Ben
Ben didn’t stay in Durrover Town for long. It was the biggest city he had ever seen, and the longer he was there, the more he felt that he was in the wrong place there. There was not one spot of calm in the entire town- wherever he turned, there were people. And with the people came the people’s noise, their dirt and, worst of all, their smells.
So, once he was certain that all three kids were accepted as recruits by the militia, he bid them and Trepat farewell and went out into the wild.
He was a fairly skilled hunter and trapmaker, so survival was easy for him. He lived off the land, and when he needed things nature didn’t provide him with, like boots or salt, he sold leather or meat to villagers in exchange for money or the goods he needed.
A year passed, and Ben felt free and happy. At last, he was able to live the way he felt was right for him, and noone told him what to do. At night, he often dreamt of being a spider, or even some more fantastic creatures. In those dreams he never once wondered why he had such fantastic forms- it always felt natural to him.
Then, one sunny day in Chardot, he just went along a small streamlet in a wood that he made his “home”, to check the fish traps he had placed there, as an elven woman stepped into his path.
She was dressed according to wildelf custom- meaning that she was nude except for her boots and loincloth. Her body was tatooed with arcane patterns and symbols, and yet Ben noticed that she was taller and, even though still delicate, definetly stronger framed then either his friend Trepat or any of the Forsaken Elves he had seen in Durrover. She must be a half elf, he thought. Yet, even though he could have sworn he had never seen her before in his life, he felt like he knew her. Not only that- he even felt like she was an old friend…
“Greetings”, she said.
He was a bit startled, but greeted her in return none the less.
She smiled at him: “You must be the wild Halfling the villagers are talking about. My name is Ielenna.”
”My name is Ben. What do you want?”
”Ah, you are suspicious of sentient lifeforms! Very well. Say, do you ever dream of being an animal, or some strange exotic creature?”
Ben thought of his spider dreams: “Yes, but…”.
“Even better, then!”, she interrupted him, obviously happy about something.
“Well, sit down, there is a lot we need to talk about.” And as Ben hesitated, she added: “There is no harm in talking, is there?”
Ben’s feeling of friendship towards that strange woman was stronger then his usual mistrust of people and so he sat down.
“It is certainly unusual for a young Halfling to be in Durrover. Much more unusual even, that this halfling is living of the land. What brought you here.”.
“Well, originally I lived in the Heteronomy of Virduk. On the western fringe of the Calastian empire. My parents were millers and I was their only son. I was destined to become a miller like them but I resisted. I detested the work and the whole life as slaves to Calastia.
“So, one night, my friend Fahlhand and me did what we considered a prank then. There was a large herd of cattle ready to be transported to Calastia reigned in at the edge of our village. We both sneaked to the gate and opened it. Then we moved around the fence that surrounded the cattle and threw a torch into their midst. The animals panicked, of course, and stormed out of the only opening: the gate we had previously opened.
“Unfortunately, two militiamen stood at the gate and were trampled to death. And more unfortunately, it turned out that we had been seen and were now hunted for assassination of representatives of the Satrap.
“So, we ran away. Later, Fahlhand and me got separated, and I had to move on on my own.
I crossed the entire width of the Calastian empire, and even though I had never left the heteronomy before, I often felt as if I knew the land.
“Often, when I saw a hill, I would think that there would be a river beyond it, and I was right more often then not. Or I would know which way I had to head in order to get to safety. And now, that I saw maps, I really saw out that Durrover was the only way of escape for me that didn’t lead through blight terrain or lands still overrun by titanspawn.
“The dreams were more vivid then before, too, and one time, when hounds were chasing me, I was able to climb a tree as if I were really a spider!
So, I made it over the Kelders and into Durrover.”
And then Ben told her the story of his time in the village of Oreirover and the events that took place there. By now, he felt that he could completely trust the half elven woman.
When he was finished, Iellena simply said: “Let me tell you something that you are probably already aware of: You have lived before.”
Ben nodded. He did feel like he was much, much older then his 31 years, and it explained his strange feeling of knowing places he had never been to before.
Seeing that Ben understood, Iellena continued: “You are what is called an Incarnate. And I am an Incarnate myself. In fact, we have met countless times before in previous lives. You see, we are born over and over again in order to fulfill the will of Denev.
“I will take you under my wing for now, and I will teach you to channel the power of nature and you will become a Druid.
“But for now, I think I saw a big fish in that trap downstream, so let us have dinner first.”
And so, Ben met Ielenna and she became his teacher. For the next years, they crossed the wilderness together and she taught him what it means to be an incarnate- an eternal servant of Denev, the Earthmother, a keeper of the balance and a protector of nature.
