Estellen Calen

=================> MEETUP: Estellen Calen <=================

Open/Closed: OPEN: This event is open to any player who wants to sign up using +event/signup. There may be limited space, so signing up does NOT guarantee you a spot in the event.
Poster: Ga'Elian (Rgr19)
Start Time: 08:00:00 PM, Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Location: W02: Light Woods
Level Range: All

In response to the threat facing the sapling of the ancient Ygdrassil Tree that anchors the Druid Grove in the wilderness north of the village of Wilderness Pointe, which threat arose from the unleashing of potent magical energies recently focused in the community of Mictlan, the ranger Ga'Elian has persuaded his native wild elf tribe, the Faravanilas, to come save the Tree, by performing the ritual of Estellen Calen, to cleanse the sickened land of the evil taint that threatens it.

While the Sylvanori tend to be both a reclusive people, and protective of their rituals from outsiders, they also remember horrific legends of the breaking of the original Ygdrassil Tree by Gunahkar the Destroyer in primeval days, and decided that the need to protect the Sapling and its surrounding wilderness outweighs the need to preserve the secrecy of the ritual.

<OOC> While all are invited, an especial invitation is extended to Wild Elf characters, members of the Ygdrassil Union, members of the Mictlan community, and other nature-oriented PCs.

<OOC> This is a MEETUP. Accordingly, please do NOT submit your participation for an RPP. The organizer will submit it for Meetup credit for all participating characters.

<OOC> This is tied to a series of RPs in response to +bbread 1/28.

Confirmed: Svarshan (Pal20)   Erakirak (Rgr4)   Darius (Ftr2)   Shizin (Bard2)   Durrankar (Dru14)   Sophia (Clr10/Pal2)
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===========================> GAME: Announcements <============================
Message: 1/28                      Posted        Author
Wild Rescue!                       Sun Aug 12    Beaglefinder
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Some of you may have heard the rumors (+bbread 6). Corruption seeks its way into Alexandria's wild spaces! Both recent events, and Alexandros' history play a large part in this! From the Felwood to your own epic tales, there are quite a few "pockets of corruption" left behind.

Those pockets, now, pose a danger. Mictlan is healing, but as it does, corruptive tendrils spread through the soil, and ever-outwards. They are already past where a barrier might be formed. There is no simple druidic wall to fix it.

Cleansing the land is a RPable challenge open to PCs of all levels, and its success depends on you!

How can you participate? Just run a POP, PrPs, or whatever is to your taste and let us know about your stories! There will be additional rewards at the end for those who help make a difference!

Without your stories, the sickness may spread to the Grove and into Alexandros' greater landscape. Worse, the Grove itself houses a sapling of the Great Tree. This could be dangerous, or the opening to villainy and ambition, an enemy usable in your own tales!
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W02: Light Woods

It's Gilday, Callem 29 20:00:00 1020. The full moon is up. The tide is high and ebbing. The night is warm and sultry, and dark clouds hide the stars in patches. Elsewhere they shine brightly. Dew forms on the ground.

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By now, folks in this region are accustomed to the ever-looming presence of the Felwood, but recent events, especially two particular recent events in Mictlan have not only threatened other nearby wilderness areas, but symptoms of real corruption are starting to be seen.

The Ygdrassil Union, recognizing that this taint represents a real danger to the local Druid Grove, has mobilized in a variety of ways. One of its rangers, Ga'Elian, a wild elf, has prevailed upon his tribe to come out of their secluded woods to invoke an ancient ritual of their race, in hopes to stem the evil tide.

So many scaled, displaced and left wandering. With Mictlan sealed, the sith-makar scattered and took refuge with allies or lost themselves deep within the woods. One such makes his way in from the south. Svarshan paces on all fours, bloodgashes on his arms and legs. "The Felwood iss active," he says, on entering. Nearly forgets to add, "Peasse to your nessts."

Sophia glances over at Svarshan, having recently returned to Alexandria and... well, it's the Felwood, so of course she'd want to help where she could. She gives the Sith-makar an actual smile, a bit rare for her these days, recognizing him as she nods, "Been a little while."

"yessss..." Durranker says as he walks up next to Svarshan. "Not much to be peaceful about lately." Durrankar says in reference to Mictlan being sealed.

The group of visiting tribal elves is bigger than many might have imagined, perhaps some 180 or so, but it's hard to tell because they literally seem to be coming out of the woodwork.

The non-Sylvanori are for the most part huddled together, the contingent of Sith-makar especially prominent. Ga'Elian stands between the main body of the elves and the non-elves. He sounds a long blast in his hunting horn. The elves glance over, but soon resume their preparations, which basically looks like spreading out to form circles around several of the bigger trees.

From the south also comes another Sildanyar not a wild elf but still one of the folk. The bard plays no song, but there is a harp in hand as though it were a weapon that could be wielded this day. Shizin makes a path through to those that are recognized. Not all the way to Ga'Elian, but perhaps closer to that wild elf than others are. Dawn tinted eyes remain uplifted though there is uncertainty in Shizin's posture as each person is individually given a nod. To the sith a soft greeting is offered, mirroring that which is always given by them, spoken in their native language.

Erakirak feels remarkably out of place, neither elf nor sith, neither smoothskinned nor scaled, neither of the Ygdrassil Union nor the Mictlan nor even the city of Alexandria, really.

But whatever else he may or may not be, he was part of the army that defended the Mictlan, and he's a ranger who protects the wild, and he's here on that basis. He mostly stays near the Sith-makar, though awkwardly on their periphery.

"Peasse," Svarshan returns warmly. "It iss good to sshare words with you again, Hearthguard." Then, "Sshaman," he adds towards Durrankar as the warrior-caste then settles onto his haunches, and offers a thump of the tail to others, and faces he recognizes. There are other scaled there, of course. Displaced. Yet, while the corruption erupted at Mictlan--it is hungry, and seeks to join with corruption elsewhere. Corruption that had already existed and is now, throughout Alexandros, awake. The Felwood? An easy guess. Others though, are harder. There are pockets--little pockets of it everywhere, leftover from adventures. Leftover from past events, sprinkled throughout the local woods.

Ga'Elian is not accustomed to making public orations, but he sort of brought this upon himself. As a condition of the tribe consenting to open this experience up to non-Sylvanori, Ga'Elian agreed to explain things to the non-elves. Accordingly, after his horn blast, he calls out, "Friends, welcome. There is a certain magic to the world of Ea, and many things can manipulate it. The people of my race have since ancient ages sang and danced to bring this magic to bear for the healing of the land." Even as he says the words, the elves begin their song. Echoing from all around, elfsong begins to swell...

Sophia nods slightly towards Svarshan, then passes a glance at Shizin, flashing them a quiet smile as well. Standing at relative ease, the Hearthguard looks ready for... well, something bad to happen, even as the song of the elves fills the air to provide reassurance.

Svarshan tilts his head to the side, as though listening. Listening. "...it iss..." he begins to say to Sophia, and then the scarleg steps forward, pauses. Steps forward, again. He casts a look towards the others present, towards the egalrin, the sildanyar, the sylvanori, the scaled. As though curious. As though watching, and as though looking to others to see how they respond, and what they make of this new magic.

This done, he settles down, again. "It iss without wordss, sshaman," he says, a touch of reverence to his tone. And, as a warrior must in matters of the wild, "What sshould one know, sshaman? How sshould one approach thesse peopless' magic?" he asks of Durrankar.

Standing not far from Erakirak is a silver-winged griffon. She is clearly skittish, and not comfortable with so many people, and careful to avoid letting herself be surrounded without a path to the woods... but she is staying near the Egalrin, just the same.

Rak, for his part, listens attentively to the Sith discussions.

Suddenly, as the crescendos of elfsong grow, not exactly louder, but they carry more clearly than seems possible, the voices from the ground are answered by other voices in antiphonal response coming from the branches. From this, it becomes apparent that original estimates of the number of elves here might have been significantly low.

The lyrics of the music are mostly Sildanyari, but with phrases of Mynsandraal, Draconic, Celestial, and Sylvan generously sprinkled in.

Durrankar says, "It is a ritual, Brightscale. Like the ancient memories ritual with us." he says as he tilts his head. "It is also interesting. It seems to be a cleansing magic. Adding our language, as well as ancient sharpear, as well as the angelic and the language of the woods mixed in....""

"...one will do thiss, sshaman," Svarshan says in low-tones. He nudges Sophia, then. "Do you recall the wordss of the heavenss?" he asks of her, warmly. Then, thumps his tail and looks to Erakirak and Shizen. "Pleasse join uss. The sshaman ssuggests we lend our words. One recalss, the hunter Ga'Elian ssaid. Ssimilar. Perhapss if we know wordss of cleanssing, we ought to. Ssing them."

Shizin smiles back at an unexpected smile, but as the music begins the Sildanyar is transformed. Lines of worry and confusion that were hardly apparent drain away. Shoulders straighten, face lifts toward the sky and Shizin smiles as though all is right with the world. Lavender eyes look around briefly to the others and there is laughter in them. Joy. Shizin veritably vibrates with the desire to join that beautiful song. The dawn elf looks at Ga'Elian and asks with lavender eyes. And then begins to sing... and to play encouraging by action that the others join in.

Ga'Elian says to the crowd, "I think the rest of it will be better understood by the experience than by any description I could try to articulate. Please let the magic move you. Therefore, if you will forgive me for abandoning this role, my heart longs to join in with my tribe." He hops down from the boulder and heads over to join the ritual.

Am'shere is old. Or, it is a place that was kept away from the world for some time. Some of the scaled join in, but it's the old tongue--the language of Mynsandraal, the old sildanyari tongue and perhaps from the last time the races had, before Alexandria, truly known one another. Nothing modern, though it is heartfelt.

Svarshan looks towards Shizen, and thumps his tail, then lifts his muzzle in a way that says, 'go for it!'

Stereotypes about birds notwithstanding, Erakirak is not much of a singer. And while he has recently discovered some druidic magic in his soul, he is no mage and no priest. So he remains silent. But he listens to the music, and it flows through him, and through the griffon who has adopted him.

Sophia pauses, then breaks into song, as if it were something she hadn't done in quite some time. The words are Celestial, ancient and beautiful as she joins in the melody with a song of her own, adding to the ritual in her own way.

Shizin sings, fingers trilling over the edges of the harp playing the song as well. The dawn elf does as Ga'Elian suggests and gives over to the music entirely, swaying with the power of it. The words that the elf sings inspire, then bolster those closest to the elf and encourage them to add the words. Shizin even incorporates Tradespeak, translating for others so that they can sing along as well. The bard smiles and twists, fingers curling in invitation even as they strum, inviting others to not only sing but to do what comes naturally when singing and playing happens. If one can not sing with words, than one can dance.

Durrankar simply thumps his tail to provide a 'beat' for the Sylvanori. Durrankar does not 'sing'. Fire tends to happen when he 'sings'.

After a short while, the dancing and singing morph organically into more of a chaotic sort, yet still somehow cohesive, but instead of pure lyrical song, the music now comes alive with animal calls and other natural sounds. And the very air seems to carry an energetic charge.

After a time, Svarshan begins a hum--underflowing, running beneath the words and efforts of others. Bolstering, yet not rising like Shizen's, not sparkling. Not wildly soaring like the sylvanori. It's more...like rocks turning over, tumbling down from the fireside. Smoke curls from his muzzle. More of it, as the mana-energy of the area increases!

Sophia's voice blends in with the natural sounds, the Celestial words seeming to mesh perfectly in harmony to carry the spirit and power of the ritual performance. She closes her eyes, letting the melody carry her voice instinctively, giving herself to the Song.

Like a willow in a breeze Shizin bends back and forth to the song, eyes closed and face rapturous. There's a beat beneath the sildanyari's fingers now, a thump-tapping like stones. An earthier sound added to the natural noises that are coming forth from the trees. As the song becomes a wild thing so too does Shizin's playing. It becomes something else. Something beautifully untamed like a harmony to the wildness that exists in the other elves.

Erakirak can't really be said to be dancing, either. He's more swaying, in time with the music... as is the griffon.

As the music grows wilder, so do their movements... though also synchronized, in a way, each picking up beats that the other drops.

Just as the elfsong turns wild, so also does the dance break into a visual cacophany of movement, acrobatic, unrestrained. Elves tumble and swing from branch to branch, losing their individuality for a time amid the heady drunkenness of the music.

The sultry warmth of the summer night takes a milder turn as if the very trees breathe a long-awaited sigh.

Durrankar just....stands there and watches as the Sylvanori's song and dance turns wild. He doesn't say a word...merely observes.

Svarshan thumps his tail along with Durrankar, the sith-makar adding a rhythm to the dance. After a while, he looks towards the trees and his voice fades, stutters before beginning again. He leans over, nudges the shaman with his shoulder, for him to look!

Durrankar looks over to Svarshan, before looking to the very trees.....

Those with especially keen perception might catch glimpses of fae creatures here and there. A faerie dragon appears and flies around the cartwheeling Ga'Elian.

Sophia doesn't dance, since physical grace and coordination is... not something she has in abundance. Or at all, really. She does keep singing in Celestial, though, lending her words to the ritual.

The dawn elf known as Shizin is totally lost in the music now, carrying it onwards and forwards. Shizin does begin to dance, more than just swaying but actually moving to the music. The elf is drawn closer to the woods now, closer to the trees back and forth playing the music that calls from deep inside.

Llyranesi rituals might be marked by their intonations--feywild channeled to ringing bells. Chaos and wild given life! The Sylvanori in contrast? As the evening winds to a close, so does the ritual--ending in howls and cries of the forest. Wild barks, wolfish howls. The skitter-by of mischievous fae.

The energy you'd experienced before? Blooms. Those among the Green are the first to feel it--a budding like an uncurling rose. The budding only felt, generally, at the beginning of Spring.

A second spring comes to this part of the Wild. Green explodes in defiance of the oncoming Autumn. Leaves turn from Fall's beginning to Spring's promise and beginning. The air clears, lightens.

Something happened here, tonight. Something did. What exactly that is, and its impact, remains to be seen.

GAME: Durrankar rolls knowledge/nature: (6)+24: 30

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Know/nat+forest: aliased to Knowledge/Nature+1+8: (6)+9+1+8: 24

GAME: Erakirak rolls knowledge/nature: (16)+4: 20

Durrankar looks about and thumps his tail more. "The corruption here is gone." He says as he looks about. "Just here....around the tree....."

Sophia blinks her eyes open, glancing over at Durrankar. "I admit, I don't know much about nature... I couldn't really tell either way." She looks around a bit, curious as she's definitely a creature of the city, the forest being somewhat alien to her.

Erakirak observes the growth with some astonishment, and something resembling hope. He nods agreement with Durrankar. "Apparently _something_ worked."

The griffon, who was following Rak warily and avoiding contact with others when they arrived, seems far more comfortable now. She grooms his feathers affectionately with her beak.

Ga'Elian's own companion, Erithamiel the Griffon, has been hopping around trees throughout, reveling in the wonder of it all.

"The trees and plants are blooming.....rather than saving their strength." Durrankar says to Sophia....before he stamps his staff tot he ground. Not only do the plants bloom, but after the initial surge, the plants begin to grow larger.....Durrankar adding the green's blessing to the recovered area....

Erakirak 's companion looks at him curiously, then at Erithamiel, then back at Rak, who blinks. "Yes, of course... go greet your friend." <Auran>

The silverwinged griffon scampers off, light-taloned.

"Huh," Rak muses, to nobody in particular. "That's the first time she's ever ASKED."

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==========================> IC: Rumors and Gossip <===========================
Message: 6/15                      Posted        Author
Estellen Calen!                    Thu Aug 30    Beaglefinder
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Estellen Calen.

Estellen Calen, a sacred ritual of the sylvanori and before today, little-known to the outside world. However, those of the Green, those local to Alexandros, now know it to be more than a whisper.

Ancestral magic, drawn to ease the corruption within Alexandros. To say local druids are excited is like saying grass is green!

The ritual, performed by visiting sylvanori and local Green did its work. It cleared corruption as only the Green's magic might and halted progress towards the Druid's Grove. As a result, a second spring has come to the woods north of Alexandria (though only that area). Local druids report this "second spring" will last a number of weeks and lend protection to the Grove so long as it blooms.

Still, corruption remains--in pockets throughout Alexandros' forested and wild places. These pockets are leftover from adventures past, now re-woken and hungry. The Felwood of course, is the greatest source of it with its hungry tendrils reaching outwards. It is not the ONLY source! Previous adventures have left many a scar! 

So, while the sylvanori struck a mighty blow, there's more work to be done!

OOC: This storyline is an opportunity to revisit previous tales of heroism and derring-do told of the Wild! Though the Estellen Calen struck a mighty blow (and turned druids into schoolgirl gossips) and ceased the awakening corruption near the Tree, characters may find some memories of old enemies temporarily present. For example: old enemies or evil revisiting them in the form of spirits or ghostly, replaying memories throughout the woodlands and forests. A single squirrel with its head on backwards, and its eyes vacant as it runs past.

You are welcome to use your imagination, or use the plotline to showcase old tales of heroism! Or, start anew using your own imagination!

Extra rewards will be given for PoPs, PrPs, Meetups, and the like towards this storyline (please be sure to tag me in the +req so that I know)! 

Your roleplay will have a direct impact on its resolution and what happens to the Wilds of Alexandros!
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