The Viridian Sentinel Content . Hush , my dear . Go back to sleep . The trolls can ' t get you here — not so long as there is a Viridian Sentinel . What ' s that ? You want to hear about the Viridian Sentinel again ? Of course , my dear . Just lie back on your pillow and listen . Everyone in northern Bangkorai knows about the Viridian Sentinel . The Sentinel is the guardian who makes all the wild things stay in the woods . The trolls , the bears , the witch es and their wolves — none may come into the vanquished lands from the Wild so long as the Sentinel keeps watch . And the Sentinel will always keep watch . Did you know there was a time when there was no Viridian Sentinel ? It was long , long ago in the before - times . We Bretons had just won our freedom from the Direnni Elves , and the Elves were still spiteful about it . " Go ahead , take these lands you call High Rock , " they said . " You will not have them long . We will retreat to our towered island . We will renounce our covenant with the Earth Bones . We will give these lands back to the Wild . " As is often the way when Elves speak , we did not understand what they meant , so we merely shrugged and set about the hard work of making the land our own . We plowed fields and sowed crops . We fenced meadows and made pastures for our livestock . We built roads and market towns so our people could sell each other their produce and wares . And all seemed well . But then bad things began to happen on the farms nearest the woods . Witches lurked under the eaves , and Bretons who got too close to the forest began to disappear into its shadows , never to be seen again . Soon the farmers had to abandon the fields that were next to the woods . It got worse . Things began to come out of the woods , fell creatures and beasts , mostly at night but sometimes even in the day . And they roamed across the farmlands , menacing the farm families and slaying them when they could . Many farmers said , " We cannot stand before these creatures from the Wild . Come , we shall leave our farms and go to the towns . " But when they got to the towns they found there was no work for farmers — and even worse there was little or nothing to eat , because the farmers were no longer sending food to the towns . The townspeople blamed the farmers for abandoning their farms , and the farmers blamed the townspeople for not sending their armed watch to guard them . No one could agree on what to do . One of the farmboys , a lad named Greenward , was very worried . He went into the chapel and prayed earnestly to Stendarr , saying , " O righteous lord of mercy and protection , we are in sore plight and in need of your aid . For the beasts of the Wild are no longer contained , and our lands are reverting to wilderness . Soon there will be no place for mortals who love order and harmony . I fear we will become beasts , forget our names , and turn our back on the Divines . Show us , O lord , how this may be prevented . " Then a kingfisher flew into the chapel and landed on the altar before Greenward . It was a very large kingfisher , larger than any the lad had ever seen . It cocked its head , and then began to whistle and clack its beak . And Greenward seemed to hear speech among the whistles and clacks , words that said , " The beasts come out of the Wild because they have forgotten your names , and believe you to be beasts like themselves , whom it is lawful to slay . Someone must go to the Wild and tell the beasts that he has a name , and the vanquished lands are forfeit to his claim . " Then the kingfisher made a small mess , as birds will , and flew away . The lad bowed and said , " I shall do this for my family , and the other families of the vanquished lands . " He hugged his father , he kissed his mother , and he left the town and went back to the edge of the Wild . There he met a savage tiger , who made as if to pounce upon him , but the lad said , " It is not lawful to pounce upon me , for I have a name , and am no beast . My name is Greenward , and I claim this land as vanquished . Return to the Wild and come here no more . " And do you know what ? The savage tiger did exactly that . And so did the ravening wolves , and the shambling bears , and the fierce trolls , and the wicked spriggans : all returned to the Wild and came to the vanquished lands no more . When this was done the lad hoped his work was over and he could return to his family , but it was not so . For always new beasts came from the Wild who had to be taught the boundaries . So the lad lived thereafter under the eaves of the wood and walked the edge of the wild , telling the beasts his name and turning them back . And our people called him the Viridian Sentinel . Eventually the Sentinel grew very old and felt that soon he might walk the borders no more . He began to worry . But a girl came to him and said she had been spoken to by a bird , and thereafter the two walked the border together . And when the Sentinel finally passed on and his name went with his soul to Aetherius , the girl became the new Viridian Sentinel , and the vanquished lands were still safe . So it has been ever after . And so it will always be .