The End of Shame

Back when the world was young and all the races were scattered across the earth by wager the Khajiits were given a section of forests where the air was cool beneath the canopy of trees and rivers that fed the region gave Khajiit a place to lounge. Khajiit, being the lazy creatures they are, did mostly that. One day, as the Khajiit were relaxing beneath the trees a funny little creature stumbled across them. The creature was orange and promptly informed the gathered Khajiits that it was a Kobold. The Khajiits were amused by the small orange thing, especially when they discovered that it could bounce. However, soon the Khajiits lost interest. The kobold, being the proud creature that it was was insulted by the Khajiit’s apparent lack of interest and began stating loudly all the things that kobolds had invented.</p>

The kobold said, “Khajiits! Did you know that kobolds invented helmets?” and the kobold went on to describe the helmets that the kobolds had “invented”.
And the Khajiits said “but Kobold with our catlike reflexes, who can hit us in the head?”
The kobold replied, “well… what if someone snuck up behind you?”
And the Khajiits replied, “With our ears who can possibly sneak up behind us?”
So the kobold said, “WELL, did you know that Kobolds invented javelins?” and then went on to describe the javelins his people had “invented”.
And the Khajiit replied, “But what use have we for weapons of war? We are a peaceful people. We hunt using arrows and they seem much more efficient than this javelin you describe”

The kobold, seeing the Khajiit’s continued lack of interest grew more and more flustered as he started listing of more kobold “inventions”. But each time the Khajiit’s answer was largely the same “We are Khajiits, what use have we for that invention?”.
Eventually, one Khajiit got a twinkle in his eye and turned to the Kobold and said “Oh wise Kobold, who has invented so many wondrous things, surely it was Kobolds who invented the idea of ownership, which as everyone knows is why the Khajiits own all things?”.

The Khajiit, having heard this exchange, suddenly perked up, as every ear and eye turned towards the little Kobold. The Kobold, seeing this sudden change in the Khajiit, and having experience them only as lazy creatures had no idea that Khajiit were so clever, perhaps even more clever than the Kobolds swelled with pride. He turned to the assembled Khajiit and announced “But of course it was Kobolds who invented the idea of ownership! And of course everyone knows that it is the Khajiit who own all things.”

The assembled Khajiits smiled and nodded in false deference to their little orange friend, happy to have pulled one over on the Kobold. Before the Kobold could think much more on the subject the assembled Khajiits offered the Kobold skooma, which the Kobold then claimed to have also invented. The Khajiit’s simply smiled at the Kobold and said “Ah little Kobold your people may have invented skooma but it was the Khajiits who perfected it”. With that they plied the little Kobold with skooma until the Kobold was properly drunk.

Pleased with themselves the Kobold returned to his people, drunk and speaking of the new race they had stumbled on. They brought with them Skooma as an offering from the Khajiits and spread the story of the Khajiit race to other races, and as they did they boldly exclaimed “Kobolds invented ownership! And as everyone knows ownership is why the Khajiits own all things.” And so the rumor spread that all things belonged to Khajiits. Eventually the kobold was sobered up and came to realize their mistake but by then it was far too late. News of the Khajiits had spread from one drunken Kobold to the next as they drank Khajiit Skooma and over and over again it was repeated that all things now belonged to Khajiits. The damage, had already been done.

So the Kobold left their people and trekked back into the forest to find the Khajiits and demand payment for this great gift the Kobold had inadvertently given to the Khajiits. When the Kobold arrived the Khajiits greeted them with the same lounging indifference that they had the last time. The Kobold flew into a rage and began yelling at the Khajiits for having tricked them. Eventually as the Kobold began to calm down the Khajiits turned to the Kobold and said, “Friend Kobold, it is true that we have tricked you so in return for the gift you have given us we will give you something in return.” The Kobold seemed pleased by this and waited to receive their gift from the Khajiit. Some Khajiit left for a moment and returned with an ornate box to deliver to the Kobold. As they handed the Kobold the chest the Khajiit told the Kobold, “inside of this box contains some of the stuff we were made from, and contained within it is some of the very essence of what it means to be a Khajiit”. The Kobold took the box in their hands with reverence for receiving such a gift. The Khajiit then continued “little Kobold, in that box you will find all the shame of the Khajiit”.

The Kobold again ran off to their people happy to have gotten something in return from the Khajiit. As the Kobold bragged to its people about the magical box they had received its people began to ask questions about what the contents of the box was worth, and how they’d use it. Suddenly the Kobold realized that it had been duped yet again!

So the Kobold returned to the forest where the Khajiit lounged by their streams and demanded another gift be given, this time, one of value for all the Khajiit had gotten from the Kobolds. But now the all the Khajiits were without shame of any kind and so they refused to give the Kobold anything. Ever since that day Kobolds are constantly trying to pull one over on the Khajiit for the great shame they inherited on that day. But while Kobolds are constantly seeking a chance to prove themselves more clever than the Khajiits, the Khajiits just enjoy the friendship of the Kobolds and appreciate the great gift they were given. For this reason Kobolds and Khajiits are good friends, even as the Kobolds constantly try but fail to outsmart the Khajiit.