COMPLETE BOOK: 26 PAGES

The tale of the “boy who was good for nothing” is known all over Sarvonia. It provides a mythological account of how humans learned to keep malise (honeybees) in hives, so as to collect a regular harvest of honey. Among scholars of mythology, the tale is famous for the prominent role played by the hiveling, a creature who summons a swarm of insects to form a temporary body for itself. - It is not thought polite to tell this story in the company of nobility, as its morality is suspected of being slyly subversive to the feudal social order. 
 

The 'Dreadful Orcen Mage and the Brave Boy' is a tale told primarily by the storytellers amongst the Black Butterfly Rovers around the campfires of an evening. It teaches that all people, regardless of race, tribe or creed are worthy of friendship and kindness, rather than fear. A particular focus is on the outcast in society, especially as the Black Butterfly Rovers are themselves outcast. Some wandering storytellers have been overheard telling stories that are very similar to this, leading to speculation that different tribes and perhaps even races have their own version of this story. The incremental repetition is a feature of this type of story and it helps to reinforce the message of the story. Depending on the popularity of the story, the audience has been known to get so caught up in the story, that they join in on the repititive parts.

This version of the story refers to the early years of Ximax and the move of the Orcish Society of Enlightenment to the city. As most viewed orcs as little more than savage and blood thirsty beasts at that time, this story was set against that backdrop. The society, in time, became the Volkek-Oshra and these orcs became valued members of the Ximax community. The gold medallion that is given to Martyn is crafted by the Volkek-Oshra orcs to show that they are of that tribe.
 

'How the Hob-Hound Came to Be' is a version of a common halfling folk-tale, as narrated to Jenna Silverbirch by a farmer of the Dogodan shire. The halflings take great pleasure in accosting Big Folk travellers and telling them tall tales, some with a deal of truth in them, some with none, to see how readily they’ll believe in them. The Hob-Hound story is a favourite, and is also a popular bed-time story for hobbit children, although this particular version is by far one of the longest stories concerning the origin of the Hob-hound, perhaps designed to eat up as much of a big-folk traveller’s time as possible. Those versions intended to be bed-time stories for halfling children are greatly summarised and can be as much as a tenth of this version’s length. Note the frequent use of alliteration, a common device in many hobbit stories.
 

Here is a tale from the Rimmerins Ring, a tale of how the Rimrunner came to be. Read on, and discover how even that which is scorned and rejected can yet rise to great heights - indeed, may prove worthy to be celebrated and praised! This tale is a legend from the town of Onved, on the origins of the Rimrunner Terrier.
 

This folktale originates with the halflings of Dogodan Shire, where the prized sweet bean originates. Telling of the attempts of “Sconder”, a trickster character who often plagues gardeners in Halfling tales, to outwit the accomplished cook Mrs. Whetiker (possibly a corruption of Whittercorn, the household often attributed with the domestication of sweet beans). Also serving as an instructional tale against greediness, this tale is often given as the origin of the popular treat “bread-babies”, which are occasionally left out in gardens to keep birds off vegetables.