Sorrow (an Elven myth)

In the days after the Creator made the world and all that dwelt upon it, Humans and First Born dwelt together in peace. The men and women of humankind seemed friendly enough to the elves, but too intent on the business of working and not inclined to much else it seemed. Still and all the two races lived side by side and all was well; until, that is, the eldest humans began to age and die, and more and more it was noticed that the elves did neither. Then the two races grew apart, and to the eyes of the elves it seemed as if madness had descended upon the younger race.

With the knowledge of their own mortality, men and women became even more obsessed with working, getting and spending, and ultimately with taking and defending. Thus war came into the world, and even more death and misery, until at last the collective grief took on a life of its own, and the God Sorrow was born and walked the land.

The First Born went to the Creator and told Her what had happened, for She had been busy setting the stars in the heavens.

"Look!", they cried. "Man has no laughter, and Sorrow now holds them in his grip. Is there nothing You can do?"

The Creator thought upon this, and after a hundred years she called her Elder Children together and told them She had erred in the making of humankind, and now must act to balance Sorrow.

So from each of those gathered there She took only a small bit of their essence: from the Elves their sense of wonder at the marvels of Her world, from the Dwarves their insatiable quest for knowledge, from the Seafolk their laughter as they swam the seas. From the Unicorns and the Eagles She took part of their exuberance at racing over the plains or through the skies, and from the Smaller Magics She took some of their mischievous nature and their delight in song and dance.

From each of these her Elder Children, She took only a small part of each trait, and on the longest night of the year She placed all this into all men and women, and then She returned to placing stars in the sky.

Another century passed, and again the First Born came to her. "Mother, we are puzzled. Our gifts to men have taken root, and from them has been born yet another goddess, Joy."

The Creator nodded. "That is at it should be."

"And yet, at times, they still turn to Sorrow. And some turn their backs entirely on Joy! How can this be?"

"That too is how it must be. For I cannot force them to be sad or happy in their lives. It is their choice to make. Each must live their lives as they choose in joy or sorrow or in a balance of both."

In time, the First Born came to see the wisdom of Her ways, and as for themselves, they chose to live in joy.