Haustian Os Eldurinn

Haustian Os Eldurinn is a poem written by the ancient Elvish bard Cailuses. It was written circa 820FS and had been recited by Elven bards for generations before finally being written down in 1492FS. The original script is kept within the library in The Pentastus of Ladahera, Achait.

It tells the story of an unknown man who goes to Hel, presumably after his death. When confronted by The Blackmother, who tells him of her two choices to either destroy his soul now, or let the beings of Hel destroy it after thousands of years of torture, he suggests a third option; a game of chance, overwhelmingly stacked against him. The Blackmother, interested in the challenge, tells him that if he beats her she will give him the chance to return to Ortheid for another chance. The man then beats her, leading her to call him a cheater (although it is unknown if the man cheated or was just incredibly lucky), and tears his soul into four parts, hiding them around Erde. The Blackmother then curses the man to wonder Erde until he can find the four parts and can have the peace of death he wants.

Many people, including The Cult of Soth, claim that the ancient paladin Lord Soth fits the criteria for this man.

**The original poem, written in Old Elvish, goes as such:**

1. *Haustian os eldurinn,*
2. *fra kynslodum longu adur en okkar,*
3. *hafa yfir hlidin i Helviti fann os sranedinn,*
4. *madur dean vonar,*
5. *Svartamodirin hringdi i hann,*
6. *'hefur thu eithvadei?'*
7. *'I tominn eins og aorir menninniran?'*
8. *'eda pynta thig i dei'*
9. *Madurinn, klar og sviksemi beiannin,*
10. *bendir thridjya leidi uit,*
11. *'Gefour mer eitt taekifaeri, og thu getur niutiu moguleika reserinn'*
12. *'adi gera that sem med salminn viut'*
13. *jaeja, audvitao Svartamodirin samthykkti,*
14. *einmana deilur Helviti gat ejju stadist,*
15. *og thegar hun missti hun varo 'De Svikari!' hun gret,*
16. *en hun thurfti ao leyfa menninum ai fyrir yfirlysingu hennar.*
17. *Svo breiddi hun sal sina um heiminn og bolvaoi honum ai reika thvi,*
18. *og enginn hvildur mun hann fa, miklu verii en pyndingar Helvitis,*
19. *thar till han uppgotvar thad aftur.*

**The Translation in Common:**

1. *The fall and fire,*
2. *recited from the generations long before our own,*
3. *the gates of Hel found a wretched soul before it,*
4. *a man without hope,*
5. *The Blackmother called him forth and cried,*
6. *'Have you anything else to say?'*
7. *'Or shall I take your soul and toss you into the void like the other men?'*
8. *'Or torture you today'*
9. *The man, a smart and cunning being,*
10. *suggests a third way out,*
11. *'Give me one chance with these dice to beat you, and you can have the other ninety-nine chances'*
12. *'to do what you want with my soul'*
13. *well of course The Blackmother agreed,*
14. *the lonely warden of Hel could not resist a challenge,*
15. *and when she lost she became enraged, 'The cheater!' she cried,*
16. *but she had to allow the man to go, despite her proclamation*
17. *So she spread his soul around the world and cursed him to roam it,*
18. *and no rest he shall get, a fate much worse than the tortures of hell,*
19. *until he discovers it once again.*