The True History of Oz

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A whispered legend has it that L. Frank Baum took his OZ story from a mysterious series of books called The True History of OZ.

The Wizard of Oz, the beloved movie from 1939, and all the other adaptations and variations – in books, on TV, other movies, several new ones currently in development in Hollywood – are all based on the book The Wonderful Wizard of OZ by L. Frank Baum.

The problem is, that that source material – Baum’s book – is, according to this legend, wrong.

Or, to be more precise, L. Frank Baum took the idea for his OZ from The True History of OZ, written by a native of the actual OZ named Calista Z. Turns out, Baum stumbled upon this strange 5-volume history while going bankrupt running a general store in the Dakota Territories in 1890. How they came to be in the back room of his general store in the Dakota Territories is a book unto itself.

Baum, at first, did not like these stories. They were dark, violent, full of revenge, terrible secrets, gangs, vice, war, apocalyptic magic, and more.

Nevertheless, Baum, so the still unproven legend has it, recognized the power of the stories and the characters and the world in which they lived. He appreciated the ultimate lesson and theme of those books, which was: If change is possible, then hope is justified.

After reading and re-reading the 5 books dozens of times, he decided to turn it into a children’s story. He made it cute, silly, and sweet, and, of course, it then became one of the most beloved books ever, and he became a fabulously wealthy man.

From a bankrupt shopkeeper, to one of the wealthiest men in America, in a few short years, from one short book. Very curious.

But the real story of OZ, according to Calista Z., who was there, was not cute. Or silly.

Or sweet.

At all.

In other words, there are other words.

This is:

The True History of OZ.

[Limited Edition TTRPGs]

The True History of Oz

He is more like an element – fire, or the wind – than corporeal inhabitant of this world. The elements have no backstory, they just are and always will be. And so it is with Stann. No beginning and no end.

Eight giant, winged, monkeys fly through the moonlit darkness in a tight cluster, practically on top of each other. Their huge wings, leathery like a bat’s, flap in nearly slow motion. Low, slow, heavy. All but one wear a kind of uniform that one might see on a desert warrior – which is exactly what they are. Robe-like, loose fitting, back cut out for their wings.

They’re all laughing in the wind so loud you can barely hear the screams of the heavily muscled Grinder that the biggest Monkey, 7-feet-tall, dangles in his grip. The Monkeys laugh and laugh – this is hilarious! Tails whipping, almost tumbling over each other, despite being airborne.

The wind up here is fierce, but the Monkeys’ wings are powerful, and they swim through the air easily-especially the one dangling the Grinder.

Stann, the undisputed leader.

The biggest, the smartest, and as different from the rest of this tribe, as they are from a regular tribe of land-bound monkeys. The only question now is how long to taunt this prisoner, scare him, torment him. The whole point of snatching him up was that they were hungry. Fun is fun, but fun can get boring fast when you’re hungry.

Dropping him from a great height, onto an outcropping of rock, is a good time-tested plan.

He will explode. This will make feasting on him much easier. They swoop higher up in the sky, almost hiding the moon behind their flapping wings. Stann releases his grip on the Grinder as he says, in a deep voice that sounds bourbon and cigarette-scarred, “Happy landing, idiot”, and lets him go, to the cackles and shouts of the other Monkeys.

The Grinder’s scream slowly fades below them as he tumbles out of sight.

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