Ailil Champion Lore
Many Fae regard the Lord of the Faunas, Ailil, to be one the greatest protectors of the Mistwood’s animals and believe him to be a gift given by the forest itself to guard its children. Before Siroth’s corruption of the great forest, this silent recluse rarely interacted with other Sylvan, and spent his time tending to the forest’s myriad animals. With his scythe, he swung from tree to tree, cropped the environment to suit the animals’ needs, and protected creatures from harm.
For the longest time, the Sylvan considered Ailil a shepherding spirit and left offerings of flower wreaths and whittled tokens by lichen-stripped trees and nests to guide him to vulnerable animals, so that he might include them in his herd. Little did they know, this well-intentioned act angered Ailil, for he knew of all the woods animals, could hear their cries, and felt their hearts as his own, and feared the motivations behind the Sylvan who felt the need to mark them out.
So it was that Ailil came to lurk in the treetops, ready to ambush any who came to ‘litter’ his forest. The unfortunate soul he first descended upon was a young Elven girl who had come to the den of a mother boar with chains of bluebells and violets.
In a voice older than oak, Ailil demanded to know why the girl sought to disturb the boar’s home, especially while the beast had young to shelter. Shocked that he spoke her tongue, the girl dropped to her knees and begged Ailil for aid. The boar had been injured, and the girl had intended to leave the flowers as a request for Ailil to watch over the piglets. Though Ailil had already resolved the matter, so moved was he that another cared for the animals that he asked if all the Sylvan trinkets he had found had been left for similar purposes. Once the girl explained her people’s beliefs, Ailil returned the offerings and reassured her that she need not worry — lost fawns, birds with broken wings, and all other creatures in pain were being cared for. The girl spread the word and so it was that the Sylvan learned of Ailil’s name and dubbed him Lord of the Faunas.
Still, Ailil did not frequent the Sylvan beyond what was required for his animals’ needs, and the Sylvan learned that he needed no assistance in maintaining the creatures’ wellbeing. That was until the great Darkness descended upon the Mistwood and tampered with the Sylvans’ sacred guide, the Rhythm that connected all things of the Mistwood.
Though the Lord of the Faunas escaped the spreading corruption, his link to his animals was severed. He could no longer hear them, though he felt their pain like an implacable thorn in his skin. While the Sylvan Watchers fought evil’s spread, the homemakers and foresters of the land once again hung offerings on branches to signpost Ailil’s way to frightened or wounded animals. But too often he found the hunted creatures too late. Servants of evil skinned foxes for their pelts, butchered deer and rabbits to feast upon their flesh, and burned the trees that housed countless flocks and fledglings.
Enraged, Ailil took up his scythe and hunted the beings that pleasured in tormenting innocent creatures, and rained down his wrath upon them. Day and night, the Lord of the Faunas leapt through the trees in search of his prey and sliced through them as they had the wolves, boars, and countless others. But no matter how tireless his efforts, it was not enough to stop the enemy.
As a result, Ailil reluctantly joined the Sylvan Watchers. So long as they shared his love for the forest and were willing to risk their lives to protect it, he accepted that his goals aligned with theirs and realized that his odds of success were greater within a united army. The Watchers offered him the blades of their work and Ailil became one of the most formidable in their ranks. With unmatched raw strength, he slew in the hundreds, slicing his foes apart with his scythe, as sharp as a chill autumn wind, but he was not as indiscriminate as some of his fellows. If some foe proved themselves a friend to beasts, Ailil stayed his blades from their flesh with little regard for orders or the greater good.
As it is clear where his loyalties lie, Ailil has become a point of contention among the Sylvan Watchers. Some find that his disinterest in the Sylvan folk makes it hard to cooperate with him, while others consider his integrity admirable. Regardless, there is no doubt that his quiet fury is a vital weapon in the war against evil, and so long as the creatures of the Mistwood suffer, the Lord of the Faunas will fight.