The Grand Illusion

This story tells of a country thousands of years ago that was oppressed by a powerful lich. The undead ruler tortured his subjects for sport, magically experimented on their children, and drained their souls to sustain his unlife. Three generations survived this tyranny with all hope crushed out of them by their master’s undying will. Olidammara visited them in the guise of a beggar, telling them that the power was within them to reject their misery even as the lich broke their bodies. With the Kantele of the Oldest he crafted a great illusion that told a story of love, joy, mischief, an evil ruler, and hope, and within every person who saw it there awakened a new flame of zest for life. En masse they cast off their bonds, turned on their undead taskmasters, and rebelled against the king. They eventually forced the lich to flee their lands, although at the cost of many lives – but to them it was worth the price. The moral of this story is that it is better to die free than to live as a slave – whether an actual slave or taken as a metaphor for any circumstance that prevents you from enjoying the gift of life.