The Last Dreams of Pony Island

by horizon

U Low Kene

U Low Kene

<I am a dedicated bull, Palei Hantu.
When I caught you bedding my brother
and you ran from his hut,
did I not chase you across the island
to the realm of the Myinn?>

<Did I not follow you out of the jungle
and sprint across the sands
as you climbed their wall,
even though the chief declared
the four-legged ones [manyekyaungg]?>

<Did you not believe that
I would have pursued you
into that dread realm,
had not the Myinn guard
who sat up startled
after you vaulted the rampart
shouted and flung his spear at me?>

<I snatched it from the sand
as I fled from his fellows,
gladly taking upon myself
the curse of [dharat sattu],
and that is how you may know
that I will follow you
to the end of your days.>

<I will wait at the edge of the jungle,
eyes burning in the shadows,
clenching the tainted spear,
until you climb back over the wall
or the guards tire in their rounds
that I may climb the wall again,>

<or until I hear your screams
as the Myinn tear you limb from limb.>

<How long can you hide, Palei Hantu?
Your spirit does not burn like mine.>

<How long can you hide?>

Comments

[journcy]

After doing entirely too much research into the Moken people and their language, I've come to the conclusion that "Palei Hantu" is not a name but rather a title U Low Kene is assigning to whoever Palei Hantu is*.
Whether or not I'm right, I have no idea. At this point all I really want to know, Horizon, is how you possibly found information about Moken online, and for that matter why you even know about the Moken people at all. Forget Peridot's murder I want the linguistic background here

EDIT: *Or that at the very least the name "Palei Hantu" has some relevant meaning. Please help me

[Sozmioi]

This + last chapter = huh. HUH.

[Bad Horse]

This chapter feels like gratuitous complication, too much coincidence, and too unlikely. It makes no sense that a minotaur would flee for safety up a defended city's wall into a city of ponies it had no relationship to, who feared it. Or that it could hide in that city for days without being seen by anyone. It's too coincidental for this to happen at just the wrong time.

[horizon]

6464567
Indeed, that's one of the major contradictions that many of the contest entrants explain (in a few different ways).

[Dubs Rewatcher]

6424954

Or that at the very least the name "Palei Hantu" has some relevant meaning. Please help me

Don't know if anyone's answered this yet, but... try Javanese.

[PresentPerfect]

6464659
"Pale duchy"?

[BurningSkies]

6540667
"Hantu" means ghost.