Monday, December 6, 2010

Errant Knight Winter Solstice Quest for Freya's Kiss

Snow Goddess by 3ddream



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(¸.•´ (¸A knight-errant is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. "Errant," meaning wandering or roving, indicating how the knight-errant would typically wander the land in search of adventures. NightBlooming has a quest for those that would dare to take it. Though a challenge, the reward is great!




As NightBlooming's signature style is well known to our customers, we're offering up this sprig of mistletoe as a reward for the one who can unravel this riddle! The answer lies within one of my sold items, so the better you know NightBlooming’s work, the easier this may be.

The strongest connection between mistletoe and the Yule season comes from Norse mythology. Freya was the goddess of beauty, love, and marriage as well as mother of Baldur, the best loved of all the Norse gods. Freya foresaw his death. Knowing that there was nothing she could do to avert his fate, the hapless goddess extracted a promise from all things that they would play no part in his death. Unfortunately, thinking the mistletoe was too insignificant to bother with, she neglected to secure its pledge.




And when the malevolent prankster Loki discovered her oversight, he crafted a dart made of the poisonous plant. Devious and evil, he brought it to Baldur's brother who was blind, suggesting a game of darts and agreeing to guide his hand. And this he did, directing the dart directly at Baldur's heart.

The mistletoe's white berries were formed from Freya's tears of mourning. Some versions of the story of Baldur's death end happily. Baldur is restored to life, and the goddess Freya is so grateful that she reverses the reputation of the baleful plant, making it a symbol of peace and love and promising a kiss to all who pass under it.

The winner of this quest will be awarded Freya's Kiss! Built upon maple wood, this stick is first topped with silver peter and green glass. From a vase of intricate silver emerges a trio of silver leaves and then spill of green glass and crystal in mimic of mistletoe.

Freya's Kiss has a usable length of 5 inches and an overall length of 6.5 inches.

We'll do another quest for the Spring Solstice! So even if you don't win please try again then :)


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(¸.•´ (¸Rules:
Use the clue to find the right listing, then look in the item description or photos to answer the question. The contest will run for a bit more than a week (closing at 12am on Wednesday the 15th of December), and a winner will be randomly drawn from all those that submitted the right answer. (We're running this a bit early in hopes that the stick might get to the Knight who discovers before the holidays!)

You are allowed only ONE GUESS (submitted by Etsy Convo) and cannot amend your answer, so make your submission count! The winner will have the sticks shipped to them for free++ anywhere in the world!

Once the winner is announced they may check out with the sticks. Best of luck to you all!

You can see all the sold items here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NightBlooming/sold


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(¸.•´ (¸The Quest

Your Hint:
In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia and nectar are the food and drink of the gods, and both confer immortality on whoever consumes it. Both are fragrant, and may be used as perfume. This set, wrought in liquid ambers and flashing golds is warm and languid, like a taste of divine immortality.


The Question:
Praytell, how many amber teardrops hang from the necklace in this set?


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++Free shipping is via First Class USPS. If you would like a different shipping method or insurance, a small charge will apply.

Though the listing is for $0.20 as that is the lowest amount that Etsy will allow an item to be listed for, these fees will be covered by NightBlooming for the winner.