Montalin sits down before you and opens an ancient tome of lore sitting upon his lap. He withdraws a leather bookmark, etched with images of swirling leaves and ivy, and clears his throat. "So much of this Guild's history is nothing but a story to the membership. It lacks some of the substance that true Lore must have - it lacks the life that makes it applicable today. I want that ended, so I bring to you today a tale of a Ranger that should remove her from your minds as just another name from the past. I bring you the tale of Jelana Starburst, the last leader of the Rangers who existed before Roachmill discovered their guild. Listen well..." From the beginning, she had always hated the way she looked. She looked weak. She looked like someone who could be brushed aside; but she was not. With a sigh, Jelana turned away from the mirror. Her grandfather had been right, she was too pretty to be taken seriously as a leader. The council would meet tonight to decide who their next leader would be. She knew she deserved the position; not only by birthright, but by skill and by ability. Drawing her hair back from her eyes, she fastened it behind her head with a length of leather. She would behave as a leader even if they did not expect her to be one. A dark paste had been crushed together from treebark and nectar and was sitting on a small table beside her. She applied it as it should be applied - a single redwood leaf painted upon her cheek, covering one of her scars in the process. So many scars dotted her face, some of them self-inflicted to try to make her look strong, others truly battle-gained. Not even the scars of a warrior could remove the look of a maiden that was her weakness. Out the window, the sounds of preparation were everywhere. Voices shouted back and forth, a fire was blazing, garlands had been strung from the branches and wrapped around the treetrunks themselves as decoration. This night would be carried out with all of the solemnity of a funeral, and all of the joy of a wedding. For Jelana, she knew, it would feel more like the first than the second in all likelihood. She stared out from her platform in the treetops towards another one, not so far away. Loth was there, as she'd expected him to be, also preparing in the same way. He was older than her, with the face and body of a Ranger of many years, one who knew the ways of the wood and the ways of their small, secretive tribe by heart. He was also quick-tempered, arrogant, and from all evidence, a better follower than a leader. He would lead though, without a doubt. The council was more of his lot than her own, and they would sympathize with him a thousand times before granting her a vote. She knew it was fair, simply their way of telling her it was not her turn yet, but he was not so much older than her that she would ever have another chance. He would lead until his death, and by the time that came about she would be too old to be considered to be the Mistress of Rangers. Her hopes to follow her grandfather's footsteps ended today. "Jelana, they are ready for you now." The voice came from behind her. Quithenne, her friend since childhood. Quithenne had received the body that Jelana had always wanted; or else Jelana had received Quithenne's mind. Either way, the gods had played a trick on these two, born within hours of each other. Quithenne had a sturdier build and a harder face than any of the other women in the tree, but she was a healer at heart, quick to laughter and too gentle to ever defend the tree in a combative manner. She was their wisdom; the one who was patient, calm, and always kind. Her face smiled even now at Jelana, though she knew as well as Jelana did what the night would hold. A last look over at Loth's platform showed her that he had been summoned as well. Kuiper had come to summon him, a young mystic who would be as strong as Quithenne someday, all the elders said. He was just a few years younger than Quithenne and Jelana, in truth, but there was a new generation coming with those born just a few years after the two women. Already, a younger archer named Kublai was already surpassing most of the Elders in skill, and now this mystic. They would make excellent Rangers someday, when their time came. The Elders still had many years to lead. Wrapping her cloak around her shoulders, Jelana smiled at her friend. She would still be there, even after tonight. "Lead on," she smiled. The two made their way down to the forest floor in silence, to the meadow where the council sat before an old boulder, one which held the history of the guild in writing and in picture. This clearing was where the decision would be made. Loth and Kuiper joined them soon, the latter sparing a quick smile for Quithenne and Jelana before taking his place alongside the other younger Rangers standing to the left and right of those involved in the ceremony. Jelana turned her attention to the council. She chuckled a little at the thought of some of them being members of the council. Seth and Singleton had both been like older brothers to her when she had been younger. They both sported the pendants of council members now, though the pendants looked out of place beneath their young faces. Of the council members, only Cloae and Fennimore had really been elders when she had begun her training, and her memory told her that Cloae had only just been made an Elder when Jelana had started training. Fennimore, as the eldest, stood to speak. "Jelana Starburst, granddaughter of Ardon Starburst, daughter of Crydon Starburst and Laena Windspeak... you have been summoned before the council as a candidate for Mistress of the Redwood." "Loth Proudfoot," Seth glanced down at his older cousin as Fennimore spoke, "Grandson of those not of our tree, but son of Pen Proudfoot and Llin Dir'Lon, you have been summoned before the council as a candidate for Master of the Redwood." "Two circles stand before this boulder. The circle drawn in white is the circle of confidence in Jelana Starburst. The circle drawn in green is the circle of confidence in Loth Proudfoot. Let the votes be cast as the council wishes to choose a leader for the Redwood, who will lead throughout their life." "Let the Elders step forward and cast their votes now..." Fennimore threw his vote first. A gray stone. It landed in the very center of Loth's circle. Jelana's heart sank. Cloae came next. She cast her stone without so much as looking at the candidates. It landed beside Fennimore's. One by one the Elders approached the circles and cast their stones. Each time the stone landed in the same circle, the circle drawn in green. Jelana closed her eyes to keep the tears from forming. She had expected this, but somehow... she had hoped. She opened her eyes again to see Singleton walk forward and cast his stone into Loth's circle with an apologetic glance in her direction. Seth walked forward last, the youngest. With a sigh, he dropped his stone. The only one in Jelana's circle. The only one, cast by the youngest of the Council and Loth's young cousin. She had been defeated, eight to one. "The victory is decisive. The Redwood will be led by Loth Proudfoot." It was all Jelana could do not to weep as she returned to her room high in the tree and fell asleep as the sound of the celebrations rose and fell far below her on the forest floor. Loth proved a competent enough leader for the next several years. Few new members came to the Redwood, though they dealt as always with the explorers who invaded their forests. Jelana kept to herself, rarely becoming involved in guild politics. She had resolved to be as true to herself and to the redwood as she could, but she knew deep down that she had resigned herself to the fact that she would never lead. She had failed her Grandfather's legacy, and the legacy her father no doubt would have fulfilled had he lived long enough to be selected. The autumns came and went, followed by the other seasons as they should, but uneventfully. Then the change came... It was hard to notice at first, just some extra noise to the east, but then the smoke started filtering into the forests. The report came... there was a road to the east now. Where once the woods had filled the continent all the way to the coast now stood a major thoroughfare, and more and more wagons were parading north from Devardec into their area of the lands. Reports came in too that roads were being built to the South, and then finally, their forest was penetrated to the North. Then the trolls started to show up. First one at a time, having wandered on the forest roads at night into the part of the forest that housed the Redwood. Then scouting parties began to appear. The Rangers never let any of these trolls escape, but they knew it was just a matter of time before something happened, and the trolls discovered where they were. Then it happened. A party of fifty trolls ran in upon a teaching session in the southern part of the Rangers' woods. The alarm was raised in the guild when Fennimore ran in from the South with an arrow lodged in his shoulder, yelling that the party had been attacked. The healers and the fighters alike of the guild ran en masse to combat the trolls, but the damage had already been done. Although the trolls were all slewn by the reinforcements, the Rangers lost several of their own in the process. The first to fall had been Loth Proudfoot, the Master of the Redwood. The second had been Cloae, powerful, beautiful Cloae D'Neoirn who had run to the fallen Loth's side and cried out 'My love' before being struck down herself by troll arrows, or so the young Rangers said when the battle was through. Jelana heard this and chuckled to herself; she had known for some time that the two had been in love, though most thought of it as a scandal for years after. The council met that night to discuss what needed to be done. In the process, they selected a council member to replace Cloae. Quithenne would take her spot; Quithenne who at that point was the strongest healer the Rangers had ever known. Quithenne had been the first to run to the two fallen Rangers, and the first to cry over them, lamenting that it was still beyond her powers to raise them from the dead. Jelana could only be happy for her friend, but at the same time she knew that more needed to be done. The Rangers needed a leader, but the council refused to grant one without the obligatory waiting period of three months between the death of the former leader and the selection of a new one. Jelana, in this way become one of the first Rangers to shatter the traditions of the old Redwood, even before she had met with Roachmill. It was two days after the first attack, that she stood upon the highest bough of the Redwood and cried out to her fellow Rangers. "Rangers, hear me! Our way of life is in danger; our homes, our families, our survival is at stake. There is a war coming and we must be led. I would lead you, as my grandfather before led you. I would lead us!" A crowd began to gather to hear her words. "We know the winds are changing in our forest, we can no longer maintain our secrecy for it means that we will perish. Our scouts tell us of the building of a city to the east, they tell us of a man who is in charge of this as well as in charge of a contingent of fighters who have themselves fought off the trolls attacks on their city. We must reveal ourselves to them if we are to survive the onslaught of the trolls into our homes. We must reveal ourselves to them if we wish them to cease the destruction of our forest. I leave today to find this man, I leave today to find these people. I implore that some of you come with me. We know the trolls plan an attack; we found the evidence on the first fifty killed just the other day. We can only defend our lives by sacrificing our secrecy." She paused, glancing down at the Rangers gathered below her. There was the frowning face of Fennimore, the glare of the other elders. Even the youngest in the council, aside from her dear Quithenne, seemed rather perturbed by her speech. Then a Ranger stepped forward. "I will go with you." It was young Kuiper, the mystic. "As will I." This was Kublai, the archer. "And I..." Quithenne at last spoke up. A chorus of others added their voices in approval, and that day Jelana Starburst departed after eating a dinner among the other Rangers that was the last dinner eaten in their old tradition of secrecy. She walked towards the town being built to the east. Joining her were Kublai, the Archer, Kuiper, the Mystic, Quithenne, the healer, Fennimore, the ancient, Jinan, the speaker, and Seth Proudfoot, still somewhat distraught over the death of his cousin. Although cautious at first, bows raised, the Rangers eventually came to trust this strange man Roachmill and his warriors with names like Praetora, and Cbr. After several hours of discussion, Jelana and Roachmill came to respect each other as leaders and they came to understand that the danger posed to the Rangers was a danger to the Warriors and their town as well. The beginning of the battle is history; you know the story of how the Rangers and warriors defeated the trolls and they came together. So I will not tell you the story of the battle. I will tell you the story of Jelana and her friends and how they fared. In the assault of the next day, many Rangers fell. Jinan, the speaker, who remembered history as if it were his own life, was the first to fall. Quithenne and Kuiper, both bowed over him as he spoke to them what he remembered of the tree for them to pass on even as they tried desperately to heal him, were both struck by troll arrows. Quithenne watched in horror, an arrow deep in her shoulder, as her young apprentice fell to the ground and died. She was truly the first Ranger to learn resurrect, for somewhere within her she found the reserves of strength to revive Kuiper and bring him back to life. Quithenne died shortly after. Kuiper always remembered what Jinan had told him of the Guild's past, and he always remembered what Quithenne had taught him of the healing arts. He became known as Sagely Kuiper, the Mystic, who at an age of over a century continues to teach Rangers today. Fennimore retired to the guild and watched the battle. Some say it was his cries to Roachmill and Jelana that allowed them to see their way to victory; he called to them in his powerful voice and led them with his advice to victory. He guides more experienced Rangers now as the oldest living tutor in the guild, bearing the title of "Ancient" which he has truly earned. Kublai survived the battle with barely a scratch, firing arrow after arrow into the troll lines and felling more of them than any other Ranger or Warrior on the battle field. He was always known more often as the Archer than Kublai after that. Like Kuiper, his friend, he continues to teach Rangers the arts of combat today. Jelana and Roachmill led the charge through the enemy lines that led to the breaking of the trolls. In the process, though, Jelana was wounded by troll fire magic. She sat upon the council in the place of her friend Quithenne after the battle in the unique position of being both a council member casting a vote and one of the two candidates, alongside Roachmill, for Master of the Rangers. It was her stone that was the deciding vote in that election: she cast her vote for Roachmill. Jelana retired to the forest after that, living off of the land as her grandfather had done so long before her. She never officially led the guild, but it was her action that let the Rangers survive, and that let a warrior known as Roachmill take the leadership of the guild and open it up to the members from outside, revitalizing a Ranger population that almost died in the great war with the trolls. Jelana's fire, her independence, and in the end her selfless vote have made her a legend among the Rangers. It is said that it is her spirit which lives in the form of the spiritual stag, and that her presence in the forest still allows Rangers into the Guild.