"Land ho!" cried the lookout.
Alruna turned her head and looked over the railing. The dark gray walls of Freeport could be seen through the mist. They had reached their destination at last. The journey over the Ocean of Tears had been long and dull, and had given her a lot of time to think back about the Ceremony of Faith....

---------------------------

They had all been gathered in the Church of Tunare of Felwithe that day. Dressed in gleaming armor and in finely woven robes, her fellow Council members had heeded her call.
One-eyed Sulla stood tall and proud, surveying the surroundings, a hand on the handle of his mighty sword. Beside him, Galilee stood calmly, for she knew this place well. Like Alruna, she had been trained in this place of devotion. More than any other place, it felt like home to her. Though she was close to Tunare wherever she traveled in Norrath, here she felt closer still.
Close to them, the Sages Chektor and Luno were waiting for the ceremony to begin. Though not zealous followers of Tunare, they respected the sanctity of the place, and spoke in hushed tones to each other in their native elven tongue.
Behind them towered two Barbarian Shamans from distant Halas. Farynd, his thumbs hooked behind his wide belt, found this place much different from the simple shrine of rough stone in Halas. There, they had no need of marble walls and finely wrought chandeliers to prove their devotion. "Those elves sure know how to waste time on trivialities," he thought. By his side stood quietly Rhyannia, thinking about her beloved Grast.
Morley was leaning nonchalantly against an elegant white marble column, his arms crossed. His tiny friend Follwindy was at his side. Morley appeared quite calm but was, as always, ready for action at a moment's notice. He made quite a point of ignoring the group of High Elves who stood nearby. Alruna's mother and sister were there, with said sister's husband and children. How they had scorned him when they had seen him for the first time: half-breed! To them he was nothing, less than nothing really. Arrogant fools! He wondered why it was that Alruna had become so different from them.
He turned his head to the noise of the church doors opening, and his question was immediately answered. Alruna and an older elf man were quietly entering the Church. The older elf's eyes were the same shade of gray as Alruna's, and they were just as compassionate. Alruna held his hand, as if to reassure him, for he seemed very uneasy. As the pair walked closer to the altar, Alruna greeted each of her friends with a warm smile. Her father, though, merely looked ahead with an air of sad resolve. Morley vaguely remembered Alruna telling him that her father had once been a High Priest of Tunare, but had since fallen in disgrace. He had lost his faith in Tunare... Surely it must be a hard thing for him to come back inside this Church.

Alruna and her father stood before the raised dais upon which stood the sacred altar. Before the altar stood High Priest Kelinas Elmshade. He looked magnificent with his long silvery hair and his shiny silver armor. He seemed to be purity itself.
He directed a cold gaze to Alruna's father, who met it calmly.
"Alkiran Moongazer," said the High Priest in a voice full of bitter reproach. "I did not expect to see you here today... One might wonder how it is that suddenly you take interest in the will of Tunare?..."
Before Alkiran could answer, the church doors opened noisily and heavy booted steps were echoed through the church. "Has it started yet??" came the rough dwarven voice from the back of the church. Rutgger had made his less-than-stealthy entrance.

As High Priest Kelinas gave an irritated look at the rustic dwarf, Alkiran moved to join the rest of Alruna's family. The High Priest's eyes went back to Alruna, and he smiled at her warmly. He raised his hand and the whispers of the small crowd died down.

"Welcome, child," he said gently in the common tongue, for the benefit of the visitors. "You have been summoned to this Temple to be given a Faith Quest. This is a most holy endeavor indeed."
Alruna bowed her head in respect, then said: "I stand ready to serve the Mother."
"Good," replied the High Priest. "And so it shall be."

The rest of the conversation was held in the High Elven tongue, and so was lost to many of Alruna's companion.
"You and your companions shall travel to a place of great Evil," said the priest.
- We shall do it, for it is Tunare's will.
- You shall travel to the great chasm where the dragon did fall.
- We shall go there with haste.
- There lived people like us, once. They are children of Tunare no more.
- We will go there and stand by their side, as we stand in Tunare's light.
- Those have forsaken not only Tunare's love, but also the life she had bestowed unto them.
- We will be with them, strong in our love for Tunare.
- They feel the grip of Evil. They are as its puppets. They will seek to oppose you.
- We are strong in our faith. With Tunare's help, we shall be victorious."

"What are they saying???" Rutgger whispered loudly to Luno, who shushed him quietly. "Damn arrogant goblin-faced bastard," growled Rutgger in the dwarven tongue, his glare upon the high priest.

The High Priest went on with the speech:
"Inside this Estate of Unrest, you will look for scrolls of ancient wisdom.
- We will look for them and find them.
- You will read these scrolls but they will mean nothing to you. Their contents will be gibberish to your eyes.
- I will show them to Sages who will ponder and understand them.
- So it shall be. Thus you will learn of the Oak of Tunare.
- All Oaks are children of Tunare, as we are.
- Indeed, child. I see Tunare has chosen well. Remember the tales of long ago... Before you were born, or even before your father was born.
- Times were much different, and so was Norrath.
- Truly. There was a time when our kingdom spread over the lands of Norrath. In such times, Norrath was a great forest where all grew peacefully under Tunare's cherishing love.
- This seems to me as a dream, revered elder.
- Yet it was the reality of our ancestors. Now the face of Norrath is much different. Evil roams about the lands. The Teir'Dal's influence over the continent of Antonica grows daily. Even our allies, the short-living Humans consort with Evil and allow the enemy within the walls of their corrupt city of Freeport.
- Surely most Humans are as noble as us? I have met a number of them and have grown to like them like brothers.
- Alas, this is untrue. Their intentions are at times pure, but they are foolish. They lack the wisdom of our years. And that is understandable, for their oldest crone is yet younger than even you, child.
- So it is that I shall prove my faith to Tunare in aiding her to bring Norrath back as it was during its age of glory?
- Indeed. You and your bold companions will travel the world to find the items described in the scrolls you will find in the Estate of Unrest. Once you have all of them, you will be able to sow a seed in the ground of Antonica. The seed will grow under Tunare's nurturing love, and will grow into a tree. And the tree will grow into a Forest. Slowly, this will happen. But with time, Tunare's influence will grow back to the continent known as Antonica, which was lost to us in a time of great Evil."

The elven members of the crowd were silent for a moment, pondering the quest ahead. The others waited patiently for a translation. Then it was that Galilee spoke (in the common tongue).
"Revered elder, why have you not asked others to do this quest? Surely there are who are higher than Alruna and myself in the ranks of our church. Should a mission of this importance not be handled by them?"
High Priest Kelinas shivered. "Your question is good, child. I admit I approached several higher ranking priests already. Kewl d00dz all of them! For some reason, many of Norrath's most powerful heroes are not guided by your wisdom. That is useless to Tunare. She would rather have you doing her bidding than some power-hungry fools."
The High Priest looked from Galilee to Alruna. "The time has come for you to go, now, Tunare's daughters. You will explain what transpired here to your friends on the way."

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And they had gone to Unrest and faced its perils. And they had found the scrolls. They had proved to be gibberish indeed, but after some study, Chektor and Luno managed to make sense out of some of their contents.
Deep under the Lavastorm Mountains lay the grave of an ancient Elven Hero, Jenethiel Wavestrider. There, the companions must venture to gather some earth from the holy ground in which he was buried. But the way to the tomb would be perilous, for it was beyond the woods of Nektulos, where the Teir'Dal roamed, and the Lavastorm Mountains, where lived many hideous beasts. Then, the companions would have to go into the ruins of Najena, which was built over the grave of the fallen Hero.

Now, the companions were all in this boat. Their resolve was strong, as they stepped from the boat unto the docks of Freeport. There, they met Morley the Rogue, who had gone ahead of them to find a way through the Teir'Dal woods. Morley greeted them with good cheer.
"Friends," he said to his fellow Council members, "I have found a guide for our journey through Nektulos. Come, I will introduce you to him."

This was a project that I had in the fall of '99. I was hoping to get some people involved in it, but sadly, the response was not great. Here is a description of the beginning of this quest, which still remains unfinished to this day.
 

The Oak of Tunare: presentation of the Quest in which the Council must find the seed of a great oak, and other items scattered throughout Norrath, in the name of Tunare. (see text above)
 

Chapter 1: Najena (Sunday 99-10-03)
The heroes must venture beyond Nektulos and Lavastorm to the grave of an ancient Elven Hero, Jenethiel Wavestrider. His grave lies deep within the ruins of Najena. The Heroes must gather some earth from his grave - it will have to be mixed with the ground where the Oak of Tunare will be planted. (We went to Najena and had some fun, though it was more oriented towards camping mobs than role-playing)
 

Chapter 2: Permafrost
The heroes must now travel to the frigid wastes of Everfrost and venture into the keep of Permafrost. There, they must find a sacred chalice of  Tunare. This relic once contained water from the Spring of Eternal Purity... But it has been in Everfrost for so long that it contents have frozen into Holy Ice.

(I ventured a couple times in Permafrost and I dislike that place... At level 23 at least, I find it is a bad spot. There are tons of aggressive green goblins at the entrance who swarm anybody of my level who does not go in a full group. With two allies of level 21 and 28, I could not even make it past the ladder at the entrance. Spending an entire evening wasting my time fighting trains of greens is not my idea of fun... Even if it is meant for the lofty goal of role-playing.)
So read on:
After many an epic battle in the frigid palace, Alruna and her friends have managed to find the holy chalice... This part of the quest is done... And they must now move on to...
 

Chapter 3: Solusek A
The heroes now face greater peril than ever. To melt the ice from the holy chalice of Tunare, the heroes must find the Flame of Yaralt. This magical artefact would create a small, magical fire capable of melting the holy ice. This artefact is, according to the scrolls found in Unrest, currently in the hands of the vile Goblins that live in the caves of Solusek... So the Heroes must return to the vicinity of Najena to find this strange item.

Alas, though we had many adventures in Solusek A, the quest for Tunare's Oak was never continued further.