The Story of Balg

Yep. Another story that was inspired by Achaea.com. Not as surprising when you learn that I have been playing Achaea since 1998. So it has had a major influence on my inspiration for stories.



"The Lesson of the Woodcarver. A story of Balg."

Most of you know of Balg, the woodcarver.

Many of you have grown up with Balg standing forlornly outside of the
Temple and telling you how to open the doors.

For those who do not know Balg, he was a Tsol'aa woodcarver who used to
hang around the Temple often. It was difficult to speak with Balg at
times because he was always so focused and kept his brow furrowed as he
considered his next woodcarving. I can recall his green eyes constantly
flickering over the project he was working on and the fact that his
hands were very rough and callused from the hard work that he did.
Everywhere that he went, wood carvings followed.

Balg's constant attention was on his next woodcarving, so his
interactions with most people was very rare. He came to visit the Temple
one day and Papa seemed content to let Balg explore his talents with
aide of the Chosen.

Now, let me tell you the story of Balg and why he was always so sad and
sighing when people would talk about Papa or the Temple.

One day, a few decades past, I came into the Temple to feel the ground
shaking beneath my feet. Only after a few minutes of puzzled
consternation was I able to discern the rumble of Papa's voice as being
the cause of this distressful situation. Rushing to follow the echoes as
they rolled off of the Temple walls, I located Papa standing in the
Cathedral with tears streaming down His face. Shriveled into a corner
against the far wall was the form of Balg.

Shocked, I covered my ears with my hands and thus was barely able to
make out what Papa was saying. Papa was the angriest that I have ever
seen Him, and every line of His image wavered with withheld tension.
Words battered against my eardrums, and I caught only flashes of words
like Betrayal, Shame, Distrust, and Banish. That last word seemed to
pause the whole world and time stood still. My jaw dropped open and I
could only stare as Balg ever so slowly squeezed his eyes shut and then
sagged to the floor in abject defeat. With a suddenly flash of light,
Balg vanished from my sight and then Papa smashed His hammer into the
floor and was gone as well.

Racing through the Temple, I luckily caught the swing of the Temple
Doors and a flash of Papa's hammer outside them just before they closed.
Hurriedly I caught up and then witnessed one of the most tragic scenes
of my entire life. There I saw Papa staring at Balg with a very serious
and somber expression, all tears gone from His face and all emotion from
His voice. That is when Papa denounced Balg for betraying Him and
destroying all trust that Papa had put into the woodcarver. Tears freely
flowed from my face as the Smith intoned His judgement of Balg's crimes:
Banishment. Balg was banished to forever stand outside the Temple and
never enter between the safety of its doors. As penance, Balg would be
allowed to tell others of Papa and of Papa's mercy that Balg yet lived.

When the decree went, forth all of the world shuddered; and I knew that
though Papa showed no emotion, all of creation expressed His pain.

Hurriedly following our Lord through the Temple, I saw that He carried
with him a very intricate flute. Trying to stumble through the words to
ask what had happened, I was able to learn that Balg had decided that he
was tired of carving the simple wares that he had spent his time on for
the past few decades or centuries and wanted to create something of true
power. But that ambition turned to greed, and Balg was only satisfied by
crafting something that controlled the sands of time itself. And thus
Balg had snuck into one of the Temple workshops and stolen a small block
of material that is wrapped within the fluctations of time. His own
greed caused him to steal from our Lord Smith and to abuse the trust to
roam the Temple.

It was only later that I learned the true depth of Balg's betrayal. When
Papa first allowed Balg to join the Temple, it was only after the
Tsol'aa had thrown Balg out of their entire society for breaking one of
their greatest taboos: attempting to carve livewood. Papa had forgaven
Balg for his trangressions and come to trust and love Balg and allow him
to roam the Temple. And Balg instead used that to steal some of Papa's
materials and try to create a powerful artifact for himself.

Perhaps Balg's intentions were not for his own profit when he started
out. Perhaps he wanted to create something to help Papa. Balg is still
very quiet about the entire thing and it is probably best not to pester
him too much. However, whenever our ambitions and desires lead us to
hurt our Lord God so deeply, there can be no good in what we have done.
Learn from Balg's lesson and his story and take measure of your own
actions. If something requires you to toe the line to complete it, take
care that you do not end up standing outside of the Temple forlornly
looking in but never being able to join.

For those who have asked about Balg, about 40 years after he was
banished, Papa took mercy upon him yet again and allowed Balg the
freedom to leave the Temple doors and run various errands for Papa. Balg
will never be allowed to enter the Temple again, but perhaps he might
one day find a way to use his talents to serve Industry.