The Heart of the Mountain

The story is believed to have originated in Urska.
As with any myth, there are many renditions, but the story generally follows the same line. The following telling is one of the most common:
Once upon a time, there was a king who desired to take a bride. He searched through his kingdom, whom offered many daughters and widows and any other eligible female within his borders. None could please him, until... he found a woman who lived with her family near the base of the mountain. The family was pleased and happy to see their daughter with him, and thus, he took his bride away and were wed.
The woman, however was mysteriously silent. She spoke not a word during the wedding, nor any night after. The king showered her with every gift imaginable. The finest jewelry and gems, clothes made of the softest silks and cottons, maids that would respond to her every want and need and desire, food from kingdoms around the world. He offered up himself to her in any way that would please her.
Still, she never spoke.
Much time of trying diligently went by, and the king was at an utter loss. He could only assume she was completely and totally discontent. Finally, he approached his queen privately. He grabbed her hands in his and dropped to his knees before her. "My queen, my only wish is to make you happy. If you could have anything in this world, anything that would make you truly happy, what would it be? What can I do for you, my dear love?"
The queen stared at him. Just as he thought she would be silent as always, she at last parted her lips. "...Bring me the heart of the mountain. But it must only be you who goes after it, no one else is to accompany you."
Immediately, the king departed. The heart of the mountain was said to be at a cave in the core of the biggest mountain in the country, the one their kingdom rested at the base of. Rumor had it, many others had attempted the journey for the very item of which the queen wanted, but for some unknown reason, none others had made it back with it.
The king went up this mountain as fast as he could - it was a treacherous climb and it took him days to reach the cave. At last, he entered. In the middle of the cave, he saw it. A perfectly spherical rock floating magically in the air above a pedestal made of stone. As he reached out to take it, he was halted by a force not his own, and a spirit with the likeness of a woman approached him from the cave's shadows.
"You who enters my cave and seeks the heart, why have you come?" The spirit questioned him.
"Please," the king pleaded, "I have come for the heart of the mountain. My wife, who has never spoken a word to me before, broke her long silence to request this very item. I must bring it back to her."
"I am a king," he continued, dropping to his knees before the spirit and bowing, "I have everything I could ever desire at my fingertips. I am rich, but oh, if I were only to possess the love of my queen, that would make me the richest man in the world."
The spirit, at first, was silent. And then, they spoke. "And what, prey tell, would you give up for this? What would you sarifice for the love of your queen?"
"Anything," he whispered. "I would give up even my own life, if only I could once hear that she loves me. She is so, so beautiful, but if she were to love me, it would be radiant on her."
"...What, then, if I demanded you give me your throne in exchange?"
"Yes," the king spoke breathlessly. "You may have it. Take it. She is my world, she is all I need."
The spirit stared at him, and then smiled softly. "Then... go. Take it to your queen, whose love you most desire. You may keep your throne, you have the heart of the mountain and the heart of your bride."
Graciously, the king grabbed the rock and fled. At once, he returned to his kingdom and to his queen. He came to her chambers with the rock hidden behind his back. Before her, he dropped on his knees once more and presented the gift. "My queen. I bring you the item that was your deepest desire. I have gone by myself to retrieve it, and here I am again before you, having succeeded."
The queen stared at him, tilting her head to observe him quietly.
And then, she got down on her knees beside him.
"My king," she spoke as she gently took the rock from his hands, "I have sent you for this item, but it is not this which I most desire."
Bowing her head, she lifted the rock and let it drop suddenly from her hands. It crashed on the floor between them, breaking into bits.
The inside of it... was covered in beautiful, glittering gems.
"Your heart, your true self, your true dedication and character, that is what I most desired to see. It is not the richest man in the world I wish to be with, but a man willing to give up so much, to sacrifice everything, is the one who I wish to spend my life with," she smiled. "I love you."
At her words, the king wept, and truly, he was the richest man in the world.
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The moral of this story is fairly blatant, but it is a favorite to tell and fairly easy to relay in different mediums. It is a favorite of Zane Ayrie, the Emperor-King, to tell, especially as it originated in his 'birth' place.