The Knight and the Nymph

A knight was set upon a quest. None remember the quest or even which lord he served, only the story of his lover and their tale. The knight had come upon the Forest of Lys'aka and hoped to pass through it to save himself some time. However, he had become hopelessly lost in the forest due to the faerie tricks and after weeks stumbling about in hopes of finding any escape, he finally collapsed at the foot of a tree.
When the knight awoke, his helmet had been removed and his lips were wet and sweet from sap. He had rested in the lap of a nymph who fed him sap at his own expense, as he needed to bleed his tree to harvest it. The nymph confessed that he was allured by the knight's armor, which shone brightly and reflected the sun's rays onto plants that seldom saw the light. He took pity on the knight when he saw him fall and nursed him back to health. The knight, still too weak to travel on, listened to the nymph's tale and stayed with him for a time. The nymph ventured through the forest with him, showing him the forest's bounty and how he might find food and medicine in the wood. The faerie tricks didn't work on the nymph, so each night they found themselves at his tree once more without a single twist or turn to lead them astray. The two shared tales of their lives, the knight telling of civilized lands where people lives in structures built of stone and served lords and kings. The nymph told of life in the wood, how he watched the plants grow and whisper to each other on the wind, how he kept his ear open for the stories they shared in hopes of learning about the world beyond the leaves.
They started to fall in love and the nymph would sleep outside his tree beside the knight. The nymph tried on the knight's armor and they'd play at swords with fallen sticks they'd found. They'd spent evenings by a pond sharing fruit and gazing at the stars. When the knight had finally grown strong, a month or so later, he asked the nymph to join him so he might see the world beyond the wood as he had long dreamed. Yet, the nymph knew how his life would wane if he strayed from the trees and he had heard whispers of nymphs that abandoned the forest to play at being human, how they would forget the green that gave them life and after a time would wilt and fade like a plucked flower until their death. He was afraid to see the world outside, but couldn't bear to say farewell.
The nymph convinced his knight to wait another month and although the knight was pressed for time, he couldn't deny his love's request. The nymph fashioned a pendant out of wood from his own tree. One the front was carved an eye obscured by curving branches, on the back a pattern of eyes that seemed like scales upon the back side. Inside he had slid a thin, green stone that he infused with a piece of his very soul. He told the knight that so long as he wore the pendant, the faerie tricks would no longer disturb him and he could find his way through the forest with ease. So long as the pendant remained around his neck, he would sense the location of his lover's tree and could visit him again. The knight was touched and donned the amulet, giving his lover one of his gauntlets to keep. The nymph had a fascination with the polished metal and could hold the fingers to recall the feeling of holding his lover's hand. Although there was no enchantment upon it, it was the best gift the knight could have offered.
In tears, they parted ways and as the amulet grew further from the nymph, his power waned and his tree drooped. He would not die without this piece of his soul, but he couldn't thrive or grow any stronger without it. Yet he took solace in knowing his knight was safe and he could sense where his soul had gone. If ever he chose to leave the wood and seek his lover out again, he would find him without trouble.
Years passed. The nymph thought of his knight every time he looked at the stars. He would grasp the metal fingers of the gauntlet and close his eyes and dream that his knight was beside him. Yet he began to feel cripplingly lonely, and an emptiness grew within him where the part of his soul had been. His tree became twisted and sickly. His green hair and skin began to brown, his bright eyes growing dull. The knight was moving further and further from the forest and the nymph's power was fading as the distance between them increased. The nymph left his tree to seek out his knight.
The nymph traveled the land, following the piece of his soul. He crossed the sea and weathered the southern storm, finally finding himself in a land of poison and rot. He found the amulet that contained his soul, but fell into despair when he learned that his knight was not the one who kept it. The nymph's soul was in the possession of a merchant who had been lost in Amor Wood. The merchant told him of how a boisterous knight had traded it to him in exchange for a trinket to give to a lady he hoped to bed. The nymph was heartbroken and begged for his amulet back. However, the merchant would not give it up without something in return. The nymph helped the merchant free of the poisonous forest and earned back the amulet. Yet he couldn't bear the thought of going home. He settled in the poison forest, his weakening body desperate for reconnection with nature. He chose a mushroom tree and made it his home. His brown hair and skin became white as the mushroom, his dull eyes brightened and grew red like the mushroom's cap. He consumed the afflicted water and he found that the poison changed him. He was more quick to anger and his patience grew short. He wanted revenge against his knight and to be have the piece of his soul reunited with the rest of it once more. Yet he hadn't the skill the pry it from the stone within the amulet, so he kept the amulet tight to his chest. He kept the gauntlet his knight had given him to remind him of his folly and the vengeance he had to seek.
Some say that even now the nymph lives within the Mushroom Jungle, that he wishes to seek his vengeance on the descendants of his knight.

Date of Setting

9126