The Forever-Cursed Ambrosia

The tale takes place during a mythical period of time, where the creator goddess Vahliimi still roamed the lands of the Meridian - a time before humans learned to organize themselves into groups larger than clans and tribes. During her travels, the goddess encountered an earthly spirit (known in the Vahlsh scriptures as "shaltiaana"). Unlike its kind, however, the spirit stood by themselves, all alone, looking almost abandoned by their kin.

The goddess took pity on the spirit and asked them of their plight; indeed, the spirit had been abandoned by their siblings because his body was too weak to smash and break and hurt, and their mind was too feeble to lie and scheme and control. Hearing this, the goddess offered them a choice: if they renounced their dark paths, they would be welcome to follow her on her travels.

The spirit asked first for a better place to rest their body, and the goddess used her powers to manifest a silken cloth on top of large pile of golden leaves; the spirit, feeling how comfortable their new resting place was, slept for one night and one day. When they woke up, they demanded a little bit of food to quench their painful hunger; the goddess obliged and called to her a flock of ducks. She ushered their souls into the skies and, with her touch hot as the surface of the sun, she cooked the birds to perfection for her future follower. The spirit ate each roasted duck and, after one night and one day, they were fully sated.

Lastly, the spirit demanded a drink from the goddess, a toast to mark their conversion; the goddess created a beautifully ornate wooden table and two golden grails, shining with her very essence, filled to the brim with the sweetest ambrosia. The spirit quickly grabbed their grail and took a sip, then one more, then one more, until they drank half of their ambrosia; getting tipsy, they boasted about how they tricked the goddess into fulfilling their every wish and whim.

The goddess, not touching her grail, revealed that she believed in the spirit's power to change; she gave them one last chance to abandon their ways and become her dutiful acolyte, to which the spirit laughed. Enraged and disappointed, the goddess cursed the spirit so: to feel the stabs of countless needles whenever they would rest; to grow sick no matter what food they would eat; and to forever suffer from thirst, no matter how much they drink. She then cursed her own grail of ambrosia, the golden-orange nectar turning dark green, the sweet smell growing more noxious second after second. The goddess cursed the ambrosia, so that whoever takes even one sip shall be marked by darkness and hatred and despair, and their bloodline shall be deformed, sickly and rejected.

With that curse uttered, the goddess left the earthly spirit behind to toil for the rest of their life. Legend says that the spirit hid the grail with the cursed ambrosia and hid it away where nobody could find it - the pain of their own curse so hard to bear, they felt compelled to protect the mortals from this divine punishment.

The myth/parable is one of the core teachings of Vahliimism, serving as a tenet to be followed when dealing with heretics - always welcome them and show them the teachings of the "true faith" while always being mindful of their deceit and blasphemy. It teaches how an unfaithful - or an "urkhaaku" - should be treated as a threat to the one and only correct way of life. The story is often told as part of the Seventh Teaching, a Teaching very popular among bishops because of its effectiveness and ease of understanding; if you attend a Vahlsh service, chances are the bishop will recite verses out of this very myth.

Inside the Golden Kingdom, the myth is widely accepted as historical fact, despite the obvious lack of evidence regarding its story. The artifact has yet to be found (that is, if it still exists many bishops believe that the cursed grail has been uncovered by an unfaithful country, causing their values and beliefs to become twisted and evil. Many young faithful have attempted to search for the relic, without any result; it is worthwhile to mention that the Higher Orders of the church have never (officially) looked for the relic themselves.

Outside the Golden Kingdom, the parable is used oftentimes as a critique towards the tenets of Vahliimism, with many scholars and philosophers arguing that the myth underlines the most problematic aspects regarding the Vahlsh community and the attitude of the Golden Kingdom towards the rest of the Continent.