(fire crackles) (smoke hisses) - [Narrator] Carved within the crystal hills of the great white mountains lay a small town of iron workers.

Each day, they earned their wage by toiling in the mines, pulling oar they would smelt at night in rugged stone furnaces.

It was an honest life for honest men.

(hammers clang) Of all the workers, the youngest was Sawyer.

Sawyer was not a rich man with little more to himself than his name and an impassioned heart.

Sawyer was in love with a wealthy girl from the village named Carrigan.

Each night they would meet beside the falls to watch the glittering stars, and each night she would sing sweetly.

♪ I dream of a diamond in the hills.

♪ - [Narrator] After she sang, they would lie in the night's cool grass and talk about tender things, how the light shone through the leaves, how skipping stones rippled across a clear pond or how fat a frog could get before he sank a lily pad.

In the hands of the night, the two were as one.

Before dawn, Sawyer would walk Carrigan back to her home, then return to his shack by the mill for another day of drudgery.

One day while working in the mines, the foreman were boasting about the flakes of mica, bits of amethyst and crumbs of pyrite they found in the hills, all of which they presented to their lovers to show their affection.

Sawyer, who was too poor to keep any of the spare minerals he discovered, had never thought to show his love to Carrigan with a precious stone.

He loved her, undoubtedly so, but did he need a jewel to prove it?

That night, he asked Carrigan if she wanted more.

Carrigan assured him that all she wanted was someone as sweet and kind as him to spend her life with.

Her greatest treasure was the love they shared.

But after walking Carrigan home, Sawyer couldn't help but notice the luxury with which she lived.

Her family was gilded with gold.

His hands were marred would soot.

Though she told Sawyer he was enough, how could this be true?

She was always singing of a diamond in the hills.

Seeds of insecurity began to grow within him.

Of all the mountains in the notch, no foreman dared pull from the ledge.

It was said that death lived within the mountain's twisting caves, guarding a precious diamond whose glimmer rivaled that of the brightest stars.

No mere mortal had ever ventured inside, as to steal from the ledge would be to steal from death.

Sawyer, desperate to prove himself, knew what he must do.

(calm music) Under an endless sky, Sawyer entered the cave.

He told no one of his journey.

They would know soon enough.

(ominous instrumental music) (instrumental music continues) As he sunk deeper within the stones, doubts begin to swell and fester in his mind.

The cave was filled with many dazzling crystals, but none of them were the diamond his beloved sang of so sweetly.

What if he couldn't find the fabled diamond cave?

All the while, Sawyer heard a voice telling him to keep walking.

It was Death.

Long had she waited for a mortal to be foolish enough to enter the great caves.

But Death was confused.

This man seemed untouched by the greed expected to grip anyone who saw the cave's immense treasures.

Did he not covet any of these glistening jewels?

Sawyer walked.

Death followed, intrigued.

(calm music) In time, Sawyer came upon the room of diamonds.

Before him stood the fabled diamond itself, even more spectacular than he had imagined.

(happy music) But as he stared at the glistening walls, he was reminded of the twinkling stars he and Carrigan would gaze at together in the night sky.

He remembered how during those quiet moments together, their souls felt as one.

(poignant music) Sawyer had been foolish, and he knew it.

He realized he should have listened when Carrigan said he was enough.

Drowning in the depth of his mistake, he heard a voice floating through the air.

♪ I dream of a diamond in the hills ♪ - [Narrator] Knowing the risks of trying to cheat Death, he jolted to his feet and began to ascend the cave calling out for Carrigan.

His plaintive cry rang through the air, so strong it shook the very core of the great mountain.

(rocks crash) Suddenly, everything went black.

Sawyer felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Death.

It was time for him to join her.

As Sawyer pleaded with Death, Death realized perhaps it was not greed that blinded humans, but insecurity.

Thus, a deal was struck.

Sawyer's worries had turned into a mountain in his mind.

Death decided to make an example of him.

His body belonged to Death, a warning to all those who tried to best her.

But his soul would remain in the mountain, allowing him to watch the stars with Carrigan until the end of time.

(poignant instrumental music) (instrumental music continues) (instrumental music continues)