The feast on the mountain was extraordinarily lively, and the alluring female night demons appeared amidst the forest. These creatures, almost indistinguishable from humans, were rare monsters capable of coexisting peacefully with people. Apart from the horns on their heads and the hooves on their feet, they possessed beautiful human features and often lured young men into losing their minds.
Female night demons did not kill, nor did they drink human blood. They were generally not malicious. They frequently appeared in the idle talk of common folk, and of course, such conversations were always accompanied by vulgarities.
Driven by unending carnal desire, female night demons would mate with any humanoid race in an attempt to satisfy this urge. While their "victims" rarely resisted, this did not mean female night demons posed no danger—their insatiable needs might be pleasurable at first, but they had driven more than one man to madness or death.
Those seduced by female night demons would become melancholic, losing their appetite and interest in everything else in the world. The men would sigh daily, their faces pale as they groaned, almost becoming addicted to it.
And this time, the prey captured by their fair arms was none other than the Wild Hunt! These beings, originally elves, had long lost the vital energy that the female night demons coveted. Their pale skin offered no warmth, only a chilling, bone-penetrating cold.
Three tall, imposing ladies of the wood lay sprawled on a stone bed covered with deerskin, with the elf in their midst being Illúvatar—the commander of the Wild Hunt!
Tika was somewhat surprised. Did the undead-like Wild Hunt still possess the urge for carnal pleasure?
The ladies of the wood were the first to discover this uninvited guest. Their connection to this land was extremely close, and they all looked up at Tika, who was seated on a treetop.
Tika was also very interested in the ladies of the wood. Her eyes saw through their beautiful disguises; the divine essence, stained with filth, was still dazzling, certainly not something these monsters with their man-eating habits should possess!
Upon discovering the ugly true forms of the ladies of the wood, Tika felt a pang of pity for Illúvatar, who was indulging in their embrace.
Enveloped in white light, Tika floated down from the tree. The elves immediately grabbed their dropped weapons and stood on guard. The female night demons let out displeased curses, donned their clothes, and retreated far from this dispute.
"Beautiful lady, welcome to our Sabbath feast."
The ladies of the wood tilted their heads back, their eyes hazy as they invited Tika. Their slender fingers traced their smooth cheeks, and they leaned in to suck the dripping wine from Illúvatar's bare chest.
An invisible ripple flashed, and an extremely piercing, sharp sound echoed in the ears of the ladies of the wood. They screamed, and blinding blood flowed from their ears.
"Filth! Blasphemy! Sin!"
Tika's voice stirred the earth. The sight of infant corpses in a soup pot filled her with rage.
Lightning, coursing through the sky, struck down, tearing apart the disguises of the ladies of the wood. Their noble and dignified appearances were merely skins draped over them. They wailed as their ugly true forms were revealed, startling Illúvatar.
Tika waved her hand, summoning a whirlwind that swept away Illúvatar, who was covering his face and vomiting. She then strode with firm steps towards the ladies of the wood, who were rolling on the ground, clutching their heads.
"Let me see where you stole this power from!"
Reaching out to grasp their sin-tainted souls, Tika obtained everything she desired from their memories.
During the convergence of celestial spheres—when the world consciousness was being plundered—a dilapidated shrine fell into the wilderness of Velen. The shrine's owner was Uul'goth, the god of the polar regions, a deity worshipped by frost giants and elemental descendants! Most remarkably, this minor deity of the polar regions hailed from the homeland of the goddess of magic—the world of Faerûn!
The shrine, having lost its divine consciousness, was opened by the ladies of the wood. They obtained the faint divine essence from the statue, and with it, the ladies of the wood became deities, lording over Velen and gaining worship.
Even though they were separated by thousands of miles, these divine essences still had a connection to their original owner, the polar god Uul'goth, and could guide Tika towards the world of Faerûn.
The blue-white divine essence flickered with a faint glow. Its original owner must be in a rather precarious situation, otherwise, the ladies of the wood would not have been able to control it so easily.
Tika belatedly recalled the circumstances under which the goddess of magic had entrusted the Weave to her, and naturally understood what had happened to the polar god Uul'goth.
The creator god Ao might be able to avert the disaster of world destruction, but weak deities without self-preservation abilities easily became prey to other gods eager to regain their power during such calamities. The polar god Uul'goth might have been attacked by enemies and unable to attend to this matter, having long abandoned this portion of divine essence.
But this polar god was definitely still alive, perhaps severely weakened and in a deep slumber, but certainly not fallen!
Illúvatar, wiping cold sweat from his brow, bowed his head in a half-kneel before Tika.
"Esteemed Maia."
Tika put away the divine essence in her hand and turned to look at this elf from the same world as the treants.
"The leader of the Wild Hunt, Eärendil, has already provided you with sufficient information. What is your choice? To stay or to leave?"
Illúvatar replied in a low voice, "We are all willing to return to Middle-earth, but we have been given the mission to resist the White Frost and cannot escape."
Tika nodded and pointed to the tall oak tree on the mountaintop, saying, "Take this oak tree to Eärendil. The new academy needs this tree of abundance to solve its food problems."
The lifeless bodies of the ladies of the wood began to disintegrate, transforming into pure energy and returning to the earth. This land would remain fertile for a long time, capable of sustaining its few inhabitants.
Opening a portal, Tika headed towards the dilapidated shrine hidden beneath. This place, known as the Whispering Hills, was covered in tall trees. The shrine's location was submerged in water. Tika clearly saw several water hags occupying the shrine, the carcasses of animals emitting an unpleasant odor, and almost no signs of fish activity in the water.
The icy water parted as Tika stepped in, and the return of the divine essence caused the shrine to emit a faint glow. Tika searched the ruined structure meticulously, finding nothing of value except for the blurred divine emblems and doctrines on the walls.
One detail in the memories of the divine essence greatly concerned Tika: along with this shrine came a devil from the Nine Hells. These cunning creatures would treat this world as their private hunting ground, but there was no danger of a large-scale invasion from hell.
Upon further thought, the task of finding the devil seemed suitable to entrust to the spellcasters. They would be delighted to dissect a creature they had never seen before.
Through the Sending spell, Tika described this devil as an evil being capable of granting wishes in exchange for souls, which fully mobilized the spellcasters. Not long after, Tika learned of a strange merchant appearing in White Orchard, Temeria.