Legend of the Silverleaf Tear

It was a stormy night. The sky battered me down with fistfuls of rain as if the armies of the stars had plotted to stop my journey. I had been travelling from place to place in my exile. I saw a haggard old man; he was standing by the highway as I drove my cart. When I passed he yelled, “Kind master, I have a story to tell. Spare a few minutes to listen to an old mans ramblings.” And feeling pity for this broken and hunched man and I built a fire to talk round. As I sat, he then spoke in a voice paler than the mans’ face yet still as clear as a church bell, “I have news to bring you, great news but of a tragic nature. I speak nothing but the truth in this tale of mine. I know, for I was there…1

Evil had been biding its time in the depths of the young world. This evil had arisen in the time of myths in a world uninhibited from magic. In those times even a mere child could wield power to challenge even the highest of arch mage. The gods in those times were careless in their use of magic and those of any nature could take any magic left unused. Many good deeds could be made but hidden in this magic was its true intention. That of pure evil.2

Eventually as time went by the people stopped believing in this magic, and so, it went into disuse. This magic could no-longer bear being locked away by ignorance and began using itself. It found its way into the beautiful homes of the wood elves, inhabiting the trees, the wolves and anything else within its grasp. These lands became known as the Drebb woods. But of course, to balance out nature, there has to be the light. This light lay in the heart of that forest, waiting to be awoken…3

It started on a night not too different from this one we have here. A traveller by the name of Garganon arrived in a city, known to those of an Elven persuasion as Talhaven, a magnificent city. A prosperous place full of riches and kindness and of all this city, despite its good exterior had been corrupted from within. This brave hero Garganon arrived in this city of opportunity, and troubled by rumours of deaths in the lands, he set off to rid this place of this plague.4

Into the woods he went. He stalked into the dreadful place, not knowing what to expect. He traversed along a rough track in the woods, hoping for a lead, and with an arrow at the ready and a sword by his side he followed the tracks. These tracks lead him to a ruined temple. Garganon padded his way across the tiles lining a path leading into the deserted place of worship. Once a choir of angels would have sung, but now it was inhabited by its memory and even that had been forgotten. Garganon trod carefully towards its entrance where he had seen a shadow. He heard a crack behind him. He stopped himself dead in his tracks and spun round to late. The arrow had been loosed.5

A fair lady, the like of which has not been seen in the troubled lands, her expertise in archery had served her well this far. She thought herself cursed as she had befallen to foul luck. She had been deaf since birth, and had lost her eyes in a bet laid down by her father. He had been a disgusting man, lured to crime by power and money and had soon turned to gambling. This girl had been named, Alanda. She had discovered an alternate source of seeing. She too had heard of the evil within and this is where she travelled. Into this forest she travelled, walking a path dictated by intuition and followed a path recently disturbed. Following this pathway lead her to a place of stone. She saw a man and fired.6