Tale of the Violet Witch

And those little boys got cooked up and eaten the very next night, and the worst part is... nobody in the village knew it was them they was eatin'! -Popular ending to the tale of the Violet Witch

Summary

There once were a couple of young children who enjoyed playing in the woods by themselves. They would play make believe and pretend they were strong rangers and warriors like the men in their village, or great magicians like the ones they had heard about from the big cities. One day the children went too deep into the forest and became lost, when they met a strange looking Aknu (Woodling/sentient forest creature) who offered to help them. She had an unusual appearance, appearing almost like a raccoon dyed a deep shade of purple. She held a staff of old Lydian pine in her hands, and on her head sat a tall, violet, pointed hat. Her smiling complexion reassured the children, and she said she would lead them home, but they had to follow her very carefully, because the forest became dangerous at night. Through a long string of unfortunate events, the two children become separated, as they could not keep up with the witch. When she discovered this, and saw the children in great danger of being eaten by the creatures of the night, she transformed them into squirrels. She then gathered them up and left them on the outskirts of the forest, vanishing into the darkness within. The next morning the children, still squirrels, met a hunting party from their villagers and tried to appeal to them for help, but were then promptly shot, skinned, and eaten for that evening's dinner. The village was never any the wiser.

Historical Basis

In old Lidyite mythology there appears an Aknu by the name of Klaara, who would occasionally appear and cause mischief among the tribes with her powerful command of the arcane. The Lidyites revered her as a sort of patron of mischief and cunning. She later became associated with the arcane Font of Shadows which, in ancient Lidyite tribes, was often synonymous with the Font of Death, represented by the color purple, hence her common name in folklore, the Violet Witch.

Spread

The tale of the Violet Witch is most well known in the Empire of Lythia and the eastern remnants of the Republic. It is spread as far south as the forests of Alvia and the plains of Zaragovia, and as far east as the tribes bordering the successor states of Carinthia. The tale is told in different variations as a bedtime story to teach children not to go alone into the woods at night.