#153 Village of Cloth

Age: 100 years

Hidden or Lost?: Hidden

History: What becomes of wishes when the wisher is gone? In the case of the animated doll Bertram Ptarmigan, you build yourself an entire village to call home.

A century ago a young boy was granted a single wish by a magical vole he had saved from being crushed under a wagon wheel. The boy wished that his favorite toy, a stuffed bird doll he had given the name Bertram, would come to life, and in that instant Bertram Ptarmigan was born. It soon became clear that as a walking, talking doll Bertram was unlike any other being in the land. Bertram and his boy were met with fear and suspicion. The boy was accused of consorting with devils and was drowned in the local lake, taking Bertram with him to the bottom.

Though, being a magically animated doll, Bertram did not die. He escaped the lake and began to wander the world in search of his place. For a time he tried living with the birds, but he could not fly, and the birds he tried nesting alongside pecked and tore his fabric. In repairing his wounds, Bertram found that he could transfer some amount of the wish force inside of himself to other cloth creations, so long as his thread was still connected to it.

Bertram began experimenting and found that he could create new beings of fabric and stuffing, willing them into consciousness. These new plush beings could live indefinitely so long as they stayed connected to Bertram.

While, this helped cure his loneliness, the small collection of life-size humanoid dolls, and stuffed animals that now followed the patchwork bird only made most people nervous. After being chased from yet another town and seeing most of his companions burned, Bertram disappeared into the deadly impossible, Venomshade Forest. Emerging on the other side to the relative safety of the forest coastal edge, Bertram and his string-linked followers founded the Village of Cloth in that secluded spot.

Down the years Bertram continued sewing, creating new friends. He allowed them to create offspring of their own, creating dozens of branching lifelines, all eventually leading back to their progenitor. Bertram eventually sewed himself into the very fabric of the village so that he might experience the joy of the community's lives without the distractions of his independent body.

The Village of Cloth remains a peaceful hidden sanctuary for the sewnkind. However they could all be in danger of their thread being cut should anyone ever come looking for the wish force that brings the village to life.