University of Jaaxa

I) Compare and contrast the Ballad of Vaahir and the Song of Visionary. Make reference to the historical context and effect on Caphan society of these songs.

The Ballard of Vaahir and the Song of Visionary are both sagas in the old poetic form. They are of particular significance because they were first created around the time of the Caphan expansion into space. Thus they are on the border between the older purely-Caphan poetic forms, and the later forms that show influence from other civilisations.

Like the classical Caphan sagas, both the Ballard of Vaahir and the Song of Visionary are based on historical or semi-historical events. Unlike the traditional sagas, both the Ballard of Vaahir and the Song of Visionary can be placed almost exactly in history, taking place at the time of the last Transworld Challenge. The two sagas are still popular today, even though interest in the saga form is now quite rare except amongst scholars.

The Ballard of Vaahir is a saga in the true classic form. It tells the tale of Vaahir of Viigo, who fell in love with Kaara of Jaaxa, and how thier love led to the fall of the house of Taaleen, the first slave rebellion and the destruction of the house of Oodan. It is correctly designated as a romantic tragedy.

As with most traditional sagas, there are several variants of the ballard. Since the sagas were originally transmitted by word-of-mouth and often tailored to a specific audience this is not at all unusual. All the variants are very similar in content until the ending.

The oldest written variant, BV-A, ends with the capture of Vaahir and his execution by slow torture. For a long time this was the "official" form of the saga, and is interesting in that it supports the ideas that dishonour is always punished in one way or another: Prince Oodan is punished for his treachery by Vaahir, and Vaahir's dishonourable act of rebellion is likewise punished by Prince Aarmus. Overall, however, this variant strongly supports the status quo.

The second main variant, BV-B, Vaahir survives the breaking of the rebellion and goes into hiding, awaiting the time when the slaves can be roused again. For many years this variant circulated in secret amongst the slave classes and was not written down until much later. This variant is unusual in that it is the only Caphan saga that uses the "sleeping hero" archetype that is popular in some alien literature - for example the characters of Arthur, Elvis and Christ Jesus in Earth literature. This variant contains a strong rebellious streak, which is why it was suppressed at the time, and why it was a long time before it was recorded. Even so, it should be remembered that - as is still the case today - the slave classes were not interested in emancipation, merely in ownership by honourable or worthy masters.

Both BV-A and BV-B usually end with the suicide of Kaara when she hears of her lover's defeat. In contrast, the third variant, BV-C, provides a third ending. In this variant Vaahir is exiled to a distant planet where he is eventually joined by Kaara. The variant is never clear as to who exiles Vaahir, and how Kaara manages to escape her off-world master to join him. This variant appears only in the oral tradition, and appears to be of slightly more recent vintage. It is generally viewed as an attempt to tack a happy ending on to a tragic tale. This addendum is usually considered to be the first occasion that external influences appeared in Caphan Literature.

It should be noted that according to the historical record, Vaahir disappeared when the rebellion was broken, so all the variant endings are to some extent wishful thinking.

In summary, With the possible exception of BV-C, the Ballard of Vaahir is the last example of classic Caphan saga, detailing the defeat of the dishonourable either by society or at the hands of those they have dishonoured.

The Song of Visionary, on the other hand, is unusual in several respects.

• There is only one variant of the song, and its written form appears to be as old as the oral form - in fact the written form predates the first written forms of the Ballard of Vaahir.


• Most of the story takes place away from Caph and, apart from the nine slave girls and a slavemaster from the house of Nailliv, none of the characters are Caphan.


• Although the style is predominantly Caphan, there are elements of the story that have clearly been adapted from alien cultures, specifically Lovetoad and Human.


• The saga has a ragged, unfinished feel to it. Although it is undeniably a well-told story, it has an extemporary flavour, as if the first telling of the saga is the one recorded, rather than one of the later - more polished - versions.


• It is the first saga to have an author attributed to it: Deeela, daughter of Chieftain Ytirar by Iliia the Fair.

These inconsistencies cited by some commentators as proof that the story is actually an alien forgery, probably created by the Lovetoads to cause unrest amongst the slave class in revenge after the abortive off-world pursuit of Vaahir.

The song, however, obeys all the forms of traditional Caphan saga (which a forgery would not do since traditional Caphan forms are virtually unknown outside Caph). This supports the mainstream view that the Song of Visionary is a genuine piece of Caphan literature, possibly written by an off-planet slave. A minority view suggests that Kriige of the House of Daarthon was the original author, but this is considered unlikely, although she doubtless had the knowledge of alien cultures to produce the story.

The song itself concerns the off-planet sale of nine slavegirls to the Slimy Slaver Lovetoad, of their acquisition by the "Great Visionary" of the title, and of their adventures and misadventures under his ownership.

The song mainly tells of the girl's desire for a kindly and honourable master, and of the difficulties that they faced in alien cultures - first Lovetoad , then Human. This accounts for its popularity amongst the womenfolk.

The characters in the song are clearly created to emphasise these cross-cultural differences. The eponymous Visionary, who should be the mighty-thewed hero, is portrayed as weak and frightened. Instead, the strongest character in the story turns out to be the Epitome of Eunuchs.

Despite the semi-tragic beginnings the song is quite light-hearted and would qualify as Romantic Comedy were it not for the fact that no romance appears to take place, although some parts of the story descend to what the Humans call Bedroom Farce.

Overall, the Song of Visionary is little more than the vocalisation of a slave's desire for a worthy master, and a protest at the off-planet sale of slaves into a culture that does not care for its people the way our culture does. Its main effect on Caphan society was that its widespread circulation amongst the womenfolk was one of the factors induced the Emirate Council to make the sale of slaves off-planet unlawful.

OK. So what's all this about? And how is Dr Who involved?

Well, I wanted to do some sort of story about how the Song of Visionary was fed into Caphan culture. I had a lot of individual scenes and ideas, but no coherent whole.

Then I watched Episode 2 of the new Dr Who. It was set in the far future and included the display of an "i-pod" (actually a jukebox) along with several misunderstandings about historical culture.