The Theft of the Alpine Star

And now the accursed Kales strikes! With their grasping hands outstretched, they reached for the neck of Emperor Koss. He threw his water aside in shock as the thief snatched the star from his neck, and then landed as though a mountain cat, full of savagery and sneak. And before the crowd could act, Kales had scampered across their heads and then down, into the back of the crowd where nobody had seen what they did.

Summary

The theft of the alpine star is a common tale in the Mountain Empire, and its immense popularity there has spread to other regions of Mythia as well. It describes the theft of the Alpine Star from Emperor Koss during a speech. Koss was speaking in Lashta on his regular tour of the empire. The Notorious Kales knew when and where this would occur, as it was well-publicised around the town. It is thought that they were acting alone, as no evidence was found of any other actors at the scene. Classically, the myth tells that the emperor began his speech, before stooping to take up a glass of water. Kales came from above, often described as descending out of thin air (but it is more likely that they abseiled or jumped from a nearby rooftop). Snatching the star from the emperor's neck, they sprang off the podium and into the crowd, who were either unable to see what had happened or too surprised to act. As the guards around the emperor rushed after them, Kales disappeared down a sidestreet. Their pursuers followed, but found only a dead end and some empty boxes. Even after searching the boxes, no evidence of Kales could be found. They had disappeared without trace.

Historical Basis

It is generally agreed that Kales did in fact steal the Alpine Star from the Mountain Empire at some point. It is unknown exactly when or where this happened, however. Some suspect that the tales painting Emperor Koss as slightly inept are a product of propaganda by his successors to make him look bad and themselves look good, while others believe that the myth is actually completely factually correct, although these are a minority and typically confined to literalistic spellwriters. Although it is assumed that the Mountain Empire has an official record of the theft, the existence of this has never been confirmed.

Spread

While popular within the Mountain Empire, the further you travel from its borders the fewer people will have heard the tale. One notable exception is that of Cada Cratal, where the star was used as payment at the Caraed before being sold back to the state. Due to extreme interest from the Mountain Empire about its reappearance, many now know the common tales about it from that area.

Cultural Reception

In the Mountain Empire, the myth is seen as both a small joke about Emperor Koss and a condemnation of Kales. Kales was very active in the Empire during their early career, and the Empire drove a ferocious propaganda campaign against them to try and drive them away. It seemed to work, as after a few years of operating within the empire Kales made no more significant exploits there. In other areas, the myth is seen as more of a critique of the empire and the figure of Kales is in fact romanticised, as a rebel against the perceived authoritarianism of the Empire. In Cada Cratal especially Kales is regarded as somewhat of a folk hero.

Related Locations