Taokaka's Adventure

Content

Below is a popular lore scholars believe was written during the reign of King Melkhiel.
Various records of the adventures of Taokaka exist, but it is safe to believe the story documented here is closest to the original.
{np} - Sage Master Lufas Kehel
{np} * The Adventures of Taokaka
{np} One day, on a secluded path, Taokaka came across a demon.
Since he was a polite boy regardless of the situation he decided to address the demon himself.
This was also not the first time for Taokaka to come across such danger and as such he was already experienced in such things.
{np} [Hello, what are you doing?]
[I'm spinning the wheel of destiny.]
The demon answered curtly.
There was, in fact, a spinning wheel before the demon.
{np} [A wheel? And why are you spinning it?]
[This is the wheel of destiny. By spinning the wheel one can take away what another has and give to them what they did not. The fruits of these trades are within the wheel. Spinning the wheel again will randomly give one to the owner.]
{np} [That sounds nice.]
[Maybe not. The wheel will return to the target something they hold dear, something they have forgotten, but what it will give to the owner cannot be surmised.
{np} And if you're the owner of the wheel, you must spin it seven times. Whatever escapes on the seventh spin, must be accepted.]
[Where are you at now?]
[Six.]
{np} [Then will you spin it again?]
[Only if you agree to accept it.]
[And if I don't?]
[Then I will kill you.]
[Well, it seems I have no choice.]
{np} [Yes. I have killed those before you who rejected me. If you fear death, then don't delay and accept this magic wheel. Accept it and I will leave with whatever gift the wheel grants me.
{np} All this time I have carefully chosen who to spin the wheel for and now only good remains within it. Now if I spin the wheel, it will take something cherished from you, and give something for you and something for me. This also means that whatever you receive won't be bad.
{np} Of course, if this wasn't the seventh rotation, then there is no need for two gifts to appear. It always takes one and gives one.]
[Alright. Well spin the wheel, then give it to me.]
The demon, with a mixed sense of freedom and accomplishment, spun the spinning wheel one last time.
{np} Both the demon and Taokaka knew that the wheel took something from Taokaka, but what it was they did not know.
The demon saw this and spoke.
{np} [It must be something abstract like a feeling. That's why it can't be seen. If it was something like intelligence or courage, you would suddenly become stupid or filled with fear. Since that's not the case, at the moment, whatever it is can't be known.]
{np} As the demon said that, something from the wheel entered him.
It could not be seen, but what it was could easily be known.
The demon's appearance changed into something more sinister.
Whoever saw could tell that the demon had obtained additional strength.
{np} He gave a sinister, demonic smile and spoke.
[I have obtained unbelievable strength. With this, in the demon realm I can win the rank of Demon Lord. Endless vitality would have been more beneficial in surviving the many battles but I'm pleased with this improvement. {np} Regardless, things have turned out well. Boy, I'm leaving. Before you spin the wheel on me. Hahahaha!]
With those words, the demon disappeared without a trace.
{np} Taokaka, without a stir, simply picked up the wheel and said, [Well then wait, we will meet again...]
And he continued walking.
{np} As he walked with the wheel in hand, he was pulled towards the sound of music in the distance and followed it to an open field in the forest where a group of people was holding a masquerade.
Taokaka spun the wheel and the music was absorbed.
{np} It was because, here, music was the most precious commodity.
In return, the wheel gave those at the masquerade the virtue of honesty. In that moment, they ripped off their masks and revealed to each other their true selves.
{np} Taokaka continued on his journey once again.
On the path before him was a toy knife.
It was shaped like a sword, but it was a toy just bigger than the size of one's palm.
Here, Taokaka spun the wheel.
From the toy knife came its most precious possession, fun.
{np} And because what the toy knife was missing was an owner, the wheel gave it one. Its new owner became Taokaka.
{np} Now carrying both the wheel and the toy knife, Taokaka continued walking and met a person apathetically working on the soil.
In front of this person, Taokaka spun the wheel. {np} From the wheel came the fun that was taken from the toy knife. With this, the bored worker suddenly realized the insurmountable excitement he could have from his work.
And in return, the wheel took what was most important to him, one day's wage.
{np} As though struck by a dream, the worker understood that he would miss one day's wage, but since tomorrow too he could enjoy his work and be paid, all was well.
{np} And although he was not there and did not know the proceedings of where and how to deliver this wage, the worker's employer went about doing so without a second thought.
{np} As Taokaka continued on his way, he passed many people and places, but if the need to spin the wheel did not come, he moved on.
With that in mind, when he came across a discarded wine bottle, he spun the wheel.
{np} The feelings of intoxication and drunkenness entered the wheel.
And in return, it gave music.
Now if one had the wine, one would not get drunk but rather would hear the sounds of music. And Taokaka continued on.
{np} Time passed before Taokaka stopped before the corpse of a fallen knight.
It was clear that the knight had fought to his death.
Nearby was what appeared to be his sword and the signs of a struggle.
{np} Taokaka spun the spinning wheel before the corpse.
The powerful death of the fallen knight entered the wheel.
And the wheel gave the corpse what the demon had spoken of before he had left, endless vitality.
{np} When the fallen knight received the gift, he was revived.
He spoke to Taokaka and gave him his thanks.
From the knight, Taokaka learned that the killer was the demon from whom he had received the wheel.
{np} And from the knight he also learned that the demon had traveled to various other places, leaving a path of destruction in his wake as he searched to obtain only the best.
He learned that the knight had died in pursuit of this vile demon.
{np} The knight said he would pursue the demon again, and Taokaka said he too was in pursuit.
This is because Taokaka wanted to take back what the wheel had taken from him.
{np} To get back what was taken someone must be the target of the spin and Taokaka believed his target must be the demon.
Therefore, Taokaka and the knight set off together to find him.
Since the seventh spin of the wheel must be saved for the demon, Taokaka resolved to spin the wheel once more.
{np} After careful deliberation, Taokaka selected the toy knife and spun the wheel again.
The wheel gave to the toy the death that was taken from the knight's corpse.
{np} But what it took was its ownership. The knife was no longer Taokaka's nor was it anyone else's.
Put other way, one could say the rights of ownership were taken from the toy and now belonged to the wheel.
{np} Although the wheel had taken death from the knight's corpse, it was not the only thing that it gave the toy knife as now death itself was unclear and the knife's very concept of ownership was altered.
{np} Regardless, now whomever touched the toy had nothing before them but their demise.
As without an owner, it would become an uncontrollable knife of death.
But as luck would have it, the revived knight carried within him endless vitality and as such was unable to be killed by the death pervading the knife.
{np} And as such, the knight became its sole owner.
With the knife under his control, the two set off again on their journey in pursuit of the demon.
And before long, they came across the demon who had given Taokaka the wheel. The demon spoke first.
{np} [This is quite unusual. To meet you again and even more so, to be greeted by this knight that I have already killed. How are you alive?]
Taokaka replied.
[That's not important.]
[Then what is? Human boy.]
{np} The demon asked and Taokaka answered.
[Returning to me what had left when you had spun the wheel. In other words, I want what was cut from me. Good or bad it was mine.]
{np} This sparked the demon's curiosity and he asked,
[Alright, then what was it that the wheel cut?]
[As my grandmother once told me, since the day I was born I received a blessing from the goddess. A blessing of luck tied to misfortune, she said.]
{np} [Luck tied to misfortune?]
[Yes. The misfortune is the reason why I meet demons like you or other dangers, but because of the luck I always win. But this time, it has been cut and a part of that blessing has entered the wheel.]
{np} As soon as he heard this, the knight spoke.
[Whatever the case, it seems what has entered the wheel must be luck. And since the bad luck has nowhere to go, it attached itself to someone else.]
{np} Taokaka nodded and replied.
[It seems that way. This is why you have met me again.]
As he said these words, he spun the spinning wheel.
By then it was already too late for the demon to escape and whatever came out from the wheel was what he would have to accept.
{np} The wheel spun, but the demon who understood the nature behind the wheel believed he still had a chance.
He would gather his strength, attack Taokaka and the knight and steal the wheel again.
Even if the wheel took what strength it had given, he would still have his original power which would be enough to finish the task, he thought.
{np} However, the wheel did not take away from the demon the strength it had given.
Instead, it took from him the misfortune that had caused him to meet Taokaka again.
{np} This was good for the demon until the wheel rewarded him with the intoxication and drunkenness that it had taken from the wine bottle.
The demon did not lose himself in his drunken state, but he had no choice but to be overcome by the feeling.
{np} As a result, he was unable to speak and stumbled along until he fell to the ground.
At this point, Taokaka felt no further need to spin the wheel.
This is because the luck from the goddess' blessing had been released and rejoined with the misfortune that had left the demon, before finally being returned to Taokaka.
{np} The fallen demon, who knew his only choice now was to use the wheel, fumbled in a drunken stupor towards Taokaka.
Taokaka gently rested the wheel on the ground and stepped back. The demon, with a smile of satisfaction that only a drunkard could make, picked up the wheel.
{np} The same smile plastered on his face, he spun the wheel.
The wheel took from the demon his intoxication and rewarded him with the power of ownership.
{np} Like that, the demon became the everlasting owner of the wheel and become unable to pass on the wheel to anyone or anything in existence.
Moreover, the demon knew that the wheel had taken his intoxication but he had yet to realize what it had given him.
{np} As the demon sat there puzzled, still considering the situation, the knight stepped forward and touched the demon with the tip of the toy's blade.
As the demon's thoughts were preoccupied with other matters, he did not think twice to avoid the attack, believing the weapon to be a mere toy.
{np} But in this knife was death and it killed the demon where he sat.
And with his death also meant the death of the owner of the spinning wheel.
{np} Although they tried, the knight and Taokaka came to realize that they could no longer spin the wheel, let alone even pick it up.
{np} In the end, the knight and Taokaka left.
And not too long afterward, Goddess Laima appeared.
As there was no one in possession of the spinning wheel, Goddess Laima was now able to retrieve it with ease.
{np} And so, with the wheel of destiny returned to the goddess who rules one's fate, Goddess Laima disappeared.
And it is here where the story of Taokaka, and his bottle of wine that does not intoxicate but plays music, and the knight, with the knife that can kill all, comes to an end.