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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rybaer" data-source="post: 1407718" data-attributes="member: 118">After the informal celebration and dinner of rations, everyone settles in for some extended sleep.  The sense of security offered by the small military force at the keep is not lost on anyone following several hard nights camping in dangerous territory.Ys-Baddaden finds himself restless.  Leaving the others to their sleep, he quietly slips up the stairs and onto the roof of the keep.  Under a three-quarter moonlit sky, he can make out the pair of guards in the watchtower above.  One waves at him, but they make no effort at conversation.The giant walks to the west side of the keep, and is rewarded with a magnificent view of the Floating Forest.  From the ground the forest is largely obscured by a line of low hills, but from the roof the mighty gassar trees extend to the limits of the moonlit horizon.  Ys-Baddaden was told about the gassars when he was a youth.  The mighty trees begin growing deep underground.  Eventually, they erupt from the earth and carry large slabs of earth upwards in their branches.  These become small ecosystems within the forest - floating islands in a sense.  In the darkness, the illusion is even more convincing.Ys-Baddaden is startled by the soundless arrival of an owl, landing within arm's reach on the railing.  He knows instinctively that this is no ordinary owl.  In any given moment it appears both tangible and ethereal.  It's eyes show intelligence and wisdom.  It speaks a single word, his truename, then takes to the air.  Ys-Baddaden watches the spirit, the totem, fly a short distance away.  The owl hoots several times, beckoning the giant to follow it toward the forest.Ys-Baddaden hurries through the keep, not stopping to wake any of his companions or even grab his gear.  He mumbles something to the gate guards about needing some fresh air.  The distant hooting leads him around the keep, over the hills, and into the dark forest.  Insects, frogs, and other critters of the night create a symphony over which the spirit guides his movements through the trees.The owl leads him up the trunk of a gassar and onto a small island in the sky.  Smaller trees and bushes grow out of the island, all surrounding a small pool of crystal water.  A shaft of moonlight cuts through the islands of the surrounding gassars, fully illuminating this one spot in the forest.  Other spirits are here - an elk, wolf, snake, and hawk.  There are also spirits of the trees, the wind, the earth, and even the small pool of water.  So many that it is almost overwhelming, yet Ys-Baddaden is infused with only a sense of rightness with the world.The giant had left home to adventure, to find his purpose and calling in life.  He hadn't expected that his calling would come find him.Ys-Baddaden wakes the next morning beside his companions in the keep.  He feels the connection to the Green and wonders how he was ever able to live without that warm, vibrant companion.  The events of the night are quickly fading from his memory, but he recalls one of the last things the spirits told him:  "You may not see us again for some time, but remember that we are always here.  Follow your heart, and we will continue to guide your path."</blockquote>

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