What Devlin has been up to...
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:19, Thu 24 Apr 2008.

After leaving the group, after the battle, Devlin had watched what was left of Cyan’s army, or the General’s army, or the Warrior in Jet and Gold’s army, all three were valid names for it. Whatever the army, Devlin had watched them; he wanted to make sure that they were no longer a threat.

The army spit up, in some cases going in different directions, in some cases fighting each other. It seemed that their true masters had forgotten about them. The use the army was brought together for was lost and the Archons had left them to fend for themselves.

The Archons too, Devlin watched. He'd dispatched his creatures to follow them and report on what they did, where they went. What he found was that they were too busy fighting among themselves now to give any thought to the army they had left behind. Like the army they had split up, gone different directions, fought each other. They seemed to give little thought even to his friends as well; at least Devlin had seen nothing that said the Archons were watching them.

After a time when Devlin was sure that his friends were safe, that neither the army nor the Archons would be a threat to them, at least for a time, he decided it was time to go find Serena. He had left her to fight a battle of her own, something she had thought important. Cyan was safe, and her friends as well, at least for a time. With that being the case he could relax a bit and turn his attention to others.

Serena... he could help her now that he did not need to worry about the others for a while.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:13, Wed 20 June 2007.

The first Devlin did was to return to the place, the world where Serena had met him, after he had ran from the group that first time, when he thought he could use the Vhul to help defeat the Archons. What a mistake that had been. He returned the group then, sensing that they needed his help.

Serena had stayed behind feeling that she could help the people of this world.

Devlin returned to the exact spot where he had left the girl, at least where he'd thought he's left her. But he found nothing. Not only was she not there but there was no one there. The world was desolate, barren, no sign of any life at all.

He didn’t believe what he was seeing. Perhaps he was in the wrong place, maybe he'd made some error...

He searched world after world, moving from shadow to shadow, they were gone. Sometimes he'd find people that resembled those he's left Serena with, but they where not the people. Some of them even knew him, some of them even called them their savior... he wanted nothing to do with it.

After a time he lost track of time, lost track of days, lost track of everything except his growing despair.

Half mad he began to look for Serena, to try and sense the mind that he knew to be hers. Even then he could not locate her, only shallow reflections of her, but not her.

How long had he searched, how long could he keep searching...

Devlin was standing atop a small hill on what appeared to be an uninhabited world. In actuality it was inhabited, he'd investigated parts of it, but there where no people for many leagues, this part of the world was uninhabited.

The man had been standing on that hill for some time thinking. He had found that time on this world moved extremely slowly in relation to other worlds, or perhaps it moved quickly, the concept always had confused him a bit. What he did now was that he could spend several weeks here and almost no time at all would have passed outside of this place. It was as if while he was here that time outside this world just stood still. Here Devlin could think and plan and take his time doing it.

But now he was not planning, he was brooding, he was depressed, he was angry...

He had looked for Serena for what seemed like forever without being able to find her. Devlin was trying to think of what he may have done wrong, what mistakes he had made, why he could not seem to find her. That must be the reason he couldn't find her, he had overlooked something.

As Devlin stood atop the hill a storm began to form and as he continued to stand there the storm worsened until it was likely the worst storm he'd ever seen. The storm matched his mood, dark, but he did not see the storm or hear the storm, his thoughts where on other things.

Then he came to a conclusion that only made his mood even darker. "She does not want to be found. She does not want me to find her."

He may have been right, he may have been wrong, but that no longer mattered. The man was more than half mad at this point. His mind no longer saw things in a completely sane way.

The storm raged around him; he ignored it. He suddenly decided that if he was going to just stand still then he should take a form that would allow him to do so, forever if he wanted. In his depression and rage Devlin transformed himself into a tree. What better form was there for just standing on the top of a hill? He had nowhere better to go, nothing better to do, not without Serena.

Subconsciously Devlin learned from the grass at his base how to gather sustenance as a plant; from the air and the ground and the sun. Consciously he was in a rage and he thought of little except matching the storm within to the storm that raged without.

After a time the storm passed, at least the storm without, but the storm within took longer to calm.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Sat 23 June 2007.

How long Devlin had stood on top of that hill in the form of a tree he had no idea. He just stood there brooding and feeling sorry for himself. After a time he did not even think, he just stood watching the changing of the days and the seasons without thought at all; a dead tree on a deserted hill. Inside he might as well have been dead.

After a time people arrive and settled near the base of the hill by a stream that ran by that place. The only reason that Devlin noticed was because he did not want to be bothered and these people might not leave him in peace. It was really at this point that Devlin began the slow climb out or the pit in his brain. It was these people that would eventually bring the tree, that was really a man, out of its dark depression.

It was when the small settlement started to grow that the tree began to grow leaves for fear that these people might feel it necessary to cut down the lone, dead tree that looked over their town. The tree also grew as its insides hollowed in order to expand and its bark hardened more and more so that that thin skin would not bend or break. These things also began to bring Devlin out of his mood. He finally had something else to think about.

Devlin's changing was more significant than he could have thought as he'd later learn.

It was the girl... that was the first thing that Devlin could really remember. If there was any one event that really jerked him out of his mood it was that girl.

She could not have been more than five at the time. She was passing by the hill where Devlin stood with her family when she suddenly ran up the hill and looked up at the tree.

After a moment the small girl had lightly placed her hand on the tree and whispered, "Thank you for watching over us."

Then her mother called, "Ishy! Come now, you knows you’re not sposeta disturb The Watcher"

WHAT?! the thought screamed in Devlin's mind.

The event was shocking. Did they know he was there? Did they know him for what he was? How could they?

The little girl, Ishy, had turned to look at her mother and turned quickly back, "It's okay? ain' it? I come back, visit again, kay?." And then she turned and ran down the hill leaving Devlin with new feelings, the first feelings other than grief and despair that he'd known in a very long time.

Surprise and Curiosity...
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Sat 23 June 2007.

Devlin watched the town more carefully after that, watching and waiting. He was curious now, and that curiosity was finally pushing aside feelings of grief and despair, not that he really thought about that aspect of it.

He had to wait some time, and now he did keep track of the time. Others passed by the base of the hill were Devlin stood, some would look in his direction and whisper quietly, but none approached him. He did not even think of finding a way to increase his hearing, which was a good indication of his state of mind. Things he had done so naturally before he let slip by. Until then he had not even noticed the way that these people had looked at him, whispered when they past. He had simply stood there and not seen anything.

It was exactly seven days later when the same little girl and her family passed by again. Devlin prepared himself, hoping that the girl would touch him once more. There was a moment where he had almost given up as the family had gone completely past and he was looking at their backs as they walked off.

But them the child turned to look in his direction. She smiled and darted back and up the hill. Her mother tried to grab her and missed. She chased after the girl for a moment then stopped and called "Ishy... Git back ‘ere now."

Devlin was surprised because it seemed the woman and her husband were actually afraid to come up the hill toward him.

But the girl ran on. She did not say a word when she arrived at the tree. Instead she wrapped her small arms as far around the tree as she could and hugged it...

With the contact Devlin reached into the little girls thoughts...

He wanted to find any information he could about why they called the tree "The Watcher" but what he found was a jumble of information and emotions. The little girl loved the tree and was sad for it as well, but why...

The girl, Ishy... Ishirena, that was her name, but everyone called her Ishy. She loved to play in sun, she wanted to climb the tree on the top of the hill, she was not afraid of The Watcher. Why were the big people afraid of the tree? Why did they call the tree The Watcher. Old Serie taught her about the tree. The tree was not really a tree; it was The Watcher. Ishy would understand when she was bigger. That's what Old Serie had told her. I want to reach up and grab the branch and swing from it. I'm not afraid of a tree. Momma is yellin'... and indeed Ishy's mother was yelling. "Ishy! You git here now! You Hearin' me Ishy!" Pappa isn't yellin'. Pappa never yells at Ishy. The tree always looked lonely, standing on the hill all alone. No Ishy to play near it. She knew the tree was lonely. Maybe Old Serie had told her that...

Devlin needed to withdraw from the girl's mind before he got lost, but he did retrieve something. Someone the child called Old Serie would know the answers he sought. Somehow that name sounded familiar but he could not place it.

Quickly before the girl removed her embrace he needed to plant a thought.

Through the link with her he said, "Bring Old Serie to see me and I will let you swing on my branch."

The small girl released him then and looked up at the tree, her mouth gaping, her eyes full of wonder. Devlin could not tell what she was thinking any longer, but he could guess. Then she smiled joyously and ran off down the hill.

Ishy's mother did not look happy. Her father seemed more concerned about his wife than he did his daughter.

Devlin hoped the girl did not get in too much trouble for her rebellious act. He wondered if this Old Serie would come. He wondered if anyone would believe the child when she told them that a tree had spoken to her in her thoughts.

Old Serie... why was that name familiar to him? And the little girl's name too, Ishirena, that was also familiar to him. He put those thoughts out of his mind, though it was a defensive mechanism of his own mind that actually blocked out the memory. If he dwelled on it long enough he would have figured it out and figuring it out...

One thing was sure though, the people that had settled nearby knew that he was not a tree, or at least this Old Serie did. Devlin thought about that for a time. He had maintained this form for so long now that he no longer needed to concentrate to do so. It was as natural to him as the wolf. He was a tree.

He wondered if he should leave.

But he had nowhere to go.

And it was easier to just keep standing where he was.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:47, Sat 23 June 2007.

Devlin did not need to wait long. He did not know it but there was a plot involved. Someone had grown tired of waiting and had a plan to awaken The Watcher.

Later that day, as the sun was beginning to set, a figure appeared at the base of the hill looking up at the tree. It was an old woman that used a stick to prop herself up. More than that Devlin could not make out until she came closer.

It seemed that the entire town was standing behind her and in one of her hands she held the small hand of the girl, Ishy.

They just stood there for some time, very still, all except for the girl. She was practically hopping at the side of the old woman. The old woman studied the tree. She had actually picked her grandchild for this task. Told here The Watcher was lonely. She had known him before. The stranger had come looking for someone and thought that she was that person. They had gotten to know each other as he asked his questions. The man would stay in her small town for periods of time, some short, some long, and then disappear for equally random amounts of time. She had been drawn to the man from the first time she'd seen him. Something about him was familiar and there was the feeling that this was the man she was destined to be with and at the same time that seemed not quite right. This was the man that she should be with if she were actually the woman that he sought, that was it. The last time he'd come to town he seemed to be in a dark place; despair had shown in his eyes, She could almost feel the sickness in his heart. Then he'd set out again. This time the woman followed, hid in the shadows. Several times she thought he'd looked right at her, be he didn't seem to see anything, hear anything, feel anything. For a long time she watched him as she hid herself in the tall grass; watched him from the very spot where she now stood. The man stood on the top of the hill for days without the slightest twitch. Not even when the storm had come did he move. At times she thought the wind seemed it would blow her away, but it was like he'd rooted himself to the spot and there was nothing that could possibly move him, like a tree he stood... and that's when it happened. The man screamed her name into the storm, though it was not her name exactly, but yet it was hers as well. The mans bark sounded as if it could put even the storm in its place, but the storm only paused for a moment before raging against the man and the hill even harder. Before her very eyes she watched the man transform into a tree. The tree was black as night and shone like steel.

She'd stayed and watched him, or it, for a while. It was not really the tree that was the Watcher, it was her, it was the whole town, watching and waiting. And only the old woman really knew what they were watching or why they were watching it.

"Common, it wants ya an I wanna swing..." the girl Ishy squeeked at the old woman..

"Quiet, young one." the old woman said and the girl stopped fidgeting.

Another pause then as the old woman thought about how she’d managed to get people to settle in this vale under the tree so that she could live here and watch until she was needed; until the tree decided to shed it’s iron like bark. She’d waited and watched. She was young when she’d come here and now she was very old, in fact, the oldest living person in the small settlement.

Then the old woman made her way up the hill with Ishy in tow until she was standing close to the tree and said, "My gran child seems to think ya spoke to her. Says you wanted me to come here. We've been waitin'. I've been waitin' fer some sign that ya was in there."

There is a pause and the girl looks up at the old woman with a look that says, What's wrong with you grandma? "No old Serie, it talked in my head" and Ishy actually pokes herself in the forehead.

Devlin waited. The old woman even looked familiar. If she were younger she would look very much like...

The old woman squinted then, her brow furrowed in concentration, as if she were trying to think hard enough for the tree to hear her thoughts. Devlin almost allowed himself to chuckle... but a chuckling, shaking tree...

It was then that Devlin remembered his promise to the girl, "Bring <i>Old Serie to see me and I will let you swing on my branch."</i> and it was then that he noticed there was no way for the little girl to actually reach one of his branches. He needed the old woman to touch him, at least he thought he did. A tree does not have eyes, even though the tree did manage to see. He'd never really given that much thought.

Slowly at first and then fast enough so that it could be seen, one of the branches of the tree moved lower down the trees trunk. This caused a gasp from the onlookers at the bottom of the hill. Many of the people pointed up at the tree. From Ishy it invoked a huge grin and she pulled away from the old woman, reaching up for the branch as it moved closer to her grasping fingers. Then contact... the girl gripped the branch and pulled herself up. Devlin lifted her just a bit so that she could swing by her hands and not touch the ground.

"Tell your grandmother that she must touch me." he pushed the thought into the little girls head. There was no shock this time and her grin broadened as she relayed the message... "It says to touch it." Devlin did not try to hear what was in the girl's head this time and somehow having her touch him and swing like that was in a strange way comforting.

Devlin turned his thoughts back to the old woman, why did she look so familiar?

Then her hand made contact with the tree's bark...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:49, Sat 28 July 2007.

Quickly Devlin pried into the old woman's thoughts and memories. He wanted to know how she knew him, what was going on in this town...

Old Serie... short for Serena... he had found the girl on this world; looking identical to the one that he sought. Even many of her mannerisms were the same and she was just as perceptive as his Serena. That last day he'd visited her town. She'd followed, watched. She knew exactly who he was. Devlin's mind was shocked but he could not let go...

She'd fallen in love with the stranger, but knew she could never have them. Followed him. He walked forever. Good at foraging. Plenty of berries and other wild things that could be eaten. The storm, how can he just stand there in this storm, it's going to blow me away. Apprenticed to the Old One... should have seen the storm coming. Why did I come here. I'm going to die. He's screaming my name... not my name, her name. How did he know her? She looked the same, had the same name, how? Won't explain... I could make him forget, why not me? WHAT? He's changing... he's a tree. How? Why?

The memories of the old woman threatened to swallow Devlin, but he couldn't let go...

Found a small cave at the bottom of the hill... out of the storm. Now what. Can't leave him here...

There was more in the memories. The girl had returned to her village, had almost not made it home. They found her at the edge of town, delirious with fever. In the fever she'd cried out 'what she'd seen. About a tree that was not a tree, but none was sure what it was or how a tree could not be a tree. Some took it to be a vision. She was being taught by the Old One because she had "The Gift."

Later the girl had told the Old One what had happened, the truth of it. It was the Old One that declared to the people that it truly was a vision, and omen. Some of them must travel to the place of the tree that was not a tree and settle near that place.

That had been nearly 50 years ago. Had it really been 50 years?

The girl had always known that the man would never return her feelings. But the Old One had told here that there must be someone there; that she should be there. One day the man would need help and she must be there. If he did not awaken on his own that she must some day find a way to wake him. The girl thought that there were things the Old One kept from her. Especially when the Old One had told her that the World may depend on the tree that was a man. That he would be needed to save the world. She would not explain further.

50 Years…

Old Serie… Devlin had found the girl that looked exactly like his Serena. She even had the same name, and she was perceptive. A closer Shadow of the one he sought was not likely to exist.

"I..." He started to send.

The old woman spoke aloud. "We both know now, don't we" she said, "You must wake soon. The time draws near when you will be needed."

"The girl can visit whenever she wishes." Devlin sent, and then was quiet.

The old woman removed her hand then, "We’ll give you time to think on it. Come Ishy, It is time for sleep. You can return tomorrow."

The girl smiled at that and dropped down from the branch. "Night Tree, I be back tamoora!" Then hopped and skipped down the hill.

The old woman took a step to leave and then turned back one more time to look at the tree, a tear running down her withered old cheek. "I don't have much time left in the World. I certainly don't have another 50 years to wait." Then she turned and walked down the hill.

It was a blow, to say the least. Devlin through the eyes of another; one that had watched him, followed him, loved him though he never returned any of the sentiment. She was just a shadow.

He was wrong of course.

She’d grown old, but she still felt the same. Her feelings for him had never diminished. She finally married, had children, and still her feelings for him had not changed.

His mind was screaming inside and he withdrew into himself again. What had he done?

The girl, Ishy, came to visit every day. Devlin left the branch where she could reach it. She would even manage to sit on that branch and think her happy thoughts for hours, but he did not listen. She tried to talk to the tree but the tree would not answer.

When the tree finally decided to listen it was almost too late...

One day Ishy did not visit. Devlin had not realized how much he expected the girl’s daily visits even if he thought he was paying them little attention. The next day to she was not there and this concerned him more.

On the third day she finally came up to the top of the hill where Devlin stood, but she did not appear happy as she usually did. She did not play in his branches. Instead she sat at the base of the tree, leaning against it, and began to weep.

Concerned about what might be wrong with the girl he reached out and touched the girls mind through the contact.

... Old Serie is sick, why do people get old? Where do they go? I want Old Serie to stay. Moma says she will go soon...

Devlin knew he had to do something, but what? He must speak to the old woman, but how? She could not come to him if she was dying. He’d have to go to her.

He could not just leave here, what commotion would it cause in the small town if the tree on the hill was suddenly gone. How...

Then he remembered Nightbrand. It was wrapped entirely around him, it was his bark, protecting him. Later he would tell others that he’d never been separated from Nightbrand, but this was not true.

To Nightbrand Devlin now communicated Can you maintain your current form...

He did not need to finish the thought, as if Nightbrand already knew the question. I can remain here, go to her.

Nightbrand knew more than Devlin in some respects. Devlin never realized that any contact made with others was actually done through Nighbrand. After all it was a barrier between Devlin and everything.

Quietly, as the girl sat weeping Devlin flowed out the other side of the tree. It was difficult at first from his many years of remaining in that single form but the skill returned quickly. The wolf form had always been his most comfortable.

D’Ombra moved into that place, still after all this time it was as easy to do as to take a single step, that place somewhere that was not quite anywhere, between this world an the next. In this place he moved into the town, knowing intimately where he was going because of the extended contact he had had with the girl. The wolf passed in shadow through the walls of the old woman’s small home.

There was no one about.

Into the old woman’s room the wolf went.

Then, from that place the animal watched, head tilted, this old woman that had once been so much like, so much like her.
He did not know how long he had sat there watching, but eventually the old woman opened her eyes and turned them to look directly at the place where the wolf sat near her bed.

His mind reeled a bit when she spoke "Will you show yourself, then? Or will you keep yourself hidden."

Somehow she knew he was there. No one else had ever been able to detect his presence like that.

But then he did show himself. The wolf took a step closer and stepped back into the world.

The old woman did not even blink at the sight of the large black wolf that approached her bed. "I’ve been waiting a very long time to see you again. Will you not at least let me look upon your face again before I die?"

He wanted to run. What was he doing here? He felt like the madness would take hold again at any moment. But instead of running he changed. The wolf blurred, the blur changed shape, and the man sat down beside the old woman on the bed and took her hand.

Devlin just sat there for a while; neither of them said a word.

Finally he was about to open his mouth, to tell her he was sorry, to tell her... <i>To tell her what? A lie? He could not do that. But she spoke first. "I understand." Is what she said, "Do not be guilty over it." Her words were almost a whisper as she spoke between ragged breaths. "I needed to be here... I told Ishy bout ya... I sent her to ya... It is nearly time for ya ta be going... Yer friends'll be needin ya.”

Devlin had almost forgotten about them. It had been a long time.

Then she continued. "You must get over her some day... There are more important things you must do..."

Then suddenly the door to the room opened and Ishy ran into the room. Ga'ma! The tree said..."

It was then that she saw the man sitting by her grandmother's side and she stopped dead in her track, mouth hanging open, mid sentence, eyes wide.

While Devlin wondered what it was the Nightbrand had said to the girl the old woman spoke to the girl. Somehow she spoke loudly enough for the girl to here. "It's alright, young one. Come, meet my friend."<brown>

Then the girl ran over to Devlin as if she'd always known him and threw her arms about him and hugged him. "I know Ga’ma. The bark told me." Releasing him again the girl back up, tears running down her face and asked "You're gonna go too, aren't ya?"

Devlin had not said anything yet, but now he finally spoke. "No, Ishy. I won’t be going, not yet." Somehow the man just accepted the fact that the small girl too knew who he was.

<brown>"That’s right. You look young one; see what will happen like I taught ya."

"Oh, Ga'ma" the girl cried and this time flung her arms around the old woman.

"Shhhhhhh, young one."

It was time for Devlin to leave and he moved to do so, but then stopped and turned back to the pair. He thought he should say more, but he had nothing more to say. Somehow he had said all he needed to without saying anything at all. Instead he bent down and kissed the old woman. She in turn looked up at him and smiled, then closing her eyes she stopped breathing. She was gone, and he’d almost waited too long.

"Run and get your parents now Ishy. If you need me you know where to find me." Devlin told the girl. She let go of the old woman then and turned to look at him, the tears were already beginning to dry. Again, nothing was said, and somehow nothing needed to be said. She just turned and ran off to do what she was told.

Before anyone could return the man was gone.

Devlin stayed for a long time. He watched the girl grow and they became close friends, and then more than friends. As time moved he soon forgot about his pain. He became the girl’s protector. There was always something watching her; birds and squirrels, and other small animals that were all his creatures. Time passed quickly, more quickly than he would have liked and he was cursed again with watching those he cared about grow old and die...
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Thu 24 Apr 2008.

Is was raining and Devlin watched from his place on the hill as the town’s people lowered her into a grave at the foot of that hill.

The people paid no attention to the watcher, the tree at the top of the hill with the iron-like bark, but the tree watched and wept. The tree wept for more than the loss of the one that was laid to rest; it also wept for the loss of the girl’s mother, for her grandmother, and for another. The tree shook violently with the weeping, though none noticed; the rain and the wind would have masked it even if they had looked.

It had taken a long time, but the tree that was really a man was finally letting it all go; the anger, the sorrow, and all the feelings that were kept buried for so very long bled out of him...

In the morning the storm was gone, and so was the tree. It was time to move on...