The Gift of Evanore
Summary
Aja, the god of the sun, had a daughter. She was the goddess of sunbeams and light. She carried light down to the earth to help the flowers grow. One day, as she carried down the sunlight, she noticed a mortal man, named Danok. He was a smith. She watched how he searched the river beds for stones and carved and crafted tools from wood. She was enraptured by his beauty and the care he took for natural things, and the way he made things from his hands. She followed him around, shining off of him. When he carved wood, sap dripped from his hands, and she turned it into amber.
But when winter came, he hide away in his home, trying to survive the cold. She could not pass the clouds, nor could she melt the ice. She’d seen other mortals freeze and starve, and could not stand the idea that he would be among them. She went to her father, asking him for something to warm the humans. He refused, for he dared not risk winter’s wrath.
Evanore went back to earth, pale and weak from the snow. She followed her love one winter’s day, and watched as he tried to carve a knife from wood. He gave up, and tossed the pine branch into the snow. Then, the goddess had an idea.
She went to Lanvie and asked him distract Aja while she entered his palace. He refused, fearing Aja’s anger. But she told him that if he did as she asked, she would consent to marry him. Eventually, he agreed, and spoke to the moon. Vera was missing her son, who had become lost in the mortal realm. He could only return under darkness, so she agreed to cover the face of the sun. Thus, the day darkened as Vera challenged Aja. Shadows fell over the earth, and under darkness, Lanvie took the pine branch from Evanore, and stole into the sun’s palace. Setting the branch on fire, he flew down to earth just in time, passing the branch to Evanore just as the sun reemerged. Aja spotted Lanvie, and knew he’d been tricked but he did not see Evanore.
Aja threw a ball of molten fire at Lanvie, burning his wings off, so that he could no longer fly back to the host of the gods, and was forever trapped on earth. Lanvie screamed in pain, while Evanore went to the house of her lover, and revealed herself to him as a mortal woman, with hair the color of flames and eyes of coal. She held a burning pine branch. He was overcome by awe and love, and invited her into his home. She taught him how to light his hearth with her fire, and how to bake bread and cook meat.
They were happy together, and shared their fire with others.
However, Lanvie wandered the earth, bitter after his injury and banishment. He searched for Evanore, until he came to the village where she dwelt with her husband.
Transformed into the body of a fox, he followed a trail of smoke to her house. Looking through the window, he saw her there with her husband, and was enraged. He retreated into the woods, and formed a plan. He transformed into a beautiful mortal witch, named Enlanisa with dark hair and emerald eyes. There in her circle in the woods, she brewed a potion. With moth wings and willow bark and the pulp of grapes, she made a strong alcohol enchanted with magic. Then, she came to their door, weak with cold while Evanore was away, and asked the man for shelter. Knowing what it was like to be hungry and cold, he invited her in to warm up by the hearth.
Enlanisa thanked him and told him she had only a draught of wine to repay him. He told her that he needed no recompence, but she insisted, using her powers of persuasion. As soon as he took the first sip, he was overcome with passion for her.
Evanore was returning when she saw them. Consumed by hatred, she compelled the flames of the hearth to rise up and scorch the two sitting nearby. Danok perished quickly, and so did Lanvie’s mortal form. He turned into a fly to escape the blaze, but he caught fire as he flew, glowing like a spark in the night, he became a firefly.
Evanore had a son, Thendore. Though he was mortal, he became a great metalsmith, and when his people were threatened, he forged sharp weapons for war. He was crowned king, and brought wealth to his lands through conquest and craftsmanship. The site of Danok and Evanore’s home became a temple, where people came to worship her. There, the pine branch remains, burning eternally from the power of the sun.
Historical Basis
Danemaid, the first king of Estaire was known to have a great affinity for fire magic, along with all his heirs. Records of fire first came from the city of Estaire, and the first evidence of metelurgy emerged from that area.
Spread
Told by the people of Estaire, it spread via trade routes in explanation for the people's wonderful metalworks. Preistesses of Evanore wrote down the myth, keeping manuscripts in the city, but some copies were taken to the Great Temple, and preserved there.
Variations & Mutation
In some versions of the tale, Evanore did not promise Lanvie her hand marriage, but something else that he greatly desired, but that was lost to history. Other versions say that Evanore's husband lay with Lanvie willingly, while others say he was enchanted.
In Art
The famous fresco in the Temple of Lakl, depicts the story through a series of images. First, Evanore, bathed in a ray of sunlight, gazes upon the mortal man while he is hard at work. The second, she danced around him as a moonbeam while he shivers in the cold, taking a pine branch he has cast away. In the third, she and Lanvie enact the plan, Lanvie flying towards the sun, while Evanore waits under the clouds, only to fall, wings aflame, to earth. The fourth shows Evanore reuiniting with her lover, and providing him with her gift, while the final one, depicts her rage at his infidelity.
Date of First Recording
3000 ME
Date of Setting
1000 ME
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