Myths of the Augurweald, and the Tale of Old Ironclaw and Granny Barktongue

Many an overactive child has been frightened to sleep with tales of the monsters and shape-changers that dwell within the Augurweald. Tales of people who walk the forests in the form of wolves and bears, leaving only to abduct wayward children at night are familiar to every Concordian from childhood. Augurwealdians are accursed, they say, people with no laws who worship trees and beasts. Small, savage monsters dwell within, hunting any who enter with bow and spear. Other stories recount wicked mages and hags who inhabit the woods, cursing those who stray too close to their land.The most well-known of these is the story of Old Ironclaw and Granny Barktongue.

As the tale would have it, Old Ironclaw had been a daring soldier, never bested on the field. In his old age he had retired to a plot of land just outside the Augurweald, within very sight of its trees. A large man, still strong and fearsome in his late years, he had taken to walking the woods, accompanied by his three sons.

One day, while strolling deeper in the woods than was his custom, he encountered a beautiful gray wolf. Covetous of its fur, he loosed an arrow as his sons chased it down. Upon reaching its corpse, he was shocked to find the body of a young man. As he stood over the body, a bent, ancient woman emerged from the woods. She wore clothes of rags and animal hide, and carried a gnarled branch as a walking staff, a strand of teeth and claws dangling from it. "That was my son you slew," she hissed through sharp and rotted teeth. "The forest demands payment in kind; now I shall take what is yours." At this, his eldest son's body began to ripple and break, shaping itself into that of a wolf. Old Ironclaw drew his sword in a fury, intent upon slaying the old woman, but when he turned to her, she and his son had vanished.

The next day, Old Ironclaw's middle son came to him, saying "Father, let me go into the woods, that I may find my brother." Filled with rage and grief at his loss, Ironclaw accompanied his son, as did his youngest son. After several hours of fruitless searching, they caught sight of a large boar, with magnificent tusks the size of which Ironclaw had never seen. Once more he loosed an arrow as his sons set upon it with spears. As the boar breathed its last, they saw its form change, taking that of a young woman. As they contemplated what they had done, the old woman emerged from the trees. "'Twas my daughter you have slain," she snarled, "I take what is mine." The middle son's body began to change, taking that of a boar. Not to be cheated once more, Ironclaw lashed out quicker this time, his blade catching the old woman in her side. Nevertheless, despite her wound, she and his son vanished beyond his reach.

The next day, Old Ironclaw's youngest son came to him, saying "Father, let me go into the woods, that I may find my brother." Never a man to back down from a fight, he accompanied his son into the woods. After much toil and wandering, they caught sight of a hulking bear, a beast of immense and stunning size. Lusting after the thought of the trophy such a kill would grant him, he loosed an arrow, catching the bear in its eye. As he and his son stood over the slain beast, its form changed into that of a young woman. Knowing what would happen, Ironclaw readied his sword. As the old woman emerged from the trees once more, he turned and lunged, running her through to the hilt. She hissed and spat, growling, "Foolish man, old warrior; I serve and am of this forest; you have doomed yourself. I, Granny Barktongue, with my death curse you: that you too shall serve, but not be part of these these woods." And she rammed her staff into his chest, piercing both leather and flesh.

As her body fell from his blade, Old Ironclaw turned to his son, only to see him take the form of a large bear, vanishing into the woods. He moved to follow his son, attempting to pry the wooden staff from his chest to no avail. It merely snapped in his hands, leaving part of it stuck deep. Despite his grievous wound he still followed his son, intend on at least dying attempting to save him. However, as he stumbled through the woods, his lifeblood sinking into the foorest floor, he realized that death evaded him. He should have bled out over the hours he traveled, but still he walked. Hours became days and days become years, and still he walked, searching, searching for his sons.

They say that Old Ironclaw still walks the Augurweald to this very day, searching for his sons and slaying any outsiders unlucky enough to cross his path. He is a monster they say, a whithered husk, both man and beast that will not die, still carrying his old sword. Should you go into the woods you may hear his inhuman call: a lonesome, rotted wail of grief and rage, calling, calling for his sons.

So goes the tale. Do not wander into the Augurweald, parents say, lest you be carried off by a witch, or doomed to wander the woods for eternity.

Cultural Reception

While somewhat known outside of the Arborvale Concord, they are little more than curiosities and rumor to those outside its borders. To Concordian citizens, they are known by nearly all, whether nor not they are accepted as truth. Having at the bare minimum both historical and modern context, these folktales are used as everything from children's stories to explanations for mysterious events along the deeper Augurweald's borders. And during those times when conflict does arise with the Augurweald, they are quickly leveraged as propaganda towards the region's native people.

In Literature

Most myths and folktales surrounding the Augurweald are largely unrecorded, surviving primarily by word of mouth. There exists the odd treatise from particularly interested scholars, or written collections of stories such as "Witches and Woads, Superstitions and Shapechangers: Common Tales of the Augurweald" by the Dwarven scholar, Korden Heth.

In Art

While such subjects are typically, with certain exceptions, shunned by high artists, plenty of amateur and folk art exists depicting these tales. Most commonly found in the regions closer to the Augurweald, they range from festival tapestries to wood carved statues, and even the occasional genuine painting or sculpture. A particular tradition is the creation of wooden masks representing various monsters and significant figures from the stories, commonly worn during certain festivals.

Date of Setting

Unknown; scholars speculate it came into being shortly after the first unification of the Arborvale Concord.