Sacred Grove Defiled !

Placing her hand on the sacred stone, the forest opened before the old woman, having been a Druid for so many years, the forest was one with her.
Old yellowed teeth grinned from beneath sun dried and wrinkled lips.
 Lana Rue gazed at the beauty of the scene before her. . . And sneered.
 With no more than a small gesture of a finger, a large and powerful black panther arose from its hiding, razor polished claws and fangs , well tended by Lana herself.
 The two entered into the sacred place , beneath the canopy of branches and leaves, and stood before the great tree.
 This was the place of the people who had seduced her daughter , Ylia, away from the god of her upbringing. A pain shot through the old woman's heart and a lump arose in her throat. This not only had been unthinkable to Lana, but was akin to blasphemy!
  Lana had come at the will of this god,  angered and vengeful .
  The large panther , moving smoothly to the tree, raised a hind leg to it.  . .
 Lana laughed as the sacred place was defiled !

*another panther comes prowling out of the bushes sniffing the rear of the panther who had just raised his legs, obviously not caring for the present old human women*

Rana sees the approaching creature and was about to call her panther to her defense , but seeing the two cats engaged in what appears as a natural animal behavior, she hesitates and watches.
Her panther, large and muscular, finishes marking the sacred tree and looks back at the other cat.
A low growl rumbled from deep in his hairy chest, turning to face the other animal. Talons , polished and filed razor sharp , extended from the large paws, as it's white fangs glared.

"Imagine what would happen if you walked into Shadowdale and took a piss on the altar of Bane..."

*a low chuckle can be heard from the woods as a towering barbarian emerges from the shadows*

"Double that, and you get an idea of what is going to happen to you in a short while..."

Proud and defiant Rana takes a forward stance and lifts her boney finger into thd air, as her cat slinks back standing in between her and the others, teeth glaring.
" Ye kinay threaten a priestess of Malar and expect fear! I have my RIGHT ! With yer sweet words and smiling faces that cover yer lies , ye have seduced my daughter away from HE whom she owes her life ! Thieves ye all be , everyone !
Taken my Ylia from me and the god that kept us alive all these years. . . And now the history will stand that I came and the claws of Malar took its mark from your precious tree . . . Healed or not , the deed is done . Do with me, an old woman what you will!"
The thin frail old woman stood ready to go down fighting and her panther crouched with ears layed back and eyes wide.
In a provocative act of defiance, she spit upon the ground in front of all the eyes to see.

The faded old eyes squint as the fey humanoid speaks the words. With each of certain phrases she reacts as if actually being slapped in the face. . . " misguidance following the Beast Lord", she reacted , " irony in your faith ", she tensed , "escaped sins of the mother" , she grit her teeth and clenched her fists !
"A curse upon thee !" , she shouted , stomping a foot down into the lush green grass.
"The Gathering of the FireStorm has begun, and we shall reap all that you have sown ! I will have my child back or lay her bones next to yours!"
With a swollen red angry face, she turns to leave , speaking a heavily accented Sylvan to her panther, " let us wipe the dust of this place from our feet !"
The cat retreated with her as she stepped back towards the path.

Iwean arrives in the grove for his 10 day devotions to nature and the plants. He see the difference in the patrols of the grove and the unnatural agitatition of it's residents. Inquiries reveal the story. Iwean is shocked at the horror of an enemy entering the grove. He wonders about this diety Malar. He finds the Grove dryad in charge. Greetings, I am Iwean and I wish a to leave a message for the Arch Spirit, Send him my well wishes and tell him. "I've heard about the the attack on the Grove. I'm hearing more and more about this Malar the Beastlord. I currently in the area south and east of Shadowdale planting trees to account for the loss from nature and humans building." I'm looking for signs of the beastlords presense. I've also heard of a powerful devotee to Malar. Her name is Elena and I've seen her in the form of a White Dragon. Do you think there will be any more problems with this incident? I dread the thought of powerful entities doing battle in the forest and the destruction it can cause. I'm planting double my normal trees for the next few months" Iwean gathers the saplings he has been preparing and packages them up for transplanting. He plants more seeds, doubling the normal planting. He leaves for the forest.

From one of the many trees within the glade he watches the whole event bellow tilting his head . Shrugging to himself turning back to the fire bellow he lights his pipe looking off as if debating something though after several moments he concedes something to himself . " We'l feth'n suppos'e da settle's it ya? ...Mak'e peace with'em al den see wha' we can da ya?" Though he remains there watching the old woman and cat leave as the mass of outsiders and the like and the like gather bellow curiously he watches a faint chuckle to himself. "Tis' gonna b troubl'eh I B gues'n..."

*Comes towards Leo and the others with an annoyed look* If she comes here again I will shoot her myself for stupidity. *sighs*

As quickly as the incident occurred, Lhanir appeared from beyond the trees, a look of frustration playing upon her features. To those still around in the Grove, the druidess would speak to them directly.

"That was Rana... mother of Ylia. I'm sure a few of you have spoken or at least met her daughter once in passing..." The half-elf woman turned, examining the Great Oak briefly for signs of injury before continuing, fingers fumbling to adjust her hood, "... From what I can recall, Rana claims that she and her daughter's lives were spared after her devotion to their god, and if I am correct, a part of that deal involved Ylia's life.

But Ylia chose Silvanus. She was not swayed. Had I known that Rana continued to lurk in these parts I would have found a solution other than to let her come so close to the Grove. For this I do apologize... but her words of a Firestorm are in fact a piece of a puzzle still being solved... something we must all be wary of in the near future."

Outside the path to the sacred Grove , aged eyes of Rana watched as folks came and went from the path, her face well hidden in the leaves of the brush by the green tattoos on her face.
She stood silently brooding, her mind enraging itself , reliving every moment that had just passed , thinking of the things she SHOULD have said. . . When suddenly , a sharp pain gripped her right ear so severely, her knees went weak and crackled as they bent down. . .

Ylia , full bodied woman, pinched her old mother by the ear, and twisted until the old woman has succumbed.
"Yer a stupid uld woman , ye are! ", Ylia scolded. "and ye are careless , too, t'was easy ta track ya here. I dunnay know whu ye done in there, but I'm certain o' one thing , it was Stupid!"
Ylia dragged the screaming old woman out of the brush , and looked for some one to explain .

Iwean returns to The Grove. He inquires from the residents if there is any plan of action for the recent event?

Ylia calls out to Iwean , "Hey , kin ye tell me whu muthar here has done now?"

*Sariah would respond in a annoyed tone* "The old woman had a panther piss on the sacred tree. Remove her now or she will be shot." *Motions up towards the roost* "Unless she has come to apologise to the tree for her stupidity."

Ylia's mouth falls open hearing these words. Her eyes went from open shock to a cold squint. As her face turned red , she flung the frail woman to the ground, the body hitting with an audible thud.
With out a word, one hand raised towards the sky, as she calls upon unseen forces, spirits of old , the powers of nature itself. Immediately , a black swirling cloud forms high above them, lightning crackling through it. A torrent of wind swirled down around the old woman, holding her down.
Ylia seemed to almost fade from view as a white hot, jagged stream of electricity blasted down . . . And obliterated the panther into steam and dust !
Rana screamed at the top of her lungs in agony!

Seeing this transpire Iwean is shocked, "STOP, This is insanity. Child against mother!!!! I can't allow this!" He moves as fast as he can to prevent the attack, raiseing his electricity shield as he goes.

Iwean halts his advance and listens. He finds the Arch Spirits words take root. "I agree with this if my say matters or not I stand ready to defend The Grove. "

*walks over to the blackened spot where the panther used to be* ... You didnt have to blow up the beast. It only did what it was told to do. *sighs and looks about from any part of it to clean it up and bury it.*

Ylia places her feet in a wide stance and spreads her arms wide , her form slightly fading in the light. From her mouth comes eloquent Elven.
" Be not fooled , wise ones of the circle! Do not reduce what you see before you to a mere family conflict. Before your eyes this day , you witness a conflict of powers unseen , gods against gods , with our precious lives in the balance!
I stand with one foot upon soil and the other among ancient spirits, and even that of the panther. We are at war, we struggle against greater powers than our physical eyes can see.
I have given up my days of interacting with folks of all walks , that I may struggle for you, the forest and the sanctity of nature itself, and my struggle is a challenge to my very limits.
Nature gods of darkness now move against you, and I hold them at bay, for now, as commanded by the Great Oak Father.
The gathering of Firestorm is real, stand ready ... And let this ... Woman be fairly judged for her thoughts and actions. As for the panther, it was a gift and agent of Malar himself. I have returned that spirit to its true owner... Be not surprised if it spawns wrath."