[Book] Legends of Athalormr the Clever-Man [Merged]

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pirosmani99
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[Book] Legends of Athalormr the Clever-Man [Merged]

Post by pirosmani99 »

I've just written this draft piece about a clever-man called Athalormr, who I've loosely based on a combination of anecdotes about Lü Buwei and Gongsun Long (his name is an Old Norse version of the latter, I thought it sounded good). Hopefully it's of interest - if so, I can write more stories in a similar vein. Among other things, Athalormr's exploits are meant to teach Nords about the importance of precise language.

If it would be better in full prose rather than the script-like format, I can change it easily and add more description, or make any other suggested improvements!
[Translator's Note: In the tongue of the Atmorans and ancient Nords there was no requirement for marking of plurals or separation of nouns and adjectives, therefore some conflations and confusions were possible which are not so in our modern language. These linguistic features seem to form the basis of many of the arguments attributed to Athalormr, so we have tried to render the ambiguities faithfully in translation.]

Athalormr the Clever-Man, before he became the Lawspeaker of Hrothgar, was an ordinary merchant selling weapons and tools. One year he bought a large number of glass axes from an elven smith in Cyrodiil and transported them in a caravan of wagons to Haafingar. Along the way, he was stopped by a tax collector of Falkreath.

Tax Collector: The law states that all transportation of axes, adzes, rakes and ploughs along the roads of Falkreath incurs a tax of 35 drakes per item. How many of the aforesaid items are you transporting?

Athalormr: I don't have axes, adzes, rakes and ploughs. I only have glass axes.

Tax Collector: Don't joke. A glass axe is an axe, and an axe is subject to the tax.

Athalormr: Not so. An axe is an axe, and a glass axe is both glass and axe. If what I have are glass and axe, but not axe, adze, rake and plough, then how can I be taxed? One thing is added, and three are taken away.

Tax Collector: I don't have time for this. How many axes do you have?

Athalormr: I don't just have axes, I have glass axes. How can I count the glass and the axe? When adding two such different items something will surely be missed. Then, even having reached a total, to remove the glass from the axe is impossible. Furthermore, when someone asks for an axe, he usually expects it to be made of iron or steel. When asked for an axe, to give an iron or steel axe is perfectly acceptable. But when asked for a glass axe, to give an iron or steel axe is not acceptable. When asked for a glass axe, to give a glass axe is the only acceptable response. So to ask for an axe is not the same as to ask for a glass axe. If you ask me about glass axes, of course I will tell you what you need to know.

Tax Collector: Fine, fine, whatever. How many glass axes do you have?

Athalormr: I never heard any law about glass axes in Falkreath, only a law about axes, adzes, rakes and ploughs. If the law does not name my goods as subject to tax, then I will not pay.

[The end of this dialogue has not survived.]
Last edited by pirosmani99 on Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:57 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Post by pirosmani99 »

Another bit. This one's not a pastiche of any particular historical figure, and is a quite different angle on the character so it would likely come from a different source. I kind of like the idea of having several stories where he meets Herma-Mora though. A follow-on could be a story where he makes a classic fairytale bargain with the Woodland Man but then outwits "him" and escapes. Not sure of specifics for that though.
Athalormr was walking in the hold of Hrothgar, near the holy mountain which is called the Throat of the World, when the Woodland Man appeared on the path ahead of him.

"Tell me, O Clever-Man," said the Woodland Man, "where is the tallest mountain?"

"I do not know which mountain is the tallest, but the tallest mountain that I know of is right ahead," replied Athalormr, gesturing past where the other was standing.

"Indeed," laughed the Woodland Man, "you do not know it, but the tallest mountain is the mountain of knowledge, and I am the map to its hidden paths. If you wish to climb the mountain, walk my path."

"And what good can your path and your mountain of knowledge do me?" inquired the Clever-Man.

The Woodland Man, seemingly surprised, answered: "You can learn all you wish to learn, solve any problem you wish to solve, and become the wisest of the wise. I invite you to do so. Come, walk with me."

"No, elf-demon," said Athalormr, "I will not take your path, nor will I trust you to guide me. The things that are unknown are much greater than the things that are known, and death is much longer than life. The greater part of the secrets of your realm are useless to me. To learn them would take my whole life, and you would not let me go free in death. I can find all the answers I need in my own clever head that was given to me by Shor." So saying, the Clever-Man kept walking and climbed the mountain.

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Post by pirosmani99 »

This guy’s name should probably be changed to something like Athalwyrm or Wyrmnukr (for wyrm-grandson), as other Nord names use wyrm instead of ormr.

I was also thinking of writing up a story about another ancient clever-man named Skjangr the Stern (pastiche of Shang Yang) who introduced a strict code of laws to Winterhold making its army and economy the strongest in Skyrim but who ended up being executed for breaking his own law.

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