[Straylor Leonard]

The dryad merely regarded the halfling, amused, while Eldrew was caught in his reverie. And upon his question, the girl merely giggled before shaking her head. "We are all a part of Nature somehow, Eldrew who is pronounced like Andrew. For this reason, mortals have devised clever terms like 'fate' and 'destiny' and 'death'. When in truth, we are part of a cycle, a never ending one at that!"

"But don't worry your little head about such philosophical matters", she waved her slender arms dismissingly, "you wish to become a druid? Well, there's more to it than me Unbinding you, imparting my precious knowledge, teaching you, then sending you on your way! Hah!" The dryad then bounced off the ground and easily attached herself to a nearby tree. "First you must feel how it is to be Nature. Only then will you understand how Nature exists to coexist rather than dominate. Are you ready?" She grinned, that similar toothy one, which Eldrew grew worried of. "Allen, will you do the honours?"

The cheery dwarf chuckled softly before turning to face Eldrew. "Just stand still, all right?", he said with a nod, "this won't hurt one bit ... though it'll be weird at first. Again, don't worry. I'll be joining you along with the others soon 'nuff." With that, the dwarf sat himself on the dirt path, cross-legged, and began to hum. He closed his eyes and seemed to sway, a little, from side to side. He was meditating.

Eldrew would be left to watch the dwarf attempt to reach equalibrium with the Astral Plane. This was, by no means, a simple task. But within a few minutes he was one with Clara again and then something completely strange began to take place. At first, Eldrew wasn't sure if it was just him, or was his entire body suddenly feeling much, much stiffer? It wouldn't take long for him to realize that his legs were slowly changing, shifting into what many would agree to be roots. His trousers and boots were no where to be seen, instead a mesh of sturdy roots replaced them and dug deeply into the earth.

Should he panic, Her Grace would only chuckle loudly as she produced a third Animal Form spell to turn herself into her favorite form: the emerald eagle. She flicked her wings and was off, leaving Eldrew to enjoy the rest of his sudden transformation: his thighs were next, turning into bark, followed by his abdomen, chest, then arms. And as the spell worked itself upwards, the cether almost swore that he would die as his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes were replaced with a horrible, thick, dry sensation.

But then .... silence.

And before long, he could ... smell the various plants around him. The slightest breeze tickled his arms ... many of them, which he would later realize to be branches. His legs somehow brought refreshment, a sense of filling from the earth. Like a cool drink after a warm meal.


"heeeey....", a voice came, ".... you all right....?" It was like talking into a cave, with echoes almost indistinct but surely there. " ... it's Allen ... I'm right next to you .... don't worry, she does this to all the Initiates ... how does it feel to be a tree ....?"