The Forgotten Druid Artifact
A find tucadh claidhim nuada,
ni thernadh nech usdha,
O dobatha intig bodha,
ni gebtha fris?
(From that bright place came the sign of Renewal.
Its singular spirit cannot be escaped.
Is it not deserved?)
- Unknown
Goibniu is son of goddess Danu and one of a trio of divine craftsmen. He manufactures swords that always strike true, and he possesses the mead of eternal life, making the arms for the Tuatha de Danann.
The Dananns are descendants of the goddess Danu. They are a race of deities as well as race of heroes. They are skilled in art and science, poetry and magic. They are said to come from four mythical cities. When they came to live in Wilderness, the Dananns received four magic treasures, one for each one of the portals.
Wind comes from the spring star in the East;
Fire from the summer star in the South;
Water from the autumn star in the West;
Wisdom, silence and death from the star in the North.
These four cities, that no mortal eye has seen but that the soul knows, are:
Gorias, that is in the west, here represented by the Barbarians. The symbol of Gorias is the dividing sword.
Finias, that is in the south, represented by the Druids. The symbol of Finias is a spear.
Murias, from the east, where the Geomancers live. The symbol of Murias is a hollow that is filled with water and fading light...
Falias from the north, here represented by the Rangers. The symbol of Falias is the stone of death.
You should seek Goibniu in the Wilderness...
You should ask him about the ruins...
Note that you must be a recognized Protector of Nature to begin the quest.
The Dirge of the Four Cities
Finias and Falias,
Where are they gone?
Does the wave hide Murias
Does Gorias know the dawn?
Does not the wind wail
In the city of gems?
Do not the prows sail
Over fallen diadems
And spires of dim gold
And the pale palaces
Of Murias, whose tale was told
Ere the world was old?
Do women cry Alas! . . .
Beyond Finias?
Does the eagle pass
Seeing but her shadow on the grass
Where once was Falias:
And do her towers rise
Silent and lifeless to the frozen skies?
And do whispers and sighs
Fill the twilights of Finias
With love that has not grown cold
Since the days of old?
Hark to the tolling of bells
And the crying of wind!
The old spells
Time out of mind,
They are crying before me and behind!
I know now no more of my pain,
But am as the wandering rain
Or as the wind's shadow on the grass
Beyond Finias of the Dark Rose:
Or, 'mid the pinnacles and still snows
Of the Silence of Falias,
I go: or am as the wave that idly flows
Where the pale weed in songless thickets grows
Over the towers and fallen palaces
Where the Sea-city was,
The city of Murias.
- The Little Book of Great Enchantment