[X] My Assistant

[Acadian]

My goodness! Given the volume of Buffy's Journal, I realize it can be daunting for a new reader to catch up. I don't want that to become a source of discouragement. The purpose of this thread therefore is to help in that regard by providing summary information to catch up easily and quickly. Clearly, reading the full version of Buffy's numbered books adds much more depth, but I believe this thread can certainly substitute in a pinch.

First, a brief introduction of our blond, Bravilian Bosmeri butterfly-dragon bowgirl:

Buffy is a Mystic Archer. Orphaned by the age of twelve, the citizens of Bravil raised her. She is active with her guild of mages and a graduate of the Arcane University. Although her magical specialty is illusion, her passion is the bow. Her birthday is Rains Hand, the 19th, 3E 415 under the sign of the Mage. She loves Tamika's wine, waterfalls, her precious mare Superian, and visiting her many friends throughout Cyrodiil.

Buffy is loving, vengeful, empathetic, nurturing, cruel and caring in a manner that makes perfect sense to her. She has been called cuddly like a rattlesnake and lethally blond. She is like the girl next door - who carries a sniper rifle. Fully understanding her can be somewhat akin to capturing a thunderstorm. Or holding a butterfly.

She travels intertwined with the spirit of an old ethereal paladin named Acadian who died centuries ago. He occasionally offers advice. Sometimes she listens. The two are literally inseparable. Although Buffy considers Acadian a guide or mentor, it is unclear who learns more from whom.

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The next few posts are reserved for executive summaries of Buffy's numbered books as they are completed.

Although this thread is primarily intended as a resource, I certainly welcome comments, particularly questions relating to Buffy's story.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Jul 23 2016, 01:52 AM

[Acadian]

Executive Summary of Book 2 - The Cloud Dancers of Valenwood

This book opens in Valenwood about three months after Book 1 ends. It is primarily about Buffy's journey of self-discovery as she travels her ancestral homeland. It ends a few months later with Buffy on the road back to Cyrodiil.

Prelude (Episodes 1-2) This unusual interlude did not feature Buffy at all. Rather, it consisted of a meeting in the clouds among Kynareth, Mara and Azura. During this meeting, the two Divines asked Azura’s help. It seems Akatosh would be unable to turn into his dragon avatar when the time came to defeat Mehrunes Dagon due to a curse against dragons that Kynareth (known as Kyne at the time) had levied at the end of the Dragon War. The only way to break the curse is for one of Kyne’s ice dragons to once again fly. These dragons were created by her to help fight Alduin and his minions. They were ridden by paladins and, together, comprised the Order of the Ice Dragon. Their valiant efforts were unsuccessful however. The last ice dragaon and rider to perish were Phantom and Acadian. Somehow their spirits have persisted within the fragile body of a young wood elf known as Buffy. The spirit of Phantom was the closest thing to an ice dragon the Divines knew of. Their hope was that there might be enough of her spirit to somehow fly once again.

The Divines sought help from Azura because of her skill influencing the affairs of mortals and because Azura has dutifully but secretly been fulfilling a promise made to Buffy’s mother to be the child’s godmother. To remain unknown to the child, Azura had routinely taken the form of a pale green twilight butterfly to unobtrusively visit the elf many times during Buffy's life - always at either dawn or dusk. The meeting concludes when Azura alludes that she may be able to ‘arrange something’.

Part One – Dragons Live Forever (Episodes 3-4). Here we find Buffy in Valenwood seeking to mend her broken heart about three months after the battle that freed Kvatch and cost the life of her mate, Savlian Matius. Sure enough, Azura ‘arranges’ a threat to Buffy so dire that Acadian asks for the spirit of Phantom to help. Phantom does not disappoint as she forces her spirit into Buffy’s mare, Superian, transforms the horse into a dragon and flies them to safety. Once safely on the ground, Buffy learns the dragon is now bound to Superian. Unable to maintain the form of a dragon, it is the mare’s body that reappears to host both horse and dragon. Buffy is quite unaware that Phantom has broken Kyne’s curse.

Part Two – On the Wings of a Dove (Episode 5). Buffy is visited in the forests of Valenwood by a courier dove from the Arcane University bearing a spell which conjures a mighty bow to replace her bow that was damaged beyond repair in the same battle that killed Savlian. She gives the bow the same name as its predecessor - Slayer.

Part Three – Plains of Passage (Episodes 6-18). While visiting the northwestern prairies of Valenwood, Buffy was hosted by the Strid River Valley Tribe. Their elders were able to determine that she was conceived in a Tall Tree called Alderglean and her tribe was the Spirit Catcher Tribe - one of several tribes referred to as Cloud Dancers that inhabited graht oaks of central Valenwood so tall that their upper branches were lost in the clouds. She also learned that her tree was destroyed by a lightning fire while she was still in the womb. That is how/why her parents moved to Bravil. Another survivor of her tribe named Violet had been adopted by the Strid River Valley Tribe. Violet taught Buffy some of the ways of the Spirit Catchers, including a 'Find Familiar' spell. It was the chief's son, Vandrelis, that drew a spark of romantic interest from Buffy who was still grieving for her lost love, Savlian Matius of Kvatch. Regrettably, things did not work out for the potential romance. Buffy left the Strid River Valley and headed south to find the Tall Trees for herself.

Part Four - In Search of the Tall Trees (Episodes 19-28). As Buffy headed deep into Valenwood, she met her familiar - a small fox named Kitsune. The nimble vixen has the ability to taunt foes but requires Buffy's magicka to repel damage. With Phantom and Superian as one now, Buffy and Acadian learned they could 'absorb' the dragon-mare back into Buffy - handy when Buffy needed to take to the treetops to traverse some thick jungle. The elf and her paladin also learned that the dragon-mare now has a distance limitation that precludes separation of elf and mare by more than roughly the distance of a long arrowshot. Buffy did indeed meet some Cloud Dancers who introduced her to their Tall Tree. Although very much at home and delightfully entranced by the unique elven tree city in the sky, the tree was not particularly accommodating to Buffy's precious mare - which spent most of her time as a spirit within the elf. Before long, Buffy grew restless and her small tribe of Buffy, Acadian, Superian/Phantom and Kitsune decided to leave the ancient forest of the Tall Trees.

Part Five - Heard Any News From the Other Provinces? (Episodes 29-31). In the final part of this book, Buffy makes her way from the Tall Trees to the protective jungle that surrounds the ancient forest of the Cloud Dancers. She crosses via the treetops and finds herself in the forests of eastern Valenwood. From there, she heads north to a small trading village at the foot of a bridge crossing the Strid River. We leave her there, as she announces her plans to return to Cyrodiil.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Jan 27 2017, 03:53 PM