The screams of Urania split the night air. Immediately, forestals and
those formerly of the Dark Order rushed to the scene. Upon combining
their collective information, they discovered the presence of several
dark demons called qlippah that were roaming around the Darkenwood,
feasting on the spirit of the forest.

At the same time, the strange chitinae made a reappearance. A young
Sentinel, the Forestwalker Riku, came across them near the Darkenwood
and called for help. Senans, Bart, and others went to investigate and
killed several of the creatures. The chitinae looked very similar to the
arachnoi that typically inhabit the Darkenwood, but twisted in some way.

Soon thereafter, explosions began to destroy parts of the Darkenwood.
The blasted areas were denuded of plantlife; even the trees were
destroyed. All the while Urania's screams ripped through the air and the
unholy noises of the demon froze many in terror.

As they were discussing possible courses of action, and the meaning of
the appearance of the chitinae, a vision appeared. In this vision,
Kalleah, the Spirit of the Hazel that resides in Lady Demeter's Temple,
beckoned to them. A chitinae corpse was taken to Kalleah, who explained
what was occuring. The demon was tormenting Urania. The qlippah feeds on
the minds and spirits of creatures, and apparantly, Urania was a choice
target. Kalleah reaffirmed what they already knew - a Dark ritual needed
to be performed to summon the creature to be banished.

What wasn't shared was the fact that the Darklings were not strong
enough to summon and hold the creature on their own, nor were they able
to banish it. They needed the help of the forestals to summon it, and a
Green ritual to banish it. As the newly appointed Oracle of Demeter, the
task fell on the shoulders of Maklyr Wildfang to write the Green ritual
to banish the demon.

The party returned to the altars in the Darkenwood and made lengthy
preparations. The qlippah, sensing our resolve, sent lesser demons to
plague them. Their combined strength easily defeated the lesser qlippah,
and Nirethil began the Dark Rite. No one suspected what would happen
next.

The delay in the beginning of the Rite had given the qlippah time to
grow stronger than any had suspected. The creature shrugged off its
esoteric bonds, devouring Nirethil, the Celebrant of the Ritual. The
creature then proceeded to lay waste to the assembly. Many died.

Maklyr attempted to start the Banishing Rite as Nirethil fell.
Unfortunately, like his fellow participants, he was essentially naked,
unmorphed, without any defenses. The qlippah turned on him as he leapt
over Nirethil's body to the Altar. When the qlippah turned away from the
altars, it began to feast on the Wood as the other qlippah was, and
Charlotte collected the corpses of those slain to be laid in the heat of
the World Tree.

Returning to the Darkenwood, Maklyr eventually completed the Rite of
Banishing, after several draining tries. The panic that had ensued left
people scampering about, which disrupted the Rite. The Power raised,
both Dark and Green, banished the creature from the Darkenwood in
several terrifying shrieks.

Yet the Forest had suffered horribly, and Urania had not returned.
Maklyr called for the combined strength of the participants again, and
all, Forestal and Darkwalker alike, poured forth love and energy for the
fallen Spirit. As this energy was attempted to be focused, the Circle
was disrupted once again.

Perhaps foolishly, Maklyr held the Circle together by sheer force of
Will, sending the energy forth to heal Urania. No one present knew at
the time how effective that impromptu Rite was, or even if they had
permanently banished the qlippah.

As the panic calmed, the party thought long about what had gone wrong
and what had gone right. Suddenly, the forest shook. Green light and
darkfire danced across the sky, and a rift opened. Urania stepped out,
with no signs of the depredation of the demon. More, she was healthier
than any had ever remembered her.

The section of forest where this Great Rite occured was radically
changed. Perhaps on the horizon lie more changes for this tormented
Wood. Certainly, there is more to come out of its shadowed depths.

Penned by my hand on the 22nd of Phaestian, in the year 319 AF.