The Hate of Oneself

The Hate of Oneself (Rockallian: An Fuaith nan Uféine; Fernolian: An Cáisei t-o Héinnan; Astrallic: An Feuith nan Oféin; c. 1600 words), also known as Futa Aonfenaga, is a tale in the Prose Legendarium of Rockallic mythology.

The tale centers on an unnamed girl who finds herself in the Red Bog. The girl, who, is confronted by Hate, and arguably forced to become a Perpetrator of Hatred. In the Garden this is seemingly expressed in the form of her having committed suicide.

Summary
The Hate of Oneself is a relatively short tale with only c. 1600 words.

The tale is divided into seven titled sections. The unnamed girl wakes up in her own bed but in a different world. She steps out of bed to investigate her surroundings, specifically the unusual trees by which she is surrounded. Upon further investigation, she realises that she has found herself in the Red Bog.

Upon that realisation, an evil presence in the form of a shadowy cloud of smoke starts following her, and she runs away from it in fear. She manages to escape, but is confronted by Hate. Hate accuses her of hating herself, and gives her a proposition: serve her, or live in the Red Bog all alone and forever chased by darkness and evil. The girl chooses to serve Hate, and becomes a Perpetrator of Hatred.

The last section describes the scene of the girl's apparent suicide.

Interpretation
The Hate of Oneself is most commonly interpreted as a metaphor for the causes leading up to. It was, and sometimes still is, believed that those who commit suicide have become Perpetrators of Hatred, i.e. in servitude of the goddess Hate.

The shadow is thought to be a metaphor of the fear of the past. Specifically it is seen as the fear of a past of self-hatred, where the knowledge that one has once undergone it is enough to instill fear, even if one is no longer affected by it. Hate's proposition is sometimes seen as the inevitability of suicide once suicide ideation is at play, where those who are suicidal see no other way out of their suffering than death.

Cultural impact
Despite its relatively very small size, The Hate of Oneself is one of the most well-known tales in Rockallic society, likely due to its macabre nature. It is also relatively well-known in other Western European regions, especially Rom and Dogger, where local variants of the tale have entered common folklore.

Links
Full text in English