Winter Festival | 21:15 | Corona
The party is over but here I am... still not done with my drink. Why don't we pass the time by telling stories by the fire? It's an old Aesir custom, so let me start. I used to tell my daughter stories like this all the time. It's nice to have someone who will listen again.
A long time ago, before Aesir was Aesir, the land was home to warring kingdoms constantly fighting over territory. The people were divided. Around that time, miners from the kingdom of Ivarr discovered glunite hidden deep within the Freyr ice caves. No one knew what to do with it until a group of magic users called "Runics" arrived on a strange ship. They had crossed the frozen ocean from a distant place. I know, I know. It's hard to believe, but this is what the history books say. These Runics made contact with the kingdom of Ivarr and taught them how to use glunite. King Ivarr's people advanced in technology, and with it, they were able to unify Aesir. Then came the politics, the history, and all that other tedious stuff.
The Runics originally intended to usurp King Ivarr and rule over Aesir themselves. What they didn't know was that King Ivarr was wise and clever. Using his smarts and sharp wit, he ensured that the Runics gained no political power. Growing impatient, the Runics plotted to kill the king and take his place. They trapped King Ivarr, bound him and threw into a vat of glunite. But instead of dying, he became an Ember -- an immortal being mutated by glunite.
The Runics were shocked when King Ivarr returned to his throne. They fled back to the coast to escape on the sea. Perhaps it was divine punishment or perhaps it was King Ivarr's wrath, but that's when a massive glunite storm swept across the entire coast. The heavens roared for three days and three nights. When a new day dawned, the Runics had completely vanished along with their ship. All that remained on the coast was a large chest filled with gold coins that the Runics had plundered from Aesir. Cursed coins.
From that moment on, a legend spread in Aesir. On the vast, icy seas, the Runic ghosts wander aimlessly, trapped between life and death and forever unable to return home. Nowadays, Aesir elders warn children to never pick up coins from the street during a winter storm, for they might very well be the cursed gold of the Runics. Legends say that if someone touches a gold coin, the Runic's curse will transform that person into a terrifying ghost. Then, on starless nights, a phantom ship will quietly dock on the Runic coast and welcome the unfortunate soul onboard.
--Tch, why are you all so unresponsive? My daughter was terrified by this story when she was little! Fine, give me another story then! And get me another drink!
