The Lost Sisters (A Story of Savenridge)

This story is not found as an entire document in the Savenridge Library archives.  However, the story of the lost sisters has been Magi folklore for centuries, so I have pieced it together from numerous accounts.  While the versions have varied throughout the years, this is the most generally accepted version:
                                                                                -Kevin M. Turner

The Lost Sisters

(The Legend of Savenridge)

Many years ago, a group of Magi refugees looked for a new place to settle.  They had been driven out of their land during the Magi wars, and a few families banded together to find a place where they could escape the fighting and remain hidden.

They trekked through mountains and valleys, forged rivers, and even crossed oceans to find the perfect location, until they finally reached what we know today as Canadian land. 

The leader of the group had two daughters.  The daughters had no mother as she was tragically killed during the Magi wars, so the Magi group leader cherished his beloved daughters more than anything in the world.  His responsibilities to the group, however, made it hard for him to spend time with them.

Early one day, while the Magi group was busy discussing their plans to explore the area, the two sisters became bored and wanted to play in the woods.  They grew sick of following the adults and desired a place of their own to play.  While the rest of the group was planning, the sisters wandered off into the woods, searching for the perfect place.

It wasn’t long before they came across a divided path.  To the left the trees were thick and the path looked uninviting.  To the right, the path was wide with patches of sunlight peaking through the trees, illuminating the way.

The elder sister, who was brave and more adventurous than the younger, wanted to go to the left, where the path was dark.  The younger sister disagreed.  She was more practical than the eldest, and much more apprehensive about the threatening path.  But the elder sister scoffed at her frightened sibling and immediately forged her way through the trees on the left side of the path.  Not wanting to be abandoned, the younger sister hurried after, staying close behind. 

The farther they went along the path, the darker it became.  The trees became so thick that it was increasingly difficult to see.  Even the bravest sister became scared of the path and decided it would be best to turn around and go back.  However, as they turned to do so, the cluster of branches protruding from the thick trees made it impossible.  They were stuck. The two sisters sat down where they were, clinging to each other for safety and screamed as loud as they could, trying to get the attention of someone in their group.

Meanwhile, outside of the woods, their father noticed the absence of his daughters and immediately commanded the rest of the Magi adults to drop everything to look for them.  He could not bear it if he lost his only children.  They looked for hours, but could not find the lost sisters.

Day turned into evening, and evening turned into night, and still the two sisters had not moved.  Through the web of tree branches and mangled foliage, they began to hear the eerie sounds of a brewing storm.  A cold chill started to settle upon the area, followed by snow.  The sisters knew they had to move from where they were.  Not able to return from where they came, they continued on forward, begging for a miracle that they would be found.

For hours, the two young girls slowly plunged through the woods.  The night was freezing, and they were too young to control fire, so they knew that if they didn’t find shelter soon, they would surely die. 

Suddenly, as if the roots of the trees heard their cries, the cluster of trunks and branches began to separate of their own accord, and a clear but narrow path had formed, wide enough for the girls to shuffle through. 

When they reached the end of the path, they entered an area of land that was untouched by anyone.  A long river cut its way directly down the middle of the land.  Following the river were large meadows and hills, now sprinkled with snow.  To the left, and directly next to the river, the two sisters spotted a large opening hidden at the foot of very large mountain rock.  Sensing the freezing temperature, they ran toward the shelter and huddled there for warmth.

The next morning, the adult Magi were able to locate the two sisters by following their footprints in the fresh snow.  They followed the path made by the trees and through the large area of land.  The father was sure his girls were dead, but when he found them by the rock still alive, he burst into tears.  He was so happy to find them alive that at once he announced to the others that this land would be their new home.  They would call it Savenridge, for the land saved and protected his beloved daughters from certain death.