The legends say that the gods meant
Muma Padurii ("the Mother of
the Forest") to be the one who protects the forest and its creatures from the evil
that men do, as well as men themselves from the dangers of the wilderness. In time,
Muma
Padurii started hating men more and more, due to the devastation that they brought to the
things she tried to protect. First, she would only scare off wanderers, but quickly she ended up
killing any man that she encountered in the woods. The goddess
Bendis found out
about all these and cursed her to share her life with the next man that she will kill.
Muma Padurii ignored the curse and killed again, so
Bendis brought
the victim back to life and forced
Muma Padurii to marry him. This man became
known as
Paduroiul and the gods trusted him with the work that
Muma Padurii
had abandoned. His name comes from the word "padure", which means forest.
Because of his fate,
Paduroiul tries to protect
those who are lost in the woods, or have been lured there by demons. Still, his origin doesn't
stop him from being unforgiving to those who threaten the forests or the creatures that live
in them. His wisdom bought him the confidence of the gods, who eventually made him
the master of all magical creatures. To the wizards, he also became the voice of the gods,
as the rulers of the world started using him as a messenger whenever they wanted to repay
the wizards, punish them or send orders to them. Even
Uniila, the master of the
wizards and of the
hultans asks him for advice from time to time.
Derzelas, the god of vitality, gave him a magic spear which makes
him almost invincible, because any wound heals very quickly as long as he is holding the spear
in his hands. He also has a bow with enchanted arrows which never miss the target, and when they
hit, they turn into thick ivy which entangles the victim.
Even though he's been forced to marry
Muma Padurii,
Paduroiul
doesn't love her because she didn't give up her hatred against mankind. Still, they
have a daughter,
Fata Padurii.
