Journal - In Search of the Queen of Truth

Journey to the Forest

After our experience on the island we spent some time training with mentors, for me with my Saloroc friends, to consolidate what we had learned. I felt closer to Karmana than ever, having been denied a connection in that place, and almost ripped away from her entirely.

During Falcor's training with Custor he was warned that Custor had helped the Queen of the Elvrabor to gain her position due to having the Crown of Truth... but it was clear now that it wasn't the true crown. That did not mean that she was unworthy, although one would hope that the Queen of Truth would not be so easily deceived... at any rate Arad was keen to see what the situation was before passing judgement, which seemed fair. We all agreed that uniting the true Queen with the real crown should be a priority for us.

Once we had all finished training, resting and equipping ourselves, we sailed northeast with a Saloroc war party in one of their longboats, aiming to land in Elvrabor lands on the western edge and then strike northeast towards the heart of forest. Custor told us of a great tree there: the Bor'arlerkanimea - the Tree of Truth and Life. Sadly it was not going to be an uneventful journey.

Not long after leaving the relative safety of the shores of the "bear paw" islands another boat was sighted to the west. It was a Saloroc vessel, but would not be a friendly one in the waters we were in so we made a dash for the coast. Falcor was able to walk on water using his mental powers, and I called on Karmana to allow Arad and I to do so as well, that way the captain did not have to come too close to the shore and was able to keep his distance from the foe whilst dropping us off.

We moved quickly into the forest, soon putting the coast behind us. It was warm, and we deliberately moved forward peacefully without weapons drawn in case we should encounter Arad's kin. He went ahead with the intent of speaking with them first, and we did not want to provoke them in any way if we could avoid it.

After a few hours we suddenly saw a female Elvrabor run from our right in front of us, turning away to run in the direction we were travelling. She looked harried and panicked, looking over her shoulder the way she had come from as if pursued. Mentally she said "help me" at Arad, although we all heard her. We ran forward at once and quickly saw that there were Saloroc chasing her. Arad put an arrow into one as I called on Karmana to hold them fast, urging the plants to reach out and grasp them, slowing any pursuit.

Falcor and Arad used the opportunity to loose arrows at the held or slow moving targets. Their first arrows killed one that was held fast and it slumped dead but still held semi-upright by the plants around it. Their next arrows found targets as well, but Falcor backed into cover as the foe started to return fire. Arad sent a mental message to the Elvrabor, telling her that she was safe from pursuit; she responded by thanking her "lord of warriors" and then she was met by a winged horse landing in front of her! It seemed to let her mount it and allow her to fly away from the threat.

I ran forward to engage one of the Saloroc breaking free, stabbing him before he could react. Arad was targeted by the enemy archers, being hit by two arrows from the same Saloroc - a marksman? Arad returned fire, landing a seriously good hit on the one that hurt him. Falcor noticed it stagger and put one in its head, dropping it instantly. He also dropped another held one, taking advantage of its inability to move.

Arad continued his mental conversation with the Elvrabor, and she said: "Egarnian has me safe now, I thank you my lord of warriors". He asked about reaching the Elvrabor lands, but the reply was a warning that there were more here that would kill us than welcome him! She advised returning to the sea instead. I knew that this wasn't going to deter us of course!

I landed another hit on the orc I had attacked and took a scrape in return, but nothing serious. Another foe attacked me, but I was able to hold them and even struck another blow, staggering the first foe. Arad and Falcor both put an arrow into another archer, killing it outright. I twisted around my foes, managing to deflect their thrusts with my armour, and finished off the wounded one with another slash. Falcor was lucky as an arrow just deflected off the branch in front of him, missing by inches. Arad and Falcor focused on another foe and three arrows found their mark, killing another one.

I feinted with my short sword and struck a good blow with my long sword, then followed up after ducking his return swing and finished him with a stab to the gut. Arad was hit again, certainly taking the brunt of the enemy damage, and they put three more arrows into a foe... although somehow he stayed on his feet. Well, he did until I charged over and slashed into its side; that was enough to kill it. The last Saloroc wisely turned and ran away. A cursory look at the bodies was enough to identify them as members of the Black Hand clan.

The others started collecting arrows and I went back to join them. As we regrouped the flying horse landed behind us, without a rider this time, and mentally spoke to Arad: "my lord you are finally here"! Apparently his arrival had been prophesied for many generations, and the horse bowed before Arad. Why did everyone want Arad to be their lord / priest / mother everywhere we went?! Arad asked about the lady we had seen, and the horse turned its head to look back at the trees. The Elvrabor lady emerged from where she had been hidden as the horse said: "I would not presume to speak for her". Arad bowed to the lady, and we took his lead bowing too.

Arad asked who he might be addressing, and she answered somewhat cautiously that her father called her "Gorlana". She was apparently born of these trees, knew of the Elvrahum, and was also aware that humans were not all bad (although so far I hadn't seen much evidence of this). It was not long before she stopped Arad from asking too much, saying that she would meet us in Cor’iltuarladecaeli where we could speak freely. At that she flew off on Egarnian.

We spent a few moments discussing whether or not to trust her. Arad was keen to, and I was also minded to... but wary of such a meeting of convenience so quickly. Falcor was not convinced at all, and instead wanted to meet the current queen and judge our course of action from there. Either way we had to get moving, so we continued along the trail heading roughly east. We walked on for half a mile or so and then rested for lunch, Arad called on the Creator to heal his wounds and I munched a berry that Karmana had infused with enough sustenance for a whole meal.

We continued for another mile or so when Arad warned us mentally that that there might be something in trees north and south moving with us. I snickered a call to see if there were any squirrels nearby, and received a response. I asked if there was danger near and they confirmed that there was - apparently "tree wolves" were close and we should run and save our nuts. I wasn't sure what they meant by "tree wolves", but I was about to find out! Suddenly the plants around us reached out to grasp and hold us in place - something was using the same trick I had used on the Saloroc! Arad was held firm but the rest of us could move slowly out of the effect. Arad grew to about a dozen feet tall instantly, trying to fight his way out of the entanglement, but it was in vain so he could not join us.

The undergrowth was moving on both sides, and it was no surprise when the foe burst in to sight. They were wolf-like in form, but made up of what looked like plant matter. I had not seen the like before! I didn't have much time to study them, as they leapt to attack and I was raked by one's claws. Falcor struck with the rod he had kept from Kellerot's realm, landing a good hit, and then cut it with his sword. I quickly drew my own sword and slashed the other one deeply. In response to our attacks they raised their hackles... which then exploded in a hail of thorns! Thankfully most of them didn't penetrate our armour, although Falcor had a few stick into the back of his head and neck.

I struck the wolf again, although it raked me with its claws again, and it seemed to be worse off that I was. Falcor cleaved deeply into the other one and it crumpled, not moving. Then Arad called on the Creator to hold the one I was fighting still, frozen mid-twist and unable to move or attack. Arad told us to kill it, but I wasn't happy with that - it was just a creature following its nature after all. If we could walk away and let it live I would always prefer that. Falcor suggested subduing it, which was a better idea. I started to pummel it with the flat of my blades, but Falcor strode over and punching the hilt of his sword into its head and it crumpled at once, losing consciousness.

Arad asked about their souls, and I ran to the dead body to see if it was of Karmana. I placed my hand on it and on the soil and asked Karmana to take its soul back so that life could be born again, feeling then now familiar surge as energy flowed through me. I thanked Arad for his reminder of our duty to care for the souls of the dead even as he was still held by the plants grasping at him. Falcor ran straight through the plants as if they weren't there, calling on us to keep moving... but we had no way to free Arad and had to wait until the plants released him a few minutes later.

We carried on at a fair pace to put some distance behind us, then returned to a walk as nothing seemed to follow. After a while, though, Falcor and I were growing concerned that we were not turning north towards the Elvrabor lands. We decided to strike out into the forest hoping that they would find us as we grew closer. Arad and I moved easily through the trees, even as they grew more dense as we traveled, but Falcor was noticeably (and noisily) working harder to get through the undergrowth. In fact the forest was getting noticeably darker as well as dense, and felt less welcoming. The sense of foreboding was confirmed when we started seeing cobwebs high up in the trees. Always with the spiders!

Arad wisely called a halt to discuss whether to continue, but Falcor was confident of the direction we were taking and urged him to continue. It was definitely getting murkier, and then I lost sight of Arad in the forest ahead. A moment later I had a mental message that he had fallen into a pit and was caught in a web! I ran forward and found the hole, seeing Arad covered in webbing at the bottom some twenty feet down. Then I noticed movement around us... they were coming! I sent the mental image to Falcor, who was coming up from behind, just before the spiders swarmed down the hole and around me. Arad was bitten, and although I avoided the ones around me one dropped straight onto my back and bit my shoulder. I also saw a strange purple upright creature on the far side of the hole... was the venom making me hallucinate?

Arad dominated the mind of one spider and compelled it to attack another, whilst Arad struggled and managed to get his arms free. Falcor arrived, telling me to shut my eyes and then conjuring a hypnotic pattern in the area above and just inside the pit. At least one spider was distracted, although I wasn't looking at the time. Instead I used my connection to Karmana and sank into the soil beneath my feet, confounding the spider that was on me. I dropped down to the bottom of the pit and stepped out to attack a spider stabbing it from its flank. Then the pit erupted into fire! Arad had managed to grab and sprinkle some oil and set fire to the webs holding him. I felt the crown grow warm on my head as it protected me from the blaze, and thankfully it quickly died down into just smouldering twigs here and there as the webs were consumed.

Falcor assaulted the ones on the surface with his mental powers, destroying the minds of some of them. The purple thing leapt into the pit to attack Arad, clearly unaffected by Falcor's efforts. Instead Falcor attacked one of the hypnotised spiders, landing a powerful blow. I stabbed the spider again as Arad connected a hammer swing with the purple thing and followed up with a powerful sword blow... but then he dropped to the floor, lifeless! The spider venom had got to him. The purple thing bent down and started nibbling on his flesh. Urgh!

I slash at the spider I was fighting. The things were huge! Eventually it curled up dead, but it was a real effort. Falcor had killed a spider on the surface, but was floating down into the pit while the purple thing was distracted. With two strong blows he killed it before it could react. Then I was attacked by another spider and had to defend myself. Thankfully it was already badly burned and I was able to skewer it with my sword fairly easily. That seemed to be the last of them for now. Falcor had been bent over Arad and looked up to say that he was dead!

We had nothing that could help him, but we knew that Arad had a powerful scroll somewhere that might revive him. I rummaged through his things for a bit and eventually was able to find the scroll in question. I placed my hand on his chest and read the scroll, feeling a massive amount of energy flowing from around me into his body. I felt Karmana's presence at that moment, as I was sort of creating life, or at least restoring it. His body jerked, spasmed and he started breathing... and bleeding! Where the purple thing had ripped into his flesh was a major wound, so Falcor used his energy to heal him at which point he gasped into consciousness.

I called his name, asking if he could hear me, and thankfully he replied: "just about". I told him that I had used his scroll to bring him back from the brink of death, but I feared that the spider venom was still in his system. Arad sat up and applied Malek's potion to his bites, praying to the Creator to heal his wounds. That certainly helped with the physical marks, but we were still not sure about the venom. I used the crown's healing power in the hope that between the two methods at least one would work. I felt a small transfer of energy, which I took as a good sign, but only time would tell if we had been successful.

While we were doing this Falcor warned that some of the spiders were only stunned, and attacked the nearest one above us. He was able to kill it without difficulty, but as its huge body came crashing down just beside us I felt that we needed to get out of the pit as quickly as possible! Falcor took out a grappling hook and rope as I walked into the soil wall and moved up to emerge at the top. My head and shoulders were appearing as Falcor was climbing over the lip. Arad followed quickly afterwards and Falcor urged us to get away. I was about to set off, but Arad started swinging his hammer at one of the spiders in the pit, standing dangerously close to the edge to be swinging a big lump of metal around. He said he had a new found hatred for spiders... why do I get grief for hating undead but Arad can lose it with spiders?

Falcor took a moment to wind up the rope and pointed a direction to head for, stepping off. But then Arad yelled - the spiders were attacking again! I was bitten before I could get away, so I stabbed and slashed at the thing. Goo spurted out, but it didn't seem to stop it. An arrow flew straight through its abdomen from behind me, presumably from Falcor, and I stabbed it again. This time, thankfully, it fell twitching and curling up. Arad was also attacked, but was chanting a prayer instead of fighting. The spider scuttled round and slammed its body into Arad, trying to force him over the edge into the pit. He staggered, but just managed to push against it and keep his footing. He whipped his sword out and skewered the spider before it could try again, and it dropped to floor. Phew.

I wiped my swords and moved off towards Falcor. Arad gave his sword one last vindictive twist before doing the same, moving up ahead of us as before in case we encountered the Elvrabor. He told us as he passed that he would be able to detect any more traps wth the Creator's help. We kept moving away from the spider nest and into slightly more open forest, which was a relief, and once we felt a bit safer we paused to check our wounds. Arad hadn't died, which was a good sign for his recovery. My own wounds seemed to be the worst, and Arad prayed to the Creator knitting each in turn until I was hale again.

We continued for another hour or so before Arad called a halt in our minds. He had heard noises ahead and just caught sight of a Saloroc sentry in our path. We knew that any Saloroc were likely to be hostile in this area, so we diverted west before turning back north and east again, avoiding any encounter. After that we traveled for some time undisturbed until the light started to fade. The forest definitely felt safer, and Arad said that it felt more like home to him. We kept going until it was dark and then found a space to rest for the night. Arad climbed a tree, and we noticed that the tree seemed to help him up! I made my bed on the ground where I was more comfortable. Falcor simply sat with his back to a tree to watch over us.

Audience With the Queen

Several hours passed without incident, but around midnight Falcor started to notice fireflies growing in number over a few minutes, and then getting quite thick above my sleeping form. Falcor rushed to wake me with a kick, but as I was reacting the flies descended on me, it was apparently as if I were aglow with bright spots, and I slumped back to the ground in a sleep that I couldn't be woken from. At that moment a tree shimmered and became a female form, and she spoke to Falcor: "welcome my Lord, you are far from home".

Falcor explained that we came seeking the Queen of truth, bowing his head in greeting. He also openly stated that he was with a companion in the tree and another that seemed to be under the control of insects. She had caused that, it seemed, so that she could speak freely without caution. Falcor asked if she would be able to help us. She was warm with him, saying that our (well Arad's actually) arrival had been foretold. It was an important journey that we were on, and it was drawing to a conclusion as we were entering the lands of the Elvrabor. Falcor said that it was a relief that hear that as we feared we were lost. The response was less reassuring: "You are not lost, but perhaps should not be relieved just yet."

Although I was in a deep sleep, Arad was starting to be roused by the tree he was using for a bed so he heard some of the conversation that followed. The figure said: "Have a care, for the forest fights itself. Some trees grow from bad seeds but still become strong, some that seem to be trees are not trees at all. Arltrielon..." (that's the Court of Truth) "...is not all that it was; the influence of the Elvrabor is much diminished." She seemed confused by Falcor's lack of awareness of what was happening here and where to go. She asked for permission to touch him and then reached out to lightly press against his forehead. He briefly felt a connection and understood that the forest was sentient and that for a moment he had become a part of it, then she released him.

She seemed a little shaken. "You are not now... not yet... perhaps not ever were, what I thought you were... I must depart!" She started to retreat really quickly, gliding through the forest. Falcor shouted mentally for her to wait, but she kept going. She replied only with: "I spoke out of turn. He (Arad) must claim his place though, the forest knows who he is". Arad was fully awake now and asked her for safe passage, but she just said that it was not hers to grant and then was gone. The fireflies also departed, but I didn't stir. It was the best sleep I'd had in ages!

Arad climbed down and whispered to Falcor that he "had a feeling" the recent visitor served the first lady we met and not the proclaimed Queen of Truth. He suggested that he could talk to the trees to find the other lady and what she was about, but doing so would almost certainly announce his presence to the whole forest. Falcor was concerned about this, especially if there were trees "from bad seeds" as the visitor had said. Arad was less anxious, but agreed that he would need to be guarded. He decided to join the forest mind anyway, reaching out with his mind and thanking the trees for keeping him safe. He asked who the lady we had met was, sending a mental image of her. There were lots of messages, many conflicting, echoing around the trees: "stranger, warn Draclak, don't warn them, he's one of us, be cautious, he doesn't know her, he is of other trees..." but the direct answer was "Trelliana"; a tree told him that she cared for those trees without carers and without bond, and that she was their friend.

The forest was concerned about him not being one of them, but seemed very excited and hopeful when they learned that there were new trees elsewhere. The feeling of hope resonated within the forest - hope and salvation. They said that the forest was dying! Arad asked where he might find Arltrielon. Again there was a background chorus of responses: "He seeks the Queen, wants an audience with the Queen, alert the Queen!" At the same time the trees physically moved a little to create a clear path heading north. A single answer came back clearly as before: "The Queen awaits you".

Then he asked how me might find the Cor'iltuarladecaeli (Heart of the Wings that Lead to Truth), and this time the answer was more confused: "he seeks the warriors, he seeks flight, why can't he fly, doesn't he know?" The single answer was a familiar one: "Those who seek Cor'iltuarladecaeli with a righteous heart will know how to find it". He definitely felt welcomed, and in fact felt relaxed for the first time in a very long time. They continued to rest for the night, as did I although I hadn't been disturbed! I awoke with dawn as Arad tried to catch up with his sleep, and talked with Falcor about what had happened the night before.

Once everyone was up and ready we followed the now obvious path through the forest in a pleasant, easy-going journey north. Arad seemed particularly chirpy, really happy as he was feeling at home. It was about an hour and a half before Arad was aware that we were being shadowed by Elvrabor to our left and right. He stopped and told us that we were not alone, but he would rather that they knew that we knew that they were there. I think I said that right. We would soon be making contact it seemed, and mentally we whispered about being open. It was only then that Arad and Falcor dropped the bombshell that "Arad" meant "Bringer of Chaos" in the Elvrabor tongue, and that his full title was "Royal Terror, Bringer of Justice"! For fucks sake, in what world does that sound like anything other than a harbinger of doom!

Falcor decided that we should start calling him "Gratin" instead, which meant "cuddly friend"... of course it wouldn't fool a true Queen of Truth, right?! Arad / Gratin tried calling out to our shadows using the trees, but found the forest strangely silent and tense. He was still sure that we were following the right path, but the trees were wrong - they were being watched and possibly controlled. Despite this we pressed on, continuing for another half an hour or so before a new group of Elvrabor appeared in front of us, running to meet us it seemed.

The group in front of us were in a wedge with their leader in front, weapons ready but scanning to the sides rather than at us it seemed. The others to our left and right appeared a moment later, with their weapons ready to engage us or the new arrivals. They certainly seemed to be distinct groups even though both clearly Elvrabor. The leader to our front said: "Lord you are welcome. I am Mak’arnion; my daughter speaks well of you. I came as soon as I knew you were coming". As he was doing this out loud he was also talking mentally to Arad, informing him that the group to our flanks served Arltrielon. Falcor interjected, again with his mind, and just said "Cor'iltuarladecaeli?" as a question. The leader dropped to his knees and said: "My Lord you are welcome anywhere in the forest"... but actually he hadn't done that - it was just a well crafted mental image so real that Falcor thought for a moment it had happened. He also said that he understood that Falcor was not yet "He".

Arad confirmed out loud that we sought an audience with the Queen of Truth. Mak'arnion told him that we must surrender our weapons for such an audience. At this one of the other group stepped forward looking angry, saying to Mak'arnion that "they must surrender them to us"! Mak'arnion barely turned and barked: "Back in your tree, elfling"! It was clear that he was senior in some way, even though the other Elvrabor didn't like it. Mak'arnion addressed Arad again: "Will you surrender your arms to me"? Arad started doing so, believing that his daughter made them trustworthy. I had some mental communion with one that approached for my weapons, and was told that this group were the Draclak, and as Arad trusted them I gave up my arms. I paused afterwards, sending a quick mental question "and this?" thinking of my crown. The answer was that they would defend our possessions with their lives, so I surrendered that in good faith. Falcor showed off his quick release mechanism for his backpack and also surrendered any items that might be a threat. The ones that disarmed us then took their leave, saying that the Queen's guards would escort us from here.

These Elvrabor were very rude, refusing to talk (verbally anyway) with Falcor. I didn't like these ones at all. They did take us to the Court of Truth, though. We spiraled through paths formed out of the trees into the centre of what must have looked like a wheel pattern from above. There was a jade obelisk in the centre, another of Karmana's bones. The trees were still quiet, silent to Arad's mind and devoid of sounds from the usual animals I would expect. As we approached we could see two figures at the centre, one clearly the Queen (big ears, what looked almost like a spider on her face - was that the "Crown"?) and the other a handsome Elvrabor in silver armour with white hair but looking young in the face.

We took a knee as we came before the Queen. Arad asked if he could give a blessing to our meeting, but the Queen said that if he started anything here he would die where he stood. Lovely. Arad with his usual tact questioned the Queen's rejection of the blessing, causing her to get annoyed and ask whether he was challenging her, or didn't understand. He eventually said that he understood. Then the Queen asked him to "declare himself". He said that his friends call him Gratin, which was technically true at least for the last hour or so, but the Queen called him a liar. Falcor talked simply, not hinting at his true nature, but was also called a liar. I just said that I was Garret Brightglade of the Elvrahum, last of my people from where I came from, which I knew to be true... but I was also called a liar! Not much of a Queen of Truth, then. She commanded her guards to take us away. Then Falcor and Arad spoke out against her, questioning her ability and authority... which changed the sentence to death! Thanks guys, we were about to walk away with the information we needed, but yeah death is fine. Twats.

We were taken to a stockade made of tough wood, which was cold and dark almost like metal. We didn't resist on the way, as we were closely guarded and were more likely to be able to escape when they thought we were securely imprisoned. The dark wood on each of our (individual) cells was latticed as it entwined so we could see out or in some places even get an arm through, but were otherwise completely enclosed. I knelt down and said prayers to Karmana, bending forward occasionally as I did so, and after a little while I dipped my face into the earth. I noted that the cells had been erected on the surface and I could get under and out if I needed to.

Arad shouted some Saloroc questioning the sexual preferences of the guards to see if there was any reaction, but we didn't notice any. I thought that I could get two of us out and decided not to delay as we would need to escape quickly. I said another prayer to Karmana, this time calling on her energy to bend the wood at the side of Falcor's door, which strained and then broke the bindings holding it closed with a snap. The guards noticed the sound and reached for bows, and Falcor assaulted two with his mind... although he was attacked back. At the same time he ran to Arad's cell, taking off his cloak and belt and then transformed into a dragon! It was impressive the first time, but it seemed that he had grown even larger since then and was certainly awe inspiring.

The guards that were running to respond to the escape suddenly stopped when they saw the transformation, and Arad took the opportunity to entangle one with growth from the ground. The guards recovered their composure and loosed arrows at Falcor's draconic form. Two found their mark, one bounced off his scales, and the rest went wide. Falcor smashed the cage around Arad and the door fell flat almost comically. Ard leapt onto Falcor's back as another arrow sunk into his side. Falcor was hurt so he healed himself mentally, and Arad called on the Creator to protect Falcor, trying to make the guards lose track of him. I climbed onto Falcor as this was happening, with one last arrow sinking into his flank as we took to the air!

Bor'arlerkanimea - The Tree of Truth and Life

As we climbed above the forest canopy we saw a massive tree to the east towering over the forest by several hundred feet! Falcor turned towards it, staying at treetop height and quickly leaving behind any arrow fire from below. He had his cloak and belt clutched in his talons so that he would not be completely naked when he returned to human form. Worryingly we saw a shape detach from a mountain top in the distance, even though it must have been more than two leagues distant... so it was large whatever it was. Arad communed with the trees as we flew over them, asking if they knew of a large creature that lives in the mountains. The answer was simply: "beware the evil in the rock"!

There was nothing we could do immediately except continue towards the largest tree, so Arad asked a few more questions of the trees. When he asked who lived at the tallest tree the response was cryptic; the trees whispered: "he seeks Bor'arlerkanimea" (the Tree of Truth and Life) "he awaits his soul". When he asked about Gorlarnna they said that she was with her guardian, which we assumed was the Pegasus we had met. Arad also asked about Mak'arnion, and was told that he "lives and rests where his heart lies"... presumably referring to Cor'Mellabor, the Warrior's Heart.

After about a mile and a half or so we landed in a clearing; Falcor was worried about transforming back to his human form prematurely and preferred to do it on his terms (as did we considering we were flying above the trees). We had come about a third of the distance to the great tree, and wanted to continue on foot in case we needed to fly again to reach it later. We struck off to the east, following a natural path through the trees. I thought to look for a staff to walk with, from dead wood of course, not wanting to harm the forest... and almost immediately I found one the perfect size almost as if presented to me. Seeing my discovery, Arad thought he might do the same; he too was presented with a staff the perfect size for him. The forest was aiding us, it seemed.

Then we made a mistake. Thinking to find a staff that would make a better weapon, Arad thought of the dark wood from our cages and if he might find some of that. The trees reacted immediately as if repelled, saying "he seeks the dark wood, he serves the Queen"! The path we were following seemed to close in front of us as the trees became defensive and wary. They withdrew from Arad's attempts to calm and reassure them, and now we feared that they might oppose our onward journey. In an attempt to prove our connection with Karmana, I ran my hand down the truck of one of the closest trees but then continued down into the soil along its root. There was an initial reaction of surprise, but then it welcomed me as a "Gardener of Souls" and the forest seemed to relax slightly. The natural sounds of the forest started to return, and it was only then that we noticed that everything had stopped when the forest became fearful.

I gently asked about the way to Bor'arlerkanimea, and a faint winding path emerged which suggested that I had calmed some but not all of the trees. We followed the path anyway, grateful that we would at least not be hindered now. After a few minutes more, though, Falcor became worried that the flying thing we had seen might be getting close if it had continued towards us. We moved into the trees and hid ourselves, waiting to see if anything approached. A shadowy mockery of an Elvradrak form passed overhead at canopy height, about a hundred feet long. The others felt a scan of their minds but were able to blank them and as I didn't have their powers it thankfully didn't pick out mine. It certainly didn't seem at all natural, and the trees seemed to withdraw from it as it passed them. There was a sense of death, as if it were trying to draw the souls from the trees. Thankfully it continued west without interruption, although we waited a minute before I tentatively returned to the path. Falcor emerged a little later, and I told him that these were the things that had attacked Hope and brought her to ground.

We continued along our route, thankful to be going away from that thing. Just as we were starting to relax a little, about half an hour later, we were warned by the trees that danger approached; "fire bringers" they called them. Moments later some Saloroc emerged ahead of us, seeing us as we saw them. They had wolf pelts over their heads and backs, and I recalled that our Red Skull friends had told of the wolf clan that were vicious fighters aiding the Black Hand but then withdrawing. They had said they were xenophobic, so that didn't bode well. Arad entangled two before they could react; they were not held fast but were at least slowed down. They had taken cover on both sides of the path, looking to fire arrows along it towards us.

I called out in Saloroc: "We are allies of the Red Skull Clan, hold your fire if you are true to Karmana"! I wanted to give them a chance rather than assume the worst... but then a volley of arrows flew at Arad and one struck him. I called on Karmana to surround them with thick plant growth, creating an area a hundred feet square covering in thick bushes and vines. That stopped them firing and gave us a chance to move up or past them. I shouted that it should slow them down but the Wolf Clan are dangerous, running forward to close the distance. Falcor came up behind me, using his mind to assault some of them and putting one out of the fight.

One was just managing to hack its way out of the edge as I got close, so I engaged with my stick although it was unwieldy and I struggled to land a hit. Falcor attacked with his mind again, and this time (although it would take a minute to find this out) sent one into an uncontrollable rage. Arad healed some of his wounds while he had a respite, then called on the Creator to let spears appear in his hand that he launched at the foe; three appeared and all struck true, causing the target to sag in pain. Falcor came to aid me, stabbing it in the side as its sword blow was just turned away by my armour.

I was trying to get used to the staff, improving slightly as I landed a hit but the force of the blow wasn't enough to do much damage. Arad said another quick prayer and more spears leapt from his hands into the foe, felling the one we had been fighting. Then the enraged one came charging out of nowhere and stabbed me in the side, foaming at the mouth. Falcor smashed it backwards with a body slam to give us space. Arad was hit by an arrow in his side from up ahead and ducked into cover. I scooped up the sword of the one we killed, trying to attack the mad one at the same time; it did hit, but didn't penetrate its armour.

Arad summoned more spears from the Creator, this time hurling them at his new assailant. It moved and fired back, but it deflected off Arad's armour. Falcor stabbed the mad one, causing a nasty wound. Arad was blessed with yet more spears, striking at the archer again, although it stayed standing. I stayed with Falcor and slashed the mad one, drawing blood. It seemed oblivious to pain, though, and my second swing deflected off its armour. We both followed up with more success; I slashed a deep cut into its hamstring and Falcor finished it off as it staggered back. Arad was hit by another arrow and must have been really hurting by now, but with his final prayer to the Creator he was gifted with enough spears to finally slay his opponent.

I paused by the bodies to consign their souls to Karmana after a short discussion with Arad about where the souls should go (he sought guidance from the Creator and that they were of Karmana was clear). He did the same for the one he was closest to. We felt the energy move through us and enter Karmana, as it should. Falcor scavenged the bows and arrows for us all to share, Arad took a sword, and I grabbed a knife to give me a second weapon even if a little ineffective. Falcor also dressed himself as best he could with what was available, and even wore some of their chain armour as he had nothing else. Arad was a bit aghast when he put a wolfskin over his head, but Falcor thought it might serve to confuse any more of the Wolf Clan we met and give us an advantage.

Falcor reached out to the forest mind and asked about the Draklac, getting the impression that they were closing on us, which was good news to us. Arad called on the Creator to heal some of his wounds, having suffered badly on our journey. Rather than just wait, Falcor took the lead to continue eastwards... but it was only another ten minutes it seemed before Elvrabor stepped from the trees beside us. That was no manner of speech - they literally stepped out of the tree trunks! They looked like the ones we had surrendered our weapons to before, and seemed relaxed about meeting us.

One of them spoke up saying: "Welcome Lord, we apologise for the attack in this place. We are much weakened from what we were before". Falcor replied that Mak'arion had already done us a great favour by disarming us before we met with the "Queen of Truth". They said, if we were willing, that Mak'arion awaited our arrival and that they would take us to him. We went gladly, and we continued with their companionship for a few miles in a similar direction. On the way Falcor asked about the evil dragon-like thing, the shadow dragon, that we had seen. They said that it was a plague upon this world, that it dare not enter the forest but that none could oppose them in combat. Indeed it seemed that the mountains to the east caused the Draklac constant trouble, and much of their time was spent defending against those that lived there. We also asked how the Queen came by her power, but they just said "she wears the crown". Arad was keen to know how they would react if we were to challenge this claim, and they loyally said that they followed the Cephalon Draklac and would follow his lead.

As we approached the mighty tree some of our escort began to leave us for other tasks, deeming it safer as we drew closer. The forest seemed calmer as we traveled on, and to Arad it felt right again. When we reached a formal arrangement of trees, almost like a wheel as the Queen's court was but this time more open, only two escorts went forward with us. The massive tree was at the centre, predictably, and Arad felt drawn to it with a powerful urge to touch it. Sat under the tree was Mak'arnion, and our equipment was nearby. The last two escorts stopped just before the innermost ring of trees, and we allowed Arad to approach first. He thanked Mak'arion for his assistance, although Mak'arion replied that he was sorry and ashamed that we found his realm in such a state. Arad also apologised, saying he was sorry that he caused unrest as it was not his intent; instead he would like to bring calm and hope to the forest. Mak'arnion was magnanimous in his response: "the storm blows, the leaves rustle".

Arad said that at least we had learned many truths, and that he was glad to hear that Mak'arnion's daughter was safe. He replied that it was Arad's servant that kept her safe... it seemed that Arad had much to learn! Then Mak'arnion said that he knew the tree was calling Arad, as it was his "true tree - you are one". Whilst they were talking Elvrabor stuff I gathered my things, including the crown, and made the most of some food that had been prepared for us. It was good to taste something freshly prepared even if there was a notable lack of pies. Falcor was tucking in as well.

Once Arad had finished his conversation he walked up to... and then into the tree. It did not seem that long ago that this would have shocked me, but now I knew that it was a gift of Karmana and perfectly natural. It seemed that Arad had found his destiny, becoming one with the tree and in doing so being recognised as the Cephalon Draklac by the forest. Falcor asked about the Elvradrak, and Mak'arnion sadly confirmed that he was the last of the Draklac to be paired with an Elvradrak. His partner had been "Breath as Hot as the Sun" but she was torn from under him in their last battle. She was the last of the Elvradrak to fight with the Draklac and since then they had awaited "His" return. He was clearly very emotional and the link between him and "Breath as Hot as the Sun" must have been an extremely close bond.

Falcor asked if he knew how we might bring forth more Elvradrak, and of course the Forge was the key; he said: "if any remain they would be within the birthing chamber of the Forge". Suddenly we experienced a mental burst from Arad as if he was shouting in our minds. I almost fell backwards with the shock, and it came across (in crude terms) as "Karmana knows I'm here". That's great but there's no need to fucking shout it to the continent. Arad emerged shortly afterwards, and Mak'arnion looked up in hope saying: "My Lord, you have found the Draklac? You have only to will it and they will arise." It seemed that he hoped Arad would call an army to aid them. But Arad had told them to wait; he wanted to learn more before he would instruct them.

In an attempt to do just that, he asked Mak'arnion to tell him of the impending doom. The Draklac were hard pressed; they could barely protect the borders (probably why there were Saloroc farther north than expected) and their numbers were not being replenished by the Queen so every loss hurt them. We talked about the real Crown of Truth and how the Queen was in her position falsely. Mak'arnion feared that it would take a war to wrest power from the Queen, and that "the tree does not burn the forest" (Elvrabor do not kill other Elvrabor). Arad asked after his daughter (known as Gorlarnna) and the pegasus Aergarnien, and as soon as he thought about the pegasus it stepped out of thin air right next to him! Gorlarnna was riding him, thankfully. Aergarnien said "My Lord you commanded my presence and ordered me here". Arad was humbled that such a powerful beast would be his to command. The creature stretched its wings and fluttered them, a single feather dropping to the floor; he said "Lord with this piece of me we will always be connected and you can summon me with it". A mighty gift indeed, for which Arad was very grateful.

Gorlarnna had dismounted, quickly bowed to Arad and then went to hug her father. Her head turned towards Arads belongings, still by the side of the tree, and Arad said: "Gorlarnna, I believe I may have something for you". She responded that she believed he had something that was hers, and Arad retrieved the crown from his pack for her. As Gorlarnna took it the stone at the centre glowed, and she placed it on her head confidently... then disappeared! Now we were used to divine intervention and people disappearing at random by this point, but Mak'arnion didn't seem so calm about it. Despite this Arad wanted to keep talking about the situation and what we could do to help. Gorlarnna would return either when she or the Gods deemed it time to do so, we believed.

As already mentioned, their troops were hard pressed and the borders threatened. Mak'arnion asked that if it was not time to raise the army then would we at least join the fight against evil forces. The mountains were rife with all manner of things not of our Mother (Karmana). If we were able to head east and secure the flank, then his forces would be able to secure the forest. Also, if we were not yet ready to face the false Queen then frankly we would be safer in the mountains where we knew the enemy rather than in the trees, which was a sad state of affairs.

Arad, as Cephalon Draklac was the Warleader, which was kind of like a monarch of war - equal to the Queen in their culture but only with authority over the warriors protecting the forest. Gorlarnna's true name is Arla (Truth), but that was not spoken outside the Draklac's circle as it would be a challenge to the Queen's authority and mean death. Mak'arnion asked if Falcor might unlock the secrets of Cordil, an ancient Elvradhil fortress in the south of the mountains. He thought that if there were allies there then securing the border and driving evil from the mountains would be achievable. That did sound like a worthy aim.

We rested, healed, and communed with Karmana (or the Creator in Arad's case) for a few days. This gave us an opportunity to get a sense for how pressed the Draklac were, and the need for patrols to combat incursions seemed to increase even in the short time we were there. The forest would alert Mak'arnion to the threat and he would respond with what forces he had available. It wasn't long before it was obvious that the number and severity of incursions was worsening to the point that they were struggling to cope. They had to patrol in all directions, not just to the east, and it did seem as though something or someone was coordinating the incursions to test their defences.

On the day we were hoping to depart, at a time when Arad was back inside his tree seeking more clarity and guidance over how to tackle the false Queen, Mak'arnion approached us clearly worried. He said: "Friends, I am out of patrols and yet the enemy keep coming, we have never seen sustained probing on this scale before. We fear they are building up for something more serious." We could only agree from what we had seen. He had been warned of more oversized foul creatures approaching from the mountains, and respectfully asked whether we might at least travel to the forest edge and observe them. If it were possible to prevent them from entering the forest that would be even better.

Falcor asked what we might be facing, and Mak'arnion described them as humanoid, about a head taller than Falcor, green-skinned... but that was about as much as he could say - reports were somewhat confused and he was not familiar with this strange unnatural species. They usually accompanied Saloroc forces, though. They seemed by nature to be ill-disciplined, crude beasts but their attacks were co-ordinated, probably by another mind that guided them. We agree, of course, happy to have a foe to focus on whilst Arad consulted the forest.

Forest Invasion

It was early evening when we set off, but the trees helped our passage and guided us in the right direction. Falcor was still worried about the shadow dragon we had seen, although he revealed that he was wearing a ring that should shield him from any scrying attempts. It was only a few miles and easy going, but we were only about halfway there when we noticed that the natural sounds of the forest had died away. We readied bows, and shortly afterwards heard a screaming sound, a cacophony of a number of voices, growing quickly louder ahead and to our left.

We moved into cover, and I caught sight of a number of ape-like things bouncing and swinging through the trees. The forest thought of them as "flesh eaters" and obviously hated them as they killed everything they encountered. So not friendly then, oh well. I hid myself more carefully, using my cloak, and Falcor turned himself invisible with a scroll. The things seem to have heard his voice, changing course slightly to investigate, but we stayed hidden in place. Then Falcor spotted a couple of large creatures farther down the path; they were tree-like in appearance but kind of humanoid large creatures, and the forest didn't like them either! They thought of them as trees that walked, which were an abomination as far as they were concerned.

We were patient and waited as they drew near. The apes reacted to the big ones with fear, reeling back as they passed. When they reached the tree that Falcor was near the big things stopped, which was both convenient and worrying. The apes were screeching at the edge of the path right by me. One of the tree things placed its hand on the tree by Falcor as the other one watched. They spoke to one another in a tongue that neither of us understood. It returned to the path and they stepped forward slowly, scanning around them - presumably looking for us.

When they were as close as they could get, Falcor conjured up a hypnotic pattern over the large creatures and thankfully they appeared to be mesmerised by it. The apes reacted immediately, but he ran to the edge of the lights and two of the apes trying to get to him were mesmerised as they passed into the lights. One ape came from the side and clawed him, though, and there were others heading his way. I leapt out behind one as it passed, stabbing and cutting at it before it knew what was going on, and it fell dead. Falcor attacked with his mind, dropping one of the large creatures to the floor completely unresponsive. A bunch of apes also dropped from the treeline behind it, so he had made a real impact.

Falcor dropped his concentration on the light show and charged at the other large one, getting clawed as he moved away from the ape that attacked him. He moved into the lights, trying to use them for protection. He took a swing at the tree-like thing, landing a massive blow, although it did bring the thing to its senses. The apes followed him, as expected, and mostly got captivated by the lights that were still there for a couple of minutes. A new ape did get through to attack but Falcor just dodged aside. I had a bunch of apes descending on me, and did get clawed even as I stabbed one.

Falcor attacked with his mind again, dropping two of the apes, but then the big thing smacked its club into Falcor and almost lifted him off his feet with the power of the blow. Ouch! To make it worse the ape continued to attack and raked him with its claws again. Falcor smashed the big one back with a rod, and it collapsed as if broken. The combat there was brutal! I stabbed and slashed, killing another ape but still beset by several. It did seem that some were hanging back though, unwilling to leave the tree canopy. I slashed another one, but I was worried that I could be overrun at any time.

Falcor slashed the ape attacking him and then finished it with another powerful blow with his rod. I stabbed another one, and was heartened to see that a few seemed to be fleeing into the woods. Falcor used his mind on the group on the path with him, affecting most of them in some way, before hitting another ape with his rod, moving up to fight with me in case we were surrounded. Somehow Falcor's sword caught me on the shoulder as I was pushing forward; thankfully it just skimmed by armour without penetrating, and I was able to kill both of the apes in front of us.

Falcor healed himself with his mind, having suffered some serious wounds. I looked around, not seeing any more apes, and asked if that was it, were we safe? Probably not was the response! We spun around warily, looking for threats. One ape charged from behind a tree at Falcor, but he smacked it with his rod and killed it outright. Then we came under arrow fire from some Saloroc down the path; they were approaching our position but weren't close so we were able to get into cover without being hurt. Falcor made the first hit, an arrow thudding into one solidly. Arrows did fly back, but mostly missed with the occasional few stuck in a tree. One did skim Falcor's clothes, but what was more concerning was that one started to chant a prayer. Plants writhed around Falcor grasping at him, but he was able to break away and escape from them.

Falcor targeted the one that had chanted, sticking an arrow into it with a nasty impact. I tried to entangle them in the same way, calling on Karmana to hold them fast. A light started glowing right behind me, called up by the Saloroc shaman; he had tried to blind me I think, but thankfully I had resisted the attempt. Falcor put another arrow into the shaman in response, and it dropped to one knee but was still conscious. One sprinted across the path, trying to flank us, and I put two arrows into it as it did so. Falcor finished the shaman off, but the one that was flanking us was getting dangerous - an arrow just missed me by deflecting off the tree I was next to.

I responded by sprinting across the path to tackle the one that was flanking, but then used my momentum to push it into the earth, leaving it there for the trees to digest. I wondered if it would work like the Elvradhil rock attacks, and it did! In doing this I had exposed myself in the same way my opponent had, but somehow three arrows all bounced off my armour. Karmana be blessed. I hurried to close up to melee range with another foe. Funnily enough, given what I had just done, Falcor noticed that the bodies from our battle so far were being enveloped by tree roots and dragged down out of sight. Interesting.

I slashed the new foe as it tried to club me with its bow. Falcor put another two arrows on target, killing one. Arrows fell all around me and my opponent, but somehow we were both unscathed. I slashed my opponent again and this time it was enough to slay it. Only one was free now, and between Falcor's arrows and my sword we made short work of it. We decided to leave the entangled ones as they couldn't do my harm on their own, instead hurrying to the east to stop any further incursions. It only took about thirty minutes to approach the edge from where we were, but it was clear that there was still a threat.

The rocky, angular mountains were straight ahead of us, with foothills rising quite sharply before them. I quietly moved forward the last hundred yards with Falcor covering behind me. The forest edge was surprisingly sharp, as if deliberately arranged rather than naturally grown. The grass beyond was quite short so I could clearly see across the hills and into the rugged mountains beyond. We were opposite a natural crossing point where a saddle in the mountains brought them lower, but it was still a steep climb between what were extremely high peaks. It was quite majestic, and I hadn't seen anything like it before other than from the back of Hope when we flew, which was quite a different perspective.

However, I quickly focused on some movement up ahead. On our side of the saddle, and coming our way although about a mile or two distant, I could see dust being raised by movement and make out a few humanoid shapes. I was communicating this to Falcor, and he moved up to join me to see for himself. We heard in our minds the trees say that the Warrior Prince was coming, which sounded positive... but then we realised that they meant Arad! He approached quickly from the forest and we tried to bring him up to speed as best we could. He was kind enough to call on the Creator to heal some of our wounds, as I had tried not to draw on the life force of the forest to do so.

We formed a loose line along the edge of the wood ready to fight, and I borrowed a rope and used Karmana's gift to enchant it so that it would trip anything approaching my position. As they drew closer we could see that there was a group of Saloroc (just under a dozen), two one-eyed giant creatures, and two slightly bigger that were Saloroc-like but huge. Falcor loosed an arrow first at over a hundred yards, hitting one of the big ones and following up with another into the same one. Arad took his lead and fired at the same one, so it was definitely pissed off.

They ran forward and it was clear that the large ones were much faster than we expected! Falcor dropped his bow and hurled a fireball instead. All the large things were enveloped and the injured one dropped dead. Unfortunately his act had exposed him and he suffered a volley of arrows in return, getting seriously hurt. Lights exploded around him as well but he wasn't affected by them thankfully. Arad put two arrows into another one of the big guys, finishing that off. Falcor hid behind tree, which seemed reasonable!

Falcor attacked with his mind again, which he could do from cover, but he only seemed to makes one mad! Arad dominated its mind as it reached Falcor's position, trying to turn it against its companions. Arad then unleashed an arcing bolt of lightning from his hammer that jumped around the foe, leaving nearly half a dozen smoking on the floor and the others all injured to some degree. It even seemed to arc back to Falcor and Arad, although it was weaker by the time it did so and they seemed relatively unscathed. Falcor took advantage of their shock and cut one of the big ones down. The other one smacked the corpse with its club, having been commanded to attack by Arad. I put an arrow into the Saloroc, although Arad almost stepped into its path as he moved forward to engage in melee.

Arad forced the last giant to charge back at the Saloroc and attack them, following its advance and killing one himself. Plants writhed around Falcor again as the shaman tried to stop him, but he was able to escape without being held. I moved up to join Falcor, asking if he needed aid, but he said he was fine so I turned my attention to the Saloroc instead. Arad reached the shaman and felled it with a quick sword cut. Falcor killed the last two Saloroc with well-placed arrows and we were done... well for a moment we thought so anyway.

To our dismay we saw a whole army moving over the crest of the saddle in the distance. It was a mile or so but it was clearly a large force and it was headed straight for the forest! We had to warn the Draklac, so we started straight back towards the Tree; Arad would need to raise his army if the forest were to be held and he needed to be in his tree to do it. Arad pulled out the feather that Aergarnien had given to him and tried to summon the Pegasus to carry him there. There was something wrong, though, as the feather started to warm up and there was a mental pressure resisting his attempt, almost as if his thoughts were being constrained. It seemed to be a barrier that surrounded the forest, rather than affecting him directly.

He told us that he didn't think he could call Aergarnien because of the resistance he was finding, and he would have to travel on foot. He passed a potion to Falcor to heal some of his wounds, and Falcor swigged it down immediately, looking all the better for it. Arad reached out to the forest to convey a warning, but fear was emanating from the trees in waves and their minds were in chaos so it was difficult to reach them. He tried to sends an image of the army and a call to arms but it didn't seem to get through. The forest was panicked. Just then we heard a bellowing roar from behind us and glanced back to see the shadow dragon launching itself from a peak, heading towards the forest but not directly at us.

I stopped to commune with a tree, trying to get through the hysteria and make a connection. I did have some success, and tried to encourage the forest to stand together to be stronger and protect itself; the tree understood my wish, but only the Queen had the authority to command the trees. I tried to ask whether Mak'arnion had been warned, but somehow the tree interpreted that as "summon the Queen"! Arad was getting flashes of images from Aergarnien - he was flying along the tree line but the barrier which was a mental one to Arad seemed to be a physical one to him and was preventing him from entering... and the shadow dragon was flying to intercept him... and Arla with him! Arad tried to warn him to get away to safety, but wasn't sure the message got through.

Falcor picked me up so that we could travel faster, which given the threat was entirely reasonable. He also tried to yell mentally out to the forest to drop the barrier and let Aergarnien in, but the barrier was not of the trees' doing. Suddenly a magnificent and incredibly huge red dragon flew up in front of us, just above the trees, making us all stop in awe. There was a ferocity of unbridled joy in its mind as it connected with Falcor, although it was so powerful that we all heard it. It said: "Lord I am here! Combat at last; it's been a long time." Falcor wondered whether this was the one known as "Sister Wife", but she referred to herself as "Last of the Warriors". She said: "I will defeat this ancient foe, but I have left the brood unattended so I cannot stay. The brood awaits you when you are ready".

This was in a moment as she soared into the sky and flew away to our right, obviously planning to intercept the shadow dragon. Falcor was worried that she was putting herself at risk, but her laughter at the pathetic nature of her foe reassured him somewhat. Then a welcome, but somewhat inconvenient, change occurred... Falcor's armour finally reappeared - perhaps reacting to the dragon's presence or possibly getting through the barrier as the dragon distracted whatever was controlling the barrier. The only problem was that it was glowing red hot! It was so hot that it burned both Falcor and me with its intense heat. His backpack straps and belt caught fire, along with the satchel with his scroll cases and his possessions feel to the ground around him. More importantly, as far as I was concerned anyway, my trousers were set on fire! Falcor sort of threw me off as I was leaping away from the heat, and I landed nimbly on the floor before hopping around to get my boots and what was left of my trousers off quickly. Falcor's armour was pinging loudly as it cooled, but remained hot for some time.

We kept moving on foot, a little more slowly, but didn't get far before Arad warned us that he has seen something up ahead. Arad uttered a prayer but then we pushed forward anyway - we had to get to the tree! Two figures were up ahead, extremely well hidden each side of the path. Falcor pulled out a black soul stone, which he thought we needed to challenge the belief in the false queen. Arad also heard a clink of metal off to our left and behind us, although the source was out of sight within the trees. Arad challenged the hidden figures using his mind to hail them, and thankfully an Elvrabor from the Draklac jumped out. Mak'arnion had sent them to find out why the trees were so scared. Arad shot a series of images of what was approaching, but also the dragon aiding us. The Elvrabor seemed a little overwhelmed and didn't react.

Just then a couple of massive wolves burst from the treeline beside me, quickly followed by more - about half a dozen in all! I sent a quick message to Arad to get to the tree, saying that I would delay them. That didn't go well, as the nearest one leapt onto me and bore me to the ground with its sheer weight. It bit me as well, but at least the impact forced my sword into its side deeply and it yelped in pain. Arad tried to entangle a few of them, managing to slow a couple and pin one. Falcor sent a lightning bolt at another one (just the one target to avoid any friendly fire), causing it pain but not stopping it.

I pushed the wolf away and just managed to roll out, getting to my feet to defend myself. One charged at Arad and bit him in the midriff. He dropped his bow and quickly drew and stabbed with his sword, followed by a hammer blow after it flew into his hand, killing it before it could do any more damage. Falcor used his mind to blast a group of wolves and three dropped to the floor unresponsive. I finished off the one that had attacked me, running it through, and the last one was still held fast. We sprinted after Arad, who had finally got the message to go and was ahead of us.

Falcor fleetingly saw a figure to the left of us, but was then distracted slightly by Last of the Warriors swooping back overhead and dropping the lifeless body of the shadow dragon behind us on the path like some kind of offering to please Him. Falcor also got the impression that she had raked the enemy army with billowing fire on the way back. She said "I will see you at the Forge my Lord; we await your triumphant return"! Falcor was elated - she had defeated the foul beast! It helped that she also fully healed all Falcor's wounds and restored his mental strength without even touching him.

We quickly moved forward past a line of Elvrabor, who had promised Arad that they would protect our rear. We heard the twang as one of them loosed an arrow along the path behind us but didn't wait to see what was following. Arad suddenly came face-to-face with the Queen's consort and four guards! We were too far back to see at this point, but as Falcor ran past I vaulted onto his (much cooler) shoulders. We conferred mentally about our plan to reveal the Queen - I thought that we should do it right away or I feared that the Guard would all turn against us.

The Consort dropped his hand to his sword and a fireball engulfed Arad. No true Elvrabor would do that in the forest! Arad had some resistance but still suffered nasty burns. Arad called him out for the imposter he was, but he just laughed and said "Have your trees fool, the darkness is my mother". Falcor focused on the black soulstone, uttering a wish that "all the inhabitants of the forest of Borarla know that the one who professes to be the Queen of the Court of Truth and her escort are imposters, knowing their true form for as long as possible." He was briefly connected to the whole forest, seeing attacking armies to the east, west, and south - Saloroc and giant kin, all moving in coordination. There was an obvious darkness in the Court of Truth, and he sensed the pinpricks of light that were true Elvrabor, but knew then that there were no friends at the centre of the Court. Having served its purpose the stone crumbled to dust in Falcor's hand.

Arad dived into cover and prayed to summon spears from the Creator to hurl at the Consort... but they had no effect on him. Falcor ran to join Arad, but transformed beneath me into Elvradrak form! I just managed to grab his bags that he held up to me without falling off. The Consort turned his attention to Falcor and summoned a sudden storm of hail that whipped painfully at me, although it didn't affect Falcor thankfully. Arrows from the guards pinged off Falcor's scales harmlessly and Arad leapt onto his back to join me as Falcor bounded past and into the air.

Arad tried to curse the foe as we flew up, racking a few of the guards with pain and blindness, but yet again the Consort was not affected. Instead the Consort unleashed lightning at Falcor, although his body shielded Arad and I from its energy. The Consort then slashed his sword across in the air before him, leaving a rent in the air that he stepped through and disappeared. I used my crown to heal both of my friends as they had both been badly wounded. Arad healed me in return using his hammer as we flew west towards the tree. At least we would be hale for whatever we faced next.

We only got about halfway back to the tree, though, when Falcor abruptly turned back into human form in mid-air! He grabbed us as we flailed in mid-air for a second and then used his mind to slow our fall so that we landed gently on the floor. We continued on foor as fast as we could, this time reaching the tree without incident. We were met by Mak'arnion who had realised that the forest was under assault and he feared for us all. Falcor flashed images of all the threats he had seen, which stunned him; he hadn't realised it was quite that serious. Arad legged it to the tree, dropping some of his equipment before he merged with it.

Falcor grabs Mak'arnion and brought him to his sense, asking what had become of the Queen's guard? He agreed to go to the Court and try to rally them, although Falcor warned that the centre of the Court was lost, and instead to look for those that had recognised the false queen. We found cover in the trees nearby, readying for the assault we expected to come. But the first surprise was a welcome one: Aergarnien stepped from nowhere in front of Falcor with Arla riding him! She slipped nimbly from his back, telling Falcor that the false queen had departed and the forest was now hers.

She knew that the enemy armies had breached the forest perimeter; she asked: "can you not hear the pain of the trees"? The false queen had closed the pathways to the forest so she had been blocked from returning. We must hold the tree until the army rose to defend the forest. This tree was the connection between Karmana and the Creator of All - the place where all the energy of Karmana flowed through from the universe. So kind of important then. Arad had already connected with the forest and could now sense the threats from all sides. He also learned that there were Eladrin (Elvrabor that had become completely immersed in nature and would repel any threat in their land) to the northwest and Wild Elves (more Elvrabor that rejected the rule of law in Borarla) to the north... potential allies? He commanded the Draklac to awake and felt himself being split into ten thousand pieces as his abilities were imprinted on them all, losing control of his mind for a few minutes as it happened.

We positioned ourselves around the tree, well as best as two people could. Arla had raised twenty feet tall solid thorny barriers in two concentric rings around the tree so we should at least have some warning of any attack. Sure enough after a while our peace was disturbed by two fiery explosions ripping a hole in the outer barrier near Falcor. Two of the tree-giants we had fought before moved through the gap to start pounding at the inner barrier. Falcor put a couple of arrows into one before they reached the next line of defence, and another one quickly afterwards. It roared up at him but he was too high in a tree for it to attack him. Falcor used his mind to attack, and one of the creatures turned to flee in terror. He put two more arrows into the other giant.

Meanwhile Arad started to regain control of his own mind. He had a mental image of 10,000 naked Elvrabor warriors stepping from trees across the forest. Hmm... I thought not having trousers was bad; imagine trying to repel an invading army with no clothes or weapons! Outside of the tree we were mentally assaulted by what seemed like a cacophany of voices shouting: "To arms! Defend me!" Such was the force of the command that we were almost compelled to go to the tree and stand beside it; it was as if it were drawing us in.

Arad stepped out, seeing that Arla was touching the tree but communing with the forest and not aware of him. Instead he focused on the sounds of battle and ran to join us. Falcor put another arrow into the giant as we saw Saloroc approaching behind it. I tried Arad's staff that was supposed to command opponents, but it was shit and did nothing so I dropped it for Arad to get later. The terrified giant that was fleeing barreled through the Saloroc as it tried to get away from Falcor, so that helped a bit. Falcor put yet another arrow into one still attacking the barrier... how many hits could these things take?!

Falcor attacked with his mind again just before a fireball exploded against the inner barrier, catching Falcor in its blast. The giant was also burned by it, and bellowed angrily over its shoulder, but was somehow still standing. Not for long though, as Falcor's next arrow found a vulnerable bit somewhere and it fell with a crash. I put an arrow into one of the Saloroc and Arad, who had climbed up to join us, put one into the shaman to the rear. Falcor, having literally been burned by it, did the same. The fireball had breached the inner barrier, though.

Falcor shouted to Arad: "Where's the army"?! The response was a little disturbing... apparently there were ten thousand naked Elvrabor on the way!

The Saloroc Shaman disappeard after a short chant, turning himself invisible to avoid the arrow fire. I leapt out of the tree to get on the ground quickly, using the trunk as cover. Arad was hit by a few arrows as a whole volley targeted him. I urged Karmana to grow spikes from the roots on the forest floor, filling the gap the enemy fireballs had created with a nearly invisible but nasty obstacle. I was hit by an arrow as I moved out of cover to finish my prayer, and Arad was hit twice more. Arad returned fire, hitting one in return, and Falcor targeted the same one; it dropped slowly to the ground dead with arrows stuck in its chest.

I sent a mental warning to the others about the spikes so that they didn't stray into them. Falcor wanted Arad to leave this tactical action and to be a general to coordinate the army that was arising. As if to emphasize that we had it under control he attacked the Saloroc with his mind, dropping four to the ground in an instant. I jumped from behind cover again and showed the Saloroc my bare arse, calling them out as cowards and challenging them to attack me, slapping my arse with my sword. A couple took the bait and charged forward, getting hurt by the spikes as I had planned. They ended up hopping around almost comically, but were really pissed off! One told me in blunt language that he would stick his sword up my arse!

Ours hearts lifted when we saw Mak'arnion arrive at the head of a small force of Royal Guard behind the attacking Saloroc, because we could hear explosions to the southwest and feared another attack. Arad climbed down from the trees and called the Creator's blessing down on us. I rushed forward to meet the foe with Arad beside me, although my first strike was turned aside by its armour. I needed have worried, though; Arad had dominated its mind and it turned to engage its companion, hacking it from the side as Arad landed a solid blow from the front. It died quickly.

Falcor also climbed down from the trees and used his dweomer to enable him to fly, seeking to meet any new foe quickly. Mak'arnion pressed the attack from the rear, allowing us to relocate. Just in time too, as there were Saloroc riding massive wolves (Wargs some called them) approaching fast from behind us. The inner barrier had been breached a second time. Arad tried getting the dominated Saloroc to tell the new arrivals to go around and attack the Elvrabor, but they seemed set on reaching the tree and preventing us from stopping them.

Falcor flew quickly to engage them, using their surprisingly disciplined formation against them as he caught almost all of them in a mental assault, shouting at Arad to command the army as he did so. Most of the wargs dropped instantly, only two keeping their feet from a dozen in total. Some of the riders were dazed as well, but the remainder still posed a threat. Falcor conjured an area of thick webs, trying to trap a couple of the Saloroc, but they managed to jump free... and one grabbed Arla! Arad managed to entangle the one running off with Arla after a short prayer to the Creator, but after a few moments the plants withdrew and returned to normal, freeing them.

Arad was attacked, but dominated the mind of his attacker, ordering it to stand still. Arla was passed to the warg rider, who turned to flee with her. Both Arad and Falcor were in pursuit, and Falcor managed to reach her just in time. He slammed into the rider and knocked both of them to the floor. Arla went flying sideways, still with her mind somewhere else, and the Saloroc was stunned. I engaged the one Falcor left to save Arla, landing two good blows as it was distracted by Falcor's flight. Arad dominated the mind of another Saloroc, ordering it to attack one of the wargs... but Falcor was also attacking with his mind and the Saloroc's brain was scrambled so Arad withdrew; another warg dropped under Falcor's mental assault as well. The last warg ran for its life, its rider slowly tilting over and falling off as it did so.

Arad slashed a Saloroc, leaving a serious wound. Some of the Royal Guard had climbed into the tree canopy and started striking the Saloroc I was fighting with arrows. At least their aim seemed true... it felt a little close from my point of view! I landed a couple of blows of my own, although I did take a light wound in return. Falcor stamped on the face of the prone Saloroc and grabbed Arla, running back to the tree. I was surrounded by three of the remaining Saloroc, taking some glancing blows, but managed to cut one down. The Royal Guard were still supporting with bow fire, and as I spun around an arrow sunk into one foe's side; I took advantage and ran him through, leaving just one.

Arad cuts his foe down and ran into the tree to get a strategic overview of the situation again. The Eladrin were holding anything in the northwest back, and the enemy to the east were being effectively opposed by the Royal Guard and Draklac (with our assistance). The giants to the north were being driven south, tearing down trees as they went, and were heading towards the court and the obelisk. To the west and south there was a lot of fire, which was doing much harm to the forest. The fires were more focused on birth trees in the south and southeast so that was doing more damage to the Elvrabor. Arad asked for the trees to arm his warriors, but was apparently overstepping his authority - the forest needed the Queen to make that decision. , but accepts reluctantly that she is safe. Needs to control army the old fashioned way as they arrive.

Falcor had laid Arla down against the tree but her body had gone rigid and she was screaming, eventually she curled up whimpering: "It's burning, it's all burning"! Falcor tried healing her, and as he did so he got a feeling of an overwhelming sense of pain and suffering from the forest, which Arla was linked to. Falcor was worried that Arla was dying, and she had a burning fever; he shouted for help with his mind and the trees reacted strongly, drawing back in shock and then towards her as if trying to help. He reached out to touch the tree and disappeared! Arla was still laid there, though.

I cut the last attacker after dodging his strike, but I couldn't get away to help Arla - and I wasn't sure how I could help while the forest was aflame to be honest. Arad reemerged and went to Arla's side, trying to communicate with her and feeling the overwhelming burning sensation of crushing pain due to the forest fires. At that moment Falcor reappeared again! He was partly wrapped around the tree and in dragon form, dropping his usual baggage on the floor. He urged me to get on so that we could leave to protect the obelisk. Arad must stay and protect the Queen.

I ran over to him, taking a cut to my back as I left the Saloroc to the Elvrabor. I tried to extend my crown's protection to Arla as I drew near, but there was too much pain and the crown quickly heated up with the energy flow, so I had to withdraw. I climbed on Falcor's back and he immediately took flight. Falcor reached out with his mind to signal to Mak'arnion that the obelisk was at risk and to rally what forces he could to defend it. As we flew up above the canopy we were taken aback by the utter devastation to the west and south, with smoke billowing from multiple and large fires. We kept going west towards the obelisk and the empty court.

Arad called upon the Creator to aid him with Arla, granting her some relief... she very slightly relaxed in his arms but was still feverish and anguished. She seemed to be resisting the pain slightly, but when she did so it resulted in grief and separation so she was not much improved. Aergarnien stepped from the air beside Arad asking if he could aid him. Arad only wanted to help Arla, but Aergarnien just said: "My Lord - she is the forest, the forest is her" meaning that the only way to help her was to help the forest. Arad angrily dismissed him as he could not aid Arla (I heard from some of the Elvrabor later than he might have been a bit ruder than that, but let's put it down to stress).

Arad tried a different approach, asking the Creator to ease Arla's fears, and she momentarily recovered consciousness. She looked at Arad, her face screwed up in anguish, gripped his arm and pleaded with him to save the forest. Arad asked her if she could tell the trees to arm his army with pieces of themselves (sticks for weapons, bark for shields), and she took a moment to reach out to the forest, saying "it is done" before slumping back into unconsciousness. Mak'arnion approached Arad, saying that there were newborn Draklac approaching from every side and asking if Arad would you have him arm them? The emphatic response was: "Yes"! Arad asked that the main force be sent to the south where the threat to the birth trees was greatest, and some to the west to hold for as long as they could. Mak'arnion informed him that the Royal Guards were fighting like Elvra possessed in the east, having had their folly revealed to them. Arad called on the Creator to heal Mak'arnion's wounds before he left to command the troops.

We flew for longer than Falcor expected to be able to - it seemed that there was a connection between the obelisk and Falcor that sustained and directed him in some way. This was Karmana reaching out to us, I'm sure of it, and her energy restored us both - our wounds knitted and our minds refreshed as we drew closer. There was an unspoken emotion infused with this energy, though: a need for help.

Arad touched the tree again, once more calling on the Creator to ease Arla's fear, and he found that they were both transported to the Creator's tree with Jeanette and Aergarnien there to meet them. Aergarnien nervously asked if he should leave again. Arad asked him to forgive his earlier words, which were said when he felt the shock of the forest's pain. Aergarnien seemed relieved by this. Jeanette was aware of the pain, so much pain, and asked where it was, then corrected herself - it was more about when than where. She answered her own question: it was the time the forest burned, and it was not clear what path the future would take. Arad was told that we had to find the pathway that The Destroyer was using to muster the enemy forces that were not of Karmana. It had to be closed as it was like a poison to the soul of Karmana.

Arad left Arla with Jeanette in the care of the Creator; he knew that she would be sustained for as long as possible, but if the forest fell then she would be beyond even the Creator's help. Arad left her a bone effigy of the tree of life before leaving as a memento to remember him by. Yep, he was infatuated... nothing to do with her shapely figure or power over his birth tree, I'm sure. Interesting question though, did Arad like her for her body, or was he into a bit of domination? Probably best not to think too long about that one actually.

Aergarnien took Arad back to join us... but as ever the Gods got the timing just slightly off and he appeared flying beside us just as we were approaching the Court. Falcor had somehow kept his Elvradrak form for much longer than normal, sustained by Karmana, so we would at least reach the obelisk quickly. As we drew near we could see that a few giants and big ugly companions had reached the Court, with more to the north likely to get there soon. Falcor skimmed the trees as he burst into sight above them, screaming "get to the obelisk" as he dived towards a group of creatures on the north side of the clearing.

Worryingly there were glowing golden lines around the obelisk, with a circle at the outer edge enclosing what looked like an hourglass shape. A moment later Falcor landed on three of the beasts, crushing them beneath his body as I jumped off to head for the obelisk. He transformed back into his (naked) human form just afterwards, but we barely noticed as the golden lines flashed incredibly brightly and we suddenly found ourselves underwater! Arad was following us just behind and saw us disappear, along with the creatures within the circle. Aergarnien asked if he should follow us - as we were no longer on Karmana. Arad urged him to do so, and Aergarnien transported him to a shadowy realm where he could see us but was not really with us.

Aergarnien could not go to the place we were in, but offered to drop Arad through to join us if that was what he wished. He decided that it would be better for us to be together, and after reading from a scroll to enable him to breathe underwater he suddenly arrived right next to us in the water. The water itself was quite pleasant - warm and light... but there didn't appear to be any surface or indeed any seabed and we had no sense of up or down. The immediate concern from my point of view was drowning, of course!

The Place of Water

Thankfully I had collected some potions that would allow us to breathe underwater on our travels, and quickly drank one whilst reassuring Falcor with our mental link that I had one for him too. The other creatures that had been transported with us were flailing around in panic, and one suddenly sank rapidly out of view (although "sank" was just relative to our feet rather than any kind of actual direction). Finding that I was able to breathe again, I passed a vial to Falcor to drink as well. Another of the ugly creatures rapidly flew "up" out of view - the third seemed to have been crushed so well by Falcor that it was dead already. There was a giant some distance from us, but it didn't seem to be faring any better in the water than its former companions.

I thought that I might try a prayer to Karmana to move us somewhere where there might be air, and we tied a rope between us in preparation... but I could not make a connection with Karmana in this place, so I had no chance to try what I had planned. We noticed a vague shape that seemed to be approaching but it was hard to see much through the water. Falcor took the opportunity to get dressed, and was kind enough to give me some hose. I cut it short to get some kind of fit; at least it covered the essentials! This gave time for the shape to resolve into half a dozen separate human-sized shadows, and they in turn became visible as some kind of merfolk holding tridents, all female.

I tried to communicate that we were friendly and wished to return from wench we came to quench the fires in the forest, but they did not respond. Falcor warned that we were surrounded as there were more shapes just out of vision, and he moved to the side as the group started to surround us, drawing his swords - although he held them out to the side rather than aggressively. Then one of the creatures at the back let out a loud screeching clicking noise like a dolphin and they all suddenly surged forward, aiming their tridents at us. Falcor's armour appeared as the threat materialised, so at least that seemed to be working again. Arad struck a quick blow with his hammer, which seemed unaffected by the water, but the rest of us were slowed by its resistance and found swinging a weapon almost impossible, instead having to stab with them.

I killed one first, regretfully because I was sure this was some kind of misunderstanding due to not being able to communicate, then stabbed the other one attacking me. Arad was also beset by two, and killed one with another hammer blow. Falcor just had one to deal with, and did so - thrusting with his rod and then his sword in turn, leaving it floating in a haze of blood. Arad struck his other attacker with a powerful blow and stabbed it in the side, seriously wounding it. Falcor was unopposed so he moved to the one twittering like a dolphin that seemed to be the leader.

I feinted with my short sword and stabbed with my long sword as it reacted. Arad finished off his foe and moved to help me, but I had already run it through in the short time it took for him to reach me. Falcor was finding it hard to strike what might have been their leader but finally connected and did some serious damage. It turned to flee, but Falcor struck as it did so it floated away, lifeless. We were still stranded and no better off for fighting, but then I had a crazy idea. I knew that I had made my way back to Karmana using the power of an Elvradrak soul before. I could try to use the power of these souls to do the same, although their lesser energy might not be enough. On a whim I decided to test the idea, touching the bodies of my two opponents and drawing their energy in, then I focused on the obelisk in Borarla where we had come from and touched Arad, willing the energy into him and then back to the obelisk and Karmana.

To my surprise it seemed to work and he disappeared! I didn't know it at the time, but there had only been enough energy to take him one step of the way and he ended up back with Aergarnien again. Falcor was a bit freaked out by his sudden departure, and I tried to explain what I had done and that we could try it again. Unfortunately Arad had consigned a couple of their souls to the Creator just before I moved him, which meant that there were only two souls left. As we tried to gather them together a couple of dolphins approached... then suddenly turned into nasty looking clawed fishy things with gaping maws full of teeth!

There was a flash of light that was almost blinding, and our head felt slightly numb as if they had been assaulted. Despite this Falcor spun me towards one body and went for the other, releasing the rope to give him the freedom to do so. Surprisingly we were able to bring the bodies together without interference... the fish thing seemed to rely on whatever attack the flash of light had been to stun their foe before feeding so they were keeping their distance. Unfortunately I was aware that we would need more souls than two if we were to both get out of here, so I told Falcor that we might need to kill the fish things first.

That was a good idea... except the fuckers keep moving away before we could reach them. Falcor attacked with his mind, aiming to stun one, but unfortunately it seemed to enrage it instead and it swam right at him! Falcor rammed his rod into its mouth, which must have hurt, but the thing was not put off and snapped onto him with a claw and dragged him to its mouth to gouge with its teeth. Falcor fought back of course, but it seemed they could take a lot of damage. Falcor kept hitting it despite being bitten again, and I stabbed it from the side. Falcor finally finished it off, or at least it stopped moving and released him... it was remarkably tough.

Arad had finally noticed that he could ride Aergarnien instead of running around to keep up with the combat, which made it easier; even though he was watching from another plane he wanted to be ready to cross back if we were in dire need, and also ready to meet us if we did manage to make the crossing. Unfortunately it was not likely to be the latter as I discovered that the fish thing had no soul that I could channel! We also saw a really large and fast shape flash past beneath us, and we could only hope that it didn't want to eat us...

Sure enough it approached again, still moving quickly, but this time as it flashed past it spoke to Falcor... it was Elvradrak! It called Falcor "My Lord" as we had become accustomed to. He responded briefly with "Help"! She drew closer and was magnificent to behold, clearly at home within the waters here. She called herself "She Who Rules Another Place", and had been there for a long time even by Elvradrak reckoning, having left the "world of our Mother" (Karmana). She was elated to see Falcor and asked if he liked her new home. Falcor was glad to see her too, but honestly replied that he did not like it here as he was not used to it and could not adapt well to being underwater. She accepted that it did take some getting used to. It was awesome to she her of course, and Falcor complimented her - referring to her as a "supreme being". He said that one day he might be her Lord again but there was much work for him to do. She replied "ah yes, you are yet to be born" which suggested that a visit to the Forge was required... and that it needed to be active.

I responded that the Forge was being rekindled, but slowly, and shared the image of the new life on the Forge's island that I had seen as I flew over with Hope. She reacted with unbridled joy at seeing new life on the Forge, and we could feel the positive energy coming from her and it almost renewed us physically and mentally it was so strong. Falcor asked if he could count on her support when he had become Him and the time was right, and she said that he need only call... but she didn't currently know the path back. She also mentioned that she had previously been called "She Who Guards the Deep", which would explain her comfort here.

I asked about whether we might take any essence of this place with us to quench the fires in Borarla, but she said that we would need a powerful soulstone to carry such a thing... at which point Arad appeared back with us having taken an interest! She Who Rules Another Place seemed unsurprised by his appearance, seemingly aware of him before we were. He explained (to us anyway) that Aergarnien would be able to meet us in the Place of Air - and thankfully She Who Rules Another Place knew of a way that we could reach it from where we were. Arad went back to the subject of using this place as a way of extinguishing the fires in Borarla... he had a soulstone in the dagger meant for a God that would fit the purpose, but we wondered whether it had a higher purpose to serve.

Arad decided to do it anyway, and She Who Rules Another Place directed an immense amount of power at the dagger in his hand, heating it to the point where it was just bearable for Arad. A hairline crack appeared on the soulstone and she stopped, saying: "It is done - it will hold no more". Arad expressed his gratitude, but the Elvradrak's attention was on Falcor as always. Falcor asked her if she would carry us to the portal that would lead to the Place of Air, which she was happy to. She had always been in motion and we needed to grab hold as she passed, which we did. Arad asked Falcor to hold him and said a prayer to the Creator, falling into a deep slumber for the rest of the journey.

It took about an hour before we approached a swirling spinning disc of bubbling air within the water. Arad had helpfully awoken a few minutes before we arrived so we were ready to make the journey. She Who Rules Another Place said: "My Lord, you have but to enter the disc and you will be there, but I cannot follow." We were not quite sure where we would appear, so we roped up again to stay close and thanked the Elvradrak for her help. Again she was only interested in Falcor, though. We tried to time our movements so that we entered the disc together, popping almost immediately out into a massive expanse of open air with no sense of direction or sight of land. There were wispy clouds all around us, but it still did not seem like part of Karmana.

Falcor transformed into his Elvradrak form, diving to catch us in case we fell, but we stopped still quickly as if suspended in the air... there was no pull towards Karmana as there would be in a true sky. Aergarnien appeared near us, which was a relief, and tried to address both Arad and Falcor simultaneously with a questioning "My Lords"? Arad asked that he convey us one by one back to Karmana, to which he reluctantly agreed and seemed confused that the Lord of the Elvradrak could not travel between worlds. He also said that regretfully Falcor would have to be smaller if he was to aid him!

Pegasii started popping into existence around us, more than a dozen in all, ready to assist us... impressive! Arad was keen to return to the forest and believed he had a way to extinguish the fires, although we were wary that controlling the power might be an issue... I suggest he should do that first and let us fight. We urged him to focus on helping the forest and we would fight on the ground (I was looking forward to solid ground by now), so he departed first. We went a moment later, and I could hardly believe that I was riding a Pegasus - what more wonders might we see?!

Forest Aftermath

We appeared in Cor'iltuarladecaeli, which we had heard of but seemed inaccessible. “My Lords” Aerganion’s thoughts boomed in our minds almost as soon as we had landed, his tone made us nervous though; the normally confident Pegasus was clearly deeply concerned. “This is my sanctuary between worlds, neither fully of Karmana nor part of my homeworld. From here, we can easily return to anywhere in the great forest but something is terribly wrong. We are in the right place but I fear that this is not our time. Something has gone very wrong in our journey. I fear that I was wrong to attempt to follow the path created by the false queen’s trap; the power unleashed by the ancient stone was chaotic, wild and uncontrolled. I should have known that the pathway was similarly uncontrolled.”

“There was nothing you could do my friend.” Arad tried to reassured him. He responded quickly, though: “I must go my Lords. I must learn what has happened in the lands of the forest folk, and when. I regret only one can accompany me but the others will be safe here, none but my own kind can enter Cor’iltuarladecaeli. Do not enter the forest at the edges of the glade though, I beseech you, my protection does not extend outside of this place and there are creatures in the forest drawn to the souls of the living.”

Aergarnion took flight almost immediately but I was focused on the forest, Aergarnion's words having intrigued me. I dismounted, feeling the spring of the grass underfoot. I approached the boundary, studying the trees as I got closer. They appeared nearly identical to the trees of the Elvrabor and yet there was no sense of any awareness - they were not sentient in the same way. I slowed as I neared the edge of the clearing peering closely at the leaves above me. I reached out to pluck a leaf from a low hanging branch, and somehow was not surprised when the leaf fell gently into my hand even as I reached up. I studied it closely, knowing that it was wrong but unable to see why; it seemed perfect... and perfection, I suddenly realised, was the problem. The leaf was seemingly perfect in every way, absolutely symmetrical down its completely straight spine, in fact it was as though an idealised leaf had been drawn and brought to life - created not grown.

I let the leaf fall gently and almost immediately it was caught by a gust of wind that carried it into the darkness of the forest beyond. I stepped forward to follow it, but there was a gentle resistance that slowed me just enough to remember Aergarnion’s warning and catch myself. Instead I looked up again, staring in wonder as the branch above bloomed and produced a rapidly ripening seed, which dropped into my outstretched hand within minutes. The tree had produced a seed quite unlike any I had seen before, and I placed it carefully in a pouch before continuing further around the boundary, looking for more. Each new tree, when I lingered beneath its branches, produced another miraculous seed until my pouch was filled to the brim.

I do not know how long I spent doing this, and was only interrupted by Aergarnion’s appearance at my side, a nudge from the Pegasus drawing my attention away from the trees for the first time since we had arrived. “You court danger little one,” Aergarnion cautioned; but the nature of his thoughts carried more curiosity than anger or fear. He continued: “yet I have never seen the trees respond in this way. Perhaps you have more to teach me than I you. For now though, the Queen of Truth has more need of you than I.”

With one last glance at the trees, I climbed up high onto Aergarnion’s back and was once again amazed by the joy of flight as his powerful wings carried us aloft and then, almost immediately, the air shimmered, washing out through shades of grey before snapping back into focus on a scene of utter desolation. Laid out before us was a forest all but destroyed and buried under a thick layer of snow and ice. I desperately searched for signs of life but all I saw was death. Much of the forest was gone entirely and what remained was a patchwork of dead zones and sorry looking clumps of leafless tress, smothered under a thick blanket of snow. My gaze was drawn to Bor'arlakanimea, the Great Tree of Truth and Life, which itself drew my mind back to the strangely symmetrical trees of Cor’iltuarladecaeli.

As Aergarnion banked towards the great tree he passed over a crater that must have been easily a hundred yards across and almost as deep as it was wide. I wondered what power could possibly have caused such devastation to the very earth and rocks until, in horror, I realised that, by its location from the great tree, it could only be the court of the Queen of Truth, the shattered remains of the site of the Obelisk that the goddess had commanded Falcor to protect. At the time it had seemed like just one more fight but had they failed so utterly that it was gone completely? A sense of total loss and failure threatened to overwhelm me, finding new depths of despair at seeing part of Karmana so utterly devastated - including a direct connection to Karmana through the obelisk destroyed.

Had Falcor and he not both urged Arad to act sooner and more decisively? Had I not counseled against entering the circle around the obelisk? Could all this destruction have been avoided if I had somehow made both his friends heed my warnings? Then again, hadn’t I been grateful when Falcor had taken his Elvradrak form and flown them to safety? Had I too become so complacent or so arrogant that I had forgotten the false god of the humans and his single-minded crusade to wipe every Elvradrak from existence? Weren’t both my friends trumpeting a challenge to battle by their very existence? Perhaps caution and stealth would serve us better than open displays of power. Too late now... for Borarla at least.

While I wrestled with self-doubt, Aergarnion landed in the shade of the great tree’s canopy. I couldn’t clear my mind of the devastation that lay just a few yards beyond the protected and holy place, though. Bor'arlerkanimea was still guarded by a glade of perfect trees, blocking all view of the death and devastation beyond, but I could sense the forest’s suffering. A frail Elvrabor female, elderly at first glance, was slumped against the trunk of the great tree, the first living soul Garrett had seen since their return. I knew even before I recognised her that this was Arla, the Queen, who suffered as the forest did. Aergarnion discreetly disappeared to leave us alone.

The Queen struggled to her feet, clearly very weak, and I hurried forward to help her. She asked if she might touch my crown, which I agreed to at once. As she touched it she spoke an incantation, and I felt that its power was being tapped slightly; she straightened visibly as the power flowed into her, but was still frail. She linked arms with me to politely keep the connection and draw strength as we talked. She thanked me, as she was in need of some energy, and said that she wanted to see me last... I guessed that she had already spoken to Falcor and Arad, although I was slightly embarrassed to realise that I had lost track of them completely as I had been absorbed with the trees in Cor’iltuarladecaeli.

Queen Arla said that she wanted me to have a gift, although I at once protested that we had earning no such honour. She explained that what she proposed was in her care but not really hers; a long time ago one of my folk had lived amongst the Elvrabor in Borarla and had been loved and revered for his connection with the forest. He was known as Darrillion Green Finger, and his way with the forest had been admired but not understand by the Elvrabor. He was not just a guardian of souls as the Elvrahum were known, but also a child of the forest as much as any of the Elvrabor. The Queen said that she sensed the same connection in me. The Elvrabor were born with a connection to the trees, but but others were drawn to the trees in another way, and so it had been with Darrillion. I think I understood this - Darrillion must have had the same connection with Karmana that I experienced during the soul transfer, and that had set me upon a similar path.

Queen Arla explained that he had been one of the few to openly oppose the false queen, and after a public clash most thought that he had left. Unfortunately he had actually been killed, and then buried in a shallow grave with all that he possessed. Out of respect for him, it seemed, the trees did not take his remains for sustenance and Arla had found the grave. She had arranged to return his body to the Elvrahum, but had kept those possessions that were "of the forest" for another. She showed me a chest, fashioned out of wood in the manner of the Elvrabor, and transferred her grip back to the tree in order to release me and allow me to open it. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness and opened the chest, not wishing to appear rude. I took the boots, quiver, bow, and some prayers turned into scrolls and was surprised at how well they fitted me.

I then explained that I wanted to try to give something back to the forest, to attempt to rekindle life and possibly restore the connection with Karmana that felt as if it were behind a veil in what had become a place of death. She bid me do as I could, grateful for any assistance I could give the forest, but also warned that it was no longer the sanctuary it used to be and there was danger beyond the grove here. She also bid me be wary of Custor, who had helped her mother (the false queen); he, Malek, and another (gone before her time) had their own agenda and were old beyond counting.

I took my leave, desperately wanting to put right some of the devastation that had befallen the forest with our failure. I headed west towards the former court, hoping that something of the obelisk was left for me there. It was hard going through the snow - and I had never even seen snow or ice before, let alone had to walk through it. It was most disconcerting, and I was thankful for the furs I sometimes used for comfort at night, wrapping them around me to keep some warmth in my body. I had only gone a mile or so when I saw a flash of light up ahead, and a dark mockery of the Elvrabor stepped through what looked like a tear in reality. I shouted a challenge in the mental language of the Elvrabor, but its mind was guarded and I received no response. Instead he started running at me with daggers drawn so I drew and loosed an arrow from my new bow. The bow was a joy to use compared with my old one, and the arrow found its mark despite the range, although it didn't slow him down.

One thing I had learned was that the bow would not fire at Elvrabor or good creatures, so that told me something of the foe I was facing. He had clearly been Elvrabor once, but had lost his connection with Karmana. I hit him with a couple more arrows and then finished him off fairly easily with my sword by the time he reached me. Unfortunately he had been joined by another, also arriving in a flash of light. I had less time to engage this new foe at range, although one arrow did strike him. Instead I stood my ground and fought, this time trading a few blows and taking a couple of gashes before I could deliver a killing blow. I searched them quickly and found some blank parchment and drawing sticks of charcoal, which suggested to me that they were on scouting missions for the dark queen.

With nobody to tell about this discovery right then, I continued my journey. After another mile or so I got the sense of being watched, and I drew my bow to scan the snow to my left. The bow suddenly went slack, so I called a greeting to any Elvrabor that might be there. One rose like a ghost from a bank of snow before shaking it off as if it were water from a smooth stone. He was clearly Elvrabor, but his clothes were rougher than those I had seen before and somehow seemed more natural to me despite the contrast with the white all around us. He recognised the belongings of Darrillion and demanded that I prove I was worthy of them, seemingly unimpressed with the idea that the Queen had gifted them to me.

I was about to call on Karmana when I felt the power of the seeds I carried, so instead I held one up in my palm, saying that I sought to bring some life back to the forest. To my surprise he dropped his bow at the sight of the seed! He went down on one knee and said that I truely was Darrillion! Then he came forward and embraced me as if we were close friends. He explained that his family (this seemed to mean quite a lot of Elvrabor and not a "family" as I knew it) left when Darillion was lost, knowing that the false queen was behind it. They had claimed a part of Borarla for themselves and none challenged them there. It made sense now - these were the "wild elves" from the north of the forest that Arad had spoken of sensing from within the tree.

At a gesture a whole group of previously invisible (to my eyes) Elvrabor appeared from the snow in a similar manner to the first and they gathered around. They used unfamiliar dweomer to blow the snow away from a small area around us and I felt warmth entering the impromptu meeting place. Grass was even exposed from beneath its white coat, and we sat to share food. A fire was started with more dweomer, and the whole group produced food to share (including to my dismay some roast squirrel). The leader was called Feledor and he offered to accompany me to the crater, perhaps curious to see whether I truely could bring some life to the forest (which I wasn't entirely confident about to be honest).

The rest of the journey was uneventful, perhaps because of my new escort rather than any lack of danger. As we drew near I approached the crater edge, which was steep at the sides although it leveled out towards the centre quite gently. I could see the remains of the shattered obelisk in the exact centre of the hole, and an area around it was quite free of snow. I was wary of the edge, describing a circle as it did, and I dug in the snow (quickly aided by my new friends) to check for any lines or markings. We found nothing, so I went alone into the crater, with the others offering to keep watch and spreading out around the sides. I slid some way down due to the snow and the slope, but found my feet eventually and made my way towards what was left of the obelisk.

As I drew closer I had a sense of flickering shapes - spiders, a shadow dragon, some zombie legionnaires, all flickering in and out of vision as if there were some link to the worlds of Kraldar here, but I stayed focused on obelisk. When I was quite close I found that there was a weird web-like invisible barrier that I had to push through in order to reach the true centre. As soon as I did so things became clearer and I could see energy almost sparking around the base of the obelisk - I had a sense as I reached out with my mind that connecting with Karmana here could go very wrong and could not be controlled due to the damage. Looking up and back it was as if the ground and sky had a dark veil drawn across them, and looking at the sides of the crater was as if peering through a dirty window - far more so than I had noticed when looking from the other side.

I had no safe way of connecting with the obelisk, and certainly no knowledge of how to repair it like the Elvrahil seemed to possess. Instead I had to return to the edge and see what I could do with the seeds. As I pushed back through the veil I head a shout from above - Feledor had been worried for me and was beginning to let a rope down. Apparently I had disappeared completely from view when I had stepped through the veil. At least he was able to help me up quickly. I set about my task at once, attempting to plant seeds in the same pattern around the edge of the crater that the court used to have, with eight seeds evenly spaced around the centre. Then I used one of the powerful prayers that Darrillion had left on a scroll, certainly far beyond my own knowledge, and this caused the seeds to "age"... but they did so in a natural way and the trees visibly grew over the course of a couple of hours until they were towering above us as if they were a century or more old! The snow melted around them as they grew larger, naturally bringing warmth to the ground under their boughs.

Soon only the paths between the new trees had patches of snow, and the reach of the new trees started to affect the crater too. I felt that the veil would lose its influence over time as the trees grew stronger, and only hoped that Queen Arla and her people could protect them for that long. The Elvrabor were ecstatic having seen this incredible growth, and despite my efforts to thank Karmana and Darrillion for the miracle they insisted on proclaiming me as the new Darrillion and a friend to the forest. It took some time, but they were willing to help escort me around the rest of the forest to plant the remaining seeds; I could not make them grow so rapidly, but given time there would indeed be new life in Borarla.

When I finally returned to Bor'arlakanimea, Queen Arla looked stronger and perhaps even younger than when I had left her. The Queen is the forest and the forest is the Queen... I remembered the chant but saw it with my own eyes. She thanked me, more genuinely it seemed this time, but bid me support His quest (Falcor's that is) to rekindle the Forge. She was not sure that the forest would last six months without the protection of Karmana, but each Sarn that we put to rest might buy some more time as the Forge grew stronger. I had already resolved to follow our Guardian and support his return to strength, but this put a new sense of urgency to that quest. As if hearing my thoughts, Aergarnion appeared beside me, ready once more to take me to Cor’iltuarladecaeli and be reunited with Falcor and Arad. I left Borarla at least with some hope rekindled, for the Elvrabor and for me!

Curnurros

Again we arrived in a moment as Aergarnion made the transition back to Cor'iltuarladecaeli. I dismounted at once, thanking him, and then went towards the forest again to thank the trees for their aid. There was a strange sensation, almost like the ground was humming as I approached, but it was a power flow rather than a physical vibration and definitely coming up from the ground. The sensation grew stronger as I approached the boundary of the sanctuary, although no different in pitch. It wasn't uncomfortable and there was no transfer of energy into me, and I notice that it started to plateau in strength as I stepped close to the trees.

Then something unexpected happened; as I reached the treeline meaning to stop as before I somehow just didn't. It was almost as if I watched myself walking forwards from a detached point of view, and I had passed through an invisible barrier into the forest beyond without being able to stop myself. There was almost no resistance this time, unlike before, and I passed easily despite feeling the energy around me. As I did so I was thrust forward like a cork popping from a bottle into the forest. The energy rapidly reduced on the other side, the sensation passing.

There was thick forest all ahead of where I stood, and the plant life and sounds were far more dense than any I had been in. A sweet, fertile smell filled my nostrils as it seemed I stood on very rich ground, and it felt a bit like home. There was no sense of sentience in the trees, just very vibrant life. I looked quickly behind me and could still see the sanctuary, but it looked as if it would through a pearlescent window... although the colours were moving slightly across the barrier. I could not feel Karmana, but there was some controlling entity I could sense, as if like Karmana but not her. I tried to push my hand into the soil but there was some resistance, so it was certainly not of Karmana but similar.

I started squeaking in squirrel to see if any were near, but at that moment a wild boar crashed through the undergrowth just ahead of me. I stood my ground, trying to calm it so that it would at least ignore me, and it veered away to my left continuing its noisy progress. It soon became apparent why as a black panther appeared giving chase, thankfully not stopping at my presence (either it didn't see me or didn't care) and passing by to run down its prey. I heard the sounds of a successful kill from not far away, so it would eat well.

I realised that I would quickly lose my way in the thick woodland, so I took note of one of the boundary trees for later when I might want to return before moving forward. I looked for some tracks to follow and eventually found deer slots that seemed fairly fresh. There was no wind here, so I did not have to worry about direction, and I followed the tracks to my right keeping my steps light as I tried to find an animal I could talk to. I found something, although it was no animal; a green plant-like creature burst up and out of the vegetation in front of me. I backed off, not wanting to harm anything here, and it used vine-like arms to shift its body forwards towards me. I moved back more quickly and it seemed to let me go, so perhaps it was just trying to scare me away.

As I paused to wonder what to do next I felt the deep vibrations of something very large moving close by. I used Darrillion's boots to leap up beside a nearby tree and slide down using the trunk, enabling me to look around and see further. I caught sight of something moving through the trees ahead and to my left, darkly coloured and about twenty five feet tall. I ran towards it, then slowed and leapt up again to get another look. It was closer but still not clearly in sight, and as I landed a twiggy thing dropped from the tree canopy onto me and tried to grasp my arms. I managed to wriggle free, but it was still on my back. It kept trying to wrap up my arms and it was all I could do to slip them free; I was unable to dislodge it from my back. I tried again to sink into the soil as I would on Karmana; it worked, but it was a real effort and did not feel welcoming in the way I was used to. Despite this I was able to immerse myself, dislodging my attacker and emerge again a little distance away. It scuttled back up the tree, obviously looking to get above me again, so I ran forwards to get away before it could do so.

Once I dared slow and stop I tried a quick squirrel call again, and this time I was answered. A friendly squirrel ran down the nearest tree to talk with me, although it seemed very nervous. It became clear that it was from Borarla and that "tree spirits" had saved him and other animals from the destruction there by bringing them to this place. He was not happy, though - the forest was wrong and he was hungry because the nuts were not good. I gave him some berries and he agreed to comes with me and tell me if he could smell any tree spirits nearby. He wanted me to take him home, though, and did not understand when I told him that it was cold and covered in frozen water.

I wandered aimlessly for a couple of hours, hoping we would encounter a tree spirit. We did not, though, and suddenly the light faded and night fell - it was a sharp and rapid change. The sounds of the forest changed at once, and the squirrel warned that there were snakes about at night. I decided that without any clear direction to take the safest thing would be to return to the sanctuary. I used one of Darrillion's scrolls to step into a tree and then out of the one I had remembered at the boundary of Cor'ituarladecaeli. Unfortunately when I tried to pass back through the barrier there I found it to be as solid as glass; I was trapped! I had no choice but to try to get some sleep, using my cloak to hide me and staying against the barrier so that some light from the sanctuary might keep nocturnal creatures away.

Despite the unfamiliar noises making it hard to get to sleep I eventually dropped off and must have had at least a couple of hours before waking in alarm. It took me a moment to realise what was wrong... then I noticed that one of the plant-like wolves we had fought when we were making our way to Borarla from the south was practically nose-to-nose with me sniffing! It blended in so well with the forest that I hadn't really seen it at first. Suddenly filled with energy I leapt to my feet, drawing swords. The wolf was startled by the sudden movement and its hackles went up - I realised just in time what that meant and turned crouching as a volley of thorns shot from the wolf at me. Only one hit, thankfully, and then the plants around my feet came to life and reached to grab me but I managed to roll away and escape.

The plant-wolf raked my chest as I tried to recover, drawing blood, and then howled (well it looked like it should be howling but it was more of a bird call warble to be honest). I slashed at him quickly with my swords and then as he jumped to bite me I ducked and ran him through. I knew it was too late, though - others would have heard the call. I made sure I had everything and moved away quickly, hearing answering calls from behind and ahead of me. I reasoned that if one could smell me out then they would be able to follow my scent, so I moved towards the nearest call to intercept it. It wasn't hard to find, but unfortunately its thorns were more accurate than the last one's and as the plants grew around me they grabbed hold and held me fast.

Helpless I watched as it paced around, waiting for me to be freed, and then the other one I had heard calling joined it. After a few minutes, though, a really loud roar thundered from somewhere and they crouched, tails low, looking around for a threat. The roar sounded again, closer this time and they visible shrank from what was clearly a more powerful predator. I felt a slight breeze on my face, which was surprising as it was the first movement of air I had sensed since arriving in this place, and the plant wolves sensed it too - they turned and ran full pelt into the undergrowth clearly not willing to fight whatever was coming for me!

A few moments later, an enormous Elvradrak form came crashing down through the canopy from above. The floor shook as she landed, and its huge head roared at me (with a slightly unpleasant smell of compost and decomposing vegetation). As it did so the entangling plants disappeared and I was unceremoniously dumped to the floor. I just managed to stay on my feet, but immediately dropped to my knees in from of the Elvradrak's immense form - easily a hundred feet long from head to tail! She was not a normal Elvradrak, though, instead being entirely "woven" from plants, roots, thorns, and great leaves. In fact she was similar to the plant wolves in that way, although far more impressive obviously.

She spoke to me in the way of the Elvradrak, the first mental speech I had heard here, and it almost overwhelmed me with its power. She noted that I was far from home, and I explained that the trees seemed to have drawn me in. She said "Hmm... Cernurros is a tricksy soul" - and sensing my confusion explained that he was the Lord of this place, as Karmana was to our home Cernurros was to here. She introduced herself as "Found Life in The Forest After Death in The World", The Forest being Cernurros' realm and The World being Karmana. She was intrigued by my nature, as one who could channel souls, a druid of Karmana, and a soil walker. I was intrigued by her nature, too, as she was not like any other Elvradrak I had seen. She had been welcomed by Cernurros to his place after death, and was no longer wife/sister to Him or part of Karmana. Despite this she was interested in Falcor/Him and regretted that he had not yet been reborn. She asked whether the birthing pool was open, but I didn't believe it was - we had to remove the influence of Kraldar first.

She wanted to help Him through me, and said that Cernurros was waiting for me. To help me find my way she sheds a thorn from her wing, saying that if I turned my mind to it then it would lead me to Cernurros. I thanked her and bid her well, and at that she sprang from the floor powerfully, pushing against the trees up into the air with a strong blast of air making me look away for a second. When I looked back there was just a tear in the canopy to show that she had been here, but I picked up the thorn and concentrated, feeling some energy flowing from me into it and started to follow its mental tug away from the barrier behind me.

I followed its guidance, going deeper into the thick forest. It seemed to be that the going was slightly easier, and I had no further encounters with any dangerous creatures. I even began to enjoy walking through the verdant wildlife in all its forms. I shouldn't have got so complacent, though, as after an hour or so a bush I was passing suddenly leapt into life! It lifted itself up on vines, whilst others whipped out - slashing me but not quite getting hold of me as I squirmed away. Large flowers had appeared from the dark green leaves, giving it a violent burst of colour at the same time. I drew my sword, but kept hold of the thorn, and cut into its "body". I didn't really want to destroy it, though, so I jumped and tumbled backwards just out of reach of its longest vines, then sprinted away. Thankfully I was able to outpace it and when I stopped there was no sign of pursuit.

I had to reestablish a connection with the thorn to get my bearings again, and continued significantly more alert for danger! The first threat I saw was a great walking tree, moving on all fours across my line of travel. Found Life in The Forest After Death in The World had told me that there were kindly guardians that might aid me, and that I would know them by their eyes... this thing looked quite feral, though, so I remained still and quiet until it had moved out of hearing.

It wasn't much further before I felt and heard the thuds of another large creature moving up ahead. Once more I took cover until I could see what was causing the noise, but this time I was relieved to see a more welcoming sight. It was another walking tree, and equally massive, but this time walking on two legs and with a face in its bark that looked quite friendly. Trusting in the great Elvradrak's advice I stepped forward and greeted this treeman. Thankfully he greeted me in return, asking what I was doing. I quickly found that long, quickly uttered, or complicated sentences confused him slightly but once I settled into a slower, more deliberate pattern of speech I found it much easier to converse with him.

He knew that Cernurros wanted to see me, and seemed to have a connection of some kind although I sensed nothing like the conversation that the Elvrabor and their trees had. I complimented on him for growing tall and strong, and he noted that I had not done the same! Calling me "little bush" he gave me some fertiliser to drink to help me, and it was surprisingly good stuff! He let me keep some, saying that it was his purpose to help little bushes grow. He also seemed to know that I shared this purpose in some way, presumably referring to my service to Karmana, and I openly admitted that I did try to help life grow but had much to learn. He offered to share some of his knowledge with me; an offer I gladly accepted, always keen to learn more about how I could serve Karmana.

He reached down and his "hands" (like carefully entwined branches and twigs) grew around my head. I felt his mind connect with me - the first time I had sensed a connection here, which seemed more dependent on touch than on Karmana. Suddenly I was slightly stunned and overwhelmed as he somehow dumped a massive amount of knowledge straight into my head! There was so much that it would take me a little time to sort through what I knew in my own mind, but there was no doubt that I had benefited from the exchange. Cherl, for that was his name, also went as far as to offer me a special acorn, and I knew from what he had taught me that if I consumed it I would be transported back to wherever he was at the time. He took a moment to consult Cernurros and then offered me a similar gift for Queen Arla; he offered his assistance to her to help regrow the forest of Borarla, as many of the spirits had brought creatures to this place to escape the fire and it would be better if they were able to return.

Suddenly done with me he strode off to tend to some other "little bush" and I was left to continue my journey alone. That was the last encounter I had before I reached a clearing in the forest. It was the first time I had seen anything other than solid vegetation and trees, so the difference was stark. It was completely empty, but the thorn was clearly taking me straight to the centre so I walked forward expecting something to happen. Even so I was not prepared... it was nothing but an empty clearing until there was suddenly a sixty-foot high humanoid figure made out of a similar curling tree trunk and branch structure as the other denizens here, but radiating so much power that I was completely shocked and actually passed out as it overcame me.

I eventually regained consciousness, although I had no idea how long I had laid there, and could see that the huge figure was still there. The energy radiating off it was just as powerful, but at least I didn't have the shock of it suddenly appearing out of nowhere so I was able to at least stay conscious this time. I stuttered out a greeting, and was surprised when a very gentle voice responded from the giant avatar. This was Cernurros, or an avatar of the God at least, and he spoke of Karmana as his beloved Sister, says that she was his father's favourite (the Creator being their father, I assumed). He recognised Her (Karmana's) touch on me and knew that She loved me deeply... and the sense of care and love was so overwhelming that I only just managed to stop myself from passing out again.

I was also blessed in his sight, he said, as I had served Her in Her time of need. He sensed that I had a little of this place about me as well as of Karmana, and it was true that I had been able to use some of my powers gifted by Karmana in this place, so that made sense to me (not that I could have thought about doubting this God in any way at the time). He reached down a massive hand and offered me a small twig, although as I took it I could see that it was hardier than it looked and reminded me of the wands that Falcor and Custor were so interested in, though this looked much more natural. He told me that it would allow me to create a little of Cernurros when I needed to call on him, which given some of the strange places I had ended up in was a great gift indeed.

Cernurros added that I would be welcome in his realm if I chose it over Karmana. I paused, thinking of Found Life in The Forest After Death in The World and the choice she had made. My heart and soul were true to Karmana, but if we were to fail and Karmana could not take my soul... Cernurros of course could see my every thought, and he squeezed a drop of sap out into my outstretched hands. It hardened into something like a tear-shaped crystal as it dropped and I marveled at it's perfection as it landed in my hands. He said that it would bring my soul back to him if I chose to use it.

Seemingly satisfied he stood back up and I suddenly found myself stood before the barrier where I had first entered Cernurros, and this time when I put my hand to it I was able to push through without resistance. Stepping forward I felt that slight push and was thrust back into Cor'ituarladecaeli. I looked expectantly at Falcor and Arad, ready to be quizzed (and probably cursed) for my absence, but they seemed quite disinterested - in fact it was as if no time at all had passed while I had been gone!