Origin - Nimuë

It was sunny that afternoon, intensely so. Very few clouds hung in the air, and the ones that did were wispy little things, providing very little shade at all. Tree branches and leaves danced in the light breeze, though it brought no solace to those down below. Even the wind on this day was thick and heavy with the heat; there was no relief to be had outside on a day such as this.

Most Faians would have opted to stay in the cooler indoors on such a day, or lounge about near (especially in) a body of water. Something had to be done to mitigate the heat, after all. Nimuë, however, had been hard at work since that morning. There was no shirking of one’s responsibilities on a farm, after all. Someone had to do it, or it simply wouldn’t get done - and if it didn’t get done, that meant crops would, most likely, die. And she couldn’t have that, now, could she?

Farming was not, necessarily, in the Ruptour’s blood. In fact, quite the opposite. If anything, they had always hunted for their food. Their constant migrations to shift who was guarding the archways left several bases unmanned, and doing so would have killed any crops they had started to grow. Now, though… things were different. Ruptours could do whatever they pleased, really. They had had to reign in some of their aggression, they had had to learn about things like currency… but there was more freedom to life, now, wasn’t there? Once she had discovered this new Faia, after escaping her amulet, Nimuë had quickly made up her mind. 

She had always loved plants, after all.

The farm was just a small one. A hobby farm, some would call it. She grew small batches of what she pleased, and used most of it to feed herself. What she didn’t use, she’d sell at the market in the nearby town, or process to make artisan goods to either keep, gift, or sell. It was… it was a nice life, she thought. It was hard work, but it was endlessly rewarding. She had learned so much about plant life and farming in the past little while, and she had really come to love her farm. 

While Nimuë loved her little farm, she certainly didn’t love the intense heat. She could feel the sun beaming down in full force against the fur of her back, and she grimaced slightly to herself. She really needed to get indoors, find some shade, or take a dip in the pond that wasn’t too far away… but she still had chores to finish. And if she didn’t… well, her dear little farm would pay the price, and she simply couldn’t have that. There was only one last thing to do - she needed to water her corn plants if they were going to survive through the heatwave. She couldn’t blame them for needing water… she did too. 

The well was a bit of a jaunt away, unfortunately for the plants, and for Nimuë herself. Luckily it was at least through the woods, so there would be a bit of shade here and there beneath the heavily laden branches. The Ruptour paused for a moment to wipe some sweat from her brow before nodding to herself. Alright. Time to make the journey.

Even beneath the boughs of the trees, it was hot. She felt much as if she were melting. Could she melt, she wondered? Just disappear into a puddle, only to evaporate and be carried away by the wind…? At that moment, it seemed like the heat was capable of doing nearly anything at all. She tried fanning herself, but it was no use. It was just exhausting, and the air she fanned was just as hot and sticky as the rest of it. How did anyone enjoy this kind of weather, she wondered? Nimuë had always said she liked the heat, but she hadn’t meant like this. She had meant like a warm autumn day, basking in the soft sunlight… this was harsh, everything turned up to ten. She could barely stand it.

Just a bit further, she thought… or, at least, where she remembered the well being was just a bit further. Nimuë paused, studying the forest around her. It seemed to bend and shift within the heat, practically dancing around her. What was going on…?

Oh. Oh, she felt so dizzy. Her heart was beating so fast and… no. She had to get the water for her plants. They needed it. They’d wither and die without her care, and she couldn’t let anything else around her wither, not again… not again…

When she opened her eyes, it was still hot. Her body felt hot and dry, and her mouth felt sticky. Water. She had been going to get water and then… what had happened? Had she lost consciousness? Had she passed out? It certainly seemed as if that were the case. Nimuë frowned. Wasted time… she needed to push forward if she was ever going to be able to cool down. She needed that water for herself just as badly as she needed it for the plants, now.

Ah, there! Somehow, she had gotten all turned around, but there was the little path, jutting out from behind a large tree. If she followed that it would only be a few moments before… yes, there was the well. It almost seemed to shimmer in the heat, shifting back and forth before her eyes. But it was the well, she was certain of it. She pushed herself forward, not quite able to run, but going faster than a walk. The stones of the well felt almost cool to the touch, which came as a surprise to her. She would have thought the stone to be hot, as well, but… Oh well. She pulled the bucket up, pausing to take deep gulps from it almost immediately. The water was cool, and she almost felt alive again. Revitalised. 

She wiped the excess water off her mouth, then began the work of filling up her watercan. It wouldn’t take too long, and then she could be back to water her crops and inside and… oh, what was that?

Nimuë frowned, studying the shape off in the distance. It flickered and danced in the air, almost as if… almost as if she was being beckoned? But that didn’t make any sense, did it? Who or what would be beckoning her all the way out here? Nothing that she knew of, that was for certain. 

She was filled with a strange, new curiosity. What was it, and what did it want from her? For she knew, in her heart, that it was there for her. It wanted something of her. But what…? There was only one way to find out.

Nimuë abandoned the well and her watering can, trotting off down the path, then off the path and into the trees, where she had last seen the little shape. Already it was so far ahead of her again… In the shade of the trees it seemed to glow a soft silvery colour, though she couldn’t be certain, as it’s colour seemed to shift every so often - to a light teal, then a pink, then white, then back to silver. It was difficult to explain, it was difficult to even put a name to the colours she was seeing glowing and dancing before her. Whatever this was… it felt as if it were not truly of this world, she thought. That was the only explanation that really made sense to her, and even then… she couldn’t say why that was.

Deeper and deeper into the forest she went, completely abandoning her work and the paths. She had never been this far in before, and something in the back of her mind was warning her that she was going to get lost - but she took no heed of it. As deep as she was into the forest, the sunlight was having difficulty filtering in through the branches. There was just enough light to see by, but not so much that it obscured the glow of the object ahead. And here… here it was much cooler than it had been on her way towards the well.

She felt like she could breathe. More than that… she felt as if she were being called home. How was one supposed to explain that, she wondered? It didn’t make a lick of sense, and yet, in her heart, she knew it to be true.

When she thought she could proceed no deeper into the forest… she did just that. It seemed to go on forever, but she didn’t remember it doing so. She was pretty sure it was smaller than this, and yet… here she was.

The glowing object up ahead paused for a moment, and then seemed to dissipate into the air. What…? Nimuë frowned, but she pushed forward. Through a bush, over a stray root, around a large tree stump… and there it was in front of her. 

There was a slight clearing in the forest, where the grass grew thick. In the center of it all, there was a ring of mushrooms. They were big, healthy things. Almost as if they had been cultivated… but she knew they had grown on their own. Big red things with white polka dots on their caps. They were beautiful, she thought.

But that wasn’t all. Within the center of the ring… it was something she had never seen before, but something that she recognised immediately. It almost looked like some kind of shiny flower - two bright green leaves, a yellow stalk in the center, and in the center of that, a small flower. But it was no naturally occurring plant - that, Nimuë knew, was a totem. A Fae Totem… 

She glanced around, searching for someone, anyone, within the forest around her. Had someone left it here? Had someone wanted her to find it out here…? She didn’t understand at all. But she felt… something. A desire to take the totem, to connect to Fae magic… Had that glowing object lead her here, for this? 

She knew, even before she took it, that she was going to. And so Nimuë tucked it safely into her bag, and turned to head back to her farm.

The Ruptour had thought she’d be lost in the forest after that long trek, so deep within it. But it was easy for her to find her way back, to return to her farm. It felt like she intrinsically knew which turns to take, which directions to go. Almost as if she was being guided once again. What a strange, and yet welcome, feeling that was. No one had ever acted as her guide before…

After finally watering the rest of her crops, the sun had already set and the moon had risen above her abode. Bedtime, then, she thought.

Her sleep that night was riddled with all sorts of cryptic dreams that she couldn’t fully comprehend, nor even remember in the morning. When she did awake, it was with confusion. Had the previous day really happened…? It felt fuzzy, almost dreamlike, in the light of that next morning. It had all been so strange… passing out before the well, being led off by some kind of wisp, the fae circle of mushrooms, the totem, being able to find her way back… if someone had told her that story, she probably wouldn’t have believed them at all.

And yet… when she got up to make herself a little bit of breakfast, there it was, perched on her little table, leaning against the wall. The Fae Totem. 

She had never thought she was meant for anything particularly big or special in this life - she had had a purpose once, and she had ended up losing it and locked away in an amulet. She hadn’t needed a second purpose. But maybe… just maybe… there was, indeed, something more for her out there.