Oz: The Way I Knew It
Oz: The Way I Knew ItBy Elphaba Thropp
My name is Elphaba Thropp, or at least that is what the books will claim is my name. My father was not the Eminent Thropp, as Wicked will tell you it was. My Father was actually Oz himself, the very ruler of it. The name I was actually given by my father, as my mother had passed with my birth, was Ozma Elphaba of Oz. Oz was a busy man, inventing things and taking care of the land he had loved. Given Oz’s important duties and little time, I was often left in the care of my nanny, whom I considered to be an aunt to me and whom I believe was actually Oz’s sister. She was an older woman, who was also very kind to me and helped me with my abilities. She had a small cottage at the end of town where I would stay with her. The reason for it being close to town was so my father could see me when his duties allowed. He would also gift me things he made and sometimes found.
The Scarecrow character, as I remember him, was named Toppler. At least that is what I had called him after being given him by my father. Toppler was cursed or rather stricken with an illness or parasite of sorts. This parasite had him take the form of a scarecrow against his will. He had a human form,which in the book Wicked was called Fiyero, although I don’t know his actual human name for certain. Toppler was gifted to me with the intention of him being a guard to me as well as a companion. Though as time passed he started to develop feelings for me and I for him. I was still a young girl at the time so romance was new and I wasn’t very comfortable with displays of affection. This led to some hurt feelings on his part, due to my adverse reactions to his attempts of showing his devotion.
According to my memory the Emerald City was not made out of emeralds. It was in fact named after a natural phenomena much like the Aurora Borealis, though emerald in color. The city was made out of glass that was formed in such a way that it reflected the lights perfectly so it looked to be made out of emeralds. It was also very green environmentally, since they made sure to take care of the flora and fauna surrounding it. For this reason, the flowers and leaves were like Gemstones themselves. If a poisonous plant did grow nearby, they would quarantine the area it was spotted in until the issue was taken care of. For example, the Poppies were a type of flowering plant that if one happened to walk close to it, they would get drowsy and be at risk for going into a poppy pollen induced coma. The Yellow Brick road leading up to the city was not actually yellow, but a Metallic gold. The reason for the bricks being that shade was because the mud that it came from turned that color after going through the process used to make bricks.
This article was made for the purpose of sharing my memories and to also show a bit of the Oz I knew. I hope that this article will give fans of the books a fresh perspective on the land loved so much. The land of Oz is a extremely diverse place, filled with odd and exciting new things. I hope that others who are from there will come out of the wood work to share some of their own memories of Oz.