Sleepless Forest

An evil sorcerer lived in the Ural mountains once long ago, yet not long enough for your grandfather to forget. His name was Nezhek the Foul. Near Nezhek’s home was a small village where the villagers lived in fear of the sorcerer. When Nezhek came to the town, everyone shuttered their windows and locked doors and prayed to their ancestors for protection.

Nezhek lived in the Sleepless Forest with his dragon Fetiniia. While most dragons outlive their masters, Fetiniia’s fate was to die fighting an Orc in the distant Carpathian mountains. The sorcerer was devastated by her death, and it was years before the villagers saw him in their town. But like a bad penny that returns and brings bad luck, so did Nezhek, who returned asking for favors from all the town’s folk. First, it was a goose egg, later a dead baby pig, and finally, the afterbirth of a stillborn child. The villagers feared not to give him his requests as his power to cause death to loved ones was known far and wide.

Several months later, strange noises emanated from the Sleepless Forest, howlings and screeches like some creature being tortured. One moonless night, an eerie glow showed from deep within the forest, then abruptly vanished.

The next day, Nezhek came to the village seeking meat scrapes and egg yolks. “I have a new companion,” said the sorcerer like some proud father. “She will soon be helping me with my duties. Perhaps I will bring her for a snack. Yes?” said Nezhek.

Good to his word, Nezhek the Foul appeared one market day riding his dragon and promptly ate two pigs and an old man for good measure. So, if you are traveling to northern Russia, say hello to the Nezhek and his loving dragon, Lasovskaya the Sharp-Eyed.