Post by Thrym on Sept 9, 2024 10:26:37 GMT -5
Sister Tulip Reedwhistle rubbed her temples briefly, before glancing up at the girl in front of her. She had served at the Green Sisters Circle for several decades now, and conducted interviews with dozens of young hin who intended to become acolytes, but this... this was new.
The girl in front of her was quite a bit older than the usual potential initiates. Generally, the earlier one started, the better. Most who joined did so as young children, usually because their families had long served as druids of Sheela Peryroyl.
Her gaze wandered over the applicant sitting across from her. The halfling girl was clearly almost an adult - it would be difficult for her to master the practices even if she was suitable to be a druid... but she certainly didn't look like that.
'Joséphine Donatienne Héloïse, Third Daughter of the Onotrea Merchant House' sat calmly on a large mossy rock, looking entirely out of place, garbed in purple finery every bit as fancy as the name would suggest. A cane of sturdy wood, ornately inlaid with gold, rested across the girls lap.
She had come in with it, clearly relying on it to help her walk properly. At first, she figured maybe that was the reason she wanted to become a druid.
The Onotreans were known to be not only merchants, but powerful sorcerers, the blood of dragons flowing through their veins... and attempts to keep that blood from diluting were clearly responsible for the girl having to live with such a defect.
Sister Reedwhistle could have seen why one'd wish to learn Wildshaping to escape a body born damaged. But the reason the child had just given her for wishing to become a druid was even more preposterous than that - it was borderline blasphemous!
The old druid lifted her gaze to lock eyes with the child once more, an act that took her quite some willpower. The girl's exceptionally pretty face was framed by silky reddish hair, and a set of clear blue eyes sparkled with mirth and... affection?... as they encountered hers.
As their gazes met, it was as if those eyes dug into her with an intense curiosity. She could have sworn the youngster had not blinked once since they started talking, but clearly that must have been her mind playing tricks on her.
She let out a small sigh and spoke.
"So let me get this straight: You want to become a druid because it's 'Part Two' of your 'Five Step Plan to... ' ... would you care to elaborate on that, child? I think I must have misunderstood you."
The young woman smiled cheerily.
"Of course - maybe I should elaborate indeed! Mm... let me start from the beginning, then - you are familiar with House Onotrea, yes?"
Sister Reedwhistle nodded.
"I know of your family, yes. Sorcerers. Merchants. Very rich."
"Exactly. Being born to such, I was afforded only the best education - math, languages, science, arts, the arcane - I meant to become a bard, like my sister Isabella - have you heard of her? She fills quite the concert halls these days - but anyways:
There was something I noticed during all this tutelage." The girl tilted her head, grinning happily.
"And what would that have been?"
"Most of my teachers ... weren't hin." Her grin fades a little, the mirthful sparkle in her eyes dimming. "Sure, for Luiren's history, the teachings of Yondalla's Children, there my tutors were hin - but science? High Art? Magic?
Humans. Gnomes. A half human-elf. But not a hin to be seen. And of course - my education should be proper and prestigious after all, and who heard of great hin sages? Of hin trailblazing new heights of magic, or science? Establishing new avant-garde styles of art?
... No one has."
"And I think I know why. These things, they are not held in high regard by our people as a whole - and there is none to promote them among Yondalla's Children. The humans have Mystra, Oghma, Deneir, Azuth. The elves and gnomes have half their pantheons. Even the dwarves, with their famed distrust of magic, have Dumathoin and Brightmantle. But we hin?"
The girl shook her head.
"Sure, many of our gods encourage us to be curious, or to listen to the wisdom of our elders ... but we have no dedicated god of knowledge, of magic among Yondalla's Children. And I think ... that is rather problematic, no?
Time marches on. Gnomes and Gondians invent machine after machine, human wizards unravel mystery after mystery and learn spell after spell ... and we are left behind.
How many hin could have stood among them, had someone only encouraged it? Had their parents not told them to stop dilly dallying and live in the real world?"
Her grin returns, genuine amusement, but with a distinct note of smugness to it.
"Remember that elder wisdom I mentioned? My grampa has plenty of it - and one of the things he taught me was:
Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.
We hin have no god of knowledge and magic - that's a problem. But it's also... "
"A job opening!
So no - you did not hear wrong.
Becoming a druid is, indeed, Step Two of my Grand Plan to become the Hin God of Knowledge and Magic."
Sister Reedwhistle blinked slowly.
Yep. This brat was crazy.
She closed her eyes. Deep breath.
"And how... pray tell ... is this going to help you with that? What, blessed Sheela, are the other four steps?"
The lass grinned, raising one of her fingers.
"Step One: Realize the Opportunity.
Realize the Costs. Have the willpower to take the first step.
- Check: Done!"
She chuckles.
"It may sound trivial - but it's not. This plan will require the rest of my life. Decades of research and hard work.
It is not for the faint of heart - fortunately, I happen to have determination in spades!"
Another finger goes up."Step Two: Become a druid. I'm a little old I understand, but I think I can manage in a decade!"
A third.
"Step Three: Master the pinnacle of druidic magic and learn to wildshape into a fully grown True Dragon - 'Common' transmutations won't do."
The Druidess scoffed.
"That's step three? Do you know how ridiculously few druids ever reach that level?
There may be one or two a century at best! I can't recall a single hin among them!"
"Mm, yes! It'll be hard... I'd say it'll take me another twenty, fifty years?"
"Ridiculous. And what then? How does wild-shaping into a dragon lead to becoming one of Yondalla's Children?"
"Mm, good question! Remember how my family are draconic sorcerers? We have lots of old tomes on dragon magic we collected over the centuries - from binding draconic familiars to turning onself into a half-dragon to rituals performed by dragons themselves.
Among those many tomes, I found several mentions, from quite varied sources, about a most peculiar ritual - a rite of draconic ascendancy, in which a True Dragon, after steeling its body and mind, devours its hoard to light the spark of divinity within itself."
"And... you have this ritual?"
"Goodness no! Researching that is Step Four: Research the Rite of Draconic Ascendancy.
My research points to Chessenta and Unther being most likely to hold the hints, so I'll head there after I figured out the dragon part."
She lifts a fourth finger, and then a fifth.
"And finally: Step Five: Perform the Rite. And mind you - this'll be the hardest part. The tomes speak of it taking a dragon centuries to prepare!"
Sister Reedwhistle looked at the smiling young woman. She sighed deeply. Whatever. It was none of her business ultimately, was it? This child would never manage to become a druid anyways.
These rich girls were prone to flights of fancy. Her family had offered a truly ludicrous donation to the Circle in exchange for them agreeing to train her, and explicitly said that they'll make it even if she fails her training.
So whatever. She can sit in with the training for the real acolytes, fail to grasp what it means to be a druid and bugger off when she inevitably gets tired of failing. Yeah.
She met the kids eyes once more, and scoffed.
She should at least try to talk her out of this nonsense though, no?
The gods would not want her to lead children astray, even foolish ones like this brat.
"Kid. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. First off, you can't just become a druid because you find it convenient, it's not wizardry.
Rich city girls are not cut out for it. It requires a true, deep connection to the natural world, not just liking your pet cat or something. You must prove to the very gods ..."
She really tried.
But the stubborn child was not deterred.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And so eight years later, she gazed after the child, now all grown up, as it stepped outside the grove and turned once more to smile at her, with that smug grin and those sparkly eyes.
"Step Two: Check: Done!
So, Auntie Tulip - aren't you going to tell me something like
'If anyone can do it, it's you Joséphine!'~?"
Sister Reedwhistle scoffed.
"Gods no! It's still the dumbest thing I ever heard, but nothing can ever get through your thick skull, kid. Didn't think you'd last a month
... but you did. Yet it seems I can't stop you from wasting all that talent."
She takes a step after the girl, fixing the collar of the younger druids robe.
"Off with you then. As said... the last place I heard of a druid mastering the Dragon Shape is Cormyr, so you can start your 'Step Three' there I guess."
She watches her as she sets out.
She'll probably never see that kid again, whether it succeeds or fails.
She mutters under her breath as the girl vanishes past the horizon.
"Dumbest thing I ever heard... but if anyone ..."
She scoffs as she catches herself.
"... if anyone's dumb enough to try in earnest ...
it's you."