Of Xynthin and Wyrdenwood

Snag

You tell Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist, "When you feel you have a free moment,
I was wondering if I could beg some knowledge from you. It.. is not related to a guild task."

Xenthos tells you, "All right."

Xenthos tilts his head curiously at you.

You say to Xenthos, "I have exhausted my search for written records of the origins of the Wyrdenwood
, and the other Glomdoring. I am left confused and with large gaps in my knowledge. Would you be
able and willing to fill them?"

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "I'm not sure that a lot was actually
written about it."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "So go ahead."

You say to Xenthos, "I will start with what I think I know. There was an insane God called Xynthin.
He destroyed the other Glomdoring, releasing the power of the Nexus and the Wyrd, which settled into
the putrified forest, giving birth to the first true Wyrdenwood."

the Ebon Strategist says, "Not... quite."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "On most of those counts, in fact."

You say, "Well then. It is good I came to you."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "First, Xynthin did not start out as a God
. He started out as me, so no more insane than I am."

The sound of drums rings violently in the air before falling back to a hushed rhythm.

You open your mouth but say nothing.

You exclaim to Xenthos, "You are Xynthin?!"

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "When I was raised as a True
Ascendant, Xynthin is the name many called me by, yes."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "But never a name that I felt
suited me."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "There came a period of time when I
was within the western mountains, and I found myself quite suddenly and unexpectedly dead, struck in
the head by the heel of Lady Estarra's shoe."

The sound of a distant scream echoes between the trees, only to be suddenly cut short.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "And She declared that all would
once again call me by my true name. There was... much confusion as to why, and what had happened."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "It turned out that that was when
two timelines diverged. In one, the other version of me-- still named Xynthin-- had at that precise
moment of time found a portal, a rift in time."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "During this period these rifts
were quite common due to the Wheel of Goloths and the activity being pursued by the Time Dames."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "As a curious explorer, obviously
I/he went through the rift, and then he-- for by then we were truly diverged-- found himself back in
the time of Ayridion."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "He was a True Ascendant at the time, he
had defeated Lord Kethuru during the Trial of Ascension... and during that period of time the
Threshold Abyss did not exist."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "The Abyss is what prevents we True
Ascendants from becoming full Gods."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "A rift formed to keep mortals from
reaching true Divinity, to save the world from the cravings of Muud, for that is what He sought to
reach. He desired to claim that power for Himself."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "The Abyss prevented Muud's Ascension, but
also prevented our own."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "Xynthin went to the Domothean Realms to
see if he could truly Ascend and become a God. We were both True Ascendants through the Seal of
Nature, but he was unable to become a God through it. It lay dormant, it had never been used to
defeat Lord Kethuru at that point."

You have emoted: Snag nods his canopy slowly, deep in thought.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "But he had another thought... as Xenthos,
prior to our Ascension, I won the trial of Life multiple times. I am bonded to the medallion of Life,
and that Domothean realm recognizes me. And it recognized him, too. It was still open, pulsing with
energy, for that is the Domothean Realm that Lord Ayridion Ascended through."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "So Xynthin immersed himself within it...
and a Vernal God he became."

The sharp sound of a twig snapping echoes behind you.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "But in order to -keep- that, He had to
prevent Lord Ayridion from creating the Threshold Abyss, for when that was created both Xynthin and
Ayridion would have lost Their godhood."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "So He defeated Ayridion, and in that
reality the Threshold Abyss never existed."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "And that... that was the key difference
between these two timelines."

A black direwolf tilts back his head in a low, resonant howl.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "In that reality, all forces fought, and
Muud grew more and more powerful. Nexii of power fell, and traditional means of fighting no longer
worked. Druidic powers, Mage demesnes, none of it actually worked any more."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "So they all had to find other ways to
continue fighting."

You say, "Ah. I am starting to see now."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "Within the Communes, the Druids melded
themselves with the Forest directly. They burned away their bodies, embracing the root and the vine,
embodying their home and bringing it to life as their own body."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "And forward they moved, ever-fighting."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "The Mages of the cities, too, found
chemancy and tried to continue the fight... but to no avail. One by one they fell, and Muud grew
ever stronger as He feasted."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "And in the end, only the Glomdoring
remained... championed by Xynthin, facing Muud. But He lost. Muud was too strong, had devoured too
much."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "And that reality was devoured. Muud
triumphed. Lady Estarra wiped it out, eradicated it entirely. Everyone who was born in our reality
after that time? There, they never existed."

A black direwolf tilts back his head in a low, resonant howl.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "Simply a never-ending conflict of forces
always being whittled away, bit by bit, until all was lost."

Branchlets swaying eagerly, you say to Xenthos, "Who saved the last of the Wyrdenwood then?"

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "They are all refugees, bits of detritus
left behind. For a long time they were locked in a bubble of reality, unable to leave it-- a pocket
of their own time severed and anchored where we could access it."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "As I mentioned, the Wheel of
Goloths was wreaking havoc in our own timeline at that point."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "And the Wheel was creating these
bubbles, alongside the rifts. The more the Time Dames used it, the more our own reality fractured."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "I believe that they were drawn in
this direction when Xynthin Himself was, perhaps as passengers in a sense. Or floating bubbles in
the wake of a large object, drawn forward by the currents."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "I do not entirely remember the
timing, but I do not think we met them until after Xynthin had been... returned to whence He came."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "And, like all else within that reality,
destroyed."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "So, that addresses most of your comments,
but not this: You called Him insane. In the end... from our mortal perspective, He was. But that is
because we mortals and Gods simply -do not- think the same."

The sound of wings flapping heralds a screeching murder of crows flying overhead.

The sound of drums rings violently in the air before falling back to a hushed rhythm.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "The Divine, and Xynthin was prone to this
just as much as the rest, tend to focus on the "big" picture. They see a path, a result, and the
little details along the way are lost. They have difficulty seeing the importance of things that we,
being closer to the ground so to say, live with every day."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "His goal was to see the Wyrd spread
across the entire Basin, but He lost sight of what truly makes the Wyrd what it is. His vision
included none of us. No flesh-life, no struggle, just trees from horizon to horizon. Because He
forgot that the Wyrd comprises everything, not just the woods themselves."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "And He would have seen all else consumed
to feed His vision."

You intone, "Blood Thirst."

A black direwolf tilts back his head in a low, resonant howl.

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says to you, "Does that help fill out your
understanding?"

Nodding his eaves in thanks, you say to Xenthos, "It does. I am glad I spoke to you first. The
records of the Wyrdenwood are fragmented, if not non-existing. I will collate what I have learned,
so that others may not have to search as deeply."

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "Any other questions on that period of
time?"

The sharp sound of a twig snapping echoes behind you.

You say to Xenthos, "None. I must reconcile this new knowledge, and learn to bear the weight of it.
We carry the Wyrd, it is important that we understand the Why, so we may accomplish the How."

The sharp sound of a twig snapping echoes behind you.

Nodding, Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "Quite so. Then I will leave you
to it."

Xenthos traces an image of a location within a blood-inscribed booklet of shadows with his
fingertips, cryptic words at his lips. His eyes take on a glossy appearance as he begins to stare
off into the aether.