Elwood Gorvan

Based on a story heard many marcs ago.

There once lived a stonecutter called Elwood Gorvan. His home was a small simple hut outside of Branishor in the Eastern Mountains. His work was hard and he was never wealthy but he was a good mason and his work was always in demand for the buildings in the city.

In the mountains there lived a spirit who was rumored to grant wishes but Elwood was a sensible man and never believed such tales until that all changed.

One day he was visiting Branishor and was invited into a wealthy merchant’s house who he was doing some work for; Elwood was amazed at the richness of the house, the furniture and a soft comfy bed. As he was heading back to his small hut he called out “If only I where rich and had a big comfy house” he heard a voice which said “I hear, your wish shall be granted” and when Elwood reached the place of his hut there was instead a large house filled with riches.

For a few days he was happy but he had never learnt to occupy himself so quickly became bored. One day he was wandering around the city and the sun was beating down and he saw a visiting prince with a carriage and servants to hold silk umbrellas over his head. “If only I where a price said Elwood”, then I would never be bored and hot again”. Again there came a voice “I hear, your wish shall be granted” and in a flash of light he was surrounded by servants and was a prince.

For a while he was happy, the servants amused him, he wore fine clothing but despite there best efforts the sun still beat down upon him making him hot and browning his skin. Elwood raised his fist to the air “how is it that the sun is mightier than I, if only I where the sun”. Again there came a voice “I hear, your wish shall be granted” but this time the stonecutter was the flash and he was the sun.

For a few weeks he was happy with his power and sent beams of heat down, he withered grass, caused droughts and burned the skin of prince and common man. It wasn’t long before the season changed and clouds rolled across the land denying Elwood his power. In anger he called “how is it that a cloud can stop my power, if only I where a cloud.” Again there came a voice “I hear, your wish shall be granted” and Elwood became a cloud racing above the earth.

For a time he happily blocked the suns rays and was happy with his power but again he quickly became bored and took to flooding rivers, washing away crops and sometimes even whole villages. There was one place he couldn’t do anything, no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t wash away the rock. Again in anger he called out “it isn’t right that the rock should be stronger than me, if only I where a mountain. Again there came a voice “I hear, your wish shall be granted” and in a flash of light Elwood became a mountain.

So he became the mountain and reveled in his power, the sun didn’t trouble him and the water just washed off. He was happy for he thought himself mightiest of them all. One day he felt a strange sensation, no more than an itch but looking down he saw a small man chipping away and removing lumps of the rock. Elwood realized the folly of his pride then and asked one final time “I wish I where a man” and in a flash he heard the same voice “I hear, your wish shall be granted”.

He now lives in his same small hut and works hard but he never wishes to be anything other than a stonecutter and has never again heard the voice of the mountain spirit.