Happy times were always so fleeting. The news Selûne and Eilistraee brought immediately shattered Aaron's joy at his plan's success. He barely had time to leave a few instructions with Eleanor and the others before heading to the Pantheon with the two goddesses.
In Aaron's eyes, the Pole Star Encampment had returned to the appearance of his Round Table Hall. To Selûne, it was a moonlit garden of feathery bamboo; to Eilistraee, it was the deep, dark night of Arvandor, the elven realm in the Feywild. The Dark Maiden had almost forgotten those sights.
The Nature Pantheon and Helm, the God of Guardians, were all present: Silvanus, the Father of Oaks; Mielikki, the Goddess of Forests; Lurue, the Unicorn Goddess; and Shiallia, the Goddess of New Growth.
Silvanus's already wrinkled face was now as rigid as that of Grumbar, the God of Earth. The Father of Nature remained grimly silent. Only Mielikki greeted Selûne as she arrived, while casting Aaron a displeased glance.
Lurue threw herself into Selûne's arms and sobbed softly, while the Goddess of New Growth shed silent tears.
"Yes, Eldath has fallen." There was no discernible emotion in Helm's voice. He was like a cold stone.
"Silvanus was the first to sense Eldath's fall." Mama Selûne held the pale-skinned, white-haired Unicorn Goddess in her arms. For some reason, Aaron kept thinking Lurue looked very much like a classic anime character from his previous life.
Ran Mori.
But this was no time for jokes. Looking puzzled, Aaron glanced at Mielikki, who seemed inexplicably hostile toward him. The brown-haired, brown-eyed Goddess of Forests wore a fitted Ranger outfit of leather trousers, jacket, and boots, with an animal-hide cloak draped behind her. Her slightly full lips gave her a wild beauty, though among the assembled goddesses, her looks could only