The Eka To
Come, my child, come close and listen. Do not stray into the darkness of night, for there hides a hideous beast, waiting to take you away. Come, my child, come sit by the fire. Do not look at the edge of shadows, for there waits a terrible fate, waiting to take you away. Come, my child, come sleep with me. Do not dwell on frightful things, for there lurk the Eka To, waiting to take you away.
Variations & Mutation
While the nursery rhyme quoted above is from Bramin, all of the cultures of the Island have similar warnings for their children about frightening beings waiting in the darkness. The people of the Tribes call these beings the Hoomop, in Tayon Ke they are the Skrin, and in Quyata they tell stories of the Moss Maidens.
The details vary, but the overall warning is always clear - something or someone lurks in the shadows, waiting to take children away into the unknown, to steal them away from home and family.
Show spoiler
This is, of course, the myth that has grown out of the fact that during Aso Kyen, certain children are invited by The Chye to accompany them to Pyktahua and join the sisterhood. While the Chye would prefer that children aren't terrified of them, they have had little control over how society has dealt with centuries of children disappearing. The children themselves, once in Aso Kyen, overcome most of their fear because of the connection to Ayuna that moves through them, but there is always some conditioning that needs to be undone during their early years at the monastery.
Descriptions of the Eka To vary widely and depictions of them in the arts are very much up to the creator's interpretation and imagination. There are countless paintings, sculptures, songs, and other artistic creations of these beings, as they are a pervasive part of all of the cultures on the Island. Above you can see one Tayon Ke artist's interpretation.
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