All was not right with the forest, the evidence had been clear for some
time. Disembodied voices whispered nonsensical messages through the
trees, shadows danced in odd manners and strange, unidentifiable things
darted in and out of ones range of vision. The Earthmother was
distracted and irritable and many found it difficult to sleep peacefully
beneath Her trees.;

But the Druids seemed to accept it after their preliminary
investigations turned up nothing, and quietly went about their business
as if nothing was wrong. It wasn't until Orina Lighthawk-Foehammer, Lady
of Nature was struck by blinding and horrifying visions of armies of
strange humanoid spiders marching across the forest that the Druids
truly begin to worry that all was not well.

The visions passed from mother to child and Orina's son Shade sought out
Apollonia, the Oracle of the Mannaseh who directed him to Alp, the
Nightmare Siren of Valnurana. She referred him to Eternus D'Infinuum, on
oracle of Valnurana. Shade then underwent a dream meditation ritual with
Eternus and was approached by what appeared to be a young boy. The boy
showed him a tablet etched with cryptic ruins and explained that the
balance had been upset and that Druids must neither fear the Darkness
nor embrace the Light. The dream continued with a vision detailing the
ritual that must be completed in order to restore the balance.

Over the next few months, the boy appeared more and more often,
especially around the Temple of the Earthmother. His name was Esos and
he made it known that he was an ancient Druid whose soul had been bound
to a willow tree in a forest far to the north upon his death. Between
insults and griping, he shared his message with any willing to listen,
but soon grew bored. He declared the modern Druids fools and returned to
his home in the Northreach Forest only to find that the tree in which he
lived had been so weakened by the darkness that he could not return to
it without killing it.

Frustrated by the refusal of many druids to see that the Balance of
Nature must be restored, Esos took up residence in a grove near the
dying willow and kept vigil sitting on an old stump next to his sacred
Pele'tan, the only thing that still remained of his mortal existence. He
was quickly found again and many young druids began pilgramaging to him
to partake of his knowledge. Many of the older Druids and Sentinels,
however, were distrustful of him and declared him to be a minion of
darkness.

In the meantime, strange creatures began appearing in forests all over
Sapience. They had human torsos, and the legs and thorax of huge, hairy
spiders. They called themselves Arachnoi and wandered the forests in
search of a safe haven within them. They explained that they had been
sent by their mother to seek out their grandparents, Orina and Xandor
Sheolan to plead with them to complete the Darkenwood ritual, which had
created their mother. They explained that it was imperative the ritual
be completed so that they might take her to the Darkenwood Forest - the
final product of the ritual. As the progeny of Darkness and Nature,
sunlight and places tainted by the touch of civilization did them harm.
As their mother, known as Istishia, was forced to hide underground, away
from the rejuvenative powers of the forest, she was slowly wasting away
and her children feared for her life.

The Druids, with the help of a few members of the Church, some Sentinels
and some citizens of Ashtan, rounded up as many of the Arachnoi as they
were able and led them to various caverns within the forest where they
would be safe. Alas, not all of them were saved. Many did not make it to
safety before the sunlight took its toll and still others were
ruthlessly slain by followers of Sartan. Xandor did his best to protect
them and threatened death to any who would harm them, but as their
hiding places were spread throughout the forests of Sapience, he was
unable to guard them all at once. The Arachnoi had many visitors,
including the Sultan of Shallam, Dresden, who gave one her Ring of
Divine Justice.

Though Esos insisted that the ritual must take place during the winter
solstice, while the earth slept, in order to reduce the shock it would
cause to the forest, the Arachnoi became increasingly agitated as time
when on. They finally managed to convince their Great Grandmother Dessa
and their Grandmother Orina to proceed out of concern for the safety of
Istishia. It didn't take much to convince Esos and soon the pilgrimage
began to the watchtower monoliths in the Great Grove.

The ritual commenced according to the instructions that had been given,
and though guards stood watch to drive away any whom would try to stop
it, thankfully, there were no disruptions. Orina led the ritual with
Nightcrawler at her side. Tigrayne Lena, Kirath Oj'anen and Dramon
Moonflair lent their soul-fire to the Darkenwood Ritual as well. At the
climax of the ritual, a strange sight was seen, four figures,
silhouetted against the sky, drew the darkness into a bloodstained altar
as it rose from the forest. None know what this portent means, but it is
rumored that it has something to do with the disappearance of Lord
Twilight's Temples from the continent.

Once the ritual was complete, Orina, her friends and her family traveled
to the northlands to find the Darkenwood. Istishia arrived before them
and called her children home. Unfortunately, Lady Kerbouchard,
Inquisitor Brinn and Sir Brandilar of Shallam arrived before Istishia's
family. Shocked at the Arachnoi Queen's request for the corpses of
spiders and young children to feed on, the Shallamese promptly attacked
Istishia. Alas, Orina was too late and when she arrived at the scene,
her daughter Istishia lay dead. The angered Arachnoi present spoke
harshly of the Shallamese aggressors, and one survivor hurled the gift
from the Sultan to the ground in frustration with those who had judged
their queen so mercilessly.

Esos returned to his willow tree deep in the Northreach Forest, and it
is said that when he is in good humor, he finds great joy in telling
tales of druidry.

Istishia and her children now reside in the Darkenwood and are extremely
distrustful of non-arachnoid mortals, and for good reason. One would be
wise to tread warily in that region, as they are rarely overly eager to
see anyone besides Orina and Xandor.

As for the forests, the natural imbalance caused by the existance of a
species with no natural habitat has been restored and the Northreach has
been purged of the excess shadow which caused it to whither. Much has
changed, but all is well.

Penned by my hand on the 18th of Phaestian, in the year 285 AF.