Legendary origins of the Malaszec

Various mythical origin stories exist regarding the origin of the Malaszec people. Of these, the most well known is the legend of the lightning.

The Legend of the Lightning

Legend has it that the lightning first struck the ground in the plains of Malaszec thousands of years ago. In an instant, the lightning came and went, leaving in its wake a dancing fire. And the ground, startled by this, began to cry. In the day, it cried and in the night, it quaked. From its crying formed the first mighty rivers. From its quakes formed magnificent rifts, and the energy beneath the ground escaped and became life. Animals drank of the water and feared the fire, but of all the creatures who came from the ground, three were brave, and approached the fire with caution but without fear. These three creatures the human, the faerie, and the elf.

The creatures huddled around the fire, and with the animals afraid of it, was kept safe from their wildness and violence. When the lightning returned from the heavens and saw the three creatures, the lightning smiled and proclaimed, “You who do not fear the fire shall be my heirs. When I have gone at last, you will inherit all of the fire.” And he named the heirs Malaszec, for they were the bravest among all creatures.

By day, the Malaszec walked to the rivers for water. By night, they huddled and cooked food around the fire. And thusly they did this for many months, but did tire of the ceaseless journeys. One day, the human spoke to the other Malaszecs, “Why do we not move the fire?” And the elf replied, “This fire is not yet ours to move. Would the lightning not be angry?” Contemplating this, the human and the elf decided not to move the fire.

But the faerie remained unconvinced, and in the night prepared the fire to be moved while all the world was sleeping. When all was ready, the faerie awoke the other Malaszecs, who saw what the faerie had done and protested. Then argued the faerie, “We fear not the fire, yet why do we fear the lightning? Has he not said that the fire was to be ours when he is gone?” And the two others began to reconsider. “Where is the lightning now? What right does the lightning have to deny us our inheritance, for you see that he is gone?” asked the faerie, “The night is quiet, and the lightning too is at rest. Make haste, and we can move this fire by daybreak.” The elf and the human nodded, and now deciding not to let the faerie’s labour to waste, brought the fire to the riverbank by daybreak.

When the lightning came from the heavens to torment the ground once again as he often did, he saw that the fire had been moved. The lightning became angry, and confronted the Malaszec at the riverbank. “Why have you moved the fire?” asked the lighting, “I did not say that it could be moved!”

And the human replied, “But you said the fire was to be ours when you were gone at last!”

The lightning thundered, “Yet you see that I am here before you, and you see that I am not gone at last!”

Then the faerie countered, “Ah, but when we had moved the fire, you had gone since at last we saw you.”

“What games you play faerie! You hear my words, and yet you throw away the meaning!” thundered the lightning once again, “And you, human and elf, how dare you give your aid! I cast you away, the lot of you! A fool I was to trust you, to call you brave and promise you the fire!”

And with these words, he struck the ground a thousand times over, and in its wake a mighty wildfire which swept across the land. The Malaszecs ran in all directions: the faerie to the south, the human to the north, and the elf to the west. And when they had become weary from their running, the ground grew for them trees and caves for shelter, for the lightning had tormented the ground so long that it was no longer afraid.

To each, the human, the faerie, and the elf, the ground gave all that she had to offer. The lightning struck and struck, leaving fires in its wake, but the Malaszecs were kept safe and sustained by the ground. And in time, the brave Malaszecs acquired even wisdom, and could produce their own fire in defiance of the lightning.