Aurthor: Westfall Folktales.
Title: The Hay man
race/culture: Humans, westfall.
The breadbasket of the Alliance, Westfall, here on these dry plains we farm and plow the dirt to grow corn for the winter and to survive. When harvest comes around in the late season, men and women both work hard to manage to finish their harvest to deliver corn to themselves, communities and their lords, so they have coin to survive the winter and food to feed their bellies.
Yet with the time of the Defiance brotherhood, the land have fallen under the suffering of the lacking of food, security and good health, and those whom still work honestly to preserve their way of life, must work harder than before, but with their fields being burned by bandits and scums for protection money, the life grows harder and harder for the poor westfolk.
Once an old man, experianced this, he lived somewhere in the north west area of Westfall, on a small farm, his wife had died and his children moved on. With the scums burning his only source of income and food, he knew he wouldent survive the winter. Anger fill this man, as he did not simply want to die, so he started to create a scare crow, out of the dry and moldy hay, left from the last harvest.
The hay man, was sickly yellow as the moldy hay was soaked and rottening, its eyes made out of glowing mushrooms and bound together by rope, rags and the anger of the old farmer, and as the old man died of starvation he spoke onto this golem made of hay, breathing it to life with the hatred forwards the scum that caused his days to end in hunger and suffering.
Many say that the Hay man is just a wifes tale, told to keep the kids from running into the fields near harvest and keep ruffians away… but it´s hard to disbute the corpses found strangled by their throats and mouths stuffed with old, moldy and rottening hay, and their eyes wide open out of fear.
But if you dont believe me, go ahead, try burning down a field of corn near harvest in Westfall, and see what happens… dont worry, we´ll dig you a grave, the soil needs to stay furtile after all.