Aurora Magazine 2019

Backstory: William Cast, son of Mara and Theran, grew up with an innate affinity for magic, more specifically, the druidic kind. Unlike his sister, Darie, whose task as a rogue dealt with spying on neigh - boring folk to determine their intentions, Will naturally became a druid due to laying high value on not only what the group’s needs were but the effect each action will have on the forest and the rest of the natural world. Most Firbolg druids serve as stronghold leaders, a position William could see himself doing well in. That was, until he had a dream, where beasts and plants alike seemed to be leading him somewhere. He followed streams, shifting vines and small critters to an abandoned ruin. He didn’t know why he was being led to the ruins in his dreams, but he knew they were incredibly old – as in First Age old. At first, he wasn’t sure what to make of the dream. But the dream kept reoccurring and he kept hearing a voice call out to him, deep and strong and not at all unpleasant. “Protect,” it said. “Protect. Guardian over creation.” Baffled by what the dream meant, he went to discuss these dreams with the tribe leaders. They agreed that it might be an omen and since Will was the one who received it, they told him to follow what nature was trying to show him and seek out the ruins. Packing only what he needed and bidding farewell to his tribe, he set out to do just that. When he found the ruins, he noticed what appeared to be varying levels of desecration surrounding them, causing plants to sicken and die and the wildlife to steer clear. There, he saw scattered throughout the ruins, tags with primordial scrawl carved into them. And further in, residing in the middle of the ruins floating four feet above a small pillar, was a pitch-black orb, about palm-sized, with a slight purple sheen from the nat - ural rays of sunlight, spinning slowly. Not knowing what it was or how dangerous it could be, William refused to touch the orb, deciding to guard it and the ruins in ignorance of exactly what he was guarding. What he did understand was that whatever the 39