A Gathering at the Grove
It's Tariday, Rhaltaas 18 11:47:50 1018. The full moon isn't up. The tide is high and ebbing. Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty.
W03: Druid Grove
Ga'Elian sits on a log wearing only a green pair of well-fitting linen trousers and a necklace of ettin teeth. He is in the midst of mixed company, a couple other sylvanori, a pair of oruchs, an egalrin, a human, a dryad, and a sith'makar. He and the other sylv are singing a hunt ballad in an upbeat duet. A ways off, several beasts are frolicking together, a snowy-white griffon that, but for it's whiteness and lack of barding looks very like Erithamiel, a 12-point buck, and a mountain lion, just as peacefully as if they were all cubs from the same brood.
Un'eth journeys once more to the grove, now more often in a handful of days than in the prior year. The sight of so many of differing origins, now united in a similar goal is heartening. Her tail thumps the ground firmly as she greets several, including the Ettin-Slayer. "Peace on your nest, Hunter."
Ga'Elian turns to look at Un'eth, and finishes the song. He then stands, turns to face the shaman and says, gesturing to the others gathered around, "And on yours Un'eth. Will you join us? The intricate tattoo on his back seems possibly animate in these surroundings, as if the leaves on the Tree filling his back actually flutter in some imagined breeze.
"I join you all in the Hunt of Heth and his abominations," Un'eth affirms to hunter and others in the immediate gathering. Her tail thumps the ground once more before returning to a casual sway.
Belladona comes back from a patrol around the forest with her armored companion the lioness Samafa. She spots the others and nods politely to them, "Greetings brothers and sisters."
Ga'Elian likewise welcomes the Oruch and her companion. "Greetings" <yrch-speak>. Then to the group says, that was one of the hunt ballads of my folk. Have any of you any songs or tales of epic hunts to share, or lore of the Great Stag? <sylvan>
Un'eth turns her attention to the latest arrival, tail slapping the ground in greetings with, "Peace on your nest" offered to the oruch. At the call for tales, eyes and ear-frills shift again, back to the gathering, and she crouches at the log to listen.
Belladona looks over at Ga'Elian, "I'm sorry I hve no clue what you just said there." She nods politely to Un'eth, "And the same to you. What brings you all gathered here today?" She asks as her lioness stretches out and then goes to find a spot to lay down.
Ga'Elian says, "My apologies. I merely invited the sharing of songs, stories, or lore of epic hunts or the Great Hunter.
"We gather for The Hunt," Un'eth shares with the oruch. "This time, it has been called upon Heth and his minions. The softskins of the city delay time and again with minor trifles and ignore the true threat to Ea." Lips curl to show teeth. "Now, we act."
The egalrin rises, and says, 'Even so, Shaman. Now Before I sing one of the hunt ballads of my eerie, I will explain it, as I doubt many of you will understand it in the calls of my native language. It tells of Kree, one our legendary heroes of yore. He was a mighty hunter with eyes that could spot a lizard's tongue twitch from a mile in altitude. One day, he was flying around when he caught sight of an army of jet-black humanoids massing near a cave in the far north. As he circled above them, he smelled that although they were upright and moving about, that they were actually carrion. It tells of how he called upon his brothers of the eagle clan and his cousins of the buzzard and condor clans, and how that they combined efforts to pick these walking cadavers in time to prevent a village of lucht from being eaten or worse, made into spawn of these walking corpses. He then begins to sing. <auran>
Belladona nods, "I've heard the call, but I question the wisdom in this. Heth is a mighty enemy and even though we did reclaim one of our groves from his grasp I fear that he will not be easy to defeat when taken head on."
Ga'Elian nods, "There are many struggles facing Ea and her children. Heth is certainly a formidable one, but with faith and coordination, I am confident that the gods will lend us Their strength, and we may succeed yet. On the other hand, even if we succeed in this endeavor, the powers of evil never seem to rest for long, and I rather expect that some other threat would emerge."
"Heth is THE threat to Ea," Uneth voices with certainty. "He does not seek to conquer, only destroy. He serves The Void and wishes nothing less than the destruction of Ea and all upon it. Heth cannot be destroyed," a low hiss emerges briefly, "but he can be stopped. This is a first step along that path."
Belladona leans back against a tree, "I'm not saying that he is not. I just question the strategy of going at him full on like this. One does not bring down a bull moose by charging straight at it. You nip it and make it bleed, you wear it out before you go in for the kill."
"And what if it does not bleed?" A new figure speaks, emerging from the trees with his hands tucked into his pockets. "Hard pressed you would be to bleed a thing with the Void in its veins and a heart that died thousands of years ago, if indeed it ever existed at all." Fazahd stands at the edge of the grove, just inside the treeline. Strange man. "Good day. I hope that I am not intruding."
Ga'Elian smiles and beckons Fazahd to join the gathering. "You are welcome, so long as you respect the Tree and all it represents."
Un'eth snorts. "We must break his minions before we can challenge Heth. This Hunt begins this after others ignore him, allow him to grow in power." Snout and eyes move from oruch to the newset speaker and her tail strikes the ground to accent Ga'elian's words and greet, while adding, "Respect Ea, and act for Ea."
Belladona rolls her eyes at Fazahd's comment, "He may not bleed actual blood, but we can bleed his strength away, hit at his army, reduce their numbers so that others can help in defeating him." She crosses her arms, "In fairness to the others there has been a lot going on. I'm sure if they could focus solely on Heth they would."
Fazahd inclines his head, gesturing at the place he stands - just outside the grove, not to cross until welcomed. "It could be said that my life has been repurposed for that very task. I am Fazahd son of Burhad, of Clan Masterbuilder. Enginebreaker of Father Reos," he adds, using the Reosian term for Inquisitor.
He looks to Belladona and nods. "I have considered that these conflicts have been orchestrated by Heth to distract us from its own actions, yes."
The egalrin finishes his song and sits. Next, the dryad rises and sings in Sylvan a lay of the Hunter and his sister, the Silver Huntress.
Ga'Elian asks, "You believe then that the Binder acted as Heth directed, wittingly or not?"
"The Binder is a threat to this region," Uneth admits, "and a convenient distraction for Heth. If the fiends show themselves, they can and will be hunted." She is an equal-opportunity hunter.
Belladona nods, "They are distracts yes, but if we ignore them they could still come back to bite us. What good will come if in defeating Heth we leave ourself open to defeat."
Un'eth's snout turns back to the oruch. "Our defeat of what? By whose claws?" She eyes her incredulously. "If the Binder takes the city, a city is lost. It can be retaken. If the Dranei conquer Rune, the city is rebuilt. If Heth succeeds, Ea is destroyed. Unmade by the Void. Every Sith-makar, oruch, sildanyari, animal and plant upon it is forever lost."
Ga'Elian rubs his chin at Un'eth's words. Others in the gathering also turn from the singing dryad as their curiosity is piqued at the direction of the conversation. The dryad ends her song and says, "I am inclined to agree with her."
Belladona looks over at Un'eth, "And our forests are they rebuilt so easily? The binder take the city our forests will be lost as well. If the Dran take Rune they will add Rune's magical power to that of Heth's. He has already conquered one nation why give him two? What if we fail...if we fail and fall who will be left to fight against the others in the name of the Green. Our being there and being involved and fighting with the others as they fight the Binder and as they fight against the Dran helps us as it helps them. When the time comes for Heth's defeat it will not only be the Green that stands against him, but all those that the Green has helped who have come to repay the favor. Only then will we wash away the stain that is Heth."
The plant barrier 'wall' can be seen 'rippling' a bit before a dark skinned elf in a heavy cloak ducks through the opening. She makes a bit of a face as she looks at the opening she just came through and shakes her head as she tugs her cloak off and makes sure to hang it up somewhere where it didn't kill something, which is harder than it looks....
Ga'Elian says, "Well, if I may say so, whether we fight The Firstborn's forces directly or the Binder, Arendt, or any other, we fight for the good of Ea. All of these fights need to be won, and right now, Mahal is mustering a Hunt against Heth. I, for one, am here to answer His holy call."
Un'eth exhales a long breath in a slight hiss. "Ssa," she eventually speaks, dipping snout to Ga'elian. "We all fight for Ea."
Belladona nods, "I agree that we should fight for the good of Ea, but we must also pick our battles to do the most good we can with the least loss of life."
"Ssa," Uneth now dips snout to the oruch. "That is why we are here, now." Only now does she seem aware of the most recent entrant, and her head pans towards the one seeking to hang a cloak.