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Mara's Tear
By Zhen
Well, children, if you all gather round, and sit quietly, I'll tell
you the story of Mara's Tear and Shandar's Sorrow...
Long, long ago, long before your grandmother and I were were born,
long ago, there were two young children growing up in a village far,
far from here. They played together, and ran through the woods together,
exploring their little world and learning to see things through each
other's eyes. This was very different from their parents because
Shandar was the son of Maldor, who was captured in a war and forced
to work as a slave for the village baron. Their village and another
both needed the land between them to feed the villagers, and fought
and fought, until many of the villagers died. Maldor was wounded
in battle, and left for dead by his fellows. He was captured and
forced to work in the fields as punishment. Shandar was not allowed
to play with Mara, but she was very small and the other children
didn't like to play with her, so she played with Shandar against
her father's command. And they learned that they were really not
very different at all. They couldn't understand why their parents
hated each other so.
Well, Shandar and Mara played together for many years, and learned
to love each other as they grew up. They knew that they couldn't
let their parents know, because it was forbidden for them ever to
marry, since they were from different villages and the war was still
going on. They tried and tried to figure out how they could be happy
together, and finally decided that they must run away from their
village. They would try to make a new life for themselves in another
village, far, far away from where they grew up.
One night, while planning their escape, they were discovered by the
town guards. Shandar tried to fight them, but they tied him up and
dragged him away to the prison inside town. Mara was taken home,
and her father was very angry with her, and told her that she could
not leave their home again. He went to the house of another farmer,
and asked if their son would marry Mara, so that she could never
see Shandar again. The marriage was planned for the next week.
Shandar, meanwhile, was to be killed for daring to be with Mara.
He was beaten, and placed in a stockade. He was placed in a stockade,
and they were to hang him the next day. When Mara found out that
Shandar was to be killed, she knew that she could never live without
him, and climbed out her window and ran into the woods, crying and
crying. She ran and ran, and soon was lost. It was very dark, because
back then they did not have any moons in the sky back then to make
it safe for little boys and girls. Soon she found herself in a part
of the woods she had never been before, and sat down on a rock since
she was very tired.
Well, the rock was a secret entrance to a cave where a very mean
orc lived. When he came back from his hunting, he found Mara curled
up asleep on his rock, and thought to himself, "Hmmm, a tasty little
girl. I shall save her for my breakfast!"
He grabbed her and took her into his cave, moving the rock back so
that she could not escape. She was sure to die, and tried to escape,
but the evil orc just laughed and laughed at her, until she finally
gave up.
When the villagers found out that Mara had run off, they were very
worried. No one knew the woods very well, and all were afraid of
the evil orc that lived there. Only Shandar was not afraid, and he
begged and begged for the baron to set him free, so that he could
go look for Mara. The Baron finally decided to let Shandar go, for
no one else was brave enough to go and rescue Mara. So Shandar was
set free, and he set off into the woods to go and rescue her.
Shandar searched and searched, but could not find poor Mara. Finally,
he sat down on a rock to rest for a moment, and as he sat down, he
noticed a piece of cloth under the rock. It was a piece from Mara's
cloak! He realized that she must be under the rock somehow, and knew
that the orc had captured her. He pushed and pushed on the rock,
and finally was able to roll it aside. He climbed down into the orc's
cave, but it was very dark, and he could not see anything. The evil
orc, when he heard his front door moving, hid in the shadows to see
what was coming into his home. When he saw that it was just a little
man-boy, he grinned to himself and thought, "Now I have lunch, TOO!"
When Shandar came near, the orc grabbed him, and began to squeeze
the life out of him.
Back in the village, the people soon realized that they were foolish
to let a young man go off into the woods by himself. They gathered
all of their weapons, and set off to find the two lost children.
When they finally came upon the clearing near the orcs' cave, they
saw a strange and wondrous sight: A slain orc near the entrance to
the cave, and Mara holding the head of poor Shandar in her lap. Shandar
had killed the orc, but not before the it gave Shandar a mortal wound.
Mara's tears flowed freely from her eyes and splashed upon Shandar's
face, reflecting the light from the villager's torches. Shandar was
filled with sorrow at the thought that he had saved Mara, only to
lose her because of his own impending death from the battle with
the orc. He cried out to Mara's namesake, the goddess of love, to
help them.
The Goddess Mara recognized their true love and wept at their loss.
Not having power over death, she could do nothing to save Shandar,
but she knew that she could not let their love die. She reached down
from the heavens and picked up Mara and Shandar in her arms, and
placed them high in the heavens. They could be together always, and
provide light in the dark night to others so that they may be safe
from the evils in the world. The villagers were amazed at this sight,
and vowed to honor the love of Shandar and Mara by learning more
about themselves and their neighbors, so that the war that had been
going on as long as anyone could remember would end. Shandar's sacrifice
for the one he loved showed them that he was worthy of their respect,
and that those from his village were just as proud and worthy as
themselves.
And, that's why, children, every night we can see Mara's Tear and
Shandar's Sorrow spending their lives together high in the heavens,
lighting the way for all the little boys and girls like you.
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