Aug 22, 2019 6:39 pm
"I wish I could tell you, I truly do," says Athisa. "To be honest, records of the preserves -- if they were ever kept -- are long since gone and passed into rumor and legend. They were never my particular area of study, but everyone in my line of work has spent some time looking into them in some way. So here is what I can tell you that is considered reliable..."
She goes on to explain that soon after the Great Advancement, the Valerman leadership -- for they never followed the same model of monarchy that many nations did; they ruled themselves primarily at the local level with occasional large-scale meetings among elected delegates -- saw what the elves of The Vaelt were doing in modifying their environment to fit their own needs. Under the guise of improving it, of course, because the elves of The Vaelt have the reputation of feeling their ways are always the best ways, but the rapid changes were of some concern.
Recognizing the potential for true nature -- wilderness unmodified by humanoid forces -- to disappear from the world in the face of arcane prowess, it is believed that Valerman mages took on a great project to protect as many kinds of natural areas as they could. Thus the preserves were created.
"It is said," says Athisa, "that there are twelve preserves in the world. It would seem that you have discovered the temperate forest preserve. The identities of the others are a matter of some debate. Alpine, tropical rainforest, desert... there are rumors of one that is entirely ocean, no land at all. It seems likely that each would have some manner of protection, so I could easily envision each having a guardian of some sort, but whether they take the same form as the one you have encountered I can only begin to speculate."
Athisa pauses. "I do wonder whether the War has affected the preserves in some fashion. They were created by powerful mages, and if the nature of the world's magic has changed..."
She trails off, but the implication is clear. She fears the viability of the preserves may be in some danger.
She goes on to explain that soon after the Great Advancement, the Valerman leadership -- for they never followed the same model of monarchy that many nations did; they ruled themselves primarily at the local level with occasional large-scale meetings among elected delegates -- saw what the elves of The Vaelt were doing in modifying their environment to fit their own needs. Under the guise of improving it, of course, because the elves of The Vaelt have the reputation of feeling their ways are always the best ways, but the rapid changes were of some concern.
Recognizing the potential for true nature -- wilderness unmodified by humanoid forces -- to disappear from the world in the face of arcane prowess, it is believed that Valerman mages took on a great project to protect as many kinds of natural areas as they could. Thus the preserves were created.
"It is said," says Athisa, "that there are twelve preserves in the world. It would seem that you have discovered the temperate forest preserve. The identities of the others are a matter of some debate. Alpine, tropical rainforest, desert... there are rumors of one that is entirely ocean, no land at all. It seems likely that each would have some manner of protection, so I could easily envision each having a guardian of some sort, but whether they take the same form as the one you have encountered I can only begin to speculate."
Athisa pauses. "I do wonder whether the War has affected the preserves in some fashion. They were created by powerful mages, and if the nature of the world's magic has changed..."
She trails off, but the implication is clear. She fears the viability of the preserves may be in some danger.
