STB-02: The Warrior, the Weaver, and the Wanderer

Have you heard the Yulekkian tale of the Warrior, the Weaver, and the Wanderer?

Over thousands of years—and many a night spent around the communal campfire, tending to their antlers—the Yulekk have become some of the world’s finest storytellers. One of their oldest tales is that of the Warrior, the Weaver, and the Wanderer. Indeed, every Yulekk owns a story blanket depicting these figures, passed down as inheritance or received as a gift at antler-fall.

You may know already that the Yulekk inhabit Stelgur’s Breath, a wintry land of frozen forests and geyser fields in the far north of Avelliron. The Yulekk believe that it is the home of Stelgur, a mythical creature that wanders the white wilds. Nobody living or in legend has beheld Stelgur in full. Only glimpses of hooves, legs, and antlers, half-seen through thick shrouds of blizzard wind. Most describe him as something resembling a bull elk, titanic in size.

The Yulekk see Stelgur as a god—as the harbinger of bitter, dark winters, but also the one who pulls away the snowy veil to bring about spring. Most importantly, Stelgur lords over the geysers, whose bubbling warmth allows the Yulekk to survive the winter. The gift of the geysers, however, is not quite free.

As the story goes, three Yulekk first discovered the geyser fields, thousands of years ago. They were elated—it was a place of warmth, plentiful game, and lush flora. With signs of a brutal winter approaching, it would be salvation for their tribes. But then a snow storm suddenly swept in, and Stelgur appeared before them, half-shrouded in mist. If they wished to come into his domain, Stelgur said, then they must bring a worthy tribute by the last leaf of autumn. Then he vanished as quickly as he had come.

At once, the three Yulekk set out to accomplish their task. The first of them was a mighty warrior who had just had his fourth antler-fall. Believing Stelgur would prize strength and valor, he went to his tribe and organized a hunting party. On the coasts of Blistersea, the Warrior slew a tundra tortoise: a creature often mistaken for a sea boulder, with a jaw known to tear the legs off a mammoth.

The second Yulekk returned to her homelands in the Patient Groves. Rather than impress Stelgur with brawn, she sought to offer him a gift of beauty and expert craft. For weeks she trawled the forest, collecting spools of snowspider silk, until at last the Weaver had amassed enough to spin a fabric like no other.

The third Yulekk was at a loss. She was no warrior, no weaver, no person of any significance. She was hardly a woman grown, having just shed her second antlers. What could she give? She gazed out upon the mountains, upon the highest peak. Perhaps there, she thought, she might find something worthy, and so the Wanderer set out.

When the last leaf of autumn fell, the three Yulekk returned to the geyser fields. Amidst snow and wind Stelgur appeared again, demanding his tribute. From the Warrior came the beak of a tundra tortoise. The Weaver offered a silk blanket, bursting with intricate designs. Yet for all their value, Stelgur looked upon these gifts with indifference.

But the Wanderer—the Wanderer stepped before Stelgur and offered what she had found upon the mountain peak.

A stick.

The Wanderer had braved treacherous ridges, howling winds, and storms of snow and thunder on her ascent up the mountain. At its peak, she had found not magical sword or a lost crown, but a stick planted in the earth. To be sure, it was a fine stick: straight enough to steady balance, strong enough to bear weight. Perfect for walking. For wandering.

And perfect, apparently, for Stelgur.

Immensely pleased, he bowed his approval to the Wanderer. Then, with a blast of winder wind, Stelgur vanished once more, taking the stick with him. And the way to the geyser fields was opened to all.

This story explains why all Yulekk tribes were allowed into the geyser fields, and why they still winter there to this day. But how much of this story is actually true? Did the Warrior, Weaver, and Wanderer literally exist? Does Stelgur really wander the wilds of the Breath? It depends on who you ask, but one thing is certain.

At the end of every autumn, the Yulekk set out offerings for Stelgur. In thousands of years of history, never have they missed this annual tribute. And every year, after the first blizzard of the season, the offerings are gone.