[center] [img]http://i.imgur.com/2uxEN3o.png[/img] [/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/fjjnj7S.png[/img][/center] [b]A chance encounter[/b] En route to Tagress, the on foot travelling Pride are interrupted in their journey when they stumble on a couple of Guilders in the midst of an attack by a flock of lightning conjuring avian enemies called Electures. Rushing to their aid, the Pride and the two newcomers are able to safely dispatch and send the monsters running, afterwards catching their breath to properly greet their rescuees. They introduce themselves as Elaine Wyatt, a chakram wielding Tracker, and Lucien Maddox, a rookie Guilder with the ability to summon beasts to life and fight inside their minds. Elaine explains how she recruited her adorable son Lucy (read: kidnap) to help her on a mission of paramount importance, and she also asks the Pride for their aid in assisting her. As they grow to learn, Elaine’s husband had departed a few days prior to investigate the rumours of a curse surrounding the Woods of Weir, that would transform any human in the surrounding area into trees themselves, as well as send the beasts within the curses’ perimeter mad. There were also rumours of a strange cloaked man, unaffected by the curse, departing into the woods. Deciding as a group to break away from their main mission to assist Elaine and Lucien, the Pride change tracks and head to the town of Lafeal, a small settlement on the outskirts of the Woods of Weir believed to be affected. As they journey closer, the Pride chance upon an encounter with a couple of old friends: The Donahue Merchants, who were travelling on route to Lafeal, escorted by an unfamiliar rookie Guilder by the name of Julius Tarrant, a glaive wielding skirmisher with difficulty in understanding and expressing emotion. Elaine wasted no time in adopting Julius into her family either, dubbing him Julie, and so the group overlooked the town of Lafeal from a nearby hill, wondering how best to tackle the situation. From what they could see there was no sign of movement or life in the town, but they needed to get closer in order to investigate Lafeal and the woods. Fortunately, Otis Donahue revealed he carried with him a number of amulets that were said to ward off transformative curses. Braving the talismans, a small section of the Pride entered Lafeal, testing their effectiveness… and luckily enough, they remained human. Regrouping together, the Pride began to explore Lafeal. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/4zSdJRN.png[/img][/center] [b]A town transformed[/b] It was as the rumours reported:- there was no sign of any remaining human life within Lafeal. Instead, the town had been overtaken by plantlife and vegetation. Perplexing trees stood formed within buildings and streets, positioned in odd and curious poses that led little to the imagination of their true origins. They were the townspeople. Elaine, using her keen tracking skills and senses, was able to find one particular tree within Lafeal that she was certain was her husband. Things were growing grave. Regrouping again, the Pride and their new allies decided the best way to investigate and resolve this danger was to face the curse at its source:- to journey into the Woods of Weir, as well as find the cloaked stranger. Don and Selan remained behind, to help guard the Donahues and with the songstress feeling unwell, wracked by a cold. However… no sooner had the Pride vanished into the fogging Woods, then did a horrifying turn betake Don, Selan and the Donahues. Each ad every single one of them began to turn and transform, and within moments they too had joined the rest of the townspeople in becoming trees. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/w7slstP.png[/img][/center] [b]Entering the Woods of Weir[/b] Meanwhile, the Pride descended further into the Woods. As the Woods grew darker and more ominous, the fog obscuring their sight and direction, sending Elaine’s senses reeling, they found a wounded wolf whom Dylan rushed to aid. But upon drawing close to the wolf, they were ambushed by the rest of the Dire Wolf pack, beasts whom were all mutated and who drew their deadly fangs against the Guilders. They fought as one, begrudgingly needing to kill each and every one. The struggle was hardest yet for Lisette and Dylan, the former one in love with all of life and nature. A moment’s hesitation from her led to Marcus being savagely attacked by one of the animals before being saved, his arm shredded and bleeding. Dylan learnt a first chilling lesson in what being a Guilder meant when he took his first monster’s life. With the Dire Wolves all killed, Dylan chose to rescue the Dire Wolf Pup, refusing to leave it behind, despite the warnings of his colleagues. And then, a nightmare happened. A rush of hurricane force yielded the immediate presence of a giant, hulking beast:- A mutated, monstrous Bearon, who appeared in the centre of them all. It was plain to all the danger he represented, that to fight would mean certain death. The Bearon drew to attack, and the Pride could do nothing but flee, becoming separated as they fled, scattered throughout the twisting and ever changing Woods, lost to one another. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/lQXaEAj.png[/img][/center] [b]Seperated[/b] Elaine, Lucien, Dylan and Julius appeared in an sun shining, open grove. When they backtracked to find their friends, they were attacked by the trees themselves, mutated into dangerous Treants. Moira, Syed, Amy and Trixie were attacked by an unrelenting swarm of mutated squirrels. Estelle and Marcus, winded by the Bearon and injured by the Dire Wolves, followed the trail of an ethereal, emerald glowing deer, that seemed to be calling them and leading them through the woods. And Lisette… Lisette and Kapi were left all alone in an unceasing downpour. And before them… before them was the hooded stranger. At first, she thought he might bring her harm, but to her surprise he represented kindness. His words were wrapped in cryptic ambiguity as he explained the curse of the Woods, and how the trees and animals called out to him, screaming in pain and agony. As he led Lisette to follow him, winding their way through the maze of trees to their friends, he started to explain the concept of ‘communion’. Of being able to listen, feel, and communicate with nature itself. With great surprise and difficulty, Lisette started to feel a glimpse of it. [b]The truth behind the Curse comes to light[/b] With the aid of the ever just out of their reach deer, and the hooded man, the Pride managed to reform once again, overcoming the obstacles in their way. Tackling the hooded man, Estelle and the Pride discovered that it was actually their former ally Cole Grale, the Earth Warrior they fought with in Tabul. Cole explained that the curse originated in the very centre of the words, from the demi-god tree Damu that gave life and beauty to all of the woods. Once upon a time it had been poisoned, and throughout the decades that poison had taken root and infected all of the beasts and life in Weir, transforming them into mindless, violent monsters, and was even now spreading. But at the same time, Damu, using the last vestiges of its waning strength, drew what power it could to protect life outside of the Woods, and the only way it could do that was to protect them in the shell of trees. In order to save Lafeal and their friends, they would have to reach Damu. [b][center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxF8rBXkfGY]Last Ride of the Day[/url][/center][/b] But then, once more, as they neared close, the Bearon attacked them again. This time, they had no choice but to fight. The Bearon, the origin of the curse that infected Damu, was an evil that had to be destroyed. But it was more then they could possibly handle. The Bearon had been mutated into a whole new being. Incredibly powerful, and fast, able to transform into a hurricane wind and rejuvenate its wounds, let alone be resistant to feeling any pain… no matter what the Pride threw at it, it resisted. The only hope they had left was a last, desperate gamble from Cole. He channelled a curse that laid deep inside his own body, a monster that had been sealed inside his body in his youth. His body transformed, as the beast within emerged. A Golem made from dirt and stone, that charged at the Bearon… and violently ripped it to shreds. The Bearon had been destroyed, but now… now the Golem turned to the Pride. And things grew only worse. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/nRZOVK8.png[/img][/center] [b][center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJyx3rrxoQ]Wonderfields[/url][/center][/b] In a desperate plea, Lisette found herself trying to save Cole through reason. Using what he had taught her, about communing with nature and communicating, feeling the life around her, she was able to break into the spirit within the Golem that was Cole. And soothing the rage inside him, she was able to, along with Cole’s own spirit, to suppress the monstrous Golem back, deep inside of himself… and transform back to normal. The beast had been quelled. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/sl3AydZ.png[/img][/center] [b]Schism[/b] But the darkness was not yet over. Reaching Damu, the Pride learned that there was only one way to save the people of Lafeal, and that was to kill the ailing Demi-God. But it came with it dire repercussions. To choose to do that would not only lead to the death of Damu, but that of the entire woods itself, and all of the life within that had been corrupted by the curse. It led to a furious schism debate amongst the Pride, splitting between what was right and what was necessary. Many reasoned that Damu and the Woods were beyond saving. That to take its life would not only save the people of Lafeal, but grant mercy to the Woods. But Estelle refused. She refused to cower and quit like this. To take such an ‘easy out’ was unacceptable. She would find a way to save Damu and the Woods of Weir no matter what! But before the debate could prosper, Elaine took it upon herself to end it and assume responsibility, as the highest ranking Guilder and leader of the mission. She killed the weakened Damu in one strike, and brought about an end to the curse and saving the people of Lafeal. [b][center][url=http://www.rainymood.com/watch?v=CcH4wT2FIsc]With the Rain[/url][/center][/b] But, as the Woods and the life within, including the Dire Wolf Pup that Dylan had saved, disintegrated into red dust and vanished on the parting breeze, everyone there knew that something had changed. Something between them had been lost. And it would never return again. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/GpYIPjK.png[/img][/center]