Heortlings don't recite sacred myths of the trickster - how could they be sacred? On the other hand, in the depths of Dark Season when there's nothing to do but huddle around the heart and tell stories, who can resist telling tales of Eurmal?
How Eurmal Became His Own Grandpa
In the time when Orlanth was outlawed Ernalda took many year-husbands. This was well and proper, for when Orlanth was outlawed the bonds of their marriage were broken. How else can it be? That is our law. She still loved Orlanth, but needed husbands to protect her children. She took many of the gods as her year-husband - Elmal and Heler, Argar Argan and many other strangers were tied to the Storm Tribe through marriage to Ernalda. Eurmal saw this and had an idea. Without the trickster's bond he could return to Orlanth's hall where it was warm and dry and they had lots of beer - if he could marry Ernalda.
Of course that would not be easy. Ernalda disliked Eurmal and would never allow him under her roof, much less take him as a husband. He was completely unsuitable. In fact Eurmal didn't even want a wife in his heart, or in his head. To tell the truth there was only one part of Eurmal that wanted to be married; the rest of him would just as well sneak away, as far away from the responsibilities of marriage as he could get. Thinking about that, though, Eurmal had another idea. Since it was his idea he thought it was particularly brilliant. He decided to trick his way in.
So he put on his best dress and a wig of long hair and went to visit Ernalda. He claimed to be Eurmal's maiden aunt. Ernalda could see the family resemblance and gave her hospitality. He explained he came as a matchmaker, to find wives for both Eurmal and his little brother. Ernalda made a bad face and denied that any woman in the tribe would marry Eurmal. "What about your daughter Babesteer?" Eurmal asked. "Again? That didn't work out well last time. Then again, I don't think anyone else will marry her." Eurmal smiled. "I could convince him to do that for his brother, but his brother wants to marry you." Ernalda, fearing the brothers were alike, said he wanted to meet Eurmal's little brother first before she could agree to such a thing. Eurmal's wig nearly popped off in his joy as he agreed to set up a meeting.
After he left Eurmal went into the woods and brought out his brother. Now the trickster is famous for losing parts of himself; his magic allows him to be divided into many parts. So he detached the one part of him which liked Ernalda, the very part he needed to keep away from Babesteer. Now Eurmal also has the power to grow enormous, and his little brother swelled up to a tremendous size, as large as a full grown troll. Eurmal dressed him in fine clothes and taught him how to dance. Ernalda was impressed when they met and agreed to immediate marriage. Eurmal knew he could handle Babesteer as long as she drank plenty of beer, and everything went well the day of the wedding.
The next morning, though, Babesteer went to claim her trophy and discovered she had been deceived. She was furious with Eurmal, but the trickster unfortunately couldn't stop laughing at his own cleverness. Babesteer had to take out her rage by chopping off Eurmal's other parts. Eventually all that was left was a pile of feet and forearms and knees, but Eurmal's head still laughed at her.
The quiet of Llankor Mhy's studies was broken by the screeching of Babesteer and the laughing of Eurmal, whose parts she bore in a cart. All of them demanded a divorce. Babesteer claimed he was incapable of performing any of his marital duties, any at all, and demanded that his missing part be awarded to her as compensation. Eurmal argued that since he was married to Babesteer's mother the law forbid a marriage to her, which would make him kin to himself. They asked Llankor Mhy to serve as a juror and decide the case.
Ernalda was reluctantly roused from her wedding bed to testify. When she found out she had been duped she demanded a divorce, too. Unfortunately she was already with child. It was a baby boy, and when he was born looked just like his father though tiny and shriveled up.
This was the first and only divorce Llankor Mhy judged that had nine plaintiffs. Eurmal agreed to give Babesteer his missing part as compensation, provided he was given custody of his baby nephew. He quickly gathered up his parts and attached them back together, putting his nephew in the position of honor where his brother had been, and slinked away before Babesteer finished adding her new trophy to her axe. That's the last anyone saw of him until Orlanth came back.
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