Spring Maiden’s Garden

You'll find no area in Rohsk, or even Adhonaglamar, that is more beautiful, peaceful, or wholesome than the Spring Maiden's Garden...

Mythological background

Rohsk and Ithlor, two of the four Regions of Adhonaglamar. Rohsk representing Autumn and Earth, Ithlor representing Spring and Air. Their histories have always been a little more intertwined than those of the other two Regions.

When the continent was still young and only the Four Dwellers roamed the Regions, the Spring Maiden dwelt in Ithlor. Young and lithe, she was a marvel to behold. Dancing and floating as she went, her passage left a rejuvenating energy all around her.
In Rohsk the Autumn Woodsman dwelt. Large and broad, he roamed the forests' paths in large strides, with golden, brown, and red leaves strewn all around him. He loved tending to the animals of Rohsk, large and small.

And so each Dweller shaped their Region to their liking. The tale of their meeting is recounted elsewhere, as is the story of how they began dwelling in the other Regions, bringing the much-needed cycle of Nature's awakening, growing, waning and sleeping to all Four Regions.
For this tale, it suffices to say that each Dweller created a home for themselves in each Region, shaped to their own liking, introducing a bit of their home Region into the others.

Ever since their first meeting, the Maiden and the Woodsman took a liking to each other. Over time they grew very fond of one another. Yet their cycle of roaming and dwelling the Regions meant they would often not meet for a long time. This saddened the Woodsman greatly. Aware of this, the Spring Maiden decided to leave the Woodsman something to remember her by whenever he would dwell in Rohsk. And so, she created the Spring Garden.

Spring Maiden's Garden

As mentioned, each Dweller built a home for themselves in every Region. Being so very different in nature, none liked to stay in another Dweller's home. Yet the Spring Maiden wanted to Autumn Woodsman to have something to remind him of her in his home in Rohsk.
So, one day, while she dwelt in Rohsk herself, she went to the Woodsman's home. There she planted him a garden, the likes of which were never seen before, nor have they ever since. Full of bright, spring colours; beautiful flowers, which filled the air with a refreshing fragrance. A small stream ran through the garden across many small waterfalls, spreading a fine mist, creating rainbows all around it. Songbirds chirped and sang happily. Bushes brimmed with bright berries and fruit. Large pale-barked trees bordered the garden, with lush green foliage that spread itself across long strong branches.

Yet the beauty of the garden lay not only in its reflection of the Spring Maiden's Region, Ithlor. It lay in the merger of Spring and Autumn. For to symbolise their mutual affection, she integrated the richest elements of Rohsk's own natural Autumn vegetation into her Spring Garden. Multi-coloured moss was used to shape pathways, to walk on bare footed as she was wont to do. Mushrooms large and small, red, and brown, grew at the roots of the trees. Not all trees bore green leaves; several that she planted bore the deep red, brown and golden leaves of autumn all year round.

In the middle of the garden she placed a large willow tree, its canopy forming a veil of green and light. There, underneath the canopy, she planted Lily of the Valley all around a large fallen tree trunk, covered in moss. She knew he would go sit there and think of her. And so he did.

Epilogue

And so, somewhere in Rohsk, there lays a vale with such a rich and bright vegetation that is found nowhere else in Rohsk. The Woodsman and the Maiden no longer dwell on the Continent. Yet their love is immortalised in that beautiful place. Anyone entering the Garden, though unaware, is filled with joy and peace, their body and mind refreshed by the time they leave.

Type

Vale