Introduction
Our guild was re-founded at the begin of the year 1518, after the epic
battle which is remembered in the songs as the fall of the guardians.
It is well known that after this battle, almost all people who lived in
this area left town, safe of some shop owners, and with them, the old
tales and stories were lost. However, some sources remained - there are
archives in the Darmahk palace and the Gahlen hall of fame, also the
druids of old wrote down a lot of events and thoughts and stored the
parchments on the shelves of our guild. And if you ask around, there are
many people who have heard the one or the other stories about old times.
So I have started this little project to collect some old stories about
our guild which happened before the fall of the guardians, some even
before the great migration. Not all of them are accurate, as it is very
hard sometimes to get the information, so if you have different
information or would like to add anything, feel free to share it.
- Sage Faldu of the Druids, Winter 1518 -
Part 1 - the North
The Waterfall and the Norden circle of the ancient
The northern circle of the ancient has not always been at the site where
we find it today. A long time ago, before the era of the great
migration, the circle was located on the grassy knoll in the park of
Gahlen.
The stories tell of a conflict between the Seneschal of Gahlen and the
druid guild. Brother Cyndotsin told me the story that the Seneschal was
very unpopular at these times, especially among druids, showing a more
or less open dislike for our faith. Things escalated when a druid was
summoned for a trial and the Seneschal asked for a "special fee" to make
sure "justice will be done". Outraged about this act of corruption, the
attendant druids attacked the Seneschal, who was aided by the city
garrison and was able to escape with their help.
As a result, the druids were banned from the city. A few days later,
with the aid of the elves of Quolinara, the circle of the ancient was
moved outside the kingdom borders to the easter forest. Thanks to the
Duchess who always has been a supporter of our faith, and in recognition
of the services of nature faith for Ateraan and Gahlen, there was no
harder punishment, and the druids were allowed to enter the city freely
to spread the word of Ateraan.
Some legends say that the waterfall once was the entry to the old druid
guild. This would explain why druids are still attracted by this site.
However, there are some doubts about this, as the garden of the duchess
was created after the circle has been moved. It is possible that it was
a different waterfall at another location. This will have to be the
topic of further research.
After the fall of the guardians, the borders were newly defined, so the
circle, thought still in the same place, is now on kingdom ground again.
However, as a holy ground of our faith, it is not under kingdom law but
under the jurisdiction of nature faith.
The Winter Tree
Each year around the winter solstice, a magical tree which appears in
the centers of Gahlen and Darmahk. Most people don't spend too much
thought about this miracle and just welcome the silver spikes or
language scrolls they receive from the tree. But we shouldn't forget
that this tree is a given to us directly from Ateraan. And the powers of
the tree go far beyond bringing tasty peppermint liqueur.
We know very few about the powers of the tree, but the dread definitely
fear it as an enemy and try to destroy it. Such happened in winter 1516
when the tree was burned to the ground by those foul creatures and could
only brought back to life by us druids. In winter 1519 the dread destroyed
both trees in the north and the south in two waves of attack.
Also, in the battle against the great destroyer, the tree was a target
of the dread. This was used by the brave defenders of Gahlen for their
advantage. They used the tree to lure the dread to the center of town
and attacked the dread who had stopped moving from all sides with their
battle groups, and finally fought them back.
The crater near the light house
On the cliffs of Lohtsurn, close to the lighthouse but further south
towards the road, a strange crater can be seen. This is the former site
of an old mansion, whose owner, a merchant called Nyle, was one of the
many who failed on his path and thought he could gain power by using the
dread for his own purpose. He studied the dark arts and was killed by
the dread he had summoned. The dread were defeated in a huge battle and
the mansion was burned down, only leaving the crater which still can be
seen. Future generations of druids frequently checked this spot for
dread activities in times of danger, as this is considered a place where
the barriers between the planes is weakened and the dread can break
through again.
The star of Teciann and the Holy Glade
Though the star should be well known to all druids and followers of our
faith, there are some more remarks about it. Though the message of
Teciann is old, the structure is younger than most think. According a
scroll written by a druidess Ayumi of the Brokenness which can be found
in the Gahlen Hall of Fame, it was erected by the elves with the help of
the druid lord after the great migration to teach further generations
about its message. This was in the year 1509 under Archdruid Tharor,
There is another interesting scroll in our old archives, a transcript of
a talk between a druid and a high member of the shaman guild. According
to this, Erelak was not sent to Ateraan by the druids of Teciann. The
story the shamans tells that Erelak was found by his sister Tamareen,
heavily wounded, and she sent him to Ateraan to fulfill his mission.
Tamereen was a companion of the warlock and one of the first malors. It
is possible that the elves of Quolinara changed this part of the story
because of the known rivalry with the malors (and we know that Queen
Kalishandra, though she is without any doubts a honorable person who
aids our faith with all her power, sometimes likes to change some
details of history....)
This story is confirmed by another scroll in the old archives, written
by no one lesser than the legendary Vehk Stumpbottom, leader of the druid
guild and emissary of Domplin. He wrote down what his teacher had told
him, the lore master Evalvys, who was an eye witness of the arrival of
Erelak.
Before the gates to the south were opened, the druids, which in this
time were nothing more a loose group spread all over Ateraan. Then,
suddenly, they were called by a strange voice to the kingdom of
Quolinara, where queen Kalishandra with the prince and the king, the
druid lord and the guardians of nature were gathered. Notable is that
the king was present - most of you know what happened to him later.
The elf lord lead the congregation to a place which at this time was
known as "the heart of Ateraan". There was also a strange being only
referred to as "the Oracle". On the ground, they saw a deadly wounded
druid acolyte who was apparently not of our world - Erelak. Summoning
all his remaining power, he told the druids the terrible tale of his
world and handed over the four tablets. Then he collapsed. Ateraan
opened the earth below him and took his dead body to an eternal rest,
covering the spot with mist. Today, we know this site which bears the
grave of Erelak as the holy glade or the magical center, and only those
devoted to Ateraan are able to enter it.
It also should be mentioned that when the great destroyer arrived, just
before the guardians fell, the old elf lord voluntarily gave his life to
gain us time and saved us from the destruction of our planet. We shall
always be thankful for his noble sacrifice and praise Ateraan who
brought him back after the fall. However, after his death, the holy
glade was sealed and no one could enter it anymore. There seems to be a
deep connection between this guardian of nature and the magical center.
The Eastern forest and Quolinara
The forest area near our guild hall in the kingdom of Quolinara is very
important for our faith. Not only because it is the home of our guild,
the place where we found shelter after we had to leave Gahlen. It has
also seen many battles against the dread. Especially the cool forest
brook seems to attract those creatures. This happened in the so called
summer solstice battle of 1518. The dread attacked on the last day of
the druid summer festival and could only be defeated with the help of
the elven magicians. This is another example where our closest allied,
the elves of Quolinara, have saved us. The Queen has aided nature faith
countless times. So did the three guardians of nature, the blue dragon,
the ancient tree and the old elf lord who we just visited.
The most likely explanation why the forest attacks the dread is that
right here is the entry to the hollows, one of the darkest and most
dangerous places found on Ateraan. Most of you should have heard about
it. The story of this place shall not be reported here, as it is a
tradition of our guild that every sporeling has to unveil this secret on
his own.
But we should consider another aspect. A big dread attack happened in
1516, just after the new wood mill in Pirshah had just started working.
Many people related this attack to the reckless logging and weakening of
the forest. We really should keep this in mind when discussing about
logging and replanting.
In this battle, the dreads were finally defeated by spiritual rituals
performed by both the shamans and the druids. This oddly enough didn't
lead to a closer relationship of both guilds, but rather in a rivalry
which guild is the true defender of Ateraan. This lasted until the big
battle I already mentioned several times today, fought right here in the
eastern forest in the winter of the year 1517. A battle which later
generations have called the fall of the guardians
The fall of the Guardians - Winter 1517
It began with a sudden drain of energy affecting all sapients of
Ateraan. A little white spot appeared high in the sky growing bigger and
bigger. At the same time, the old elf lord sent a beckoning to everyone
to meet him at the forest brook. He foretold the biggest battle this
world had ever seen and announced the arrival of a messenger within the
next day. In an attempt to perform a mighty spell to seal the entry to
the hollows, the elf lord and the druid Kairu sacrificed their lives.
The next day the faith and everyone else prepared for war. Supplies were
gathered, rituals were performed to strengthen the planet. In the
afternoon, the dread broke through the barrier and were fought back by
the brave defenders. In the evening, the foretold messenger arrived -
the warlock of Teciann, a mighty Wizard who already aided Ateraan once
in the past. He announced the arrival of the great destroyer, a creature
that would not only destroy Ateraan but the whole cosmos. To aid him in
his fight. he would choose four people who would never return.
On the third day more preparation for the big war took place. In the
evening, the shamans called everyone to the Boaobab tree, where the
Warlock announced the names of the chosen ones, the guardians - Shora,
high priestess of Waylumi, Ramketh, high priest of Dahkoar, General Kyte
of the Gahlen Garrison, nature devouted, and Warg of the warriors,
emissary of Darmahk. At the same time, Quolinara was under attack. The
city was blocked by an energy field, the defenders could only watch how
the once proud elven city went off in flames. The Guardians were send to
face the dread and the destroyer. In an epic battle which always will
be remembered, they were able to cause heavy damage to the enemy and
gain another victory. However, none of them returned, they all gave
their life for Ateraan.
The next wave of attack came on the morning of the fourth day. The dread
overran the first line of defense in the eastern forest and marched to
Gahlen. The brave defenders fought in the street of Gahlen and were able
to re-conquer the city. But the second attack in the evening was much
harder. Many of the defenders fell, there wasn't much hope to win this
fight. Gahlen had almost fallen when the warlock finally managed to cast
a powerful spell and drive the enemy back.
Knowing the city wouldn't withstand another attack, the warlock spent
the whole next day working on a powerful ritual which either would throw
back the great destroyer to where he came from, or if it failed, would
destroy the planet. The warlock gathered all survivors near the entry of
Quolinara. The ritual was performed with the help of the high priests of
all three religions, calling the aid of the gods themselves. And the
Lord, the Lady and Ateraan themselves gave the congregation a sign to
aid them in their battle. And finally, the enemy of the cosmos was
driven back.
The warlock one last time used his power to shift back the time and
bring back the city of Quolinara. Then he left our world forever. And he
wasn't the only one who left. In the days following the battle, the
brave heroes who survived left the town, branded by the events they had
witnessed, abandoning their guilds, to find peace somewhere else. May
their sacrifice never be forgotten.