How Music Came To Be



Vaalea pushed the light blonde tangled locks of her hair over her shoulders, straightening her back. She sat on the floor of Jarnsalr, her legs crossed and her daughter sitting on the variety of furs laid in front of her, staring up at the young mother expectantly.

Vaalea cleared her throat,  her expression solemn. Then she suddenly beat a quick melodic rhythm with the flat of her hands into her chest, her movements halting momentarily when she declared in the language of the Lossoth, 

"Ainoa from the Tribe of the Wolf, I will tell you now, how all the music in this world was born!"

The woman smiled wildly down at the child, who appeared enchanted, wide curious eyes observing her sole care-taker, even if she understood none of her words. 

The woman patted another rhythmic pattern against her chest, grinning down at the child's naive smile.

"Long, long, long ago there lived a man called Pekka, the best fisherman in the Tribe of the Bear." She paused, allowing her eyes grow wide in the suspense built by her silence. "One day, when Pekka was fishing, suddenly two bears came out of the forest and dragged him away."

Vaalea drummed a quicker beat against her chest.

"Pekka did not struggle, for he knew bears were holy. Instead, he allowed them to take him wherever they wanted without complaining a word. Eventually after many days of traveling in silence, the bears arrived into a large den. There were many old bears there, even the Matron of All Bears."

Vaalea lifted her brow at the child, grinning widely and Ainoa flailed her arms in excitement, reading the emotions of the story, even if she couldn't quite make sense of the words yet. The mother clapped a longer rhythm against her chest, before continuing,

"The Matron of all Bears, stepped to Pekka, and told him that together the bears had decided to give the Mortal Men, the gift of music. The tunes that allow us to connect fully with the world that lies beyond what we see." Vaalea painted an arc in front of the child's eyes with her hands, before beating another rhythm against her chest.

"And so the Matron of All Bears hugged Pekka against her chest. The embrace lasted for days and while listening to the beating of her strong heart, Pekka learnt all the secrets of music. The two younger bears then took him back to his Tribe, and they hunted some fish on the way, for they were all very hungry. When Pekka returned - he taught the men of his Tribe the ways of music, and so the gift of music passed on from fathers to sons, from sons to their sons and eventually to men of other Tribes as well. From those days on, we have all danced along the rhythms of the Mother Bear."

Vaalea patted the last swift rhythm against her chest, allowing the story to sink in, before abruptly chuckling and scooping up her dumbfounded child, pressing her against the floor in a tender play, seeking to place her ear against Ainoa's small chest, to listen the fragile beats of her tiny heart. The child giggled, flailing her arms, small hands fiercely gripping her mother's hair in excitement. Vaalea laughed, turning her head to kiss the child's stomach, speaking against it with a wide smile,

"Your music is strong, Ainoa, daughter of Two Norths."