Gods Magic Guilds History Monsters Geography Tamriel Main |
the World of Tamriel Books - Mara's Tear |
Links People Credits Society Dictionary Downloads UESP Main |
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.
If you have any problems, suggestions or comments on this page or website, please feel free to use the Contact Form to send a message to the WebMaster.