The Story of Sweetwillow

This is the story of the dryad Sweetwillow, told to the Addermarch Mercenaries in DR 1715 by her former host tree, a weeping willow in the Thornweald.

The willow starts to pick up on Drou’s song, harmonizing in a low bass with her. As Drou slowly lets it take the melody, its low bass voice continues, singing of Sweetwillow.

Sweetwillow, the tree sings, was a dryad of resounding grace and beauty. She brought sun and joy to the forest, and many people of Thornweald came to her grove. The tree sings of the days of friends, companions, joy; sings of Gwydren, a moose-folk wanderer and ancient dweller of the forests, who would come visit and talk.

The tree’s song turns sad and deep, its voice sinking low. The Briarheart has power, yes, a deeper, ancient power, stronger than any mere archfey. But his attention is not what is was, when the forests of the Thornweald stretched as far as the mind could imagine, and his power wanes and ebbs. And darkness creeps in, the terrors of the night from beyond the Sunset Gate, where Harrow and Wend rule, the malice of casual cruelty from Duskmire, where the Gloomshaper rules.

It was this darkness that took Sweetwillow. The corruption came for us, slowly at first, and Sweetwillow didn’t see it. Maybe it was something about the brightness of her grove, the sun of this place, that made the Briarheart weak here. Maybe it was ill fate. The tree does not know, but its song turns mournful and slow as its bass voice sings of Sweetwillow’s death, then slowly fades to nothing.

As the tree’s song ends, after a moment of silence, Yvan Greenrabbit, in a moment of tenderness, touches the bark and warms a hand print.