Spaederlings

Spaederlings are, according to legend, the familiars of the first sentient being (known by pagans and isolated tribes at the All-Father or the Sacred Womb, or similar names). Until 1810 spaederlings were considered to be as real as Caeder Crawlers, but recent observations made in Zavak may prove different.

Legends
In various legends, sparrows have been considered to be anywhere from tricksters and thieves to keepers of secrets and guides to hidden places. But among the fables that involve sparrows are also tales of creatures that, though they look like sparrows, most certainly are not.

Different in appearance only by virtue of having neither shadow nor reflection, Spaederlings are found in the legends of both the Western and Eastern Kingdoms, with the following being the most common:

The Spaederling and the Crow
One day a Crow sat upon a hill, cleaning its feathers as it stood over a scrap of food it had taken from a hunter in the woods. Keeping a cautious eye out, the Crow spotted a sparrow some distance off, watching it. Wary of its meal being stolen, the Crow began to eat it, not wishing to share.

The sparrow the called out, "Oh Crow, oh Crow, return what you took from me!"

Crow paused in eating and said "Nay, I took this from the hunter in the woods!"

The sparrow then asked "Oh Crow, oh Crow, would you then share it with me?"

Crow paused again in eating to say "I have taken this from a hunter myself, and will share none with you!"

The sparrow then called, "Oh Crow, oh Crow, share your meat with me!"

Crow paused again to say "Nay, this is bread, and it it mine!"

The Crow then returned to eating the bread, only to find it was no longer at his feet. Looking back at the sparrow, the crow saw that the bread was in its talons. The sparrow pecked at the bread, tearing off part of it. The Crow felt then a searing pain, and cawed loudly, and saw that a strip of flesh had been torn from it's side and was gone. The sparrow then tore another peice of the bread, and Crow found more of its flesh had been stripped away, revealing bone.

Crow then cried "Oh sparrow, oh sparrow! Are you a dread Spaederling?"

The sparrow continued to devour the bread, piece by piece, little by little, crumb by crumb, until it ate it's fill, and it flew away, leaving a crust and a pile of bones on the hill.

Sixteen Foxes
There once was a prince who had in his garden sixteen clever foxes, who the prince dressed in gold and jewels. The foxes would amuse the prince with clever riddles, and would be the prince's eyes and ears in the palace, telling him everything that went on in his court, for these foxes could see into the hearts of people.

One day, the prince found that there were only fifteen of his foxes in the garden.

"Oh gentle foxes, where is your brother?" the Prince cried.

"He is hiding in shame, for he lost the pretty bracelets you put upon his feet."

The Prince called the fox to him, and asked who had stolen the bracelets.

"I know not." The fox said, and hung its head "I had them and then I had them not. I was alone in the hall by the throne room and then they had been taken from me."

The prince reassured the fox that new bracelets would be made, and the guards would be alerted to the theivery. "Whoever has taken your bracelets shall be made to return them to you, and shall be banished from my palace."

The next day, however, only fourteen foxes greeted the Prince in his garden.

"What is this? Why are there two of my foxes missing?"

"Another fox hides in shame, because the pretty ring on it's tail was taken away."

The Prince called her to him, and asked what had happened.

"I was sleeping under the roses that climb over the balcony, and when I awoke, the ring was gone."

The Prince ordered his guards to search for the ring on the balcony and below it, but not even footprints were found. The Prince vowed to the fox that a new ring would be made, and that if the thief was found thye'd be banished from his palace.

The next day, again, one less fox greeted the Prince. He cried out in frustration. "Has another of my dear foxes had my gifts taken from them?"

The next day, too, another fox hid in shame, and the next day another. Eventually only one fox greeted him, her necklace of gold and pearl shining in the afternoon light. The Prince then hatched a plan with this last fox to catch the thief once and for all.

The fox lay asleep in the throne room that night, and the prince was hidden in a secret chamber under the flooboards next to her. Many hours passed, and the Prince was just beginning to fall asleep when there was a fluttering of wings. The Prince looked up through the floorboards and saw three sparrows fly into the room and slip the necklace off of the sleeping fox.

As the sparrows flew out the window, the Prince jumped up out of his hiding place and looked out the window after them. They had flown out into a small kitchen garden, and were nowhere to be seen. The Prince climbed out of the window, and, jumping to the ground, saw there were three kitchen slaves asleep in the doorway to the kitchens. The Prince woke them up and, seeing their Prince, they bowed deeply.

"Why do you sleep out here in the garden?" The Prince demanded.

"It is so hot, dear Prince, that we sleep in the garden at night."

"Did you know there are three thieves stealing from my foxes?" The Prince asked.

The slaves fell to their knees. "Oh, do not suspect us, my Prince! We were sleeping here and stole nothing!"

The Prince continued "I just saw the theives, which looked like three sparrows, take a necklace from my fox. Here, then, are you, three slaves, when I just saw the sparrows fly to. Show me then, that you have no necklace among you."

The slaves quickly disrobed, and showed there was naught about them but poor rags. The slaves showed the Prince all the area about them, and showed that there was no necklace to be found. The Prince was satisfied, and told them that if they would find the three thieving sparrows they would be handsomely rewarded.

Several days passed, and the three slaves came forth with all the stolen jewelry and three dead sparrows. The Prince, overjoyed, gave the slaves their freedom, and a large purse of gold. However, that night, the dead sparrows and the jewelry all turned to ash, and the slaves were never again seen.

The Ouilifant and the Spaederling Child
There was once a wise Ouilifant, who sat on the floodplains of Krythrynn Poc, and showered the small creatures with water if they were thirsty and hot but afraid to drown in the rising water.

Discovery
After Hedrin, god of birds, left Zavak in protest of the overrunning of Porchiis, he took with him all of the birds of that country. However, reports of sparrows in the area have been confirmed. As it is an established and undeniable fact that all birds are compelled to follow the every whim of Hedrin, these sparrows arelikely not as they appear. Hedrin himself had, when presented with one of these "sparrows," reeled back in fear and commanded it to be bourne away.

These sparrows, then, have been dubbed "Spaederlings." Whether actually the creatures of legend remains to be seen, but the locals seem to have known of them for some time. Considered to be a bad omen, the presence of a Spaederling can be determined by observing that the sparrow in question has no shadow or reflection. When one is confirmed to be in a Zavakian town, the locals will spend a week in a special subterrainian temple to all of the Twelve Beautiful, known as a spaedera, where they will fast and pray. If, upon leaving the temple, the Spaederling is still within the town, it will be abandoned.