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7th Frost, 4621

Terrified.

The moments of the battles of nameless reptilian creature he laid his eyes upon in the badlands. It was daunting to say the least, yet Caladrin made his way alone; away from the political chessboard known as Entente Square. He took a moment to gather his thoughts as he had been terrified by family prospects. He was terrified of failure, ruin and the mistakes he could make along the way; a path that had lead him in extreme cases of social anxiety when out in public. He chose to keep himself to himself at times, although the only one who appeared to understood his pain was his stepfather, Tyrik. He stood amongst a pond, surrounded by lilies, freesias and other blooming flowers as he contemplated his thoughts.

He stared at the sunsetting in the distance as he exhaled deeply, closing his eyes. The wind blew in the direction as he remained hooded within his Entente garbs. A gold-lined jacket with floral patterns intertwining symmetrically with his buttons along with feathered epaulets, followed by a golden facemask, which covered half of his face. He had been well decorated with the status, although he had nothing to show for it. He possessed magic, but he wasn't powerful like most of the great mages within his family. It was difficult for him, especially since only the most powerful Sil'Norai climbed the ranks of the Entente; the pressure was on him to become powerful; to become a paragon of his family.

There was one thing he didn't have in common however; the access to a rare magic which had been lost to the generations of Sil'Norai, during the Bleeding of Venedak. A magic which is now common within the groves of Vendigad. However, he thought the magic was a joke; to grow flowers and maintain the land was something a powerful mage would want to hear? The naivety and underestimation of his magic had lead him to believe his magic was nothing more than a curse.

"What's the matter?" A calming baritone voice brought upon him as Caladrin looked behind him. A Hyr'Norai man stood before him in Entente garbs as he walked towards him "Tyrik... Or should I say, father..." He acknowledged as he stared bitterly into the sunset, yet there was darkness to his voice. Perhaps, there was some sort of maliciousness to his voice, or maybe his voice had a natural contrabass tone to it. Either way, Tyrik would never know if he had upset his stepson or simply pleased him. It was always hard to tell with Caladrin, with the way he conducted himself. He remained poise, often swallowing his own pride when it came to matters with his family and other Entente. He reacted passively aggressively towards his father

"Something troubling you?"

"Nothing..."

"You can't lie to me, I know there is."

"I said nothing." His voice boomed, although his tone gave him away. There was a problem, one that Caladrin kept close to his chest at all times. His shoulders were tense with stress as he could feel the tension rising through him "I just want to be alone..." He said with a deep sigh as there was a sternness to his look as he glared at the sunset in the distance. The Daravinic sky had commenced it's magic hour as hues of pink and purple littered the sky. It was a magical scene, which Caladrin had used to take his mind of the current situation. However, Tyrik watched him as he tilts his head for a moment "It's about your mark isn't it... You're having doubts, Caladrin..." He sighed.

"Don't doubt it, it's a rare gift... A gift that one day you'll return to your people."

Caladrin's look lit up as he looked back at his stepfather for a moment with both annoyance in intrigue, he turned around and sat next to him as he sighed deeply "How is it a gift? Explain it to me..." He asked as he looked back at Tyrik. He sighed for a moment as he looked back at him "Years ago, Caladrin. Before the Bleeding, all elves had access to this magic. The golden elves, the lord elves and even the Fae; they all had the ability of life. It was a gift passed on by three gods. Malek, Azunath and Y'shendra." Caladrin looked at him with anger in his eyes "Don't speak of their names, father, you'll become a blasphemer, especially out in public; theres always someone peeping over your shoulder." He said with a glare, knowing that he had been faithful to Ulendeaism since his birth. His father remained quiet as he looked at him "My point is, it's a gift of life. You just need to have patience, you know as much as I do. Magic is not something that will instantly make you powerful. You must train it, like a muscle in the body." He nodded.

"Come, theres much to teach"

Caladrin looked confused for a moment as he followed him further, on the outskirts of Amoren, where they wouldn't be disturbed.

He followed the older Hyr'Norai man as he watched him walk with such arrogance. It appeared to be a common trait of the high elves. However, there was a question that pondered in the young Sil'Norai's mind. Why was his magic lost to his race? What caused such atrocity to happen. The young Sil'Norai wanted to learn more; interestingly, they arrived at a clearing where there was plenty of wildlife, the perfect place for a druid to begin training "So you lead me here, but you haven't answered one question..." He asked with such curiosity as he looked around at the grove.

"Why was such a magic lost to the Sil'Norai."

Tyrik turned his head in intrigue as he looked over at the other male "I wouldn't know, but some say it was the Bleeding of Venedak that caused such catastrophe, eventually the Fall of Silor happened and thats about all I can remember; its one of the reasons why such events affected the Sil'Norai so badly, many Sil'Norai who escaped Sil Elaine, made a pilgrimage to Vendigad; to see Lachrann herself." He added as he closed his eyes, reminiscing on the tranquil skys "The magic has a tragic past, but it's growing and it needs it's help. One day, you may be the one who returns it to the people of Sil Elaine" Caladrin crossed his arms and smiles "What makes you sure of such a thing? You say it as if I'm going to fulfill that role, I might not... I might strive for other conquests. How can you be sure that I'm cut out for such a task?" He asked.

Tyrik sighed as he looked at the other man, shaking his head "You are too consumed by greed, Caladrin. Maybe one day you'll understand." He said as there was more pressing matters to attend to.

His training.

Tyrik eventually looked out into the distance noticing the white rabbits preparing their nests for hibernation as he looks at the other man "I'm unable to teach you practically for my magical strength was waned after an incident; it would be best to learn it for yourself, but... First lesson, absorbing life energy from creatures and living things." He paused for a moment as he looked around "Firstly, in order for the life tether to fully attach itself to a being, they must be bound, willing or simply near death." He stated as he paced back and forth; ensuring Caladrin was watching. He made eye contact for a moment before he stared back.

He explained even further about the concept of life energy as Caladrin had his full attention on his father, who was an experienced druid "The reason why, is because life is sentient. The life tether takes so long to connect to a living being, unless they are near death that if they are sentient." Tyrik sat down as he nodded "The first lesson, to begin to make plants sentient..." He said as he used his ability to uproot a small tree root for Caladrin to begin practicing upon. He was confused; why did his father uproot a tree root for him? What is the purpose of this exercise.

"Tether to the plant, as if you would drain it..."

That moment, Caladrin would channel his energy as he created a ball of green etheric energy and threw it at the tree root. It created a tether between the plant and Caladrin. He was tethered to the plant, but he did not drain the plant. The ether burnt within him as the longer he was tethered the more of his resources he would begin to drain "Now what, I feel some sort of connection to the plant, it's light and..." He paused as he moved his hand, noticing that the plant moved freely with it's movement. A rabbit eventually came close to the sentient plant as Caladrin saw an opportunity, he used the tree root quickly to snatch it and wrap it in it's tree root, holding it in place.

"Yes! You've got it, now tether to the creature..."

Caladrin looked at Tyrik for a moment as he uses a burst of ether to generate a ball of green energy before he throws it at the rabbit. The helpless rabbit was now tethered as Caladrin initiated the procedure to drain the rabbit. A glittering turquoise energy came out as if it's soul degraded as he watched it get weak, however Caladrin strained as this was too much for him. The rabbit had aged a considerable amount as he watched the half shrunken homunculus die in front of him.

"You've mastered it... Come, lets go back..." He said as Tyrik wrapped his arm around Caladrin's shoulder. However, Caladrin felt his etheric strength wane, but there was so much more to learn on his journey of magic. This was just the beginning.

Regular Experience: 2 EXP

Magical Experience: 3 EXP (Druidism)

Injury/Ailments: 1 Mageblight

Awarded Lore:
Druidism: Patron God, Malek
Druidism: The Magic of the Elven Race
Druidism: Sentience in Plants
Druidism: The Basics of Entangling
Druidism: Life must be Bound, willing or near death to drain.
Druidism: The Life Tether.

The Bleeding of Venedak.
The Fall of Silor

Loot: N/A

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