The Golden Mountain
To the west of the Kiautschou gulf, sits the mighty Wu-Lian Mountain. Ancient myths describe the peak of this range as home to some of the lands most ancient spirits and creatures. For hundreds of years, the mountain has been used as a vital landmark for travelers and local villagers known to all as the Golden Mountain.
Long ago, the eldest and wisest who lived under the shadow of the great mountain prophesied that unspeakable treasures lay at its summit and that anyone brave enough to reach the top would be blessed with the power and fortune to mold the surrounding lands as they saw fit.
Many huntsman and soldiers had attempted to scale the Golden Mountain, only to fail or never return. One day, a traveling monk arrived at a village which lay at the great mountains base. He sought shelter and a place to rest following his days on the road.
The people of the village had grown accustomed to visitors of all walks of life and the scholar was welcomed by the first household that he approached. They lived modestly and didn’t have a spare room, so the owner of the house insisted that the exhausted monk take the only bedroom while he and his family share the vacant stable that sat beside their house. To further his comfort, they also offered to share what little food they had prepared for that evening, as well as their finest blanket which they were granted as a wedding gift.
The scholar felt overwhelmingly blessed with their generosity and accepted their welcome with the utmost appreciation. The monk felt such a burden of debt that he vowed he would scale the mountain and return whatever riches he found to those who had shown him such kindness. The monk knew he would never have the strength to climb the mountain with his body, so instead, he aspired to climb the mountain through meditation. He sent his spirit up through the steepest slopes, through the thickest forests, and all the way up to the highest peak.
Once there, a raging storm opened the sky, and out of it came a mighty golden dragon with wings powerful enough to carry a hundred men and glistening scales strong enough to break through marble. The dragon congratulated the monk on his momentous achievement and offered the scholar one of his three ultimate powers – the strength of a thousand horses, the wisdom of a thousand lifetimes, or the grace of a thousand swans.
The scholar chose none of the great dragons options. Instead, he wished only to be granted a single scale from the Golden Dragon’s glorious coat, explaining that his only wish was to repay the kind villagers that sheltered him. The dragon was so impressed by the monk’s selflessness, humility, and sense of honor, that he decided to bestow upon the monk all three of his mightiest powers so that he may repay his hosts as well as the many generations to follow them.
The dragon transformed the monk into the Golden Mountain’s greatest river. In this form, he would have the strength to carve rock and bend the earth to his will. He would have the wisdom to bring the lands most precious resources down to the mountain’s base, and he could do it all with an effortless grace unparalleled by any force in nature.
The mighty river would stand the test of time, bringing life, prosperity, and unmistakable beauty to those that lived beneath the cover of the Golden Mountain for the rest of time.
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