sit by your campfire and tell you a tale in exchange for a cup of tea or a morsel of food, these Immortals recognized her abilities at once, and she was admitted into their society of Godhood. As a Goddess, Lurlin�� was able to gain access to many things.
With the help of her fairy band, as well as the input of her sister fairy, Polychrome, Lurlin�� was able to give the Land of Oz the magical enchantment that made it what it is today. But she did not do the deed without a few pitfalls.
Among the things that Lurlin�� required to fulfill the spell's needs were Apollo's own sky chariot, the flying horses to pull it through the air, Kol��'s essence of crystal, and Lillith's brazier of endless flame. At Polychrome's suggestion, she also obtained Iris' jug of rainbow.
Unfortunately, Lurlin�� was not always scrupulous. In this event, she elected to take the various magical requirements without the permission of the various deities. She stole into their chambers at night as they lay sleeping and took the elements she wished. She then went together with her fairy band and performed the enchantment over Oz.
She was banished from Mount Olympus as a result of her rash action. But, supposing the legend is all true, the marvelous Land of Oz remains as a glowing tribute to the powers of the Fairy Queen Lurlin��. And to insure its longevity, Lurlin�� arranged for a fairy ruler to watch over the country she had created. Of course, the ruler would have to be a native Ozite. She would be a beautiful princess.
Princess Ozma was born several generations later unto a descendant of Ozroar and his wife Ozia, herself a descendant of fairies and daughter of Oziana. Young Ozma was prepared to take on the leadership of Oz upon reaching adulthood.
But Lurlin��'s plan was balked by the arrival of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henckle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs. This was a mortal man from outside of the enchanted land who landed there in a balloon. It had been he who had erected the Emerald City, and he who had sold the infant Ozma into slavery at the hands of a heartless old Witch named Mombi. To hide the infant queen, Mombi had transformed her into a boy. She believed that no one would ever think to look to a little boy to find the fairy princess, so Ozma was aptly hidden away for a very long time.
But things in Oz do have a way of working out for the best. After Diggs left the country, Ozma was found and restored to her proper being. She had aged very little, being that Oz folk age only when they choose to, and little Ozma had just been given her rightful place on the royal throne. Most of this history, of course, was unknown to Elephant and his companions. They saw only the fact that she was a child. They did not know of her unique experiences at all. If they had, they'd have surely recognized that she was more aware of human needs and the differences there connected. But even to their eyes, it was clear that this child was very special. They had every hope that she would be able to do as they needed done to rid their land of the terrifying Forest Monster.
[Illustration: Tiger caught in a Spiderweb.]


CHAPTER 6
THE GIANT SPIDER
Tiger growled as he watched his captor wrap him in the strong webbing. He was a fairly small tiger, but he was accustomed to being larger than any spider he had ever heard of. This spider, he felt certain, was some sort of a