Transcript
This story weaves a fictional narrative for the origin of the Slavic nature spirit, inspired by folklore, a bit of history, and a lot of creative freedom.
Page 1
People did not want to admit that their actions were the reason the Samovily left. They believed that the Samovily abandoned them, and this they did not take well.
People resented them and started blaming them for their misfortunes. Droughts, bad harvests, and ill-stricken cattle were all attributed to them.
Page 2
Some even claimed to have seen them, riding once again through their forests and mountains, bathing in their lakes and rivers, and dancing in their meadows and steppes.
But now they were no longer well disposed towards people.
They were not seen as divine beings anymore, but as the restless spirits of proud women, cursed by a god for their deprived and wayward lives.
Their appearance had also changed - Now they had golden hair, pale skin, and eyes that flashed like lightning. They could transform into many animals, and sometimes even fly.
Page 3
People told tales about Samovily seducing men with their singing and beauty, and bewitching them into becoming obsessively “in love”.
Men desired them, but they also condemned their way of life.
They spread Stories of finding Samovily undressed and bathing, stealing their clothes of power, binding them to the human world, and forcing them into marriage.
With this they would take away the Samovily’s high-spirits, their joy and freedom, and subject them to the rule of their husbands. They would seemingly become human women, until reminded of their true nature, either by being called Samovily, or by retrieving their clothes of power, whereupon they would transform into birds and fly back home.
Page 4
Years later...
They were known to devotedly protect their territory, shooting arrows at people coming close.
It was told that If people wanted to construct something within the Samovily’s territory, what was built during the day would be ruined during the night. The payment of a human life would be asked in exchange for their permission.
But not all stories portrayed them in a bad light.
There were still people who respected and even loved them. And they told different kinds of stories.
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