Vellos Family/Onliana/Norland Research/Lore

Entry 1: Shiverwoodian Squirrels

Letter from Heironeous (1 hour, 10 minutes ago) Message sent to everyone in your realm (73 recipients)

Whats so different about these Shiverwoodian squirrels?

I have heard of them, but never encountered one.

Onliana (Dame of Belegrond)

Oh she is new! Hmmm...but the Lord of Shiverwood is qualified to tell the tale?

Many of the wild lands have been largely tamed with the passage of time, but when Norland was first settled, the Shiverwood could not be safely entered by mortal men, save in large well-armed caravans. It was duly noted that all large beasts who might normally trouble humans: bears, wolves, etc. were not to be found in that dark and sinister seeming forest. It earned its name from the fearful trembling of caravan guards who passed under its eaves, who always claimed "What? Me, scared? NO! I'm just shivering, its bloody cold!"

Oh, the Black Squirrels of Shiverwood you see today may not look like much, but that is because they have interbred over time with their lesser kin the red and grey squirrels, as their numbers were depleted by the hunts of Viking heroes, eager to prove their courage by wearing a cloak made from the pelt of a Shiverwood Squirrel. Perhaps you've seen them in ancient etchings, with the head afixed to the crest of their helmet? They were fierce and formidable foes, much different from their stunted descendents. They craved not a vegetarian diet, but were drawn to the scent of meat, and though they would eat carrion, they preferred to kill their own prey. And contrary to some fanciful tall tales you might hear, they were never ridden, for you could no more tame such a ferocious beast than you could ride bareback on a porcupine.

The modern Shiverwood Squirrels carry on th ancient predator instinct of their species in one way, for though they do stock up on walnuts and acorns and the like to see them through the winter, they always seek above all, to sink their chompers into the nuts that Norlanders carry under their kilts. They often lie in ambush beside forest trails, concealed under piles of leaves, or in trees from which they swing down on vines, rending the air with their chittering war-crys. And what terror grips the faces of formerly fearless warriors when they feel the tiny claws in their leg hair, making their rapid ascent! Few of the realm's older members do not possess either scars that would haunt your nightmares, or scalemail codpeices. Thus are the Squirrels of Shiverwood rightly known, and feared, as the "Reapers of Nuts".

It is suspected that there exists in the deepest parts of the Shiverwood, a small surviving group of the Greater Squirrels of the ancient days, perhaps even one venerable specimen who has somehow survived, possibily by dark magic. The superstitious local villagers certainly believe in this legendary creature or creatures, and they have an odd mixture of fear and grudging respect for it, saying that it is a direct descendent of Ratatosk, for those who know that name. They scare their children into obedience with the dire warning that if they do not behave, "Grandfather Squirrel" will drag them off to his cave.

Apparently, a small secretive cult exists or at least existed at one time, somewhere in the forest who had in their possession a mysterious artifact called "The Crystal Squirrel". It was rumored to have all manner of magical powers, and the legends maintain that the deranged men who founded the cult created its customs based on dances and rituals they actually saw the Black Squirrels performing in a forest clearing, around a twisted, lightning-blackened tree that resembled some clawed beast.

Heironeous Count of Shiverwood [reply to sender] | [ignore] | [userdetails]