I ventured alone in my frail boat and fell asleep. The boat drifted east, to the shore of the sweetest spot in the world. In the bright morning light, I found myself in the shadow of Fusan, the Wonder Mountain, and I knew I had come to Horaizan, the Isle of the Blest....
In the cool of the evening, my father and I walked upon the ramparts of the Castle of Cloud as we often did. My father was a great and mighty god of Thunder and all the Elements. From the ramparts we viewed the doings of men upon the Land of Reed Plains. North and...
A wonderful prince had come to the Sea King’s palace and my father went out to welcome him. He was known as Prince Fire Fade, Child of the Heaven’s Sun Height. The king led him into the palace and I soon fell in love with the august prince who had come from the...
My mother told me and my sister that the river brought us to her when we were babies. We were lying in a crystal cradle. Father took us home and brought us up with eight other children. Our foster parents love us, but our brothers and sisters don’t. The boys are...
My three daughters were as beautiful as they were kind, and much loved by people throughout the isles of the West. Then one day, as they sat on the rocks on the edge of the sea, dipping their feet in the water, a great beast arose from under the waves and swept them...
The hapless maiden sat at my foot and waited for her true love to return. He had gone into the world to get his father’s blessing. I doubted that he would ever find his way back. The sun set and rose again, set and rose, and rose again. On the fourth day, the...
I set the boy down in the forest and told him he’d never see his parents again. But he had set me free from the cage, so I meant him no harm. On the contrary, I promised him a good life if he did what he was told. I made him a bed of moss and he slept well. At dawn, I...
I was the son of a pasha in Turkey, and an only child. I played with a golden ball that I would throw against the walls of the summer house and catch when it dropped. One day, I saw an old woman coming to draw water from the well, and I threw my ball at her pitcher....
I was poor, but worse than poor, I couldn’t keep any money in my pockets. I had borrowed from a banker who was charging me interest, and my debt had tripled. Business was bad, I couldn’t sell my oil, and I couldn’t pay the banker. He kept coming...
My five older brothers could not help themselves. When they took the throne, they were compelled to hunt in the forests of the forbidden mountain. Nobody who goes there ever returns. Now I am king, I have that same compulsion, in spite of all the reasonable arguments...
