Original Story: The Story of the River Spirits · 2:47pm Apr 17th, 2016
Original Story: The Story of the River Spirits
By Emma Lee Downs (LyraAlluse)
Walking on a trail that led through the Kuren Forest one day I found a group of river spirits floating above the middle of a trickling stream cutting through the forest. I am a local artist and I often go walking through the forest to get inspiration for my next painting or sculpture. I had brought my painting supplies with me on my morning hike in the event that I should happen to run across something interesting to paint on the trail. And I certainly ran into something unexpected as I drew close to the Felspan River.
At first I didn’t see anything but then I made out three distinctive figures with white faces. They had black eyeliner and red markings in tribal-like designs on their otherwise white complexions. Their whole bodies were a pale bluish-white color. They wore long robes with intricate patterns on them depicting their roles of protectors of the forest’s rivers. Each of the spirits had long black hair, knotted in complex designs and held up by elegant hairpins. When they saw me approaching they were less than happy to see an intruder barging in on them.
The tallest river spirit said, "I, the river spirit Yenichi, do not think that a mortal should be allowed to walk on this sacred ground."
The shortest river spirit said, “I, the river spirit Lenwaa, agree with my sister Yenichi. This is not a place for the living."
The medium-sized river spirit said, “I, the river spirit Ho-ochen, agree with my sisters Lenwaa and Yenichi. Turn away mortal and go back from where you came from."
But the forest was the place I found the inspiration for my artwork so I couldn’t very well just turn around and go back home.
So I said, "Please kind, spirits, let me stay in the forest. I need stay here so I can get inspiration for my next painting. I have always gone here for inspiration."
Lenwaa frowned down at me.
“You mean to say that you come in our forest all of the time and hike around and paint as you please?”
“Sometimes I draw too,” I said, feeling at the moment the words had left my mouth that perhaps that wasn’t the best thing to mention.
Ho-ochen let out a gasp.
“You…you disrespectful man! How dare you enter our domain without our permission? I should turn you into a toad!”
I bowed in front of the three spirits, shaking a bit.
“Oh please great spirits, do not turn me into a toad. What if…what if I painted you? I could bring the painting back to town and tell all of the villagers you are here. If the villagers knew you were here they would leave the forest alone and build a shrine in honor of you. What do you say? Do we have a deal?
The three spirits exchanged silent glances.
There was a long pause before the tallest spirit Yenichi grumbled and said, "Fine. We will allow you to paint us. But after you have taken that painting to the village you are not to enter the forest again. And if anyone else tries to enter this forest let it be known far and wide that we will turn them into a toad. Have we made ourselves clear?"
I nodded quickly, feeling quite grateful that the spirits had decided not to turn me into a toad.
"Thank you so much great spirits. I will set to work painting you right away."
With that, I took out my portable easel, my paint kit, my pain brushes, and all of my other art tools and set to work painting the spirits.
They looked at me curiously as I worked my brush up and down and sidewise. I think it must have been the first time anyone had attempted to paint or draw a picture of them. By the time I was done with the painting they were all very interested to see what it looked like.
The average sized water spirit Ho-ochen walked forward first and said, “We cannot see our own reflections because the high God Bentec said it would make us vain. I have always wondered what I look like. Please show me the painting mortal.”
The shortest river spirit Lenwaa walk up to where Ho-ochen was standing and added, “Yes, show us mortal, we must know what we look like. Just this once!”
The tallest river spirit Yenichi and the obvious ruler of the three shot the other two a cold look. When the two sisters caught a glance of it they wandered back and stood next to their sister, tugging at their long robes as they went.
When they were standing back at her side, Yenichi said, “I know that you are excited to know what the mortal painted, but I will not have you two chasing after that painting as if it were a holy relic. Act according to your station.”
Lenwaa and Ho-ochen nodded silently, still tugging at their robes.
Yenichi then stared down at me.
“Now mortal, turn that painting around so we all can see it. Do it quickly. We do not have all day.”
I nodded and turned the painting around. I closed my eyes, too frightened to see what their reactions might be. But after a few moment of silence I slowly opened each one. When my eyes were all of the way open I saw that the water spirits were now gathered around the painting, examining each piece of it with great fascination. It was the first time they had ever seen an image of themselves and they were drinking the moment in.
They spoke amongst themselves excitedly in a language I did not understand. I stood holding the painting up for a great amount of time as they examined it, afraid to move for fear of what they might do to me if I did. When the water spirits returned to their place in the center of the river, I finally felt that it was safe to place the painting back on the easel so I did.
The spirits spoke amongst themselves for a few more moments and then Yenichi said, “We are pleased with your painting. Instead of bringing it back to the village, we request that you leave it here so we can always look at it. In exchange, we will allow you and the villagers to enter the forest, provided that you treat it with respect and you build a shrine at the entrance of our domain.”
I bowed a few times in gratitude.
“Oh thank you…thank you so much! I will tell the village! And I am very happy to let you keep my painting. I will tell the village elders to build a temple right away!”
And with that, I gave my painting to the leader of the water spirits, Yenichi, and I set to work packing up my art supplies. When they were all fit neatly into my backpack, I waved at the water spirits and attempted to leave but Ho-ochen blocked my path.
She pointed toward a set of mountains in the distance and said, "Follow the forest trail to the top of the tallest summit of mount Keaneechi. There you will find the wind spirits. You must also paint a picture of them. And a temple must also be made at the base of the mountain for them. If you cannot complete this task, we will turn you into a toad!"
I shook a bit in my place but managed to nod before saying, “Okay…I will find your sisters. And I will paint a picture of them as well. And I will tell the village elders to also make a shrine at the base of the mountain for them. I will do this right away.”
Ho-ochen seemed pleased with my answer and moved to the side.
Lenwaa piped in, “We will send an eagle to let our sisters know that you are coming and your purpose for being there. Now hurry and find them before the sun sets or we will surly punish you.”
I bowed one last time and promised that I would do as they instructed. After saying my final goodbyes, making sure that I had all of my art supplies, I waved one last time before journeying up the mountain to meet with the wind spirits.
It was a perilous journey. The sun was beating down on me and my throat was parched from thirst. But somehow I was able to reach the tallest summit of the Keaneechi Mountains. There I met the wind spirits who were eager for me to paint them.
The wind spirits had grey skin with light blue tribal markings and long white hair, braided with many ornaments. They wore long elegant dresses with patterns depicting their roles as the guardians of the wind.
Unlike their sisters, the wind spirits were all the same size. The only difference among them was in their tribal markings and the way their hair was braided. The white dresses they wore and the hair ornaments that were fashioned into their braids were identical.
The spirit with the two braids on either side of her face came forward and said, “I am Jun-yunn, the leader of the wind spirits. Our sisters the water spirits told us why you have come here. If you paint a picture of us we will let all of the people of you village climb our mountain. And we give you a special gift. But you must promise to build us a temple at the bottom of the mountain and tell all of the people of your village to respect our domain. Is this understood mortal?”
I nodded.
“Yes, I will do as you say.”
The air spirit that had with four small braids that trailed into a pony tail said, “I, the wind spirit Tana Yuen, am pleased with your devotion. I will be the one to bestow your gift when your task is completed. So set to work quickly little one.”
I said that I would and immediately took out all of my art supplies from my backpack. I set to work painting each of the wind spirits straight away. I knew I had to complete my task before the sun set or the river spirits would be angry with me so I painted as fast as I could. Like their sisters, the wind spirits watched with great fascination from the other end of the canvas as my paint brush made all kind of stokes in each direction. They too were curious to know what they looked like and were excited to see the finish painting.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, I managed to complete the painting before the sun set. I turned it around so each of the wind spirits could see and they danced around with joy when they caught sight of it.
“Oh look at us!” Said the youngest wind spirit, Mika Shio, as she danced about.
The wind spirits were more easygoing and kindly than the steadfast and curt river spirits. The danced for a great amount of time, and chatted amongst themselves, and even invited me to go dancing along with them, holding the painting as I went. After dancing for a while, they suddenly stopped and all turned toward me.
The second oldest wind spirit, Tana Yuen, stepped forward and held out a silver necklace.
“This is your reward for painting a picture of us and agreeing to tell your village elders to build a shrine at the base of the mountain. As long as you wear that necklace, you will never run out of inspiration for your artwork.”
Tana Yuen placed the necklace over my head. I thanked her greatly as she backed away and I admired the strange trinket now hanging from my neck.
Jun-yunn stepped forward next and said, “Now our youngest sister will help you to return home so you can tell your village elders to build a shrine at the base of the mountain for us the wind spirits and a shrine at the entrance of the forest for our sisters the water spirits. Youngest sister, Mika Shio, sing your song of travel.”
Mika Shio nodded and stepped forward. Before I had a chance to question what was going on, Mika sung an ancient song that seemed to be echoed by all of the animals, plants, river, rocks, and other aspects of the forest. It wasn’t long until I could feel my body lifting into the air and I was flying high above the forest, way up in the clouds. I flew away from the mountains, over the forest, and made my way back to the village below. When the village came into view, I was set gently on the ground next to my art studio.
As soon as I reached the village I ran to the village elders and told them everything I saw. Like I had promised the river spirts and the air spirits, a shrine was built at the entrance of the forest to honor the river spirts and a shrine was built at the base of the mountain to honor the air spirits. The villagers often prayed at the shrines and many festivals were held in honor of the spirits I had encountered in the forest.
The necklace that Tana Yuen gave me worked just as she had promised. From the first day I started to wear it until now I have never run out of any inspiration for any of my paintings, sculptures, or other pieces. This attracted the notice of the village elders who allowed me to construct my sculptures in the town square and display my art in the inns and diners around the village. I eventually became known for my works by all of the people in my village and eventually people from other villages and kingdoms came to know of my artwork as well.
The nobility of many different kingdoms commission me to build furniture for their estates. The kings, queens, and other royal figures asked me to build sculptures in their gardens. I have kept very busy these many years, creating many wonderful sculptures, paintings, drawings, clothes, jewelry, and furniture pieces for anyone who asks for them. And this has made me a very wealthy man who no longer has to struggle to find a meal or worry about paying taxes to my land’s ruler.
I will always be grateful that I encountered the water spirits that fateful day in the Kuren forest and I always show them the proper respect when I visit their shrine at the entrance of the forest. I will also always be grateful to the air spirits who gave me the enchanted necklace and allowed to perhaps one of the first people in my village to experience flight. I am always sure to bring them the best of the gifts I receive from the wealthy patrons who support my art endeavors when I visit their temple at the base of the mountain.
Although I continue to take many journeys into the forest to paint the different things I discover on my long hikes, I haven’t seen the river spirits or air spirits since the first time I encountered them those many years ago. But sometimes I can almost swear that I can hear the laughing of the water spirits as I pass by the streams or the joyous dancing of the air spirits who make their home way up on the highest peaks of the mountains. I imagine them gathered around the paintings, eager to look at the closest thing to a reflection they’ve ever owned, and I smile.
Nice story
3876230 Thank you very much. I am glad that you liked it. :)
3876241 your welcome hope you make a story just as good if not better than this
3876250 You mean another original story? Or?
3876253 either original or mlp related
3876273 I mostly write comedy here on the site. Although I do have a bunch of MLP fantasy stories and an mlp poetry collection that I've uploaded here.
Everywhere else I write fantasy/ adventure stories.
3876278 why not put your famtasy/adventure/comedy to use here? Not that i am gorcing you it is just that i am curious
3876332 Because when I write fantasy/ adventure I prefer to write it as an original story rather than a fan fiction.
But with my 'Equestrian Fairy Tales' that I have uploaded, I plan on writing all sorts of fairy tales with a pony twist. I have two fairy tales posted so far. I plan on posting a bunch more once I get around to writing them.
3876342 ah cool your writing what you want i can respect that
3876345
I too enjoyed the story! The paranoia in me was waiting for a dark twist. Like the spirits referring the artist to a new set of spirits and adding new promises until the end of the artists life, and then they have no temples and just the paintings to remind them why they were never to see their reflections in the first place.
I get a bit of an active imagination when reading
I'm glad it turned out nice though. It's good to see a non-twisty tale.
3876461 Thank you kindly for giving it a read. I am glad that you enjoyed reading it.
The fantasy world that this story (and other stories that I'm going to post in my journals) comes from is based heavily on mythology and people's connections with the Gods/ spirits of the land.
My idea is to write about all of these various legends/ stories of the world, and then put them together in a sort of story collection.
I have a lot of ideas for the various Gods/ spirits/ myths I want to write about. They all take place in the various regions of this fantasy world.
I can dig it!
3878216 Cool! Thank you for reading. I am glad that you enjoyed reading it. :)
"With great risk can come great reward."
Not bad.
-Ru
4351743 Thank you very much. :) I appreciate that you have read my stories. It means a lot.
sweet and happy. It's interesting when a human can offer a spirit something they've never had before
4353527 ThInk you for the kind comment. I am glad that you enjoyed reading the story. :)
4353530
Once again, Your quite welcome :)
4354093 Yay!
4354651
Yay indeed ^_^
4357803
4357814
^w^