July 17th, 19 A.C

Dearest Diary,

               I write to you, as I am. With no filters, and no restraints. My name is Simon Serket, and I am a druid, or a follower of the Elemental Ennead, the gods, and goddesses I follow. My fellow druids and I keep our worship private, and behind closed doors, and we don’t tend to try and forcefully recruit anyone into our group. If they show interest in learning of the great ones we follow, then we will welcome them with open arms. Somehow, despite our peaceful nature, it appears that our fellow citizens don’t grant us the same courtesy as we grant them.

               You see, the Elemental Ennead is not the main religion that the kingdom of Riverna, my home, worships. Most of the citizens here worship Lordaniel, and highly revere the angels who serve him. My druids and I however, believe in Vulsiffir the lord of fire, Miarblummis the lady of nature, Aqualiss the lord of the seas, and Winniera the lady of winds and leader of the Ennead. They believe Lordaniel created everything, whilst we believe the gods and goddesses of the Ennead created the world together. Now, I hold no ill will towards the possibility of Lordaniel’s existence, or the angels high above who supposedly act as his voice, but what I do hold ill will against, is the treatment I have received from the followers of Lordaniel. Many times, I’ve had to grit my teeth through jeers and harassment, watch as parents shield the eyes of their children from me, as if I’m some beast that need to be contained, locked up. I have flinched as merchants and locksmiths spat and hurled rocks in my direction. In fact, I still have the scar from when one struck me so hard on my shoulder, that it bled furiously.

               What’s worse, is that our nation’s “beloved” King Thomas Valnar has ignored the cries of pain, and petitions of change from both me, and my fellow druids. I most certainly don’t want a civil war, or for those who have wronged us to face the harshest punishment born from the fires of Vulsiffir’s might; I only want peace, and for us to coexist. I don’t follow Lordaniel, but if he is out there, I will hold no hatred for him or his angels. I will still follow the Ennead, for I know for certain that they are real, and they are watching over us. I have prayed to Winniera…and she has responded to each of my prayers with words of wisdom and reassurance.

               “Trust your fellow man and follow the direction of the winds of change.” She had told me last night. “If it burdens you so how the followers of Lordaniel treat you, then watch and wait for the eastern winds; they will soon blow in your direction and guide you and your fellow men to our destiny. Our destiny entwined with trees and bramble.” I…am afraid I have no clue as to what that last part could mean, but I am confident that she spoke of good tidings for us all. Perhaps it’s her way of telling us all to leave this place, but with our resources spread thin, and merchants refusing to sell any of us anything solely because of who we follow, we don’t have the means of leaving yet.

I hope the winds will change in our favor.

Yours truly,

                        Simon Serket

July 20th, 19 A.C

Dearest Diary,

               I write to you today, with a fiery anger, one to match Vulsiffir’s tallest volcano. Despite my…. apprehension towards the king, I decided to see if I could have an audience with him. To my surprise, he actually accepted, and on the same day too! I stood before King Thomas Valnar himself, in his own throne room! Although…the way that I was escorted, was not one of politeness when it came to the staff, but rather one of malice and clear hatred.

They had their weapons ready, waiting for me to attempt some form of attack or assassination. Regardless, I had stood before the king, and pleaded with him. “Lordaniel and his angels hold values of tolerance, love, and respect. By allowing others to treat me and my people this way you go against everything they stand for! Why can you not show it to me or my fellow druids?” The king had stared at me for a long, choking pause, before he laughed.

“What could you possibly know about what Lordaniel wants for us? You and your…druids, follow a council of false gods! Of fake idols and nonsense! Some people may be simply, expressing their opinion.” King Valnar replied with another laugh. I had opened my mouth to speak again, but the king had raised his hand to silence me. “I will remember your face, Serket. You’d make an excellent court jester! Now go and frolic in the woods with the rest of your nature loving freaks.” After that, I had been escorted out. Any semblance of respect I once had for him, has been completely shattered. How dare he? How dare he laugh at the suffering of my people?! To laugh at our pain, is to spit in the face of everything he stands for, and everything me and my people stand for.

 However, one thing I will admit that I found peculiar, was that I saw King Gregor Lucarius of Necaria file past me whilst I was escorted out. The kingdom of Necaria is an ally of Riverna nestled in the southern grasslands; Necaria and Riverna have been allies for hundreds of years, with their friendship passed on from one generation of royalty to another. Hypothetically, if all of the followers of the Ennead were to escape this wretched city, Necaria would be our best bet for salvation, as many call it the “largest melting pot of the world.” King Lucarius has welcome humans all kinds and has even allowed a few nonhumans species take up shop within the capital city of Archanius, such as lost fairies and traveling elves.

 Regardless, the king bore a surprisingly grave and frustrated expression, as he silently marched with his entourage into the throne room, presumably for an audience of his own. I have heard rumors about a potential falling out between both him and King Valnar, but I never thought I’d see potential proof of the matter. However, there’s also always the possibility, that my fellow druids and I could be under further scrutiny, especially after my audience with Valnar. As King Lucarius is another follow of Lordaniel, I also wouldn’t be surprised if King Valnar had merely called him over to warn him about my fellow druids and I, and how we’re all “freaks.”  Scratch that, it’s a guarantee; I doubt that the king of Necaria would feel any more than mild pity for us.

I will pray to Winniera tonight and seek her guidance once more. I fear that there will be no reprieve the madness I have been forced to endure.

Yours truly,

                        Simon Serket

July 25th, 19 A.C

Dearest Diary,

Today I bring you a shocking revelation, and a potential escape plan. Today, I consulted my fellow druids during an open forum, and I told them of our king’s response to our plight. Needless to say, the disgust was quite apparent. However, our open forum had given fruit to an idea. We had initially thought that our supplies would not be enough for us to survive for long. That would be the case, if we were to travel to Necaria, but there is another place we hadn’t considered. The uncharted forest to the east, the one that is almost as big as a whole new nation, and it’s inhabited, save for the rumor of arachnid like monsters crawling within the trees. If we go there, we can harvest our own food, our own resources, and create our own towns and cities! We could have our very own kingdom, one that Valnar and his minions wouldn’t even be able to find! I finally understand what Winniera meant that night when I prayed to her. Our destiny, intertwined with bramble and trees is in that forest!

Now for the revelation, King Valnar had addressed all of Riverna today in the market square. He stood at a podium where a crowd gathered to watch. He had a look of anger that was barely held back with a thin, breaking lasso. I admittedly blocked out most of the speech, as I do not care for him, but one thing he said caught my attention. “It is with a heavy heart and confusion, that I tell you all, the kingdom of Necaria is no longer allied with us. King Gregor Lucarius has turned his traitorous back on us, and on Lordaniel’s values.” When he spoke, it seemed like he was barely choking back rage as if it was a toxic poison, one that he wanted to spew but had to contain it within his throat. The satisfaction I felt in that moment was unending. How could I have not believed that this wasn’t possible? Necaria is this continent’s melting pot, of course King Lucarius wouldn’t care for how Valnar has treated my fellow druids and I! As I stood there, soaking in his words, the crowd erupted into a frenzy of cries and shouts, but I didn’t need to hear anything else. That is when I went back to the forum and learned of the forest. If we go through with this plan, we will have to leave in the early hours of the morning. I pray for our success.

Yours truly,         

                                        Simon Serket

July 30th, 19 A.C

Dearest diary,

This will be the last page I will write for the next few days, as I write this within a carriage, the one my fellow druids and I will use to begin our journey. Shortly, we will all be leaving this wretched city, as Winniera herself has blessed our journey to the uncharted forest, which I now believe Miarblummis herself grew for us. I must admit though, I had quite a scare today. As we were loading the carriage, an angel…an actual angel, one of Lordaniel’s servants approached us. He…truly did exist. Despite us being nonbelievers, she had smiled warmly at us, and her wings were folded neatly at her side.

               “My lord has told me to bid you all good luck on your journey. The Elemental Ennead is a great ally to us and will protect you on whatever hardships you will endure. May the light bless your journey.” Those were her only words before she had flown off, out into the skies above. Now I know, that even with Lordaniel’s existence, our views and our ways are tolerated and respected by those above. I…only wish that others within this fabled kingdom would feel the same way. The gods and goddesses who watch over us want nothing more than peace and understanding for all, and many are spitting upon the mere suggestion of it for the sake of being right, and it…pains me to know that the chance of this all going away, is almost none. Though, I can always dream, that maybe, just maybe, when I’m long gone, and our future has developed into a world far beyond my comprehension, maybe then we could find true peace, and could coexist.

Regardless, our goal is to reach the forest by sunrise. We don’t know what kind of dangers we will face when we’re within the clutches of bramble, but our destinies are ensnared within it, like how a snake coils its tail around its prey. We will take the land for our own, and establish our own kingdom, built upon peace, love, and understanding for all, even those who are outside of our religion. I may not see it in my lifetime, but if this new land can create even the smallest foundation for peace for people who follow all religions, maybe then, humanity can truly find the peace we all want. Humans are imperfect, but we can strive for perfection.

Yours truly,

            Simon Serket