Vadas, The Bard of the Forest (/w/ /a:/ /d/ /ai/ /s/)

"Violet Little Cathri nowhere to be found, She went beyond the gates alone, playing with the hound, The woods sing a song to her, the Vadas play and call, Her mum runs out and picks her up, right before nightfall.
Violet Little Cathri nowhere to be found, She went beyond the gates alone, playing with the hound, The woods sing a song to her, the Vadas play and call, Her dad runs out and picks her up, right before nightfall.
Violet Little Cathri nowhere to be found, She went beyond the gates alone, playing with the hound, The woods sing a song to her, the Vadas play and call, She runs to the woods, then returns, right before nightfall.
Violet Little Cathri on Great Bloommother's eve, Called together the kids in town, to their parents' grief, The woods sing a song to them, the Vadas play and call, The town runs out but cant find them, it has passed through nightfall."

Historical Background

The song is known under many names, such as "Violet Little Cathri" "Violet Cathri and the Hound", and the oldest iteration, "Bard of the Forest". It has spread almost everywhere within the federation, from Leonia to Amberstone, a cautionary tale to teach children to always stay close to home, warning them against the dangers of the wilds.
The story is based on true events, several in fact that took place between Year -74 and Year -10. Many people, mostly young ones claim to hear delightful music coming from the thick of the woods, as if some musician played on a lute or a piccolo. Similar events to the one in the song occured several times, sometimes a few children being kidnapped without a trace, sometimes dozens. One of the worst, but uncomfired versions tell of not only the children disappearing, but the entire settlement's population.
These events, alongside the Great Wars that ravaged even the lands not tainted by battle led to many villages and small towns lacking sufficient defenses to be abandoned, the people rather choosing to move closer to the cities rather than to put their families (and themselves) in serious danger.
Several groups of knights, mercenaries and adventurers were sent off to find any trace of them, but all failed to make any progress, with the exception of two.
The first group, knights from Leonia heard the music during their travel. Seperating into two, one half ventured into the forest. They found heavy footprints left by a pair of boots, but it lead nowhere. When they returned to the rest of the group, they found the ten knights left there knocked out cold, thrown into a pile. They suffered soem light injuries, but nothing fatal. Once recovered, they were unable to call back what happened.
The second group, adventurers from Amberstone were found in the middle of the woods, seven months after they were dispatched by the city major, all killed brutally. Though the bodies were never publically shown, the soldiers who retrieved them were reported to be sick from the sight and never talked much about it.
After Crowley became Grand Marshal and organized the Hollo Legion (an elite force trained to hunt and kill hostile spellcasters), the disappearances ended completely, confirming the assumption that magic was involved.

The "Vadas"

The antagonist of the song is Vadas (/w/ /a:/ /d/ /ai/ /s/), also spelled as Vadás, in some variations its Songbird. Within the song itself it also seems to be referred to as the hound, a hunting beast, who lures its prey away using deceit. The name comes from the old language of barbarians, from the times of the Great Nomadic Wanderers Some people claim to have seen its shadow within the wilds, a terrible, imposing figure with glowing eyes, but nothing is comfirmed about the person. If it is a person to begin with...

The Song

The song is usually sang in groups, either by little children or school choirs. Though a sore spot to many, compared to the countless wartime songs, this one almost has an upbeaat mood to it. In many places they don't even sing the final stranza, giving it a positive ending. A new habit that many disagree with.

The Style

This style of poetry (4 lines with 13 loud vowels, a a b b rhyming) is known as "quatriez", originating from the elven lands of Sylviria, mostly used for ring dances. It has taken root in human folk literature, and since then spread all the way to Everfjord by the time of Year 2.

Region of Origin
The human kingdom of Leonia

Time of Origin
Unconfirmed, around Year -50

Myth type
Urban legend, nursery rhymet

Regional Spread
Around the Azure Federation, from Leonia to Amberstone