The Loyal Wife: The Loyal Wife is the name of a solitary standing stone that squats on the banks of the river on the outskirts of Scathmoor. Although this site is in the Confederacy, the myth behind it is of Saxa origin.
Although Midmark escaped the Blizzard War with only minimal damage, its warriors bravely marched to war. The legend goes that the huscarls boarded longships at Scathmoor, intending to sail north to help defend their kith and kin in northern Royalmark. Before one huscarl departed, he promised his wife he would return to her arms. From the day her husband left, the woman remained by the banks, casting her eyes north for a sign of his imminent return. Five centuries on she remains at her vigil, patiently awaiting an embrace that will not come. Some skalds say that Scaetha duly sent a herald to claim the woman’s soul at the appointed hour, but it was so taken with her plea it allowed her to remain in the mortal realm.
One ending to the sad tale claims the stone will crumble to dust if the bones of the missing husband are laid at its base, releasing the woman’s spirit from its self-imposed bondage.
Midmarker merchants visiting Scathmoor leave offerings of food and drink at the base of the stone to succor the woman’s spirit in its long vigil. In winter, they drape cloaks and shawls around the stone to ward off the cold. Many Midmarkers embarking on long voyages bring their spouses here to swear oaths of fidelity, for it is said those who break the vow made at the stone will be claimed by Scaetha’s heralds in lieu of the Waiting Widow’s soul. The residents of Scathmoor claim that on still nights the voice of the woman can be heard, calling out her husband’s name.
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