Agnaar's Victory over Eskil
Agnarr’s Triumph Over Eskil
A Myth Attributed to the Second Old Age of the Dwarven people of the Far Western Continent,
In the Days Before the Migration to the Divine Mountains of Brohd Zellor:
The Decadence of the Second Age of the Dwarves
One day, as an esteemed guest of King Darr-zeth, Twelfth Monarch of the Third Old Age of the Far West, the divine hero Eskil appeared in the court among the Dwarven lords and ladies. Some were cautious about this visit, thinking he could only mean ill will toward the Dwarves and their livelihoods. After all, they had heard the stories, and the laws Eskil had broken and flaunted. They checked their criticisms for now, however, and welcomed the hero into the hall of their King.
Before the great feast of welcoming, Darr-zeth himself announced to them Eskil’s esteemed presence. As it happened, the King informed them all that the esteemed God had agreed to shower every single Dwarf in the realm with gifts in gold and gems, the likes of which they had never seen before. In return, Eskil asked only that he have the hand of Liv, great goddess of Birth and Creation, in binding marriage.
The people were quite keen on this idea, and Darr-zeth and his retinue went to Liv with gifts of gold and platinum, and many fine rubies and diamonds, finally persuading her to come to the mortal realm and agree to marriage with Eskil.
Eskil rubbed their hands greedily and watched as the monarch brought Liv forth from the portal. Her partner Agnaar, left behind in Brohd Zellor with a rueful and titanic anger in his eyes, watched her go, watched as the portal closed up behind her. She waved to him with a wink that was nearly imperceptible, but that made him feel no better.
After the wedding, Eskil took Liv to the bridal chamber and said, “Now we are married forever! I must keep my side of the bargain, and shower the people with riches, or they will grow restless and hostile. Liv, my love, create riches for the Dwarven people that they might know my gratitude.”
Liv smiled knowingly and said, “As you wish, Eskil.” And so the finest riches of gold and silver, the choicest cuts of rock and mineral, the most skillfully forged ornamentations, arms, and jewelry were rained down upon the Dwarven people. Their stores were beginning to fill with riches.
With all the riches, the people had more children and expanded their underground homes. Their flocks were expanding on the mountainsides. They built more roads and caverns and increased the traffic of trade and leisure. Dwarven society was humming with activity, and everyone was engaged and busy.
A month later, Eskil was still much enjoying his status as the husband of the most beautiful goddess in all the heavens, but he heard the people on Summer’s Tale. They were grumbling, “What? Has Eskil forgotten about us so quickly? Where is the next installment of our riches? We don’t have enough!”
Eskil heard their grumblings and he rolled his eyes. But he went to his spouse and said to her, “Liv, the people need more riches! Provide them with your precious creations and make them shut up!” So she did, and the finest riches of gold and silver, the choicest cuts of rock and mineral, the most skillfully forged ornamentations, arms, and jewelry were rained down upon the Dwarven people. And they were happy once again.
Now there were more new Dwarven babies being born than you could count. Homes were expanding so much, there were fights and disagreements about who should own the riches and the spaces, both under mountain and above. The flocks on the mountainside began to eat more than was available, the grasses and thickets thinning almost to nothing, the mountainsides became grey and ugly. Roads and caverns were built to the point where they took up public ritual space, and traffic upon them was crowded and suffocating. Dwarven society was now a very busy place, and not altogether pleasant.
Eskil of course cared not. He lived with his gorgeous and infinitely desirable spouse, Liv, the goddess of creation, in a grand high mountain realm of Brohd Zellor, the Vivid Land of the Deities.
You can imagine his annoyance when the Dwarves of the material plane piped up once more, “We’ve used the wealth you have given us! You promised us as much as we could want! We want more!”
He chuckled a little and went to Liv. “Give them more! Give them as much as they can imagine wanting ever again!” She looked at him questioningly, as if to say, Are you sure?... And he laughed with a wave of his hand: “Give them everything.”
And Liv did. The finest and most bountiful outpouring of riches in gold and silver, showers of the choicest cuts of rock and mineral, the most skillfully forged ornamentations a million-fold, magic arms, enchanted weaponry, and divine jewelry were rained down upon the Dwarven people, and so Dwarven society could expand even more.
But this time it was too much. Halls were crowded from wall to wall, from pillar to pillar, with all the Dwarves who had been recently born. They were drowning in piles of gold and platinum. No one could agree on whose dwelling was larger or more refined, as wealth was constantly being poured into improvement. Dwarven halls expanded, roads were widened, and flocks were increased, but all of it added up to a huge mess. The Dwarven people drowned in their own riches, their “golden filth” as the priests of Agnaar still describe the excesses of pathological greed.
What could be done? By this time, the people had completely lost direction; most of them had no time or space to consider that Eskil had done them wrong. As for Liv, she sat in Eskil’s Vivid Palace and bided her time. Eskil just rubbed his hands together and gazed at Liv, his wife--What a wonderful life this was!--and thought nothing more of the Dwarves beyond.
Now, what of Agnarr? This entire time, through many Dwarven years and lifetimes, he stewed. He stewed first that Liv would agree to marry a slime-ball like Eskil, and he stewed more when he saw his (stupid!) Dwarven people falling for such an obvious trick. He passed the time pacing his halls with clenching fists, or smashing hard things with his great Maul, but he couldn’t put the anger away.
As he saw more and more Dwarves succumb to their endless greed, and as he saw the entirety of Dwarven civilization slowly drown itself in filth, he realized he needed to act. If he understood Liv, he knew that she had acted this part not just (if at all) for Eskil’s gratification, but also to show the Dwarves something about themselves. She could be like that, subtle and even tricky. And so Agnarr comes into the story.
Agnaar’s rage had reached the tipping point. He hefted his maul and stomped in his great metal boots, down from his mountain realm in Brohd-Zellor, down through the great river valleys and out to the Portal. He did not hesitate, but stomped right through to the place where the Dwarves lived their suffocated and drowning lives of riches and greed.
Agnarr heeded nothing or no one, but simply began to smash things with his maul. He smashed down the mountains in which the Dwarves had built so extravagantly. He smashed the roads on which their wealth had traveled. He smashed up their gaudy and over-crowded halls. He battered and destroyed their mountainous piles of gold and silver, their precious gems and beautifully forged weapons and armor, beat them all into motes of nothingness. The dwarves themselves he knocked about, killing and maiming, and likewise their grazing sheep on mountainsides. He smashed open their kegs of fine ale and wine, and he rerouted a great mountain stream to wash all of his desolation down the mountains, that it might all run away to the sea forever more.
When the Kingdom had been fully destroyed, Agnarr did not stop there. He strode in his great boots, with his titanic maul, up to Brohd Zellor--the Vivid Land--once again, to find Eskil. Eskil, knowing Agnaar’s motives, cowered in a corner while Liv stood laughing. Agnarr arrived, and Liv gave him a kiss, which he wiped off at once and went over to Eskil. He raised his maul up high, ready to destroy once and for all.
But Liv spoke then: “Wait, dear. If I have learned something from this, it may be I have learned that Eskil can be of some use to us. I know, I know… it sounds odd. But let us not destroy him just yet.”
Agnarr could not believe this. “But how can we keep this slime from working such mischief again?”
“Oh… Let’s not kill him. Maybe you could just stand on him, keep him still… With your mighty boot, if you just kept him crushed down, until we need him again?”
Agnaar could not see needing this miserable creature ever again, but he also knew that Liv’s wisdom far surpassed his own in these matters. He grumbled a bit, but then placed his mighty boot down in the center of Eskil’s chest. Eskil wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
And so the Kingdom was quiet for a time. Survivors crept out from behind Agnaa,r’s ruins and assessed the situation. Centuries passed before things went back, back to the way they were before Eskil’s deal with king Darr-Zeth. The task of rebuilding took a long time, and when it was accomplished the Dwarves told this story, and they knew. They say, to this day:
There is a reason for Balance: rich and poor, abundance and famine, happiness and sorrow, satiation and going without... Without this balance comes a suffering and a drowning that we cannot bear. We honor Liv, and we honor Agnaar, and may Eskil be under Agnaar’s steel foot forevermore.
One day, as an esteemed guest of King Darr-zeth, Twelfth Monarch of the Third Old Age of the Far West, the divine hero Eskil appeared in the court among the Dwarven lords and ladies. Some were cautious about this visit, thinking he could only mean ill will toward the Dwarves and their livelihoods. After all, they had heard the stories, and the laws Eskil had broken and flaunted. They checked their criticisms for now, however, and welcomed the hero into the hall of their King.
Before the great feast of welcoming, Darr-zeth himself announced to them Eskil’s esteemed presence. As it happened, the King informed them all that the esteemed God had agreed to shower every single Dwarf in the realm with gifts in gold and gems, the likes of which they had never seen before. In return, Eskil asked only that he have the hand of Liv, great goddess of Birth and Creation, in binding marriage.
The people were quite keen on this idea, and Darr-zeth and his retinue went to Liv with gifts of gold and platinum, and many fine rubies and diamonds, finally persuading her to come to the mortal realm and agree to marriage with Eskil.
Eskil rubbed their hands greedily and watched as the monarch brought Liv forth from the portal. Her partner Agnaar, left behind in Brohd Zellor with a rueful and titanic anger in his eyes, watched her go, watched as the portal closed up behind her. She waved to him with a wink that was nearly imperceptible, but that made him feel no better.
After the wedding, Eskil took Liv to the bridal chamber and said, “Now we are married forever! I must keep my side of the bargain, and shower the people with riches, or they will grow restless and hostile. Liv, my love, create riches for the Dwarven people that they might know my gratitude.”
Liv smiled knowingly and said, “As you wish, Eskil.” And so the finest riches of gold and silver, the choicest cuts of rock and mineral, the most skillfully forged ornamentations, arms, and jewelry were rained down upon the Dwarven people. Their stores were beginning to fill with riches.
With all the riches, the people had more children and expanded their underground homes. Their flocks were expanding on the mountainsides. They built more roads and caverns and increased the traffic of trade and leisure. Dwarven society was humming with activity, and everyone was engaged and busy.
A month later, Eskil was still much enjoying his status as the husband of the most beautiful goddess in all the heavens, but he heard the people on Summer’s Tale. They were grumbling, “What? Has Eskil forgotten about us so quickly? Where is the next installment of our riches? We don’t have enough!”
Eskil heard their grumblings and he rolled his eyes. But he went to his spouse and said to her, “Liv, the people need more riches! Provide them with your precious creations and make them shut up!” So she did, and the finest riches of gold and silver, the choicest cuts of rock and mineral, the most skillfully forged ornamentations, arms, and jewelry were rained down upon the Dwarven people. And they were happy once again.
Now there were more new Dwarven babies being born than you could count. Homes were expanding so much, there were fights and disagreements about who should own the riches and the spaces, both under mountain and above. The flocks on the mountainside began to eat more than was available, the grasses and thickets thinning almost to nothing, the mountainsides became grey and ugly. Roads and caverns were built to the point where they took up public ritual space, and traffic upon them was crowded and suffocating. Dwarven society was now a very busy place, and not altogether pleasant.
Eskil of course cared not. He lived with his gorgeous and infinitely desirable spouse, Liv, the goddess of creation, in a grand high mountain realm of Brohd Zellor, the Vivid Land of the Deities.
You can imagine his annoyance when the Dwarves of the material plane piped up once more, “We’ve used the wealth you have given us! You promised us as much as we could want! We want more!”
He chuckled a little and went to Liv. “Give them more! Give them as much as they can imagine wanting ever again!” She looked at him questioningly, as if to say, Are you sure?... And he laughed with a wave of his hand: “Give them everything.”
And Liv did. The finest and most bountiful outpouring of riches in gold and silver, showers of the choicest cuts of rock and mineral, the most skillfully forged ornamentations a million-fold, magic arms, enchanted weaponry, and divine jewelry were rained down upon the Dwarven people, and so Dwarven society could expand even more.
But this time it was too much. Halls were crowded from wall to wall, from pillar to pillar, with all the Dwarves who had been recently born. They were drowning in piles of gold and platinum. No one could agree on whose dwelling was larger or more refined, as wealth was constantly being poured into improvement. Dwarven halls expanded, roads were widened, and flocks were increased, but all of it added up to a huge mess. The Dwarven people drowned in their own riches, their “golden filth” as the priests of Agnaar still describe the excesses of pathological greed.
What could be done? By this time, the people had completely lost direction; most of them had no time or space to consider that Eskil had done them wrong. As for Liv, she sat in Eskil’s Vivid Palace and bided her time. Eskil just rubbed his hands together and gazed at Liv, his wife--What a wonderful life this was!--and thought nothing more of the Dwarves beyond.
Now, what of Agnarr? This entire time, through many Dwarven years and lifetimes, he stewed. He stewed first that Liv would agree to marry a slime-ball like Eskil, and he stewed more when he saw his (stupid!) Dwarven people falling for such an obvious trick. He passed the time pacing his halls with clenching fists, or smashing hard things with his great Maul, but he couldn’t put the anger away.
As he saw more and more Dwarves succumb to their endless greed, and as he saw the entirety of Dwarven civilization slowly drown itself in filth, he realized he needed to act. If he understood Liv, he knew that she had acted this part not just (if at all) for Eskil’s gratification, but also to show the Dwarves something about themselves. She could be like that, subtle and even tricky. And so Agnarr comes into the story.
Agnaar’s rage had reached the tipping point. He hefted his maul and stomped in his great metal boots, down from his mountain realm in Brohd-Zellor, down through the great river valleys and out to the Portal. He did not hesitate, but stomped right through to the place where the Dwarves lived their suffocated and drowning lives of riches and greed.
Agnarr heeded nothing or no one, but simply began to smash things with his maul. He smashed down the mountains in which the Dwarves had built so extravagantly. He smashed the roads on which their wealth had traveled. He smashed up their gaudy and over-crowded halls. He battered and destroyed their mountainous piles of gold and silver, their precious gems and beautifully forged weapons and armor, beat them all into motes of nothingness. The dwarves themselves he knocked about, killing and maiming, and likewise their grazing sheep on mountainsides. He smashed open their kegs of fine ale and wine, and he rerouted a great mountain stream to wash all of his desolation down the mountains, that it might all run away to the sea forever more.
When the Kingdom had been fully destroyed, Agnarr did not stop there. He strode in his great boots, with his titanic maul, up to Brohd Zellor--the Vivid Land--once again, to find Eskil. Eskil, knowing Agnaar’s motives, cowered in a corner while Liv stood laughing. Agnarr arrived, and Liv gave him a kiss, which he wiped off at once and went over to Eskil. He raised his maul up high, ready to destroy once and for all.
But Liv spoke then: “Wait, dear. If I have learned something from this, it may be I have learned that Eskil can be of some use to us. I know, I know… it sounds odd. But let us not destroy him just yet.”
Agnarr could not believe this. “But how can we keep this slime from working such mischief again?”
“Oh… Let’s not kill him. Maybe you could just stand on him, keep him still… With your mighty boot, if you just kept him crushed down, until we need him again?”
Agnaar could not see needing this miserable creature ever again, but he also knew that Liv’s wisdom far surpassed his own in these matters. He grumbled a bit, but then placed his mighty boot down in the center of Eskil’s chest. Eskil wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
And so the Kingdom was quiet for a time. Survivors crept out from behind Agnaa,r’s ruins and assessed the situation. Centuries passed before things went back, back to the way they were before Eskil’s deal with king Darr-Zeth. The task of rebuilding took a long time, and when it was accomplished the Dwarves told this story, and they knew. They say, to this day:
There is a reason for Balance: rich and poor, abundance and famine, happiness and sorrow, satiation and going without... Without this balance comes a suffering and a drowning that we cannot bear. We honor Liv, and we honor Agnaar, and may Eskil be under Agnaar’s steel foot forevermore.
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