Feast of Aelarra

Long ago in the olden days, before the forest lay across the land with strong trees, before the rushing rivers or the bubbling brooks, before the sturdy mountains that protect our wood, there was Inlenail. She was the queen of our people, and she cared for each of us greatly. When there was no valley to shelter in she begged the mountains to raise tall and proud, when there was no water to drink she cried for us and rivers flew from her tears, when there were no trees to hide among she asked others of her children to plant their feet and raise their leafy boughs to the sky in celebration, for our home was to be great and beautiful and all we would ever need.   However, the day came that a powerful one was jealous of our happy, fertile valley and cast a great Winter over the land to steal away our happiness. Inlenail begged him to take it away, but he turned her away from his halls unless she agreed to be his queen instead.   Wandering the frozen land with sorrow in her heart, Inlenail did not know what to do. At length, she came to her beloved children the trees and asked of them their forgiveness for her failure to protect them from being frozen in eternal winter. One pipes up, little Holly offering themselves as a defense from the evil heart of the ice giant. She was loath to let her child put themselves at risk in this way, but Holly insisted. Weaving a length of holly leaves into a mantle, Inlenail faced the giant once more. He tried to freeze her heart with a spear of ice, but it was tangled in her mantle of holly and she managed to grab his arm, and the warmth of her gratitude for Holly’s gentle sacrifice melted his icy weapons. He was forced to retreat, and Winter soon melted away after him.   After that, Inlenail the Feast of Aelarra was held every year to remember the victory of the Spring over the Winter, and Holly’s noble part. To this day, we use Holly to protect our homes and those precious to us from the ravages of those who would do us ill.