History and Beginnings of the Holts

[Delhya]

History and Beginnings
(From the Ocean Dreams Holt Newsletter, September 2000)


The journey for the Ocean Dwellers took place over several hundred years, taking them far away from the only home they have known.  Many events took place during their journey, The History and Beginnings highlights major or more important events that took place during their journey.  Thru out History and Beginnings a few time lines will be given to let you know how much time elapsed from one event to the next.


There are two elf tribes that live near the tip of a semi large panhandle and a small group of islands.

The Ocean Dwellers began as a small group of about ten High Ones that had managed to survive and stay together.  Life for them was very hard and, like all High Ones at first, their powers were very weak.

Fleeing continuous attacks from brutal humans, the ten High Ones, along with six trolls and a preserver, they took refuge in a small wooded forest.  Two of the High Ones, having plantshaping abilities, combined their powers together and shaped the upper levels of eight ancient oak trees into dwellings well out of the reach of the humans.

Calling themselves TreeBenders, they shaped and twisted the entire forest area into a maze of barriers that made it very hard for humans to penetrate.

Venta, their leader, had Recognized Barlok and gave birth to their son Tidas.  The birth of their son gave the High Ones hope that their race would continue to survive on worlds with the harsh conditions that this one had to offer.

They lived in the wooded forest for countless turns seeing several Recognitions and births.  Occasionally, other High Ones and second generation elves would wander through, joining the TreeBender tribe.

It had been countless moons since the elves had any encounters with humans; it seemed that the humans were a thing of the past.  They had become so comfortable living without fear of humans, rules that were once set seemed to be no longer necessary.  At one time it was forbidden for anyone to go outside the barriers of the Holt.  It was Torkl, the second son of Venta and Barlok that was the first to venture outside the barriers.  He always had a bit of wanderlust in him and was very curious to know what life was like outside the barriers.  To his surprise, strange creatures, none like he had ever seen, had set up camp near the borders.  Full of questions, he returned to the Holt and told his Elders what he had seen.

Fearing that humans had come to the area, a small group, went to see just how many of Tork’s strange creatures had come.

Following Tork as he led them to the strange creatures’ camp, strange voices and sounds could be heard in the distance.  Creeping slowly toward the sounds, they saw humans, not as barbaric as they remembered, but just as brutal.  In the center of the camp was a type of monument that had been built for sacrificial ceremonies.  Decorating the rock were numerous elfin and human skulls.

Fearing being discovered, they returned to the Holt to hold council.   Realizing that their safe haven was now threatened with the presence of humans, they could no longer continue to live here as they once did without fear of exposure.

Afraid of facing the same fate as their friends in the past, they devised a plan with the trolls to dig a tunnel that would lead safely away from the human’s camp and out of danger.  For the next few seasons, trolls and rockshaping elves worked together to crate the tunnel.

As the tunnel neared completion, the elves could sense that the humans were trying to break through certain areas of the barriers.  The humans had discovered the strange plants that the elves called strangleweed could heal itself faster than they could cut through.  Several of the humans were killed by the strangleweed’s strong suffocating embrace.  The humans knew that demons wee in the forest, and that the land needed to be cleansed or the wrath of Gotara would be upon them.

The elves knew tht time was running out on them as far as safety so they began the task of gathering up what few belongings were necessary for their long journey underground.  The journey for them was very hard, their food and water supply had begun to diminish.  The elves had to rely on the trolls for survival.  The trolls showed the elves that certain mushrooms growing on the cave and tunnels walls could be eaten, and that water could be found by licking the sweaty cave walls.

They remained underground longer than they thought they would.  Tunnels that had been dug moons ago by the trolls, even before the humans had come to the forest, had caved in, blocking their passageway through those tunnels.   The trolls and rockshaping elves had to reroute the tunnels around the cave-ins, causing more time to be wasted, and using up precious energy needed for the continued journey.

Being starved of good food and sunlight, a few of the elves had become sick and weak.  Knowing that they must soon return to the world above, the trolls took them through a tunnel that had been used very little.  The tunnel led them to a strange new land.  The trees were fewer, the land was flat, and in the distance they could see the beginnings of a great grassland that reach as far as the eye could see.

(Two and a half full turns of the seasons had passed since they entered the tunnel.  During that time Secha had Recognized Jolon and was soon expecting the arrival of their son.)

Roaming the grassland in search of some kind of shelter, they were attacked by two sabertooth tigers.  The first two to perish were Simio and Radic.  Not knowing what to do, half the elves scattered in panic.  After a furious battle with the tigers, they managed to kill one of the tigers and wound the other.  The injured tiger staggered off and disappeared in the tall grass.

After the battle was over, the scattered elves hiding in nearby bushes and trees discovered that many of their friends and companions were gone.  Others to perish in the attack were Venta, Barlok, Tork, Mista, Jolon and one of the trolls, Mort.

Aside from the dead, there was one elf missing.  Tidas sent to his missing tribemember, and in return, received a weak response.  Secha, with child, had been injured during the battle with the tigers and had lost a lot of blood.  Fearing that she would lose her child, she forced an early birth,.  When Tidas and the rest of the tribe found her, she was holding her child.  She looked up at Tidas, and with a single tear streaming down her face, she asked him to take care of her son and raise him as his own.  As Tidas took the newborn into his arms, Secha sent to Tidas, to name him Titan.  When Tidas glanced down at her, she was dead.

Eight High Ones, a handful of other elves, five trolls, and a preserver were all that remained.  Tidas, mourning the death of his family and friends, took over leadership of his saddened people.  Tidas knew that someday he would be leader of his people, but not like this, not so soon.  Leadership had always been given to the firstborn elf child to the current leader when he or she showed the maturity and capability of leadership.  The eight High Ones agreed to help Tidas during his leadership until he was ready to make decisions on his own.  Burying the dead, they continued their migration through the grassland.  The terrain began to change into more of a canyon type region with rocky mountains towering in front of them and a very large lake along the foot hills.

Setting up camp near the lake, they held council to decide on a more permanent settlement because the whitecold season was near.

It was the worst whitecold season the elves could remember.  Food was very scarce.  Tidas knew that he must do something to ensure that his tribe would survive.  Standing on top of a small cliff overlooking the lake, he watched as a wolf stalked and killed its prey.  Tidas, being a selfshaper, realized that for his tribe to survive the whitecold season, he must become a part of this strange land.  At firs the transformations were very difficult, and even more so, to transform back into his elf form.  During the next few weeks of winter, the transformations had become easier than it was at first.  Killing for Tidas was not his way, but when it came to the survival of the tribe, he knew that many sacrifices would have to be made.

(It had been fifty full turn of the seasons since they settled near the lake.)

As the last few days of a very mild winter turned into the season of newleaf, the tribe once again continued their migration, hoping to find a safe haven from the threats of this strange world.

It seemed that the farther they went, the more difficult the land became.  The passageway through the rocky cliffs closed in on them making it very difficult for them to easily pass.  Parts of the rocky cliffs just barely supported their small forms as they clung to the rocky edges.

As they moved through the cliffs, howling winds from an approaching storm forced the elves to take shelter in small openings in the cliff walls.  As the storm was upon them, the powerful winds at times tried to pull them from their small dens.  Sometime during the night, the storm passed and the rains stopped.  The elves awoke the next morning to the sounds of water flowing furiously from outside.  They discovered that a large water flow came from an opening at the base of one of the mountains.  Constant erosion from storms in the past and the previous storm finally rerouted the natural water flow through the cliffs.  The newly rerouted water blocked their path, preventing them from going any farther.  The rockshapers formed a ledge over and across the water flow to the other side.

Following the water as it flowed through the mountains, the walls began to open up more, making their journey a bit easier.  Plants, not in abundance, could be seen growing near the water flow that was fast becoming a river by being fed by smaller streams of water from higher up in the mountains.  The sign of plant life gave the elves hope that they would soon find a green growing place like the one they had left behind.

That night they were woken by the screams of Temon as he disappeared into the night’s darkness.  Mountain trolls that had been watching their every move since their entrance into the mountains seized their chance to capture one of the rockshapers. Sebree, the daughter of Temon, stood in the darkness near the river.  She was locksending to her father that was now somewhere deep inside the mountain.  When she returned to the others, Tidas noticed that the light that used to shine in her eyes was now gone, and he feared that she would never be the same.  She never spoke another word.

Tidas pushed his people onward, fearing another attack from the mountain trolls.  After traveling a great distance, they stopped in awe as the view in front of them spread in all directions.  Never before had they seen a newgreen as thick and lush as this one.  The forest was new to them; the rain forest was home to plants and animals that they had never known before.  The air was more humid and a thick blanket of mist hovered over the forest.  As they moved through the thick jungle of plants and trees, the sunlight was blocked by the thick foliage, making it seem like night.

Centra, shaping a small vine that was growing near a fallen log, thought that she sensed the faint presence of elves that had been here before.  The scent was so faint; however, she could not be sure.

They roamed thru the thick jungle of plants and trees for weeks, moving only by the light of day because of the tree’s thick camouflage.  The river had become more raging, moving more swiftly.  Large rocks could be seen protruding along the river’s path, causing the water to swish and swirl as it crashed against the rocks smooth surfaces.

(It had been countless turns since the elves had left their small but once safe haven.  During that time, they lived without the fear of humans so the dangers that still existed in the world were forgotten.  The elves had encountered more hardships and lost more loved ones since their journey began, that they once again realized just how alien they were to this world, and even more so, to this strange new land.)

Finally, the thick forest began to thin; the trees grew further apart, allowing more light to peek through.  Never before had they encountered such a forest that seemed to have no end.

As the small group rested in a clearing near the river’s edge, Tidas watched as Sebree walked quietly out of view of the others and followed her.  He approached her and put his hand on her shoulder.  They had been the best of friends and were close to the same age.  As they walked up a small hill and neared its top, the brightness of almost full moons lit up the sky.

As the larger of the two moons began to slowly fade away in the light of early dawn, the two looked out on to the horizon to see two tall towering forms that seemed to jut upwards from the forest.  Sending to his people to come to them, they all stood on a small mountain’s edge that overlooked a large valley.  They could see how the river twisted and turned through the forest in front of them, seeming to disappear between the two towering forms.

It was an eight days walk before they reached the area of the two towering forms.  As they neared them, they could see two giant birds that were flying overhead.  The two towers identical to the other stood on the edge of a high cliff that over looked a large body of water that spread as far as they could see.

They discovered that the river flowed between the two towers to the edge of the cliff forming a beautiful waterfall.  The waterfall crashed onto the rocky beach below.  They could feel the mist of the splashing water from down below rising to hit their pale faces.

Exploring caves near the base of the towers, they discovered that elves lived here at one time.  The way the insides of the caves were formed by rockshapers, they must have been gliders as well.  Some of the dwellings were higher up, with no way of reaching them other than by means of levitation.  It seemed, for some reason, they never got to finish the insides of the caves.

As the others were exploring, Sebree, standing on the cliffs edge, gazed down upon the seemingly endless water.  As the winds swept and lifted her hair all around her, the preserver ClearWing flew into her hair.  To her surprise, there were others as well.  ClearWing had discovered four preservers, one injured and hiding in small catacombs half way up one of the towers.  They kept singing and talking, happy that the High Things had finally returned to them.  The discovery of the preservers seemed to reignite the small fire in Sebree’s eyes, but still she seemed a bit distant.

Tidas and the rest of his people knew that they had reached their journey’s end.  It was the first time in centuries that he felt a sense of peace and contentment among his people.  For Tidas, that was all he needed.  It wasn’t anything like the Holt they had left behind, but Tidas knew his people were happy.  This would be their new home.

(For the next seventy turns of the seasons they made their home in and near the caves of the towers before leaving to seek other dwellings due to constant Ground Quakes that continued to hit the area.)

It had been two hundred full turns of the seasons since the TreeBender tribe came here.  Tidas and his people have gone through many changes and transformations since the, including changing their name to the Ocean Dwellers.  Discovering three islands about two miles off the coast of the towers by following a narrow strip of land that was connected to the mainland.  They have scattered themselves over the three islands making their dwellings in caves, tents, under water caverns, and huts built near the beach.  The Ocean dwellers learned from their leader and lord centuries ago that for them to survive they must become one with their environment.  Some but not all have shaped their bodies to be like that of their sea friends, dolphins, allowing them to live in or out of the water.  Other changes the Ocean Dwellers have experienced were the deaths or disappearances of all the High Ones and the disappearance of the trolls.

(Twenty-five turn later another group of elves seeking a home came to the area under the leadership of Raven, having no name for his small tribe.)

Raven, comes from a group of elves called Lakevale Folk.  Having been born a natural leader, he constantly had disagreement with his chieftess, Whisperleaf.  Realizing that there was not room for two leaders, Raven left his birth Holt, taking with him a few followers.

Roaming the land, the small group of elves eventually encountered others, some decided to join the group while others moved on.  Eventually their roamings brought them to the area of the towers.  Shortly after their arrival they witnessed a skyfire storm so severe they were forced to take shelter in caves.

Exploring the caves, they like others in the past, discovered that elves had lived here once before.

Giving themselves the name Tower elves, they lived in the towers for about six turns of the seasons before they realized that elves lived on islands abut two miles off the coast of the towers.  Petalthorn, an Ocean Dwellers youngster was seen on the rocky beach below the towers.  They watched as she swam out to sea in the direction of the islands.  Later the Tower elves capture Petalthorn, forcing her to tell them of her origin as well as her tribe.  When Tidas comes to the aid of the youngster he has Recognition with one of Raven’s own.  The Recognition links the two separated tribes together even though they will never combine their dwellings.