En Dharasha Everae RP thread

[Invoker]

A few days after his last apparition, the dark Archmage is once more seen talking to the Dharashan Rangers and the Elders walking across the village. After an unusually long (for him, possibly rather lengthy...) exchange of pleasantries, the black robed arcanist sat down and wrote a message on a high quality parchment in that elaborate handwriting of his. Upon finishing it, he delivers it to the closest Ranger whispering some brief instructions, then nods in thankful acknowledgement and glides away from Dharashan premises.

[Solaris]

Crossroads...


The dreams, the flashes... They returned last night. It had been long since she had the dream. At least it felt that way...

The spinning arrow on a silver plate, beginning slowly but picking up momentum as it continues to rotate...
Then, a sudden, abrupt halt...pointing towards the direction of a rapidly rising sun.
Higher and higher, enormous, pulsating with heat and with such a massive, blinding light.
Before she can even raise her hand to shield her eyes,
the light gets swallowed by a thick darkness, coming in as fast as the wind itself...
The pale face of a woman, her horrified, soundless scream as the void engulfs her...
And then...Nothing...Darkness..Silence...

The feeling of loss of breath still lingered as the words of Aza were echoing in her head as he used to speak them to her so many times:
'breathe little one... it is over...it is just a dream...focus!'

She never truly found an explanation for it. Was it but a dream? Made up by her mind to explain things she could not explain? Actual things that happened to her, that she witnessed somehow? A combination of both? The more she tried to find out, the deeper she sank in it. Tangled up by the non-sense it made as she tried to bind it together. Aza had told her it could have been flashes of memory of her past. Some indications on where she came from and what happened to her parents. She had tried to search for clues but so far it all ended in nothing.

Where had the old elf gone to anyway? Another attempt to contact him ended in nothing but silence. She was getting worried now. Hermit or not, the frostmage could not have just dissapeared so suddenly, not leaving a mark, hint or any other form of message. He always used to answer, even if there were many seasons between contact. It had been around 2 years since she last spoke to him. She would increase her patrols into the cloudpeaks. Perhaps she should search at his last known location... if she could find it back. That elf had his ways to stay concealed.

Ithilwen placed her hands on her head tiredly. Too many things to think about, too many things to take care of. Priorities is what she had to make. Choices, which made it not easy for her. The village should be first priority for now, the tower, the crystal. And then there was him...

The dark mage. She knew she could trust him with her life, yet he confused her. She knew who he is, what he is. But she also very much realized how dangerous he could be. Could she keep him in check? She doubted it... Developments of his newly arrived visitors did not bode well. Power, attracted power. Especially certain kind of powers... Could he withstand temptation? Could she stand against him if the time came? Doubt filled her mind as feelings for him pushed through her normally cold demeanor.

She shook the thought away. No... It would not be needed. But first things first. Aza would have to wait, she would keep on trying to contact him but more than that she could not do right now.

'I hope you are safe Aza... Wherever you might be right now...'

[TheKai]

After departing the fellowship at the Archmage's abode, Kaienrai heads back to the village to continue his training. His spirits were high after the meeting. Curiously, he stopped midway towards the ranger's training, sat down right there in the middle of the village and put ink to parchment:

Let them come,
Let them see,
Let the forest's enemies know,
That Dharasha will be free.

Tide after tide,
The darkness may swell,
Side by side we stand,
The Elves of Destiny will prevail.

Our bonds they hold tight,
Tighter than before,
If a strand should fail,
The bonds close in stronger more.

For no matter the distance,
Or the time in between,
When Dharashans unite,
Our Mythal will sing.

Not a Mythal of magic,
Well, some magic I think,
But a Mythal of fellowship,
Stronger than a dwarven forged link.

So let them see, and let them come,
Let evil know true fright,
The evil will dwindle,
When they behold Dharasha's might.

[Invoker]

The Night Man Cometh

The darkness rose at the foot of the hill. It was thicker than mist, more impenetrable. It swallowed the moonlight like a bottomless pit swallows a torch. In mere moments, the blackness surrounded the ridge entirely, the northern side of Boareskyr Bridge enveloped in its thick smoke-like embrace till half way up the slope towards Bridgefort.

The muscled man with an axe was the first one to die. They called him "The Marauder". Pale and spidery hands reached out from the darkness as he gripped his weapon, his still squinting eyes finally staring into predatory blood-red ones while his neck was snapped by his supernaturally fast aggressor.
As his massive body collapsed like a rag doll, one of the two magelings' attempts to cast one of the useless cantrips they optimistically called "spells" was cut short by a force weave which crushed him in a deadly vise, his ribcage crumbled and his organs squashed as a consequence.
The other man's spell died on his lips as his companion's blood spurted in his face. He did not have another chance. A blink of an eye later, all that was left of him was an acid-dripping husk, a dark pool of life fluids expanding under it.

A black clad figure stepped out of the umbra, two emerald eyes alight in the depths of his cowl the only discernible feature. The brigand leader gave a signal, and his three remaining men released a volley of bolts towards the newcomer. Those that did not miss bounced off right before reaching him, thwarted by an invisible force. The dark figure laughed, and it was a terrible sound, like broken glass dragged on a marble floor. The three men began to wither a heartbeat after, their decrepified bodies contorting and disintegrating in a feast of decay.

The Leader charged him, moving with speed and silent fury, but his attacks failed to connect with the spectral mage over and over again. The creature chuckled softly, before speaking in a sinister, low voice: Despite my limited skill in Divination, there is something I can tell you about the future, Outlaw: you're not in it.. A blast of Arcane Fire enveloped the man in a deadly shroud, leaving only his charred remains in its wake.

Nonchalantly extracting the tip of a bloodless quarrel from his right shoulder, the black wizard nodded towards the darkness behind him: "Clean up this mess from my doorstep, then disappear before Lady Ithilwen comes. I already invited her, and this slaughter is an absolutely undignified welcome. Do not disappoint me, if you do not want to end up like them.... After a meaningful nod towards the dead bandits' remains, the mage slowly glided towards the ruined tower atop the hill, a shadow among shadows.

[Solaris]

Snowflakes...

Ithilwen followed the little snowflake with her eyes as it came down. Shortly before it touched the frozen ground she placed her hand underneath it, catching it gently in her palm. A small ray of sunlight passing through the clouds touched the flake's surface, lighting it up for a short moment.
She lifted her hand up as she kept her eyes on the snowflake.

''Where are you...''

She blew softly towards the little flake, making it lift off and it danced through the air, joining the other countless ones until they would touch the icy mountain terrain below them.

Ithilwen glanced behind her. She let out a slight sigh as she saw the new snow slowly taking hold on three iced statues. All three contained the frozen, dead bodies of yetis. She turned back around and lowered herself towards the frosted ground in front of her. She placed her hand on the ground, closed her eyes and started to mutter something in the arcane language. From under her hand a humming sound rose, filling the air around her, growing stronger as she kept on chanting the old incantations. A blue glow flowed up from her fingers, curling upwards around her arm, growing brighter and thicker as the chanting continued. She then stopped abruptly, opening her eyes and at the same moment the energy around her arm shot up through the snowflakes towards the clouds, leaving nothing but some glowing sparks twirling until they reluctantly dimmed out. With a hint of hope shimmering through her icy expression she looked skywards. Only moments later the energy seared back down to her, engulfing her, swirling around until it was absorbed by her body.

She gasped as she stood up, still partly shaken by the sudden power flow. As she took a moment to recover, her serene, icy mask slipped back on her face. She picked up the blanket from the ground and shook it once to remove the snow before draping it around her.



It was time to meet Kael. A smile formed on her lips as she muttered a traveling weave. A blinding white light flashed and where Ithilwen had been standing, only snow crystals remained covering what had been her footprints.

[Invoker]

Looking for Answers

The dark figure sat at the very top of the ruined structure, light rain stopping inches from him on an invisible air dome conjured right above him, the wind flapping his black mantle and ample dark robes. His emerald stare slowly scanned the landscape, piercing eyes studying the surroundings the tower was built to dominate. His tower, although not everyone agreed these days...

Slowly standing against the howling wind, Kael opened his arms wide and began murmuring in the arcane language of magic the formula of the most powerful detect magic spell he knew:

"Reveal what lays hidden.
Unveil what is shrouded.
Find what is lost.
Manifest, Unearth, Expose.

Obey...me."

[Solaris]

Rumors circulate that deep within the cloudpeakmountains at night, at certain isolated locations blue glows can be seen within the frosted landscape. A ranger claimed to have come close to one of such spots on an iced wall. When he removed some of the frost, covering the glow he saw a glowing iced symbol, pulsating in a certain rhythm. In the middle it contained a word written in the elven language. He said the word meant 'life', but it could also have been 'cow'. He didn't seem too certain about it.

[Canto]

Elanaele sits on a bench outside her room overlooking a quiet corner of the village and the bright, moonlit falls in the distance. The peace and quiet of the village is almost jarring after the weeks she just spent wandering the dangerous northern forests of her former home. It has been too long she was away from her adopted home.

Reverie has continued to be difficult and achievable only after states of pure exhaustion. But even then she is only rewarded by the darkest and most disturbing of dreams like the one that drove her to this bench this night. She stares off into the falls letting the grey noise wash over her and empty her mind of her most recent dark dream.

A bird catches her eye. Her sharp eye catches the iridescent black plumage, glossed purple and spangled white breast even from this distance. 'Starling' she says mindlessly to herself. They were a common bird on the streets of Waterdeep where she lived as a child. It dives and bobs around the top of the falls seeking its dinner of insects. After a moment's though she wonders: A starling? Here? They are a creature of cities and farms; open places where the mark of man is strong. What is it doing here?

At that moment she is shocked as it is hit by a large black arrow. There is no mistaking the origin of that arrow. "Orqu! Orcs in the village!" she cries out. She runs to the falls and climbs to the top near the edge of the wood to find the dead bird but it is not dead. Nor is it a starling but a hawk perched on the dead branch of a fallen tree. An arrow is lodged in the branch beneath but it is not an orcen arrow but silver with green and orange fletching tied off with a black twine and a distinctive knot used by only one other person she knows. "Father?!" she calls out.

She looks about but is no longer within the village but at the edge of the small clearing within the dark forest of Moonwood she had visited only last week. There is a figure standing in the center of the clearing lowering his bow. She recognizes him immediately. "Father!" she cries out and runs towards him.

He raises hand to signal her to stop and she obeys in confusion. He points to something behind and she turns to see the hawk is no longer there but in its place is a snowy, white ghost-owl. It calls out 'pyee pyee' and rises from the branch and powering up into the night sky. Her eyes follow it as it rises into the light of the moon and disappears. She returns her gaze to the clearing to see her father walking away, bow at the shoulder. She runs after him but he disappears into the forest beyond. "Father!" she calls out again in despair and frustration.

She looks back to the sky and sees only a large bright full moon lighting the sky above. She looks back to the clearing but it is gone. Instead she finds herself standing in front of the entrance of the only partially built mage tower.

"Elanaele what is it? I heard you call out." a concerned voice asks from behind.

She turns to see the ranger sentry there, bow at the ready. "It...I am sorry. It was nothing." she replies.

He looks doubtfully at her. "Are you certain? You look as though you have seen a ghost."

"It was a bad dream. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

There is a barking sound in the air above and they both look up. A white owl swoops over the tower and back into the forest.

She says good night to the ranger and returns hurriedly to her room, her white sleeping gown billowing in her wake.

[Invoker]

A Very Special Gift

It was dark inside, even for someone such as him. The faint starlight, only source of illumination in the moonless night, was surprisingly effectively shut out by the cracked walls of this section of the tower, a shadow of the bastion they used to be but still perfectly efficient in keeping any brightness from disturbing the sleeping obscurity within.

He confidently stepped onward in the utterdark environment, intimately knowing his domain. He avoided the large table and armchair, caressed the bookshelves as he lightly brushed by, climbed the remains of the staircase avoiding holes and missing steps he did not need to see. He knew they were there. Upon reaching the top floor, he moved towards a gaping hole in the wall which was probably a window once upon a time.

Right under it, was a sturdy ebony chest, kissed by a faint ray of light daring the shadows inside to swallow it. He slowly moved towards it, whispering a word of power in the arcane language of magic. By the time he stopped in front of it, the lock opened with a metallic click.

He slowly extracted the robe Ithilwen had gifted him from the depths of the chest, unfolding it before his eyes. It was made of the purest black velvet, soft to the touch yet magically protected against wear and natural damage of any kind. Obviously very old, it had belonged to a powerful wizard, likely a line of them...he was sure of it. The spellturning incantations and the sheer power of the persistent enhancement spells woven into it spoke volumes of the kind of use it was meant for.

Handling the artifact reverently, the Archmage finally began putting on a robe worthy of his status, his satisfaction evident on his curved lips.

[Solaris]

Spiders...


Ithilwen followed Arkaine Halforken with her cold eyes as he moved away from her. Fanatics, to trust so blindly on faith alone, no proof needed whatsoever. It was beyond her understanding. A giant spider as big as a tree in the cloak wood? Highly unlikely as she just passed through it herself only moments ago and saw no indications at all of such a being holding itself up there.

She took out a tome and started reading it. Finally a moment to herself. The day had been long with duty, the night even longer. Early morning was upon her and she welcomed the first rays of sun. Just as she was about to lose her thoughts in the content of the book, she noticed Sir Arkaine together with a half orc female, an earth genasi and a human male on the trade way, heading towards the Cloak Woods. She raised an eyebrow. He wasn't really going to hunt down a giant spider that felled an entire protected caravan with only these people with him? True or not, this was far from smart. She shook her head as she tugged the tome away. She gathered the shadows around her and decided to follow the group.

She followed at a distance, observing them as they made their way deep into the Cloak Woods. She saw groups of spiders attack the small party along the way, but they had it well in hand. There was no need for her to interfere. She did wonder about the unusual large amount of spider activity in the forest. As the group was contemplating on their next move, Ithilwen went forward slowly towards one of the corpses of the spitting spiders. Carefully she broke off one of the mandibles. It made a small pop and she looked up to the group to sense if anyone had heard her. If they had, they must have discarded it as sounds of the forest and she let out a slow breath. Having the mandible in her hand she started to search for anything on it. As far as she could tell there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. Nothing magical, just a mundane mandible of a spider.

She looked up as the group started moving again. She followed as they went deeper in the forest. Some more spider attacks followed as they closed in on a particular large tree. The female half orc noticed the spider coming down from it right on time and slashed the creature in two. After that fight the forest grew silent all around. Too silent for her taste. As daylight faded slowly, she moved closer to the protection of a large rock not too far from the tree as she kept on watching the group. They were preparing camp as if to lure the creature out. Seeming vulnerable and in rest it could prove to be the perfect scheme to get to this giant spider. If it was there at all...

Night fell and the group seemed tired. She tugged herself deeper in the nook she found. The human they called Castan seemed somewhat distant, his knowledge of the forest setting him apart from the group. Arakaine himself appeared anxious. It was a tense night, yet it did not withhold the two half orcs to fall into slumber. Not too long after, the earth genasi followed as he dipped his head.
Only the human Castan seemed awake, keeping his eyes and ears on the surroundings vigilantly. Yet... he failed to see her, she thought with a slight smile.

Time passed slowly for her feeling, but all of a sudden she could hear knispering sounds around her. The bellowing raucous voice of Arkaine sounded through the night at the same moment. ''To arms!'' She looked passed the group as the shadow of an enormous spider showed itself. The voice of the earth genasi joined in almost simultaneously. ''To arms!'' Ithilwen lifted herself up, still covered in the shadows. ''Bloody hells.'' She heard the half orcen female say. For once she had to admit these were appropriate words coming from the mouth of a half orc. The thing was big, immense... Instinctively Ithilwen called upon her gift, letting the power flow towards her hand, ready to strike at any moment. Smaller spiders but not less vicious crowded in around the group. Including Ithilwen. There was no choice but to come out of shadow and help the group. She murmured some words in the arcane and the power lashed out, freezing some of the smaller spiders in their rampage towards the group. As she watched behind her she saw the mighty mace of Arkaine crushing down on the spider. He fought with the fire she only recognized in those of the faith, not caring for their own safety. The earth genasi fighting side by side with the half orc. Quick blades of the female half orc slashed through the creature. Yet, they took a beating. She stretched out her hand and started weaving. A forceful gust of wind flew from her hand towards the spider. It was as if a giant fist held the creature in place. There, that would give them enough openings to strike it down, she thought with a slight smile as she stepped back in the shadows. The hulking earth genasi made a final swing with his baroque great sword and buried the blade deep within the spider, right between its eyes. The body of the black widow hit the ground with a large thump.



''Well struck Brother Ferragus!'' The half orc paladin said. Ithilwen moved closer to the group. ''So it seems you were right Sir Arkaine. The path of faith works in mysterious ways...'' She stepped out of the shadows and looked around the battered group. Surprise of her appearance showed on their faces. ''Are you all, alright?'' ''Hrgn-...!''
Hrgnn... Aye, we will live.'' Arkaine said. ''Who are you?'' The voice of the female half orc sounded to her right. She turned towards her and answered with a slight grin. ''See me as a watchful eye in the dark.''

The female half orc moved towards the spiders corpse and without any hesitation, pulled open the belly of the creature. The gore spilled out and covered the half orc partly. Together with the gore and guts a body of a gnome flowed out. The mostly digested body was broken in two pieces. She kept her eyes on the body as she listened to Arkaine's words. ''By Helm... I must take this poor little one back to thine temple of Garl Glittergold. A solemn vow I did swear to Gellana Mirrorshade, that I would safeguard and protect thine kin of Garl Glittergold.'' He knelt down and picked up the corpse, spilling the gold the gnome probably had been carrying with him. It would be enough to pay for a proper burial for the gnome, Ithilwen thought. The group broke off the camp and moved out of the deep forest. Ithilwen parted with the group before they reached the edge. She covered herself in shadow and moved off towards a secluded area of the forest.

At a small forest lake she sat down. Faith, this was the second time she had seen it work its mysterious ways. A vision was enough to convince the paladin to move. The word of a stranger... No proof...Paladins, they remained a riddle to her. She then picked up her tome once more. ''Now... Where was I?...''

[mrm3ntalist]

While Mendel was patroling outside the tower at Boaresky Bridge, one of the village rangers approaches him carrying a parcel with a letter attached. Once Mendel sees the sender of the letter he smiles and eagerly opens the letter to read it, while walking towards the village.

Once inside the village he examines the contents of the package. Recalling a recent incident Ithilwen was involved, he walks in the council room after sending a ranger to invite others as well. He lays the contents of the package on the desk and begins making notes of his findings. When he is done he writes a responce for Aelcar.

[Invoker]

The Man That You Fear

The black robed figured glided through the forest like a rising mist, a ghostly shadow given substance by the occasional stomped leaf or snapped twig. He had no idea where he was exactly, but he did not need to. He was treading their hunting territory, and they would find him. A screeching sound from a large, pitch black bat circling overhead brought him to an unhurried halt. His emerald eyes pierced the darkness with ease, his gaze fixed on the muscular shape of the werewolf coming towards him right out of a thicket that easily concealed him until them. His heightened senses already allowed him to hear his companions circling him, thinking themselves hidden. He slowly and deliberately rubbed his gloved hands as the hulking beast rapidly closed the distance between them.

"Please, allow me to have a word with you.". The werewolf bared his fangs and increased his speed, his friends also silently closing in. The dark wanderer lifted his hand, and the monster stopped dead in his tracks, caught by a force weave of crushing power. That definitely accelerated the other werewolves' charge, just like the mage had anticipated. As soon as they were close to puncing distance, his lips curled into a wicked smile: "That word is: burn". The inferno raged all around him, turning night into day for a long, interminable instant.

"Thank you for your contribution. Every fire needs a spark..." he said, turning his back to the scene. As he began murmuring the Traveling formula to teleport back to his tower, part of his mind idly lingered on the fact that the whole fire that turned werewolves into charred husks had claimed not a single tree, bush or blade of grass. Speaking of true mastery...

The cowled wizard disappeared in a flash of brilliant white light.

[Solaris]

The dark side of the moon.




It was a particularly cold night for this time of the year. An icy wind had set up early in the evening. It blew through some of the cracks and holes within the small room high up in the tower.

A darkness in the corner of the room seemed to grow and with it the temperature dropped even lower. Shadows swirled around eachother, slowly dissipating shortly after. ''So, this is where you are...'' Ithilwen's shape became clear through the blackness around her.

She glanced around the small, mostly broken place. She could not recall having ever been in this part of the tower before. Apart from the climate it didn't do much to her. It probably must have been some sort of storage room in earlier days. What it did have was a perfect view from a window of the bridge and the outskirts of the forest. She saw the black shape of Kael, his back towards her as he watched out of that very window. ''So, what was that all about earlier?''

He remained in silence for long moments, his large bat familiar hanging comfortably from the roof.
"And good to see you too, dear...
I am not sure what you are getting at. Nai had questions for me, and I answered to the best of my abilities. It's not easy to explain arcane weaves to non arcanists. It seems clear, however, that I have to kill this Mip gnome for excess of stupidity...slowly..." A hint of irritation seeping into his usually blank tone when he uttered the last sentence.

Ithilwen let herself glide in a sitting position from the wall she was leaning on. ''True, you are right. It is difficult to explain weaves to those that do not possess the spark. Or to those that in essence, use a complete different form of spells and spellshapes. You could try and teach her, but even if she is gifted, she is gifted in a too different form. She will only scratch the surface of what we do. Never fully understand in the true meaning of the word.'' She took in a deep breath and slowly led it out, remaining silent for a while before continuing. ''This was not completely what I was hinting at Kael. What I was hinting at was your discussion with Nai before that, saying you were no good. I heard you mention this before. Do you truly believe this? That you are some evil monster? I know you like others to think it, to scare them away. But are you starting to believe this yourself?''

The Archmage laughed softly: "You heard the lady's opinion. What's the truth, Ithilwen? Truth, like beauty, is just a matter of perspective. When enough people see you in a certain way, that becomes the truth about you. Perception is reality when the eye is untrained, or when the onlooker does not bother to actually see.... Who am I to go against the general consensus?! Besides...who knows, maybe they are right...

She shook her head slowly. ''People are stupid, Kael. They can be made to believe any lie because either they want to believe it's true or because they are afraid it's true. Look what happened with Celundel. Don't fall for it yourself. Yes, you made choices I do not agree with. Yet, I also know why you did them. You are what you are but the choice in how you act is still yours. The tool in itself is not evil, it is the choice in how to use it, that makes us evil.'' She sighed as she looked up to the window. You believe you are empty, alone... But you are not. Your friends like Mendel, Kai, your family, me...I am right here, and I am not going to let you slip down that mountain.''

The dark wizard sighed heavily, still staring out of the window. As he spoke, Nightwing stirred, a lazy flap of bat wings before wrapping them tighter around its body: "There is wisdom in your words my beloved, but keep in mind that some tools actually are evil, regardless of the way they are employed. My choices are my burden, my own responsibility, and I do not regret them: I did what was needed, what had to be done. As I always do. As for Celundel...he did what he believed was right...not to say he is any less of a dimwit for that, mind you: he could have thought it through slightly better...but he is a dimwit I can understand.
On two things you are right: I am what I am, and... somewhat incredibly given that fact, I am not alone. Let's see how long that lasts...You, of all people, should know what I mean...

She raised her eyebrow. ''How long that lasts? No, I do not follow you...''

The black mage spun around suddenly, his bat bolting out of the window with a screech: "Ohh, I think you do...You heard Nai's questions and accusations. Does it matter if she is right or wrong?" He laughed mirthlessly.

''It does not, and I do not know who put these ideas in her mind but it is not something we can have right now. All we can do now is talk and explain it to her. In whatever way that is possible...'' A hint of anger flared through her otherwise cold voice. ''Ignorance... Why can its effects be so destructive...'' She took a deep breath and her calm demeanor took over once more. ''Whatever happens, you are not alone... You might not understand, but even I can't come back on certain choices I made...Nor do I want to... Perhaps at some point, you will understand what I mean.''

"Knowledge's effects are at times just as destructive...". He stepped towards her, taking her right hand into his left one before adding softly "...and I do understand what you mean. Right now."

[Canto]

Elanaele knelt down to inspect the patch of ground more closely. That makes eight, no nine sets of prints. There is a another print with a broken toe underneath. This was a unit moving with like purpose perhaps three nights ago.

She had spent the last four days searching the Wood of Sharp Teeth for signs of the new threat of which she had only just learnt. Deep into the wood she went finding no sign other than the occasional dread wolf or orc. She was beginning to think that the news might have been exaggerated after all. An entire city appearing overnight? It was as if the news was plucked straight from her nightmares.

Only two weeks ago she had been scouting the desolation that had been her former home in Moonwood. She knew it foolish to return there. It was far too dangerous and what did she expect to find? Closure, she told herself. Seeing the forest move on might help her do the same and maybe be rid of these nightmares that plagued her for so many weeks now. The lights of her former village had been reduced to a tangle of dead trees, overgrown vines where mad beasts now roam. The were-beasts of Malar had taken her home. Gone were her people, her family, her father.

Any hope of finding peace shattered on the news she had learnt on her return: bands of werewolves now roam in the Wood of Sharp Teeth. Had she heard it only from the Kor Vain, that dread shell that had once been Kael, she might have thought him simply trying to get under her skin again. But Mendel was there as well and confirmed his words: while she was away an entire city of werewolves had appeared in the wood over night. An entire city! It was happening again. She left for the Wood of Sharp Teeth next morning. She had to see things for herself.

She arose and looked about the grove deciding her next step. This pack had come from somewhere. She would track it to its source. All afternoon the trail pulled her deeper and deeper into wood until she found a deep spring. Here the prints of humans were mixed among beasts in the surrounding mud. Trails led off in several directions from there and it took her a while to find 'Broken-toe' and his band. She followed that trail for several more hours before concluding it was headed towards the outskirts of the forest. This was not the trail she wanted. She started her way back to the spring to pick another track to follow but the light was now growing dim and traveling this wood alone at night was not wise. She found a gap within the roots of a large willow and settled in to await the morning.

She sat within the cleft reliving memories of her former home and lost loved ones filtering together with images of the sad twisted thing that place had become. Tears streaked her face as she stared blindly off into the forest in twilight.

Her reverie was interrupted by a sound in the distance. A rabid tossle of growls and broken branches followed by a moment of silence. A horrifying howl rips through the night air, terrible from even this distance. But she could still hear and recognize the grumbling undertones of a large and mature werewolf. This one had just made a kill, a large one. But it was what she heard next that startled her. Farther in the distance, carried upon the wind and barely audible was a response. Not one or two voices but countless howls rising into the air competing to be heard. This was no simple pack or two.

The next morning she made her way out of the forest as quickly as she could. "Arrows will not be enough.", she thought to herself. They could kill most of the host but they would regain their strength from our own fallen. How many beasts had they slain in those later battles only to discover the next morning that they were once kin? No. These beasts needed to learn fear. These beasts needed a fear of this plane that would haunt them for generations. They would pay for taking her father from her.

She recalled the Kor Vain's flippant comment: "Oh they burn easily enough."

Was that the answer?

[Canto]

Fear. Terror. Fear was what she needed.

Elanaele made her way to the Boareskyr Bridge as she returned home, obsessing over what she would do next. The beasts must be made to feel the same terror that has haunted her nightmares. She would become their nightmares. But how? What did she fear?

One look across the water gave her all the answer she needed. It was all she could think about on the return walk. She imagined the soulless laugh her would give when she approached and almost turned aside to go home instead. No. To learn the tools of fear she would need to conquer her own. She told herself she could conquer any fear to take her payment from those beasts. But what would she have to give up in that quest? What had he given up?

She shudders as she looked across the river to the ruined tower and sighs. Her nightmare would have led her there at any rate. She licks her lips and approaches the ruined fort. They will come to know the wrath of my people. They will come to know my wrath.