The River Tale
One day some of Her Children were playing by a mighty river. Their mother had often warned them against swimming too far out, lest they be swept away by the current. On this day however, two children had swum out to the middle of the river in an effort to prove themselves as worthy members of her family. As they made their way back to the bank, the elder of the two children began to tire and be dragged under by the current. His brother did not notice him until he had reached the bank. Seeing the danger, he was about to swim back out to help his brother when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“No. Your brother ignored my warnings and swam out to the middle of the river. If he fails, then it is no one’s fault but his own. If you were to save him, it would prove you both to be weak, and for the sake of the family, only the strong should survive.”
As the child and his mother watched from the bank, the elder child fought back against the current, and struggled on, until he collapsed exhausted on the bank. His mother gathered him in to her loving arms. “Well done, my child, you have proved yourself to be as strong of spirit as you brother is of body. Here take this gem. You have gone against my advice, but it was your own free will to do so, and now you have proved yourself worthy. Return to play with your sisters and brothers.”
At this the younger child’s face reddened. “But mother, I swam far better than my brother. Do I not get a Gem?”
Hearing this, his mother’s eyes grew hard and she struck him a stinging blow across the face. “You deserve no reward. Your brother pushed himself to his limits to probe himself a worthy member of the family, whereas you merely flaunted your strength to gain prestige over your brothers. It is not enough to be strong. You must be humble. Leave the family, and do not return until you have learned how little you mean, and how much you should make of what you have.”
And so the child was cast out of the family, and forced to wander the land until such time as he was redeemed in her eyes.
Here endeth the lesson of Sithis
“No. Your brother ignored my warnings and swam out to the middle of the river. If he fails, then it is no one’s fault but his own. If you were to save him, it would prove you both to be weak, and for the sake of the family, only the strong should survive.”
As the child and his mother watched from the bank, the elder child fought back against the current, and struggled on, until he collapsed exhausted on the bank. His mother gathered him in to her loving arms. “Well done, my child, you have proved yourself to be as strong of spirit as you brother is of body. Here take this gem. You have gone against my advice, but it was your own free will to do so, and now you have proved yourself worthy. Return to play with your sisters and brothers.”
At this the younger child’s face reddened. “But mother, I swam far better than my brother. Do I not get a Gem?”
Hearing this, his mother’s eyes grew hard and she struck him a stinging blow across the face. “You deserve no reward. Your brother pushed himself to his limits to probe himself a worthy member of the family, whereas you merely flaunted your strength to gain prestige over your brothers. It is not enough to be strong. You must be humble. Leave the family, and do not return until you have learned how little you mean, and how much you should make of what you have.”
And so the child was cast out of the family, and forced to wander the land until such time as he was redeemed in her eyes.
Here endeth the lesson of Sithis
