Ænurin

Brandon M. Dennis

The Hress and Justarn the Gold

The Hress lines were founded by Hrast and Jasin, two of the original twelve that were once Ænurin. Of all the places where men first arrived, Hrast and Jasin were given the fairest. They found themselves in a beautiful forest teeming with life, and through it ran a churning river. Hrast and Jasin explored their forest and named it Raterweoud which means "thick trees". Raterweoud was divided into two sections. The northern part, called Harnglom which means "foggy deep", was perpetually covered in a thick fog and the southern part, called Clæmwea which means "clear view", was free of fog and let in much sunlight. They followed the river which they named Grasmenflu (running wild) until it met the sea, and though they were fond of their river they did not much care for the sea, so they left it there and did not name it.

            The Hress were tall, thick and muscular. Their hair was red or blond and their men wore it long and braided. They clothed themselves with vines, branches and leaves and developed a keen ability to bend wood into nearly any shape imaginable. Hrast and Jasin were content within their forest and did not explore outside of it. Whenever the tree line stopped they would turn around and go back, and so over the course of many years they had covered every corner of Raterweoud, but they did not tire of it. They gave birth to many children who followed their parents in their ceaseless wanderings, and over time the tribe had grown so large that it split off into many smaller ones. Raterweoud was so enormous, however, that it in no way felt crowded, and indeed the only time the Hress ever met was during their annual holidays. Though they loved each other, the Hress were a fiercely independent people and they were often very concerned with their own desires and comfort. Thus they were not very sociable with even their own brothers and sisters, and yet this did not decrease their fondness for each other.

            When Justarn arrived he landed in the river Grasmenflu. He waded ashore and stretched, looking about at the great forest before him. He was as tall as a tree and muscular in appearance. His hair was long and golden, braided in the back. He wore loose-fitting clothing draped with gold cloth, and he wore golden boots that sparked like fire when he walked. His legs were wound with the young and flexible trunks of golden trees and vines trailed from him. He entered the forest and found the Hress wandering from place to place, eating that which they found and living without care. He called to Hrast and Jasin, but they did not hear him for they didn't want to. Justarn frowned and thought for a moment. He looked around and saw a large tree, the largest that was in all of Raterweoud. He smiled as an idea sparked and he reached for the trunk of the great tree. He pulled it out of the soil, roots and all, and at this the nearby Hress cried out in dismay, for they loved the tree, but Justarn silenced them with a wink and walked to the river. He took out a knife and began to whittle away at the tree. He peeled off all the bark and carved rooms inside and great staircases that wound this way and that. He carved balconies that could look out over the whole forest, and when he was done he blew on it. He then dipped the giant tree head first into the river and when he pulled it out the tree sparkled and glimmered in golden hues. Justarn reached back and thrust the tree high into the air, and it came down, landing where it once rested. Its roots quickly squirmed and wriggled deep into the soil, and the leaves all spread wide and the branches stretched out far in all directions.

            When Justarn was finished the Hress looked up and marveled, for before them was a living house of great craftsmanship. At this they applauded Justarn and he bowed, and he told them the tales of the ancient times. They recorded these things on scrolls of tree bark from the living tree which Justarn had crafted, and they called this tree Goldenhæm, and it became Justarn's dwelling. The Hress became great craftsmen and forsook their nomadic wanderings in order to build great wooden cities that rested both on the land and hovered amongst the trees. From Goldenhæm their cities stretched out in all directions, growing so vast that they reached from one edge of the wood to the other.

            It was only then that the Hress began to associate with the other races of men. The Peepkin were the first that they contacted because they were the nearest, and it was from them that they obtained bread and produce, though they preferred to live off of wild caught game, fruits and nuts that grew from their trees. The Peepkin were wary of the Hress at first, but the Hress sent them wooden beams for use in constructing their little homes, and the two became friends. The Hress liked the Peepkin but thought they were weak and couldn't understand their love for the fields and prairies, and so kept their association with them casual.

They next discovered the Favish and were very put off by them. They thought that the Favish were ugly and dirty, thinking themselves to be very handsome and manly, and could not fathom living underground. Justarn, however, scolded the Hress.

"Do not scorn the ugly and dirty," he said, "for they could end up being your greatest friends. And do not love men for their beauty, for beauty often conceals disease." At Justarn's words the Hress were ashamed, and so they sought out the Favish and befriended them. The Hress made leather shoes for the Favish and gave them wooden soles, which the Favish greatly liked, and the Favish sent them stone and tools to use in crafting their cities that rested on the ground. Goondagk sent Justarn a scepter made from urutik and gold, and Justarn sent Goondagk a wooden instrument called a gurglebox which, when held to the lips and blown through, made music that sounded like the birdcalls that echoed through the trees of Raterweoud.

But of all the races of men, the Hress most admired the Glaksi, for they saw more of themselves in the Glaksi than in any other race. This ended up leading them into much trouble later on.