THE LEGEND OF COA

“Sit with me, my child. Warm yourself by the fire. Do you know what day it is? That's right, it's Coa's day.I have a story to tell you. Not a tale of fancy, but one of truth: the history of our family and the history of our home. Did you know thatthese isles were once joined as one single island?”“The Grey Elves once called this place home. Long after the Grey Elves were gone, however, our kind still flourished here. The High Elves built great spires atop the mountains,while the Shadow Elves built their cities on the ground. The Wild Elves, however, did not build; our home is the forest. It cares for us, and we for it. Of the many Wild Elves past who have called the forest home, there was one who was most well known. I'm certain that you have heard her name before.”“Coa, the Great Druid. Some say she is just a legend, but she was as real as you or I.They say she could calm rabid beasts with only her voice and restore withering plant life with a single touch. Flowers bloomed as if to gaze at her beauty, grass grew tall as if to reach up totouch her and vines spread throughout the land as if to follow her footsteps. The land loved her, for she kept it safe. When Coa was young, she planted the seed of a great oak tree in the centre ofa grove, and declared the grove to be a safe place. The tree grew from a small sapling. It spread its roots, and before long it was large enough that it had claimed the entirety of the small grove.Its trunk grew so high that its leaves could get rain water straight from the clouds. This tree wasthe heart of Coa's Grove. Her grove became more than just a small clearing: it became the forest itself, and home to our kind. All were welcome in Coa's Grove.”“As Coa and her tree continued to grow, so did the reach of her Grove. It may have grown to consume the entire island, if the event known as the Sundering had never occurred.Though the reasons for its occurrence are disputed among many, none can argue what it did tothe land.”“Coa woke on the day of the Sundering to find that the ground was shaking and breaking apart before her. Many that followed her feared that they would be swallowed up by the sea.They flocked to the Druid woman, seeking out her wisdom and protection. Coa answered their cries. It took all of her strength, but Coa called upon all the energy of the land, and beseeched itto hold together. The lands shook. All around the edge of the forest, the lands separated.”“When at last the shaking stopped, the people emerged from the rubble to find that the forest had remained intact. Coa had kept her promise. Alas, the Druid did not emerge from therubble with the rest. Her followers did not have to search for her long; they found her at the base of the tree with its roots wrapped around her in an embrace in an attempt to shield her body fromharm. The Sundering was a day of both joy and sorrow, for by Coa's last breath, the land was kept safe.”“In the days that followed, the leaves of Coa's great oak withered and fell as without Coa's power the Grove could be no more.Coa is the reason this place was not lost in the sea. She is the reason we are still here. The settlers call it Zenithstrand, but this place is the Overgrowth.One day, we shall reclaim this place for Coa.”“And now that you know its importance, this gift is for you. This Acorn fell from a tree I planted when I was young, from a seed my mother gave me. She told me this story too, as didher mother, and her mother before her. The first seed was planted by Coa ­­ this seed is a descendant of that seed. Now it is your turn. Find a place to start your own legend. Plant it today, on the eve that she died. will all pay our respects to her. All tribes will make their offerings to Coa, strangers will come to see the beauty she left behind her, and we will for a night or two, welcome them in her honor. For we are her children, and we honor her this day."