The Grove of Reclamation

  

Twilight, in a deep forest, on the edge of a meadow stood a man. The breeze brought forth the bitter sweet smell of the ending of summer and the slight chill of early autumn.  Standing motionlessly he believed he could feel it….. sense it.….yes it was there.  He slowly took a piece of meat from his pocket while gingerly sitting upon the ground.  There he sat that night into the early morn, eyes closed and concentrating.  “Reach with your mind” said Father in his thoughts. While he remembered his Mother saying” Open your heart and allow your true feelings to be the path on which it treads”. So close he thought….maybe their expectations of me are too high.  Images began to flow through his mind, his past, present and the hoped for future, all blending into a stream of consciousness.  As his mind flowed, a warm tingling sensation crept up from the base of his spine into his chest and felt as if it radiated out through his sternum.  While he puzzled this new and wonderful sensation, he noticed the meat that was in his hand had been taken. 

 

As he opened his eyes, before him chewing the meat was a grey wolf.  The wolf finished the meat, sat down in front of him and slowly lowered her head and began to lick his hand.

 

“So the Verdant Lord and Lady were not simply boasting when they spoke of your potential!”  As he stood and turned, he saw an oak tree slowly turn into a familiar form.

 

“Why am I not surprised to find you here Talagrom?”  Before him stood a figure at six feet in height, green eyes and brown bushy eyebrows.  Talagrom also had a single horn protruding from his head, talons, and appeared to be covered in bark. 

 

“Perhaps in your heart of hearts, you know that your parents would not leave you unprotected at this time of turning….because of their love for you.”  Talagrom is one of the Druids of the Order that studied the arcane and tied Ley lines to the forest.  A caster of magic who could draw spells from any type of discipline as if they were the same.  His very form reflects the features of the denizens of the land he tied himself to magically. To challenge him in the forest, none the less within his grove, would be a mistake one would not live to regret.  Many of those who have tried to lay siege to the Granilium have fallen to the simple wave of his hand. 

 

 

Kneeling before the wolf, Talagrom began to make yipping and barking sounds.  The wolf made similar noises towards him in return, bowing slightly towards the wolf he stood.  “Stranng, your companion’s name is Krieal” Talagrom said as he motioned towards the wolf.  “Today you have taken a great step by casting this bond of fellowship. Remember Stranng as much as you have opened your heart, Krieal has done the same, and you would do well never to forget this.”  Talagrom appeared as if he meant to continue with his thought when he cocked his head as if listening to something unheard by man or wolf.  “Stranng, your Verdant Lord and Lady Call upon you, go now with your friend….your parents await you within the Granilium.”  With his last word Talagrom turned and stepped into a nearby tree and disappeared.

 

 

Upon arriving, Stranng found the Verdant Lord Granilium Stromulous and the Verdant Lady Granilium Maeylina awaiting him within the Granilium.  The Granilium appears to most as a stand of very large trees with ebony bark and leaves that are similar to Oak.  What distinguishes the leaf of the Granilium from Oak is the vibrant shade of green and the slender silver lining that surrounds the edge of the leaf.  As Stranng and Krieal approached, Granilium Maeylina gasped as she brought a hand to her mouth and clasped her husband’s arm with the other.

 

“Behold my love; it is as we had hoped, his power has grown.” 

 

Bending down towards the wolf, Granilium Stromulous held out his hand so the wolf could smell it. As he stood, Stranng could see a broad smile upon his father’s face.  Clasping his son’s shoulder, “You have cast the bond, amid three days’ search with no sleep and plagued with self doubt. We are so proud of you” Granilium Stromulous continued. 

 

Stranng looked at both his parents, as he absent-mindedly ran his hand down the back of Krieal, “Thank you Verdant Mother and Father.”  

 

“You have blossomed during your time of turning my son, this turning has lead you to a path divided…a choice.”  Granilium Maeylina continued, “Will you come to join the Order of the Granilium of your free will and choice?” 

 

Stranng replied without hesitation, “Yes.”  

 

Granilium Stromulous continued in pace where his wife left off, “Will you swear to protect the Granilium, the denizens within and the natural balance of all living things?”

 

“I do so swear!” Stranng answered.

 

In unison, Granilium Maeylina and Stromulous asked” Above all else will you hold fast Her will, will you hold open your heart to Gaea?”

 

Stranng undoubting proclaimed “Yes, with an open heart my will shall be as Her’s!”  

 

Within Granilium Maeylina’s hands appeared a chalice, within Granilium Stromulous’s hands a leaf of the Granilium.  Stranng’s father placed the leaf within the chalice; Granilium Maeylina placed one hand over the chalice and chanted in Druidic.  When she came to silence she offered the chalice to Stranng, “Drink and become one, drink and become Granilium Stranng.”  Stranng took the chalice and drank deeply.

 

As Stranng finished drinking, he saw his parents beaming at him and each turned to look into one another’s eyes.  His Father turned his head towards him, “Granilium Stranng it is ironic that you passed through your initiation this day.” 

 

“What is so ironic Verdant Father?” Granilium Stranng asked inquisitively. 

 

The Verdant Lady answered “My son, within the folds of the Granilium hide many secrets.  As you know, the Granilium appears to be a stand of trees and these stands appear in several places through out this plane.  Some of these stands are as vast as some forests, some as small as a beaver’s pond.  Most of our race do not know that the Granilium is one tree, of one root system, a sacred and holy symbol of Her unity and beauty.” 

 

“Yes Verdant Mother, I know this.” answered Granilium Stranng. 

 

“Today you witness a sacred ritual that is the very root of this Grove and Order” said Granilium Stromulous. 

 

“As our race builds their villages and castles, as they turn stands of trees into fields to sow wheat and raise beasts, they diminish the forest.  As the forest recedes, the denizens left behind fall prey to our brothers as predators” Granilium Maeylina continued. 

 

“The Verdant kind of this Order and Grove, who are of human descent, are called upon to bring balance to this.  Through the Ritual of Reclamation, we join the Granilium in body as we did in mind and soul when we entered.  In order to give back what was taken by our human sisters and brothers” The Verdant Father told his son.

 

Granilium Stranng’s face twisted with anger. “Why sacrifice your selves in order to safeguard their IGNORANCE!!!” he said in a voice wracked with pain.  Drawing forth his scimitar, “Why should we not cut them ALL down as they would claim wheat from a field!!!” 

 

Granilium Stromulous addressed his son, “So you propose genocide as a solution?”  

 

“I WOULD CAST ASIDE MY HUMANITY IN ORDER TO SLAY EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM. THEY BELIEVE THE MOTHER TO BE DEAD…THEY HAVE MADE THEIR OWN GODS!” he bellowed at his father as he sliced open his hand. “I swear upon my life, my very blood that I sha…I sha..,” the recent initiate fell to his knees. “I…I do not want to lose either of you” at this he held his hands to his head and sobbed. 

 

His mother kneeled beside him, murmured a phrase in Druidic and gently touched her son’s hand.  The jagged and bleeding wound began to glow and closed.  “My son, all life changes and transforms into anew. It is the way of the circle. You will lose neither me nor your Father. How many edges of the Granilium can you protect with your scimitar?  How many men are you ready to fight, how many women are you prepared to slaughter, how many babes will you butcher?” The Verdant Lady said. 

 

“Your Mother and I chose this path. This is the way in which we are called to protect the balance, the Granilium and Gaea. You are right my son, they have forgotten Gaea, along with their place within the circle. They are the stewards who have forgotten their role, forgotten how to live in harmony with nature.  You would do well to remember that all living things have their place,” Granilium Stromulous said with a face filled with determination.

 

The Verdant lady continued as her husband’s voice trailed off “With your words and deeds you can change the hearts of one hundred men for every one you would slay.  The choice is yours. Will you pursue Gaea’s power in order to attempt to destroy humanity or to return them to their place of stewardship?”

 

“The irony lies in that, as you pass from one stage of life to another, we will as well,”  the Verdant Lord said.  He then picked his son up and hugged him; the Verdant Lady kissed him gently upon his cheek.  The couple turned and walked, hand in hand, into the Granilium.  Granilium Stranng could barely make out the outline of his parents' forms as they transformed into two mighty trunks and began to take root.

 

As Granilium Stranng turned to leave the Granilium with Krieal, a multifaceted voice entered his mind as a whisper on a breeze.  It sounded as it were hundreds of voices entwined into one; he could recognize his parents' voices within.  “Seek the gypsy whose tongue massages the very skein of fate. Seek Cattalinia.” 

 

“Mother, Father..?” Granilium Stranng quietly muttered.

 

“Yes, and much more. You are now tied to the Grove…to the one tree.  There is as much strength in you as there is wisdom. This is your path.  Return when your heart is no longer divided. You will never be alone…you are one.”

 

 

Three weeks of hard travel through forest, over mountain and across plains finds Krieal and Granilium Stranng on the outskirts of a ruined castle, at the edge of twilight.  He sees a dwelling amongst the ruin, smoke rising from its chimney.  As they approach, a creaking sign is heard swinging over the door.  The Sign reads Caer Falken Inn. Granilium Stranng absent mindedly strokes Krieal’s back as he reads it.  With a look down at his companion, Granilium Stranng rests one hand on the hilt of his scimitar as he pushes the door open.