The Search for the Slumbering Goddess

As more and more people were able to tap into this essence and used it for their own purposes, the more it drained Saol and she began to become tired and weak. It was soon obvious to the goddess that her sanctuary had now become her prison. The drain on her power made it impossible to leave the world she had hidden in. It was also clear to Saol that if she continued to be drained, she would fall into an eternal slumber and if that happened she would forever be trapped in the world because no one knew where she had disappeared to. Reacting quickly to the new situation she found herself in, Saol used the last of her power to create what she hoped would be her salvation.

Out of the plants and trees of Rukan, she created a race she called the dryads. She made them cunning and steadfast, with the knowledge of how to track her essence in the hopes they would follow it to her hiding place. Saol also created the dwarves from the very dirt and stones of the world. The dwarves, which named themselves the troich, were gifted with strength and stubbornness, as well as improved vision and the knowledge that Saol was trapped in the center of the world. Both races she left with the same parting words, “seek and you shall find me.” With her strength depleted and her races tasked with finding her, Saol knew she could no longer remain conscious. Having done everything she could do and with the hope, that she would wake again, Saol fell into a deep sleep.

For a while, the two races made by Saol faithfully sought her. But like with so many things, the dryads and dwarves began to lose sight of their divinely mandated quest. It was not long before the two races began to bicker about how best to find the goddess buried deep within the world. Bickering devolved into arguments, which in turn devolved into fighting. Though both were created and tasked by Saol, each race believed they had the correct way to find and save their goddess. And because of this, they each refused to listen to the other.

The dryads, being creatures of nature and light, focused their search on the flora and fauna of Rukan. They believed they could trace the goddess’ magic through the plants and wildlife of the world and therefore find the goddess. They also used the latent magic around them, along with most of the other races of the world, and that inadvertently pushed Saol into a deeper sleep. That deeper sleep made it harder for the dryads to trace the goddess for the simple fact that the power coming from Saol was so weak it was impossible to follow.

That, paired with the fact Rukan was so large, prompted the dryads to recruit others to their cause. Most of the people they recruited were nature-minded humans, though some of Elysha’s elves joined as well. The dryads imbued those that joined them with some of the goddess’ magic to make them able to aid in the search. These imbued people became known as druids, and with their help, the dryads were able to search larger areas of the world.