One of the most moving stories in the Arcadian Echoes is the tale of Xbysl, which highlights honesty, integrity, and the power of truth. This narrative revolves around a hardworking woodsman who makes a living by cutting down trees in the forest. He is equipped with an old, weathered axe that he cherishes and sharpens regularly. The woodsman is filled with despair when his axe head falls into the river. At this moment, Ver, the God of Water, appears and offers help, sensing the genuine honesty in the woodsman’s eyes. Ver dives into the river and emerges with a beautiful silver axe, which the woodsman refuses as it is not his own. The following day, Ver returns to find the man still searching, and this time brings him a golden axe, which the woodsman also refuses.
Ver returns the axe to the river and returns the next day to find the woodsman still searching for his axe head. Again, Ver dives into the water and emerges with the woodsman’s axe head, and the man is filled with joy. As a gesture of goodwill, Ver retrieves the gold and silver axes from the river and gifts them to the woodsman, who is delighted. When the woodsman returns to town, he shares his story with another woodsman, who subsequently drops his axe head into the river. Ver once again enters the river and comes out with a golden axe, which the woodsman accepts with gratitude. However, Ver soon realizes that the golden axe does not belong to the man and decides to punish him for his deceit by sending him to the underworld. There, the man is confined in a cage made of bones and tormented by Norash and Norashi for eternity.
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