A great misfortune befell Emperor Khah, and indeed the whole empire, when his eldest son, a valiant warrior and a scholar of renown, perished in a military campaign he had conducted in a neighboring kingdom for nearly three years. It is said that the emperor’s favorite accidentally fell off his horse during a long march and found his death in a deep ravine someplace in the rugged Silver Mountains. Of course, his guards were immediately skinned alive, as the custom prescribed, and their skins were exhibited on the main gate of the emperor’s castle for everyone to see and remember. The nobles of the empire sent their beloved sovereign many wonderful presents to console him in his sorrow, but one present surpassed them all in beauty and compassion: the king whose territory Emperor Khah’s son had been ravaging for years sent the emperor his youngest daughter, a maiden of indescribable beauty, elegance, and charm. By and by, the fair princess won the emperor’s heart, and his mourning subsided to the point where he decided to visit the neighboring king himself and thank him for the happiness he had found. But as soon as Emperor Khah and his magnificent retinue reached the Silver Mountains, where they intended to pay homage to the fallen warrior, the emperor’s beloved princess suddenly and inexplicably fell ill. Distraught, Emperor Khah ordered a forced march back to his capital, where she could be attended and comforted by the wisest doctors of the empire. Before they had reached the capital, however, the fair princess expired in Emperor Khah’s arms. In his great grief and in his great wisdom, Emperor Khah sent her father a present of consolation that still boggles the minds of scholars to this very day: an enormous bronze caldron stuffed full with the most foul and hideous creatures, things, and substances known to exist under the heavens. It is related that the vile vapor emanating from the caldron would nauseate men and animals at great distances, and that the color of the concoction was so evil that anyone who saw it would suffer from hallucinations for days. What is even more puzzling about this incident is that Emperor Khah and his neighbor the king had never again engaged in any enmities during their long and prosperous reigns.