Several months ago, the residents of the Western Celidon Forest began to
notice a larger crop of dying trees than normal. Their concern peaked
upon hearing wails in the forest, leading them to dryads dying as the
health of the forest continued to fail. Then Phoenix Crest started to
rumble, their cavernous haven shaking beneath their feet. The caverns
connecting to Tybur Quarter opened, revealing a mysterious elf named
Merindiel who told them about his mission to heal the ailing Celidon
forest through a dryad tree. The shadowy elf calls the Adesdri Forest
home, a small underground forest in Celidon that has long been hidden.

In his hurry to heal the forest, Merindiel briefly explained the
sacrifice of a young dryad named Lorlis. Long in the past, the malicious
ravages of the Horde had left the Celidon forest damaged and diseased.
Lorlis gave her own life essence for the forest that she loved. The
tears of the forest and its inhabitants from the noble sacrifice of
Lorlis formed three spheres called the Orbs of Adesdri. They were given
to one elf, one dryad, and one centaur, who used the orbs to fortify the
dryad tree, which in turn gave strength to the surrounding forests with
the Phoenix Reaches.

He explained there was a new threat; the intrusion of mortal-kind upon
the forests, slowly cutting away at the roots and poisoning the soil. At
his request, the dryads had attempted to contact their sister Lorlis
through her tree, which tragically backfired and ended in their deaths.
Merindiel pleaded with those in attendance to help him find the orbs and
they readily agreed. He bid them collect three orbs - the Arda, A'lu,
and A'nor. Gelf was sent to the dryads, Nyeire to the centaurs, and
Risca and Skye to the elves. He had pieces of medallion for Gelf and
Nyeire as a symbol of their mission for those who have the orbs. All
that he could tell Risca and Skye was that the descendents of the elves
with the orb had moved to the Trabine Reserve some time ago.

Having been given the medallion of the waters, Gelf came across a pair
of dryads who were going about their daily business. When asked if they
had any knowledge of the orb, they directed her to one of their sisters
who was mourning for those that had recently died within the dryad
burial grounds.

At first, the mourning dryad was not interested in being distracted from
her prayers, but when Gelf gave her the medallion of the waters the
reasons behind her sister's deaths became clear to her and she agreed to
provide the long hidden orb through an ancient ritual that included the
spirits of her ancient ancestors. With the orb of A'lu in hand, Gelf set
off to join her councilmates in the Nocteil Glades where they were
having troubles with convincing the centaurs to aid them in their quest.

Nyeire reached the centaurs and was eventually directed to a centaur
priestess. The initial ritual failed, however, and the priestess stated
that she needed a stronger promise that they would protect the Adesdri
and dryad tree. Nyeire urged her councilmates to join her, until Gelf,
Risca, Skye, Moriana, Mikihide, Narithia, Lyn, Azlyn, and Fergus
attended the ritual. Giving some of her blood to the earth, the
priestess summoned a crimson sunflower with the Orb of Arda within.
Handing it to Nyeire, the centaur priestess asked if a few of her
sisters could join them in vigil over the Adesdri, adding a new breed of
guards to Celidon Council.

Now in search of their final orb, they group set off for Trabine, where
Nyeire spoke to Davin, the Sylayan Mage in search of clues, who
mentioned that a hermit in the local area by the name of Jhilk was of a
bloodline that traced back to the early days of the Celidon Council.

It wasn't long before a small crowd had gathered before Jhilk who was
noticeably worried by her sudden notability and popularity. Only through
constant comforting and gentle probing, Jhilk finally revealed that she
did indeed hold the last orb that they were searching for, however she
made them promise to leave her be if she gave it to them. With a
hastened agreement formed, Jhilk rolled the orb of A'nor towards Skye. A
sigh of relief could be heard from the grotto as the party left.

With all of the orbs, Merindiel summoned an opening to the underground
Adesdri forest right in Celidon Council! The orbs spun around the
Adesdri tree upon being dropped on the ground and gave it new life, in
turn healing the Western Celidon Forest. Merindiel handed the
guardianship of Adesdri and the protection of the wilderness to the
people of the Phoenix Reaches, he retired to his Adesdri, calling upon
native Huntresses of the forest to aide them.

With the forest healed, the residents of Celidon Council could once
again relax, but only for a moment knowing they must always be vigilant
for the damage that others could bring to their world, but confident
with the addition of new guards and friends.

Penned by my hand on the 14th of Bellum, in the year 486 AD.