When pollen and petals waft on the breeze, when animals emerge from their burrows with their newborn young, when dawnlight returns as the grip of winter relaxes — that is the season of Eostrid Dreamsong, Fae of tender shoots and hopeful rebirth. A crown of vine and flower adorns her brow, and her staff shines with a golden glow that soothes and relaxes mortal minds. She is beloved by children, for she is their friend and confidant, and always trusts their word when grown-ups do not. Parents love her too, for she helps keep discipline: the threat of being forbidden to partake in Eostrid’s revels and games is a potent bargaining tool.

Eostrid is the herald of spring. She does not personally cause the plants to bloom, the snow to melt, or the sun to rise earlier, but as she winds her way across the outskirts of the Mistwood she seems to coax the process to unfold a little bit faster and with a certain extra flair. In her wake, flowers blossom and sparkle, and dew-kissed grasses glimmer with unnatural luster. She represents nature’s enduring generosity: unbidden, new life flourishes at springtime and provides sustenance and comfort for countless souls. Thus, she is associated with gift-giving, charity, and compassion as well as rebirth. Eostrid’s wicker basket, magically woven anew from the vines of her crown at the start of each new day, is perpetually overflowing with bounty. Magical eggs, brightly colored and enchanted with different flavors, are a favorite.

Eostrid makes nighttime visits to the outer tree-bastions of the Mistwood and the border-marches of Yakai. When she does, a golden glow lights up the night and filters in through the windows to the great enticement and delight of children. But they must stay in bed and wait for dawn, or else spoil Eostrid’s game and risk her disappointed chides. For those not awoken by the warm luminescence of Eostrid’s presence, their sleep is sweeter than they convey, full of happy dreams that see them wake refreshed, cheerful, and hopeful. Those who dare to emerge from their homes to glimpse or accost her as she passes through towns at night are found the next morning lying in the streets or by the threshold of their door, passed out in a deep enchanted slumber. When roused with blows and cold water, they retain no memories of Eostrid.

If the townsfolk allow Eostrid to go about her night-walk, at dawn they will find their village festooned with treats, treasures, and trinkets. Sweet fruits might hang from the hands of the village sundial, loaves and buns may be found arrayed in rows upon hitching-posts, and pastries and candy might appear on the windowsills of well-behaved youngsters. Eostrid delights in hiding her bounties all over town in clever places. She conceals her most valuable gifts well, such as a golden brooch left atop the tallest bough, or a silver ruby ring buried somewhere within a massive holly bush. On the day after Eostrid’s passage, the whole town typically abandons the drudgeries of daily life to spend the day hunting for treasures, feasting, and making merry to give thanks to Eostrid and honor the return of spring.

Though seemingly benevolently inclined towards well-behaved mortals, Eostrid is a powerful magician not to be trifled with, and a fierce foe of Darkness. Few have witnessed her wrathful aspect, but Sylvan Elves recall her tireless efforts in the struggles to purge the Mistwood of the misbegotten creatures of the corrupted Heart Tree. True to her epithet, she is a powerful wielder of sleep magic, which can incapacitate even Demonspawn and Undead who are typically highly resistant to magical fatigue or slumber. Just as she awakens in spring to revitalize the land, she slumbers an enchanted sleep as winter descends. The cycles of hibernation and awakening observed in various animals, associated with the seasons, may be the source of her powers of somnolence.

Eostrid seems free and unencumbered by Fae politics. In this aspect, as well as her wandering nature, she is similar to the sagely Fae known as Grand Oak Padraig. Various myths and conjectures call Eostrid his daughter, cousin, or even his wife. Their true relationship is uncertain, but there is an important thing that they share: a connection to the ancient Rhythm that existed before the planting of the new Heart Tree and the rise of the Nyresan Union. The new Rhythm, born out of dire necessity and generational trauma, fosters a markedly more militant and uncompromising mindset than either Eostrid or Padraig exhibit. Eostrid’s selfless giving and carefree whimsy mark her as a Fae of an older, more hopeful time.

This Eostrid Dreamsong lore is originally posted by Plarium in-game.