Legend tells of many things. Heroes. Villains. Goblins and Ghouls.

But i’m going to tell you of one in particular, the waywick.

This ancient spirit of folklore came to be known in forested regions, having been misidentified as pixies, gnomes, and even poltergeists by some. A mischievous spirit, waywicks have been known to interact with wanderers travelling through their forests, sometimes behaving as simply as following the confused wanderer and sometimes as blatant as blocking a path and refusing to allow passage until an offering is made as payment. On several occasions, a wanderer or a stray child has gone missing only to return, days later, with stories of waking up in a forest clearing. Each of these stories are eerily similar, often describing a large, circular clearing where the forest floor was soft and mossy and many random objects could be found, such as candlesticks, dishes, and - in every account - an overabundance of shoes. However, each of these people all found their way home, despite each being utterly unaware of their surroundings.

It has been said that waywicks would often wander into nearby villages during the night, by the light of the moon and cause their trouble. Some reports claim that noises could be heard within or around houses, and many have said that upon waking the following morning, they would discover things such as open doors, overturned chairs (still neatly around the table, mind you. Simply turned upside down), dishes lined up from the kitchen to the front door, and missing objects. A peculiar occurrence that was often spoken of was the disappearance of specifically the left shoe.

As time progressed and the ages changed, waywicks adapted to the ever-changing environments and societies. Stories sounding nearly identical to the deer-like spirits of the forest were emerging in societies that had never once come into contact with the birthland of the tales, leading many to believe that some waywicks are moving beyond their forest homes to explore other terrains and territories.

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In The Beginning

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Asgard is known as the realm of the Norse Gods, sitting near the top of the World Tree, known as Yggdrasil. It was in this realm that the god Loki, bringer of mischief and trouble, conceived the idea of the very first waywick. After being refused to join three hunters -- Odin, Skaði, and Ullr -- on a hunt, he began plotting a way to get back at them, to make them feel the same frustration he felt at his denial. Before long, he concocted the idea of the most beautiful prey anyone had ever laid eyes upon; one with a stunning coat, great size, and an over-all astounding air of beauty about it. The perfect target for a hunter, indeed, but with one con: It would be impossible to catch. The thought of leading the great hunters on such a wild goose chase amused Loki so much that he created such a being and sent it to the grounds used for such hunts -- a small realm known as Hringr. 

It wasn't long before the "faux deer" was spotted and, as planned, targetted. The creature led the hunters on several long, tiring pursuits, before the hunt was eventually called off in favor of other prey. Before long, the creature was accepted as a being of the immense forest and was respected as such, left to wander the forest with the other wildlife and beings that inhabited it. In time, the faux deer discovered doorways -- a sort of portal -- and in it's wisdom discovered that it, too, could pass through them as it had seen the gods do many times prior. It discovered that if it were to pass through these doorways, it could traverse to the other 9 realms that Yggdrasil bore, and it spent a great amount of time simply travelling. 

In it's journeys, the creature found itself enjoying the secluded forest on an island inhabited solely by the wildlife that graced it's surface and its oceans. Deciding that this place was to it's liking, the being declared the island it's home and took up residence in the peaceful forest.

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As We Know It

 

The Island of Greenleaf, an island populated by the wildlife that claimed it. That is, until wayward travellers discovered the virgin land and, wanting a peaceful life away from the chaos of the world, settled there. It began with a single village, erected on the outskirts of a massive forest that covered the land. Over time the settlement grew, but did so in such a way that the humans and wildlife could live in peace; Not without reason. 

It was said that a beast lived in the forest, one of beauty and terror, with horns that grew like the trees but an ominus energy about it. The first settlers said it was a beast brought fourth by Loki, to lead the other Norse gods on a false hunt. And through word-of-mouth and superstition, this came to be an acceptable explanation for the villagers of Greenleaf.

For most, the tale of the beast was enough to keep them from entering the forest. But for one man with a heavy harvest, the journey to the local market and back was much easier traveled through the forest. An uneven, yet significantly shorter path cut through the center of the forest, and every day during the harvest season would find this man traversing it. Superstition could not quell the urge to work towards a better life, and it wasn't until he caught a glimpse of the fabled creature that he even believed the tales. 

The bright white fur of the creature seemed to reflect the light that hit it more beautifully than a gemstone, the flowers and leaves and vines adorning it's grand, branching antlers made it resemble the magnificent trees it stood beneath. The creature towered over the humbled man for a moment, before darting away deeper into the forest. 

That encounter lingered in the man's mind for days on end as he traveled to and from the marketplace. Should he tell someone? Had he imagined the whole experience? No, it couldn't have been possible. These thoughts plagued his mind as he made the journey home in the dark one night. 

Before he could return to himself, the man turned his ankle on a raised tree root and shouted, falling to the dirt of the forest floor. Gasping in pain he laid there, letting his wits return to him before trying to stand. Despite his efforts, the pain in his ankle was too great and each attempt resulted in him slumping to the ground once again. Panic set in as the man began to realize how far away from home  he was, and was only intensified when he heard the familiar growl of a forest predator eyeing him from a hidden vantage point. 

He started to shout, pleading for help as he pulled himself across the ground. He felt his heart drop when he heard the catch of the creature's growl, signalling that it had pounced. He closed his eyes, anticipating the sharp claws and hungry maw, but it never came. With tearful, frightened eyes the man looked back and his breath caught in his throat when he saw that breathtaking creature standing behind him and the predatory cat slinking away. 

After a moment of awestruck silence, the large creature turned to look at the small, nervous man before lowering it's head to his injured foot. Before he could register what was happening, the man's left foot was bare and the creature's cold nose was touched to the swollen ankle. In seconds, the swelling was gone and movement was restored. 

Many thank-yous escaped the man's mouth as the creature helped him to his feet. What was this thing? A large deer? No, he had never heard of a deer that could tower over a man, nor had he heard of a deer with a masked face. Was this the False Deer the villagers whispered of? 

The creature walked with the man all the way back to the edge of the forest, given an understanding nod when another "thank you" was issued. 

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For months the man entered the forest after his work was through, and this continued even after the harvest season ended. Nightly visits to the creature had sparked an unexplainable friendship between the two. On occasion, the man would bring the beast an edible treat, only to be given a freshly picked flower or a nice stone the following night. 

This continued, until the man thought to tell someone who frequented his stall at the market. He spoke of his new friend, of his nightly visits. The patron, who wasn't native to Greenleaf but visited the market frequently, doubted the man and demanded proof before he would believe the man's radical tale. 

The following night, the man brought his patron into the forest, searching for the deerlike creature. Several moments pass before the beast appears, anticipating it's human friend. The moment the patron's eyes fell on the beautiful being, he let out a shriek and shouted in fear.

"THAT IS THE MONSTER!"

Frightened, the creature turned and ran deeper into the forest, leaving it's human friend to try and calm the patron, who had run back towards the village, proclaiming "MONSTER! DEVIL! I HAVE SEEN IT!"

 

The man was ashamed. He spent several nights venturing into the forest with armfuls of food and gifts as an apology, but the daily hunting parties conducted by many of the villagers of Greenleaf only seemed to add to the shattered trust of the beast. Dejected, the man headed towards the forest in a final attempt to offer an apology. If this once again fails, he thought, Then i will accept my mistake and accept that I have lost my friend. 

On his way to the path, however, he was captured by townsfolk who declared him a servant of the 'monster.' He would not get to offer his final apology that night, but the sounds of distress reached the creature's ears and, reminded of the night it rescued it's friend, once again came to help.

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But this time it would be too late. 

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The beast barely emerged from the forest to see it's friend before his screams were drowned by the roar of fire. The attention of the townsfolk was only disrupted by the loud, heartbroken shriek that the creature bellowed. Frightened townspeople screamed, ran, froze, stared in awe at the large being before it  ran back into the woods, belting out it's sorrowful song. 

It was angry. It was scared. It had lost it's human. A part of it wanted vengeance, a feeling it had never experience before. For days on end the False Deer wept, and in an attempt to heal it expelled the negative vengeful energy, causing a rift in it's life source energy. For a moment the energy manifested and stood there beside the beast, staring at it's other half. It was similar to the beast, but there was an eerieness that the beast lacked. With a flash of light, the dark energy vanished and the creature was once again alone. 

Feeling no better, the creature once again began to weep, running deep into the forest. Each tear that fell seemed to take a small piece of the spirit's energy with it, crystalizing before landing softly upon the forest floor. The crystalline tears nestled the small slivers of energy trapped within, as if they were trying, little by little to comfort the creature. 

Tears continued to fall and crystallize until there was simply no more energy to draw from, and the beast vanished. It was as if it no longer existed. 

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For years the island was shrouded in an almost melancholy funk, the familiar feeling of the forest was gone, replaced with the eerie haunted feeling whenever one would enter it's expanse. It wasn't until one of the crystalline tears, the energy inside growing strong, opened and released it's treasure. 

A new young creature, curious of the world and eager to explore it, manifested and took its first steps. It was so similar to the beast, but so inexplicably different. It looked so world-worn, yet so new. Gathering up the first few crystalline tears it could find, this young spirit followed a path to a strangely familiar clearing and laid itself and the tears down to rest. 

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It nuzzled the tears and muttered soft, comforting noises.

'wik... wik... wik...'

The spirit couldn't explain how, but it knew this was the start of a beautiful experience.

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From Prey To Deity

The creature, from then on, would be known as Móðir, or affectionately called Mama by many waywicks. Although she no longer possesses a physical or energy form, it was from her energy that the waywicks were born, and therefore there is apiece of her inside every single waywick. Whether they were born directly from her tears or not, they will always possess a piece of her. This has attributed to many aspects of waywick society and behavior. Waywicks as a species are very spiritual, and because of the universal reincarnation of Móðir, they tie their spiritual practices and believes into that very strongly. So although Móðir began as a tricky target, she is now viewed essentially as a god by the waywicks that now walk in her footsteps. 

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