Blade Maidens: My Sister’s Keeper – 4

“The Verdannian Crest is a proud symbol amongst its people. Much like those who call its rich forests and fields home, the Great Tree’s roots cling deep to the soil and refuse to be moved. It is most often told as a gift from Gyvenia, the most favored goddess within the kingdom, to Queen Columbine Lilacae the somewhat mythic founder of the Verdannian throne.

So the story goes, Columbine was but a simple farmer who carved out her existence in the far-harsher wilds of ancient Verdanna. Strong and fearless, but blessed with a gardener’s touch, she would both guard roads from bandits and wolves as well as give any surplus from her harvest to neighbors in need. Eventually those neighbors grew dependent on Columbine’s generosity, and her own stores lay bare. Rather than let others go hungry, she simply began foraging in the oh-so dark and dangerous woods for enough to fill her belly and keep the hunger pangs away.

On one such trek, she came across a beautiful tree bearing all sorts of fruit. An impossibility, Columbine knew, but one she would not turn down. While much of the fruit was either too high to reach or not yet ripe, two perfect apples lay just within arms reach. After plucking them, she was surprised by an old woman who had crept behind her. The woman was hungry, begging for just one of the apples to give her the strength to find her way home. Columbine had not eaten in days, but she could not spurn one so desperate. She gave the stranger one of the fruits and offered to lead her home. With a smile, the old woman vanished, and the divine voice of Gyvenia herself echoed from the tree. A test of character, and one that Columbine passed. The fruits from the tree showered down upon her, and regrew in an instant. Gyvenia promised that as long as Columbine needed, the Great Tree would provide.

While the tree itself is long since lost to history–or never existed–its symbol serves to remind Verdanna of its noble origins. Strength of character. Generosity of wealth. And service to those in need.”

– A portion of The Heraldry of The Realms, a text by popular historian R’ian Hart.