The Shadow Of The Statue
Title: The Shadow Of The Statue
Characters: Jacob, Esau, Ilana, Richard, Ben, Sun.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers for The Incident. Hints of character death.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They own me.
Summary: For demonqueen666, who requested mythology. Through Jacob, Esau and Ilana's flashbacks, the story of the statue's destruction is revealed. Loosely inspired by an old UK legend that when the ravens are gone from the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall.
Part 1: Ilana
The statue of Tawaret had been a fixture on the island for longer than anyone could remember. Jacob and Esau had constructed it; they had given it the body of Tawaret to represent fertility, the ankh symbols by its hands to represent life, immortality. It was said that for as long as the statue remained on the island, its inhabitants would be protected from all harm. But should the statue, or Jacob, ever be removed, the island would fall.
And for a time, the island’s people had lived in harmony, until a rift had developed between Jacob and Esau. As Jacob wished for other people to be brought there, so Esau felt that the arrival of others would bring danger to the island. They fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.
“You’re making a mistake, Ilana,” Esau had said one day, shortly after the arrival of the Black Rock and the man Ricardus on the island. “You’ve chosen the wrong side.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Esau,” Ilana had replied. “They’ve been here for four months now, and I’ve seen no sign of any of the destruction you were talking about.”
“The time will come.” Esau informed her. “There will be a war, a great war brought to this island as a result of Jacob’s choice to surround himself with people. And when that happens, you will understand that it was foolish to align yourself with Jacob, that you should have remained loyal to me.”
Ilana pushed a lock of hair away from her eyes, scowled at him. “He knows how much time you’ve spent trying to find a loophole that will allow you to kill him,” she retorted. “Can you really blame him for wanting to surround himself with people for protection?”
Esau looked at her sorrowfully. “I had had high hopes of you once, Ilana. But it seems you are as foolish as Jacob after all. He is going to bring about his own downfall, and when he does, he will bring you down with him.”
Ilana rolled her eyes, looked at him with disgust. “You know the legend, Esau. The island will never fall while the statue remains.”
Esau laughed, a cold, mirthless laugh. “Come with me, Ilana,” he said, beckoning her towards the statue of Tawaret and gesturing towards where a crack had appeared in one of the ankhs. “One day, that crack’s gonna get wider. And that statue will split into two, maybe more, pieces. And when that happens, you’ll wish you’d come with me. You know where to find me, Ilana.”
Part 2: Jacob
“You always said we were safe so long as the statue and you were here,” Ilana said, dashing into the room beneath the statue where Jacob sat weaving his tapestry. He was annoyed, at the interruption, although he tried not to show it; he could tell from Ilana’s wide-eyed expression and dishevelled appearance that she was scared.
“We are safe, Ilana,” he smiled.
“Then why are you putting together an army?” Ilana demanded, gesturing towards the tapestry. “That eye, and the seventeen arms. I know what it means, Jacob.”
Jacob followed Ilana’s gaze towards the section she had indicated. She had been correct in her surmise; the seventeen arms represented Jacob’s chosen people; Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, James Ford, Sayid Jarrah, Claire Littleton, Charlie Pace, John Locke, Hugo Reyes, Ana Lucia Cortez, Libby Smith, Eko Tunde, Jin-Soo Kwon, Sun-Hwa Kwon, Boone Carlyle, Shannon Rutherford, Michael Dawson, Walter Lloyd.
“It represents your army, Jacob. And these people they’re reaching out to?” Ilana indicated the figures below the seventeen arms. “What does this represent? Are these us?”
Jacob sighed. “Okay, it’s true, Ilana. They are people I will be bringing here to protect the island. They will arrive in the season of Inundation. Some will depart in the winter, some will return in the summer.”
“And the other figures?”
“The children of the island.” Jacob replied.
“You really think you’ll need all these people?” Ilana asked. “Many of us here are loyal to you, and will defend you and this island against anything.”
Jacob looked at her, wondered if he should take her into his confidence, then decided he would. “There will come a time when Esau will grow stronger. Not all will remain loyal to me. And there will come a time when I will need you to leave the island.”
Ilana reacted as he had known she would. “That’s crazy. Why would I leave the island, when I can protect you here?”
“Ricardus will protect me here.” Jacob replied. “I will need you to help me in bringing my army here.”
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Ilana challenged. “You’re the one who’s meant to protect us all. And you’re scared.”
And he was, although he would never admit that to Ilana, he was scared for himself as well as the island.
“And I know why,” Ilana continued, gesturing above their heads to where the statue now stood without either ankhs or its head.
Part 3: Esau
The statue cracked again the day she left with Bram, another man directed by Jacob to help him build his army.
Esau had watched them leave, though they did not know it. He’d watched them exchange farewells with Jacob, then watched as a large crack appeared to split what remained of Tawaret’s torso.
Silly Jacob , he thought. He will never understand that his decision to surround himself with people is what will bring about his end. And all for the simple reason that he will never understand human nature as I do.
Yet for all Esau’s true understanding of the way of the world, when the war came as Jacob had predicted, it was Jacob who was victorious and Esau who remained trapped in the cabin Jacob had now abandoned, imprisoned by a ring of ash.
The war had resulted in casualties on both sides, and by the time it ended, all that remained of Tawaret was one four-toed foot. And Esau understood now that he could never have succeeded, as long as there was a leader of their people who remained loyal to Jacob.
But he also understood now what he had to do in order to achieve his ambition.
Of the leaders of the island, Charles Widmore had proved difficult to manipulate. It was clear to Esau that the man’s life was dedicated to protecting the island, even after the test Esau had set with the sacrifice of his son. But Esau later understood that the way to him was through Benjamin Linus.
He’d appeared to the Linus boy in the form of the woman Emily, told him that the time would come when he would be a great leader of his people. And with one touch to his forehead, Esau had given Ben his own gift; the gift of manipulation. Ben would later pride himself on his ability to get people to follow his bidding, believing it was their own idea, but he would never know that he had received this gift from Esau. Nor would he ever know that the whole time he believed he was doing Jacob’s bidding, he was really helping Esau.
One such time had been when he had appeared to Ben in a dream, in the form of the young woman Annie, begging Ben to find out why the pregnant women were dying. It hadn’t taken long for Ben to rally his people, make them wonder why their leader was abandoning the island while his people were dying. Exit Widmore.
Yet Esau remained weak, and he could only sustain the appearance of others for short periods of time. Until the day Ben brought John Locke to the cabin, believing it to be deserted. As Esau begged Locke to help him, he knew how it could be done.
Everything had changed. Esau was the stronger now.
Part 4: Jacob
He’d known the exact moment when Esau became stronger, when Jacob began to lose control of his own destiny. And he’d known that it was now the time to take action. Ilana must come home.
As Jacob looked at Ilana, heavily bandaged and lying in her hospital bed, he knew that she had suffered, and he regretted that he had not come to see her sooner. But Jacob also knew that Ilana had remained loyal to him throughout the years of neglect, and would help him as she had promised.
“Esau has found his loophole,” Jacob whispered, “And I need your help to ensure that he does not succeed.”
“What would you like me to do?” Ilana asked.
“There is a flight,” Jacob began, passing Ilana a piece of paper with the date and time. “Ajira Airways Flight 316, departing Los Angeles, supposedly for Guam. But it will land on our island instead.”
Ilana nodded. “And you want me on that flight.”
“But first,” Jacob continued, “I need you to make contact with a man named Sayid Jarrah.” He passed Ilana a photograph. “Tell him you have been hired by the family of a man named Peter Avellino, in order to extradite him to Guam to be tried for Avellino’s murder. He will not question you.” Jacob handed Ilana another piece of paper. “This should explain it all.”
He could tell Ilana was confused, though she tried not to show it. “And then what?” she asked.
“And then, I don’t know,” Jacob admitted, seeing that Ilana was scared, as he was himself; far from the immortal being Ilana and others had always perceived him to be, Jacob was now aware of his own mortality in a way he had never been before. “It may be that Esau will already have succeeded.”
“And it may not be,” Ilana replied. “You’ve defeated him once before, and you can again.”
“I am touched by your faith in me,” Jacob smiled, removing his gloves and touching Ilana briefly on the forehead. “You will be healed soon, and your bandages will be removed. I do not think it will be long before you are able to leave this hospital.”
“These injuries should have killed me,” Ilana whispered. “But you saved me, didn’t you?”
Jacob nodded. “When you return to the island, I want you to seek out Ricardus.”
Ilana nodded. “The man from the Black Rock; the man you made immortal as you made me.”
“Ricardus has seen many things on the island,” Jacob began. “But he will not know what he is up against with Esau. He will need you to show him.”
“How will I know he can be trusted?” Ilana asked.
“Ask him the answer to the riddle: What lies in the shadow of the statue? Anyone who answers correctly can be trusted.”
Ilana nodded. “I understand you.”
“I must go now,” Jacob said, getting to his feet. He still had more people to visit before his work was done.
“Will we meet again?” Ilana asked.
“I hope so, Ilana.”
Part 5: Ilana
Ricardus did not recognise her as Ilana’s group approached the statue. Ilana had expected that; they had spent little time together while both had lived on the island, and her appearance had changed since her injuries anyway.
Yet he answered her question; he had proved to Ilana that he was as loyal as Jacob had claimed.
“Richard…I’m Ilana. There’s something you need to see.”
As Ilana had opened the crate, Sun Kwon had stared at its contents. “I don’t understand. If this is Locke, who’s in there?”
“I thought there was something different about him,” Richard admitted, shaking his head. “But I never expected this.”
Ilana rounded on Richard. “You let him in there? Have you any idea what you have just done?”
Sun’s head swivelled from Richard to Ilana. “I still don’t understand. Who is that man? What is happening?”
Ilana turned to face Sun. “The one who would destroy us all.”
“Esau?” Richard asked.
Ilana nodded. There was no longer an island leader who remained loyal to Jacob, instead following the real Locke’s death leadership had defaulted back to Benjamin Linus, who was no longer faithful. Jacob could only be killed by the leader; Esau had his loophole.
As they all watched in horror, as Ben ran from the ruins, a chasm began to appear in Tawaret’s remaining foot.
The statue and Jacob were gone from the island; the island would fall.
Characters: Jacob, Esau, Ilana, Richard, Ben, Sun.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers for The Incident. Hints of character death.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They own me.
Summary: For demonqueen666, who requested mythology. Through Jacob, Esau and Ilana's flashbacks, the story of the statue's destruction is revealed. Loosely inspired by an old UK legend that when the ravens are gone from the Tower of London, the kingdom will fall.
Part 1: Ilana
The statue of Tawaret had been a fixture on the island for longer than anyone could remember. Jacob and Esau had constructed it; they had given it the body of Tawaret to represent fertility, the ankh symbols by its hands to represent life, immortality. It was said that for as long as the statue remained on the island, its inhabitants would be protected from all harm. But should the statue, or Jacob, ever be removed, the island would fall.
And for a time, the island’s people had lived in harmony, until a rift had developed between Jacob and Esau. As Jacob wished for other people to be brought there, so Esau felt that the arrival of others would bring danger to the island. They fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.
“You’re making a mistake, Ilana,” Esau had said one day, shortly after the arrival of the Black Rock and the man Ricardus on the island. “You’ve chosen the wrong side.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Esau,” Ilana had replied. “They’ve been here for four months now, and I’ve seen no sign of any of the destruction you were talking about.”
“The time will come.” Esau informed her. “There will be a war, a great war brought to this island as a result of Jacob’s choice to surround himself with people. And when that happens, you will understand that it was foolish to align yourself with Jacob, that you should have remained loyal to me.”
Ilana pushed a lock of hair away from her eyes, scowled at him. “He knows how much time you’ve spent trying to find a loophole that will allow you to kill him,” she retorted. “Can you really blame him for wanting to surround himself with people for protection?”
Esau looked at her sorrowfully. “I had had high hopes of you once, Ilana. But it seems you are as foolish as Jacob after all. He is going to bring about his own downfall, and when he does, he will bring you down with him.”
Ilana rolled her eyes, looked at him with disgust. “You know the legend, Esau. The island will never fall while the statue remains.”
Esau laughed, a cold, mirthless laugh. “Come with me, Ilana,” he said, beckoning her towards the statue of Tawaret and gesturing towards where a crack had appeared in one of the ankhs. “One day, that crack’s gonna get wider. And that statue will split into two, maybe more, pieces. And when that happens, you’ll wish you’d come with me. You know where to find me, Ilana.”
Part 2: Jacob
“You always said we were safe so long as the statue and you were here,” Ilana said, dashing into the room beneath the statue where Jacob sat weaving his tapestry. He was annoyed, at the interruption, although he tried not to show it; he could tell from Ilana’s wide-eyed expression and dishevelled appearance that she was scared.
“We are safe, Ilana,” he smiled.
“Then why are you putting together an army?” Ilana demanded, gesturing towards the tapestry. “That eye, and the seventeen arms. I know what it means, Jacob.”
Jacob followed Ilana’s gaze towards the section she had indicated. She had been correct in her surmise; the seventeen arms represented Jacob’s chosen people; Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, James Ford, Sayid Jarrah, Claire Littleton, Charlie Pace, John Locke, Hugo Reyes, Ana Lucia Cortez, Libby Smith, Eko Tunde, Jin-Soo Kwon, Sun-Hwa Kwon, Boone Carlyle, Shannon Rutherford, Michael Dawson, Walter Lloyd.
“It represents your army, Jacob. And these people they’re reaching out to?” Ilana indicated the figures below the seventeen arms. “What does this represent? Are these us?”
Jacob sighed. “Okay, it’s true, Ilana. They are people I will be bringing here to protect the island. They will arrive in the season of Inundation. Some will depart in the winter, some will return in the summer.”
“And the other figures?”
“The children of the island.” Jacob replied.
“You really think you’ll need all these people?” Ilana asked. “Many of us here are loyal to you, and will defend you and this island against anything.”
Jacob looked at her, wondered if he should take her into his confidence, then decided he would. “There will come a time when Esau will grow stronger. Not all will remain loyal to me. And there will come a time when I will need you to leave the island.”
Ilana reacted as he had known she would. “That’s crazy. Why would I leave the island, when I can protect you here?”
“Ricardus will protect me here.” Jacob replied. “I will need you to help me in bringing my army here.”
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Ilana challenged. “You’re the one who’s meant to protect us all. And you’re scared.”
And he was, although he would never admit that to Ilana, he was scared for himself as well as the island.
“And I know why,” Ilana continued, gesturing above their heads to where the statue now stood without either ankhs or its head.
Part 3: Esau
The statue cracked again the day she left with Bram, another man directed by Jacob to help him build his army.
Esau had watched them leave, though they did not know it. He’d watched them exchange farewells with Jacob, then watched as a large crack appeared to split what remained of Tawaret’s torso.
Silly Jacob , he thought. He will never understand that his decision to surround himself with people is what will bring about his end. And all for the simple reason that he will never understand human nature as I do.
Yet for all Esau’s true understanding of the way of the world, when the war came as Jacob had predicted, it was Jacob who was victorious and Esau who remained trapped in the cabin Jacob had now abandoned, imprisoned by a ring of ash.
The war had resulted in casualties on both sides, and by the time it ended, all that remained of Tawaret was one four-toed foot. And Esau understood now that he could never have succeeded, as long as there was a leader of their people who remained loyal to Jacob.
But he also understood now what he had to do in order to achieve his ambition.
Of the leaders of the island, Charles Widmore had proved difficult to manipulate. It was clear to Esau that the man’s life was dedicated to protecting the island, even after the test Esau had set with the sacrifice of his son. But Esau later understood that the way to him was through Benjamin Linus.
He’d appeared to the Linus boy in the form of the woman Emily, told him that the time would come when he would be a great leader of his people. And with one touch to his forehead, Esau had given Ben his own gift; the gift of manipulation. Ben would later pride himself on his ability to get people to follow his bidding, believing it was their own idea, but he would never know that he had received this gift from Esau. Nor would he ever know that the whole time he believed he was doing Jacob’s bidding, he was really helping Esau.
One such time had been when he had appeared to Ben in a dream, in the form of the young woman Annie, begging Ben to find out why the pregnant women were dying. It hadn’t taken long for Ben to rally his people, make them wonder why their leader was abandoning the island while his people were dying. Exit Widmore.
Yet Esau remained weak, and he could only sustain the appearance of others for short periods of time. Until the day Ben brought John Locke to the cabin, believing it to be deserted. As Esau begged Locke to help him, he knew how it could be done.
Everything had changed. Esau was the stronger now.
Part 4: Jacob
He’d known the exact moment when Esau became stronger, when Jacob began to lose control of his own destiny. And he’d known that it was now the time to take action. Ilana must come home.
As Jacob looked at Ilana, heavily bandaged and lying in her hospital bed, he knew that she had suffered, and he regretted that he had not come to see her sooner. But Jacob also knew that Ilana had remained loyal to him throughout the years of neglect, and would help him as she had promised.
“Esau has found his loophole,” Jacob whispered, “And I need your help to ensure that he does not succeed.”
“What would you like me to do?” Ilana asked.
“There is a flight,” Jacob began, passing Ilana a piece of paper with the date and time. “Ajira Airways Flight 316, departing Los Angeles, supposedly for Guam. But it will land on our island instead.”
Ilana nodded. “And you want me on that flight.”
“But first,” Jacob continued, “I need you to make contact with a man named Sayid Jarrah.” He passed Ilana a photograph. “Tell him you have been hired by the family of a man named Peter Avellino, in order to extradite him to Guam to be tried for Avellino’s murder. He will not question you.” Jacob handed Ilana another piece of paper. “This should explain it all.”
He could tell Ilana was confused, though she tried not to show it. “And then what?” she asked.
“And then, I don’t know,” Jacob admitted, seeing that Ilana was scared, as he was himself; far from the immortal being Ilana and others had always perceived him to be, Jacob was now aware of his own mortality in a way he had never been before. “It may be that Esau will already have succeeded.”
“And it may not be,” Ilana replied. “You’ve defeated him once before, and you can again.”
“I am touched by your faith in me,” Jacob smiled, removing his gloves and touching Ilana briefly on the forehead. “You will be healed soon, and your bandages will be removed. I do not think it will be long before you are able to leave this hospital.”
“These injuries should have killed me,” Ilana whispered. “But you saved me, didn’t you?”
Jacob nodded. “When you return to the island, I want you to seek out Ricardus.”
Ilana nodded. “The man from the Black Rock; the man you made immortal as you made me.”
“Ricardus has seen many things on the island,” Jacob began. “But he will not know what he is up against with Esau. He will need you to show him.”
“How will I know he can be trusted?” Ilana asked.
“Ask him the answer to the riddle: What lies in the shadow of the statue? Anyone who answers correctly can be trusted.”
Ilana nodded. “I understand you.”
“I must go now,” Jacob said, getting to his feet. He still had more people to visit before his work was done.
“Will we meet again?” Ilana asked.
“I hope so, Ilana.”
Part 5: Ilana
Ricardus did not recognise her as Ilana’s group approached the statue. Ilana had expected that; they had spent little time together while both had lived on the island, and her appearance had changed since her injuries anyway.
Yet he answered her question; he had proved to Ilana that he was as loyal as Jacob had claimed.
“Richard…I’m Ilana. There’s something you need to see.”
As Ilana had opened the crate, Sun Kwon had stared at its contents. “I don’t understand. If this is Locke, who’s in there?”
“I thought there was something different about him,” Richard admitted, shaking his head. “But I never expected this.”
Ilana rounded on Richard. “You let him in there? Have you any idea what you have just done?”
Sun’s head swivelled from Richard to Ilana. “I still don’t understand. Who is that man? What is happening?”
Ilana turned to face Sun. “The one who would destroy us all.”
“Esau?” Richard asked.
Ilana nodded. There was no longer an island leader who remained loyal to Jacob, instead following the real Locke’s death leadership had defaulted back to Benjamin Linus, who was no longer faithful. Jacob could only be killed by the leader; Esau had his loophole.
As they all watched in horror, as Ben ran from the ruins, a chasm began to appear in Tawaret’s remaining foot.
The statue and Jacob were gone from the island; the island would fall.