Emalia had slept soundly in her room, her sleep aided by dreams of the day prior. The dawn had already come and gone when she woke up, the time having passed well into the afternoon. It appeared no one had missed her as she slept - for not only was her family quiet, but the rest of the realms that requested aid seemed hushed.
Emalia rose from her bed, the crisp Uktar air having entered her quarters, and rushed to don her robe and boots. There was no mirror in her room - she had no need of things that would cause vanity. She pulled a brush from her pack and combed through her tangles. Certain of the scrolls she carried with her, Emalia set off to explore the realms around her. 'Perhaps,' she thought, 'I can surprise Hellstrom.'
The streets were oddly quiet as she left Westbridge and headed deep into the forest. Her footfalls seemed to be announced by the plethora of pine needles and dead leaves that crunched beneath her boots. Before long, however, she found herself in a grove much darker than all the rest. Fog rolled along the ground and in the center of the area, a giant black tree jutted from the ground.
Common sense told Emalia that she should turn around, but the idea of finding a completely new place that perhaps even Hellstrom didn't know about spurred her onward. Briars and nettles threatened to entangle her feet and the more care she took to be wary of them, the less she paid attention to the things around her, until a voice hissed out, "Greetings, Faithless."
Emalia locked eyes with what might have been the most horrible being she'd ever seen. In a moment, she was left staring at the top of his head, and simple as it seemed, found herself among those called the Jenovese, and one, in particular, named 'Grobnak'.
Curiously, she had no fear of the vision before her. Being that she had respect for all creatures, Emalia took Grobnak for what he was, and listened to what he had to say. The interesting turn, was that as she listened, it made sense. The Rok, The Rebirth, The Apprentice, and most of all... Balance.
She had learned that Cyric was evil through her mishaps with the tomes. She now found that a worse foe threatened life beyond her own: Ao, madness, evil, and the perpetual return of the Rok. The Apprentice would bring back the balance, he would bring about the return of a world with no Ragnarok in the sky, and Emalia could help.
To help bring about Balance, Emalia would join the Jenovese. She would spread the word. She would tell the world. She would be certain that her grandchildren's grandchildren would never have to live under the threat of the Rok again. She had a purpose beyond even what she had imagined. Her path, full of fateful coincidences, had once again led her to yet another reason. Emalia, for yet another time, felt as though she were truly an adult.
