The Zeitai's Egg

The Zeitai’s Egg is a famous mansthein tale told across all Orphos. It tells the tale of a Zeitai searching for an heir, who organized a contest to find one worthy. He gathered the most promising young warriors of the city where he lived,[1] and gave each one of them an egg. He then asked the warriors to feed their egg with sein, until a bird hatches from it, revealing the strength of their sein.[2] After a year, all eggs had hatched except the one of a young mansthein.[3] The Zeitai then revealed that all the egg had been dead and that only the one mansthein had been honest. He then declared them his heir,[4] and struck down all the birds and their owners.[5] With time, each mansthein ethnicity modified the tale to suit their own philosophy, resulting in subtly different versions nowadays. For example, the Seinan version see the warriors of the respectable families (probably only Seinans) called to the Zeitai’s contest,[1] while the Feinan version talks of “strongest young teeth”,[2] showing the Feinan emphasis on strength and fights. The heir also changes between versions, with the Seinan version talking of a boy named Fasilin,[4] the Feinan’s the boy Fasn,[2] and the Laenan’s the girl Fsina.[3]

Excerpts
"'Once, a great Zeitai who resided in Ith Silvaros had no choice but to go on a long journey. To hold his position in his absence, he required an heir, but the Zeitai had no apprentice. So one year before he left on his journey, the Zeitai asked every respectable family in the city to send their most promising young warrior, saying that he had a gift for them.'"

Seinan version of The Zeitai’s Egg[1] "'The Zeitai stood in the center of Fkaz and told the strongest young teeth that he had a challenge for them. Each was to be given an egg of a rare cockatrice that fed on pure sein. They were to feed their sein to the egg for the full year and the bird that hatched would be the proof of their full strength. Every ambitious tooth took an egg, including a boy named Fasn.'"

Feinan version of The Zeitai’s Egg[2] "'Fsina let her sein flow through the egg, trying with all her heart and soul, yet the egg lay dormant. Around her, she saw the other candidates hatching their eggs into wondrous birds. When the day came for all to present their eggs to the Zeitai, she carried her dead egg sadly, surrounded by beautiful feathers.”"

Laenan version of The Zeitai’s Egg[3] "'The Zeitai gazed at the many marvelous birds brought before him, but said nothing. Finally Fasilin brought forward his egg and begged for the Zeitai's forgiveness because it would not hatch. And the Zeitai rose with a smile, proclaiming to all that the eggs he had given had been dead. Out of all the young warriors, only Fasilin had been honest, and he was trained to be the Zeitai's successor.'"

Seinan version of The Zeitai's Egg[4] "'Having proclaimed the truth, the Zeitai struck down all of the pretty birds and executed the liars who had raised them. And he told Fasn that this was to be his first lesson: that to cheat sein is to cheat your own strength.'"

Feinan version of The Zeitai’s Egg[5]