[handwritten]

[eldesthatter]

The wizard Howl's castle was seen moving over the hills near Market Chipping again today. Fanny was fretting with a customer about how he must be coming to steal another young girl's heart.

You see, there are stories of the terrible wizard Howl, and how he steals the hearts of young women to become more powerful. And yet...I have never heard of someone who knew of this first hand. It seems that someone always hears the story from a friend or acquaintance, who heard it from another friend or acquaintance and so on...

I was wondering, community, do you know stories and rumors like that? Where the source of them seems unknown? Do you put much stock in such stories?

Sometimes, I think the girls of Market Chipping just like to frighten themselves.

[ooc: all replies will be handwritten.]

Comments

[docfoul]

[I know many stories. In fact, I have been the source - and even the subject - of some of them.]

[eldesthatter]

What kind of stories, though?

[docfoul]

[Folklore, for instance. Urban legends.]

[eldesthatter]

And you create these tales? For what purpose?

[seasaltzombie]

There used to be a whole bunch of stories like that back in Twilight Town. Urban legends and stuff like that, you know?

[eldesthatter]

What were some of the stories about?

[docfoul]

[Isn't any world enriched by such tales? Surely, you can acknowledge the importance of what one might call worldbuilding.]

[eldesthatter]

I was always under impression that stories like that grew from many sources. Not just one.

[docfoul]

[They must always come from somewhere. Of course, naturally, there is a point where the source is lost, and the facts of the story are muddled. But I have nothing to do with that.]

[eldesthatter]

Perhaps.

What are your stories about, generally?

[atadflamboyant]

Girls do tend to be rather frivolous.

[docfoul]

[Figures of legend. A little like this wizard of yours, I suppose.]

[eldesthatter]

And is there any truth in your stories?

[eldesthatter]

Not all of them. But at times...I suppose some are.

[docfoul]

[I never lie.]

[lifeisbrief]

I know there are some rumors like that about the suitors people have. I don't pay them any mind.

[pikapikapikarin]

Isn't that how stories come from anyhow? Someone experiences something and passes it on?

[seasaltzombie]

Ghosts, mostly. People used to think the abandoned mansion on the outside of town was haunted by this girl in white.

[atadflamboyant]

Yes indeed, darling!

[moonspell]

I don't know about hearts specifically, but there are certainly some fairies who eat humans or parts of them.

[eldesthatter]

They must be interesting.

[eldesthatter]

Used to think? They don't think that anymore?

[eldesthatter]

Still, the stories must come from some truth.

[eldesthatter]

You don't mean stories of suitors that eat people's hearts, do you?

[eldesthatter]

Yes, but I wonder how much of the truth remains after time.