Shishmash stomped on the river and breathed fire, turning the water into steam. Shishmash exhaled the steam, then cooled it down to water with his sharp claws, which were made of an enchanted metal which is always cold. Next, Shishmash churned the water with the tips of his claws, hardening it into frigid ice, and slammed it over Cao Nyut’s head. Cao Nyut fell unconscious.

Shishmash then held Bun underwater, inside his fist, until the boy was frozen inside a chunk of ice. Only his head was out in the air. His cheeks were bright red, and his hair and eyebrows were sleek with frost.

“How dare you come here?” said Shishmash. “How dare you enter my master’s, domain, unbidden?”

“We come at the behest of Shinu, Mistress of the Gods, who has sent us to ask Clow Morrokh to bring clouds and rain back to the earth, to stop The Sky Father from burning the planet alive. His children are starving. Please.”

Shishmash saw that Bun was trembling but unafraid. The great monster observed the boy for a long time. At last, he spoke.

“Very well,” he said, “I admire your courage. Wait here.”

Shishmash disappeared behind a giant waterfall that was twice as tall as he was. The giant monster parted the falling water like curtains and disappeared into the dark cave beyond.

While Shishmash was gone, Bun roused Cao Nyut.

“You have fought bravely,” said Bun. “Thanks to your bravery, and to mine, Shishmash has rewarded us. He has gone back into his cave behind the Great Waterfall to summon Clow Morrokh, the Rain God.”

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Cao Nyut sighed with relief as Bun helped him to his feet. They waited at the foot of the Great Waterfall for Shishmash to return with his master.

All at once, the light all around them dimmed, and a great rain began to fall. A shape emerged from the rain. It was the outline of a man. Behind him, Shishmash knelt on its knees, its forehead pressed against the earth in submission.

“Who are these miserable worms to come and disturb me in my sleep?”

“I am Bun, the wandering boy, and this is Cao Nyut, the Pachyderm from the Island Citadel of Sot. We came here to ask you to bring rain back to the world. Cannesia is dry. The Sky Father no longer cares for his children. He only has eyes for the moon, whom he chases across the sky, from horizon to horizon, without stopping.”

Clow Morrokh shook his head. “It is sad that The Sky Father has forgotten his children. Very well. I will reward your bravery by bringing rain back to Cannesia.”

With that, the rain god emerged from his seclusion and brought clouds into the sky, and it rained, and Cannesia was saved from drought and famine.

After that, The Sky Father became angry, because Shinu, Mistress of the Gods, had conspired to undermine his authority, and he took his anger out on Bun and Cao Nyut. But that is another story altogether.

But this story is not about The Sky Father. Nor is it about Shinu, Clow Morrokh, or any of the Old Gods of the Mookh Yabu. Indeed, The Legend of Bun takes many forms. Depending on which mythology you look at, you get tens of different stories.

But, as I am sure you have already noticed, this story is called The Legend of Bun and the Murkhlings of Shandapidoor, and so next I will tell you the tale of the Murkhlings, as once was told by the Wing Tribes, a semi-nomadic people who lived along the outskirts of the Kaeid Desert.