Tale of Two Nymphs

Tale of Two Nymphs

When Tunare saw her elves come to ruin at Solusek Ro's hands, she shed tears upon the lands. For each tear, a nymph was created. The nymphs came to life to tend to the lands that had been twisted and tortured by Solusek Ro's anger.

And for each place where one of Tunare's tears fell, a specific type of nymph was born. Tears that fell into the aching trees became tree nymphs or dryads, those that fell into the water became water nymphs, or potameids, and those that fell onto stone and rock were born oreads. The napae sprouted from the fields and grasslands.

The nymphs busily set about protecting the areas they were very much a part whether it be a pond, river, single rock or entire mountain, tree or forest. Over time, the eldest and wisest of the nymphs became royalty, just to maintain as peaceful of an existence as they could within the lands.

Within the great number of potameids, a great mistake was made when two queens were named on the same day. It was an easy mistake to make. Nhyalia and Nhyalea were sisters, created from a tear that fell into two droplets as it hit the waters of the Serpent River. So, they named themselves as alike as they could.

When the potameids came to vote for their eldest and wisest to be queen, they did so with great enthusiasm, not considering that two votes coming from two swathels (what they call their camps or groupings) of nymphs where two shared a similar name might be a problem.

And so the elders took each swathel's vote and they met in a secret grove. They returned and announced the queen cheerfully by name, not in writing, at both eagerly awaiting swathels.

Hearing her name as queen of the potameids, Nhyalia flew to the north to tell the exciting news to her sister with whom she shared a friendly rivalry. At the same time, Nhyalea flew south to tell her sister she had been named queen.

They both looked somewhat surprised when they saw each other. They both babbled their news at the same time and a look of disappointment, horror and soon anger flashed across their blue faces.

Realizing what had happened, the elders rushed to meet the two young potameids who stood quarreling with one another at the Serpent's Bend. Wisely, the elders has a proposal.

They said that to the west was a great and powerful river in Jaggedpine Forest that needed tending and it required only the best of the potameids. The Hatchling River, touched also by the waters of the Nest, was in great need of protection. It was also thought that the Unkempt druids might be bargained with to protect the treasured river.

Nhyalea was relieved when her sister, Nhyalia volunteered for the job without hesitation. And with that, Nhyalia gathered her swathel and traveled west to the Jaggedpine Forest, leaving her sister to rule as queen of the potameids at the Serpent River while she became queen in Jaggedpine.