THE LEGEND OF THE FANES

I love nature photography and have been going to the Austrian and South Tyrolian mountains for many years. I particularly love watching the marmots and their antics, their play-fighting or when they simply lie on a rock sunbathing. In South Tyrol I learned about the local myths and their connections with the marmots and was fascinated.

One day, the queen gave birth to twin daughters, Dolasilla and Luianta, but the next morning, instead of Luianta, a little marmot lay next to Dolasilla in the cradle. To confirm their age-old alliance, the marmots had taken Luianta to raise among their people and given the queen one of their own to raise.

The king of the Fanes, however, was obsessed with power and riches. The same day the marmots had taken Luianta into their care, the king met a large eagle with golden claws and a fiery beak. The eagle promised the king land and power, but in return he demanded one of the twin girls. When the king presented the cradle to the eagle, the mighty bird chose the little marmot and flew off with the marmot grasped tightly in his claws. But when he landed on a rock, the little marmot managed to escape and it hid in a crevice until the eagle had left.

Dolasilla grew into a beautiful, wise and courageous warrior who fought many battles for her father. The dwarves had given her an ermine pelt that she made into shiny white armour for herself, and magical arrows that would always reach their aim. But the dwarves had warned Dolasilla that, should the armour ever turn dark before a battle, she would not survive.

The king grew ever greedier and forced the battle-weary Dolasilla to continue fighting for him. Not far from the kingdom of the Fanes, there lived a powerful, evil sorcerer called Spina de Mul. One day, Spina de Mul met a brave young warrior called Eye-de-Net and convinced him to join the army of the enemies of the Fanes.

Eye-de-Net, however, had seen Dolasilla once from afar and fallen deeply in love with her. When they suddenly met face to face on the battlefield, both stopped fighting and could not take their eyes of each other. Spina de Mul took the opportunity to wound Dolasilla. She was carried off the battlefield and taken home. Shocked and realising that Spina de Mul had betrayed him, Eye-de-Net went to the kingdom of the dwarves and begged them to create a shield so he could protect Dolasilla.

Eye-de-Net joined forces with the Fanes to be near Dolasilla and from then on, rode into battle by her side and, as her faithful lover, protected her with the shield the dwarves had made. But when he finally went to the king and asked him for Dolasilla’s hand, the king banished him from the kingdom of the Fanes. Inconsolable, Eye-de-Net left.

Dolasilla was devastated and lost all desire to take up arms again. The greedy king, however, had already made plans. Having heard of the great underground treasure of Aurona, he betrayed his own people and secretly formed an alliance with the enemies of the Fanes. He promised them that Dolasilla would not be fighting.

Spina de Mul had heard about the king’s plans. When he saw Dolasilla riding across a meadow, deep in thought, he sent a group of feral children to beg her for her arrows. Dolasilla, not knowing that the evil Spina de Mul had sent the children, made up her mind not to go to war anymore and gave them her magical arrows.

On the day of the battle, the king hid away on Lagazuoi, a mountain overlooking the battlefield. When Dolasilla heard that the kingdom of the Fanes was under attack and her father had disappeared, with a heavy heart she went to fight once more. Suddenly she saw that her shiny white armour had darkened and knew that this would be the day that she would meet her death and fulfil her destiny. Still, she mounted her horse and led her people against the enemies. But Spina de Mul had provided the enemies with her magical arrows and Dolasilla fell in battle, killed by her own arrows.

The treacherous king was watching from afar and when he went to join the victorious enemies of the Fanes after the battle, he was turned to stone and can still be seen today on the Falsarego Pass, the Pass of the False King.

The surviving warriors of the Fanes fled back to the castle to tell the queen of the tragic events. Suddenly, a beautiful young woman dressed in white stood before the queen, who realised that it was none other than her second daughter, Luianta, who still lived with the marmots.

The queen begged the marmots’ forgiveness for having unwittingly broken the alliance through the actions of her husband, the unholy pact he had made with the eagle. The kind marmots forgave the betrayal and readily renewed the old alliance. They sheltered the queen and the remaining warriors in their kingdom underground and hid them from their enemies.

Once a year, a black boat can be seen on the Pragser Lake, carrying the old queen and Luianta, who are still waiting for the sound of the silver trumpets announcing the return of the mighty kingdom of the Fanes.

Eye-de-Net, inconsolable after hearing of Dolasilla’s death, left the area and travelled through the Alto Adige until he met the beautiful, kind princess Soreghina. Soreghina was called the Daughter of the Sun, as she was only allowed to be awake during daylight. When the sun set, she had to sleep, and if she was still awake by midnight, she would die.

Soreghina fell deeply in love with Eye-de-Net and they married. One day, Soreghina overheard Eye-de-Net telling a friend about his past and that, while he was very fond of the lovely Soreghina, he still grieved for his one true love, the warrior princess Dolasilla. Devastated, Soreghina did not go to sleep that evening, and when midnight came, she died.