stories; legends; fairy tales
"Tale of Jarre" (taken from the Halure's Tree Spirit sidequest in the game.)
as told to Elphaba Thrope.
Once upon a time, there lived a kind-hearted prince named Jarre. He adored flowers and insects, and he loved the moon, the sun, and the stars up in the sky.
One day, Jarre found a seed. He took that seed to the top of a great hill, and planted it there. In time, the seed sprouted, and became the long, thin trunk of a tree. But its flowers did not bloom. The impatient Prime Minister said, "What's the point, if it won't bloom? Cut it down." But Jarre replied: "Even if it doesn't bloom, it's putting all of its effort into growing. Cutting it down would be a terrible thing to do!"
Hearing this, the tree took the form of a young woman, and appeared before Jarre. He instantly fell in love with her white skin and beautiful figure. On a moonlit night, he asked her to marry him. After their wedding, the two of them were as happy as can be.
But the Prime Minister, angry that the prince had married the maiden, had her cruelly cast out of the castle. Jarre was so sad that he shut himself up in the castle. Day and night he cried, unable to think of anything but his lost love. The maiden learned of this, and stretched her trunk and branches until several pure, white flowers bloomed from their tips. Jarre saw this from his castle window and stopped crying. He went outside for the first time since his maiden had gone.
Sitting beneath the newly bloomed flowers, he heard the maiden's voice. "Don't cry. You'll always be able to find me here." It was then that Jarre realized that his love had actually been the tree, transformed into a fair maiden. When he gently kissed the bark of the tree he had loved, all of its flowers turned to a bright red. Years later, the tree still stands as a symbol of undying love, watching over the town it protects. It is said that when he passed away, Jarre was buried beneath the roots so that he could be with his love forever.
"Tale of the Prince and the Sea"
as told to Fujiwara Sai.
There is a land far to the south from which no ship has ever returned. It is said that long ago, in ancient times, this land was ruled by a queen as fierce and brave as she was beautiful. Her people spoke the ancient language of beasts, and instead of fighting, they lived side by side in harmony. The kingdom was prosperous, and no shadows of conflict or war dared creep across its borders. For the shining sea itself was the kingdom's guardian, and the waters swallowed anyone and everything that approached.
The queen had a son that she loved very much, as he was her only family after her husband had passed away in an accident at sea. For while the ocean guarded the kingdom it was merciless to anyone who traveled too far across it, and it kept enemies away just as well as it kept the people in.
Fearful that her son would suffer the same fate, the queen decreed that he should never leave the castle, and never catch even a glimpse of the sparkling waves that had drawn her late husband to sail upon them. And so the young prince spent most of his years behind the high stone walls, ignorant of the outside world.
[she goes on to explain how the prince spent his days yearning for the sea, which he had never seen, but it called to him nonetheless. Then one night the spirit of the sea appeared before him in the guise of a human girl, urging him to disobey his mother and set foot outside. She leads him to a secret passage, out of the castle and down to the water, where they spend a whole night on the beach examining the sand, the shells, and the stars. From then on, the prince visits the "girl" at the shore every night, and eventually they fall in love.]
[But the queen finds out, and she locks the prince in his room in the tallest tower, as far from the ocean as possible. In her rage and grief, and longing to see him again, the spirit of the waters pounds her waves against the rocks, eventually sinking the entire kingdom into the depths.]
Hearing the terrified screams of the people from above, a kind sky spirit took pity on them all and granted them the power to breathe water as if it were air. These people became the first merfish.
As for the prince, he was transformed into a great white bird, and it is said to this day he circles the waters, watching over his beloved, and warning seafarers of her her temper.