The Verdant Spring

Millennia ago, in the time of ancient magic, the Material plane was just beginning to witness the grandeur of divine influences. Sehanine Moonbow, an elven maiden, found favor in the sight of Corellon Larethian, the Elven King of the Gods. He raised her up to godhood and married her. She became Selune, Goddess of the Moon. Living in Arvandor, the Everworld of the Elves, Selune looked upon this world and felt a deep connection to its natural cycles of growth, decay, and rebirth, which echoed her own cycles of waxing and waning. The Everworld of the Elves, Arvandor, was a place of timeless beauty and balance, where nature and magic existed in harmonious synchrony. Yet Selune saw how the mortal world, her world, held so much potential, but lacked that harmony. Wishing to bridge her two worlds, Selune drew forth a piece of Arvandor’s essence and cast it into the Material Plane. Where it landed, it crystallized into an emerald pool of shimmering waters - the Verdant Spring.   Drawing from the powers of the Everwold, the Verdant Spring has the power to heal injuries, physical ailments, and to heal emotional and spiritual wounds. Those who bathe in the waters gain immortality, a blessing of Arvandor. The Spring also has the power to impose perfect balance and potential on an individual; those who drink of the water from the spring are removed from the influence of the Gods and Demons of the worlds.   Being removed from the influence of the gods is a profound state to achieve. When an individual is touched by divine power, or the gods have influence over them, they become, to some extent, a part of that god’s or goddess’s plans and designs. They are swept up in the ebb and flow of the god’s eternal games of power and influence, and those individuals become instruments of their divine will.   However, drinking the waters of the Verdant Spring breaks these chains. It severs the strings of fate that the gods use to manipulate mortals, bestowing upon the individual an untouched state of existence. Their fate becomes their own to weave, no longer intertwined with the designs of the gods. In a way, that individual becomes a god of their own life. This bestows a sense of absolute freedom and autonomy, but it also comes with its challenges, for they no longer have a divine entity watching over them or aiding them in times of need.   Selune knew this power could be both a blessing and a curse. To guide and protect those who chose to break away from the divine influence, she entrusted the Spring to Kythorn, a Darkfey known as one of the Fates, named Eiluned. Eiluned, the guardian of the Twilight Forest, the grove where the Verdant Spring resides, had the rare ability to navigate both life and death, and could provide guidance to those who chose to treat this solitary path. She guards this spring, and her most devoted followers became known as the Emerald Sentinels. Eiluned also took on the task of guiding the souls of the beasts and the trees that passed through the spring, ensuring they found their way to their afterlife. They would be guided by her to the gate of the Twilight Forest, a doorway to the Shadowfell, and then be guided further by the Arbiter of Souls, her patron.         Under the Son’s first tear of dawn, embark on the purging journey, Pursuing the solemn wise one’s low call, through brush and thicket, shadow and sprawl. In the heart of stone, the crescent holds, though not tree or bush or flower or hill, A sentinel ancient veils your eyes, beneath its shroud your eternity lies. Walk through shadows, dark and deep, a silent brook your soul will keep, Toward the death of this world’s yawning might, with water’s song and beacon bright, Into the mouth of Emerald’s height, find the Spring and purge your life.   Interpretation:   Under the Son’s first tear of dawn, embark on the purging journey,   This means that the group must begin at dawn. The Son’s first tear refers to a statue of Pelor, the god of the Sun, and the son of Corellon. The dew from the night before forms on this statue into a tear, and it must be collected as an offering for the wise one - the owl that will guide them.   Pursuing the solemn wise one’s low call, through brush and thicket, shadow and sprawl.   This suggests that you must follow the wise one through the dense forest. The animals know the way. You must offer it the dew from the statue to earn its trust.   In the heart of stone, the crescent holds, though not tree or bush or flower or hill, a sentinel ancient veils your eyes, beneath its shroud your eternity lies.   The Owl will lead you to a cave, to traverse in the heart of the stone, with no tree, bush, flower, or hill. In the cave there will be a stone statue of Selune, and from her hands a waterfall falls. Beneath this waterfall is an underwater cave where the river flows. The group must dive under the water to enter the Twilight Forest.   Walk through shadows, dark and deep, a silent brook your soul will keep, toward the death of this world’s yawning might, with water’s song and beacon bright, into the mouth of Emerald’s height, find the Spring and purge your life.   This final stanza of the clue refers to the walk through the cave you enter after emerging from the water. The Cave follows the water from Selune, and no sound can come from this cave. You emerge on the top of a cliff, where the water falls further than any waterfall known to the party. Down into the hole the group must jump, trusting they will be carried into the Spring.