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Introduction

This story is a popular wick tale, originating among the first tribes of Anaxas. The moral is generally accepted to be "Your loyalty is to your family, not your race."

This legend highlights the values of the wick community, who often feel as though they are caught between two worlds, and value diversity, loyalty and acceptance. Oe is a sympathetic character, betrayed by a wicked man who tries to get her to leave her family. Generally, the hunter in this story is thought to represent the human community, who (according to the wick perception of the world) often try to "tame" nomadic wicks and get them to behave properly.

The Tale of the Panther Queen

In ancient times, there was a dark and hot jungle in the center of a deep valley. None dared to venture there, for it was said that terrible beasts held the land in their claws and would tear to pieces anyone foolish enough to enter.

Greatest of all the terrible beasts was the panther, whose teeth were whiter than the moon and whose yellow eyes could see through shadows. She had many children, each as fearsome as she, and she loved them equally, though they were weak-minded and not clever enough to rule the forest.

When our story begins, the great cat had grown older, and was nearing her last days. One day she called her mate to her, and asked that he give her one more child to rule over the others. And so, on a moonless night, she bore a child - but it was horrible and twisted, and she hated the sight of it. In truth, she had born a human girl, with skin as black as her mother's and hair darker than the deepest abyss, beautiful and strange. In her despair, the mother writhed, suffered, and passed from the world.

The brothers and sisters of the strange child gathered to mourn their mother. Though their instincts told them they should rend the flesh of the strange child, their weak-mindedness led them to pity her, and they named her Oe, which meant "the last of us."

Little Oe had not yet opened her eyes, and, fearing that she should discover how different she was, they told her a wicked lie. They said that all panthers kept their eyes closed, from the day they were born to the day they died, and that if she were to open them, she would lose both her life and their love. Oe did not understand, but did as she was told.

As she grew, she became more beautiful and strange, and the other panthers feared her greatly. Being a human, she was strong and lithe; although she was blind and had no claws or teeth, she could hunt beasts that even her brothers and sisters could not. She became their leader, and they respected her, though they feared the day she would open her eyes. The panthers worried that Oe would turn against them if she realized that she was human. So, again, they told her: Sister, never open your eyes, for you would surely die.

One year, there was a great storm that covered the world in ice. The valley was protected from the worst of it, but the villages nearby were wasted and ravaged. The few survivors banded together to search for food, and decided to brave the dangers of the forest. But the humans had heard the tales told of the fearsome panthers. So they sent their leader, a strong and brave hunter, into the forest alone to kill the leader of the panthers, so they could enter the forest safely.

The hunter searched for days, waiting in dark places for the fearsome panther to find him, crouched with his hunting knife and praying to the gods. The brothers and sisters learned of his presence in the forest from the birds, and realized at once that he was human, like Oe. At the panthers' council, they decided that Oe should be kept away from this stranger. So, one by one, the panthers went in secret to kill the hunter.

But the human was strong, and quick like Oe, and easily killed panther after panther, until he had killed nine of Oe's brothers and sisters. Learning of this, Oe wept, and vowed to kill the man responsible; she took her own spear in hand, and went looking for him without her family's knowledge.

She came upon a grove with a waterfall and a pool, and discovered that he was resting on a nearby rock. Oe could smell the sweat of his brow and hear his breathing, but of course she could not see him. She hesitated before the kill, because this creature was unlike any she had come across before. As she hesitated, she stepped upon a branch, which snapped in two; hearing her approach, the hunter jumped up in surprise. As he looked at the dark panther girl, he was mesmerized by her strange beauty, and loved her instantly.

"Why do you hunt me?" he said to her. "You are human, like me." "No," she said, frowning. "You are a human, and I am a panther. You are my prey." "Open your eyes, and see for yourself," he insisted, knowing that they stood before a pool and she would see her reflection. "I cannot," she replied, "for I would surely die."

Oe leaped at him, wielding her spear, her savage rage untameable and inhuman. She knew that she had to kill this man to avenge her brothers and sisters. The hunter fought her, unwilling to hurt her; they were of equal strength, however, and after a long battle, Oe was trapped in the hunter's arms, held captive by his knife.

"You have hands like mine," said the hunter, even as she strained against him to free herself from his grasp. "You have eyes like mine, a mouth like mine, and ears like mine. Open your eyes and see." "I cannot," she repeated, baring her teeth. "It is a lie that you will die if you open your eyes," reasoned the hunter.

Unwilling to believe him, Oe struck him in his belly and fled, leaving her spear behind. When she returned to the panthers, she told them of her victory over the human hunter, and that she had stabbed him so hard that she spear had driven into the ground and could not be removed. They were all very relieved, and loved her all the more for it.

The next day, she came to the hunter again. She did not attack him this time, but instead talked with him. He told her of the outside world of humans, their plight, and why they had come to the forest; she told him of her life with the panthers, and how they had told her to never open her eyes. She visited him many more times, and each day he grew to love her more, but her feelings were wild, and she did not know the warmth of love.

"Open your eyes and see me, and you will love me," he said to her every time she visited him. And each time, she refused.

One day, she asked him a question that had been causing her pain. "Why did you kill my brothers and sisters?" she asked. "That is my way," he replied. "They attacked me, and that is their way." "But if I am like you, as you say," she said, "why have they not killed me, as well?"

The hunter thought about this. He wanted Oe to come away with him and be his wife, to leave the forest and her brothers and sisters behind. So he said to her, "They are awaiting the day of no moon, and then they will kill you and eat you like they would any other human. But if you come away with me to live outside of the forest, you will be safe."

Oe was devastated. She could not bear the thought of her brothers and sisters turning on her, and although she knew she could defeat them, she could not imagine killing her own family. So she agreed to leave the forest and be the hunter's wife.

"Open your eyes and see me," said the hunter again.

Slowly, Oe opened her eyes to see the man who loved her for the first time. But the noon sun was coming in through the trees, and the light filled her eyes and blinded her. Tears filled her vision, and she felt a stabbing pain. As she looked upon the hunter, she realized that she did not love him, for he was weak and manipulative. She saw the greedy look in his eyes and realized she had betrayed her family.

So Oe killed the hunter and ate his heart, and then took his hunting knife and put out her own eyes, as she no longer wished to see the world. Unable to return to her family, she lost herself in the maze of trees. Legend says that Oe still wanders the forest, blind and heartbroken, and will do so until the end of time.