Interlude - Sora

Soon after her victorious defeat of Embril Sora was summoned back to Akihabara by the Archdruid. She was told to return as she had an important mission awaiting her. Upon her return the Archdruid congratulated her on her successes and said that a great hurt had been saved the world due to her intervention. However, as a Druid of the Inner Circle her work was never done. Sora was told that the minions of the Demon Prince are on the rise in Albion once again. It is a hotbed of heresy and demonology. Without help it is not certain that the forces of Albion, small as they are, will be able to stop the forces of the Demon Prince. They will need help.   A thousand years ago the Demon Prince himself walked the lands of Albion with Larin Karr at his side. He made his way to the ancient elven lands of Sylvandale where his army met the combined forces of the elves and men. At this time the men fled, leaving the elves completely outnumbered. The elves were slaughtered and the ancient home of Sylvandale became full of the elven undead spirits and known as the Bloodwood. The few survivors fled to the forest of Eldaran. Only twenty years ago when the Fellowship of Pelor stopped the Demon Prince's return did the elves leave Eldaran and return to Sylvandale.   Now without help the men of Albion may be crushed by the forces rising inside their very country. They need help. The Archdruid asked Sora to travel to Albion in order to gain aid for the folk of the Kingdom.   She was requested to travel to the Jagged Peaks and find Sir Tor Bladesong. He is a hero of the Chaos Wars and a member of the Fellowship of Pelor. He has brought the orcs of the Jagged Peaks under his rule in recent years and having him onside would be a great benefit to the Kingdom. Sora was told that if reticent he should be reminded of the constant help he received from Marik the elven druid of Albion at the time he was active in these lands.   After visiting the orcs of the Jagged Peaks Sora should go home. There she must convince Queen Alamana that the elves of Sylvandale must take up arms to fight alongside the humans again. Sora knows the elves best so she must determine how she can best convince the Queen to mobilize her armies to defend the humans.   Sora set out and was soon in the idyllic lands of Albion. She made her way north to the mountains and eventually located Sir Tor Bladesong, putting the Archdruid's request to him. To was very reticent. He was comfortable (and turning to fat) in his mountain stronghold. He shrugged off any reminders of help from the druids in the past and said that he paid his debt to the Kingdom when he fought in the Chaos Wars and single handed stopped the Demon Prince from returning, which was a massive exaggeration of course.   Sora asked him what it might take to gain his help and he said that he wanted King Jarrad to recognise the Jagged Peaks as an independent territory and to recognise King Tor as its ruler. Sora said she would see what she could do.   She then headed home to Sylvandale. Speaking to the Queen she put the Archdruid's request forward. The queen was too young to remember the Blood War of a thousand years ago when the humans of Albion abandoned the elves to their fate and the elven nation was decimated by the Demon Prince and his armies as a result but she knew her history.   Although the Kingdom of Albon was partially involved in the Chaos Wars of twenty years ago, when the ghosts of the old Blood Wood were laid to rest and the elves were able to resume inhabiting Sylvandale, ultimately it was the Fellowship of Pelor which included two elves from her royal court who stopped the return of the Demon Prince and the machinations of Arrtenach, his General.   The queen said she was not keen to lend aid to the fickle and often treacherous humans but she would on one condition:   There was always to be a druid in Albion from this day forward, and this druid was always to be an elf, Further, that elf was to be selected by the king or queen of Sylvandale.   This was a tall order as it effectively put an elf into a position of power in Albion and also took the choice of who that elf was out of the hands of the Druidic Circle. Wondering what she could do about this Sora said she would take this offer to King Jarrad of Albion.   Upon her arrival in Littlebrook Sora was quickly seen by the King. She put Sir Tor and Queen Alamana's responses to the King. Regarding Tor, the King said he was not happy with granting titles to half orcs who once were honourable and now are fat and lazy but he said at the end of the day the mountains were never considered truly part of Albion anyway and if "King Tor" had paid more attention to the geography and laws of the country he would know that. So King Tor can call himself whatever he wants as long as his orcs and barbarians come and help! Sora was told she could put that to him however she wished.   Regarding the Queen, Jarrad was very unhappy about this offer, however he said he was also desperate. He said he would agree to this if the druids do but he made the point to Sora that the queen would be directly choosing who leads the people of Albion in the Old Faith and who tends the fields and woodlands of his country, rather than the Druids Circle. Is that what she wanted? Sora thought things over and decided on a compromise. She suggested that she offered the Queen that an elf would be druid of Albion, but that the Druidic Circle would work with the elven royal family to pick which elf. Jarrad agreed this was acceptable.   Sora returned to Tor and in no uncertain terms told him he could call himself King Tor as long as he helped. He agreed. She then returned to Sylvandale and, with more diplomacy, made the offer to the Queen, who also agreed. So, her mission accomplished she returned to Akihabara and the Archdruid.   The Archdruid once again congratulated her on her success and then explained a secret truth to her. The role of Archdruid was a special one. When becoming Archdruid a mortal gave up their life and became a part of the world itself. They could feel when the world was troubled and such a time was now. When the world itself came under great threat the Archdruid would choose one of their Inner Circle to tackle the threat. Sora was being chosen. If she could succeed she would become the new Archdruid. This threat was almost certainly coming from Orcus and she suggested that Sora's next move should be to visit the Raven Queen in Letherna.   Sora realised she would need help on this mission and who better than her new friends of Magma Force. She headed off to Mochica to find them...