This small, unimposing and almost unnoticable tome is stuck in a corner of one of the shelves. The first page offers the title once more, followed by, "Penned by Anendar Geli, an elf raised in Sanctuary."

The Man of Straw

Once, a long time ago in a place much like Sanctuary, there lived many frightened and worried people who dreaded the dangers outside their home. Not content to let potential troubles come to their door, they took it upon themselves to think of a way out of their current predicament.

For, you see, there existed a mighty bandit lord beyond their walls, who was content to have all manner of fiends and detestables in his service. They only cared for plundering and killing, a fact that was made quite clear by their every action. No one doubted this bandit was the definition of evil for a moment.

But still, the people of the place much like Sanctuary plotted and pondered their predicament until a man made entirely of straw walked into the room. They looked upon this Straw-Man favorably, and offered him gifts and praise for his evident achievements.

After the gift giving and praise of the Straw-Man was over, however, they went back to talking about how to deal with the bandit lord. They had several ideas, but they all disagreed with one another. Finally, the Straw-Man stepped forward.

"I will deal with this menace for you, for long ago I traded away parts of flesh and blood for straw. This was not a change that made me much stronger or faster, but one I underwent so that others did not have to. If I live or die it does not matter to me, for you see, my parts were made to burn."

The people of the town like Sanctuary clapped and applauded at this, the answer to their worries and woes. Hoisting the Straw-Man onto their shoulders, they offered him yet more worldly goods and pleasures he partook only moderately of, then they gently deposited him at the gates of their town with anxious looks on their faces. The Straw-Man bowed and marched off content, set upon his goal.

I do not remember if the Straw-Man was able to defeat the bandit lord, but in the end, it did not matter, for the Straw-Man did burn as the people of the town like Sanctuary and the gods had intended it.

And the people of the town like Sanctuary clapped, made glad by the fact they had not.

The Sapling

I shall repeat a story as old as time itself for you. There existed a small forest up on the surface world, and in this forest, a small sapling grew its tiny stalk out of the ground. He lived in a world populated by towering flowers, and the flowers looked down at him benevolently.

"Look at the young sapling! How adorable! We shall teach you how to be a beautiful flower." And so, the flowers raised him in their kindness. But as soon as the sapling sprouted his first leaf, the flowers closest to him wilted. This was very sad for him, but other flowers that had grown faster than him took up the charge of his care.

Eventually, he was slightly taller than the flowers, but did not bloom like them. This made some of the flowers concerned and even frustraited, but no one was more concerned and frustraited than the sapling himself. After a very long time of waiting, the sapling outgrew the flowers and could suddenly see the forest beyond them.

It was a shaded place filled with all manners of things, plant and otherwise. Some of these things made him joyful, but very many made him fearful. How was such a sapling to survive now that the flowers were left below?

Suddenly, the sapling heard a voice. A pale barked tree spoke to him, bareing many pink petals that would on occasion drift to the floor of the forest, littering it in a happy, beautiful way. She said to him, "Look you now upon me sapling, and know that in this forest, only a few trees grow. Although you are young and do not yet know what it is to be a tree, I shall teach you with patient guidance. For verily, while trees were made to stand strong, they were not meant to stand alone."

And for the first time in a long while, the sapling was joyful.