Folktales of Pacifica

This is a space for nations to share the folktales of their land, and have fun doing so!

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For Spooky Month, try to make your stories scary. For example, you could make cautionary tales, or stories parents tell their children to make them behave. The creative freedom is in your hands :jack_o_lantern:

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Folktales of Pelinai: the Springstalker

One of the most prolific horror legends of the Pelinese countryside is the tale of the Springstalker. Descriptions of the beast vary, but common elements are a height of about 4 meters, very long and spindly limbs, slate-colored skin, and a bare human skull for a head. The Springstalker is, as the name suggests, a creature that makes its home in the mountainous hot springs that dot the large mountain range of Pelinai’s inland countryside. Legends vary by location on the exact origin of the creature, but the most common belief is that it is the reanimated and twisted corpse of an individual that dies of hypothermia or starvation while traversing the mountains. Once formed by a process never elaborated upon and often described as unknowable (whether this means “cannot be known” or “forbidden to be known” is not clear), the Springstalker wanders inexorably towards a hot spring in which to take up residence.

Once it resides in the spring, the beast is said to lie in wait for animals and people that approach the spring for warmth. Once the prey draws near, the Springstalker will snatch it from the banks using its long limbs and pull it underwater to be devoured. Some stories also describe instances in which a Springstalker burrowed into a shallowly buried hot spring and reached through the ground to ambush anything that drew near. Commonly held belief is that the beasts possess the same desperate need for warmth and food that consumed their last moments in life, and that their behavior is an extension of this driving desire.

Modern folklore scholars in Pelinai have theorized that the legend of the Springstalker was created to dissuade children from wandering into the wilderness of the mountains or approaching hot springs within them. Aside from the obvious danger of attempting to traverse mountainous terrain without adequate preparation, many hot springs within Pelinai are known to possess sufficiently high temperature and acidity to corrode flesh.

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Note: Posts can be in any format, and any type of writing (essay, narrative, etc…) you want

Yttrian legend of the Rapids Beast
“Ye best be wary when ye be approaching the rapids. When thee salmon streak through waters that churn white, a beast lurks! One false move, and it’ll carry your poor soul down to Gris Fitchers seabed!” (Pirates of the White Tide)

“Ah, I remember the famous and terrifying “Rapids Beast”. I’d imagine we were all brought up on legends told by our parents. I remember the first time they told us about the Rapid Beast, we had been playing by the river. You should have seen how our mom yelled at us. It had been jolly good fun, but we never did play by the river again. That’s the wonder of kids, their imaginations make everything seem real” (Personal Memoir of Frank Losch)

“So, in essence, this “Rapids Beast” was Yttrias first sea monster. It tends to be describes as having a thin, serpentine body, with the front legs of a crocodile and the head of a caiman. So, this story actually originated by our mountains where whitewater rapids are far more prevalent. We believe it was either a story used to keep children away from the rivers, or as a story to scare friends with. Anyway, when we started to urbanize and our mountaineers came into the cities, they brought the story with them. Now adays, it’s used to keep children away from rivers in general.” (The Monsters That Made Us)

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Spooky Season is OVER! You can still make them if you want, but the Halloween prompt is done. You can now write any folklore, folktale, or story passed down by your people.

Alright y’all, I might have lost round one, but there’s no way this goes inactive again, right?

Jokes on you, I have my own thread for that (only Detroxians allowed).

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The sinking of Peirstehp, a Foscovian legend

long ago, while the domains of Forscova lay free from the control of Krenski, a land as strong in might as it is in faith, the domain of Peirstehp sat peacefully at sea. The people of Peirstehp were faithful to their God, and it was said that He had removed their land to save them from the might of the other domains.

However, the new generation soon became arogant, believing themselves to be God’s chosen. They indulged themselves, allowing themselves pleasures instead of working to maintain God’s land. And soon, Peirstehp became unrecognizable.

In a final act of defiance towards their creator and savior, the people stopped worshiping. They foolhardy believed that nothing God could give them could trump what they took for themselves. This was too much for the elders. They labored day and night to construct boats’ and fled to Krenski. As they departed, they looked back at their home one last time. It was then that they saw a great wave come and swallow the island, ridding the world of the people’s insolence.

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