long time ago, in the First 1341, the
Divider of Minds felt like setting one of his priests to a series of
impossible tasks. The priest's name was Yontzu Manfoglio.
First, Yontzu had to travel to the Upside-Down Mountain, and defeat the Many-Eyed Beast of Grolsch in a riddling contest. Manfoglio walked alone for many weeks, searching for the Upside-Down Mountain. At first he tried looking with his eyes closed, walking around on the off chance that he might bump into the Mountain. When that didn't work, he sat down to do the Holy Ritual of Divination, which was a long and torturous ritual centered on attempting to discern meaningful patterns in the priest's own vomit. He believed that the signs he perceived directed him south, so south he went, towards that big funny-shaped thing,. whose name he couldn't quite recall at the moment.
Shifting form to that of a flying hedgehog, Yontzu made good time. As the full moon rose above the funny-shaped thing, he suddenly remembered that the funny-shaped thing was in fact the Upside-Down Mountain. Landing nearby, he stumbled upon a plate of lamb with a garlic-raspberry sauce, and a jug of fine Rianne wine. Unfortunately he was unable to see any of it, since it was all inside the stomach of the Many-Eyed Beast of Grolsch, who immediately challenged him to a riddling contest.
The riddles flew fast and furious, and many of the riddles which we tell our children today were invented at that time, including a series of the first "knock-knock" jokes. Several hours went by, and every riddle was answered correctly, until finally Yontzu summoned his final reserves of inventiveness, and asked the Beast:
Sinking is nearly always bad
Unless it's your job
Which seems to be the case here
Oil on water sometimes helps
But how many are left afloat?
The Beast paused for the first time in the contest. It stammered once, and asked meekly, "alfalfa?" Yontzu grinned, shook his head no, and the Beast disintegrated into a pile of silver tinsel.
Next Yontzu had to enter the Labyrinth of Maedio, and bring back the Indescribable Object, which resided somewhere within. No one had ever successfully mapped the Labyrinth, and it is said that its twisting passageways connect and disconnect continually, without regard for geometry or logic. Its ways are so unstable that the entrance itself has been inaccessible for all but brief periods in history.
For this task the Left-Handed God gave Manfoglio a gift to aid him, a magic blob that would stretch long enough that Yontzu could lay it behind him to mark his path as he searched through the Labyrinth. The blob also would sing him interesting songs to keep him from getting bored as he wandered the maze.
At this point, however, Geskekulud became bored with the whole thing and released Yontzu from his tasks, and entered into negotiations with the Ender of Parties to redo 1341, thus creating the Second 1341. But that is another story....