Favorite stories of Amber...

... by our heroes. During the voyage out from Gleamingrose on the Morning Glory, the adventurers took turns closing the evening with their favorite myths of ancient Amber. Sometimes the stories had ulterior motives, such as Starwind's parable of fatal jealousy and Delve's cautionary tale of the limits of soothsaying. Sometimes not.

Index of Stories

• The Tale of Cane and Able - Fisher
• The Tale of Three Cities - Delve
• Behemoth's Tale - Behemoth
• The Tale of the Knight of the Rose Sword - Starwind
• The Tale of Fish and the Wyrm of Cain - Turtle
• The Tale of Dovehawk, Raven and Eagle - Seeker

The Tale of Fish and the Wyrm of Cain

by Turtle

Turtle raises his soft voice: "I guess it is my turn to tell a story of Amber tonight. Although I have heard many since I left my home, I will tell you one from the desert. To my people Amber is very strange and far off, so like the story I will tell you most stories don't tell very much about Amber."

"This is the story about the eternal peace between the Rotmos and the Snake tribes, and how a monster was placed in the holy mountain by the Amber mage Caine, and how the monster was killed. I will tell you the story as it is told in the Rotmos tribe, no doubt you will hear it told differently in other tribes"

Turtle starts moving his hands in circles over the table, creating the sound of sand moving in the hot dry wind. He speaks slower now: "This is an old tale, my friends, it dates back to the Age of Dreams. Since then the sand has swept over the desert uncountably many times, since then the sun has walked across the sky as many times as the moon has waxed and waned.

In the Age of Dreams, the tribes of the desert had a mighty enemy in Caine, an evil magician from Amber. One day did Caine find a way to hurt the people of the desert and take their pride away; He went to some strange realm where he found a mighty wyrm that he led to the holy mountain. In the Age of Dreams all stone was soft and easy to form so the wyrm settled on the mountain and she dug a great den of labyrinthine caves in the stone. And then she demanded that every year, the tribes should send five young men and five young women to her to devour, otherwise she would come forth and wreak great havoc.

This way the people of the desert had to sacrifice many young men and women. And they where unable to perform the holy rites during the meeting of the tribes because of the presence of the wyrm in our holy mountain. Each year at the meeting of the tribes, the elders choose five men and five women to go to the wyrm.

One year the elders decided that they should send someone to kill the monster. But then Dworkin, who had listened to them in the form of a stone, appeared and told them: "If you send even your greatest warrior he will surely perish in the fight with the wyrm, cause the time for the wyrm's death has not came yet." And each time the elders thought it was time to do something about the wyrm Dworkin appeared and told them the same thing: "The time has not arrived yet."

And the years passed, and the wind blew over the desert. Then one day there was a girl in the Snake tribe, who was accounted the most beautiful ever among the tribes. She always smiled, with the most perfect teeth.

Her hair was straight and black as obsidian, and she was quick and strong among the best hunters in the tribe. Her name was Wind-over-the-pool.

At the same time there lived in the Rotmos tribe a young man named Fish, who was blessed by the Rotmos bird at his birth. He was a great warrior and hunter, and although he was very young, he was already among the wisest in the desert. And greatly did he love Wind-over-the-pool of the Snake tribe.

That year at the meeting of the tribes the elders decided that Wind-over-the-pool should be one of the young women to be sent to the wyrm. When Fish learned, this he went to the elders and demanded that he should be sent with her, because of his love for her. And he said that he would try to kill the wyrm. At first, the elders wouldn't let him go; they had already decided which five men should be given to the monster, but then Dworkin appeared and told them that the time for the death of the wyrm had arrived. So, they decided that Fish should be among the five young men sent to the wyrm.

Fish was his father's only child, and the father told him that if he killed the wyrm he should arrive to the camp running in front of the returning company. This way Fish's father would know without having to ask anyone.

A large company left the camp of the meeting of the tribes. Not only did the five young men and five young women go, but also guides, and a few of the elders to see that everything was properly executed. Also, a few wise men and their apprentices went to fetch some of the useful plants that only grows on the holy mountain.

When they came to the mountain and the ten young should enter the den of the wyrm, Fish said that he would enter first, and then if he killed the wyrm and came back, the others would not have to risk their lives. Then Dworkin came before them and gave Fish the legendary spear of Rock, the first man. And everyone understood that Fish should enter alone, if he were to surprise the wyrm.

Fish had kissed Wind-over-the-pool farewell, and should just enter the cave, when the Rotmos bird appeared and told them Fish would never be able to find his way through the labyrinth and out again without help.

Then Wind-over-the-pool cut strands from her hair and tied them together to form a long thin thread, that Fish could use to find his way back. And Fish took the thread made of the girl's air and gave one end for her to hold, and then he unwound the thread as he walked through the labyrinth.

In the innermost cave, Fish found the wyrm, and being wise, strong and quick, with Rock's spear he slew it, and then he followed the hair back to the open.

There he was greeted with great joy and praise, and the happily the company returned to the camp to tell of the great deed, and that the mountain was free again. But Wind-over-the-pool and Fish was so happy in their love that they walked all the way hand in hand, so Fish forgot to run before the company as he had promised his father to do.

When Fish's father saw the company return without his son running in the front, he grieved so much that he threw himself on his spear. His blood flowed out over the sand, and the sand was coloured red. And since then, the area around the holy mountain is called the red sands.

After that day Fish and Wind-over-the-pool lived together happily together and many where the deeds they accomplished, and very wise they became, and they founded the eternal peace between the Rotmos and the Snake tribes. And Caine never bothered the people of the desert again.

And the wind sweeps over the desert, and the sand moves."

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