The Ebony Elephant and the Circus of Misfortune Prologue - The Dark that Lights up the Darkness

The Ebony Elephant and the Circus of Misfortune

Prologue – The Dark that Lights up the Darkness

The Circus of Misfortune has a long of history that gave it its name. It was first called Riley and Roger’s Circus of the Unusual. Roger is the founder. When he was a young boy, he ran away from his home with his pet mouse Riley who his parents wanted to get rid of. Roger was sad and homeless now, so to cheer him up, Riley did some tricks he learned from dogs and this made Roger happy. Roger then got the idea to make Riley do tricks for money so they can eat. They ended up making so much money that they were able to buy enough food to eat and even buy more pets to do tricks. Eventually, Riley got sick because mice live for only one or two years before dying. Roger took Riley to a pet doctor and they couldn’t do anything, so he went to a witch doctor. The witch doctor said that she would grant Roger’s wish along with another since her power was great, so Roger wished to be a Circus Master. She granted his wishes and his circus became one of the best in the world.

Roger had dozens of performing animals, entertainers, and his tents and theaters were always packed with people. He even managed to get married and have two children. Riley continued to live without even catching a cold even as Roger entered his late twenties. Eventually, Roger’s fake blessing wore off and tragedy stuck his circus. An entertainer, animal, or an audience member would die from an unusual accident. It eventually got so bad that the circus was nicknamed the Circus of Misfortune. Roger ran with this name and it attracted daredevils for a while who got scared off as well because something or someone would die during every show. If this wasn't enough, Roger’s wife and children died due to tragedy. No one came to his circus after that and he went out of business. Roger finally figured out why he was being afflicted and went back to the witchdoctor. She told him that the devil’s power blessed him. The devil would take his due after a while and that just so happened to be the life of his wife, children, and his business. After learning that, he threw his colorful circus master outfit on the floor and ran out.

After years of work, Roger was back to where he was with Riley performing tricks on the streets for change. On one rainy night, Roger overheard a mugging taking place in an alley. Thinking that he probably wouldn’t last a year on the streets, he decided to selflessly save the woman being mugged. He threw rotten fruit at the muggers, said a few insults, then ran away as they chased him. Roger then saw another person who needed help. A poor skinny man was being assaulted by a muscular one. The skinny man can barely defend himself while the muscular one won’t stop punching him. Roger didn’t mind having another person chase him, in fact, he thought having more people beat on him will help him die quicker, so he punches the muscular man, which gets him to chase Roger. Four people now chased Roger with death on their minds. He knew he would die soon so he silently confessed his wrongdoings and hoped for a quick death. His death wouldn’t be painless, he knew that for sure. Riley held onto him as he was ready for death as well.

There was one final person ahead of Roger that needed his help. A woman was slowly crossing the street because the rain and winds were harsh. Roger could hear a carriage coming but the woman either didn’t hear it or couldn’t run fast enough. He didn’t mind saving another person. He hoped that this last act would redeem his soul, so he ran, leaped, then pushed the woman out of the way. His face smiled for the first time in a while as he embraced death with closed eyes, but death did not snatch him up that night. An ebony elephant pushed him forward so that he was saved. It elephant turned around then squeakily roared at Roger’s pursuers. They look at the elephant in confusion then step forward to get it out of the way, but another carriage comes and crashes into them. The pursuers are badly injured, but the carriage driver and his horse are somehow fine.

As people rushed to help the people in the crash, the ebony elephant turned around and smiled at Roger. Despite it being dark out, the elephant seemed to glow and light up the night like a bright lantern.

“You helped me?” Roger confusingly asked.

The elephant shook her head yes.

“Well, thank you mister elephant. Let’s get out of the rain.”

Roger, Riley, and the Elephant go underneath a store awning.

“So…you appear to know what I’m saying.”

The elephant shook her head yes.

“Ok…so if you can, tell me why you saved me.”

The elephant rubbed up against Roger then did a backflip and other tricks.

“I’m guessing that you like me and want to join my circus?”

The elephant shook her head yes.

“But why?”

The elephant smiled and pointed at it.

“To bring smiles to people?”

The elephant eagerly shook her head yes.

“That’s understandable. I started my circus to do the same thing. But why me?”

The elephant pretended to be dead then pretended to come back to life. She then pretended to be a monster and the person who fought against it.

“You want to resurrect my circus and fight against the curses that come to it?”

The elephant shook her head side to side in a sort of yes but a little bit no sort of way.

“Ok, but where did you come from?”

The elephant looked around up above.

“Heaven? The sky? The stars?”

The elephant shrugged. Her smile widened then shrank back.

“I guess it really doesn’t matter, but what should I call you?”

The elephant shrugged again.

“How about Ebony?”

The elephant rubbed up against Roger again.

“Ok then. That’ll be your name. Come on Ebony, let’s see if you can bring smiles to people.”

When Ebony performed with Riley in public, they gained massive attention from the public. This attention exploded until Roger got back his circus and his audience though he still had the name, Circus of Misfortune. Instead of denying the name, he decided to make it his brand again especially since misfortune still happened to him, but this time, Ebony kept them away.

For example, there is the legend about the demon of greed. He would give you a down payment of the modern-day equivalent of five million dollars. The demon would say the money is yours if you do one thing for him that he would tell you in his carriage. When people would accept it, they would do unspeakable deeds such as; murder, burying or burning themselves alive, and being involved in the church of Satan. There was even one case where a man ate his own wife and children.

When this demon of greed stopped by the Circus of Misfortune, Ebony sensed it and immediately found him. Ebony chased the demon down into hell where the demon took his victims, but once they were there, the devil dipped the demon of greed in a pot of boiling lava for bringing Ebony to hell. Ebony was then tossed out a bit singed but happy to have gotten rid of the demon and a person. She then went back to perform for a roaring crowd who were unaware of the danger.

It is unclear when she will stop or if her true origins will be spoken to mortal ears. For that, she has her plans for when that will happen, but for now, all that matters to her is the happiness and protection of the Circus of Misfortune and the people who get attacked by creatures that folklore legends are made of.