[SWP] they will show you the way.

[Ulric]

and then you put your hand in mine
and pulled me back from things divine

The orbs were unlike anything he had seen before, and he had seen a lot in his years.

They were curious things, not at all malicious as they drifted lazily through the air. At first Ulric believed them to be fireflies, but as they expanded, shrank, and multiplied, he knew they couldn’t be any creature that he had knowledge of. Orbs of light they were, but sentient, it seemed, as they collected around the citizens of Delumine. Straying from the Citadel to get a better look at them, the Warden watched as a small group assembled around him, their presence warm and inviting, comforting, even. As they brushed against the silver blue of his skin, the orbs flashed a brilliant red hue. Ulric watched them critically as he continued to saunter forward, following them as they beckoned him towards the forest.

Normally he would be far more cautious of such happenings, but he wasn’t the only one heeding the will of the orbs. Up ahead he could see Somnus, Eulalie and their spindly legged children starting down one of the forest paths themselves, and with a gentle smile he picked up into a trot to join them.

As they went, Ulric bumped his nose against Anemone and Regis, the latter of which was beginning to warm up to him. They may not be his own children, but he loved them all the same and was infinitely proud of the parents Eulalie and Somnus had become. After all they had both been through, they deserved some peace and a happy family all their own.

With time, the path led them to a magnificent structure crafted of the very trees themselves. Ulric marveled at it the closer they got, slowing in his step to take in the ancient features. This had to have been here for centuries, and yet as certain as the Warden was that he’d inspected every inch of Delumine with his own two eyes, well… he definitely had not seen this before, and it wasn’t like it was incredibly easy to miss, anyway. Had it only just formed? Had it somehow been cloaked and hidden away from them, only to reappear now, and if so, why?

What waited for them inside, however, was truly breathtaking. Oh, Ulric was no bookworm, but even he understood the importance of knowledge and what if had to offer. Books lined the shelves row after seemingly endless row, stretching on forever and even continuing further into other rooms. He wondered how large this place truly could be and what secrets it contained, or the answers it could provide.

“This is remarkable,” he murmured softly, more to himself than anything as the moved further inside. He finally pried his eyes from the walls as Eulalie and Somnus each spoke, and with a gentle, easy smile he nodded in his agreement as he moved, following as he scouted the various rooms for sign of danger; but if this were a gift from Oriens, he doubted his caution was necessary.

"Speaking"

@Somnus @Eulalie