*from a very old Ork Matriarch I met in my travel and had the honor of breaking bread with her and her clan. The following has been translated as best we can while still keeping with the spirit of the original verse, especially reverting the various derogatory terms for the Elves as their rant can get quite colourful.*

It is said long, long ago the People lived longer than they do now. That in the dawn of time the span of our days rivalled that of the Round Ears.

The Elves and Dwarves walked the land as well back then, but back then their share of days was as one. And therein lies a Secret and their Shame.

The People were free souls, always moving with the seasons like the herds we lived upon.

The Elves though preferred to lay false claims to the land and those who strode upon it. How can you own Land? From whom would you receive it from?

Still the Elves were persistent and from time to time the People bore the Yoke laid on them by the Elves and other races, but we endured.

But the Elves did not merely seek dominance over the races of Man, but grew to contend with the Dragons themselves.

Now Dragons are mighty indeed and not to be taken lightly. The People respected the Dragons and endured them as one must endure the storm that passes overhead, for they were like the forces of nature itself, so why complain about it?

The Elves though sought means to gain the upper hand, but their efforts were thwarted by Time.

See, a Dragon only grows stronger as Time goes by, it's growing never stopping.

The Elves back then lived the same breadth of time as the dwarves, a century or more, but even then the decline of one's mind in their elder years meant a certain limit to their plans and goals.

So a plan was hatched. They would change themselves down to their essence, drawing upon the life of another to extend their own. But who?

They looked across the Land and their gaze fell upon the People. With our gusto for life and scattered magic, we were perfect for their plan.

The People were of 16 clans, each roaming far and wide. The Elves lured the 16 Leaders to their Kingdom with promises that would never be kept.

Once within their power these 16 were sacrificed to the Great Spell the Elves had crafted, and through them the spell reached to all of the People.

It took from each of us a Portion of our days, bestowing it upon the Elves and extending their days threefold while cutting ours the same. The days of the People paying for the Days of the Elves even to this day.

Some of those who worked the spell had worked into the spell bits of themselves and they found the grip of time loosened even further for them as they ceased to age. Thus were the first Immortal Elves born.

Those of their bloodline would also sometimes show this trait, so that from time to time a new Immortal would arise from the elven loins.

With their longer lives, thus did the Elves continue in their struggle against the Dragons, now able to play a longer game.

Some say the hearts of the 16 clan chieftains still burn, tied to one another by the magics that bound them, and through them all the People, to the Great Spell

Should these ever be found and brought together, maybe the magic can be broken and our days returned to all the People.

But who can say, it is only a legend afterall.......


So have a tale to share? Throw another log on the fire and let's hear it.....

Just wanted to say: Awesome Tale Sendaz... Gain an Internet Cookie.

You are too kind, I know my translation was a bit choppy and had to be shortened from it's original prose. (just changing the curse words used for the elves to just elves cut the story in half by itself, that old bird could strip paint off the side off the side of a battleship. )

Was she a member of Bot'Kham?

Unknown, this was actually down in the swamps around the New Orleans area plus as a guest one doesn't normally enquire too deeply into affiliations of the host as a courtesy which they likewise reciprocated. Bread and salt ( and blood as below) had been shared so regardless of personal allegiances, I was safe under their roof for the length of the stay.

She made some damn fine Behemoth Gumbo to be certain.

Which was sort of how we met in the first place as I had been down in the area on a....business trip and happened upon a pack of younglings who had been hunting the beastie, but it had turned out to have a mate nearby and the pair had turned the tables on them so they were in need of assistance. I lent a hand as a pissed off Behemoth, let alone two of them, is just bad news for anyone in the area.

Afterwards she patched us all back up and the poultice she made also helped keep the wounds clean, which is a big help since injuries can fester easy down that way.

Two of them? Ouch, one's bad enough, I hope you had some heavy artillery chummer.