Character Record
UnknownElara
A wandering keeper bound in some way to the Stone of Growth, who appears in The Forgelands on her own schedule and answers questions by deciding which ones were asked.
Elara
Elara is a wandering figure who has appeared in The Forgelands since before the Archives began keeping count. She is not a villager, not a trader in any conventional sense, and not, as far as anyone can determine, a resident of anywhere. The Archives classify her as a keeper, because that is the word she used once, and she has never used a second one.
Known Role
Elara is bound in some unexplained way to the Stone of Growth. She was present in the homestead fields the season the Stone was first documented, and the Stone's effects measurably strengthen in the weeks after her visits. Whether she tends the Stone, follows it, or is followed by it remains an open question in the Archives.
Documented Encounters
Most sightings occur on Cherry Mountain, where she walks the groves at dusk. She visits Bronwyn MacGruder's walled garden without announcement and leaves without farewell, and Bronwyn declines to summarize their conversations. The single recorded mention of the Forgotten Seed came from Elara, at the mountain spring, unprompted: she said it was planted too early, and would therefore sprout late. No clarification was offered or, evidently, available.
Field Notes
Elara has never been observed arriving in The Forgelands or leaving it. She is simply present, and then not. She has shown no hostility, considerable knowledge, and a consistent, mild amusement at being archived. This record will be revised when she permits it to be.