Our Family
~ Eternity ~
Today, a simple peck from a friendly bird and Eternity will share his secrets with you, but it was not always this way. For the longest time, our kindred wondered why Eternity would only give us the secret to finding our way back into the clan hall if we spoke to him loud and clear. The smallest error, one word out of place, a simple mispronunciation, and he would not share that secret with you.
You see my friend, Eternity comes from an ancient and noble family line. Strong guardians that have been protectors of some of the most powerful forces to exist in our world. The most widely known to nearly every man, woman and child is Man-Shik. In every surrounding Kingdom, regardless of dialect and accent, uttering the words Forever Tree brings knowing glances and nods to the enlightened. Man-Shik protects the secrets of Bon-Hwa, who from what legends claims, powers rival that of the gods themselves.
This same line has been used to keep secrets hidden, although legends are sketchy at best, there have been Onyx tree and Swamp tree both which forces of evil used to protect that which they did not want to be taken from them. From the tattered and illegible scrolls, I could vaguely interpret that after being imprisoned in the Onyx for so long, Sagu wreaked havoc as soon as he was freed by the shattering of that Onyx. Sagu "created a black forest, called up ancient spirits, brought thunder with rain, and fire from below that destroyed persons from miles around". I can only speculate that the corruption and evil of the Darkstaff is what created a black forest filled with Onyx trees, as all written legends have yet to be recovered, likely the rest had been destroyed by the wererat Linskrae, who with waves of rats worked to steal all the precious scrolls and books from the kingdom's library.
Swamp trees which were created by the powerful cursed silver of Sute and manipulated by Cazelle, housed the wooden staves used as a key element in harnessing the powers of the Staff of Elements. The trees pale in comparison to Man-Shik and yes, even to Eternity.
There is one secret in Destiny's history that our very own Omisan kept from all of the students that came to his monestary to study. That was the secret of the Lifewort, the secret to an extended life far beyond the average age, free of illness and disease. After Omisan was taken from this world by the unexpected attack of a hungry tiger, there was no one left to continue making the Lifewort potion for all who were left behind. We all know that it wasn't until only seven students of Omisan were left before Migel took lead and found their way to Kugnae. What everyone doesn't know is why Migel waited until there were only those few remaining to leave that beautiful valley.
For several years Migel worked closer with Omisan than anyone. His desire for learning seemed only rivaled by Omisan himself. He was on his way to learning that final secret that was cherished and protected, the secret of the Lifewort. Many times he had escorted Omisan to a special place, the smile and nod in the direction of a strangely distorted tree didn't escape Migel's notice. There were a few occasions when he spotted Omisan seemingly coming from behind that tree after being sent out-of-view to gather herbs, He'd even swear that he'd heard Omisan speaking to that very tree. Careful inspection proved fruitless. Migel knew that was the way to the secret, but not how to get there.
Omisan told Migel that tree guarded the answers he sought, that soon he would learn how to speak to that very tree and get it to reveal it's secrets. With the untimely death of Omisan, Migel knew he had to find out that secret, or life as they knew it would cease to exist. Everyday he spent hours upon hours talking to the tree, tugging branches, he would have tried digging if there hadn't been a solid stone wall behind it. He spent his nights digging up scrolls, reading every word he could find, searching endlessly for the answers he sought. Many years passed and after exhausting all he had learned, read, and using the most powerful spells at his disposal, Migel knew that he had to take the remaining students away from the valley.
Once arriving in Kugnae and deeming it suitable, the six destinies were created to continue the teachings of the great sage Omisan. The combined powers of the original seven remaining students of Omisan, pulled together and with the power of the gods themselves, magically transported Eternity to where he stands today. To this day you may still find Migel talking to Eternity, I suspect still searching for answers.
~poeticmanic