Sustainability Week Event

[Finnian]

🏞 We are celebrating Sustainability Week with a 3-day mini-event! 🏞

 

On Earth Day, which was April 22nd, we are reminded to do our part to protect our home planet from various environmental issues, and on Arbor Day, this Friday, people are encouraged to plant trees. As we go about our busy lives, it can be easy to take the natural balance of our world for granted... until it isn't. 

Here there be lore... (reading is optional but encouraged)

Spoiler

Jellybeans, I wish I could say that the forces of nature are in harmony on Midgard, but I'm afraid I have some bad news. The dragon Nidhoggr is wreaking havoc on the roots of Yggdrasil, the great Tree that connects all worlds and sustains life on Midgard. 

 

There's not much that I can't handle, but I'm afraid I have allowed the situation to get out of hand. (Don't blame Kathis and the rest of the crew. They each have their own important tasks. This is on me.) Dealing with Nidhoggr is the easy part, but that only buys time until he respawns. Repairing the damage and restoring the flow of energy has proven to be far more difficult. 

 

Long ago, guardians were appointed to maintain and defend the connections to each world, and in dire circumstances they would combine their power to heal Yggdrasil, but over time, most have lost interest in the task bestowed upon them. There must be something we can do to convince the guardians to help before it is too late. 

 

Perhaps if enough people offer a bit of each element and pure light, the guardians will see that humans care about Yggdrasil, and they may be inspired to take action!

 

To participate in this event, here's what you must do:

1. Gather 1 Great Nature , 1 Flame Heart , 1 Rough Wind , 1 Mystic Frozen , and 1 Light Granule .
2. Mail them to me, Finnian, via Rodex mail by Sunday, April 28th, 11:59pm Server Time.
3. Everyone who contributes a set of these items will receive a reward after the conclusion of the event. Until then, the reward will remain a secret.

 

Other rules: Sending more than one of each item will not result in getting more rewards. I suggest sharing with others so they can all contribute.

In addition to the turn-in quest, I will be hosting a Nidhoggr's Nest instance run on Saturday at 8 PM Server Time (UTC -5). I hope to see many of you there!

 

Together we can make a difference! 🌳

[Mindy]

Fun! Thanks!

[Novice Tenchi]

I hope we contributed enough to make a difference!

[Finnian]

Someone asked for a recap because they missed some of the stuff I said after the instance on Saturday. I was going to just paste my lines into this post, but of course I got carried away and ended up with a short story. Enjoy! (And stay tuned for the conclusion.)

 

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

If you care about spoilers and have not completed the quest line leading up to and including Nidhoggr's Nest access, you may want to put off reading this until you finish the quests.

 

 

---

 

Nidhoggr's Shadow

A sense of unease had been growing in Finnian's mind since entering Nidhoggr's Nest with the party of five adventurers. This place had once been a sanctuary only accessible by those who had devoted their life to the World Tree Yggdrasil, but for many years now it had been overrun by monsters. However, that wasn't what had Finnian on edge. Something felt out of kilter, and while he knew it was an effect from the damage to Yggdrasil, he couldn't quite pin what it meant.

 

Once they had defeated Nidhoggr's guards and successfully navigated the labyrinth, Finnian was about to step forward to challenge the dragon, as he had done numerous times before, when he suddenly stopped. He realized he could feel Yggdrasil's connection to Midgard straining... flickering...  

No, it can't be happening yet, he thought. But it was. Or was about to.

Turning to face the party, he said, "The situation is worse than I thought... I must go and repair the roots immediately."

They looked surprised, but nodded in understanding. Finnian summoned a portal that appeared as a tree made of green light, which would take him where he was needed.

"You must defeat Nidhoggr on your own, but you've already proven yourselves capable so I have no doubts that you will succeed. I will return once the connection is stabilized, which shouldn't take long but must be done now. Good luck, adventurers!"

 

He stepped into the portal and the light grew more intense for a moment as he was transported from one place to the next. Without wasting another moment, he channeled his energy into a root that was damaged but still intact. Everything else in his field of view was a mangled mess that would take years to regrow. Even with his help it would still take several months to repair and heal. Finnian sighed, "How could we let it get this bad?" *

Meanwhile the party of five brave adventurers battled Nidhoggr.

"I will devour all of you... you and the World Tree Yggdrasil!" roared the shadowy dragon. Then he unleashed a curse on everyone around him. "Suffer in Hell!"

Many of them fell, but were quickly revived by their companions, some using leaves imbued with the life energy of the very Tree they were fighting to protect.

Nidhoggr was getting tired of these pests. "I will freeze every last drop of your blood," he said, and the spell encased the five of them in ice just before they were teleported into an alcove full of monsters. The adventurers were helpless until they had received enough damage to break the ice, but they managed to deal with the monsters quickly and rushed back to finish off the major adversary.

 

The battle raged on and Nidhoggr was not having a good time.

"No... I won't accept this as defeat!" he screeched. The dragon finally fell, and his mouth twisted into a knowing smirk as he uttered a message of impending doom. "World Tree Yggdrasil's guardian... his powers are disappearing..."

The party knew there were multiple guardians, and wondered which one Nidhoggr was referring to. As they began to gather treasures left by the dragon, they heard a different voice, not coming from somewhere around them, but seemingly from within.

"You did good."

Just then, the tree portal reappeared and Finnian stepped out of it looking tired but relieved.

"Looks like Nidhoggr is out of the picture... for now. He didn't give you too much trouble, did he?"

"No sir," said the Champion. "Just a few scratches."

"Good. Let's get out of here. I'll explain everything back in town."

 

Finnian warped the party to Prontera and promptly took a seat next to the fountain. They gathered around him to listen.

"I was able to do what I could to repair the worst of the damage, but we have reached a critical point. The Yggdrasil Tree can heal itself given enough time, but the more damage that has been done, the longer it takes to completely heal even a single root. At this point, Nidhoggr can out-damage Yggdrasil's healing, which leads to its connections to the worlds beginning to fail as it focuses its energy inward." Finnian gestured with his hands spread out and coming together into a clasped fist. 

"If that happens... it could mean the end of everything... except Yggdrasil, of course." Wistfully, he went on, "In time, it would heal and grow again, reconnecting to the worlds, maintaining balance in the universe, and supporting life." The adventurers had already begun to realize what that meant before Finnian concluded, "But by that time, life would need to begin anew."

 

They all sat in silence for a moment before Finnian broke the gloom with a quip, "So you see why I've been so busy lately?" His smile faded. "I can only do so much in one day before I need to rest. Nidhoggr will return in three days, and I will keep doing what I can until then. But unless the guardians lend a hand, he could undo most of my work before he is taken down again."

Then he spoke softly, "Nidhoggr used to be a guardian before his mind was poisoned by darkness and manifested a living shadow of himself, the antithesis of everything he stood for. What has become of the true Nidhoggr, I do not know. I fear how many of the guardians may have met the same fate, but I have to believe some of them have managed to avoid it..." *

Finnian sighed and stood up. "Anyway, I cannot thank you enough for being with me today, and for the offerings you sent earlier. All I can ask of you now is to spread the word that we need as many Midgardians as possible to share a bit of elemental energy and light. Your collective wishes to help the great Yggdrasil Tree will be felt by the guardians wherever they are. If this doesn't convince them to take action, I don't know what will."

 

It had been a successful but exhausting day, and Finnian was ready for a nap in the garden so he excused himself, but before teleporting he added, "You have the power to make the world a better place." * 🍃

 

 

* Bonus material, not included in the event!