Ollana's Sacrifice

He sat out on the rock through the storm; rain poured down as the thunder rolled overhead. Still he waited, hoping that he could bring peace to his clan. Eventually, after three days and nights of silent waiting, the dark shape appeared once more beneath the surface, a furrowing wave rushing towards him with all the speed of a monster that has found its quarry.

The Myth

Long ago, the elven clan which inhabited Ansrivarr was plagued by a terrible monster. It is said to have lived in the ocean, but could walk on the beach and push its way into the forest where the wood elves made their homes. This monster had massive jaws filled with sharp teeth and a rocky, barnacle-encrusted shell too tough for any weapons to pierce. It destroyed whole villages and ate anything it could catch in its snapping mouth, then vanished back into the ocean for days on end before emerging once more to rain destruction on the elves. Eventually, the elves decided to find a way to kill the monster or get rid of it once and for all.

They tried many ways to rid themselves of the monster. First, they fought against it with sword and bow. But the blades merely chipped at the monster's shell and arrows bounced away harmlessly. A particularly skilled marksman managed to shoot an arrow into its eye, where it became lodged. This only served to anger the beast further, and only a few brave warriors managed to escape the battle alive.

Next, the elves tried setting traps of fire, rope, and any other materials they could find. These did not work either. The monster barreled right through them without taking much notice of what it destroyed.

The elves were close to giving up. They gathered once more to come up with a last plan, anything they could try to save themselves. They knew if they failed, their clans would face death and devastation. One warrior strode forth. This was Ollana. Ollana proposed that perhaps the only way to fight the beast was to attack it from within. After all, no creature has armor on the inside. Ollana's plan was absurd, but the elves were desperate. With all plans in place, Ollana bade farewell to the others. He left the safety of the forest, crossed the shoreline, and swam to a rock protruding from the bay. Here, he waited.

It stormed while Ollana waited, but he sat firmly on the rock. He was determined to see this plan through and did not plan on returning without news of his victory. Ollana waited for three nights and three days, and on the morning of the fourth day he saw the shadow of the monster beneath the waves. It headed straight for him, having seen what it thought to be an easy meal sitting out on the rock.

The monster flung itself from the waves, its jaws gaping open, ready to swallow Ollana whole. And swallow him it did, despite the sword brandished above the elf's head. Landing back in the water, the monster continued swimming toward the shores of Ansrivarr. But as it did, it felt a pain inside its stomach, one that grew and twisted until it felt that its insides were on fire. The monster stopped, surprised. It floated in the water a moment or two, then gave a pained shriek and sank slowly to the bottom of the bay, dead.

Ollana had intended to simply cut away at the monster's stomach from the inside once it swallowed him. But he did not account for the sheer impact of a massive creature flying directly at him. His spine was broken as the monster snapped him up, and he died instantly. However, Ollana had happened to have with him a bottle of a strong elven brew. Unbeknownst to anyone, this brew can react very strongly in the correct conditions. When Ollana was swallowed, the bottle was broken. Its contents spilled into the monster's stomach and mixed with its contents, which happened to be the perfect mixture to create a highly toxic solution. It was this coincidental poison which killed the monster

Historical Accuracy

It is likely that something like this did occur, and that there was in fact an elf named Ollana whose death was the catalyst by which the monster died. The elven city Ollanas, now the capital of Ansrivarr, was named after this folk hero. However, this story is also likely blown far out of proportion. It is far more likely that Ollana simply happened to be in the path of the monster, and coincidentally had on his possession something which reacted badly in the monster's stomach, causing it to die. It is unclear what this substance was or what exactly happened, but the remains of a massive dragon turtle have been found buried in the sand in the bay just south of Ollanas.