Scherezade is the Lady of Legends, the Mistress of Veils; the one to whom all Eshu offer prayers.
Overview[]
Eshu who often find themselves a tale away from disaster are especially prone to pray to Sherezade. Some claim she has appeared in dreams and visions to teach a tale to those in dire need of one to save their life, though there is no way to verify that. She is one of the earliest and greatest of the Tribe to attain Orisha status and the common Elegbara parting expression of "May you live to tell a thousand tales," comes from the early form of her legend.
Her Story[]
Little is known of her life aside from what she chose to share and what others, mortal and Elegbara alike, have passed down. Two important elements escaped human recollection, however. One: the legendary "floating freehold" known as Scherezade's Circle and Two: her descendants who continue to be a source of pride and frustration for the Tribe.
As the story goes, while she was initially just a servant to her sultan's whim, after she won his favor she became his wife and bore five children: Two sons and triplet daughters with a gift for prophecy. One of the Sultan's other, jealous wives, however, cursed the girls to bring misfortune wherever they traveled. They caused so much havoc that Sherezade had to plead with the Sultan to spare them with the finest story of her life. He spared their lives but decreed they must be forever separated, otherwise they would destroy his kingdom.
The daughters, all elegbara, were bitter and returned the curse with one of their own; a curse sealed with blood: If three of their children were ever to come together, they would bring down the entire Middle East. Uttering the curse they vanished from the earth while their mother whispered tales to the wind every night for their safety but never saw them again.
Every so many generations, though, there comes an Elegbara or pair of them with a gift for tales that clearly marks them of great lineage and whose lives enrich the Tribe but whose coming is marked by disasters throughout their homeland. Some whisper you can hear a woman sobbing in the wind at these times. There have been none of Sherezade's line for nearly two centuries but great if a show signs that two are on earth again and the appearance of the Dark Star means a third is wandering earth as well. Should they come together it could mean Endless Winter or a new Spring for the Tribe.
References[]
- CTD. Kithbook: Eshu, pp. 67-68.