Sun Mote Copse Starwaves

Phox stood up and told a story, which featured familiar names to Wraen. Except - she did not recall this particular tale, but thought of another, longer one, where the two brothers had been part of Jason's team and had travelled the world together. Details, however, had escaped her memory, but later in the evening, when on her own, Wraen would think about the two characters and try to remember the whole story. 

Since no one else volunteered, Wraen thought that it was a good time to finish the evening with a story of her own. Keeping in mind that her audience would be tired after hearing so many wonderful tales, she promissed herself to keep it short and to the point. "To those, who are unfamiliar with selkies - they belong to shapeshifters. They live as seals in the seas, but now and then they come ashore, shed they skin and spend time on Earth as well.

Once upon a time on the very shores we have here lived a man. He spent his days scavenging and fishing and nights sleeping alone in his den. No other soul lived nearby and though he was very self-sufficient, now and then he got lonely - like we all do. One day he had wandered further than his usual hunting grounds and found a secret grotto among the clifs. And there he witnessed the most unusual sight: many seals had swam ashore, they shed they skins and frolicked, played and sang in the sands. 

One particularly beautiful maiden caught his eye and he was overcome by desire to have her stay. Therefore he stole closer and closer, found her seal-skin and stole it, while no one was watching. When the day came to a close, the other selkies picked their skins and disappeared in the sea, but the girl was left, looking for her lost skin, crying miserably and looking longingly over to the sea, where her brothers and sisters waited for her to join them.

The man came from his hiding place, introduced himself and after much persuasion though a little reluctantly the girl agreed to become his wife and live with him. They had many children together and they were relatively happy, but selkie's eyes were always turned to the sea and every year on that day, when the selkies came ashore to frolick and play, she sang mournfully. 

One day, while her husband was away with the eldest children and she was left to tend for the youngest, one of the girls dug up a secret den and pulled out a beautiful and soft seal-skin out of it. Years had done no damage to it. And, when the girl showed her finding to her mother, her eyes lit up in joy. She bid her child good-bye, went down to the shores, slipped in her skin, turned to a seal and joined her selkie family.

And later that day father found his daughter still looking out to the sea, where her mother had disappeared. They never saw her again, though now and then seals would still come to visit the shores and one in particular would observe the lands searchingly," Wraen finished the folk-tale and got to her feet to stretch. "I think it is a good time now to go for bed. Each of you told a wonderful tale and you deserve a whole beaver to yourselves. Have a good night's sleep now and see you in the morning. We have a big day ahead!" she told them. Saw them leave and then went to have a nap of her own. 

Selkies and the story come from Scottish/Celtic mythology, however, the motif of this kind of shapeshifter can be found in many folk-tales accross Europe.

Thank you all for joining! You are truly amazing! :)