| “ | We will conduct ourselves as proper guests, chastened by Bigby Wolf's commands, as if they were lawful and correct. As our host, that places him under the same constraints of meticulous conduct. So, if he should have another outburst-- When he has another outburst, we'll be fully justified in stepping in with force and authority. | „ |
| ~ The South Wind plotting with the East Wind and the West Wind in Fables #110 — "Allies: Chapter Three of Inherit the Wind" |
The South Wind is a powerful Fable from the Homelands, and one of the four cardinal winds. She first appears in Fables #109 — "Cardinal Virtues: Chapter Two of Inherit the Wind."
History
The South Wind
The South Wind is an ancient[7] deity,[1] and one of the four cardinal winds.[5] According to Winter Wolf, she answers to many names,[2] including Notus,[1] Oya,[2] Yoruba,[1] Storm Mother[1] and Yoruba Storm Mother.[4] The South Wind holds dominion over many worlds,[1] including the Teacup World, which is one of her sovereign realms.[4]
The West Wind, the East Wind, and the South Wind refer to each other as "cousins,"[3][5] but they also claim to be the granduncles and grandaunt of Bigby Wolf's cubs.[3] This could either mean that the West Wind, East Wind, South Wind and North Wind (Bigby's father) are siblings; or that they are actual cousins, which would actually make them the cubs' great-granduncles and -aunt.
Adversary's conquest
Back in the Homelands, during what would be the mundane world's 19th century, the Adversary had conquered every kingdom there was to conquer. The majority of the Fables who planned to flee had already done so. There was only one remaining gateway to the mundane world, hidden behind the keep at world's end. The keep was situated beyond the houses of the four winds, so as the Fables sought refuge there, they had to pass by these houses along the way.[8]
Inherit the wind
After the North Wind passes away, his subordinate winds declare that a new North Wind have to be chosen from one of the cubs of his son, Bigby Wolf.[9] During the tryouts at the North Wind's castle, the three remaining cardinal winds make a surprise appearance. The West Wind declares that it is time to set things straight, and the South Wind agrees.[5]
Much to Snow White and Bigby's shock, the three declare that they wish to take possession of their children. The West Wind explains that it is only fit that the offspring of one of the Great Houses be fostered in the courts of other kings, and the South Wind adds that they are, after all, the cubs' rightful grand uncles and aunt. She states that since there are six of the cubs, there should be two per household. However, Bigby will not allow this, and states that they'd better behave themselves as proper guests in his father's house. When the North Wind's senior attendant, Mistral, speaks highly of his former employer, the South Wind angrily calls the North Wind an apostate and a "surly loner" who never attended any of their imperial conclaves.[3]
The three cardinal winds talk in private, and Yaponcha, the West Wind, suggests that they kill the entire Wolf family and construct a new North Wind from pure materials. The South Wind wonders if his opinion is colored by past resentment, as the West Wind has a personal enmity with the North and had a falling out with the North Wind. Yaponcha reminds her that the North Wind insulted the venerable House of the West, and even named deformed winds, Zephyrs, after him. The South Wind proposes a more practical solution: They should conduct themselves as proper guests until Bigby has another outburst. When that happens, they will be "fully justified" in stepping in with force. The other winds agree to the plan, with a few modifications from the East Wind, who suggests that they not only killed the entire wolf clan, but the North Wind's attendant winds as well. The West Wind and the South Wind both agree, with the latter reasoning that a new throne is never well served by leaving a flock of old heirs to lust and plot after it.[3]
Later, it becomes clear to the winds that the testing might place the children in mortal danger, and the East Wind remarks that if the cubs are killing themselves in the process of testing, the fewer the winds will have to take out when they are compelled to step in. The South Wind reminds the others that their patience is paying off and that they were right to hold off taking a direct hand.[10]
The new North Wind
One of the cubs, Winter, is eventually chosen as the new North Wind. The South Wind watches in silence and appears to accept the new development.[10] However, Winter becomes very afraid when she starts having premonitions of her older self as a cold and selfish North Wind that hurts people. The East Wind refers to the new development as "marvelous" because the new North Wind will be timid, and the South Wind appears to be very pleased and answers that "our day of ascendancy has come at long last."[11]
After two of Bigby's cubs, Therese and Darien, disappear without a trace, he calls upon all three cardinal winds to come to the mundane world and aid in their search. He instructs them to scour all the worlds they govern and any others within their reach. In exchange for their success, he promises to find a suitable reward for them.[1] The three reluctantly comply, with the South Wind believing that it is to their advantage to hold the wolf's gratitude. At first, the three search the worlds together, until the South Wind suggests that they split up to cover more worlds faster.[12]
Eventually, the three individuals make an attempt to convince the recently appointed North Wind to seek advice and input from all of them before making important decisions, leveraging their combined experience and wisdom. The West Wind also reminds Winter that she is young, while the three of them have lived for long ages. But now, Winter has fully embraced her power and refuses to be treated with condescension or coddling. She orders them to depart at once and return to their respective realms, or else feel her wrath. The trio hastily retreats, pursued by the strong gusts of the North Wind.[7]
In the end, Winter enlists the help of the three winds as soldiers in an army for her mother Snow White. Snow White is currently facing a possible civil war with her sister Rose Red. Winter emphasizes the importance of showing no signs of impending war, and she commands them to follow her orders on this matter or face the repercussions.[13] Later, Winter summons her newly formed army to gather outside Wolf Manor and proudly presents them to her mother, who is left in awe. Thankfully, a war is avoided as Snow and her sister reach an agreement to disband their armies and peacefully go separate ways.[14]
Winter Wolf's adventure
Afterward, the Wolf family relocates to the the Black Forest.[15] While exploring the woods, Winter the World Turtle, who shares information about the world within the teacup on her shell. Winter takes in the view of the world, marveling at all the people, boats and islands. She questions if it can be real, so she reduces her size and immerses herself into the world to find out. The turtle yells a warning that Winter can never leave once she enters, but it is too late for her to hear it.[16] Winter soon discovers that even though she is the North Wind, she has no access to her powers within this world, and cannot even create a breeze, as it is one of the realms of the South Wind. The South Wind gets a local boy to look after Winter every moment of the day, stating that no harm can be allowed to befall the girl. Winter thinks about the way the South Wind tried to keep her from becoming the North Wind, and when that failed, she was part of the cabal that tried to train her on a leash. She realizes that the South Wind intends to keep here in this world, powerless.[4]
Winter finds a way to escape by having one of her many avatars pull her out of the teacup World, although her avatar accidentally pulls the boy out as well. Five years later, the boy still hasn't found his way home. Winter explains to him that she is happy to take him back to his own world as soon as the South Wind agrees to let her come and go as she pleases, and keep her power whenever she does so. The boy counters that he cannot convince the South Wind of anything, as he is nobody; but Winter points out that he is the one that the South Wind selected to look after her, which makes him far more than a nobody. She muses that if the South Wind won't accede to her demands, then maybe she'll agree to bring him home herself, but ultimately, his fate is in his own hands.[2]
Physical appearance
The South Wind takes the form of an African-looking woman. Even though all the cardinal winds have the ability to take the form of both genders,[5] she is the only one of the group who's chosen to take a female form.[3]
Appearances
Fables
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The Unwritten Fables
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Original source
The South Wind is based on Notus, the god of the south wind from Greek mythology; and Ọya, the goddess of weather from Yoruba religion. The name "Yoruba" is based on the Yoruba people of West Africa. As implied in Fables: The Last Castle, and confirmed in Fables #99 — "Dark City," she is also based on the South Wind from the Norwegian fairy tale of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon."
References
See also
| Jack of Fables | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Jack Horner • Kevin Thorn • Gary • Mr. Revise • Robin Page • Priscilla Page • Hillary Page • Jack Frost • Babe • Snow Queen • Wicked John • Alice |
| Locations | Fabletown • Golden Boughs Retirement Village |
| Wolf family | |
|---|---|
| "Patmat" | Snow White • Bigby Wolf |
| The cubs | Winter • Blossom • Therese • Darien • Conner • Ambrose • Ghost |
| Allies | Beauty • Beast • Cinderella • Briar Rose • Boy Blue • King Cole • Prince Charming • Sam • Herne • Herne, son of Herne |
| Enemies | Mister Dark • Leigh Duglas • Prince Brandish • Peter Pan |
| Locations | Wolf Valley • The Hesse |
| Other relatives | North Wind • Winter • Lauda • Lauda's husband • Queen of the Silver Realm • Rose Red • West Wind • East Wind • South Wind • Etan Wolf • Lake • Tannika Wynn • Sam's great-grandson • Hel |