The Legend of the Lost Skiff

Among the Mist-Whiskers of Drift-Haven, the story of the Mother’s Grace is a popular and cautionary tale of greed, navigation, and the unpredictable nature of the Whispering Roots.

The Skiff of Plenty

According to the legend, the Mother’s Grace was the most beautiful and successful skiff ever built in the Boughs. Its sails were woven from the finest mist-silk, and its hull was carved from a single piece of iron-wood that had been personally tuned by the Mist-Weaver. The captain, a mouse named Squeak the Bold (an ancestor of the current captain), was said to be so lucky that shipwrecks would practically throw themselves onto his path.

The Journey to the Root-Wall

Greedy for even greater treasures, Squeak the Bold decided to sail his skiff to the very edge of the known forest—the impassable Root-Wall. He believed that the oldest and most valuable wrecks were trapped there, guarded only by the "voices of the ancestors." Despite the warnings of the Mist-Weaver Coven, the Mother’s Grace entered the Whispering Roots during a high tide and was never seen again.

The Haunting of the Roots

For centuries, sailors have reported seeing a ghostly, shimmering skiff drifting through the mist near the Root-Wall. They say the sails of the Mother’s Grace are still perfectly intact, and that the hull glows with a soft, internal aetheric pulse. However, anyone who tries to approach the skiff finds themselves led into deep-water traps or into the territory of a Deep-Water Lurker.

The Lesson of the Bold

The legend serves as a reminder to the Muridae to respect the boundaries of the forest. It is believed that the Mother’s Grace was "swallowed" by the Mother-Tree as a punishment for Squeak’s greed, and that the skiff now acts as a natural guardian, preventing other Muridae from making the same mistake. Scavenger Grix is one of the few who still believes the skiff is a physical object that can be found, and he spends his nights searching the Whispering Roots for any sign of its iridescent sails.