City of Cirsdár

Background

Story continued from our county's lore. Please check out the story of Atalyn’s Rest before reading this one.

Story

Little Jónosa came huffing and puffing into their little hut at the edge of town.

“Grammy, come see, there is a Dras merchant in town! I know he is Dras, he looks just like you! He had violet eyes! Come see! Come see!”, squeaked the little boy, and tried to drag his grandma away from the pots and stoves.

“Hold on, boy! Slow down! Dras merchant, you say? From where? What was he selling?”, asked his Grammy.

“He says he’s from the west! He had loads of stuff! Can I get the little wooden boat? It would be fun. Especially on the lake!”, the boy intoned.

That brought back memories...Grammy closed her eyes and remembered.

A little girl, and a little boat. Her brothers and sister, down by the lake. The good old days. Long ago. How she wished she could bring back those wonderful days. But they had all gone to the great beyond, in their due time, to help renew this world. Leaving just her and Little Jónosa.

“A boat you say. Well come my chinta, let’s go see this merchant of yours”, she said.

<---->

Outside the trading post, in the small market, near the school, there indeed was a tall thin Dras man in a small stall.

“I brought Grammy! Can I have the boat now?” Jónosa chirrupily asked.

Grammy nodded her head politely, and in greeting offered, “Hello Traveler, may my light and shade be yours”.

The merchant smiled at the traditional greeting. “As shall mine, my lady. I am Zana. The boat is what you want, little boy? What has your grammy brought for it?”

Grammy opened a little pouch and held it up for inspection. Zana took a long whiff. “Ah, sweet nutmeg! Home! How I missed that sweet and delicious smell in my long travels.”

“Yes, you can have it boy for this gift. Here you go! Be careful young man!”

Jónosa hooted and exclaimed, “I can’t wait to show it to Tuó. Thank you!” He gave Grammy a kiss and ran off to his friends.

“I am curious on how we came to be here, my lady? I don’t see a lot of Dras here. It’s unusual to see Dras alone, especially if they are not traders”, Zana inquired.

“We aren’t the only ones here, there are others. We have actually been here a long time. Just dwindling over time”, Grammy replied.

“But I see no swamps, no wetlands. How can you have been here so long?”, Zana curiously asked.

“I have aching bones”, Grammy smiled. Zana understood at once, “Come on back. Rest your bones. You can tell it to me all over some sweet Nutmeg Tea.” Grammy graciously accepted and followed Zana in.

<---->

“Long ago, this little area was like the swamps you speak of. It was not like the wonderful verdant fields now. Then came the great transformation”, she began.

“The great transformation? What’s that?” Zana asked. Grammy continued, “Some say, it was a gift wrought by the great Tifa Queen, in her infinite wisdom and balance. They always said the waters in these parts were magical, our people found out then how magical.”

”They say it was the end of a Longest Night. Our song was nearly over. Three years of darkness and little food. But our people remained firm and strong to each other. The eternal queen had kept them safe and was now bringing back the light.

They say, in the lake, lived one of her children, Ciris, a fair sÿren who brought food from the deeps to our people. But it wasn’t always enough. Ciris had seen our suffering and wanted to do more. Bless a dár. She heard our song and answered.

They say, that as the sun rose, so did she from the lake, for all to see, on wings of water, renewing all with her spray, her spirit. Transforming the land to be lush and verdant, the people to be heartier and stronger. They say, even now, you can hear her in the waters, feel her in the wind, smell her in the earth, so we stay, to perhaps experience her beauty once again.”

City Crest

(Courtesy of @Mel(BlueBelle))

The transformation of Ciris and her gift (dár) to the people of Atalyn’s Rest many centuries ago