Storytelling Week 4: Nimet and the Dark Wizard

“I am so sorry, my son.” His father’s tearful words echoed in Nimet’s head. He tried to make sense of what had just occurred. He was still dressed in his fine wedding garb, but instead of enjoying a wedding feast in the palace, he was tied to a tree in the shadow of a jagged mountain; he was the prisoner of Dark Wizard.

            His head slumped down and he closed his eyes, wishing to be back home with his father, King Buyuk. He longed for his joyful childhood of learning, playing, and hunting. Before today, he had never known sorrow.

            A rustling of movement caused his heartbeat to falter. He snapped his head up and looked around in fear of the Dark Wizard’s return. Instead, he saw three harmless doves fluttering around the river. Right before his eyes, the graceful birds dove into the water and resurfaced as lovely maidens. He closed his eyes tightly, assuming he was going mad with thirst and terror. But when he opened them again, the maidens remained, swimming in the gentle flow of water.

            Two of the maidens dipped below the water’s surface and reemerged as doves. The birds flew away, leaving one maiden alone. The girl locked eyes with Nimet. She stood from the river and walked towards him, her flowing dress and dark, wavy hair impossibly dry.

            “Your father once made a deal with the Dark Wizard,” she explained, answering his unspoken questions. “The Dark Wizard gave your father the means to have a son with the understanding that the child would belong to the Wizard after his twentieth year. You are my father’s captive,” she said sadly.

            “Your father?” Nimet gasped. He could not believe that such a beautiful maiden could be the offspring of such a hideous man.

            She nodded.

            “You must heed my advice,” she pleaded. “My father is a cruel man. Soon, he will come to you and torture you. He will try to speak with you, but you must never answer. Do not speak with him, no matter what he says. When it is all over, I vow to you that I will help you escape and return you to your home.”

            The maiden disappeared, replaced by a dove that was picked up by the wind and swept gently away. Nimet watched the bird go with a storm of emotions in his heart.

***

Nimet endured three days of torture at the hands of the Dark Wizard. As the malicious man went about his cruel tasks, he asked Nimet many questions and demanded a response. Weakened by pain, Nimet many times nearly gave in to the Dark Wizard’s demands, hoping it would stop the abuse. But each time he was about to speak, a single dove would fly within his vision. He remained silent, and on the morning of the fourth day, the chains that constrained him rusted away and fell.

            Nimet dropped to his knees. He was broken in body and nearly in spirit. But just as he was about to sink further to the ground, he heard soft footsteps. He looked up hesitantly and was greeted by the sight of the beautiful maiden.

            “You have succeeded,” she said quietly, crouching to meet his eyes. “Follow me. I will shield you from my father’s gaze and deliver you safely home.”

            She helped him stand. The touch of her hand was soft and warm. Soon that feeling radiated throughout Nimet’s pained body. He looked down, finding his bruises and lashes nearly healed. The intense pain subsided.

            “Thank you,” Nimet said quietly. “What is your name?”

            “Sevda,” she replied. “Look around you, Prince Nimet.”

            Nimet finally looked away from Sevda to their surroundings, astonished to see that they stood in the garden of his palace.

            “You are home,” she said. “Free to marry your betrothed and one day become king.”

            Nimet’s heart filled with joy. But there was one detail he had to correct.

            “Marry me, Sevda,” he said, taking both her hands. “I have no love for my betrothed. But I cannot say the same for you, who have been my light in my darkest days. Just say yes, and it will be done.”

             Her face lit up in a smile, and their happily ever after began.

(Turtledove by Johann Fredrick Naumann 1897)

Author's Note. This story is based of of The Wizard-Dervish, a two-part story from the Turkish Fairy Tales Unit. In the original story, a Padishah (great king) gets help from a dervish (holy man; in this case, he is also a wizard). The wizard-dervish helps the king have a son, but says that once the child turns twenty he will belong to the wizard. On the prince's wedding day, the wizard takes him away to the foot of a mountain where the prince sees three doves that are actually the wizard's daughters. One of the daughters helps the prince endure the wizard's beatings by providing him with the proper answer to his question ("Dost know?" "I know not.") The wizard then gives his daughter in marriage to the prince and they escape from her witch-mother and make it back to the prince's home, where he eventually does marry the wizard's daughter.

For my story, I wanted to focus more on the emotions of the prince and the wizard's daughter. It was a strange story to begin with, so hopefully my version makes some sense. I would have liked to write  more, but I don't think I could have expanded much within the word constraints while keeping the same writing style.

For the names, I decided to use Turkish words that could represent aspects of the original story. Buyuk means "great." Nimet means "blessing," as the king definitely viewed the birth of a son as such. Sevda means love.

Bibliography: The Wizard-Dervish from Fourty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignaz Kunos (1913)