Child’s Storybook

Child’s Storybook

Child’s storybook is a lore scrap found in the Alcarrid Oasis area of Umbral Sands.

Location

Child’s Storybook

Journal

The following text is transcribed from the Journal.

Once there was and once there wasn’t, long long ago, a cub called Aydahn, and he was always found where trouble brewed. The baker he tricked with salt disguised as sugar. A hunter he tricked with animal noises stolen from the shaman’s magic bag. The elder he tricked with warnings of monsters, when none were around. One night Aydahn found a cave in the desert, lit with flickering flames. He called out to the cave, yet no reply did he get. Twice, then thrice, did he call to the cave, and on the third time it answered. “Are you lost, little cub?” the cave called back to the boy. “I have sweets and secrets, if you just come inside.” “Who lives in this cave?” Aydahn replied, tempted by treats but wise enough to doubt. “I am the sun,” said the cavern, “resting for the night. Look to the sky and see my sister ride by. When she and her foxes race through the sky, I come to this cave and enjoy treats and triumphs, won’t you share them with me?” Aydahn was savvy, Aydahn was quick, but when else in his life could he target the sun with a trick? He stepped into the cave, with a smile on his lips. A sparkle in his eyes and a swagger on his hips. In the cavern he found nothing, but the flickering flame; a flash of claws later and he was never the same. His fur turned black, like the soot of a fire. His eyes turned gold like a funeral pyre. When asked by the elders what he saw in the dark, he whispered of light, of embers and sparks. A crown like corona and horns wreathed in flame, the most beautiful thing he could ever claim. The demon of embers, reached into his heart, took hold of his future and tore it apart. So beware, my cubs, of lights in the night, and promises and secrets that burn far too bright.