Eight years have passed since the Tirnas accident and the sacred forests were disconnected from each other. The druidic leylines closed down with the destruction of Tirnas forest, only small groves hidden by enchantments are left of the once brilliant forests across the world. Elaine, the last druid of Cymbal forest has been training alone for the day Nyalith gives her a mission to avenge the arch druids and the people of Tirnas.
"It has been eight years already, why haven't Nyalith returned yet?" Elaine asked herself while watering a small patch of vegetables outside her home. Looking back towards her home she notices that the trees is still as vibrant as before in the small grove she is living in. A small pond is located at the far edge of the grove, a family of birds living there. Along the canopy smaller birds and small critters live there, keeping a vigilant eye for bugs and insects.
Placing the water basket down she stretch her limbs before walking back into her home, a small cottage in the center of the grove. two windows on either side of the door welcome Elaine in as she takes of her shoes and walks over to the kitchen were a basket of fruits and mushrooms is sitting on the small counter, unsheathing her hunting knife from her belt she begins cutting and trimming the food into sizable pieces before throwing them into a large pot hanging above the fireplace. Throwing a couple logs into the empty fireplace she alights it with a chant, while waiting for the soup to finish cooking Elaine grabs her staff and begins twirling it around in a ceremonial dance. As she finishes the dance two bright lights emits in the air, a few seconds later two small fairies are floating in the air.
"Elaine! It's so good to see you, how are you?" The playful looking fairy asked, the fairy next to her simply waved her hand in greeting.
"Its good to see you to Layla, and I see that Elis is still as grumpy as usual." Elaine comments as she is hugged by Layla, Elis simply scoffed at her remark with a small grin on her lips.
"Why have you called for us this time Elaine? We haven't heard from you in months." Elis commented.
"I wanted to know if any orders from the fairy queen in regards to the forests. And also to meet you two." Elaine explained to the grumpy fairy while Layla flew atop Elaines head sitting on it.
"Well, the fairy queen has been pretty quiet inside her court since the fall of Tirnas. I assume she is sad about the destruction of the sacred forests, as we all are." Elis explained.
"So its the same as here, I have not received any contacts from the other forests, it seems like the druidic leylines have been disconnected since the betrayal of Tach." Elaine said, still angry and confused by the betrayal.
Talking for a bit more Elaine offers dinner for the two fairies but they declined, saying the fairies will hold a banquet tonight to try lifting the queen's mood. Saying good bye for now the two fairies disappeared in the same light as when they appeared. Standing alone in the room she takes her bowl from the kitchen she pours herself a cup of soup and silently eating it.
Her usual routine followed until a bird came flying down from the canopy, landing on one of the posts encircling the crops Elaine walks outside, casts a spell that lets her speak with animals.
"Miss druid, a sighting of the weird creatures have been spotted to the east, three deers have already been eaten during the night and we think the creature is slowly moving towards this location." The small bird explained.
"Thank you little friend, inform as many creatures you can to escape south, I will resolve this issue." Elaine told the bird, seeing the bird fly away to informs its brethren she rushes inside to grab her staff and cloak to engage the creature.
Leaving her home fully adorned with healing salves and her staff and hunting knife she calls upon the woods and from nothing an ethereal elk is summoned, kneeling down on its front legs Elaine caresses its head with her hand, giving it a wild carrot before jumping atop it, heading towards the direction of the creature.
Several minutes later Elaine arrives at the location the bird talked about, a withered away part of the forest, she doesn't see the creature but she notices several smaller monuments dedicated to unknown beings, the same ones that were found eight years ago in Orhin forest. Banishing the elk, thanking it for its help Elaine is standing alone in the withered forest, silence befalling the empty forest.
"It seems like the creature has moved from these statues, but the tracks are still fresh, so it can't have moved far away from here." As Elaine thought to herself she could see five robed people walking towards the monument. Crouching down to hide she inspects the appearance of the five people approaching her location.
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"Four humans and an elf, it seems like these being have attracted a rather large following." Elaine thought.
Watching the actions of the five mysterious people she saw that one of the humans were carrying a dead boar in its arms, walking over to the largest stone he places it down before it and the other four begins chanting in an unknown language Elaine couldn't understand. Suddenly before her eyes Elaine could see black mist amassing above the stone and from thin air a large be-winged creature were perched upon the large monument.
"Great Hyrix, our village is in need of food and we have come with an offering, please accept our offer." As the human carrying the boar spoke Elaine could see that the creature was hungrily staring at the elf.
"An interesting offer indeed mortal, but you seem to have arrived with an even tastier offering then the animal." The winged creature spoke as it pointed with its crooked finger towards the elven man.
"What do you mean master? Fulic has been your follower since you arrived here eight years ago, he has been loyal to you." The human argued, nervous that his master would reject their offer.
"I know, but I have been craving elven flesh since the attack on Tirnas, I can still remember the mana rich flavor of those pointy eared people." Hyrix explained as he licked his lips as drool began forming in its mouth.
"I understand master." As the human spoke he quickly drew his blade and jabbed it into the elf's stomach, shocked by the betrayal of his companion. "Anything for the village." The human said, a cold tone in his voice as the other humans ran away in fear.
"Well done human, your kind has always thought about the greater purpose. I will give your puny village, walk towards the gate at nightfall three days from now and you will have your reward." Hyrix spoke as it called upon a dozen tendrils from its hand and picked up the dead elf, carrying it into its arms.
Shocked at the sudden turn of events Elaine tried to hide as much as possible, keeping total silence, fear of being spotted by the creature. Thanking the creature for its help the human left the forest quickly, never looking back as the creature began eating the elf.
Understanding that she will be discovered if she stayed Elaine began slowly crawl backwards, after an arduous amount of time Elaine thought she had put as much space between her and the creature, silently summoning her steed she jumps atop the elk and hurriedly run back to her home. Arriving home at the grove she checks her enchantments for any obstructions in their magic, notifying if anyone has entered. Seeing they are still unobstructed she calms down, expel the spell on the elk and walk inside her home, washing her face with some water she begins praying to Nyalith.
"Please Nyalith, these horrors have begun killing the wild life at a quicker pace and lone monsters have begun traversing farther into the forest. I need your help now more than ever." Elaine prayed. Waiting several minutes for any response but to no avail, the silence giving her the answer.
"You wanted me to become your chosen, but you leave her fending for yourself for eight years!" Elaine's frustration causing her to lash out into the air, scaring a few birds sitting at the window sill. As no response is given by her deity she kicks a bucket away, smashing it to the wall, before laying down on her bed, silently crying, the stress of todays events and her faith being questioned. Falling asleep her night is disturbed by a dream.
Standing in a void, the only light her staff, Elaine is confused by her whereabouts. Choosing to sit down and meditate for a dew moments her concentration is interrupted by a voice calling out to her.
"Elaine, the time for action has come, the primordials have decided that the time for vengeance has come." The booming voice awoke Elaine from her meditation. Looking around in fear she calls out to see the owner of the voice. A moment later a bright light erupts in the void, blinding Elaine. After a few seconds Elaine had gotten used to the light she notices six immensely large animals standing all around her. Seeing a crimson phoenix, a golden fleeced lion, A large eight-legged spider, a silver-fured wolf and an eight-headed hydra. The last animal caused Elaine to drop her jaw in surprise. Nyalith, the white stag, standing before her, looking exactly the same as the day she was rescued by it.
"Grace, why haven't you responded to my prayers, I have been praying to you everyday for eight years but I have received no answer from you." Elaine asked, confused and sad by her deities silence.
"We have tried to contact you child, but unknown forces have kept us from entering the material world, been caught in Natiem." The silver-fured wolf explained as he looked over towards Nyalith.
"I must say Nyalith, the daughter of Mara have a lot of potential, I hope you have chosen correctly in placing our future in her hands." The wolf said.
"Nag'losh, I understand your concern, But I have seen her power increase over the years, she has a lot of potential in her, she just needs to tap into it." Nyalith
"It seems like a trauma has caused her powers to be blocked, she needs to resolve it to be able to tap into her true potential." The eight-legged spider spoke, looking over the young elf.
"The important thing is we can finally contact the chosen, child, you have to find the other chosen and retake Tirnas forest, as of now the hidden forest is desecrated by the creatures of chaos." Nyalith explained.
"I don't understand, how am I able to find the other chosen if I don't know what they look like." Elaine asked confusedly.
"Each one of you will be given a mark symbolizing your connection to their deity. You will carry my mark." As Nyalith explained a bright white light began shining on Elaines forehead, confused but trusting her deity she let it continue. A moment later she saw in her reflection a tattoo of a pair of white antlers beginning from between her eyebrows stretching over her forehead and reaching her hair on either side of her face.
"This my child, is the mark of Nyalith, the other chosen will have similar tattoos on their bodies, and they will have an attraction to each other, you will feel a magical pull towards the others when you are close to each other." Nyalith explained, pleased the ritual worked correctly.
"Thank you my grace, will I be able to contact you outside my dreams?" Elaine asked.
"As of now no, we can only talk during the dreaming, but as you grow in power we will be able to meet in the material world. Now wake up child, and save the future!" As nyalith finished speaking the bright light appeared again and Elaines eyes hastily opened, noticing she was back in her bed she rushed over to the pond outside and looked at her reflection. Seeing the familiar pair of white antlers on her forehead she understood it wasn't a simple dream.
"I finally have a mission from Nyalith! I have to find the others, but first I have to solve the problem with that creature from before and save the village." Nyalith spoke to herself, her will steeled and motivated to help her deity.