rusalky

     The Rusalky is a dusky elf with a curious history among humans.  Many negative connotations can be found although I prefer to hold my belief from a rather trusted source which does not intercept with the more christian systems.  The Rusalky were originally girls who drowned, committed suicide, were strangled or were buried without a funeral.  Maybe because of the harshness in life they lead, they can be harsh with humans.  Sometimes those who can not answer their riddles are tickled to death.  Those they catch in the woods without wormwood in their pockets will see the same fate. 

      Their activity schedule begins mid-April where they surface the water, or sit on the banks of streams and lakes, combing their long green hair.  After six weeks they move into the trees and beg for linen from passersby which is then carefully washed and spread out to dry.  Any human who steps on the wash will lose either strength or coordination, so the story goes.  The following week they collect feathers and straw to build warm nests in underwater palaces.  During this time, they also walk for the first time in grain and hay fields, slipping invisibly through the stalks, singing, clapping their hands and making grain wave in the winds.  Beginning in July the dance, into each night by the light of the moon and draw men into their circles.  Those who have joined them may never recover, but the grain grows better where they have danced.  By the first snowfall, they vanish and hibernate in the nests until Spring.