There are three trees of power in Aetolia. The Yggdrasil holds power
over life and death, the Tree of Renewal over good and evil, and the
Great Oak over the strength of the wilderness. Since before the memory
of mortals, this last tree stood in a dormant state. This is the tale of
its awakening.

With Lanos lost in the realm of shadows, lesser creatures of darkness
stalked the realm of the Divine. Haern, the Hunter began tracking them
down one by one, and was thus distracted from events in the mortal
world. However, the time had come to awaken the Great Oak and build the
Duiran Council to wield its power, and so the God appeared briefly in
Eleusis to perform the needed ritual.

Drawing His white fur coat tightly around Him, Haern raised Talon, Sword
of the Hunt towards the branches of the Great Oak. The blood-red blade
began to glow with heat as Divine power was infused into it. With
deliberate, precise movements, The Hunter carved a rift in the air
around Him. A cold wind rushed through from beyond and chilled all
present instantly to the bone. A dense cloud of steam quickly formed in
response to the flaming blade.

Tendrils of steam rose up into the Great Oak swirling along every branch
and soon enveloping the entire Tree. The rifts in the air, shaped like
mystical runes, began to mend themselves. Still, the cold wind raged
harshly against the branches like a terrible storm existing only
partially on the mortal plane. Sheathing Talon, Haern raised His arms to
the Oak and began to call upon the powers of the wilderness.

"By the power of the Rhythm, I call upon the spirits of Nature and bind
the wild lands of Aetolia together as one being," said Haern. "As
mortals ravage the world and place hardships upon it, so too shall they
share the burden of its care. Great Oak, I awaken your power and grant
mortals the tools only you can provide."

"Ioho Ruis! Muin! EADHA!" He yelled, and the air reverberated with these
words of power.

With a deafening clap of thunder, the Great Oak began to shake in the
terrible winds. Haern looked pleased at first, but His expression turned
quickly to a slight frown. The vapor among the branches dissipated in a
soft, golden glow and countless leaves were suddenly torn away and flung
high into the sky, then scattered far beyond the horizon. The winds
settled as swiftly as they began, but entire branches left barren.

Haern then spoke to those gathered, saying, "I fear My preparations were
not enough to strengthen the Oak for what was needed. The Tree has been
dormant so long, I knew that the awakening would be near the limit of
what it could tolerate. It is not as bad as it seems however. The Tree
is not so easily damaged. If we retrieve the leaves, it can be restored,
and the power I have infused into it will be plenty to see the Council
established.

"All trees have a spirit guardian, quite similar to the dryads. The
spirit of the Great Oak is particularly strong, and will help us do what
is needed. I will awaken Esus, the Spirit of Sacrifice, the tree spirit
of the Great Oak. Gather the leaves and bring them to him, and all will
be well."

Placing a hand upon the trunk of the Great Oak, Haern whispered soft
words and the bark began to shimmer as a form emerged from the wood.
Nearly insubstantial, the figure of a dryad-like being appeared hovering
in midair before the tree.

Over the months that followed, mortals began gathering the leaves and
returning them to Esus. The spirit absorbed the leaves and returned them
to the branches, and a pulse of red or golden energy passed over the
tree in response. However, few knew the deceit behind the failed ritual
- half the leaves had been altered by some unknown power, and those with
a golden hue served to shatter the hold of Haern over the Oak.

It was during this time that Slyphe approached the Druid Guildmaster,
Gracie, and spoke of Her quarrel with Haern over the Patronage of the
Duiran Council. Haern was unwilling to give Her any role in the Council,
so She revealed to Gracie the means by which the tree's power could be
shared among the Gods, rather than being held solely by Haern.

Haern remained occupied hunting the shadow beasts high above the mortal
world, oblivious to the deceit, until Gracie approached Him and revealed
what was going on. Enraged, Haern left His hunt and investigated the
Oak, during which time many shadow beasts found their way to the mortal
world. Most were slain, but one was captured within Bloodloch, and
remains there still. That, however, is another tale and one not yet come
to resolution.

Conflict was inevitable between the Hunter and the Sea Goddess, and they
each made preparations in their own way. As the confrontation drew near,
Haern summoned birds of prey, and Slyphe drew a great storm in from the
eastern oceans to repel them. Before too much havoc could be wrought on
the mortal world, the two Deities came to meet at the Great Oak and
threatened each other with the strength of their positions.

Many leaves of the Oak had been destroyed by that time, and many leaves
of red hue hidden away from the Hunter. The Oak was nearly awakened and
pulsed with golden energy, too far gone to sway back under His control.
But Haern's followers had claimed enough of the remaining leaves to
prevent the Tree from awakening without their help, and so the Divine
found themselves at an impasse.

After much discussion (and some consultation with the Unseen Force that
had effected the change of the leaves), Haern and Slyphe reached an
agreement to share control of the Duiran Council. Though this sharing of
the council came at a price. For the aid provided by the Unseen Force,
Slyphe had to promise It a favour for the future.

Finally, it was decided that Slyphe would appoint two members to the
council, Haern would appoint two members, and a third member would be
recommended by the mortals (though approved by Haern). Slyphe further
agreed to turn over one of Her members to Lleis, when (and if) She
chooses to walk the realms and to concern Herself with the protection of
the wilderness.

Once the agreement was reached, the Unseen Force used Its power to
remove twenty of the golden leaves from the Great Oak. Haern had His
followers retrieve the red leaves theyd claimed, and He gave them to
Esus to replace the golden leaves that had been removed. Esus, the
Spirit of Sacrifice, melded with the Great Oak, and with a brilliant
pulse of energy, Esus merged into it. Thus the Great Oak was awakened,
spreading the power of its protection throughout the realm, to all the
wild places of Aetolia.

Penned by my hand on the 21st of Midsummer, in the year 63 MA.