Aftermath, Part Five: Endings and new beginnings in Duendewood

When it was done, they went north: Tarric and Werendril, Aesa and Rose, Ruin and Sun, Scar, and Risk. Ruin had never found a suitable candidate to replace the Druid Hierophant, and so stepped into the role himself, with Alnira and Zoriel and Elendor to help him. They squabbled -- frequently -- but over time the druids returned to their former strength, and from time to time the Elf-King Mythrandril would call on them for counsel or aid. At long last, Ruin turned Saladhael's Stone over to Zoriel, and with it the position of Druid Hierophant.

Aesa built a small shrine to Amun in the wilderness just outside of Calisthum and settled in; to her considerable surprise, she found a following among the local elves, and over time her shrine became a chapel and then a temple. Eventually, she married an elvish ranger who had once worked with Werendril and then gone on to join the resistance; three or four times a year, they would go and visit Aesa's father in Annun, and both of them felt that those trips were adventure enough... especially as their family grew. 

Tarric and Werendril drifted apart, unable to overcome their shared grief at the deaths of Anica and Rune. Tarric returned to Sol Povos, and eventually became Tavros' right hand; making it a habit to have Zone of Truth active for all policy debates had a transforming effect on the politics of the court. Werendril returned to the Order of the Golden Bow, training new candidates and working to maintain the peace along the border with Sol Povos; it was a full century before he caught the eye of a silver-haired bard, who courted him relentlessly until he finally gave in and accepted her proposal.

Amaranth kept her smithy and her apprentice where the resistance had once had its camp, a few miles southwest of the sacred grove; her work was good enough that her customers came to her. Ruin stopped in to visit her when he was in the area, and sometimes she came to Calisthum to check on the blade she'd made for him. Eventually they stopped pretending it was casual and got married, adding three more names (Ash, Tybalt, and Azrael) to the list of Ruin's children. 

Shalmistra and Darvinin returned to Annun with their child Dionaea, and stayed in the service of King Mythrandril until Dionaea was grown; then they married again, and set out to see the world together. 

Alnira and Nym remained a couple, and each gave birth to a girl; Nym insisted on learning everything Ruin and the others could teach her about battle, and eventually became one of druids' strongest defenders, while Alnira slowly rebuilt her circle of druids and eventually grew into the duties her mentor had once carried.

Ruin's children grew up together, except for a few months a year when Eva would show up to collect her niece and nephews and disappear into the depths of the rainforest. The half-dragon child Risk grew up nearly feral, fighting with claws and rage but relaxed and affable outside of battle. His brother Scar turned out to have a knack for sorcery and troublemaking, while their sister Sun became a cleric of Amun and put herself to work in Aesa's growing temple. Aesa's daughter Rose considered doing likewise, but joined the druids instead. Nym named her daughter Morrigan, and the girl grew up learning to master her instincts and abilities as a warbear; she became a disciplined fighter, and adventured for a time with her half-dragon half-brothers. Alnira's daughter Skyflower never quite seemed to settle on anything, until one day her father presented her with an old amulet and a new teacher... and she went off to learn horizon-walking from her grandfather and his new wife. 

Sherra, Sam, Leander the Elf, Evrimon, and Moonshadow all went on to further adventures and even a few proper heists, too many to detail here. Though they eventually parted ways, Sherra and Sam opened a school just outside of Annun, and the others made it a point to visit as often as they could. 

Did Ruin ever make it to Asgard and kill Galvera? No. But that doesn't mean he isn't still trying. And meanwhile, Tavros enlisted Thierry P Thierry to spread the true story of Galvera, so that the goddess could no longer hide behind the name of Vecna Orlok or pretend she'd been a god all along. The Order of Secrets is not in good shape these days-- well, not as far as anyone knows.

All of this was after the defeat of Behemoth and the sealing of the portals, of course. It was after the warbear queen met her fate, and Tavros Fontaine ascended to the throne of Sol Povos with his wife Jacqueline Bouvier at his side. But those, dear friends, are other stories, for another time...