Quercuis' theories

See also: Conversation with a tree, The White Tree, Ilrania the First and the whole Far Haven Wyldwood shrine affair.
==Initial comments==
Q. believes it probable that “Father” = Onwen’s avatar (although she doesn’t think this was a traditional cleric/avatar relationship, maybe Onwen was the avatar’s human) = “The White Tree” (its home probably shines when the avatar is in residence – hence the question about whether the world is brighter). 
Wyldwood’s grubby little secret – as a religion they managed to catch themselves a deity/semi-deity (bit like the Blue Witch but more powerful and with a much wider range of actions).  It just happens to like hanging around in trees – specifically oak trees.  Maybe oak trees generally but just possibly this particular lineage of oak trees?
Probably the tree-huggy elements at Far Haven managed to persuade “Father” to contact the elves through the void. It went along with this possibly because it was under longstanding temple control (Q. thinks this is where the Book may possibly come in) or maybe it sympathised with their aims to begin with.  The level of power you need to have to be able to do this as an individual entity is why Q. thinks we are dealing with something at deity level.  She is tending towards the viewpoint that it was bound/forced to do this because of the subsequent slaughter and Onwen’s comments about the clerics not understanding what the idealistic druids were up to.
Possibly “Father” had doubts itself and got Onwen to bring in Bez Drock and the cavalry and break the control.  In any event it changed direction and “Father” has been spending its considerable talents keeping the door to the void shut ever since - or at least until last week. Realistically Onwen never had the power to be able to do this himself although he does seem to have been connected to the process.  Q. doesn’t understand the interlinkage between “Father”, Onwen, the symbol and the tree and has asked Phinon to look at this when legend loring the symbol. 
Q. suspects with little proof that here in White Beach “Father” was operating with a high degree of freedom and that there may have been tensions between the three of them as to binding/control of “Father” – hence her suspicions about those interlocking wards on that chest under the bed and what is contained inside. From his note Q. thinks Onwen liked to think of himself as in control of “Father” but Q. has doubts.  “Father” may have been more worried about Bez Drock getting his mitts on the levers of power.
The main questions she has are really related to whether anything we have found or are about to find would affect the chances of “Father” being resummoned and  “replanted” as Bez Drock put it.  Replanting would seem to be a priority for both Shanah and Wyldwood but getting way beyond our pay grade - Q. suspects Saratak would very much like anything that would help in that process back in Far Haven and the clerical side of Wyldwood maybe not so much - Uil’s behaviour might suggest the Wyldwood council really doesn’t believe there is anything of significance here but possibly Onwen didn’t tell them everything – the comments in his note suggest he may have been very economical with what went on in Far Haven.  Of course the forces of the wild would very much prefer that “Father” doesn’t resurface anywhere soon at all unless they have control of him.
We may know a bit more once the legend lore comes back and we get the floor box open.  Q. will go along with getting Feathertouch and his mates to open it – an Anti-Magic Shell plus high level Tealeaves operating inside the shell would seem to be the way to go to her which closes off the clerics.  Confidentiality would seem to be quite important for the time being. 
==Francis' comments, and link to Ilrania the First==
Yes, I think link was made [to Ilrania the First]. She became an elf, BUT that left the divine nature she shed to become an elf, a divine nature which liked trees and playing with elves, a divine nature the Mother had sent to a tree. Ooh look, I just trod in a pile of divinity. Just think of divine nature as a commodity - extract from demigod, add to tree. Result - a new religion.
If a tree is the most convenient entity, the divine nature accrues to the tree. And the Mother did choose the tree.
As for the Empress - having lost her divine nature, she may mark the first drifting of elves from tree hugger to tree bugger. Perhaps the search for the tree was a relic of the Empress trying to recover her divine nature - the legend does not say she enjoyed her new nature. Marie-Antionette played a dairymaid, it doesn't follow that she'd really enjoy being one. So, the search for the tree is misunderstood by the legend makers? Surprise.
And if the original Wild religion, before the split, was invented by a tree (which was a tree, not a proxy for the Mother) might explain the feeble/indecisive which is so annoying. We have an underpowered religion, depending on the hijacked powers of a demigod split by 2 factions. The Empress/Avatar spirit must feel it deserves the holiday.
Finally, one further point of interest. Hashandra is posited as the sister of Dekatur, but the interest in prolonging life after death may belong to Ilrania, who had lost her absolute immortality.
PS. I reckon Q deserves at least a level for her detective work. What the seniors of Wyldwood think is another matter.
==Further email 20/5/21 13:30==
Q. doesn’t have any better candidates [than Ilrania the First] – she really hopes the mithril symbol dates back to those times which might clarify this rather than being something Onwen set up to transfer “Father” out of Far Haven.
Some new thoughts revisiting old information:
Bez Drock, Onwen and “Father” went to Tobar after leaving Far Haven.  This was probably the logical place to set up the White Tree but they didn’t stay there.  Possibly “Father” (whose opinion probably mattered quite a lot by then) vetoed it before they went on a search for a “secure” premises that took in Dalzon and then White Beach.  Q thinks they ended up here because of this rather unique building.  What she doesn’t have a clue about is why they left Tobar – she is pretty sure the Wyldwood council (if it had a vote) would have much preferred they stay there rather than move on to White Beach.
Bez Drock was aware of the floor safe, his magical fingerprints are all over it and there is no way that something with that much prot is unimportant – yet he still walked away.  Q. thinks that maybe between being in a rage and having a god moment it clean went out of his mind for a while – it does appear to have been buried under six feet of metaphorical concrete possibly 26 years ago so maybe it wasn’t in the front of his thoughts while his god was shouting at him to go to Stormhaven.  Or maybe he just decided he didn’t have the power to be able to go back and open the safe up himself. However it seems probable that at some point he will remember and presumably contact someone more local to say “Um, I may have left something important behind”.  Q.’s guess is either his mate Ronshadow or Saratak because he doesn’t seem to have known Cheron – if Cheron had been informed by now think we would be seeing different reaction from local Shannah temple.  Q. conclusion is that it is possible/probable someone will come from Far Haven to attempt to retrieve (probably before the lease expires) – they may end up coopting Cheron when they get here because of his axe trick.  This may happen sooner rather than later if Cheron gets on the Shannahphone and tells Saratak of our activities and we have evidence the big guys can move really quickly across the continent when they want to. Of course all this rather depends on what the Mcguffin in the floor safe is and whether Bez Drock still considers it relevant in the light of “Father”’s demise.
There was probably an agreement between Onwen, Bez Drock, Ronshadow and Saratak to relocate “Father” back to Far Haven this summer.  Bez Drock alluded to “proper planting” so it had probably gone well beyond planning stage.  Possibly the oak sapling was part of that plan.  We (the party) may also have been part of that plan – there was no point for Saratak/Ronshadow to send a bunch of higher levels if every time they walked through a doorway they were saying “Um, remind me why I’m here again.”  “Father” was the centre of the SEP field so the clearsighted (even low levels) might have been the only people remotely useful to Bez Drock even if just as cannon fodder.  Don’t suppose the plan to reinstall the White Tree at far Haven has changed that much although “Father” will now have to be retrieved from wherever dead semi-deities hang out rather than moved.  Q. imagines Saratak is casting around trying to work out how this can be achieved and this will be very high priority for him to protect Far Haven.  The damaged mithril symbol, the sapling and the Mcguffin may or may not all be individually relevant to the success of this operation.  Since Saratak has a history of consulting with Wyldwood before taking action involving major elements of their religion Q. would assume the original plan to reinstall the White Tree at Far Haven also had Wyldwood approval.  All this means Q. is now questioning whether Tobar is her preferred next destination – she does think that if we try and carry something actually important through Wild central dumping territory and they find out, we are dead meat.