While I was walking around in the magnificent forests of this realm,
contemplating many things, an idea came to me. I was thinking about Lady
Lleis, and her abscence from the realm for many years now. Indeed, even
though I am a member of Her Order, I have not yet had the pleasure of
meeting Her. Only from stories told me, pictures shown to me, and
praises sung about Her have I gotten the knowledge I have about Her and
Her realm. These stories, pictures and songs all were made with such a
strong conviction, that they alone were enough to convince me that Lady
Lleis was the only Deity I could follow.

Her realm is Hope. Hope that another day will come, that we will live
many years still, that all the things we are doing are worthwhile doing.
Still, Lady Lleis has an Order, and a Head of that Order, and still Hope
lives on in the realm. However, the longer She is absent, the more Hope
itself leaves our realms. We of Her Order can only do so much, indeed,
the longer Lady Lleis is away, the more even our hope diminishes.
Without Hope, this realm will soon fall into apathy and stagnation. Why
work to make things better, if you do not have Hope that your situation
can be improved? Why bother to wake up, when you do not have Hope that
tomorrow will bring new things? Why hunt, if you do not have Hope that
it will bring about something worthwhile, to you, or your patron?

Over the last years, even the last decades, I have seen people going to
sleep and never waking up again. I have seen people going on journeys to
lands and realms far away, journeys even they do not know when will end,
if they ever will end. I have seen people give up, because they have
lost Hope. I've seen people stop caring, because they have lost Hope.
Indeed, as was seen during the Great War years ago, there was barely
enough Hope left in the realm to strengthen the spirits of most denizens
living in it.

As you see, Lady Lleis realm is not only of concern to a select few who
are in Her Order, it is the concern of everyone living in Aetolia. We of
Her Order are still working to maintain Hope in the realm, but we can
only do so much ourselves. No one can ever substitute a Divine,
especially not in such a great task as creating Hope.

Lleisian Druidess, Gwaine Ariano, Nurturing Willow

Penned by my hand on the 12th of Slyphian, in the year 147 MA.