Ty'athalae

After Iseon introduces you to the Mother, you feel a warm wind sweep over you, and you get the feeling you’ve been approved of somehow.

You hear a voice, but it is not with your ears that you hear it- rather a soft, strong female voice says in your head… “Welcome, Hethurin Tcharrién, to the grove of which you helped to save. You are welcome here and within the Misty Grove, as a friend of the druids. We thank you for your service and give you a gift of our hearts, of our power, tied to the lives you helped to save.”

You feel a movement at your side, in the pouch you have nestled carefully at your waist. When you glance inside you see a the tiny head of a small golden feathered bird poking out of the egg- now shattered.

It looks up at you and gives a shrill cry, it’s small mouth opening and closing. As it stares at you, it struggles up out of the egg, sharp talons clutching the sides of the bag. It looks like it is struggling to get out.

As it nestles in your hands, you hear the voice in your head again, this time singing softly- words that you don’t understand. You watch, and the hatchling starts to grow larger in your hands, its talons growing sharper, its feather’s filling out, its beak growing sharp. It gives a sudden flap of its wings and walks up your forearm- having grown to full size before your eyes.

The Mother speaks again. “She is waiting for her name.”

Hethurin: "Surely you are a manifestation of the healing that has come to this place, the bringing of harmony where once was bloodshed. There is in the Elven tongue a word for the peace attained through the absolute beauty of nature and harmony with one's surroundings. Arise, Ty’athalae, and embrace the wind and sky that are your birthright."

“Well named, Hethurin. Ty’athalae she is. She will come when you call. She is an intelligent creature and, thru her, you are tied to the Misty Forest, my daughter’s grove, and all the creatures within it. Within the Misty Forest, you now have eyes to see and ears to hear with.”

Ty’athalae suddenly gives a mighty flap with her wings, and launches herself into the air.

Iseon is standing beside you, a huge grin on her face. She hands you a small, freshly skinned animal.

Your head swims a bit, and you suddenly feel the rush of wind on your face. You close your eyes, but it is not the dark you see. Rather, you feel the sun on your face, the trees rushing below you as you soar on strong wings. You open your eyes, and are a bit disoriented- as you stare directly at Iseon, your feet planted firmly on the ground.

Iseon speaks- “Ty’athalae will grow with you, Hethurin. She skills and strengths are innate to her nature, her intelligence is tied to the grove and the Mother’s powers, but her heart is tied to you. You will need to teach her about elves, humans, and other’s of our kind. She is like a child, with an adult body. She will have many questions. You need to reach out to her mind, make that connection with her, establish the thread that she may follow.” Iseon gestures towards the meat in your hand. “Call her. Stare into her eyes. Feed her. Talk to her with your mind.”

For a second, you feel weightless. With a thought, you turn your head and watch as the world tilts, then rights itself again. Ty’athalae suddenly folds her wings tightly against her body and swoops down, the ground rushes at you. She pulls up sharply, and carefully lands on your arm, her talons tuck around your upper arm. As you feel a weight settle heavily on your arm, you open your eyes and watch her hungrily gobble the tidbit you’ve offered.

Heth: I lightly stroke her back. “Nourish yourself on this. Be with me. Let us bring each other comfort and peace. There will not always be this quietude, but it is here now, and so are we.”

As you look into her brown eyes you see them tinge with violet, an echo of your own, and you feel a sudden mental awareness and a quiet, almost child-like, female voice is in your head now. “Master of my heart, what is this quiet you speak of? The world is always full of sounds.”

Your ears suddenly pop a bit, and it is as your hearing has intensified x10. You hear the wind rustling thru the trees, small animals are scampering around the grove, and the water rushing in the fountain you bathed in but a moment ago.

Thus begins your journey with your new companion.