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Page #9: "Days of the Woods"
Dear diary, I oft wonder what it was like in those darkened days, so many centuries ago, when the all-powerful Elementals of the Twelveswood allowed not man's passing. I wonder what life was like for our ancestors, in the cavernous city of Gelmorra. I try to imagine the man or woman whose idea it was to appease to the favour of the Elementals. Of course, we're taught that the Elementals are beings of pure aether (would that make them targets for those Primals who consume aether) and we know that early practitioners of the primitive and shapeless magic of aether manipulation so arrived at the idea of trying to commune with the Twelveswood. Curious to think it took five long decades to discover successful methods of conjury. I suspect the aether manipulation techniques of our ancestors were quite elaborate and needlessly complex.
Brother E-Sumi gave me extra merit in my trial of Twelveswood lore, and I passed with flying colours, literally, my topaz carbuncle Buttercup came to celebrate with me in a spectacle of light. Brother E-Sumi was impressed with my general grasp of the formation of our city state. In that, conjury was born from the will of our forebearers, to be one with the forest. For thus did the Elementals give us welcome to the Shroud, giving creation to our beloved Gridania. Of course, their will is our law and in accordance to their governing, we Gridanians are taught to live as one with nature. Each tree, each branch, each leaf, each blade of grass we consider as brother and sister to us.
Outsiders who wander in and harm our way of life, our trees and animals or cause disturbance to the peace are simply taken care of. Furthermore, those who seek solace within our woods go through the judgement of the Elementals and our Hearers deliver their decree. 'Tis a rarity that any are given leave to remain. Which is of course, no wonder, given that many outsiders who wander by only cause trouble to the balance, and pose a threat to what we have, for so long, worked hard to build; peace and serenity within the Twelveswood.
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Sunflower's Blossom (Tumblr link)
