[center][h3][color=0054a6]The Children of Artemon[/color][/h3][/center]

When Halwen spoke of the need to build walls to compensate for their numbers he had left one obvious truth unspoken. What kept their homeland safe was neither their skill at war, the quality of their arms nor the grandness of their fortifications, though they took pride in all these things. It was their mastery of magic, which reached beyond that of any other race, that was the foundation of their greatness. However among the ranks of the worshippers of Artemon such skills were sorely lacking. Magic had become almost exclusively the domain of mages, who worship the arcane goddess of mysteries Belia. Such was their mastery that other forms of magic had become obsolete and obscure.

This is where Craftspriest Aleon realised his destiny. Not only had he been lead here to guide the children spiritually, but to provide them with the tools for their survival. They lacked the vast libraries and decades of study that were required to unravel the mysteries of Belia and her arcane teachings. But Aleon prayed that they may be able to revive a more ancient form of magic, a more fundamental and natural magic in direct worship of the gods. To this end, he dedicated himself wholly to studying the religious texts he had brought with him and to pray at his altar in search of divination.

Among the teachings of Artemon he found the Ritual of the Flames. He could at once see a reason why it had fallen into disuse, for it required an elf to sacrifice their mortal body in order to become one with Artemon's fire and acquire mastery over its powers. Further still, it required a collection of different reagents, the most inaccessible being the specific need for volcanic ash. From wood, he carved an idol. Not to Artemon, but to Belia. It was a meagre offering, but he hoped that she would see that they had little else to offer. He prayed to the idol, seeking to gain Belia's blessing in order to unravel the continent's mysteries and divine the if and where of any volcanoes.

E) The red and purple skies and the darkness that descended were frankly terrifying to the elves. Their first thoughts were of divine punishment and evil magic. They sought the shelter of their homes, praying for it to pass, while the storm and rising river washed away whatever had been hurriedly left outside. The great roaring lightning bolt shook the whole village, but they were soon relieved to see that it had struck far away and no lasting damage had been done as the worst of the storm finally passed. The next day the storm had passed entirely and they could resume work on the wall under the sun's warm light.

A party of scouts were immediately assembled and sent east to investigate the point where it had struck.

E) They still awaited the return of the scouts and prospectors from the caves to the north east.

[hider=Summary]
Aleon seeks to divine the location of a volcano for ritual reagents, scouts are sent to where the lightning bolt struck, await return of scouts sent to the caves
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