Role

Chapter 4

Over the years, Taenya saw Lyria many times. Lyria was impossible to seek out,
but always found Taenya. They spoke on many subjects, and had much in common.
Both heard the voice of the land. To Taenya, that voice sounded like music. If
she focused really hard, sometimes it even spoke words to her in a secret
language, poetry that she could never quite translate in her mind. Lyria told
her that some day perhaps she might. The more time Taenya spend in the wilds,
the clearer the voice became.

Lyria taught Taenya about Thar-Eris, what she called the lands. It was that
voice that they heard, Lyria said. She taught Taenya about how Thar-Eris had
been twisted and had suffered, and how the Ancients sought to restore Her to
Her rightful splendor. Lyria said that there were those who sought this
restoration by destroying that which was not meant to be Thar-Eris, but that
was not Taenya's path. Taenya and those like her were rare and gifted instead
with words, and a desire to protect the pure parts of the word, to restore
those parts that were tainted.

"You feel a connection to the living things on the world, do you not, Taenya?"
asked Lyria.

"Yes, yes! I always have! Even when I was very little, it was as if the
flowers spoke to me, the birds recited poetry to my ears," said Taenya. "And
the life flourished when I was happy, when I focused my joy outward. Does that
sound strange?"

"Not to me. I think you will find yourself even more connected to the life of
the wild as you grow. And I sense in you... something more. Something special.
Try focusing that feeling inward, what do you see?"

Taenya closed her eyes and focused, drawing in the energy of the forest around
her. An image began to swim into focus in her mind. It was a great serpent,
but like none other she had ever seen. It had feathers and in fact wings! It
emitted a pure and radiant light. Taenya knew that this creature was somehow
her destiny, and that with this connection she would work to restore Thar-Eris
to its rightful state.