War Hold Legend

The Weight

The Once-Ugly man left his cabin forever, wandering the land, showing his face to all those who passed. No more did they hide from him; instead, they came out of their houses to see the magnificent work of art that was his face. He wandered through Marind’s Bell, past the gates that now opened for his bright features, and through the woods into Loreroot.

Gazing into the rivers and creeks he passed, he continually touched his face, admiring the smoothness and grace of his newly acquired features. He remarked to everything he passed, “Look on me, and I will look at you, and none of us will be un-seeable! My beauty will reflect yours. ”

He came to rest where the War Hold is now, and turned his gaze up towards the heavens. He saw the Sun in the sky and was dazzled by its beauty. After a few moments of staring, though, he was forced to turn away. “Why,” he told himself, “this is the one thing that I cannot gaze at! If I cannot look at the sun because of its sheer brilliance, then it must be the most dazzling thing in the universe, and I cannot let that be true. I am the most dazzling object. To prove it, I will have a staring contest with the sun! I will force it to look away from my gorgeous features, and I will be the victor!”

So the beautiful man looked up, and stared straight into the sun. He stayed there for days (for in those days the sun remained motionless), and the longer he stared at the sun the bigger his head and ego grew. As the seconds, minutes, and hours passed by, he was more reassured that it was he who was the most beautiful object. “Yes, I believe I have almost won!”

His head continued to grow and grow, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter, filled with so much sunshine. His head continued to grow until his body was buried deep in the ground under the weight of his head.

Years passed by, but the man would not give up. His neck cramped; his eyes glowed with sunlight; his body was buried deep, but still, he did not give up.

In the fifth year, he admitted defeat, crying, “You have defeated me, oh foul sun,” and he attempted to close his eyes. What he quickly found, however, was that his body had become stone-stiff, and his muscles had become frozen in the same position. He was stuck, forever gazing at the sun, the one object that had defeated him, the one object more gorgeous than he. To this day, he remains in the forest of Loreroot as a lesson to all who passes by.