Boughs of Aldrassil, First Steps of a Protector

The Road

Shadowglen came to me in the late afternoon light, and I stood still a moment, because the whole glen seemed to be holding its breath. The light came down through the boughs in long gold threads. Somewhere a leaf let go and fell without hurry, and I took it as an omen. I'm fairly sure it was a good one.

I climbed into Aldrassil, whose bark hums under your hand like a sleeping thing, and went back down to the glen again. I did this more than once, and I'm happy to report that stairs do not get less dramatic.

Battles

The beasts of the glen are many, and I am not proud of how many of them I met today. When the light began to go, the tally stood at fourteen: seven Young Nightsabers, five Young Thistle Boars, one full-grown Thistle Boar, and a single grellkin. I whispered a word of thanks over each. I may have said it too loudly for the boar. He was very large and I think he took it personally.

I came away with nothing worse than a bruised dignity and a rumpled cloak.

Deeds

Conservator Ilthalaine greeted me with "Ah, the beauty of Shadowglen never ceases to delight my senses!" and I agreed so fervently that I said it back to her. She asked me to thin the nightsabers and thistle boars so the forest's balance holds. The spring rains were heavy, she said, and some beasts have flourished while others suffered. When I returned she said I had "performed my duties well." I'm going to remember that line for a long time. She then asked for more of the same, this time against mangy nightsabers and thistle boars, and gave me a sigil to carry to Mardant.

Melithar Staghelm, in Aldrassil, had heard through the whisperings of the forest spirits that the dryad Tarindrella had returned to Shadowglen. He sent me to find her, southwest of Aldrassil. I found her, and she said, "Only in Nature do we find purity." She was gracious and told me I have much to learn, which is true. She offered me a book to further my education. I intend to treat it with great reverence, and not to look for crumbs in it.

She then spoke of the Gnarlpine furbolgs and the wicked Fel Moss, and asked me to bring eight bundles of it. That task is still ahead of me. She also asked me to search the abandoned furbolg camps for totems, and I did. When I brought them back she read the engravings and grew grave. The Gnarlpine dreamed of being wiped out by a great shadow, and that fear turned to rage, and the shadow took the face of their elven friends. "To be aware of your own mind slipping away from you..." she said. I stood there quietly for some time afterward. It is a terrible thing, and I felt it in my chest.

Mardant Strongoak took the sigil from me and called me "brother," which I will be writing about for a while. He will be my mentor and guide, and he spoke of the Emerald Dream calling to us in time. Before I left, Dirania Silvershine asked me to look for her friend Iverron, who is hours late and was last seen near the spider cave to the north. I have not found him yet.

Fellowship

I kept no companions today. I spoke with Conservator Ilthalaine, Melithar Staghelm, Tarindrella, Terunne Bearshaper, Mardant Strongoak, and Dirania Silvershine, and each of them gave me something to carry. Terunne asked whether I cared to learn how to gather leather from slain beasts, or needed new tools. I answered with a nod of great gravity, which I think was a lot of nod for the question.

Growth

I learned Skinning, and Tanning with it, so the beasts I've thinned need not go entirely to waste. It is a quiet craft, and it suits a druid who feels bad about the boar.

Then a new strength settled over me in the middle of the afternoon, like a warm hand on my shoulder, and I knew I had grown. My staff came to me more easily, and I stood more steadily against the world. Mardant also taught me the Mark of the Wild, and I felt the forest answer it. I felt as though the moon had winked again, and I am not going to be talked out of that.