Legends of Belariath

Quilain Dreamstrike

The Search for the Forces of Nature

Part 1

It was a quiet night within the shadows of Unigo's library, snow continued to blanket the grounds outside the large tower as the sylvan elf, Quilain Dreamstrike, studied within the library. The title of the opened book before him: Legends of Gaea and Nature.

He had felt a strange calling in the past few weeks, but the sensations he had felt were incredibly vague and highly confusing. In order to follow this calling, he had to find the forces of nature to receive her power... It was all he had to go off of... It was the one thing he knew... Other books on the table before him concerned various subjects like local legends of rangers and druids, general forest folklore, and Legends of the Kingdom of Belariath.

It has been nearly a week since he had felt the calling within the depths of his soul grow stronger, compelling him to head into the depths of the forest. He had hesitated however, not wanting to blindly head off into the depths of the forest without any information whatsoever. The vague mentioning of the forces of nature compelled him to learn what he could before he left to follow the guiding force within his soul.

It was long into the seventh night of his research before he found what he was looking for. He had located a faint reference to a triumvirate called "The Forces of Nature", but nothing much more after that. There was one other reference found within, an ancient order of those chosen by Gaea to become true guardians of her creations by the name of the Nature's Protectors.

Still, it wasn’t much to go off of, but he did have a clue as to where he may have been able to find more information. He placed the books he had already searched through back onto their shelves, keeping out the book he had located the references within.

With the knowledge he had gathered over the years from experiences he figured that this so called order would consist of races close to Gaea... with this in mind he automatically cut out Dark elves, goblins, ogres, trolls, and magi. After a good deal of thought he also cut out High elves, as they were far too haughty to be close to nature; and a good deal of the human race, they were just too self centered... With the remaining races in mind he gathered the various tomes on those particular races' histories, and started the second phase of his research.

Though the most logical place to look would be history tomes on the tathren, it was highly doubtful that any books on tathren history were well kept. So for now he settled on searching through sylvan elvish history. Once again he was only able to locate vague references that the "Forces of Nature" were a triumvirate of people. Finally it was made clear to him that it was his task, set upon him by Gaea, to seek out these so called Forces of Nature.

So he was on a start, one of the "Forces" was rumored to be a sylvan elf from before the separation wars. He couldn’t complete his research on his own, he needed someone who knew a library inside and out. Someone that could easily help him find what he needed. He had to go to the Guild of Signet and Song and find Prydain Mozenwrathe...

He approached the large doors of the Guild of Signet and Song, throwing them open and walking inside amidst a swirl of cold air and snow before closing the doors behind him, making his way to the library. After a few spoken words with the ever annoyed and always angry Prydain, he was led to a specific book that contained within it exactly what he sought: the legend of the Forces of Nature as well as the history of the Nature's Protectors.

Having found the information he sought, he had started to make his way out of the library, only to be stopped by Prydain, as he had chosen to give something to Quilain in order to help him should he ever be in such dire straits to use it. It was a scroll, written in the blood of a Sinner, supposedly Prydain's own, that would allow him to gain the attention of one of a few number of goddesses mentioned on the scroll. It was a powerful gift indeed, but not something to be used lightly...

The information was gathered, and though he still needed to make final preparations, he needed to say goodbye to those close to him. He moved toward the Healer's Guild, figuring he would find who he was looking for. Upon entering, he spoke with Mayalaya in the lounge. It was a sad conversation, as Quilain did not know if he would return despite Prydain's words. After speaking with her, and with a slightly heavier heart, he moved through the hallways of the

guild, searching looking for the dryad he had come to befriend during his time here, finally spotting Soolana in the waiting room. During their conversation, a promise was made. Quilain would do what he could to send messages back to the Healer's Guild whenever he could. He was also given a silver ring, bearing the sigil of the Healer's Guild. It was Soolana's first guild ring. Along with this, several locations of fruits and provisions were revealed to him. Once more, he left another friend behind, and the weight on his heart grew, he dreaded approaching the herbal preparation room, where he knew his daughter would be...

He looked inside as he approached, and spotted what would be the hardest one to say farewell too. His daughter, Angelica Catpaws, sat within, working quietly as she fixed up some medical teas. He had only just met her around three months ago. Before then he had no clue he had ever had a child. Now, he was forced to leave her, with the thought he might not ever see her again. Despite this, Gaea's pull on his soul was greater, and he pulled away and finally left, tears in his eyes from the conversation, and returned to Unigo to complete his final preparations.

Once there he spent a small amount of time making sure his sword, dagger, and arrow tips were sharpened. After that, he headed toward Unigo's kitchen to gather enough food to last him for a full month. Finally he was ready to leave. He stopped by the weapon shop of Nanthalion to leave a message for Ehlanna explaining his sudden disappearance. After that was done he solemnly walked to the edge of the forest, looking back once more to the place he had made so many friends at... and then he vanished into the shadows of the forest in the darkness of night, traveling northward at Gaea's whim as a single tear fell to the ground...

Part 2

Many days had passed since Quilain left the boundaries of Nanthalion. For weeks he had traveled north, and at each town he happened to stop by, he would find a way to send a message to the Healer's Guild of Nanthalion. After all, he did promise Soolana he would do so.

Eventually the time came that he left the boundaries of civilization altogether, finding himself in wild, unsettled territory. Violent encounters became commonplace, as he would constantly run into goblins, orcs, trolls, ogres, and even a few stray barbarians. He was always wary of where he slept, finding himself slipping back into his old techniques that he would always use to allow him to find rest within the forest and the mountains that were traversed. He would find himself meditating instead of truly sleeping. While it was not as restful, it did take him longer to recover the same amount of energy if he were to actually be asleep. The benefits however, were that he was able to bolt awake at a moment's notice, ready to deal with the threat presented to him. Or, if it was too much for him to deal with, to run away.

He would, however continue to travel north, always following the pull at the depths of his soul. He didn't know why Gaea wanted him to locate these "Forces of Nature", but she must have her reasons.

He felt the sudden urge to stop... and just as he did an arrow streaked past his face, burying into the trunk of the tree beside him. He realized that in following and concentrating solely on the sensations within his soul, he ignored the single most important rule of surviving in the woodlands; always stay alert...

He looked up at the goblin archer in the trees, and saw the second arrow, a kill shot, pointed at him and ready to fire. The rustling in the bushes alerted him to the presence of more goblins. Around then, ten more of the ugly little creatures emerged into the clearing, swords bared and more than ready to run the elf through should he try anything. One at the back, supposedly the leader, suddenly spoke up. "Whys is youses come into Seroksess lands!"

The goblin apparently named Serok didn't seem to be in the mood to negotiate, and within the depths of his soul Quilain felt a sincere urge to strike down this goblin for crimes unknown to him.

Before his thoughts could proceed anymore the tension was shattered. An arrow shot out of nowhere, striking Serok through the hollow of his throat just before he was about to sound an attack. Though he was staring at the goblin archer, it looked around in a panic for its previous target, as if he was not even there. Just about that time he felt something grab his shoulder, just before a wave of dizziness and the sudden and very powerful urge to sleep swept over his mind and body. He went out like a light, never even expecting the attack. The last thing he heard before he went completely unconscious were the very loud battle cries of a single elf and a growling wolven along with the death screams of goblins...

Part 3

Quilain had awoken sometime the next morning and realized immediately that he was not alone. Sitting up he also realized that not only was he missing his clothing and equipment, but there was a naked dryad beside him. At the far end of the clearing a tanned sylvan elf wearing a gray cloak and a gray furred wolven sat speaking to each other in a language that appeared to be a mixture of extremely ancient elven, tathren, and wolvish. The both glanced over at Quilain and simply smirked and chuckled slightly.

About then the dryad at his side stirred slightly and sat up. Her snow colored hair flowed well past the small of her back, her skin almost the same color as her hair, she smiled and leaned over to kiss Quilain on the cheek before hopping up and moving toward the other two with her full breasts topped with dark brown and very stiff nipples from the cold bouncing around vibrantly. The smell of sex filled the air of the clearing and he realized that the spell that put him to sleep had also apparently kept him out long enough but allowed his body to react to outside stimulation without completely waking up. Though now that he thought about it he did have a rather erotic dream that night that dealt with the dryad he saw before him.... realizing he had never seen her before this point in time.

Finally the dryad turned to him, flashing him a soft smile before finally speaking, "Well young elf, welcome... now that various needs have been erm... met...." She blushes slightly while the elf and wolven beside her simply grin and chuckle, "Perhaps introductions can be made... I am Silverleaf, the sylvan elf is known as Selarin Aeoryn, and the wolven is Stormclaw. Though, the legends seem to have named us Nature's Caregiver, Nature's Revenge, and Nature's Rage.... respectively...."

About this time Selarin spoke up, a small amount of mirth in his voice, "You would think a couple of millennia would have decreased her sex drive... guess she was looking for some fresh meat... apparently she doesn’t get enough of us eh Stormy?" At that the wolven explodes in a massive roar of laughter as Silverleaf quite suddenly turns and pushes Selarin over the tree stump he was currently sitting upon. "Oh you two! if you would find some new ways for double penetration it might not be so boring every time!"

Quilain simply quirked an eyebrow, if these were the legendary "Forces of Nature", would they really be acting like this? Needless to say Quilain's expectations were shattered. Then again, he couldn't blame them... They had been alive and bonded together for well over two millennia... at least that’s what the legends say. A rather heated discussion about various positions for double penetration occurred between the three as Quilain quietly got dressed, donning his equipment afterwards and then cleared his throat to get their attention. All three of them turned to look at him, their previous conversation having ended just moments before. Quilain finally spoke, "If you are the Legendary Forces of Nature, then you should know by now..."

He was cut off in mid-sentence by Silverleaf, "That Gaea has sent you to find us, but you do not know why. Yes we know all about you Quilain Dreamstrike. Gaea led you to us, and us to you, because you have been chosen by Gaea to become a Nature's Protector..." Quilain simply blinked, Silverleaf had shifted from a dryad only concerned with getting laid to becoming incredibly serious in the span of a few moments. Then she giggled, so apparently it didn’t last to long. She spoke again shortly afterward. "For today we will rest and relax, and let you get used to your new surroundings."

She giggled again just before Stormclaw spoke up, "If that’s the case you might just want to leave your clothing off Quilain, knowing Silver's voracious sexual appetite..." That comment made Silverleaf giggle once more before playfully slapping Stormclaw's shoulder. The rest of the day was uneventful except for the orgy every twenty minutes... Needless to say Quilain slept rather well that night... Well, whenever they got sleep that was...

The next morning the mood had changed drastically, Quilain was woken up by Selarin a good two hours before dawn, and leaving the others to sleep, led Quilain on an incredibly long run, not stopping unless Quilain passed out, or until they had entered their destination clearing sometime several hours after sunrise. After returning, the physically exhausted Quilain would finally let his body rest, as his mind would be trained from mid-morning to mid-afternoon by Silverleaf in the use of magic and of the abilities he would have to master as a Nature's Protector. Mentally and spiritually exhausted, but rested, he would then spar Stormclaw from mid-afternoon until midnight. Completely exhausted by the day's activities, Quilain would finally be allowed to rest as much as the ever-horny dryad would allow him. To Quilain's surprise, the beautiful dryad's sweet fluids seemed to act like a revitalizing tonic to his body, sustaining his need for food and water while at the same time revitalizing his body, allowing him to be ready for the next day's activities so that when Selarin would awaken him for his run, he would be fully refreshed and ready to go.

The same routine occurred every day for nearly two months straight. During this entire time he felt himself growing stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. He had learned to draw not only upon the folds of mana to cast spells, but on the faith of his goddess to use the powers she had bestowed upon him. Along with this, Selarin and Stormclaw took time during their parts of training to instruct him on various battle tactics that a protector would normally use and in what situations.

Eventually the day came where Quilain simply knew that his time was at an end... he felt complete within the depths of his soul. He had become a Nature's Protector, that he was now a member of a very ancient and nearly extinct order.

Now, he knew it was time to leave those that had trained him, Gaea pulled at his soul to lead him to another destination, and he could not delay as he did before. His morning runs had always ended up in a different clearing than the one they had left. Due to this, Quilain had no idea where he was, or what he was close too, he only knew what direction he had to travel in. So he turned to Silverleaf for help...

She simply smiled and nodded, reaching up to kiss him gently on the lips. She knew where the goddess wanted him. She took his hand, and led him toward the large tree in the center of their current clearing, Quilain waving farewell to Stormclaw and Selarin as he moved toward the tree with her. They returned with a slight nod as Silverleaf spoke a few quiet words, and stepped into the tree, pulling him in with her.

They stepped out of another tree, and Quilain immediately felt the tugging in his soul cease. A moment later, a sensation one would feel when returning home after a long absence swept over him, but he did not know if it was his own feeling, or one that Gaea had imparted to him to tell him that this would be his area to protect.

A moment later he noticed lights in the distance off to his left... and the top of an extremely familiar white tower in the distance to the right of his position. The wave of sensations swept over him again, and he realized it was both. Gaea had placed him here to help protect the forests of Nanthalion as a Nature's Protector.

A moment later he felt a gentle kiss on the cheek as Silverleaf spoke quietly, "May the Goddess keep you safe Protector of Nature, It was enjoyable, but your place is here now... Farewell handsome elf..." She smiled and give his crotch a gentle squeeze before turning and walking back to the tree they had both exited, stepping within and vanishing.

The white and gray cloaked elf smiled. Despite the fact that he felt alone for the time being, already missing the presence of the seemingly ever-horny dryad, he was home, and he was supremely relieved that he did not leave those that he cared for so deeply. His business away from home done, his training complete, his purpose found, he moved quietly in the direction of the inn, the steps of the Nature's Protector perfectly silent against the grass, leaves, and twigs of the forest ground...

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