Answering the Druids’ Call (Shadows of the October Moon)

[Partly Cloudy]

The darkness upon Twilight Isle had grown deeper by the day, becoming thicker and more oppressive with each step they took toward the rise of the full moon. And “oppressive” truly was the correct word for it. Even with the additional lights and torches that had been set up around the Duel of Magic offices and dueling zone, the night crowded in and gave the impression of unseen eyes watching from a distance, an unknown foe breathing down one’s neck.

It set Gatito’s teeth on edge.

He tapped his pen against the edge of the notebook open before him, mulling over the components of a spell he wanted to test in the Canopy neighborhood. There was something missing, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

His companion this afternoon was the Celestial Tiger who had been with him since his time in the Citadel, and who had taken to haunting the blossom-laden branches of his treehouse in the Canopy. The massive cat lay by his feet, watchful despite the quiet of the office.

“This would be a lot simpler if I could just blow the darkness away with a stiff wind,” Gatito grumbled. He scribbled something in the margin of the page, near a diagram he had drawn nearly an hour ago, then paused. “Maybe I should try that.”

The Tiger lifted their head from their paws. Little one.

“The question is how to keep it from blowing everything else away.”

You have company. The Tiger sat up on their haunches.

“Maybe if I set—” A knock upon the office door halted Gatito’s train of thought and left him blinking at the page. He was slow to lay his pen down, slow enough for the knock to sound again.

“Viens.” He sat back in his chair and ran his hands over his face. What was it now? Had the shadows begun to grow horns and forked tongues? Had a building collapsed beneath the weight of the darkness? The thoughts were absurd, but at this point, he wasn’t sure anything could surprise him about this situation.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” came a smoky, feminine voice.

The woman standing in the doorway to his office was almost as majestic as the divine feline keeping Gatito company. To call her beautiful would have been truthful, but also inadequate. She had an ageless sort of face with a full mouth and a gentle tilt to eyes the color of a sunlit sea. Her hair was the same color as her eyes, worn long and cascading against bronze epaulettes and the green fabric of her cloak. Large, tapered ears hinted at her ancestry, and the antlered crown upon her head spoke of her station. She radiated power.

Aelia Carifir was both queen and priestess, and she was neither. She was Archdruid of the Celestial Order.

“My Lady Aelia.” Gatito stood, keeping the desk between the doorway and himself. He gestured to the chairs standing opposite him. “Please come in. Have a seat.”

“Warden Lindo,” Archdruid Aelia said by way of greeting as she entered the office. She did not address the Tiger by name, but she did briefly meet their lightning-filled gaze and inclined her head to them. The Tiger returned the silent greeting with a tilt of their own head.

Gatito sank back down into his chair as Aelia claimed one of the seats across from him. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence?” It was rare, he thought, that the grove’s Archdruid ran her own errands.

“I’ve come to request more of your help,” Aelia said, “with our current predicament.” She gestured in a way that seemed to indicate the whole of the Isle and the darkness covering it.

“Of course,” he said. “Tell me what I can do and I’ll do it.”

“We need the Keepers,” she said. “We need them to invoke their elements and help us drive back the darkness and corral it. Based upon what we have found in the Codex of Shadows, it seems the Dark Hunter requires as complete a darkness as possible to be able to ride into our plane of existence. We hope that with the Keepers’ help, we will have a better shot of sealing the doorway against the Hunter.”

She met Gatito’s eyes, and he saw a spark of hope there. “Can we count on their help?”

“I cannot speak for them and make promises on their behalf. You’ll have to ask each of them and hope that they are all willing.” He watched her take a deep breath and compose herself; she nodded once more and started to rise. He added, “For what it’s worth, I think most of them will be willing.” There were a couple of wildcards in the bunch. One, he thought he could influence, if need be. The other … only time would tell.

“I hope you are right,” Aelia said, standing.

Gatito stood, as well. “So do I.” Then he showed her, kindly, to the door.



Beneath the deepening midnight sky, Aelia dispatched the druids who had accompanied her to the Duel of Magic offices. As four of them set off for the elemental Towers, she turned her attention to the magnificent Citadel floating above the Isle itself. The darkness had not yet sent it careening to the ground below, but wreathed as it was in shadows and night, it had become difficult to see. But that was no matter. The darkness would not keep Aelia from her business.

She set off toward the Citadel. It was time to have a talk, Archdruid to Archmage.



(( Keepers, when you’re ready, please post your contributions to the story below! ))

[Takai Masamune]

Takai hadn’t been sure just how many days had passed since he’d taken over the Tower of Fire. So many things had happened with him from the explosive creation of the new tower, the dawning of his new crown and a few wild nights around Rhy’Din with some choice individuals. The tower had been giving him a headache though, it was a volatile place which he was failing to wrap his head around. The other Keepers didn’t seem to have such issues with their towers. Maybe it was a him problem?

Savage howls of flame caught the man’s attention as he sat on the massive smoking door step at the foot of his Tower. Two wolves of fire and fury descending upon an approaching visitor which had just crossed the threshold of the obsidian glass that he had constructed nights prior. “Tch… Who the hell is this...” The first uninvited visitor, should he make a statement? “…” This person looked… important?

He’d seen the druids working around the Isle alongside the goblins that seemed to manage most to the manual labor and money passing through the Isles. The druids seemed to be more akin to the magical upkeep and mana management. At least to his ignorant eyes. “Gods dammit…” His arms had been leaning along two raised knees where he sat until a flick of the wrist dismissed the wolves in their pursuit of the druid. Harmlessly peeling off the two creatures of fire ran back towards the Tower and up into the air off unseen floors of ember.

Takai rose as he closed the distance between the Druid and himself. Crossed burly arms over a barrel chest stared at the seemingly un-phased but uncertain Druid. Takai’s vicious glare of piercing molten moon rings kept the creature well within his sights. The damn Twilight Isles had grown darker and darker since him taking the role of a Keeper. Around his tower it didn’t matter much but the further he grew, the more oppressed the light truly was.

The Darkness felt…heavy.

“What.” The words left Takai’s mouth in more of an order than an actual question.

For a long while the Druid had watched Takai with a discerning eye. It had probably seen countless Keepers come and go from the towers all along the Isles but something about this man sparked its interest. “Greetings… I’ve come here under orders of the Archdruid.”

“The what?” An annoyed look crossed the man’s brow. “There’s a new Archmage?”

“W-what?” The druid’s brow rose for a moment in confusion, “What? No. The Archdru-“

“They ever fight in the rings? Hell, I’d fight ‘em out of the rings. Probably be more fun than following all of them damn rules…” Takai continued on for a moment longer, lost in his own tangent.

“Keeper.” Takai continued. “Keeper!” The druid was losing its patience with the riled up wolf.

“Just get on with it already.” As if Takai hadn’t been interrupting him. The crown hovering off to the side of his head twisted one way and then changed its rotation. Flame whipping from it gently as it spun. The crown spun around fully dancing along the man’s head of short messy black hair. It finally slowed to a stop and paused in a different corner of his head.

“We’re calling for help from the Keepers. We need assistance holding back the Darkness and protecting the Isles. Things seem to be progressing at a much faster rate than we ever expected.” The Druid sounded annoyed and was speaking curtly to Takai. Already over the aggravating man.

“Tch… Not a chance.” Takai was already turning away from the Druid with a dismissive hand over his shoulder. “You all will figure it out I’m sure.” Takai spat at the ground as he put distance between the two. His hands slinking into his pockets once more as his shoulders drooped in disinterest.

“As expected of a new Keeper…” The Druid spoke in a snarky tone as he sent a crooked eye at Takai’s back, almost leaning forward with his words in a half turn. His hook cast but his feet ready to depart at a moment’s notice.

Takai’s foot had just pressed against the glass floor of the desert lake when his entire body came to a complete halt. Though unseen a look as if someone had sucker punched Takai painted itself over his face. Pure anger swept over him as his fists slowly balled into crackling balls of bone and fury in his pockets.

A grin tugged at the Druid’s face as he stood up a bit straighter. The hook had found its way around the Keeper’s lip it would seem. “I’m sure you still have much needed studying to do you bring your mana up to the levels we need it to be. Study the tomes young Keeper, I’m sure you’ll be able to master your magics!” At this point the Druid’s voice was almost mocking in praise and motivation.

A hot wind brushed along the deserts between the two men in a long moment of painful silence. The powerful crackle of flame echoed in the distance. Takai’s frame slowly straightened before he slowly turned to face the Druid. The look of anger was twisted with a prideful sneer. “Who. The fuck. Do you think I am you rodent?” In the distance the two wolves’ heads shot into the air, their run and chase halted in an instant before they focused on the duo. Something had caught their interest.

As if almost on que, the Tower of Fire swirled with a slow moving mist of flame and ember. A storm of dense fiery fog as it grew and grew, rising further and further into the air. The wolves howled in an agonizingly loud tone. The mountains screamed with their echoes. Their violent vibrations reverberating deep inside the Druid’s chest as he did his best not to stammer back. His eyes locked on the building Tower of Fire standing high above Takai’s broad shoulders and fierce crown.

An Explosion!

Gushing blasts of scorching winds swept the desert all stemming from the tower itself. The fog had turned into a wild inferno of twisting flames, the smaller towers slowly bursting into all engulfing flames one by one in loud echoing explosions. The tower roared in blazing light, shoving the darkness from the North in a very matter of fact display of dominance.

“Wh-what are you doing…” The Druid was struggling under the intense heat emanating from the tower. If it hadn’t been for Takai blocking the burst of fiery wind he might have found his end pulling the tail of the wrong Wolf.

“I ain’t like the rest of this rabble druid.” Takai’s words were sharp as a tack with the creature. “Don’t think there’s many who can stuff this tower like I can.” Takai’s mouth slowly opened as he took a calming breath and let it out in a deep sigh. His shoulders drooping back down as he rested his hands in his pockets.

Thuds of paws filled the grounds around them, from behind him dozens and dozens of fiery wolves leaping from the towers. Born from their walls of flame. The wolves in a dead wild sprint burst from their landing spots and shot across the ground. Some of them never touching the ground and bounding through the air, tackling each other in fiery displays of over excited play before finding themselves back on the path towards everywhere.

“Get out.” The wolves burst past Takai as he glared down at the creature before him. The heat radiating from the tower seemed to lessen as the occasional wolf found its way from the fire. As the wolves burst past they didn’t seem to have any heat to them. They only felt warm. Heavy, definitely fire but to the touch they were warm and almost fluffy. As if holding a hot fluffy cloud.

The Druid staggered to his feet and stammered away from Takai, he was no longer un-phased. “Th-thank you!” The Druid continued on as Takai spoke after him.

“I’ll keep the fire burning and the wolves hunting.” His words were uncharacteristically warm for a moment. “For now… I’ll open the north to everyone. They can take sanctum in the outter towers. Most of them are fitted with barracks.”

The wolf stared at the departing Druid who seemed to slow his pace when a fiery lupine brushed along the Druid, knocking him off kilter. The panic quickly passed as he realized he wasn’t to be burned to a cinder from its touch. His hand rested on the wolf as his pace slowed and he walked alongside the beast into the dark forest of the Isles.

The forests were alight with glowing orbs or patrolling fire. Workers would now have escorts through the shadows, monsters hunted and clues hopefully found as the wild beasts prowled the forests.

Takai had the mana to output but his pride would bring with it a massive strain on himself.

[Droet the Bold]

To the South of the Dueling rings on Twilight Isle stood the Tower of Water. The side facing the Isle sported mangrove trees with long roots revealed during low tides. The side opposite the Isle had its own coral reef ecosystem, the Lagoon, with tidal pools with brightly colored starfish and crabs. Somewhere beyond that was the home of the great Beroan, Lord of the Deep.

The druid that went to the Water Tower arrived at the white sandstone that made only the base of the Tower and had to wait. The inhabitants of the Tower weren't much used to visitors during Droet's tenure as Keeper, though the entrance was as brightly lit as any home currently could be on the Isle with luminite stones set in the limestone. After a time, a water elemental flowed straight out through the solid water doors and set up a hammock for the visitor before vanishing back inside.

“Really. This is the sort of greeting I get,” grumbled the druid before he set down in the hammock. “Oh, that's actually quite nice. I think I'll get some good thinking done here.” Five minutes later, the druid was asleep.

Later, the druid was gently shaken awake by none other than Droet the Bold. The tiefling offered a politely toothless grin. He wore a necklace outside his tropical themed-shirt that bore the Key of Water, as well as PathFinder and a surfboard charm. “Welcome to the Tower of Water. What brings you my way?”

The druid looked up at him with surprise and then relief. Then he scrambled, with dignity, out of the hammock. (You should try it sometime. It's not as easy as it looks.) “The Archdruid has sent me to enlist your help. The darkness has spread and we need you to help drive it back and corral it. Please Keeper, will you invoke your element and help against the darkness?” the druid pleaded.

Droet grinned a little wider and then nodded his horned head. “Certainly, I will do that. Mmmm. How would I do that? I've got an idea. Yes, I'll be helping. I'm not sure how soon the results will be. Feel free to ask again, if I remain Keeper, for more.”

“Thank you, Keeper. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.” The druid bowed to the tiefling who bowed shallowly back.

“You're welcome. And the Archdruid too.” The tiefling then stepped through the solid water doors as easily as the water elemental had. The druid then left the Tower of Water, transforming into a bird to fly away.

Droet spent some time researching the magic of what he wanted to do. It turned out that it was an effect mages had wanted to create before, and they left detailed instructions on how to do it. Droet just wanted it to be done a little wider.

The next day, as measured by a clock and not any celestial motion, the tiefling cast his spell. First, his entire tower glowed a bright greenish blue, then the glow spread. The magical glow in the water rippled out away from the Tower to light the darkness and in moments went clear around the entire island. Silvery fish suddenly found themselves with more of a dazzling gleam in the enchanted waters.

With this spell, the tiny, microscopic life that filled every wave now overflowed with light. In the normal twilight of Twilight Isle, it would have been noticeable. In the current darkness, it was striking. The waters of Twilight Isle were to glow from now on, or at least until a Keeper of Water reversed the spell.

[PrlUnicorn]

Colleen was taking tea with Maggie and Limelenath in the Citadel’s lush garden. As often happened this time of year, she drifted into her own thoughts. This close to Samhain, the dead were preparing to cross The Veil into the world of the living. She looked for familiar faces, one in particular, even here. It was the not knowing, one way or the other, that made it hard to fully let go. There was someone special, but it wasn’t a romance. It was a deep friendship that had grown over time. A soft breeze began to stir the flowers and shrubbery as Colleen sipped her honey laced tea.

“Nan, we have company. Nan?” Melly frowned slightly. The treesinger remembered a time when the moments of drifting weren’t just times of reverie. She gestured to her cousin as if to say, your turn.

“Tower to Maimeó!” Maggie waved her hand in front of her grandmother's face and softly cursed what the season did to her. When Irish didn’t work, she resorted to Greek. “Yaya?” When that, too, failed, she cleared her throat and spoke in a commanding tone. “My Lady MacLeod, your presence is required in the audience chamber.”

“Hmm? What? The Queen requires my …” She blinked a few times as she was brought back to the present time. “Maggie, ya sneaky ...”

The half-elf stifled a laugh behind her hand and nodded. While their grandmother was focused on the younger of her granddaughters, Melly mouthed, Well played. She quickly got to her feet to greet the arriving company. She gave a respectful bow of her head. “My Lady Carifir.”

“Have we met?” The Archdruid asked the green-eyed woman.

“No, Lady, but your name is known to many.”

“You are not the Archmage, are you, …” An unspoken question dangled in the air.

“Limeleneth and, no, I have not had that honor nor that responsibility.” She gestured to Colleen and Maggie in turn. “My grandmother and cousin, on the other hand, are another matter.”

Colleen extended her hand toward an empty chair. “Please, join us.”

As Aelia took the offered seat, the reason the Celestial Citadel still held light and had not fallen into the darkness became apparent as what appeared to be white horses roamed the garden. They were, in truth, the living symbols of Colleen’s mother’s family, the unicorn. “I see you brought help to ward off the darkness already.”

“As this one,” she gestured to Maggie, “oft reminds me, there are things I cannot do alone.” She poured some of the tea for Aelia. “She’s not wrong. The Celestial Citadel is my charge for the time being and I acted to preserve it as was needed.”

“You are one of the Isle’s Wardens, are you not?” Aelia studied Maggie.

“Among other things, yes.” Maggie nodded. “Whatever is coming is going to need more than the Keepers.”

“How do you know this?” The Archdruid’s expression became one of unabashed curiosity.

“Because the dead speak to me. Some of them know who is coming, but most of them can only watch and warn the living. That is, provided the living are able to see and hear them. Some believe the being approaching was either a hunter or prey for the Wild Hunt. That's why I sent the bears to keep watch.”

Colleen and Limelenath listened as the other two conversed.

Aelia laced her fingers together and pressed the two index fingers to her lips in a steepled fashion. “We have much to do.”

[Eregor]

The druid Varielle made her way up the mountain, following the path that led high above the rest of Twilight Isle, towards the cloudy Tower that rose from its peak. Altitude lent a mounting chill to the air, though her own attunement to nature's flow kept her warm enough. A sudden breeze flew by, a zephyr of wind that whispered as it passed, and told her that her coming would be no surprise at all.

Indeed, as she approached the gate, it began to open. Varielle drew breath to speak... and then stopped short. She had expected someone in magnificent robes or, as she recalled what she'd heard about the Keeper of Air, an elegantly-tailored shirt and waistcoat.

She did not expect t-shirt, sweatpants, and... pink bunny slippers?

Eregor followed her gaze down to his feet and chuckled. "What? It can get cold up here. My toes get chilly! Come on in!" He stepped back to admit her, the door of swirling cloud closing behind him. "Welcome to the Tower of Air. Have a seat." He gestured to a pair of cushions seemingly floating in mid-air nearby. Varielle hesitated, but when Eregor sat on one, she took the other and found herself and her seat supported by a rising column of wind. Eregor gave her a warm smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I come on behalf of my Lady and those of us who watch over this place. I'm sure you've noticed the encroaching night that has usurped the eternal twilight from our beloved Isle."

It was a statement, not a question, and Eregor nodded in confirmation. "I first noticed it about two weeks ago, but with my every visit to the Isle since, I've felt the shadows growing darker. Thicker, until at times they were almost tangible."

"Yes," replied Varielle with a sign. "The shadows are growing restless, stirring as they sense the Dark Hunter's approach."

One eyebrow arching, Eregor leaned forward, arms resting upon his knees. "Dark Hunter?"

His visitor nodded gravely, then frowned. "It is how we know the entity that comes, though we know not why they have turned their attention towards the Isle. We can only say that they seek to drain the Isle, to devour its light. More than light, the life and spirit of the Isle and all who dwell here. We, the Celestial Druids, are working to craft a spell that will deny the Dark Hunter what they crave, but to do so, we need time." Varielle straightened on her floating seat and gazed levelly across at her host.

Eregor met her gaze and gave a single nod. "You need help." There was a moment's pause, and then he grinned. "I'm not the only one you've approached, am I? Of course not... and of course I'll do what I can to help cleanse the Isle. You have my word."

Though for the most part her expression remained calm and collected, there was obvious gratitude in the druid's answering smile. "That is all we ask, and thank you." Varielle stood, and Eregor quickly rose as well. "I must inform my Lady. With hope, the other Keepers will assist as well."

"I am sure they will... even the Keeper of Earth, in his own inimitable way." There was a shimmer, and Eregor's casual attire shifted and became a white shirt, black pants and shoes, and an elegant grey waistcoat with matching tie. "Allow me to escort you back down to the Isle, my dear." He offered his arm, which Varielle took, and then they were lifted off and out of the Tower, back to the shrouded Isle below.

# # # # #

Not long after, a cloud of flickering light emerged from the Tower of Air and descended upon Twilight Isle. It was the light of countless fireflies, dancing to and fro in their myriad swarms to try and chase away the shadows. At the same time, flights of ethereal pegasi swooped through the skies, their wings shining like the moon in the night sky. All the creatures of the air that could shed light answered the Keeper's call to defend the Isle from the pervading darkeness that encroached upon it.

[Delahada]

The western side of the Isle was a quiet place. A forest of trees acted as a buffer against any noise before it could reach the mountain range in which the Tower of Earth was hidden. It was a tranquil environment that suited its current Keeper perfectly.

Despite this, Salvador Delahada had yet to actually turn the Key and open the door for himself. Even in his second term as Keeper, he still had not set foot inside. If he spent any time at all anywhere near the Tower, it was at the base of the mountain, where he mediated in peace and quiet for long hours while strategically arranging rocks into artwork.

There were by now hundreds of stacked stones, reminiscent of miniature towers themselves, arranged across the open field and winding into the trees of the neighboring forest. Whorls and spirals of flat stone pathways coiled around them in all directions. Every stone created a geometric masterpiece of no particularly recognizable image. There were patterns that might resemble something, but they weren’t necessarily pictures.

When the druid came to talk to him, he was crouched over a small pile of stones that he was working into his design. His intimidating reputation had infiltrated even their noble, nature-loving ranks. The druid approached cautiously, stretching his legs in long strides over pebble rivers in a desperate attempt to not dislodge anything. At a distance of ten feet away, he deemed himself close enough, and politely cleared his throat.

Salvador did not look up from his work. He did not even cease working out the puzzle of which stone should be placed where. The interruption did not even seem to faze him at all, and so the druid tried again.

“Excuse me,” the druid said. “Lord Earth Keeper?”

It was the lord that stalled him. Salvador went very, very still. This was how the druid knew he had his attention, because the Keeper still did not say anything at all. However, he did tilt his head, just slightly, ear angled to catch the trickle of words over his shoulder.

“The Archdruid sent me, sir,” the druid explained…

There was not a single interruption. Salvador listened without moving for the handful of minutes that it took the druid to tell him the Archdruid’s plan. The Keeper himself could have been made of stone, a gloomy gargoyle in a worn leather jacket. A stretch of silence followed that balanced on the edge of uncomfortable, and the druid opened his mouth to ask if he had heard him.

“You’ll have to ask her,” Salvador said, right when the druid took a breath.

“I beg your pardon?” asked the druid, baffled.

Salvador tipped his head back that marginal inch and resumed rearranging pebbles and stones into artwork. There was a sound as if leaves rustling in the wind, but not a single current of air stirred between the trees at this particular moment.

“Dama,” Salvador said. “My dryad. I gave the key to her.”

The druid tugged on the collar of his robe and looked around, expecting this dryad to reveal herself. He definitely felt a presence, though he could not precisely pinpoint where. This area of the Isle had felt off ever since the fae lord had reclaimed the key. The quiet here was unsettling, as if the natural world order of the world had been disrupted somehow.

”Ask," the leaves whispered, a spectral voice near the druid’s ear.

Frightened nearly out of his skin, the druid jumped and whirled around. He searched the trees and the mountainside, looking all around for a sign of any body besides that of the hunched over Keeper shifting his stones.

“I-i,” the druid stammered. “My lady. I…” He gulped, wondering for a moment whether or not he had to retell the story.

The spooky shaking of the branches all around him gave him the impression that she had heard. Though he could not see her anywhere. Not even sense her at all. Was this dryad a ghost? He shivered and tugged again on his collar. Clearing his throat, the druid mustered up his courage and tried again.

“Will you help us?” he asked directly.

”Yes,” whispered the trees.

And it happened, slowly. Beginning at the base of the tree directly in front of the druid, there sprouted a calm, green glow. The light blossomed into the shape of a cap on a stalk. Then another at the base of the tree to his left, and the one to his right. Then another. And another.

They grew up from the soil in patches and lined the paths that the Keeper of Earth had made with his stones. Wherever the dark corners were darkest, the bloomed. Luminescent fungi gripped into the grooves of mortar on the sides of shop buildings as far deep as Duskide. They poked up under porches in the Gloaming. They clung to the cracks in the cobblestones. They grew everywhere.

Mycena chlorophos was the Keeper of Earth’s gift to the cause, given through his loyal servant, the shy dryad who never showed herself named Dama.