An Introduction to Oz Before Dorothy

by Tarl Telford

  I stepped into the sunlight. It hurt. Even when my eyes squeezed shut. The bright light burned and hurt all the way to the back of my eyes after being in the dark for so long. Even when I held my hand up to shade my eyes, I still had to look back at the ground for several seconds before I could look at the sky. When my eyes had adjusted, I looked around me for the lion, and for Jo-Lynn.

  There was the Speckled Lion. I saw him at the same moment that he saw me. He was sprawled out under a tree at the edge of the meadow. I looked around for Jo-Lynn, fearing for the worst. Had she been eaten, every last bit? Would I find any of her left at all?

  "Hey." Jo-Lynn said from behind me. "Peek-a-boo."

  Another look around put my mind at ease. She was up on top of the cave. Her bare feet rested on rocks above the entrance. I called to her and she waved her toes at me. The lion didn't budge. I knew that he saw me, so why didn't he move?

  I climbed up above the cave to sit with Jo-Lynn. She seemed perfectly happy twirling her hair and chewing on a blade of grass. I wondered why she wasn't worried about the Speckled Lion.

  "He isn't dangerous anymore."

  "He looks dangerous."

  "He's not."

  "But why? What happened?"

  "You went into the cave after the Jabberwheelers, and I climbed up here. Once the lion had everything in the cave, and he saw that I wasn't coming down, he just went over to the shade of that tree and flopped down. He's been there ever since." She explained.

  "Maybe he doesn't eat people." I wondered aloud.

  "Maybe." She nudged me. "Why don't you go find out?"

  "I'm not going to find out. That's stupid."

  "You're not much of a friend, then. I would do it for you." Jo-Lynn said, pouting. "But then, I'm just a better person than you are."

  Her words stung. My face got hot, and I turned away. The climb back down was more of a slide on my torn shoes and backside. It went too quickly for me to think twice about my actions.

  The sun blazing down on the back of my neck wasn't as bad as the embarrassment burning my face. Why wouldn't she like me? If I got eaten all up by the lion, would she like me then? It would be too late for her then, though. Because I would be thoroughly and completely eaten, and she would never get to know that I liked to carve rocks.

  The Speckled Lion raised its head as I approached. His ears flicked and his tail swished. Those yellow eyes watched me closely. I gulped, trying to keep my dry throat from seizing up. "Keep breathing," my barely audible voice kept repeating. "Keep breathing."

  "I'm not going to hurt you." I reached out my hand.

  A low growl warned me, and I turned my head to the side. My eyes clamped shut. Except the left eye. That one peeked open just a little bit before it shut again. This was it. I was dead meat, for sure.

  Nothing happened. I peeked my left eye all the way open and looked over at the Speckled Lion.

  He had turned his face away from my hand. One large paw covered his muzzle. "Don't touch me." His deep voice rumbled.

  "I'm not going to hurt you." I repeated, a little more bravely, reaching my fingers out toward his forehead.

  The great maned head turned further away. "Would you want me to touch your face?" The Speckled Lion asked.

  I stopped and slowly lowered my hand. I hadn't thought about it that way before. "No. I wouldn't. I'm sorry."

  The lion peeked its right eye over its paw. "Don't look at me. You can sit down, but look that way. Just don't look at me."

  "Why not?" I asked as I sat down. My left eye peeked over at the lion, just to make sure that he wouldn't eat me.

  "I'm ugly. I don't want you to look at me."

  We sat there in the shade, neither one of us speaking our own deepest secrets. The Speckled Lion's shame was easily readable on his face. I wondered if mine was as easy to read.

  Jo-Lynn joined us after a few minutes. When she saw that I hadn't been eaten, she came and sat down cross-legged at the edge of the shade. She stared at that lion. "You have spots. You're not like a real lion."

  "I am a real lion."

  "You have speckles all over. How could you be a real lion? Real lions don't have spots."

  "Jo-Lynn, don't stare at him."

  "I can do what I want. You can't tell me what to do."

  "Don't stare at me." The lion whispered.

  "Neither can you." She said to the lion. She cracked her knuckles and leaned forward, staring even harder at the spots around the yellow eyes of the lion. "I am going to do whatever I want to do."

  The Speckled Lion roared and leaped forward, crossing half the distance between himself and Jo-Lynn in a fraction of a second. His snarl held on his face and his teeth bared for several impossibly long seconds.

  My own heart skipped a beat, and I was sitting off to the side of the lion, not directly in his path.

  Jo-Lynn froze with a smirk on her face, but I saw that her face went from pink and smug to pale and frozen blank. She slowly fell over backwards. Her unconscious eyes stared up into the sunny sky.

  I moved to help her, but a growl from the lion stopped me. "Leave her be. Perhaps the fright will do her good."

  I glanced over at the lion, and he winked at me. I smiled back. "You are a real lion, right?"

  "Yes. My mane is thick and my roar is loud. My claws are sharp. I have no enemies, for I am the king of this land."

  "Jo said that she was queen of this valley."

  "She pretends. Before the sun rose three days ago, I was the only king who ruled here. She came through the Spine Mountains and stayed near the fruit trees. I saw her as I chased the Jabberwheelers from this place."

  "Why do you chase them?"

  "Dragons are not welcome in Oz." He said, as if that explained everything.

  "What if the Jabberwheelers aren't really dragons?" I asked in reply. "What if they are half-blood dragons?"

  "Even a few parts of a dragon makes a dragon, as I see it."

  "Like enough parts of a lion makes a lion?" I asked smartly.

  The Speckled Lion jerked his head around to look at me. "I am a lion. Through and through. I bleed lion's blood. Does that not make me a lion?"

  I circled my face with my finger to emphasize that I was talking about his face. "Why don't you want us to look at you?"

  The Speckled Lion sighed and laid his big head on his paws. "I know I am ugly. I cannot see my face, but I can see my paws and my legs. These speckles were not mine to begin with. I was cursed by a Witch. She made me this way."

  "I don't see anything wrong with them. They're like freckles." I said.

  "I hate freckles." Jo-Lynn said, pushing herself back up into a sitting position.

  "There's nothing wrong with freckles." I protested.

  "That's because you don't have any." Jo-Lynn said. "It's easy to think that something's okay when it's not your problem."

  SECTION THREE

  People in Oz

  There are many people that have populated the stories of Oz through the years. Included in this section is a list of important persons in the Hidden History of Oz saga, an exploration of the four witches in Oz, and inspections of two very influential people: Dorothy and the Wizard.

  Famous People in Oz

  There are many famous people in Oz, well known from classical stories. Here are a few of the many people important to the Hidden History of Oz, organized alphabetically.

  Arturio Gladheim Cake--Gardener for a very special garden in the West. Son of Tyresius. Brother of Omby-Amby and Toro Plantain.

  Bartleby O'Brine--Captain of the Emerald Army in Central City. Chariot driver for Pastoria. Submitted himself to Ku-Klip's experimentation to become the perfect soldier, a melding of tin and flesh.

  "Boq" Lilboq Malarl Liyonechka--Six-year old Munchkin boy. He is not afraid of the Witch, Kalinya, anymore. Younger brother of the deceased warrior, Tabulo. Boq received guidance from the woodman, Galvan Chopper, and later grew to be very influential in Munchkin Country as an opponent of the Wicked Witch.<
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  Brutus--Large Winged Monkey who was exiled and now returned. Brutus has mechanical wings. He wants to rule the monkey tribe.

  Candor Bandersnatch--The ten-year old discoverer of the Land of Oogaboo. A courageous boy who defends others, even at his own peril. A member of Tattypoo's Tattlers.

  Celethina--Ruler of the floating city of Sovenheim. She is a trusted right hand of Ereline, the Queen of Dreams, but she has plans of her own, for the targeted dreamers.

  Collodine--A queen of the Faeries; sister to Lurline and Ereline. She has blue hair. She wields a pearl wand with a star on the tip. She is a chaotic unknown in the ever-present battle between her sisters.

  Docket--Newly-crowned King of the Winged Monkeys. Son of King Klick. Ally and friend of Omby-Amby.

  Eyve Munchina Yammersmith--A young teenage girl that wants to join the Fighting Girls. She has exceptional talent with the sword. She is devoted to Omby-Amby, even though he is not interested in her at all.

  Dorothy Alora Gale--A young dreamer and so-called sorceress who traveled to Oz from Kansas in 1900 AD. She killed the two Wicked Witches in Oz and saved the lost Wizard from his own darkness. She changed the course of Oz for a new generation of dreamers.

  Ereline--Queen of Dreams; a queen of the Faeries; sister to Lurline and Collodine. She has green hair. Also called Mother of Deceivers, She Who Watches, or the Splendid Mother.

  Galvan Chopper--Woodman who cares for the forest. He provides guidance to the boy, Boq. He is a steadfast opponent of Kalinya, the Wicked Witch of the East.

  Gayelette Kronkob--Sorceress of the North. Daughter of the Ruby Sorcerer. Master of the Ruby Palace. Mother of Glinda, and wife to Quelala. She does extensive research to discover why no one in Oz dreams. She has a magic power that drains time from living things. She is currently trapped inside the Ruby Palace with Quelala, in the space between worlds, outside the Land of Oz.

  Geppetto--Master of Masters, the Grandmaster of Smith & Tinker. The original inventor brought from Earth to Oz. His grave is hidden in a sacred garden, known only to his apprentices and those they train.

  Glinda Mahalia Kookaburr--Red-haired daughter of Gayelette and Quelala. Budding sorceress and adventure-seeking princess. She was exiled from her kingdom in the North and found safety in the South. She and the Wizard stood against the Wicked Witches and won a temporary freedom for Oz. She is the Protector of Oz, and she is fiercely loyal to the Wizard, Oscar Diggs.

  Kalinya / Kally Thistleswitch--Witch of the East. Witch Queen of the Munchkins. Descendant of the Keepers of Knowledge. Her magic is telekinetic--she can move things without touching them. Sister to Ondri-baba.

  King Klick--King of the Winged Monkeys. He has silver fur. King Klick had been ordered by the Wicked Witch, Ondri-baba, to drive the Wizard from the lands of the West, but he took it upon himself to see that the Wizard would pay for his supposed misdeeds. Died at the hands of the Green-haired Soldier when he tried to take the Wizard's life.

  King Pastoria Mackoo Luneska Tonnason--King of the Emerald Lands; lives in Central City. Glimpsed the Madness through the Crown of the Dreamer. Slowly going mad.

  Knitted Giraffe--A creature created of yarn and stories. He helps Candor Bandersnatch see that there is good in everything that happens. He was created to watch and weave stories from yarn and thread. He is in the process of knitting his own dark side.

  Kronofacius--A giraffe-man who wears a monocle. He is a Keeper of Time, and a protector of the Giant Hourglass in the Valley of Time.

  Ku-Klip Ravensnark--Tinsmith; former apprentice of Smith & Tinker. He has a tin castle as his laboratory, where he experiments on melding flesh and metal.

  Locasta Dovina Brenfire--The Good Witch of the North. Protector of Corticum (North Village). She was a former apprentice of Kalinya, the Witch of the East. Locasta organized the children of Corticum into a watchful group named Tattypoo's Tattlers. They keep an eye on things for her.

  Lurline--High Queen of the Faeries; sister to Ereline and Collodine. She has red hair. Daughter of Nonesticus. Constantly feuds with Ereline, the Queen of Dreams. Lurline is the mother of Ozma the First, the first ruler of the entire Land of Oz, and the namesake of the successive rulers.

  Mombi--Witch with transformation powers. She was known to the rulers around the entire Land of Oz as one who could manipulate the levers of power. She was hired for many missions to transfer power into the hands of another. Secretly a Yookoohoo. Currently Lady Chamberlain and Advisor to King Pastoria in the Emerald Lands. She was a witch-sister to Kalinya. Her birth name is Ozmombina Decheryon Lodoveen Carcose. Former mentor of Ola Griffin, until they parted ways over a disagreement concerning a rather large betrayal.

  Ola Serapenth Griffin--Singer. Former herald to Glinda. She was nearly Glinda's equal in every way before she lost her perfect memory by drinking two sips of the Water of Oblivion, which was given to her by Professor Nikidik. Ola was secretly a former apprentice of Mombi, before she left over a deception and betrayal. She has a good heart.

  "Omby-Amby" Ombrosius Ambrosius Cake--Soldier with Green Whiskers; Captain of the Emerald Guardsmen. He stands with unwavering loyalty next to his best friend, Oscar Diggs, the Wizard. He is the soldier that stands guard outside the Wizard's door.

  Ondri-baba Thistleswitch--Witch of the West. Witch Queen of the Winkies. She has one magic eye that she received through a surgical operation. This eye is from Ereline, the Queen of Dreams. She traded a mortal eye for a magic eye. Now she is the Eye in Oz. Her magic turns things invisible. Sister to Kalinya.

  Oscar Zoroaster Diggs--The Wonderful Wizard. Young ventriloquist from Nebraska Territory in 1852 AD. He is a dreamer. His dreams change the Land of Oz around him. His dreams shaped the growth of Emerald City every night for more than two years, making it into the shining city on the hill. His shadows gained power over him, and he locked himself away inside his throne room, in exile, to hide from the world.

  Professor Pipton Nikidik--Inventor and former apprentice of Smith & Tinker. Husband of Margolotte. Creator of the Unguent of Youth and the Powder of Life. He accidentally turned his wife mostly to stone. He searches for a cure to reverse the curse. Until then, his wife is stone, save for one hand and her eyes that are still flesh.

  Promethus--The Guardian of the Gate of Emerald City. Former apprentice of Smith & Tinker. Former associate of Mombi. Current ally of Glinda. He and Omby-Amby watch over the Wizard to ensure that the unfettered dreams of the Wizard do not escape the city.

  Quelala Kookaburr--Father of Glinda. Husband of Gayelette. He was the secret apprentice of Smith & Tinker when he was a boy. He was taken as the apprentice of the Ruby Sorceress, Gayelette. He later married her, and they had a child, Glinda. He is currently trapped with Gayelette in the Ruby Palace, in the space between worlds, outside of the Land of Oz.

  Nick Chopper--A Munchkin who is far larger than his relatives. He is a giant among Munchkins. As a child, he was smuggled out of Zinanya by Boq Liyonechka and given to Galvan Chopper for safekeeping. He was raised to be a woodman. Later, his axe was enchanted and attacked him. His damaged body was repaired and replaced in parts by the tinsmith, Ku-Klip.

  Nonesticus--King of the Faerie band that came to the world of Non from Atlantis thousands of years ago. He was killed in an epic battle with Serpentariis that closed the gate between Earth and Non.

  Serpentariis--King of the Dragon band that came to the world of Non from Atlantis, thousands of years ago. He was killed in an epic battle with King Nonesticus, of the Faeries, that destroyed the gate between Earth and Non.

  Silbia Aroncia St. Toad--A changeling child, a shape-shifting daughter of Ereline, the Queen of Dreams. She is in exile in the cursed Land of Oz. Her adoptive parents know her true identity, but they keep it a secret from her to win favor with her real mother.

  Smith & Tinker--Inventors Extraordinaire. Mr. Smith is a painter and an inventor. Mr. Tinker works with metal. Both of them were trained by Gepetto. Their machines and weapons are sold to everyone with money and
power to buy. They owe no allegiance to any king, yet they are welcome in every kingdom. They have several laboratories in Oz and the surrounding lands. They are special guests of the Queen of Dreams in her schemes.

  Speckled Lion--A lion with spots like a leopard. His purpose is to keep the dragons from coming into the valley. He guides Candor Bandersnatch to finding courage on his adventure.

  Tabitha "Tabby" Abacus--A precocious six-year old who likes to make mischief. The youngest member of Tattypoo's Tattlers. Tabby helped Locasta to rescue two children trapped by a Dangerbread House.

  Toro Plantain Cake--Emerald Guardsman. Second-in-command and brother to Omby-Amby. He has green hair.

  Tyresius Arturio Cake--Chief Architect of Emerald City. Father of Arturio, Omby-Amby, and Toro Plantain.

  Wickrie-Kells Dunkle--Amber-eyed Captain of the Fighting Girls. Glinda's best friend. She hears the whispers of the land and binds the powers to her soul as an untrained Witch.

  Winko Dullimite Cake--King of the Winkies. Deposed by Ondri-baba. A prisoner in his own castle.

  Four Witches in Oz

  There are four witches in Oz - one in each corner, or rather, one in each Cardinal Direction. Oz creator, L. Frank Baum, laid out the powers that ruled the corners of Oz. In his first book, he detailed this witchy phenomenon: