The First Land Herald/450-02-28
| Article Number: 101 |
| Dateline: 450-02-28 |
| THE SECOND BESEECH: A GLIMPSE OF PRIMAL ELANTHIA Recently, based on the revelations from our first attempt to connect with Elanthia (see FLH article from 450-02-07), Dragon's Shadow Waydren Amlir once again attempted to harness Rangers' beseech ability to find answers. This time, he called for Rangers and Empaths to link with the Herald messenger Asildu to discern the Heralds' original intent for Primal Elanthia. "Where others turned to logic, might, and magic in an effort to find them, we instead turned to Elanthia herself," Waydren said. "She gave us a vision. We were shown Gardeners tending Elanthia that was. We were shown interlopers arriving unbidden, despoiling primal perfection. We were shown lesser guardians, the Immortals who were interlopers themselves, partnering with those who came before." Addressing the scholar Asildu, he proposed that we attempt to harness Asildu's connection with the Heralds in order to reveal the truth. To aid our efforts, I led the Empaths in casting Mental Focus, Gift of Life, and Refresh. With Asildu's permission, I cast Mental Focus on him to enhance his concentration. I then facilitated partnerships between Empaths and Rangers, instructing them to form a persistent link with their assigned Rangers and Asildu. We joined together in summoning our vela'tohr plants, each of us saying aloud, "Life stimulates life. We join together." The contributing Empaths included Sukidesu, Kethrai, Aislynn, Leilanie, Karthor, Cote, Leayne, Allye, and myself. Next, Waydren instructed the Rangers to cast Embed the Cycle and River in the Sky. He led them in giving a gift to Elanthia, generally a seed or some object of meaning, after which each Ranger repeated, "Life is returned. We honor the Garden." In addition to Waydren, the Rangers included Hanryu, Lexxa, Sarugar, Lileath, Kayena, Shaylynne, Arcsicsin, and Zersha. "This one speaks for the Gardeners, the ones who came before. The Guardians who shaped the wild and untamed. Your heart still beats to the rhythm they set. Bear it to us now and show us their intent," he said. "We Beseech you to Reveal. Replace the 'here' with 'then' through our connection with him and them." After that, my vision faded, the intention of forming a connection with Asildu assisting me in connecting with a primal Elanthia. The connection overtook my consciousness -- a vision of what was and could have been. A strong breeze stirred, and my senses flooded with floral scents that belonged to no plant I had ever experienced. As I allowed this connection to fill my senses, my vision returned, depicting a thick, verdant forest in the spot I once stood. Branches and shrubs parted in front of me, revealing a harmonious grove of wild growth that seemed untamed, and yet orderly -- as if all somehow connected. At the center of a wooded grove, a spire of twisting branches towered above me, growing inward to create a lattice upon which I now saw hundreds of animals living inside an ordered existence. Crouching low, a mother clad in woven vines knelt next to her child, her deliberate movement fostering a jadice seedling to sprout -- and the child mimiced her gestures, causing the flower to blossom. I sensed Empathy within both mother and child, and as I expanded my perception, I felt an Empathic connection with countless other humanoids inside the tower. A tropical bird of no species I was familiar with descended from a tree, landing deliberately on my hand. Upon touching the bird, my consciousness now flowed into it. I soared upward along the spire, and as I reached the canopy of the forest, the massive form of a green dragon swooped along the leaves above me, rustling them in its wake. Pausing to regain stability in my flight, I flapped my wings and settled myself on the tip of one of the highest branches. Surrounding me, I observed dozens of similar lifesculpted spires stretching across the horizon, surrounded by forest as far as the eye could see. I heard the nearby roar of two rivers meeting, and in a moment, I sent myself flapping toward it. Beneath me, I observed predators stalking prey, but nowhere did I see waste or excess. There was a balance teeming through this life -- one in which every being participated in actively. Where I expected a bustling city, I found more lifesculpted spires at the intersection, and atop one, I witnessed a dragon speaking words of creation to assist a Druid in merging the spires. With those words, the branches of each grew and intertwined, forming a nexus of life to me, as if a voice urged me to nest in this place. From this perch, I saw out to the glistening ocean and watched as an ancient Leviathan led its young to nest inside the Segoltha Bay, coming incredibly close to shore. I heard its call sound proud and loud, relishing in the untamed ocean that belonged to them and them alone. This Primal Elanthia, pristine and glorious, quickly faded. I sensed that Elanthia held this memory dear, and identified itself by a time when it was a primordial, cultivated, and untouched garden tended by the Heralds in what they intended to be a perfect balance, unspoiled and untamed. My vision abruptly returned to me as my connection to Elanthia faded. Asildu collapsed in exhaustion from the link, leaning against a tree in the vela'tohr thicket. We had little time to absorb or discuss what had happened, as many were leaving for Imroth's sorcery party at that point. Waydren lamented the consequences of past choices, painting a stark contrast between the Elanthia that could have been and the reality we now face. "We see now the full cost of the Immortals’ refusal to do what had to be done," he said. "We have been shown Elanthia That Was. Elanthia as it should have been. The death of Elanthia’s dreams. We see the fork in the trail, forged millennia ago, where selfish intent won out over duty. The trail now stands broken, marred and pitted by their inaction. The Heralds are the rightful rulers of Elanthia. They guided it. Shaped it. It is theirs. Let us return to what once was." The second Beseech ritual offered a profound glimpse into Elanthia's original vision. Through Asildu's connection, we witnessed the pristine Garden tended by the Heralds, a world untouched by outsiders. This revelation appeared to illuminate the Heralds' true intent and the tragic consequences of the Immortals' actions. Although much remains unknown, this revelation is a significant step forward. We must continue our efforts to piece together the puzzle of wild magic and rescue our friends. Together, Illiya |
| Real Date: Unknown Date |
| Subject(s): Wild Magic |
| Author(s): Illiya |