"Arms of the Angel"

An Oral Telling

Gather 'round, my dear ones, and listen closely as I weave a tale of the cursed history that lies to the North of our village. Many moons ago, when I was but a young lass like yourselves, the elders cautioned us about the malevolent fey creatures dwelling within its shadowed depths.
Legend whispered of ancient trees sharing secrets with those bold enough to listen, while the eerie glow of mushrooms beneath their roots illuminated paths leading to a realm where time flowed differently. These fey, no larger than halflings, were not the whimsical kind dancing under the moon but sinister spirits thirsting for the laughter and innocence of children.

However, everything changed with the birth of the "angel," a blessing born from the tragic death of her mother during childbirth. She was said to have no father, but instead, a gift from the harvest moon to guide our people. As the angel grew, so did her power, which stoked jealousy among the fey of the North Wood. In their envy, they cursed the lands with foul magics.

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Crops withered, livestock grew sickly, and fear gripped our people as darkness spread. Then came the angel's vision: atop the highest peaks of the Kahri mountains, beyond the darkest wood, a star shone atop a great tree. This star granted the fey their power to blight our lands.
The angel, accompanied by our bravest soldiers, set out to capture this power. Though they succeeded, only the angel returned from the battle. Yet she returned imbued with renewed strength and magic. Enraged by their loss, the fey created horrid constructs led by an evil man named Nikoli the Red, a traitor to his kind.

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A great war ensued, claiming countless lives. In their desperation, the fey invoked one final curse upon our land: the summoning of the dark one, a horned beast with cloven hooves and an insatiable appetite for children. Using dark magics, the dark one crept through our homes, stealing sleeping babes from their beds.
Moreover, the dark one whispered honeyed lies into the ears of our children, manipulating them to commit evil deeds. It was through these manipulations that the dark one reclaimed the star. But the angel refused to surrender. Leading the pure of heart back into the cursed woods, she faced the dark one, sacrificing herself to banish the beast from our lands once and for all.

"Have yourself a merry little Festivus" - Grandmother Garland, Judith