Bringing Healing

In which the denizens of Moudon came to understand how to heal each other with herbs.

Summary

The world was beset by great sickness at the hands of Dowar and though magic was still rich in the world the mortal wizards and healers of the time could not heal the people. At their limit and the brink of disaster, the mortals cried to any that would hear them for help. Enter Yoru, who brought healing in the form of the blue feather fern. The plant was not enough though, as Quati then had to help the mortals learn to use it correctly. This is a story of creation and highlights the religious significance of the fern.

Historical Basis

There does appear to be a large scale pandemic that wiped out 1/3 of the human, halfling, and elf population in Moudon about fifty years before the wide spread of this myth across the land. The pandemic had raged at first. Taking those afflicted from healthy to death's door over the course of three days. Victims breaking out in itching that soon became lesions, making the people highly infectious. Meanwhile, organs would shut down as the body's immune system reacted to their own natural cells.

Spread

The myth is known well across Moudon as a tale that is often told to children before bed and taught in the Temples of Quati and Yoru with slightly different emphasis on particular details.

Variations & Mutation

For those that follow Yoru, this tale tends to focus on the making of the blue feather fern. It is said that Yoru looked upon all of the plants and animals of Moudon, looking for a solution to stem the fever and wasting that the disease created. Yoru looked spoke to the birds of the sky to have them help her scour the trees and mountains, spoke to the fish to search the sea, and beseeched the mice (or bugs) to find anything on the ground. When no one found an answer she plucked one of the feathers from her celestial plumage and stuck it into the mud near the Laira River, which courses through almost all of Moudon, and the blue feather fern grew from it. Quati then taught the mortals how to use it. For those that follow Quati, Yoru created the fern and gave it to the mortals but they despaired because they did not know how to use it. Quati heard their plight and asked Yoru how it was to be used first. Yoru explained that though the fern have been made by her hands, with the intentions to heal, that she had not had the time to figure out that it would need to be transformed to be used. Quati, with a sigh that sheared flat-top mountain, exclaimed that she would unlock the ferns secrets. She spent two days and nights by the Laira River and some of the mortals, the first followers of Quati, helped her to study the plant. They mashed it, boiled it, burned it, and consumed it until at last they came to an answer. Through their actions, Quati was able to verify that the fern needed to be mashed, boiled and then dried before it could be eaten to cure the disease. Fortunately, all of their experiments had inadvertently caused Quati and the humans to discover twelve different healing applications of the fern.

Cultural Reception

Generally, the legend is viewed as a story that the gods and goddesses often smile down on Moudon but do not work independently. Those that live near the Laira River consider themselves to be the "Blessed of Yoru" and do enjoy fertile lands. The blue feather fern is even more revered in these areas and used extensively in festivals that honour Yoru.

In Art

Particularly in the interior of Moudon, along the Laira river the myth and the fern have been transformed into song, tapestries, and archectural motifs.

Related Species