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<pre> | |||
== The Awakening of the Great Oak == | |||
There are three trees of power in Aetolia. The Yggdrasil holds power | |||
over life and death, the Tree of Renewal over good and evil, and the | |||
Great Oak over the strength of the wilderness. Since before the memory | |||
of mortals, this last tree stood in a dormant state. This is the tale of | |||
its awakening. | |||
With Lanos lost in the realm of shadows, lesser creatures of darkness | |||
stalked the realm of the Divine. Haern, the Hunter began tracking them | |||
down one by one, and was thus distracted from events in the mortal | |||
world. However, the time had come to awaken the Great Oak and build the | |||
Duiran Council to wield its power, and so the God appeared briefly in | |||
Eleusis to perform the needed ritual. | |||
Drawing His white fur coat tightly around Him, Haern raised Talon, Sword | |||
of the Hunt towards the branches of the Great Oak. The blood-red blade | |||
began to glow with heat as Divine power was infused into it. With | |||
deliberate, precise movements, The Hunter carved a rift in the air | |||
around Him. A cold wind rushed through from beyond and chilled all | |||
present instantly to the bone. A dense cloud of steam quickly formed in | |||
response to the flaming blade. | |||
Tendrils of steam rose up into the Great Oak swirling along every branch | |||
and soon enveloping the entire Tree. The rifts in the air, shaped like | |||
mystical runes, began to mend themselves. Still, the cold wind raged | |||
harshly against the branches like a terrible storm existing only | |||
partially on the mortal plane. Sheathing Talon, Haern raised His arms to | |||
the Oak and began to call upon the powers of the wilderness. | |||
"By the power of the Rhythm, I call upon the spirits of Nature and bind | |||
the wild lands of Aetolia together as one being," said Haern. "As | |||
mortals ravage the world and place hardships upon it, so too shall they | |||
share the burden of its care. Great Oak, I awaken your power and grant | |||
mortals the tools only you can provide." | |||
"Ioho Ruis! Muin! EADHA!" He yelled, and the air reverberated with these | |||
words of power. | |||
With a deafening clap of thunder, the Great Oak began to shake in the | |||
terrible winds. Haern looked pleased at first, but His expression turned | |||
quickly to a slight frown. The vapor among the branches dissipated in a | |||
soft, golden glow and countless leaves were suddenly torn away and flung | |||
high into the sky, then scattered far beyond the horizon. The winds | |||
settled as swiftly as they began, but entire branches left barren. | |||
Haern then spoke to those gathered, saying, "I fear My preparations were | |||
not enough to strengthen the Oak for what was needed. The Tree has been | |||
dormant so long, I knew that the awakening would be near the limit of | |||
what it could tolerate. It is not as bad as it seems however. The Tree | |||
is not so easily damaged. If we retrieve the leaves, it can be restored, | |||
and the power I have infused into it will be plenty to see the Council | |||
established. | |||
"All trees have a spirit guardian, quite similar to the dryads. The | |||
spirit of the Great Oak is particularly strong, and will help us do what | |||
is needed. I will awaken Esus, the Spirit of Sacrifice, the tree spirit | |||
of the Great Oak. Gather the leaves and bring them to him, and all will | |||
be well." | |||
Placing a hand upon the trunk of the Great Oak, Haern whispered soft | |||
words and the bark began to shimmer as a form emerged from the wood. | |||
Nearly insubstantial, the figure of a dryad-like being appeared hovering | |||
in midair before the tree. | |||
Over the months that followed, mortals began gathering the leaves and | |||
returning them to Esus. The spirit absorbed the leaves and returned them | |||
to the branches, and a pulse of red or golden energy passed over the | |||
tree in response. However, few knew the deceit behind the failed ritual | |||
- half the leaves had been altered by some unknown power, and those with | |||
a golden hue served to shatter the hold of Haern over the Oak. | |||
It was during this time that Slyphe approached the Druid Guildmaster, | |||
Gracie, and spoke of Her quarrel with Haern over the Patronage of the | |||
Duiran Council. Haern was unwilling to give Her any role in the Council, | |||
so She revealed to Gracie the means by which the tree's power could be | |||
shared among the Gods, rather than being held solely by Haern. | |||
Haern remained occupied hunting the shadow beasts high above the mortal | |||
world, oblivious to the deceit, until Gracie approached Him and revealed | |||
what was going on. Enraged, Haern left His hunt and investigated the | |||
Oak, during which time many shadow beasts found their way to the mortal | |||
world. Most were slain, but one was captured within Bloodloch, and | |||
remains there still. That, however, is another tale and one not yet come | |||
to resolution. | |||
Conflict was inevitable between the Hunter and the Sea Goddess, and they | |||
each made preparations in their own way. As the confrontation drew near, | |||
Haern summoned birds of prey, and Slyphe drew a great storm in from the | |||
eastern oceans to repel them. Before too much havoc could be wrought on | |||
the mortal world, the two Deities came to meet at the Great Oak and | |||
threatened each other with the strength of their positions. | |||
Many leaves of the Oak had been destroyed by that time, and many leaves | |||
of red hue hidden away from the Hunter. The Oak was nearly awakened and | |||
pulsed with golden energy, too far gone to sway back under His control. | |||
But Haern's followers had claimed enough of the remaining leaves to | |||
prevent the Tree from awakening without their help, and so the Divine | |||
found themselves at an impasse. | |||
After much discussion (and some consultation with the Unseen Force that | |||
had effected the change of the leaves), Haern and Slyphe reached an | |||
agreement to share control of the Duiran Council. Though this sharing of | |||
the council came at a price. For the aid provided by the Unseen Force, | |||
Slyphe had to promise It a favour for the future. | |||
Finally, it was decided that Slyphe would appoint two members to the | |||
council, Haern would appoint two members, and a third member would be | |||
recommended by the mortals (though approved by Haern). Slyphe further | |||
agreed to turn over one of Her members to Lleis, when (and if) She | |||
chooses to walk the realms and to concern Herself with the protection of | |||
the wilderness. | |||
Once the agreement was reached, the Unseen Force used Its power to | |||
remove twenty of the golden leaves from the Great Oak. Haern had His | |||
followers retrieve the red leaves theyd claimed, and He gave them to | |||
Esus to replace the golden leaves that had been removed. Esus, the | |||
Spirit of Sacrifice, melded with the Great Oak, and with a brilliant | |||
pulse of energy, Esus merged into it. Thus the Great Oak was awakened, | |||
spreading the power of its protection throughout the realm, to all the | |||
wild places of Aetolia. | |||
</pre> | |||