Druidos

Druidos is one of the primordial gods. It has no gender. It is the eldest of the elders, even older than Krespa and Zenus. Legend has it that the 'God' was residing somewhere in the vast expanse of the cosmos, deep in godly meditation called Nuzkaen in the Ancient Language.

Appearance
Druidos has no distinct appearance, it constantly changes its form. It is usually said to take the appearance of the person it meets, which rarely ever happens. But ancient scriptures depict it having some form a or another, but never really detailing its features.

History
Druidos was the result of an accidental collision between the Divine spheres. The Divine Spheres had been enormous balls of energy that had revolved around a particular position(the Altar of Zenus in the future) in the cosmos, usually said to be the centre. They sustained their energy by absorbing the essence of souls. They were believed to never collide with one another, only to do so when the time was right. That time seemed to have arrived when on one occasion, the Spheres collided. And a God was born.

The following three stories are about the three chosen ones whose soul brought The Lord of Dreams back from his godly meditation.

The Master Blacksmith
Doric was a humble blacksmith. He used to smelt weapons and armours for the King of Arookh, the biggest kingdom in the realm of Ansgira. He was proud of his profession and was frequently rewarded by the king. Doric made the best weapons in all of Ansgira. The Royal army of King Morvik rode into battle with perfectly crafted weapons and always emerged victorious. As a result, most of Ansgira was conquered by them. Doric was pleased with his life and wanted nothing more in life.

A Failed Love Life
Doric had never married as the ladies of Arookh considered him ugly due to many burns that covered his skin, disfiguring him. His only friend was a young lady, Gretchen, a daughter of a merchant, who always soothed him when he got pained, both physically and emotionally. She grew to love him, but alas, she was forced to marry a wealthy merchant by her father and moved out of Arookh. Doric was pained to know that she had left. But he decided that he didn't need a partner in life, he was content to do his work in his cosy shed.

The Kidnapping
Once, while Doric was working in his shed, a group of strangers came to meet him. He immediately recognised them as the thugs working for the King of Donovia, a neighbouring kingdom. Doric knew the reason for their presence; the King of Donovia, Fodo, wanted to conquer Morvik's mighty empire. The crafty king knew that he could never win in a fair fight with him, his weaponry weren't up to their standards. So he chose the easiest way possible, kidnapping the man responsible for making the weapons in the first place: Doric.

Before he could react, the thugs expertly bundled him in a bag (with a hole to breathe, of course) and whisked him out of the kingdom.

Treachery
Trapped in a rotting prison for several weeks, Doric was never given enough food to sustain his health. The guards revealed to him that they burnt the Weaponry of their rivals as they couldn't gather all the weapons in time. Therefore,The King had made it clear that the blacksmith would get them only if he made them the weapons. But Doric was extremely loyal to the King, he would never betray him even if it costed his life. But King Fodo was prepared to force him in any way possible.

One day, when Doric was lying in the prison, a guard informed him that the king demanded him to make weapons right way. He then proceeded to explain the king's scheme. King Fodo had apparently captured the love of his life, Gretchen and was preparing to torment her in the nearby room. The guards then allowed him to see his lover squeal in terror in the king's iron grasp. Doric couldn't fight them any longer, he finally gave up as he hadn't the heart to see his sweetheart, his sole companion in the dark path of his life, his soul, scream in agony in front of him. He reluctantly asked them to lead him to their shed.

The Battle of Konhei Hills
The king of Donovia, Fodo, challenged Morvik for a battle. King Morvik was upset with the kidnapping of his expert blacksmith but he accepted the challenge for fear of losing face in front of his people. The fateful battle took place in Konhei Hills. With meagre weapons, the Royal army was no match for the Donovian army. As a result, the warriors were butchered to death without any mercy. King Morvik was publicly executed in the City Square. The humiliating part was that Doric saw the entire affair. Gretchen was executed soon after.

The Afterlife
That night, Doric was offered the chance to become the kingdom's blacksmith. But Doric decided that he'd had enough and rejected the offer, cursing the guard. The guard then countered by informing him that he was to be executed the following day, if he didn't comply. That night Doric couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about the ruined empire of Arookh and his beloved Gretchen. He decided to choose the latter option of dying. When he finally slept, he dreamt that he was in an unearthly place. There he heard a voice assuring him that his death won't be in vain, that the afterlife held him much promise. The following day he was executed.

Retribution
Doric's soul had created a forge, called the Forge of the Divine, in the Astral Plane. An unknown force had manipulated it. It crafted a divine weapon to punish the kingdom of Donovia. The weapon was sent to wreak havoc in Donovia. The days that followed were hell on earth for the people of Donovia. Their king had died, the cities destroyed. Food was hard to find as a famine plagued their kingdom. Corpses littered the streets, the very air itself was as toxic as poison. But they all knew the horrible truth: the blacksmith who had been executed was striking back. The whole kingdom trembled and ultimately fell due to his wrath. Then, the soul of Doric went straight to the Astral Plane. It was the first of many to come...

The Student
The weather was warm. It was a perfect time for Iris to proved her worth. The young lady went to her mentor and told him she was ready for the test. The mage decided to give it a chance. But he wasn't so sure. Maverick thought Iris wasn't fit to be a mage. She had failed in all her previous tests. He wasn't very much happy with his new student. He only accepted to train her because she was his niece. He already predicted what was going to happen.

Iris took a deep breath and shouted "Kakana-Seraphis". Nothing happened. The spell was supposed to make it rain. Her mentor then told her to practice again. Clearly, he was disappointed.

The Dream
Iris had a dream, that night.

''She is hiding behind a bush when she hears someone scream. She then sees a mysterious figure holding a thick book. The figure doesn't look friendly. And then it sees her with its murderous eyes. It is coming towards her....''

Iris woke up with a scream, and then calmed down realising it was a dream.

The Dead Sorcerer
The following day, Iris decided to take a break from sorcery, much to her uncle's joy. She then went into the forest to relax a little. There, she saw a person lying next to a tree. Upon inspection, she found out that it was an old sorcerer who seemed to be asleep. She tried to wake him up, then, to her horror, she realised that he was dead. She was disgusted at such a terrible act. Why would someone kill a man? For the book? She would never know. She also noticed that he clutched a book in his hand. The book from her dream....

The Book of Secrets
At first, Iris wanted to avoid the book whose cover read: The Book of Secrets. She wanted to stay far away from it as she knew it had something to do with the mystery man, but curiosity won her in the end. She decided to take a peek inside. In the first page itself, there was a single word scrawled in red ink.....or dried blood?

Kaangh

She read it aloud, then closed the book. She waited for something to happen. Nothing happened. Strange. She then went home with the book, chanting the incantation as she felt compelled to do so.

The Transformation
In the following weeks, Iris skipped mage-training. She was busy reading the different incantations in the book....she just couldn't stop herself from reading it. Her uncle became worried of her health; he was unaware of the book she hid in her room. She soon found out that the incantations had effect if uttered properly. She was intrigued by their supernatural powers. Her uncles a deemed her unworthy of wielding magic, but here she was wielding the greatest magic in all of Sentya. In order to master the spells in the book, she didn't sleep at nights; her health worsened day by day. Also she noticed that she was transforming physically also. Her body gradually became transparent and ghostly, shadowy. Her eyes slowly but surely began to glow read. Her hair grew longer, unnaturally so. She became addicted to the Book of Secrets. Her uncle soon noticed her transformation. He questioned her, but she gave no straight answers. Her uncle tried all that he could to cure her of her ailment, but the magic that controlled her was too strong. He knew she was hiding something.

One night, Iris entered her room to take her book, when she saw her uncle searching it. She cried out in anger, told him to stop searching, screamed at him for being jealous of her skills, being jealous that he couldn't do what she could. But the Master Mage wouldn't listen. Finally he found her book, hidden under her bed. He immediately became angry for keeping such a dark secret away from him; he began to throw the book outside. And then she exploded with rage.

Ultimate Power
She could feel the energy coursing through her, she was unstoppable. She was the Deathmonger. She attacked with a barrage of spells. Their magics had devastating effects. They destroyed the surroundings, almost killing her mentor. Suddenly, she trembled uncontrollably. Maverick decided to use the ancient spell of Kronos, a spell which could control her addiction to it. He had figured it out that she wasn't possessed or anything; the book tended to tempt one with its powers and it was they themselves who created a god complex for themselves. Iris couldn't stand that much power, she believed she could raze the world; it wasn't her fault, anyone with such great power could get clouded in their judgement. It was up to him to bring her to her senses.

The spell of Kronos was the legendary spell used by the High Mage to destroy a mysterious artefact, which was none other than the book itself. However someone created it again, and then, Maverick figured out, that much power could kill them! The Deathmonger would destroy the world and ultimately die themselves! That was the truth! He had to stop her.

Orghon's Curse
Alos kraafos kronos!

Nothing happened. Whoever created the book had ensured that the spell never worked again. Iris was getting stronger.....there was only one spell that might work. The Orghon's Curse, named after the first mage Orghon who created a portal to tear the soul. He knew he would kill his niece in the process; though he care for her very much he knew it had to be done. He also knew that he might lose his sight from the rays of the portal when it formed. But he was even willing to risk his life.

The Deathmonger immediately sensed danger, and tried to destroy him but, he, using all the magics he had learned, managed to survive the attacks, though he got badly wounded. The Deathmonger shrieked as she read his thoughts easily. Then, that all-powerful warlock became so terrified of things to come that she lost all her confidence, and hid like a frightened hare, behind a bush, of all places! ''Harktho! Seismussa!Tràkaaaaaaaaa!'' she cried. All those deadly spells burned the house, the forest.....but the mage, now badly injured, still came for her, chanting the spell, with the book in hand, just like in the dream.

Nustafhaar! He cried, drawing a symbol in the dirt. As soon as he uttered those ancient words, a gigantic portal appeared, sending of powerful rays and sucked the screaming, thrashing soul of his niece into them. As he did so, he realised that the soul was transported to the Astral Plane.

The Blind Man's Tale
After many years, the locals of Redhaven in the realm of Sentya visited the old man in his ravage house. Most considered him a loon, but some still wanted to hear the tale of the blind old man, a tale involving his dead niece.....

Second Chance
''The Deathmonger realised that she was in the Afterlife, a place in the Astral Plane. Why was she here? Who wanted her? She never knew the answers for those questions, but she sensed a voice, almost from deep within her conscious, telling her that she has been given a second chance.....''

The Dungeon
He was lying on the rough floor. His hands were bound by sturdy chains. He had just woken up from his dream. A dream which had made no sense.

He examined his surroundings. He was in a dungeon. As a prisoner. In the distance, he could hear voices coming closer. His captors. They approached him and saw that he was awake. A slap then a kick. He examined his surroundings again. There were many prisoners. A group of guards appeared. One of them called to him. Called him"Joseph". Was it his name? Hewasnt sure.

Joseph didn't remember anything. His name, family...nothing. He then heard the leader of the guards call out to his men to bring him to him. Rough hands pulled him across the floor. The leader introduced himself as Sir Magnus. Sir Magnus said that Joseph was very valuable. So he was going to kill him. He believed that Joseph would bring trouble to civilisations.

Just then footsteps were heard. A furious Magnus looked at the incoming retinue. Its commander was ready to capture Joseph. The Commander began to duel with Magnus. Finally, he impaled him. The Commander ordered his troops to take Joseph alive. He believed that he was the one who knew how to resurrect a God. It was then they all heard the whiz of the blade. A dying Magnus held a short sword in his hands. And it had impaled Joseph. Magnus then proclaimed that he had saved the world. And he died.

Joseph felt himself dying. He could see hazy figures huddling near him. And then he closed his eyes...

The Tower of Calista Bay
Someone ordered him to wake up. Joseph obliged. He was alive. But how? He turned to face a young female warrior. She was in her twenties. She called him Sigmund. Wasn't he Joseph? They were in a desolated island with a creepy tower looming behind them. A confused Joseph/Sigmund/whatever asked her name. But she only said it wasn't time to joke. She believed he was joking? She told him to rally their forces around "The Tower of Calista Bay". Joseph had no choice but to do so. The enemy forces could be seen in the distance. Another warrior approached the lady, calling her Reyna, and informed her about the enemies' strategies and plans he had overheard. Possibly a spy. Joseph turned around and marched to his position. His head hurt from the dream he had had. He vaguely remembered it. It had something to do with a dungeon...

Joseph rallied the troops towards the tower. The enemies were charging. Archers rained arrows at the invading forces. But they couldn't hold them back forever. Joseph joined Reyna to fend off the advancing troops. He asked what it all about. At first Reyna looked at him incredulously, but then quickly summarised the events, nonchalantly. It had something to do with a seer predicting that the tower must be defended so that "a mighty God can live". None of them understood that, but the superstitious king of Calista Bay had sent his men along with his trusted General Reyna and warrior Sigmund. But Joseph didn't recall any of this.

The war raged on. Then, the ambush became severe as the invaders burnt the place down. Was this God so dangerous that an ancient monument be destroyed to prevent him from coming back?

Everything, then, as the whole tower burned to ruins.

The Unique One
It was dark. Joseph had somehow dozed off again. In the middle of war? His head hurt. How was he doing this? He kept having dreams not related to one another. Or were they real? Joseph couldn't differentiate the dream world and real world. How old was he? For long had been doing this?

An old man entered the dark room. He approached Joseph. Joseph asked where he was. But, instead of answering him, the old man asked him where he was from. Joseph couldn't reply. The old man then told him that he wouldn't remember anything. According to him, it was because he was the embodiment of The Lord of Dreams. He inhibits different lives and he forgets each one when he goes to sleep. Each life manifests into a vaguely remembered dream, before he totally forgets it. The old man claimed to be a follower of Druidos, the Dream Lord. He had known that someday Joseph would come. The body didn't matter (because he looked different each time), it was the soul. Apparently he could "read" souls. He claimed that Joseph was the Unique One, a soul who inhibits the lives of living people for sometime until the time to bring back Druidos came. And the t me had come.

The Druidist follower then explained that some people didn't want his master to rise again. These "non believers" had captured Joseph, who was a devout follower of Druidos and then decide to execute him. It was then the "Druidist Warriors", who fought for The Dream Lord, broke into the dungeon to save the Druidist priest. Similarly, the king of Calista Bay, who, himself, was a devout follower of Druidos, ordered his troops (including Reyna and Sigmund) to defend the Tower of Calista Bay to help resurrect his master. Even though the tower had burnt, it didn't prevent Druidos' resurrection. The Unique One was still there.

The opinion of bringing back Druidos was split, but the old man believed that it must happen.

The old man told The Unique One that he had a mission. He must venture into the Astral plane and unite the other two chosen soles. He had to do this because he was an unique one. He was required to bring Druidos back from his meditation.

An embodiment of The Lord of Dreams...

The Unique One was still confused with all of this. But it was his destiny to complete this mission.

The Ancient Ritual
The Unique One's soul floated in the Astral plane. He was transported to it via an ancient ritual. He had to come back entwined with the other souls. At that moment, his soul scattered throughout the plane. He had found them. He could feel the two souls: a vengeful one and a corrupted one. Both held immense power. The Unique One's soul merged with the two powerful souls. He then watched a gigantic being rise. Was it Lord Druidos? He looked like a rock golem. The "air" above him thundered and "cracked" with the power of a God. Of course, it wasn't the god's true form, it was called the Shapeshifting Lord after all. The Unique One didn't know if what he had done was for good. But he knew this: for better or for worse, a God was being reborn...

The ritual was complete. The old man looked up to the sky. A massive and powerful force was prevail ant in the air. His master was back.

Crusade of the Gods
Druidos was one of the cosmic being overseeing the events in the Lost Realm.

End of Existence
Druidos is initially neutral, joining no side, but ultimately helped The Lord of Existence by trying to absorb the souls of Philip and Krespa.

Trivia

 * Druidos has no gender.
 * It was initially formed by the collision of The Divine Spheres and then went into a state of godly meditation.
 * It was brought back by three souls: Doric, Iris and the Unique One.
 * Even the powerful Krespa found it hard resist the command of the Soultaker.
 * It is not clear if it should even be given the status of a god.