The Tale of Ardumnos the Bear of the World and Aamura the Morning Maiden, as told by Beorn Mossbrook
This is the story as it was told to me by my sire’s sire, who heard it from his grandsire, as it has been passed down from generation to generation since the days of Leadarth the Half-Bear, when the oldest oaks that stand were not yet even acorns. As you know, Mossbrooks have been part of the forest for as long as any can remember, both protecting and nurturing the land, and this is the tale of how that came to be.
In the days when the gods still walked the earth, there was a beautiful Maiden named Aamura who lived at the edge of a vast and wild forest with her parents, Duinne and Siofra, and her seven siblings, Velian the Hunter, Arnos the Smith, Ritva the Healer, Tara the Singer, Tauno the Farmer, Raivan the Warrior and of course the tragic Virvana, who is called the Dancer, who do not come into the tale at present but do feature in other tales. Aamura was called the Morning Maiden because her skin and hair were as golden as the morning sun, her cheeks and lips as pink as clouds at dawn, and her eyes as blue as the sky. She was the eldest of Duinne’s children. When Aamura still possessed all the arrogance and innocence of youth, she went into the forest to gather herbs and berries for her mother one autumn day, having been warned not to wander too far alone, for the forest was wild and dangerous. But Aamura was too absorbed in her task and wandered further than she intended to, eventually finding herself in a grove of oak trees with a natural spring sprouting from the center of the circular hollow which fed a mossy, bubbling brook. Now thirsty and weary from her long wanderings, Aamura drank from the spring and fell asleep in the grass, not knowing that the grove was sacred to the great guardian spirit of the woods.
Soon the spirit returned to the grove and came across the trespasser. Angered by the maiden’s intrusion, the spirit took his usual form of a giant bear and woke her with a loud roar. Terrified, Aamura tried to flee, but the spirit was too large and fast for her to escape. “How dare you come here and drink from my spring?” the bear snarled above her.
“I beg your pardon, o mighty bear! I did not know that this Grove was yours and I had I known I would have never intruded here. How may I make amends?” Aamura stammered out, cowering against a stone and making herself as meek as a mouse.
“Hmm…” The bear rested back on his hunches and regarded the young Maiden with a wise look, before responding, “I believe that you shall swear yourself and your progeny, at minimum one child per generation, to my service, to protect and care for my lands. In return, I shall furnish you with the abundance of the forest and I shall teach you of all nature’s secrets. Do you agree that this fair, young mortal?”
Aamura straightened herself up a little and responded in the affirmative. “Aye, I believe that is more than fair. I am Aamura, Siofra’s daughter. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, mighty one.” Even as she spoke, Aamura could feel that her agreement would be binding, and her fate was now bound to the will of this spirit, whether he be friend or foe.
The bear heaved a great laugh and morphed into human form before the maiden. In human form, he was still hairy and very large and of brown coloring, as like a bear as a man can be, but very handsome too. “Greetings, little maiden,” said he, stepping back to allow her to stand. “I am the spirit of this forest and all forests, a son and servant of Alku, the Great Father. You may have heard me called Ardumnos, or Otso, or Bruin, or even simply the Bear. I have many names, and you may call me what you like, for I am ancient enough to know that a name is little more than a convention for mortals. I shall be fair, and I will allow you to reside with your mother and father in the wintertime, for I slumber then. But when I wake in the spring, you will come to me and you will begin to fulfill your oaths.”
So it was. Aamura returned to her home with her herbs and berries, and she spent the winter in her father’s house with all her siblings. She told none of them of her encounter with Ardumnos, though, enjoying her secret but also fearing that she would be in trouble if she told her parents. She also knew that her brothers would not take kindly to some Bear spirit laying claim to their sister in such away. But as the spring drew closer, Aamura felt the pull of her oath and knew that Ardumnos would be waking and waiting for her soon.
On the last day of winter, Aamura finally told her mother her secret before setting off to find the sacred grove again, leaving Siofra to grieve her as one who is lost. When she arrived, she saw Ardumnos, whose name means “the Bear of the World”, lumbering around the edge of the grove in some dance. When he spotted her, he greeted her by pressing his bear-snout against her forehead, then continued his dance. Aamura watched, entranced, and saw that the dance was no mere entertainment but held some magic in the steps. When the bear was finished, he took his human form again and led Aamura to his hall, when she found a bed and comfortable furnishings made ready for her. She thanked him graciously, and soon he began to teach her all the lessons that are still practiced by our family to this day. Eventually, Aamura had learned all the secrets of the forest, and was considered one of the wisest humans to have lived, but her heart was sad, for in her time serving the wild spirit king, she had fallen in love with his free nature and his indomitable strength, longing for a large family like she had known in her youth. But surely the spirit did not feel the same. What need did the bear have of a large family by a mortal girl, for his family was the forest, and all its inhabitants, from the smallest gnat to the greatest bear, were his children.
After some time, Ardumnos noticed the sorrow in his maiden, as he still called her though she was now thoroughly a woman. One long summer evening, when Aamura was tending to her grove, Ardumnos came to her and spoke in his grumbling voice, “Young Aamura… You sing without the joy I am accustomed to, and I see that your love for the forest is no longer enough for you. How can we remedy what ails you?”
Aamura smiled at Ardumnos and let out a sigh. “Great bear, I do love the forest, but I long for companionship. The mice in their burrows have their broods, and the mighty elks have their herds, but I am alone, and my kind and kin are far from me. I love the forest, but I desire to have a family too.”
Understanding, Ardumnos gave his consent for Aamura to leave the forest for awhile to visit her kin and to seek out a husband. Aamura left the forest then and wandered with her mortal kin, finding that many years had passed and finding that her siblings and parents were now very aged, though Aamura, through her training with the spirit, seemed only to be a woman in her prime. Saddened, Aamura knew that a marriage to a mortal would be all too short. After a time, she returned to her forest abode, and called to the bear-spirit she loved.
“Ardumnos, Ardumnos, I have visited my kin, but I find that they have aged and I have not… I know not that no mortal can satisfy me… I beg you to hear me… My heart desires you. You, who are my constant companion and greatest friend, my protector and my teacher…”
After an impassioned debate, finally Aamura convinced the bear to be her lover. They lived as husband and wife, and for her devotion, it is said that the great Alku, eldest of the gods, blessed Aamura. She bore two sons, one who was Leadarth, the Half-bear, who walked in human form with a bear’s strength, and Otveli, the Bear-brother, who walked in the form of a bear but had the cunning of a man. It is from Leadarth that all Mossbrooks descend, and our bear-kin are born of Otveli’s stock. It is said that Aamura and Ardumnos loved each other with a rare passion that few can dream of, and when Aamura died, Ardumnos mourned her loss so deeply that the gods Irdal and Phaerean were persuaded to return her to the mortal realm as a spirit for Ardumnos. Some say that on the first day of spring, if the wind is just right, you can hear the Morning Maiden singing for Ardumnos when he wakes from his winter slumber.
In the days when the gods still walked the earth, there was a beautiful Maiden named Aamura who lived at the edge of a vast and wild forest with her parents, Duinne and Siofra, and her seven siblings, Velian the Hunter, Arnos the Smith, Ritva the Healer, Tara the Singer, Tauno the Farmer, Raivan the Warrior and of course the tragic Virvana, who is called the Dancer, who do not come into the tale at present but do feature in other tales. Aamura was called the Morning Maiden because her skin and hair were as golden as the morning sun, her cheeks and lips as pink as clouds at dawn, and her eyes as blue as the sky. She was the eldest of Duinne’s children. When Aamura still possessed all the arrogance and innocence of youth, she went into the forest to gather herbs and berries for her mother one autumn day, having been warned not to wander too far alone, for the forest was wild and dangerous. But Aamura was too absorbed in her task and wandered further than she intended to, eventually finding herself in a grove of oak trees with a natural spring sprouting from the center of the circular hollow which fed a mossy, bubbling brook. Now thirsty and weary from her long wanderings, Aamura drank from the spring and fell asleep in the grass, not knowing that the grove was sacred to the great guardian spirit of the woods.
Soon the spirit returned to the grove and came across the trespasser. Angered by the maiden’s intrusion, the spirit took his usual form of a giant bear and woke her with a loud roar. Terrified, Aamura tried to flee, but the spirit was too large and fast for her to escape. “How dare you come here and drink from my spring?” the bear snarled above her.
“I beg your pardon, o mighty bear! I did not know that this Grove was yours and I had I known I would have never intruded here. How may I make amends?” Aamura stammered out, cowering against a stone and making herself as meek as a mouse.
“Hmm…” The bear rested back on his hunches and regarded the young Maiden with a wise look, before responding, “I believe that you shall swear yourself and your progeny, at minimum one child per generation, to my service, to protect and care for my lands. In return, I shall furnish you with the abundance of the forest and I shall teach you of all nature’s secrets. Do you agree that this fair, young mortal?”
Aamura straightened herself up a little and responded in the affirmative. “Aye, I believe that is more than fair. I am Aamura, Siofra’s daughter. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, mighty one.” Even as she spoke, Aamura could feel that her agreement would be binding, and her fate was now bound to the will of this spirit, whether he be friend or foe.
The bear heaved a great laugh and morphed into human form before the maiden. In human form, he was still hairy and very large and of brown coloring, as like a bear as a man can be, but very handsome too. “Greetings, little maiden,” said he, stepping back to allow her to stand. “I am the spirit of this forest and all forests, a son and servant of Alku, the Great Father. You may have heard me called Ardumnos, or Otso, or Bruin, or even simply the Bear. I have many names, and you may call me what you like, for I am ancient enough to know that a name is little more than a convention for mortals. I shall be fair, and I will allow you to reside with your mother and father in the wintertime, for I slumber then. But when I wake in the spring, you will come to me and you will begin to fulfill your oaths.”
So it was. Aamura returned to her home with her herbs and berries, and she spent the winter in her father’s house with all her siblings. She told none of them of her encounter with Ardumnos, though, enjoying her secret but also fearing that she would be in trouble if she told her parents. She also knew that her brothers would not take kindly to some Bear spirit laying claim to their sister in such away. But as the spring drew closer, Aamura felt the pull of her oath and knew that Ardumnos would be waking and waiting for her soon.
On the last day of winter, Aamura finally told her mother her secret before setting off to find the sacred grove again, leaving Siofra to grieve her as one who is lost. When she arrived, she saw Ardumnos, whose name means “the Bear of the World”, lumbering around the edge of the grove in some dance. When he spotted her, he greeted her by pressing his bear-snout against her forehead, then continued his dance. Aamura watched, entranced, and saw that the dance was no mere entertainment but held some magic in the steps. When the bear was finished, he took his human form again and led Aamura to his hall, when she found a bed and comfortable furnishings made ready for her. She thanked him graciously, and soon he began to teach her all the lessons that are still practiced by our family to this day. Eventually, Aamura had learned all the secrets of the forest, and was considered one of the wisest humans to have lived, but her heart was sad, for in her time serving the wild spirit king, she had fallen in love with his free nature and his indomitable strength, longing for a large family like she had known in her youth. But surely the spirit did not feel the same. What need did the bear have of a large family by a mortal girl, for his family was the forest, and all its inhabitants, from the smallest gnat to the greatest bear, were his children.
After some time, Ardumnos noticed the sorrow in his maiden, as he still called her though she was now thoroughly a woman. One long summer evening, when Aamura was tending to her grove, Ardumnos came to her and spoke in his grumbling voice, “Young Aamura… You sing without the joy I am accustomed to, and I see that your love for the forest is no longer enough for you. How can we remedy what ails you?”
Aamura smiled at Ardumnos and let out a sigh. “Great bear, I do love the forest, but I long for companionship. The mice in their burrows have their broods, and the mighty elks have their herds, but I am alone, and my kind and kin are far from me. I love the forest, but I desire to have a family too.”
Understanding, Ardumnos gave his consent for Aamura to leave the forest for awhile to visit her kin and to seek out a husband. Aamura left the forest then and wandered with her mortal kin, finding that many years had passed and finding that her siblings and parents were now very aged, though Aamura, through her training with the spirit, seemed only to be a woman in her prime. Saddened, Aamura knew that a marriage to a mortal would be all too short. After a time, she returned to her forest abode, and called to the bear-spirit she loved.
“Ardumnos, Ardumnos, I have visited my kin, but I find that they have aged and I have not… I know not that no mortal can satisfy me… I beg you to hear me… My heart desires you. You, who are my constant companion and greatest friend, my protector and my teacher…”
After an impassioned debate, finally Aamura convinced the bear to be her lover. They lived as husband and wife, and for her devotion, it is said that the great Alku, eldest of the gods, blessed Aamura. She bore two sons, one who was Leadarth, the Half-bear, who walked in human form with a bear’s strength, and Otveli, the Bear-brother, who walked in the form of a bear but had the cunning of a man. It is from Leadarth that all Mossbrooks descend, and our bear-kin are born of Otveli’s stock. It is said that Aamura and Ardumnos loved each other with a rare passion that few can dream of, and when Aamura died, Ardumnos mourned her loss so deeply that the gods Irdal and Phaerean were persuaded to return her to the mortal realm as a spirit for Ardumnos. Some say that on the first day of spring, if the wind is just right, you can hear the Morning Maiden singing for Ardumnos when he wakes from his winter slumber.
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