Dardoc's Legend of how the Milkriver came to Spero.

by EdJenkins Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:42 pm

Many years ago when Spero was still little more than a village there lived in the town a family of hunters and farmers. Father toiled in the fields day in and day out to provide food for the family, their eldest was a girl who became a renowned hunter, but that does not concern this tale. And the youngest was a boy who was dutiful and helped his father in the fields day in and day out. One day it came to be that the fields had been plowed and seeded and the growing season was progressing slowly. The son had managed to obtain a flimsy fishing rod and asked permission to spend the afternoon trying to catch some fish. Seeing no harm in the matter Father agreed and the son went off to the nearby shore to see what he could catch. The afternoon passed and the efforts of the son seemed to have been in vain for there were no fish to be had. But just as the sun started to dip under the horizon the boy was surprised to see that a mermaid had come to frolic in the surf breaking on the beach. He could not believe his eyes but approached the fair mermaid and long did they talk well into the night. This pleased neither the Father of the boy nor of the Mermaid, as both had to come to the shore to bring back their wayward children. Just as the Mermaid was about to dip back into the depths of the ocean the son called out and asked "Will I ever see you again?". As the laughs of the mermaid faded under the waves the Boy heard a reply carried to him by the wind and the surf "If you are lucky boy maybe we will meet again!". Father was not pleased that the Boy had been dallying at the sea and so to discipline him an additional chore was laid at this feet - every morning he would have to wake up early and tend to the single cow that the family kept. Now this cow was not like the cows which are found in Spero today. It was a rangy creature, skin and bones and not much else and though it gave a little milk it was never enough for the family. So every morning the boy would wake up and tend to the cow in silence. Though intended as a chore he found that he enjoyed his time with the cow, for it was the one time of the day that we has not under the supervision of his watchful Father. So it came to be that the boy would treat the cow as his confidant, telling the bovine of his wish to see the mermaid once more, but also wistfully noting that he had in fact no luck in his life and thus it would probably never come to pass. And so the months went by, and the market fair came to Spero. Father decided to take the cow to the market and there he met with a stranger passing through town who had a prize bull - the cow and the bull mated and the whole family waited expectantly but none more so than the boy for the cow was his friend by this point. The delivery happened on a cold morning in February. To everyone's surprise the cow had given birth not to one but to two little calves, two little heifers came out. Father was most concerned for he did not think the cow would have enough milk for both heifers but boy convinced him to try to keep them both. It was not easy on the poor cow but somehow the milk came - she gave those two little heifers more milk than she had ever made before in their life and they grow into two fine and beautiful cows, unlike any seen before in Spero. And the twin cows in turn had calves and to the amazement of Father and joy of the Boy the milk of the twin cows was plentiful and nourishing. The family now had much milk to spare and so Boy learned to curdle cheese and this became a big part of his diet for he much enjoyed this bountiful milk. The neighbors of Father noticed this and all wanted to have heifers born from the twins cows for they said amongst themselves that a true river of milk was flowing from these majestic twin cows! Thus is how the Milkrivers of Spero came to be. But our story does not end here. One day the Boy who had by now grown into a man decided to try his hand at fishing once more. He went out to the shore with his old fishing rod to try his luck once more. And no one saw him again. Some said that bandits might have ambushed him on the way, or that a wild Elion could have caught him. Much was made of the fact that the shore could be dangerous and treacherous. But his sister, who was by now a famed hunter went out to seek him and found no signs of wild animals or struggles. But she did find his fishing rod propped up next to some rocks. To all who asked the sister would always say that the luck of his brother had just turned that day. Most believed it was truly bad luck that got him, but I for one am not so sure.