The Salmon of Knowledge

This is a story told in the northern town of Isthramir, said to come from the Legendary Hero Saga's recordings of his time spent wandering in Var Nexa.   At the base of the [Stellar Grove] can be found the [Well of Knowledge], guarded by a great Salmon. This Well sits at the bottom of a funnel of roots that run throughout the grove that direct the fruit that fall from the tops of the Tree into the Well to rest. Once here, the fruit gradually ferments in the water. Over hundreds, if not thousands, of years this has caused the pool of water to grow a stinging taste, one so potent it can be smelt from a distance.   Legends say these fruits, grown at the top of the grove under the stars, have absorbed the wisdom of the universe. However no one has been able to find one of these fruit before they fall, and become inedible. However, supposedly the water they ferment carries this wisdom.   If one were to drink the water fermented by them, they would be bestowed such great knowledge that they could devise plans so devious no enemy could overcome them; create inventions so clever they could solve problems before they'd been encountered; and, most impressively of all, grant knowledge of the world's origins.   However, it is also said that the wisdom one gains from the Well's water is intoxicating to the point those who drink it will give in to an inebriation so all consuming that they'd never walk again, and not even care about doing so. Demonstrating this, surrounding the Well, are corpses resting almost gleefully against the trees. Passed out, once unconscious they never wake again, their bodies now feeding the tree, helping it grow larger and bare newer fruit.   There is only one creature known to survive drinking these waters, the mythical Salmon of Knowledge. As old as the Well itself, this Salmon swims through the Well's Waters daily, drinking its depths of Knowledge.   One day, during his decades long journey through Var Nexa, Saga found this Well and, amazed by the discovery, talked with this fish.   The Salmon explained how dreadfully bored it was. It had spent Millenia building its wits beyond reasonability, but it was trapped in the Well, unable to test its own limits. Any creature that came along was too dull to challenge it, and if they drunk in an attempt to equal the Salmon they turned hysteric and died before even forming a coherent sentence. And so it swam, ever waiting for a reasonable purpose.   Saga, not thick by any means but hardly known for his intellect, offered to entertain the Salmon. He challenged it to a game of questions. If one stumped the other so greatly that they couldn't answer, they won.   However the Salmon, in all its wisdom, was uncertain.   "It's clear how I would benefit from such a game, even with your limited wit, but why," it asked, "would you want to compete with me? What do you hope to gain? What do you want if you win?"   "I'm curious," was all Saga had to say, a large grin on his face.   "Very well," replied the Salmon. "Though if I win, I'll have you drink a cup full from my Well, and see if you have the potential to offer better entertainment if you survive."   And so the game began, Saga asking the opening question.   "Why aren't you dead?"   The Salmon explained its birth, how it was there when the Stellar Grove was barely more than a sapling. How it'd seen how the stars changed position; how its vast Well shrink from what felt like a ocean to barely a pond; and how its water had gradually become intoxicating.   In return it asked what had changed about the world, where did humanity live?   Saga told of the Outer Plateaus, how humanity had raised themselves so high that even the clouds were reachable.   Saga asked why the Salmon was so intelligent, then what it did with its time, and what it feared most.   The Salmon asked about what creatures Saga had seen, what places he'd explored, if Calamities still crafted the land, how high the Towers had grown.   Their game went for days, only pausing for food that the pair shared between them.   But eventaully the game slowed down. They took longer to think of questions, even more to think of answers.   "I shall be bored, once you've gone," The Salmon said. "I haven't had such fun since Naunet."   "Does that mean I win?" Saga asked, leaning over the pond.   The Salmon chuckled, "not so easily, what is your next question?"   Saga thought for a minute, hand firmly massaging his chin. "What do you want?"   "Elaborate"   "In life, to do. You've lived so long, you must have something you want to achieve."   The Salmon sighed. "Too easy. I'm older than your species' memory, and will become older still. I'm here to see how everything pans out. Ask another"   "Then you aren't doing anything. You really don't want to do anything but stay in this pond? What's the point?   "It's my only purpose, I was born in this pond. It's my duty to stay.   "That seems a waste...why don't you leave?"   The Salmon gestured to the cracks in its pond, only letting small leaks spill out, "I'm far too large. I cannot travel on land, and would block streams. It's impossible for me to go."   Saga asked why it won't brood, surely infants could fit through the cracks?   The Salmon responded "We Salmon die when we birth young, and with no parent to protect them they would perish too, if they left this pool."   Saga spread his arms wide. "But don't you see? You have the answer! You can give each a little bit of your knowledge, enough each to help them survive. Then they can swim across the world, spreading it to others as they explore. Don't you think that'll be a worthwhile purpose?"   The Salmon swam a small circle. It considered, it pondered, it mulled the idea over. After six hours had passed, it spoke to Saga again.   "Your idea's foolish, short sighted. There's so much to the world you haven't even considered." It paused, shaking its head in frustration. "But I have no reasonable answer. You win. I'll do as you suggested."   "Are you sure?" Saga asked, "it's noble, but no small thing."   "The game is over, young man. Relish your victory, live your life better than I have."   With that the Salmon dove, deep into its pond. Saga waited an hour, just in case, but he never saw his friend again.   However, every time he saw a Salmon, Saga would wave to it, and wish it a little luck on its journey.   It is said this is why Salmon migrate so far, to honour their ancestors wish to see the world.   And, to this day, when a child of Isthramir refuses to eat their Salmon, their parents will tell this tale to convince them to gobble it up, so the Salmon's wisdom can be passed down to them too.

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