Children of the Grove

Understanding that he had no choice in the matter, he fully embraced the knowledge that it had been his own failing that had created the stirring Enemy. It had been his spirit that had served to birth into existence the abomination that had since come to be named Ruhvaurog, the Darksayer, the Bane of the Earth.

A sigh heaved from the Great Steward’s breast. Once again, he accepted the anguish of that recollection and recounted how Elder Earth had changed as a result.

No longer was it the place of magic and wonder he and his love, Einaele, and the other Great Stewards had reformed from the ashes of the prior age. Now, it was a land in conflict with itself. The war Aor had helped set in motion between Shadow and Light waged itself within the Earth and beyond the borders of the mortal realm. It raged, too, within the minds and hearts of all living things - the sol al elan, the Light, ever burning against the insidious, devouring udum saedor, the Living Shadow. And by all Aor’s reckonings, the once-delicate balance was tipping inexorably toward the forces of Shadow.

While that in itself was cause for constant worry, the wizard had had countless decades to ponder and prepare for that eventuality. He had similarly pondered his own culpability in the matter more times than he could possibly number. On this night, however, events of more immediate significance and concern were about to take place - events that burdened him with their portent and the prospect of long-tended plans coming to fruition.

He wrapped himself more deeply in his glossing, and reminded himself that his travels could be dangerous, even for one of his Authority. As the wizard glided along the River Gylwar where it began to bend northward, he called out magically for those of his allies he had arranged to meet at the appointed hour.

Presently, three shapes cloaked in hoods and robes of black, their faces hidden by metal masks, emerged silently out of the darkness. Together, the four made their way eastward toward the Hallow Hills and the Grove of the ashterim, Ruisme.

There, the first of the night’s significant events was about to take place.