Re: Legends From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1992 18:36:43 +0000 jozborne@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (John Osborne): > Obviously I am not going to write out each Legend in full as I am >not a masochist. I will try to keep everything that may be remotely >relevent and important sections I will type word for word... While this is considerably better than no legends at all, it's the wrong way to go about it. For one thing, you could miss key pieces that you don't realize are important. For another, the effort isn't that great that it isn't worth going to once. Once you've taken the five minutes to type in a legend once, you've got it online forever. Take my word for it, if you don't try to type in more than one legend at a time, it isn't much work. These two, for example, from Crown of Avalon: As the legends say, Alvereth, formerly Protector of the Elves, had given much thought to the binding of Her three divine allies to their oaths to protect the land and the free Peoples after the victory over the Chaos Gods; and She had set the four races to a great task: and the Dwarves, Men, Maratasen, and Elves had obeyed Her command, and gathered four Stones of great size and beauty, cutting them and enchanting them that they might serve the purpose She intended. And upon these Stones the Four had sworn their oaths; and the Stones were then given to the Four Peoples as a promise of protection. And it was decided that each of the four races would choose a Stone, and keep it or hide it as they wished. And these are the Four Lifestones, which bound the Gods to their promise. The First and Greatest, Evenklar the Springstone, of brightest green, upon which Alvereth swore Her oath, chosen by the Elves to keep in the city of Gwyth-Darion; the Second, Rodganth the Summerstone, of deep blue, upon which Raisnoah swore, taken by the Men to the South; the Thuird, Stregno the Autumnstone, of blood's red, upon which Om swore, taken and hidden by the Dwarves of Marthong; and the Fourth, Arnal the Winterstone, of amber hue, upon which Marren swore, taken by the Maratasen to the North. or this one The tale is often told in Clairaven of the orgin of the Half-elven race. It seems that a gifted and wise mage of Gwyth-Darion became concerned about the decline of the Elven race, and came up with an alternative. A group of Elves set out from the City with the mage, and founded a new village near a human settlement. After a few years of patient diplomacy, the event hoped for by the mage occurred -- one of the Elves in the village fell in love with a human maiden. The mage blessed the union, and cast a great spell to allow it to bear fruit. After the safe birth of the child, first of a new race, the mage blessed it with a measure of power and sent the couple into the wilderness. The child grew in a happy environment, and showed great intelligence and coordination, combining, as the mage intended, the best of both races' attributes. However, when he was nearing the age of Elven maturity, he saw that his mother was aging more quickly than himself, and much more quickly than his father. Knowing that his sire was bred of a culture which seldom saw a male outlive his wife and considered it unnatural, and observing the strain upon the good Elf, the young Clairaven set out to find the mage who had facilitated his conception and seek a solution. Finding the elven village long deserted and the human settlement destroyed by Giants, he set out for Gwyth-Darion itself. After a long and dangerous search, he stood at the gates and was denied entrance. He used his father's name and his teachings on the Elven concepts of familial obligation to convince the guards to admit him. In the city, as everywhere else he had journeyed, he found rejection from all quarters. Finally, denied an audience with the mage who had caused him to be, he left the City and wandered south. High on a peak of what are now called the Dragon Crown Mountains, he thought on all his efforts, which had come to nought, and he knew despair. It was at this instant that his legacy of sight came upon him, and he was astounded. He turned his new vision about, that he might know the world and find what to do. He saw the Elf responsible for the tragic marriage between his Elven father and the maiden who became his aging mother was truly no longer interested in him; and he saw that his mother had already died of illness and age, and that his father roamed the forests as a beast, with no memory of wife or son. After ascertaining that his parents were beyond his help, he cast about all around, and was astounded to find others like himself; for when the mage had worked the spell allowing his birth, the power was so great that all of Avera was affected; and though such unions between the races of Man and Elf are rare, yet they do occur more frequently than Men and Elves are wont to admit. And so, this Half-elf resolved to gather these brethen together, and seek a place where they might live together in peace. And he traveled the world, gathering them to him; and finally in the Southeast he founded the city known today as Clairaven; and there the descendants of his brethen live unto this day, under the benevolent rule of his grandson, Clearandil. ----- Dani Zweig dani@netcom.com Roses red and violets blew and all the sweetest flowres that in the forrest grew -- Edmund Spenser Referenced By Up