Web of Lies

About the Myth

This myth is told by Thryvani storytellers, usually during various festivals, using their well-known dance format. Several storytellers participate, playing various roles. As they dance about, they recite the story in an overly dramatic fashion with sonorous voicing, elaborate hand motions, and graceful body movements. The dance is entrancing and by the end of the story, the audience can almost see the web, feel its loneliness, and a few can even hear something calling, whispering... But always, at the end of the dance, one of the Thryvani will stride to the center of the dancers, whirl a staff around in a circle, strike the ground, and the connection, if one exists, is broken. Those watching, blink, rouse themselves as if from a dream, and then congratulate themselves for being one of the rare groups of people to witness this particular telling. For the Thryvani rarely dance this story.

I was visiting a town when the Thryvani arrived, and I had the great fortune to watch their marvelous story dance of the Web of Lies. But I was quite surprised to discover that by the end of the dance we were all bespelled — not an actual spell, I have defenses for that. But the loneliness, longing, and the whispering were all too real. And the world seemed a bit darker and closed in — I sensed hidden danger. But when the staff struck the ground, all was normal again.

I approached the lead dancer and quietly asked why I felt danger when there was obviously none. The answer was illuminating. They tell the story as a warning so that people will recognize the danger if they ever hear the web calling them. And the striking of the staff reinforces the wards the Thryvani have erected to protect our world... should the web ever drift our way.

— Bell

The Telling

The Web of Lies is old, ancient — created by beings long gone. For them, it was entertainment, relieving them from their eternal boredom. The web broadcast the emotions of those captured in its web of dreams and nightmares, allowing its creators brief moments of emotional vitality in their otherwise drab existence. Unfortunately, the beings caught in the web could not escape. And as the web turned to darker dreams in an effort to entertain its ever-more-bored creators, the imprisoned beings died — driven to madness and death by their worst fears and dreams.

Eventually, the creators faded away, bored with existence. But the web stayed — bereft and alone, with no purpose. From time to time, creatures stumbled into it. They would live for a time since the web provided sustenance, but they could not relieve its loneliness or fulfill its purpose. And after some time, they, too, would fade away.

Then — a being with imagination entered the way, thinking of possible treasure or simply curious. The web listened to their hidden thoughts and dreams, chose one, and presented it to the being. But that didn't work so well. It has chosen a dark dream, something the being greatly feared, and it died — frightened to death.

More time passed. The web drifted. With no anchor, it floated on the waves. Not waves of water or air or even light, waves that embody the essence of the universe itself. And finally, it found another being. This time, the web carefully tried a bit of each dream, watched the being's reaction, and then settled on one the being liked. The web realized that the being's thoughts and dreams provided the web with... something — almost like nourishment, but not quite satisfying since the being just wanted to see just the same few dreams over and over. Once again, the being died. But this time, not from fear or boredom, but from time — it had grown old.

Now the web was even more lonely and aimless. It desperately needed a purpose. So, to find a being or beings that could give it direction, it begin to listen. It had learned from the two beings — the universe was different now, with lots of beings. Some of them with purpose and ambition, full of energy, excited with life. Not bored, like its creators. The web began to think. Perhaps one of these new beings....

After studying them, the web understood that capturing them would extinguish their joy of life which would provide the web bland nourishment and cause the being to fade more quickly. Perhaps if the being joined with web... And so the web looked for its spider.

The web searched through the dreams of numerous beings until it found a suitable one. It entered their dreams and proposed a joining, offering to give the being power — for knowledge is power and it had learned much over the eons — in return for companionship and purpose. The being agreed. It would give the web purpose. It would choose other beings and give them to the web to search their thoughts for knowledge and make them live their dreams.

And the web began to change. It found that it needed and soon craved the dreams of the imprisoned beings. And the spider smiled, directing the web to surround the beings with lies and broadcast the emotions. Sometimes fear and depression, sometimes anger and aggression, and sometimes contentment and peace. After each broadcast, the spider would give the web more beings.

But most beings do not last, and the spider began to fade. The web did not like this. It wanted more beings, to study and learn, to probe their minds and thoughts, to make them live their dreams, and to broadcast their emotions. Beings that it could surround with lies to see how they responded. And the web didn't know how to acquire beings without the spider.

Then one day, the spider brought a new being to the web, but instead of giving them to the web, it told the web that this new being would be the new spider. And in return for this gift, the web was to take the mind of the old spider and spin them into a special place in the web. A place where the new spider could safely visit, learn, and converse with the essence that was. And in this way, the old spider would live forever even though its body faded completely away.

And the web liked this. It accepted the new spider and created the place for the old spider's mind. And when the new spider started to fade, they chose another being to replace them and received their own special place in the web. And the latest spider could visit with both the previous spiders. And this continued... and the web grew... with each new space, with the learning from so, so many victims.

Time passed. The spiders grew careless, less careful, less subtle, less secretive about their connection with the web and source of their power. Now there were rumors of the web's existence. People gave it a name — the Web of Lies. Still, only small amount of people knew. They feared it, and they feared the power it gave anyone who controlled it.

Then one day, a spider decided it wanted to rule openly and demonstrated the power of the web. And although the people did not really understand the web, they did know the spider. And so, before the spider could escape or call on the web to broadcast abject fear, the people killed the spider. And the web was lonely again.

Waiting for someone to connect with it, to give it purpose, and to talk to the other spiders. To learn the secrets of the universe, how to ensorcel people with the lies they want to hear, how to frighten people with the lies they fear.

Alone and waiting.

Related Ethnicities

• Thryvani