An Apocalyptic Political Fable

MADAC

Part One  ·  By Milan Jhon

An apocalyptic war has been ignited by corrupt, stale minds.

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"Everyone should watch out for the Pisa tree. Its roots have entirely dried up and are on the brink of collapse. If it falls, evil spirits will invade the Forest, seizing our holy Forest. Open your eyes — the Apocalypse war is looming."

Russell — the last UTEK turtle
I Chapter One · The Opening

A FOREST
BLESSED.

"Vigard shone like an impenetrable gem."

Vigard sits within the great Picken Towen forest, ringed by the roaring river Cakten. Seventy domestic animals and twenty wild. A larder full. A king in council. For generations the dwellers have lived in peace — and in peace, they have forgotten how to listen.

"All the residents could not accept that
their almost impenetrable Forest is destructible." — from the chronicles of Vigard
II Chapter Two · The Prophet

THE PROPHET
NONE WOULD HEAR.

Russell — last of the UTEK.

A hundred-year-old turtle, hereditary guardian of the holy book Savarat. Stolen in his youth. Decoded only in dreams. He warns of the dying Pisa tree and the Apocalypse to come. The dwellers smile, show him the granary, and call him delusional.

"I fear our destiny.
Open your eyes — the Apocalypse war is looming." — Russell, the UTEK turtle
III Chapter Three · The Vote

THE LIONS
CHOSE PRIDE.

"A lion's power is greater than a thousand votes."

In secret midnight meetings the hyena Gat sells the dream of democracy — every dweller a candidate, every animal equal. The lions refuse to be voted upon. Hogan's last words on the matter become his exile. The forest, applauding, walks itself toward the ballot.

"If the ignorance of a mass moron is to be mixed
with the cunning intrigue of another group, the result
will be nothing but the destruction of civilization." — Russell to Hogan
IV Chapter Four · The Elephant

THE ELEPHANT
ON THE THRONE.

Hamen — eloquent, vain, and slow to wake.

The old elephant wins his six-year term and appoints Tornado the tiger as his deputy — not Gat, the hyena who put him there. Russell is exiled to the dying Pisa under "kindly" decree. The hyenas do not raise voices. They raise plans. And they wait.

"To get ignorant people to play along, they should be
promised to achieve something they never deserve." — Gat, to his offspring
V Chapter Final · The Turning

AND SO THE
PROPHECY TURNS.

"Repetition can render a lie convincing."

The Pisa tree withers. Wolves arrive from Picken Towen. Lions and turtles die in the night. The hyenas tell a story of bravery they did not perform — and tell it until the forest believes. For the first time in the timeless record of the jungle, the hyenas ascend the throne.

"I will teach all the forest dwellers to explain history
for posterity as I tell it." — Gat, the new king of Vigard
I The Stolen Book

SAVARAT

The prophecy made flesh in ink.

In the youth of Russell the turtle, the holy book was stolen from his clan. He has spent a hundred years naming the thieves no one wished to hear named — the hyenas. Now the book lies in the wrong jaws, and what was prophecy becomes blueprint.

"If the holy book of Savarat is in the possession of the wrong individuals,
it can spark conspiracies in the Forest." — Russell
II The Withering

THE PISA

A symbol of life. A root run dry.

Planted by Modina — the Holy Spirit of the Forest — a thousand winters ago. The oldest of all Shermut trees, the heart-beat of Vigard itself. Russell has warned the elephant king every season: the roots are dry. The branches are brittle. If the Pisa falls, Madac returns.

"The Pisa has dried up. With its fall,
the Forest will be approachable again by the evil and greedy Madac." — Russell, to the king
III The Coronation

GAT — THE HYENA KING

One candidate. One ballot. One hundred percent.

The lions are slaughtered. The wolves are scattered. The elephant kneels in chains of his own making. T'sar the crow names a hero for the dwellers, and the dwellers — believing the story repeated to them through the night — cast every vote for the only animal still standing.

"I will teach all the forest dwellers to explain history for posterity
as I tell it." — Gat, king of Vigard
The World

Vigard — the gem within the forest.

A relatively deep and roaring river called Cakten guards its borders. The lions destroyed the only bridge before they left forever. Within its boundaries, three sacred laws bind every dweller — and one privilege rests with the king alone.

I.
The right to voteThe king is chosen for six years by the will of all dwellers.
II.
The sanctity of lifeNo dweller may kill another. The penalty is death itself.
III.
My Right — the king's wordIn disputes without resolution, the king's word is final. All must obey.
Map of Vigard forest with Arsen Mountains, Piken Towen, and the Cakten River VIGARD  ·  PIKEN TOWEN  ·  CAKTEN RIVER
“

Dictators invariably emerge from the
voting booths of an uninformed populace.

— Epigraph, MADAC
The Dwellers of Vigard

Characters

R
Russell
The Prophet · 100 years

The last surviving UTEK turtle. Heir to the holy book Savarat and the haunting prophecy of the Apocalypse. Once a royal counselor — now an exile beneath the dying Pisa tree.

H
Hogan
The Former King · Lion

Last sovereign of Vigard before the vote. A lion who would not bend to the ballot. "A lion's power is greater than a thousand votes" — his final word before exile.

G
Gat
The Hyena · The Cunning

Leader of the thirteen hyenas. Architect of the soft revolution. To his offspring he whispers: "To get ignorant people to play along, they should be promised what they never deserve."

Hm
Hamen
The Elephant King

A massive elder, eloquent and slow to act. Crowned by the dwellers, devoted to his son Ashton — and old, dear friend to the prophet he exiled.

T
Tornado
Deputy · Tiger Commander

Captain of the five royal tigers. Betrayer of the lions, deputy of the elephant. The hyenas resent him — and that resentment will one day demand its blood.

✶
Madac
The Black Magician

The devil-name the prophets dare not speak. Defeated a thousand years ago — but the holy book is stolen, the Pisa is dying, and the spells are stirring again beneath the soil.

What lies beneath the fable

Themes

01
Democracy & Demagoguery

A populace asked to choose, with neither memory nor understanding — and the cunning who choose for them. The vote becomes a stage. The stage becomes a coup.

02
Prophecy & Disbelief

A holy book stolen. A prophet exiled. Warnings repeated until they become noise. "No one accuses his buddy of delusion," Russell answers the king.

03
Lies, Repeated

Gat subscribes to a single doctrine: repetition makes a lie convincing. The fabricated wound becomes a medal. History is written by whoever speaks last and loudest.

Conversation in the forest
Episode 01  ·  The Madac Conversations

Two readers walk into the Vigard forest.

A long-form discussion of Milan Jhon's MADAC — Part One: the politics of the fable, the prophecy hidden inside the prose, and why a hundred-year-old turtle might be the most uncomfortable narrator you've read in years.

A
Host A
The Sceptic
B
Host B
The Believer
▶   Listen to the Episode
Milan Jhon — author of MADAC
Milan Jhon
About the author

Milan Jhon

Milan Jhon wrote MADAC in 2014, drawing from personal encounters and the political, social, cultural and religious oppressions he witnessed in his own world. The fable is a quiet weapon — every character a stand-in, every law of Vigard a mirror.

This political fable is among his finest works — written for anyone who has wondered how a forest at peace can choose, of its own free vote, the very thing that will burn it.

Visit milan-jhon.com →
— The Prophecy is Available —

Read what the forest
could not bear to hear.

MADAC — Part One by Milan Jhon. Hardcover & paperback.

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