This version of the traditional Heronite folk tale is as was told by Tir Apollo, Avatar of Crane, to the people of Setria.
***
"I'd better give you some background before I begin. Anyone who's ever been to Heron would know about the wreaths we hang - the intricate ones with the bright red leaves. The dala bush is sacred to the Heronites, as they see it as symbolic of the god Chaos. The wreaths woven from the dala bush are some of the only decor that Heronites use, but nothing else is really needed. Anyone who's seen them knows they can be damn spectacular. Dala weavers are respected for the time and work they put into weaving some of the most intricate designs.
Anyway, the fable of the dala weaver starts out with a girl who wandered into the forest and lost her way. Heron can be mighty cold no matter the time of year, and the girl knew that she would have to find somewhere to hide come nightfall. She found a hollow tree and crawled inside.
The girl would prolly had died from if it was just your average hollow tree. Lucky for her, it was home to a family of nymphs who took her in and cared for her, keeping her warm and feeding her well. The mountain nymphs in Heron are known for their hospitality. In addition to care, they gave her a gift. A dala wreath. The most intricate, well crafted wreath she had ever seen, something that only a magical creature like a nymph could have made.
It was enchanted. Not only was it intricate and beautiful, the images woven from the boughs moved. It helped the girl find her way home. She managed to find her way back to the village, safe and sound, and was eager to show her family the wreath.
When she arrived, her parents and siblings were happy to see her after being worried she was caught in the cold. She showed them the magical wreath, with its bright red dala leaves and intricate weavings that moved as she turned it. They asked her where she had gotten it. She told her family that she made it herself, and that was why she had disappeared for a night. She said she was busy working on it.
Her family was so proud of her. They couldn't wait to show their neighbors the amazing wreath their daughter had crafted with her very own hands, and soon word of it spread throughout the village. Many of the villagers were proud to know someone who was so blessed that she could create such a wreath, but there were some who were more skeptical. They asked her if she could, perhaps, make more so that they would know it was her who made it. And there were still others who wanted her to share her gift and make wreaths for all the villagers. The girl was worried at first. She didn't know what to do. But then, she got an idea.
She snuck out in the early morning, using the wreath to find her way back to the hollow tree. She set up a trap in front of it, intending to capture one of the kind sprites. Sure enough, she managed to catch one before making her way back home, hiding the cage in a large bundle of dala boughs.
The girl chained the sprite in her room, forcing her to make more enchanted wreaths, so she could prove to the villagers that she was telling the truth. And it worked. She continued to produce dala wreaths, news of her great gift earning her respect not only throughout her village, but the entire region. She earned great wealth and fame, but little did anybody know that she had not actually worked for it herself, but had exploited someone else.
Don't worry, it didn't last. After years of fooling people, the sprite decided that she had to break the woman's hold on her. Sprites are passive and kind beings, but she decided that the need was too great, and that she must fight back if she wanted to put a stop to things. She began working on a new wreath, this one unlike any of the others she had made.
The next morning, the sprite presented the new wreath to the woman. The woman took the wreath eagerly, sure that she would fetch a hefty price for it. But then something began to happen. The dala boughs began to move, but not as they did on the other wreaths. They began to reach out for the woman, coiling around her wrists tightly.
As the boughs gripped her, she felt her skin start to harden and grow darker until it matched the color of the dala bark. Her hair, once long and dark, turned bright red, turning to dala leaves. She was being pulled into the bough, her limbs shrinking and coiling into the intricate design.
They say that when people realized she was missing, they went inside her workroom and found nothing but an enchanted wreath. And that if one looked into the design, they could make out the form of a woman."
***
"I'd better give you some background before I begin. Anyone who's ever been to Heron would know about the wreaths we hang - the intricate ones with the bright red leaves. The dala bush is sacred to the Heronites, as they see it as symbolic of the god Chaos. The wreaths woven from the dala bush are some of the only decor that Heronites use, but nothing else is really needed. Anyone who's seen them knows they can be damn spectacular. Dala weavers are respected for the time and work they put into weaving some of the most intricate designs.
Anyway, the fable of the dala weaver starts out with a girl who wandered into the forest and lost her way. Heron can be mighty cold no matter the time of year, and the girl knew that she would have to find somewhere to hide come nightfall. She found a hollow tree and crawled inside.
The girl would prolly had died from if it was just your average hollow tree. Lucky for her, it was home to a family of nymphs who took her in and cared for her, keeping her warm and feeding her well. The mountain nymphs in Heron are known for their hospitality. In addition to care, they gave her a gift. A dala wreath. The most intricate, well crafted wreath she had ever seen, something that only a magical creature like a nymph could have made.
It was enchanted. Not only was it intricate and beautiful, the images woven from the boughs moved. It helped the girl find her way home. She managed to find her way back to the village, safe and sound, and was eager to show her family the wreath.
When she arrived, her parents and siblings were happy to see her after being worried she was caught in the cold. She showed them the magical wreath, with its bright red dala leaves and intricate weavings that moved as she turned it. They asked her where she had gotten it. She told her family that she made it herself, and that was why she had disappeared for a night. She said she was busy working on it.
Her family was so proud of her. They couldn't wait to show their neighbors the amazing wreath their daughter had crafted with her very own hands, and soon word of it spread throughout the village. Many of the villagers were proud to know someone who was so blessed that she could create such a wreath, but there were some who were more skeptical. They asked her if she could, perhaps, make more so that they would know it was her who made it. And there were still others who wanted her to share her gift and make wreaths for all the villagers. The girl was worried at first. She didn't know what to do. But then, she got an idea.
She snuck out in the early morning, using the wreath to find her way back to the hollow tree. She set up a trap in front of it, intending to capture one of the kind sprites. Sure enough, she managed to catch one before making her way back home, hiding the cage in a large bundle of dala boughs.
The girl chained the sprite in her room, forcing her to make more enchanted wreaths, so she could prove to the villagers that she was telling the truth. And it worked. She continued to produce dala wreaths, news of her great gift earning her respect not only throughout her village, but the entire region. She earned great wealth and fame, but little did anybody know that she had not actually worked for it herself, but had exploited someone else.
Don't worry, it didn't last. After years of fooling people, the sprite decided that she had to break the woman's hold on her. Sprites are passive and kind beings, but she decided that the need was too great, and that she must fight back if she wanted to put a stop to things. She began working on a new wreath, this one unlike any of the others she had made.
The next morning, the sprite presented the new wreath to the woman. The woman took the wreath eagerly, sure that she would fetch a hefty price for it. But then something began to happen. The dala boughs began to move, but not as they did on the other wreaths. They began to reach out for the woman, coiling around her wrists tightly.
As the boughs gripped her, she felt her skin start to harden and grow darker until it matched the color of the dala bark. Her hair, once long and dark, turned bright red, turning to dala leaves. She was being pulled into the bough, her limbs shrinking and coiling into the intricate design.
They say that when people realized she was missing, they went inside her workroom and found nothing but an enchanted wreath. And that if one looked into the design, they could make out the form of a woman."
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