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Rajhin

The Seven Shadows of Rajhin, pt. 1

Author: 
Anonymous

The Greymanes say the light of both sun and moons shines down upon all the peoples of Nirn equally, but what happens after may not be so clear.

Take the legend of the Seven Shadows of Rajhin. As every cub knows, Rajhin the Purring Liar, the Trickster God, and the Cat Who Walks cares little for stuffy aphorisms. He lives to challenge limits and stretch more than just the truth. To him, one shadow proved too few for his purposes ….

For one day, Rajhin found himself walking in the hot sun. He called out to Khenarthi to blow a breeze through his mane, but the Wind God was otherwise occupied. Rajhin then asked Alkosh to shorten the day and bring cool night. But Alkosh did not steal away the day at the Thief-God's word. None of Rajhin's further appeals brought relief, and so the trickster was left to his own devices.

In time, Rajhin came upon a wealthy merchant in the shade of a tall stone. "My friend," Rajhin said, "kindly share your resting place with this unfortunate one."

But the merchant growled, "There is no room, wanderer. The stone's shade is large enough for one, but not two!"

Rajhin saw the truth in this statement, rude as it was, and did not argue. Instead, he purred, "Did you drop a bag of gold along the path? For this one passed such a treasure not a moment ago."

The merchant's frown turned to surprise. In a moment, the fat one struggled to his feet. "Why, I must have! Pray, tell me where you saw it and I shall leave my shady stone to you!"

Rajhin directed the greedy trader down the path whence he had come and the man hurried off. But as he went, the trickster saw the fat merchant's shadow easily dwarfed that of the stone.

"Why should I settle for the egg when the hen stands before me?" Rajhin mused. With a flick of a hidden knife, the thief-god cut the fat merchant's shadow away so cleanly that the greedy man didn't even notice.

Within moments, he tied the shadow's feet to his own and it spread out before him, opposite his own shadow. This cooled the Trickster God hid him from the burning sun.

Laughing, Rajhin continued down the road, his two shadows dancing before and behind him.

Rajhin and the Stone Maiden, pt. 2

Author: 
Anonymous

"Very well," Mazaram sighed. He explained that one of his agents—for Mazaram made his money in shipping—told him of a nearby land without a ruler. "It is far greater than this village, yet shines like a pearl in the darkness. A place to which you can lay claim, but that you'll never reach without my agent's aid."

Azelit-ra laughed scornfully, "No such land exists! Is this some crude ploy to get me out of the way while you marry my daughter? Fah! I'll not fall for your tricks!"

"It is no trick, step-father," Munilli asserted. "On my mother's honor, I have seen this land—as have you! It is renowned for its beauty in story and song!"

At this, Azelit-ra was taken aback. As much as he knew Munilli wished to marry Mazaram, he also knew her as a truthful girl … and she valued her late mother's honor as much as her own life. But still he doubted, for an untrustworthy man does not trust easily.

"Very well. What is this great land of which you speak, that I have seen yet do not know?"

Mazaram waggled one finger, "No, no … if I tell you freely, how do I know you won't try to conquer it without me? I insist you'll need my agent's help, but you might try something foolish on your own."

"Very well," Azelit-ra harrumphed. "If you won't tell me, then how will I know you speak the truth?"

"My agent," Mazaram replied, "will take you there tonight. If he does so, will you agree I've met the bride-price?"

'A ruse,' thought the greedy step-father. 'They hope to escape while I prepare for my "journey" to this land of theirs. Well, I can fix them!'

"Agreed!" Azelit-ra exclaimed, much to the surprise of the servants around him. "But I insist if we're to go on a journey, we must have your engagement feast beforehand! You, Mazaram, shall sit upon my right and Munilli shall sit upon my left!"

'Ha,' he thought, 'try to escape while you're in arm's reach!'

But the two agreed. Azelit-ra had no choice but to open his larder and wine cellar to the entire village. They feasted all afternoon. As was his habit, the plantation owner ate greedily, making sure no one else got more than he. The couple ate sparingly and never moved from his side. Soon, Azelit-ra grew sleepy, and then annoyed.

"The moons are rising, Mazaram! Where is this agent of yours?" he asked.

"I am right behind you, my lord," a voice purred in Azelit-ra's ear.

The old man jumped, but quickly recovered. When he turned, he saw what looked like a vagabond in a wide-brimmed hat. The traveler's tail twitched, but whether it was with nervousness or amusement, Azelit-ra could not tell.

"Well, then, where is this land of yours!" Azelit-ra bellowed at the man. "I'm ready to go … or to see the back of you and Mazaram both!"

"You are ready?" the vagabond asked. "Then let us go now!" With a flash, the vagabond discarded his wide-brimmed hat. There stood Rajhin the Trickster God in all his glory. Without another word, Rajhin seized the fat man by his stained tunic and the two flew upward like shooting stars. Soon, their glow disappeared into the pearl-wide aura of Jode, the largest moon.

"Truly," Munilli mused aloud, "it is a land we can see from our village."

"And one that shines as beautiful as a pearl."

When the villagers recovered from their shock, the engagement feast turned into a wedding feast. By the time both moons had set, Mazaram and Munilli were married.

But as they lay in their bower, a chill overcame both of them. The candles guttered. The darkness grew. Munilli cried out, and Mazaram groped in the dark for his sword.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Rajhin stood before them, brushing moon-dust off his garments. "Now, then, where are you?" he mused as the two lovers gaped. "Ah, there you are!"

With a movement too quick for the eye to follow, Rajhin reached out and grabbed at the air. Then he shoved his hand into one of the many small pouches on his person. The room grew light once more.

"What was that, my lord? What did you sieze?" Munilli asked.

"The fat man's shadow! I took him to his new land so quickly, he jumped right out of it!"

Their laughter echoed across the riverbank.

Rajhin and the Stone Maiden, pt. 1

Author: 
Anonymous

Many years ago, as Rajhin passed by a river, he heard weeping from the far shore. There, a woman filled her pockets with stones. When she finished, the woman walked into the river.

Rajhin could not let her drown, so he ran across the river's surface and pulled the woman from her would-be grave.

"Why did you save me, my lord?" she asked. "Does Rajhin, the Trickster God, not know my intent?"
"I know the what, my lady, but not the why."

The woman frowned and turned her back. "You could not possibly understand my plight. Please, let me gather my stones and continue on my way."

But Rajhin would not let her continue until she shared her story.

The woman, Munilli, had a fiancee named Mazaram, and the two were much beloved. But Munilli's step-father Azelit-ra, was a greedy man. Before he would give them permission to marry, he insisted on a bride-price beyond Mazaram's considerable means, and well beyond all reason.

Azelit-ra was headman of the village in which they lived and none dared speak against him for his injustice. But Mazaram was not cowed by Azelit-ra, which made the step-father hate him all the more. Still, Mazaram would not dishonor Munilli by eloping. Rather than see her fiancee ruined by her step-father's demands, Munilli chose the river.

"You say your step-father rules your village?"

"With an iron paw, my lord," Munilli replied sadly. "Those he does not bribe owe him money. Only a few, such as Mazaram, remain free of his grasp … and he does what he can to ruin them."

"Do you think your step-father is satisfied ruling a tiny village?" Rajhin asked.

"Satisfied?" Munilli scoffed, wiping her tears away. "He does not know the meaning of the word."
"Then perhaps I can help. Come, let us find Mazaram."

As they went to the village, Rajhin explained his plan to the young woman.

That afternoon, Mazaram and Munilli approached Azelit-ra upon the porch of his great moon-sugar plantation house. Seeing the hand-in-hand angered Azelit-ra, even though they were properly affianced. "So, my little pauper," the step-father greeted Mazaram, "have you agreed to my bride-price, or shall we finally see the last of you?"

Mazaram refused to take offense and instead bowed briefly. "While it is true I cannot meet your bride-price, my lord, I can offer you something better."

Azelit-ra's ears twitched, but he sneered with skepticism. "Better? Better than the sum I demand for my only daughter? Fine, tell me of this offer. If it is generous, then so be it. But if not, I would see your tail as you leave forever!"

The Thief God's Treasures

Author: 
Wafaruz the Veracious Spitter

Rajhin, he who is fleet of foot, the very embodiment of speed, agility, and slyness, has borrowed many treasures from coffers across the lands. No possession is safe from his desire—not even those of the Daedric Princes.

Rajhin's most well-known plunder was the celebrated Ring of Khajiit, named after our people. It was once the Anticipation's Finger, and only found its way to Tamriel because it was stolen from the eighth arm of the Webspinner herself. With the Ring of Khajiit, Rajhin grasped the spark of godhood. It wrapped him in shadow so dark that none could reach him. Not the Anticipation of Vivec; not even the passage of time.

But Rajhin wasn't finished. On his way out, he spied the killing word of the Spider, the black edge of shadow, and claimed it, as well. So swift were these takings that the Anticipation of Vivec was unaware anything went missing. Dark and sharp was the anger that followed, but Rajhin was no longer there. Rajhin is not cruel, or malicious—sometimes, when the Moons fit his mood, he gives them back.

From the Webspinner's threads, Rajhin found his way to a land where all trees have fallen, and the only currency is knowledge. There, Rajhin pillaged the Book that Knows from the one who knows it all and disappeared amongst sheaves in the wind. The lord of that land has never stopped seeking his treasured volume, and, sometimes, when the Moons are right—he finds it. Because, sometimes, Rajhin gives it back.

They say that, eventually, Rajhin took too much, too often, that the Ring of Khajiit tired of his capers. They say that the Ring abandoned Rajhin as he was surrounded by enemies, that it was his undoing. This one knows that Rajhin simply gave the Ring back.