Hill had originally planned to head straight for another continent. But when Oberon learned that the Undead might pass through the High Forest, he came to Hill and asked to take a look at the forest.
Seeing Hill's confusion, the ever-sorrowful Beast Lord gave a bitter smile. "Hill, when Titania and I first got together, she never seemed so eager to become the Fairy Queen. She insisted she hadn't withdrawn completely only because she wanted to help her sister.
"I think you know who that is.
"She played her part perfectly. Otherwise, no matter how lovely she was, I would never have led my family down that road to ruin with her. However powerful we Fey might be, none of us wanted to get caught up in such a terrible struggle.
"They fought to the death for supreme power. Why should we have followed them to our deaths? Losing that struggle would have meant the end of the Court of Delight.
"It was only after the queen of the Court of Sorrow and Wrath was tempted into corruption by that dark gem that Titania stepped forward in the name of revenge.
"By then, even if I suspected I'd been deceived, what could I do? I could only grit my teeth and carry on. If my own blindness had cost me my life, that would have been one thing. But I had children! And I had my family, whom I'd dragged into it.
"She was unlucky, though. She schemed and used everyone she could, only for Toril to be invaded by Demons just as she formally became queen. She couldn't even hold on to the High Forest.
"The powerful Elves had no choice but to flee their homes. The Fairies stood even less chance.
"My family had once been very powerful,