Myth and Legend

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1

My Lord Zorion, I hope this letter finds you well in your far post. Attached are, as you asked, my attempt at a compilation of the Tales of the Dark, scattered such as they are. Some were especially difficult to find. The Tale of the Watcher, for instance, had but two Tellers who could recount it in full, and the Tale of the End of Days, as you will see, did not have even one Teller who agreed on its events. I am happy to say that translation was easy. These were stories meant to be told to children, and so there were very few words so complex that they could not be translated fully. I hope you enjoy your reading as much as I enjoyed their writing.

Yours,
Teller Evangeline Sells

2

Of the Beginning

In the beginning, there was stone. Stone filled the whole of the universe, from its length to its height to its depth. There was no space, no water or air or void. It was empty and dead. But there was still Time. Time flowed forward through the stone like the water that had not yet come.

The Maker saw the universe from a far-off place, and grew tired of stone, for it was always the same, dull and uninteresting. And so the Maker struck the stone with its sword, and shattered it. The stone broke into three pieces: One piece became the rock of the ground, on which all things are built. One was turned to vapor and dust, and became the air. One was destroyed utterly, and became the void. But the Maker was still bored. But the Maker was too vast and great to build anything in such a small universe. And so it gave up and ceased to be, and its ashes became the Gods.

There were many Gods in the beginning, bright and dark and beautiful and ugly. They were full of energy and life, and they took the air and stone and void and made the stars and planets. They made the water and lava and mist. They made the plants and animals. Finally, the Gods made the Elves, last and greatest of all the animals, out of the hard pressed rock deep below the ground. There the Gods placed the Elves, in the place where they were created. They also made many Spirits and even the mighty Demons to live in the rock and air and void.

But as ages passed the universe cooled, and the first Gods grew tired. And so many of them passed away from this universe to seek others. But when they passed, other Gods took up their power, and so became the (This word is difficult. The best translation to English is ‘new gods’ or ‘second gods’, but these are iffy at best. All references to Gods after this use this word, so I will continue to use ‘Gods’. -Sells)Gods. And among the Gods were many kings and rulers of the old days. Among these were Ki’zak, the maker of the Elves and ruler of the deep places, Rhi’n, who loved the Spirits and the water, Lor’id, the smith and ruler of fire, Khal of the mountains and hills, Riss of the void, and the Nameless one, He Who Lives Far Away.

3

Of the Sundering of the Gods

Now there was peace in the universe for many ages. Each of the Gods ruled a different place and over different animals or Spirits. But He Who Lives Far Away had no domain to rule over, and he was angry. For He Who Lives Far Away had always claimed to be the very person of the Maker, and boasted of this to the other Gods. He had said that everything, the rock and air and void and fire and water and animals and Spirits, was made by his hand, but he had none of it to call his own. And so in his anger he tricked Ki’zak, and stole the Elves from him, placing them on a planet far away from this home. It is in this way that he got his name. And the Elves mourned, for they belonged in the deep places below the ground.

The other Gods saw this and were angry. Ki’zak called to his side Rh’in and Lor’id and Khal and Riss and all of the lesser Gods and made war upon He Who Lives Far Away. But He Who Lives Far Away was very strong, and he made many Elves and Spirits fight for him. The battle was fought for a age and a half, but in the end the Gods could not defeat the Nameless one. And so they went away.

And so the Gods were divided in three ways. Ki’zak called Lor’id and Khal and Riss to his side, and many gods besides, and many Spirits and all of the Demons, and they made their home in the deep places below the ground, and built their citadel in the gardens where the Elves had lived. Rh’in grew angry with the others, for she loved the air and the void above, and so she took three Gods with her and went away, never to be seen again. And He Who Lives Far Away sat alone on his world with his many slaves and laughed at the others. And so it was for many ages.

4

Of the Elves and the Sleep of the Gods

The Elves toiled for many years under the Nameless one. He gave them lives that were very long, but nothing else, for all he wanted was for them to spend their long lives obeying his every whim and praising him. He allowed the Houses of the Elves that Ki’zak had commanded to continue, as long as they served him. And these were twenty-seven. But the Elves were very clever, like Ki’zak their maker, and they wanted to make themselves better and stronger. He Who Lives Far Away forbade them from ever calling on the other Gods for magic, lest their lives be cut off. And in their need so they built great machines, that their lives might become easy.

After three ages, the Elves had become a great nation that filled their whole world, and even sailed into the void for new worlds. But He Who Lives Far Away did not want to let them become greater, for he wanted to keep all glory and power to himself. And twenty-four Houses obeyed him. But the Lords of three Houses, those of Honist and Damis and Chiron, remembered the wisdom of Ki’zak their maker and remembered the old days in their true home. And so as one they called out to Ki’zak to rescue them.

Ki’zak heard the call of the Elves, and he created a doorway from his home to the place where they lived. He Who Lives Far Away saw this and was angry, and made ready to destroy the Elves, but they escaped through the door. When he saw that they had escaped, He Who Lives Far Away went to his fortress and put on the disguise of an Elf, and went through the door as it closed.

When the Elves returned to their home, they rejoiced, for it was good that they should live deep under the ground. And they built a great city around the Black Citadel of Ki’zak, and they lived at peace. But the Nameless one walked among them, and whispered many things to the Elves and Spirits and Demons. He said that Ki’zak did not really care for them, but only sought to take their long lives away. And many believed him, and there was no more peace. Many of the Elves, saddened, went to the bright lands above in fear. Many of the Spirits walked the same path, or went claiming they sought Rh’in. Even some of the Demons were deceived, and left in disgrace, claiming that Ki’zak cared for the Elves more than for them.

When Ki’zak saw this, he was deeply sorrowful, for he wanted peace among his children. And so when he found the Nameless one, he cast him out of his city, commanding him never to return. Because the Elves had listened to the Nameless one, Ki’zak declared that he would no longer walk among his people, and he and his Gods went to sleep in a pool of dark water beneath his Citadel. He still spoke and acted and saw through dreams, but no Elf was allowed to see him again.

5

The Tale of Balamont

Balamont was born in the Second Age of the Blade, during the rule and in the dominion of Lord Balar Mazal, Lord Secondary of Chiron and overseer of Deephollow. He was one of a clan of warriors, and at his majority Balamont joined the caste of Guardians. In but a few years he became known one of the mightiest of his caste, and rose to become the captain of Lord Mazal’s guard. Great was his skill in combat, and time and again he proved his skill against the agents of Lord Mazal’s mortal enemy, Lady Khaimin of Damis.

But no skill with the blade and spell could protect Balamont’s lord from the passing of time, and so in those days Lord Mazal died, and his title passed to his student, Lady Mali Yaish. Now Lady Yaish was very beautiful and clever, and Balamont greatly desired her, but by this time he had married and had several children to his name. Still he sought the affections of his lady, but she, knowing of his family, never ceased to refuse him.

Finally he grew angry, and the two argued bitterly. No one knows what was said that day, but in the end Balamont abandoned Lady Yaish’s fortress, forswearing her service and vowing never to return. So angry was he that he vowed not to return unless first he had seen the very end of the world. And so Balamont took his armor and his sword and departed for the sunlit lands above.

(Linguistic records indicate that this was a common curse at the time, suggesting the impossible. This is probably the first thing that most of us associate with this story, and it is the very first appearance of the motif of the obalta, the world-journey, that is repeated in later tales. -Sells)

At first, Balamont walked under the burning sun. But as he traveled, he found many kingdoms filled with many creatures. Some were shrewd, but most were primitive. Balamont was cunning and learned their tongues quickly, sometimes bargaining for provisions, sometimes fighting. At times he sailed on their ships of wood and cloth, and often he rode on beasts they had tamed. He rode day and night over the sunlit land, seeking always the end, his keen eyes bent on the horizon.

For many years Balamont journeyed. As he rode, he found that the lands grew older and dimmer, the people weaker and more primitive, the land harsher. And so when the ships were no more, he swam. When the beasts were forgotten, he ran. Finally he merely walked. For many more years he walked.

At last, Balamont came to the last cliff and stood on the last crag over the last precipice and he looked out upon the smoking ruin of the end of the world. Suddenly, he felt very foolish. If he had fulfilled his vow, he reasoned, he must return. He waited on the crag for three days, weighing in his heart whether to return or not.

At the end of three days, the gods showed Balamont a vision: He saw his home in ruins, the struggle with Khaimin lost, his family slain, and their heads adorning the battle standards of Damis. (This corresponds loosely to the First War of the Circle, but the rest of the story matches no historical record. -Sells) His vendetta forgotten, Balamont was filled with anger. He donned his armor and took up his sword once more, and cried out to the gods to return him home to avenge this wrong. At once his prayer was answered, and the gods granted him a great winged steed made of the motes of fire of the end of the world.

Balamont rode like the swiftest of the deep winds, the anger in his heart driving his steed ever faster. At last he came to Deephollow, and as he alighted on the gate, the great winged beast shattered to ashes and he descended to the city below.

It is said that great was Balamont’s vengeance upon the armies of Khaimin, and that he slew a hundred for every one he had known who was slain. His armor and blade were stained deep red with the blood of his enemies. For twenty-seven days and nights he fought, till at last his anger was sated. And then, as swiftly as he came, Balamont vanished.

He was never seen again, but to this day, when the darkness is deep and the mist comes in, you may meet a knight clad in ancient armor, carrying a great sword and marching ever on. Woe to him who does, for Balamont is still as great a warrior as he ever was of old.

6

Of Dragons

Ask anyone today whether there are any living dragons in Kandarin, and all - old and young, wise and foolish - will tell you that there are not, that such a thing is impossible. And they would be quite right. But it was not always so.

When first the Elves returned to the home of Ki’zak, and built their great city, it stood alone and no city stood behind it, for without Ki’zak to guide them, the Elves were afraid to venture far from it. And their fear was not without reason, for the rest of the land was the domain of the Dragons. Now in those days the Dragons were great and powerful, four times the height of an Elf, with claws and teeth like swords and hide that laughed at weapons. They had no wings for flight, but fought with brute strength that could shatter the strongest walls. The chiefs of the dragons were great sorcerers, and whenever one was killed, its spirit would take residence in a dragon of lesser power, and live once more, so that they could not truly die.

(This passage is troubling. ‘Chiefs’ is a loose translation - the original wording implies a caste that would have made up a significant percentage of the population. Similarly, it is unclear what is meant by ‘in those days’ when no dragons existed afterwards, nor why the author would feel the need to observe the lack of wings, but all versions include both. Perhaps the original Teller was also acquainted with a foreign species of dragon? -Sells)

And yet despite the strength and power of the dragons, the Elves were more cunning. They used the pride and honor of the dragons to turn kin against kin on false pretenses, and trapped and killed them when they could. As the numbers of the dragons waned, the Elves grew strong and mighty, and one by one their armies took each of the six great cities of the dragons and built new cities atop the ruins.

At long last, the Elves lay siege to the last city of the dragons, the fortress in the cleft open to the burning sun. (Neither other Tales nor histories give any clear location, but this passage does not, as commonly thought, refer to K’Byss. -Sells) There was a great battle, and many Elves died, but so too did the last of the Dragons. Without new bodies to inhabit, the chiefs of the dragons were cast adrift in spirit, doomed to walk the land forever and curse the name of the Elves. And so the Elves became the only people in the land.