The Slavic Rusalka Fariy

Slavic Rusalka Fairies

As I continue my discover in the mythology & magical creatures, I've decided to branch out to different cultures other than my own. In doing so I have found the most fascinating creature. Some I have already blogged for you. And I will continue to look further in my later blogs. For this one I will be looking into the Russian folklore of the...
Slavic Rusalka ~

The Rusalka is a female mermaid, ghost, fairy,water nymph, succubus and a demon that dwells in waterways. According to most of the Slavic traditions, the Rusalka are usually a fish-woman who lives at the bottom of rivers, lakes and ponds. Then in the middle of the night the Rusalkas will walk out from the waterways on to the banks of the lakes etc. They will walk also the the meadows that are nearby the waterways and dance & sing the night away. If any of these Rusalka see a handsome young man or men around, they will lure them with their songs and dance. These Rusalka' fairies usually dance naked or with very loose flowing white or light colors long dresses which they are able to mesmerise the men very easily.
Once they had the men in their grasp, the Rusalka would lead the men back to their lake home's  to live with them forever. And the men would  never miss or know that they ever had a human family above the mucky waters of  the lake. 
The Vila ~

The Vila are the Slavic version of the nymphs who have great power over storms which they take great delight in sending down on either a lone traveler or men at sea. They live in the meadows, near  trees to protect, ponds, rivers & oceans. They can also appear as swans, horses wolves and beautiful women and young girls. 
They're also fairy - like spirits who live in the wilderness and sometimes in the clouds. They were believed to be the spirits of women or young girls who had been frivolous in their lifetimes and now float between here and the afterlife.
They to can appear as swans, snakes, horses, falcons, ravens, or wolves - that they shape-shift into  beautiful maidens that are either naked or dressed in white thin dresses with long flowing hair. The voices of the Vilas are quite beautiful and very luring to anyone who hears their songs - coming from their lovely voices. It is said if one does hear their voice they will lose all thought of food, drink or sleep for day on end. The Vilas beside being beautiful for their feminine charms, they are also fierce warriors too. When the earth shakes, it is the Vilas warriors doing battle against what ever magical beast that is trying to take their territories.

Another great power that the Vilas have is the power to heal and they have prophetic powers too! They willing to help humans (mostly handsome men) with their healing powers but its a very rare happening if it happens. 
If you ever come across a deep thick grass area with a small or large ring - this is a fairy ring left where there was a dance. These should never be walked upon or walked over, as it will bring you bad luck. As I found out in my readings so walk with your own risk if you see one!
You might left a offering for the Vilas consisting of round cakes, ribbons, fresh fruit and small vegetables . They like flowers too, left at the sacred trees, wells and fairy caves.
Slavic Rusalka Female ghost ~

In the Slavie folklore of the Rusalka, this is where the female ghost or demon dwells in the lakes or waterways.. 
She could be considered a being of evil force. These ghostly figures that float about the dark gloomy lakes are the souls of young women who had died in the lake or near one. 
The Rusalka is not invariably a malevolent but she will not be allowed to rest in peace until her death is avenged - This could be why these ghostly female spirit haunts these lakes. but according to legend most of these Rusalkas came to their deaths by a violent one so this is probably the reason why the haunting and sometimes turn into the darker more demon ghost within these lakes.
I hope you have enjoyed a bit of the different culture of Slavic Rusalka faerie... Wendy  

The Mithero' of the Sea-2013

The Mithero' of the Sea ~
The Sea Mithero' grants life to every living thing, brings warmth to the oceans and calms the 

storms that bring sorrow to many an Orkney family~
She is the force that affects everyday life of the sea. The Myth of the Mithero' of the Sea is possibly one of the oldest surviving strands of Orcadian  folklore.
This is an old Orcadian Verse of Mithero' of the Sea -
Bit luck thee niver noo in vore,
cin man hear tale o' Teran
Rampagan' on da ocean floor, Fur
folk ir little carin
Hoo tullyas or brullyas, Fowt wi'
de great sea - mither' 
swordship gae lordship, Tae ane or else the tither'
   ~An old Orcadian Verse~

In all good tales of the Sea Mithero' the forces of good must have a bitter nemeses. Her powerful and Hostile rival is Teran, the spirit of winter. Teran's screaming voice is heard in the fury of winter's gales and in his anger can be seen in the mountainous waves that crash against the beautiful coastline that he destroys with his waves of foam and massive amounts of water. 

The Spring struggles to stay ~
Each Spring around the Vernal Equinox The Sea Mithero' returns to Orkney to take up her summer residence in the Sea. 
Her return prompts the beginning to the 'Vore Tullye', the Spring struggle - which is a fierce battle against Teran, that lasts for weeks and will manifest itself in devastating storms that curn the sea into a boiling froth...
The result of this conflict is a foregone conclusion. The Sea Mithero' has returned, refreshed and strong always triumphing over her terrible adversary the Teran. 
Once overcome, Teran is bound firmly at the bottom of the sea and thus begins the Sea Mithero's beneficent reigns.
She immediately sets to work restoring the damage caused by Teran.
She stills his violent storms and calms the raging Seas. Warmth and life return to the water. Only interrupted by the occasional squall caused by Teran as he struggles to break his magical bonds set by - Mithero' of the calming of the Sea. 
The Autumn Tumuft~
As winter approaches and the equinox grows nearer. The Sea Mithero' grows exhausted by her labours over the summer months and is forced to confront Teran again. 
Breaking free of his shackles that had bond him thru the spring and summer - another battle was on.
"The Gore Vellye" or  Autumn Tumuft" - ensues. 
But this time, Teran emerges victorious, gripping the islands once more with his terrible embrace.
His foe banished, Teran once again reigns~
He is Supreme and for a while every living creature must submit to his tyrannical rule.
During these dreadful days of winter, The Sea Mithero' Mother is able to hear the cries of every drowning man from their ships in the raging seas, and the only thing that consoling her is the knowledge that when spring arrives, she will return refreshed and invincible - and will  prevail again as it always been. 
I hope that you found this story as interesting as I have. I love the stories of old Celtic flavor to it..
Wendy.

Cynthia's Blog

Snow Elves-2013

Snow Elves

Well I though I would do another blog on a different race of elves. These Elf's are quite different than  all the other elfin race. For one thing they are quiet rare and very seclusive

They Have an Icy History ~

The rift between the Snow elves and their cousins the drows, stems from the very same war (the Crown wars) that drove the drow into the Underdark. 
During this time, the Snow elves were deceived into allowing passage for a larger profit of the drow through a mountain pass they controlled, not knowing this was happening at the time. So the Snow elf's claim that the drows were serving the Lolth and had recently declared war on their cousins elves.    While never formally condemned by their relatives, there has been a universally rift between them since the first Crown War. And the Snow Elves have been shunned by all their cousins due to what the drow had done to them. 
Snow Elfin History ~
The Snow elves are the taller of all the elfin race and are the more naughty than all the other elves or

even the humans! They sought once to dominate or to destroy the human men who try to enter their Icy Mountains, Valleys, and homes. This of course emulating a hatred for the snow elves forever & numerous centuries. 
During their age of seclusion, the snow elves have focused their studies on the fields of what would aid them in their survival in the harsh environments in which their fated they learned to dwell in. 
Thus their magic is particularly the magic of cold

& ice. While they still work as clerical in their mountains castles & underground community's under the mountain castles - they still study their magic of snow and ice. They are Druids and rangers in the community too, that are prominent to the higher positions within their clan. All the while, the Snow elves have become more reclusive and secretive as the lowland societies have grown unaware and indifferent to the snow elves. Some clans of these snow elves have even died out but there are a few in-hiding in the high mountains deep in the coldest parts on our earth. 
The Cold Clans ~
These clans were families that would live away from the mountains - Snow Elves. They would live in

small villages with dome shape huts. Dwelling in tight knit extremely isolationist families of clans of 3 - 30 members. Snow elves are very territorial and are hostile toward trespassers. There are other snow elfin clans, that live in small villages, consisting of 2 - 10 members. They are in dome shape huts of woven trees, covered with furs, skins and packed on the outside with layers of snow. Such villages house members of only one clan only, which lies generally in the center of these small villages.
Their territories average two square miles in size for each member of a clan in a village. These communities numbers of elves are no more than 30 elves and they can branch off into two more families. 
In early spring some clans will branch off from the main group and set off in search of new territories. This would prevent overpopulation and starvation in a rugged environment that offers no bountiful harvest for very large communities. Such branching off is now very rare event within the clans now... 
Snow Elves Life Style ~
The Snow Elves have developed classes as among themselves to help with running their communities

this would be either in the high cold mountain tops or in the valleys of the hut clans. 
They may be fighters, rangers, druids, wizards and thieves. All of these different professions within the different communities whether it be in the high mountain tops or the valleys of the hut clans are at different levels of skills, in each of their professions. 
These different levels have been given to the Snow elves as a tradition for centuries. 
The Males Traditionally are often the most fighters, rangers and thieves. 
The Females Traditionally are mostly the wizards.
The Druid's can be either male or female.
Snow Elves have no ability to work with metal, which is no small surprise as they use but dislike fire

and disdain all metal armor, including studded leather and even elfin chains. They prefer to ware leather skins or their own special made clothing which the Snow elves are known making in secret... They have the special ability to manufacture a strong and beautiful type of clothing that no other of their cousin kin has been able to recreate. This could be why they have been so secretive about it for centuries and even to this day!  What their secretive armor and clothing is: It's the hide of a 
White Dragon.

No other elfin cousin's have ever been able to do this type of armor or clothing. Let alone manufacture it among the thousands like that of snow elf's during their time of great numbers. Due to their carefully guarded secrets to the curing and treating this type of armor of the White Dragon. It also gave them great mobility,with these white leathery skins from the white dragon in the icy sub-zero temperatures that they live in. No one really knows how they are able to retrieve a White Dragon in order to make their special clothing and armor. That to has been a heavily guarded secret for centuries too. Even up to modern day.
Druids ~
Only the Druids within the clans are taught the secrets of this craft of manufacturing the armor and clothing. The Druids are taught the special ways of treating and curing the white hide of the(The Dragon). And they have guarded this secret to this day even from their own kin. 
All the manufacturing of the armor is done in their Shires.The Shires are also used for learning the higher type of magic and their kinda worship or Religion. 

Snow Elves Society ~
The Snow elves have been said to be truly the purest of all the elves. Dating back to the ancient ones!

This could be, because of their lineage and history with the drow. Also being being so secretive and purposeful seclusion race from all other races kin. 
They are the shortest lived of all the elves, on the average life span of 750 years being the oldest, but some have been known to live up in years to 900 to 1000yrs. This is considered incredibly ancient for a Snow elf.
Snow elves are the tallest of all the elfin race's. They generally tower over humans and all their cousin elf's .
The women will reach up to 6'4" height and the men can reach up to 7' in height, sometimes higher. Although tall, the snow elves a quite thin and extremely wiry and tough individuals . They gain dexterity and constitution but lose charisma when having to deal with all races including their own.
They have light brown, tan and sometimes very pale white skin. Their hair is white, pale blonde, icy blue, black and silver. Their eyes are usually deep blue but some have - icy white, icy pale blue and on   rare occasions there is a snow elf with deep black eyes. 

They strongly favor white clothing and bone jewelry , which they will traded for silver in the valley's

below the snowing mountains, from the Valley Elves.
Yes, believe it they do like the Valley elves - Odd you think after all I've been telling you about these secretive elves but yes they do!  
So let me tell you why!

The Snow Elves are best described as neutral with insufferably arrogant tendencies, with the exception of the valley elves, whom they tolerate and occasionally befriend. How isn't that interesting! I thought so... I mean they don't like any of their own race and us humans and now they seem to like or tolerate the Valley Elves but why? Makes me think I should do a blog on the Valley elves at some point.. I will have to look into that..
Well back to the Snow Elves..
From what I can figure out the Snow Elves have actively dislike all other races including their own and will go out of their way to make that fact know if given the opportunity -
The Drow incited was a kinda madness that came over the snow elf's and overwhelming odds - this

prevent the Snow Elves from attack any of the Drows. In my opinion, I feel that the drow had used some of their magic or black magic on the snow elf's in order to get through the mountain pass, 
that would help them retreat from the surface of the earth. And I am sure there were many other evil dealings they thought up of through their queen The Spider Queen.
  In addition to their characteristics, the Snow elves are

resistance to sleep and charm spells, they can move silently and can detection any type of a secret door. Snow Elves have developed several unique adaptations to their hostile environments.
All Snow Elves gain special powers that protect them from the freezing cold conditions. How? They can use their magic that protects them from the Icy cold chill of below 0 -zero temperatures and they can also use the chilly icy cold temperatures as a weapon too. They have the ability to set traps with a  90% success in providing food in their snowy mountain regions. I hope I've intrigued your curiosity about the Snow Elves. I hope that these beautiful artist images that I have found give the blog a more interesting look at the snow  elves too. The Artist of these beautiful images of snow elves and the landscape are simply brilliant and very talented.. 
I love putting beautiful art work with my blogs. We are very lucky to have so many amazing Artist in this world that can despite a world that is almost wipe-out..  Wendy

   

Fairies and me - Cynthia's Blog