| Rules | • | Spyragia Setting | • | Monsters | • | Stories |
Once upon a time there was a village named Ankythra next to a river. All the villagers prayed to Iceforge. All the villagers spent their spare time together making the biggest orrery ever. It was magic, and also showed where clouds and air flows moved.
Iceforge loved their cooperation and crafting, and blessed the orrery. Not only could it predict the weather, it could change it nearby. It could make more or less rain. It could calm storms.
People from all over would visit Ankythra to see the orrery. "Look what devotion to Iceforge can do! Many hands work together! Stately patience! Majestic precision!"
When the orrery was used to make the local weather have less rain, that water had to be put nearby. A bit of forest downriver became a sawmp. The village kids were told to be careful and not go in the swamp when it was too wet. The land would shift. Paths would change. Pools would be deep and sticky.
One day, after crops were saved but the swamp was extra wet, a village girl did not heed the warnings. She went in the swamp. She was not careful and drowned.
All the villagers were very sad.
The village kids were feeling too many things: loss of a friend, fear of the swamp, wondering if they had done something else that day that might have saved her. So Yarnspinner made a witch named Veil in the swamp. Veil would make a story happen using illusionary fairies.
The village kids saw the illusionary fairies and followed them. The fairies had put up signs about how to walk safely in the swamp. The fairies had made a shrine, a place to pay respects to the lost girl. The fairies asked questions about the lost girl, and the other kids shared fond stories and memories. The fairies helped the sad kids be a little alone, but also together. The fairies were teaching the kids to mourn.
But the adults did not trust Veil. They forbid the kids to go in the swamp until it was drier and safer.
Veil got mad. She came to the village and said, "Your lack of trust is insulting! In three days I will curse you all to never again remember the lost girl!"
On the first of the three days, the adults made many plans. But all the plans seemed bad, and were thrown away.
Could they burn down the swamp to make Veil leave? No.
Could they build a wall or magic barrier around the village to keep Veil out? No.
Could they go into the swamp to fight Veil? No. Not with weapons. Not even with a giant machine.
Should they leave the village and move somewhere else? No?
On the second of the three days, the adults prayed to Iceforge. Iceforge gave them one of its mad seance contests, in which they were told part of a helpful recipe. But this recipe was not much of crafting recipe at all! It had no magic. It was simply to cut the stem of a white rose into four long parts and dip those into four vials with different colored water. In a day's time the color would move up the stem parts to make a rainbow rose.
The adults trusted that this recipe was part of a fix for their problem. But how could they finish it so it helped?
Could alchemy make the rose petals into a special kind of dye or poison that would make Veil go away? No.
Could alchemy make the roses smell very strong, and the scent would be too strong for Veil? No.
Should they build a big mechanical trap, and use the rainbow roses to lure Veil into the trap? No.
Could the rainbow roses change the orrery so it dried up the swamp very quickly? No.
Was the pattern of colors on the rose a secret code or blueprint for making something? No.
Was the time it took for the colors to move up the stem a secret clue from Iceforge? No.
On the third of the three days, the adults gave up. Each villager had made their own rainbow rose. With no idea about what else to do, they went into the swamp one at a time and gave their rose to Veil.
The last person to give a rainbow rose to Veil was Kayte, who had been the lost girl's best friend.
Only Kayte asked Veil, "Do we need to do anything else? Is this enough?"
Veil told Kayte, "This is enough. Do you know why? Why did these roses change my mind, so I would not make a curse?"
Kayte said, "I only know a little about giving roses. I have never had a boyfriend. But my mom has told me that my dad gives her red roses and yummy candies because those show that love is not about being careful and wise with time or money. A more lasting gift, maybe a new chair or a sturdy pair of boots, is not about love. Love is not about what makes the most sense."
Veil asked, "But what does that have to do with me? This is not a red rose, and you are not saying that you love me."
Kayte said, "It is not about love, or nature. But it is sort of the same. Every villager made a rose and walked here to give it to you. We all changed nature, made effort, cooperated, and acted on our own. It was like stepping through a door without knowing what is on the other side. We trusted Iceforge that the rainbow roses were good for something. And when we ran out of our own ideas we did what we always do for Iceforge: we worked together, each doing our own part.
Veil told Kayte. "The adults still do not trust me. They do not have faith in my story. But I see they have other trust and faith. They already have a story. I will go, and my pretend fairies will go too. I was put here to make a story, but only a small one. You have my condolences and my lessons. Be careful in your bigger stories, Kayte."