The Little People of the High Valleys

While giants and dragons rule the peaks, the valleys harbor smaller but no less significant beings. These creatures reflect the hard-won prosperity of Alpine communities that survived through cooperation with forces beyond human.

The Servants of the Chalets

Alpine chalets above the tree line traditionally housed not just shepherds and cheese-makers but invisible helpers known as servants (servans in Savoyard dialect). These beings maintained a contract with specific families:

Their duties: - Tending fires through cold nights - Turning cheeses at precise intervals - Calming animals during storms - Warning of approaching dangers

Human obligations: - First milk from each milking left in a specific bowl - No iron tools left pointing upward - Absolute silence during their working hours (2-4 AM) - Annual renewal of contract through specific rituals

Families who broke the contract faced immediate consequences: cheeses spoiled, animals sickened, and the brutal Alpine environment reasserted itself without supernatural buffer.

Marie Durand of Val d'Isère, interviewed in 1978: "My grandmother had the servants at her chalet above Tignes. Every summer she climbed up in June to prepare. First, she cleaned everything—servants won't work in dirt. Then she left the offerings: bread, salt, and wine in the old way. She'd know they accepted when she found the wine drunk but the cup full again with water so pure it healed. I tried maintaining the contract after she died, but I must have done something wrong. The morning I found the cup overturned, I closed the chalet. It stands empty still—servants won't return to a place they've left."

The Miners of Crystal

The Alps hide treasures: crystals, precious metals, and stones of power. But these belong first to the bergmännlein (little miners) who work veins humans never see. These beings, distinct from Germanic dwarves, stand tall as children with aged faces and clothes that shimmer between rock-color and shadow.

They occasionally trade with humans: - Revealing rich veins in exchange for tools they can't make (especially steel) - Warning of cave-ins through knocking codes - Guiding lost spelunkers to safety—or deeper into darkness - Teaching the properties of stones beyond their monetary value

Crystal hunters in the Alps know the protocols: - Never take the first crystal found—it's the guardian - Leave food at cave mouths (bread and cheese, never meat) - Sing or whistle while working—silence offends them - Stop immediately if you hear their hammering—they're working that vein

Modern mineral collectors report uncanny experiences: crystals appearing in previously searched areas, tools moving overnight, and most commonly, strong compulsions to leave certain areas undisturbed. The mountains' treasures aren't free for the taking.