Legends of Belariath
Zinnia
The Myth of the Nymph
Many recall the stories of the Nymph as a highly beautiful and sexual creature who could only be stirred from slumber by the music of the satyr and his pan flute. There is one Nymph who would tell a different story to this myth.
Two years ago in the spring, a Dryad of Gaea was gifted to the forest. Her tree being of orange but her name of the flower Zinnia. She had memories or her sister before her, those passed on to her by Gaea. Memories of the story and traditions of the daughters of Gaea.
Upon Zinnia's passings of a town known as Nanthalion, she heard the music to a song on a pan flute being played. The song was not perfect yet but she knew the song to be familiar. When finding it being played by a high human male she recalled the stories she was left to remember.
Long ago a Satyr only known as Pan was playing a reed pipe flute that a dryad sister had enjoyed the sound of so much that she soon began to love the Satyr as he did her. When winter season came about, she was to return to the forest to sleep but she didn't want to leave her love.
The two of them asked Gaea for a solution and was given one that would change the ways of nature for some time. If the Satyr could play the song perfectly for Gaea, he could take his dryad as his wife, but never be able to play the flute again nor recall the song. Both would be changed forever once leaving the forest.
Pan played the song perfectly and Gaea granted thier union, the reed flute became known as the Pan flute. Upon leaving the forest, both the Satyr and the Drayd were turned to high humans. The next spring Gaea gifted the forest with a new dryad that would look just like the one she had lost.
From that spring onward, a new male would be gifted with the Pan flute where he would only practice one song until he could get it perfect, if played perfectly by winter, he would summon all daughters of Gaea to thier slumber. As a reward, he would be able to pick one daughter as he bride and she would change to his race to be with him and the flute would pass on in the spring when the daughter was replaced.
Each year this would continue. On this day, the flute was in the hands of a High Human who called himself Aramis. By mere accident he had attracted the curiousity of a dryad named Zinnia. He accepted her and gave her care, hoping to keep her with him always. She had become the chosen daughter of Gaea for the 'piper'.
With each day they grew closer, he gave her gifts of Jewelry to wear, which became unremovable until he had made his choice upon the play of the song near winter. Aramis having care to Zinnia even tried to protect her by keeping her at his home or at Unigo tower. He made her his registered slave to perhaps ward off others. But the land was known for not being safe.
While Aramis was away from the tower, Zinnia met another high human male who was not as caring, he was dark and even though she wore the marking of another, he wanted the beauty of the dryad for himself, to the point of using his magics to drain her of her life, which would place strain upon her tree to recover her.
When returning to the forest to recover, she slept for some time. Upon her awakening, she returned to Unigo tower and the home of Aramis but she could not be found. His gifts still remained so she knew he had not decided yet. Rumors told her that Aramis had simply disappeared. Until she could learn of Aramis' decision, she remained at Unigo tower.
It was while she was there that the Headmaster Takao decided that he should check with Imperial Slave Authority about who she could belong to. Whilst there, they learned that she belonged to no one, and Takao had her registered to Unigo. She was happy to agree until she could hear from Aramis.
The night of her registering to Unigo, Aramis arrived at Unigo, though he barely knew who she was. He didn't seem to even know anything about her nor did he play the flute song. This meant that she was no longer his chosen or the chosen daughter for that year. It was later that she learned that two years had passed since her sleep. Though her gifts remained.
In some month's time, Zinnia learned that before Aramis could choose her, that another made the claim to her first. The very one that tried to take her life. Also a new person or two was also taking special attention to her. A female barbarian and a male barbarian. Both were of special interest but the female was confusing while the male was happily living with others.
Only the necromancer was still claiming to want her as his. She decided that she would not sleep this winter to learn more about each of them and lives as they do. Even as each night she would hear the new 'piper' play the song to call her back to her rest.