Fariels thoughts drifted to time when he was taught the druidic power of shapeshifting. Apparently he had the affinity to either become a druid or a healer. The choice was all to clear, on which path to tread in days to come, of course the ability to heal one’s self would provide useful in battles and other skirmishes. It would mean being in the frontlines and that his chances of dying would surge, that idea bothered him. The healers weren’t a rare sight to see, but it all depended on their connection to the source of the power. The stronger it was, the stronger a spell’s outcome would be, truly powerful healers, also known as menders, were known to be able to resurrect the dead back to life and give them a second or tenth time on the battlefield. But these experts were rarer than any other high ranking magic wielder.
Not many even knew of their existence. So when Fariel chose his calling, he travelled to Valon Drae forest to meet the arch-druids. The journey from Qarth to Valon Drae forests was long and exhausting. Fariels journey began from the city of Qarth and he could not stop moving until he reached Danthmoors ferry. He was a lonesome rider on the roads, not a single soul around, yet he never felt alone. The vicinity of Qarth was a wooded area, Qarth was called a jewel of the forests for a reason… Fariel always had a connection with earth and its creatures, animals alerted him of dangers and the woods provided shelter from his pursuers.
While riding to Danthmoor he crossed quite a few abandoned or destroyed keeps and castles, most from the Age of the Dying Dawn. That age ended right as he was born and peace mostly came to the lands, but darkness still brewed in the depths of the world. Upon arriving in Danthmoor he jumped on the first ferry through the river, which had quite the name because of the drowned men over the centuries. Fariel stood on the prow of the ship the whole journey, trying to take in the last moments of home, before leaving it behind for a year of two...
As I arrived on the other side of the shore, I immediately felt strange. The trees were restless, birds flustered and the animals weary of humans. I rode my stallion onwards through the woods, into the heart of the forest, where the druid circle lays.
-Damn, this forest is making even me restless,- I muttered silently to my horse Gray.
Gray just picked up speed, to get to the druids faster.
Even as a small child I realised I could speak to animals and they to me. It isn’t really talking as much as understanding each other’s emotions and communicating telepathically. I first realised it when I was exploring the inn when I was growing up, my father was always restless because of rats plaguing the tavern, so in short I asked the rats to leave the inn alone and go to other inns to cause havoc there in exchange for keeping them safe from traps and unwanted attention. And it worked. I started talking to other animals, they helped me stay safe and out of danger, it was all mutual. Though rats loved me most, they were clever and liked staying hidden, just like me.
I rode into a clearing, it looked too normal to be here, in the forest which is as old as time itself, legends say it grew here before the Age of the Dying Dawn and many ages before it. I guess this is why the druids chose this as their hideout. It made my skin crawl, all of this untapped and unrestrained primal energy made me feel empowered and scared out of my wits. Three animals came into my view from three different directions at the same time and their movements synchronized. I soon realised druids can not only change their bodies into other human or other races body, but to animals as well. Or maybe I was different to be able to morph into humanoid races….
The elder Haman spoke first:
"Welcome child of nature, to the forest of Valon Drae, do you seek someone or knowledge?"
"Knowledge, honourable elder," I responded in a quick manner.
"Do you have the abilities and aptitude for the way of druids?, " asked the second in charge Morsaine, a snow elf.
"Yes, I speak to the animals and they to me. I can shapeshift into other humanoids and can feel the primal powers."
"Hm, a new novice with the abilities of a fully fledged initiate, quite the sight to behold in this age, " acknowledged the third elder whose name yet remains a mystery.
"Follow us if you are ready for the new chapter of your life," Elder Haman said softly.
"I’m ready, guardians of Nature," I replied in a calm tone.
They turned back into their animalistic shapes and went deep into the forest of Valon Drae, I followed without falling ten paces behind them. I knew forests could be treacherous, especially ones as ancient as this one.
I was lead into the heart of the forest, it was a sight to behold. Trees grown together to make houses and manors. temperature upheld by a natural whirlpool and geyser. It was truly magical, but that was to be expected from a druids household.
There weren’t many druids left in the world, but here there were over 70 of them, they all formed a circle around me. I realized I was standing inside a natural crystal formation. And so Elder Haman spoke:
"If you are to become a druid like all of us, you must wear a necklace of the Great Serpent’s fang. It is the symbol of our druidic house. The serpent symbolizes eternity and growth. It will give you power and recognition in the lands beyond our forest, but it with it comes a burden. The burden of keeping the peace between Nature and Mankind. Are you ready to join us and share your fate with us?"
"Yes," I replied resolutely with excitement in my chest.
The druids laughed heartily with lungs full of the intoxicating air that surrounded us all.
"Don’t be so serious, we are all merry folk Fariel. This is just a tradition, now we keep the peace, but we try to resurrect our order, as our numbers have dwindled over the ages. Men have lost the connection to Nature when they entered their homes of stone. But there are still some that have a bond with the earth. We will teach you all there is to learn, so long as you are capable," said the second in charge Morsaine.
I stood there befuddled, my jaw agape and my eyes bulging. These people were nothing more than men and women, who could channel the powers of nature and using it as best they could, for the greater good. They didn’t look ominous anymore, they looked like a gentle family, not weathered and beaten forest dwellers.
I was lead to a spacious clearing in the forest and was told to wait. After an hour or so, elder Haman decided to show up with a quizzical look on his face. And so he asked:
"Still not done I see."
"What’s not done?" I asked befuddled.
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"Your house, what else." The elder exclaimed in a jolly manner.
"WHAT?! How am I supposed to build my house with nothing here and trees being sacred? Dig a burrow in the ground? I can only morph and shapeshift so far, my abilities are limited to that and communication with animals."
Elder Haman’s brows furrowed
"You can perform high ranking abilities with ease such as shapeshifting and yet you can’t bend some trees into a house…. Truly fascinating my boy!"
"What do you mean high ranking abilities? Shapeshifting is second nature to me, it’s just as easy as breathing."
"Inconceivable... If my mentor heard of this, he would have named you elder and not me, " the elder laughed heartily. Look, I’ll show you how to do it and if you still can’t do it, you will just have to live in a burrow just as you already suggested yourself!
I watched vigorously at how Haman bent the trees with his willpower whilst humming and whistling a mischievous tune. The house was huge as if it was a manor of a lord, and then it all went back to being trees. Haman mockingly left the roof in place, but it was riddled with holes. Then he just strolled off, but before doing so, he gave me a tip: “Don’t think, just breathe while reaching out to the source of your power and think of what you want to do”. I tried taking his advice and the trees bent into archways to uphold the roof, leaves and branches weaved themselves together into walls, beds, chairs. The earth crackled into a stone pathway and a fire pit. A small stream of water came streaming out of the depths of earth, forming a small pond. The house wasn’t huge, but it was bigger than the inn back in Qarth.
Haman appeared in the clearing just as the pond finished filling up and the stones finished setting themselves into the pathway.
"Magnificent, just breathtaking. It’s unbelievable, that you couldn’t channel just half a day ago and now you build yourself a good sized house with full furnishings…. If you weren’t from the family of E’delran, then I would be jealous, but now your abilities are expected to be of a higher calibre." silently and carefully murmured Haman.
"What do you mean by me being a member of the E’delran family?"
"Oh, you don’t know? Have you never questioned why you never met your mother’s father? He was a descendant of long line of powerful druids of the same lineage. The E’delran family. Your mother never pursued the life of a druid and that impacted your growth as one. It enchanced your affinity to nature and its forces. Your father never wanted you to become a druid, he said it is a life of danger and being a vagabond, never settling down. Being a druid means you have to fulfill your duty to nature and its dwellers."
But times have changed, most druids now settle down and care for the land around them. Only the most exalted druids now roam the lands, going to the places corrupted by the darkness of Nizhalgal.
"Nizhalgal? I thought those were just stories to keep kids well behaved, are you now telling me the stories are true? Like the beheading of king Grameer? The demise of the gnome race and their halls of stone ?" I asked with terror in my heart.
"Yes, the stories are true, but they don’t do him justice, the reality is tenfold worse." Haman sighed.
"And how does one become an exalted druid? Do you have to do some sort of ritual or have some ability?"
"No it is much simpler- you just have to be from one of the archdruid families such as yours and have immense power, but we are yet to test that to its full extent. But I fear that if you are to be an exalted druid, your father would slay me and your mother burn Valon Drae forest, Haman laughed merrily disguising his worry masterfully."
"I hope I’m just a simple druid." I replied in concern.
"And I hope the complete opposite, being one of the exalted druids means you have power, riches, social status and living life to its full extent. Even if it comes with dangers and duty, you gain so so much. And it would do you a lot of good, to your family aswell." said Haman.
"Is there some sort of test?"
"Well yes and no, it will naturally show itself during your training. So far it is almost impossible for you not to be one of the exalted," laughed Haman.
"Why do you say so?"
"YOU CAN MORPH!! It’s one of the last abilities that is taught to druids…" exclaimed Haman.
"Can you feel the wind Fariel?" asked Morsaine whilst appearing from the shadows.
"Yes, also the bubbling water in the pond, the stone and earth beneath my feet, and everything living in the forest." I replied with a quizzical look in my eyes.
"You keep us entertained, Fariel, you are quite the promising initiate", said the mysterious elder.
"What does it mean?"
"It means that you wield wind, water, nature in your grasp. Most can dream of two elements, three are rare, four are legendary… But we have yet to test your ability for the fourth element. Fire is for mages and wizards, light for clerics, lightning for the races of Highlands, yet there is one more which is universal. Your family and two others have wielded in history. These users were more common in era’s past, but those were dark times for dark magic. Shadow melding is what I’m talking about." said the mystery elder.
"And what does it mean to wield shadow melding? Like to be undetected in obvious areas?"
"Oh no, not at all my boy. It is far more complicated. When night falls shadow melders gain power unlike any others, that is why most were killed of after the last Great war of the Races. Your power isn’t hindered by the light, but darkness empowers you. It helps you blend with the environment, yes, but it also makes you more agile, strong and aware of everything around you. Night is falling, your test will begin when the sun dies in the horizon, until then, rest." said Haman in a resolute voice.
Night was to fall in three hours. So I decided to meditate and ask around about the third elder about which I knew nothing about. Most of the forest dwellers were jolly and chatty, they said something quite peculiar to me. They have never seen the third elder, only Morsaine and Haman. Am I special?
Or is he some sort of specter? I went to Haman and to Morsaine to ask them, but they were of dealing with a poisonous drake infestation in the deepest part of the forest. Apparently their numbers have soared and they need to be controlled or the whole forest shall be overcome by them.
I went back to my house,to the stable specifically. Gray neighed at me with joy, we understood each other. I knew it wasn’t a place for him to stay here with me, he would die of boredom or of laziness. Patting him and talking to him always calmed me down, he was small piece of home always at my side, my memento of Qarth.
He knew he had to go back home, but was reluctant to let me go as I was of him. I took his reins and led him to the clearing where we met the druids. Put a letter in the saddle bags with money and instructions for anyone who decides to not let him pass. It would assure his safe passage back.
We said our goodbyes and I looked after him as he strode towards the ferry with reluctance in his hooves. What I didn’t ever expect was for the third elder to stop Gray and turn him around back to me. Like a jolt of lightning he strode towards me. His face was clear of worry and sadness, instead it was filled with joy and as if he was bearing good news.
"You will never guess what that weird ghost just told me!" blurted Gray.
"Well tell me then!"
"He said that I must remain at your side, he said I will be useful even in the forest!"
"Huh?! Really? Wait did you maybe ask who he was?"
"Nope, don’t care about that. But he smelt like you and had a familiar aura, quite like yours actually."
"Okay, well back to the stable I guess. Let’s get rid of that saddle and bags."
As I finished taking of Gray’s saddle I sensed something was different with him, his aura felt different. It’s as if his species was unidentifiable, nor a horse nor anything else from this world.
"Gray, what did that spectre do to you?! Your aura is acting up, you’ve become unidentifiable, as if you were one of the Ethereal."
"He didn’t do anything. He said something more, which scared me and I was afraid to tell you. He said that it was time for me to reveal my true form."