Isn't that the way of things? You're all finally well, and it's pouring outside.
Well, you're all in luck... Old Bear Thul has a story for you.

No, you can't go outside anyways. That's probably how you all got sick in the
first place, you know.

Well, "Nyah" to you too, young one. You want to hear this story or not?

Right then. So... someday you'll all be grown-ups. Proud members of the tae'dae
race. I know at least one of you is gonna be a warrior. Yeah, I see you smiling,
Bobo. Well... maybe the Ackleberry will be back then, and maybe it won't. But
you'll end up studying the Totems, the great spirits which can be drawn upon for
power.

...what? Well, yeah. There's Hunting, too. If you want to be bad at what you
do, but...

Rituals? Seriously? You want to be part of a city? If you want to punish
yourself, I guess, but we're getting diverted. Totems. Let's talk about Totems.
Because that's what's important here.

There are all manner of Totems to draw upon. Everyone trained to do so can call
upon Brother Wolf to scent their surroundings, and Brother Bear for his
strength. In the Glomdoring, there are those who have deeper bonds to Mother
Night and Brother Crow, but even they can call upon little favors from White
Hart and Mother Moon, however the Serenwilde feels about them. It works the
other way around, too, with Serenwilders and Night and Crow. But nobody anywhere
bonds with Brother Lion, and this is the story of why. It starts off in Jojobo.

Yeah, that's a funny word, isn't it? Heh.

The Jojobo's a jungle... which is a kind of forest. Hot. Damp. It's said to lie
outside the Basin of Life, waaaaay over the mountains... probably the Razines.
This was a little after the Vernal Wars, when Avechna first came to be, and
mortality was just starting to rebuild after all the Soulless had finally been
sealed away, but it was mostly just wilderness left over. Now, all the great
forests had two great spirits appointed to protect them by the Elders.
Ackleberry had Brother Bear and Sister Lake, Serenwilde had White Hart and
Mother Moon, and Gloriana... that's what Glomdoring used to be, by the way.
Gloriana had Brother Raven and Mother Night. But Jojobo only had one
protector... Brother Lion. It used to be him and Father Sun, but Sun got
wounded, and driven mad. He was dangerous to Mother Night, and when Sister Lake
stepped in to protect her, Sun tried to kill her, and the Elders put Sun back to
sleep. So Brother Lion had to fight all the way through the Vernal Wars on his
own in the Jojobo, and though he struggled heavily against the Soulless all by
himself, both he and the forest survived. Barely.

Yeah, he was a mighty warrior. Almost as strong as Bear, even. But the
important thing to remember about Lion is that he was proud. Full of himself,
always preening, roaring out his own praises and whatnot...

Don't giggle at Billa like that, it's mean.

But anyway, the problem with being proud is that it's no good if there's nobody
to be proud around... it's boring being the only one complimenting yourself, you
know. And Lion was awfully lonely. He missed Father Sun, who was also proud, and
who he'd gotten along with before the Sun went mad. Lion had gotten it into his
head a long while back to wake up his companion, but he was too busy defending
to really do anything about it... but now that the Soulless were finally,
finally gone, he marched right on up to the Basin, climbed over the mountains,
and went to visit the other forests for the first time in Ages.

The first place Lion came across was the Gloriana, and the first spirit he ran
across was wise Brother Raven. Raven was pleased to see Lion, and they talked a
long while, and then Lion asked how he might wake the Sun. And Raven cocked his
head, looking at Lion through one eye, as he did in those days and as Crow does
now. "The Sun was put back to sleep for a reason, you know," Raven said. "Would
you risk unleashing something awful, after all these wars? Do you think yourself
wiser than the Elders?" But of course, Lion did think he was wiser, and he
stalked off to ask someone else. Soon, he came across Mother Night, and asked
her how he might wake up the Sun. And she didn't say anything... she just gave
him a long, hard look. Like he was being really, really stupid. Like...

...what, really? You tried to eat a whole pumpkin, Bruno? That's...

Yes. Like he'd tried to eat a whole pumpkin. And then she threw a big ball of
sticky shadows in his face and stomped off. And Lion spent a good day or two
just trying to get it all out of his face and mane, bumping into trees and
stumbling over rocks until he fell into the sea, where he could wash most of it
away. Then, annoyed with Night and Raven, he headed to the Ackleberry.

Soon enough, he ran into Sister Lake and Brother Bear, who were glad to see
him, even if he still had shadow bits in his mane and smelled like brine. They
talked for a while, and then Lion asked them both about waking up the Sun. And
Sister Lake sighed, because she knew this would come up, and she said, "The Sun
will be a danger to us all, to Mother Night and to myself and to the Basin as a
whole. I see already that my words will not stop you in your quest, but if you
succeed, everyone will suffer for it." And Brother Bear, who'd only been
half-paying attention, looked up and told Lion, "And if you do to harm Sister
Lake, I'll beat you silly." Now, ordinarily that would've started a fight there
and then... Lion didn't like being challenged and all, but the way Bear said it
wasn't even a challenge. The words sounded like a challenge, but the way Bear
said it, it was just how things were going to be. This made Lion all confused,
and so he left the Ackleberry, feeling weird.

Now, finally, Lion made his way up to the Serenwilde, where he ran into White
Hart. Again, they talked, and again, Lion shared his plan to wake the Sun, but
this time, White Hart, filled with compassion, took pity on Lion. Together, they
went to Mother Moon, and after White Hart pleaded with her, she agreed to help
them out. She reached into herself, and drew forth a great silver mirror, which
she gave to Lion. "Go to Mount Avechna," she told him. "At noon, surrounded by
twelve fires, point this mirror at the Sun, and place atop it a piece of what he
loves." And when Lion asked her how he would get a piece of Mother Night, White
Hart leaned in and scraped a piece of shadow out of his mane with his antlers.
And so it was that Lion had everything he needed to wake the Sun.

And so it was that the Serenwilde first betrayed the Ackleberry. You kids
remember that.

So Lion climbed up the mountain, setting up everything alongside the great
statue of Avechna. It was a calm, clear day, with a perfect view of the sky, and
at first, everything was going well. The fires burned, the mirror shone, and the
bit of shadow on top started to quiver, and the sky itself changed from blue to
orange as the sun grew brighter and brighter. Raven cried out in alarm as
shadows and water everywhere around the Basin trembled... for it was clear
enough that the Sun was stirring. Lion was quite pleased with how things were
going, up until a thick fog suddenly rolled in out of nowhere. Lion snarled and
looked around, and who should he see but Sister Lake, her cloak of mist opened
up wide.

Lion roared in anger at Sister Lake, about ready to attack her for her
interference, when Brother Bear stepped out in front of her and growled low at
him. Now... Bear is usually a pretty nice guy, but he's not someone you want to
get angry, and Lion had done just that. There was no other way around it, now,
and so they both reared up on their hind legs and grabbed at each other,
snarling and biting and clawing and wrestling and generally trying to beat the
crap out of one another. It was a good fight... Brother Lion was strong, but
nobody is as strong as Brother Bear, and finally Bear laid Lion flat with a good
swat across the jaw.

Bobo, I'm glad you're enjoying this part, but let poor Boo out of that headlock
before you get me in trouble.

Now... the Sun hadn't gotten up all the way, but he was stirring, and Sister
Lake could feel his hatred towards her. And now that Brother Lion knew how to
wake him up all the way, he wasn't going to stop until his companion was back.
They couldn't just leave him be, Sister Lake knew, and they couldn't just keep
watch over Mount Avechna for all time... they had the Ackleberry to worry about.
Even right then, so soon after taking a beating from Brother Bear, Lion was
stirring. And so, taking matters into his own hands, Bear grabbed Lion, and
lifted him over his head, and threw him... up, through the sky, and into the
stars beyond, where he's been ever since, unable to wake the Sun and cursing
Bear's name. And that's why nobody, not the mightiest warrior, wiccan, or druid
can summon him.

Now, children... Father Sun is still asleep... mostly. Sometimes he stirs, and
that means trouble for the whole Basin... the last time it was fire and chaos
and strange fae. But for the most part, he's sleeping, which is how it was meant
to be. Brother Lion still rests far away in the stars. That's not to say he
can't come back someday, but for now, at least, he's where he belongs. The
Ackleberry's trapped beyond time right now, but if Hallifax and Gaudiguch have
taught me anything, it's that we'll see it again soon enough. But there are
those who would see Ackleberry lost forever, and they're the same people who
would see Lion and Sun returned. It is written in the stars that we cannot
suffer their presence, and so you must watch for these people, know these
people, and when you find them, kill these people. Kill them, for the sake of
Brother Bear and Sister Lake. Without mercy or regret, you must kill them, and
kill them all.

It's true. It's the only way we'll see the homeland again. And you'd best
remember tha-

Ah, Mrs. Trundle. How long have you been standing there?

She's only crying a little, you know. It was just a story. Perfectly true, but-

Well, maybe a couple of creative libert-

Fine, fine. Well, I hope you enjoyed that, kids. Be watchful. Be strong. And-
Ow. Fine. Fine. Going...