Corpus Tamrielicum - The Imperial Library

[37] Mara's Tear
[37] MARA'S TEAR
Mara's Tear
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
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