The chronicles of Salverus Sunderfield

20th of Cotare, the year 6266
The days were getting colder. Swarm Hark was right around the corner, and the battle for Sargert¹ has only just begun. Many of my mates have been weakened by the salty breezes that passed by, and are starting to weaken more from the colder, drier winds that are starting to blow. We have a few of them Florarens with us, they especially can't handle this weather. It looks like these specimens were born in tropical climates, which their bodies emulate. Some even have tails reminiscent of coconut leaves. I haven't seen those since i visited the northern coast of the Oakenlands.
But i have more pressing matters at hand. Our sergeants are pressuring us to head forward, make a run for the center of town to defeat the stronghold of the enemy. But my squad is barely scraping by, suffering from the awful circumstances that keep holding us down. I will soon try to get up from this leaf bed. I gotta do something today with my squad, or we are done for. Those Florarens better not be in their hibernation..
23th of Cotare
Well, we screwed up. The center of Sargert is lost for a darn long time, maybe even permanently. Me and my squad pressed on to the town square like we were ordered to, but the enemy was too damn strong. Had some real nasty tricks up their sleeves too. They recruited mages who enchanted my squad members into attacking their own. I knew what the enemy was up to, so i covered my ears. That did however leave me with no hands to defend myself. I got attacked by some of those Florarens, they messed me up real good too. I have lost my weaponry and had to flee. Fuck whatever sergeant may think of that, deserting is a preferable alternative to death.
I am now out in the open, in the plains between Sargert and Yuler². It's a damned miracle that nobody has found me yet, albeit former friend or foe. I do not know where i will end up, but i sure as hell will not end up like my mates did. I am going to travel to Yuler and find some shelter there, and hopefully get to the Monbo Monastery to the west.
2nd of Swarm Hark
Dear Lord, the snow storms came early this year. I am nearly freezing to death and the rations i have with me can only sustain me for another day. Add to that the fact that i was nearly discovered by a band of mercenaries from the enemy side. If i didn't hide in the long grass and kept perfectly still, i would have been toast. I guess i only have one choice. I need to get to the fabled Monbo Monastery, sheltered from the war and probably able to help me. If only i had more food to last me that long...
3rd of Swarm Hark
At this point i have entered Yuler. The last rations i had are depleted and it's just a matter of time before i get either caught by either side of the war or become completely exhausted. In a town that is relatively unharmed by the war, i should however be able to get my hands on some supplies. Maybe even some information on how to reach that monastery....
Thanks to some helpful villagers who didn't choose sides, i was able to get supplies for the road and directions to the monastery. Honestly, i still can't believe how lucky i am. No setbacks as of yet on my journey to this place, i pray that this will last.
4th of Swarm Hark
I have now reached the monastery. Perched on an unimaginably steep cliff at the edge of the country, there doesn't seem to be a straight road towards the entrance. I do however see one of the monks, sitting next to a less steep part of the cliff. Might as well ask this guy what the deal is...
It seems this cliff is the way to the entrance. Fuck me. Apparently the rite of passage to be accepted in the monastery, even as a guest, involves climbing this steep cliff and making it to the top. As soon as this monk told me what the purpose was of the cliff, he jumped like a rabbit and leapt to the top in less than 10 seconds.I am glad i was handed some supplies by the Yuler townsfolk earlier. I might be fit enough for a military position, but that will probably not suffice for climbing a cliff such as this.
6th of Swarm Hark
The highest i have reached is up to half of the cliff. Bad weather, many doubts about my journey, fatigue, they all contributed to me not being able to scale this cliff effectively. I am not receiving any help from the monks either. No such thing as hospitality to the strange. Heh, they have the right idea to be honest. I could be followed by anyone, they could strike at any time and who knows, they might attack this monastery as well. I have no idea how good they are at defending themselves, but one might as well have good defenses. Like this GODFORSAKEN CLIFF RARRRARARRRR³.
A monk has descended from the monastery. Asked me what i felt. Well, nothing much apart from unyielding rage. He must have heard me scream my lungs out earlier. He said something about the virtue of emotion control and the subsequent control of one's power. Yadayadayada one's connection to nature was essential to better controlling the connection to one's nature. I was asked to study the cliff more thoroughly. Every part has a soft spot on which i could climb. A structure can be found in many places, even a cliff. He then took the same rabbit's leap, away from my reach.
7th of Swarm Hark
Lo and behold, i actually did it. Turns out that listening to a wise old monk sharing the teachings you are about to hear for a long time is actually the smart move. When i climbed up again, i took note of the tips i got from the old monk and i sought out the rocks that would support me and gave me a stepping stone to the next. I could divide my stamina more evenly between the ascent and eventually, after falling one more time, i reached the top of the cliff. The Monbo Monastery is standing before me, and nothing will stand in my way!
Okay, maybe there will be something standing in my way. The monks did let me into the monastery, but i'm not allowed to stay for a long time. They say i'm not a good fit in this monastery. After asking them why, i heard that my emotional state is lacking greatly, even being worse than people who are trying to become monks. After i told them what i thought of their dumb ruling, they just pressed on points of my body and stunned me! How dare they! I have the right to tell them off, why would i get punished for that? Now i am sitting outside of the monastery, in the blistering cold of Swarm Hark.
9th of Swarm Hark
I'm still at the doorstep of the monastery, waiting... until i can get back in, perhaps? I don't know what i should do otherwise. I have nowhere to go, and i'm pretty much dead when i venture back to where i came. I occasionally see monks leave and enter, but they leave me no chance to step inside with them. They look upon me with what? Disdain? Pity? It's certainly not mercy, otherwise i would have been inside by now. The days are too dull, just like the weather. I really wish something happens soon.
17th of Swarm Hark
So, the monks did think of me throughout these days. Sometimes, they offered me food and drink, i was even given a blanket. I honestly got the feeling i was being tested. That throughout the days, i had to suppress my emotions when the monks passed me by, in order to be deemed worthy. Time can only tell.
So, that time came quickly. I was discovered by inquisitors of the army, ordered to track me down and bring me to justice. I had no weaponry, and was about to be carried off, only for several monks to interfere and strike down the inquisitors with their powers. I have never seen such refined mastery of the elements before, even though i'm not an expert on this subject at all. I am merely a soldier, after all. The inquisitors were quickly defeated and i was saved! The monks took me in to my surprise, and I was led before their leader, Master Monbo XIV, and I dropped onto my knees. Even though it is not my style, I begged them to take me in, to give me shelter from my enemies, and perhaps train me to help defend myself. The master told me this:

Tell me, what do you have to tell me, you who has a temper equivalent to that of wildfires. What do you have right now, you who can only think about your future. Why did you truly come to this place, you who clearly does not get the purpose of our monastery..

I was dumbfounded. What kind of cryptic message did the Master tell me? For the life of me, i could not figure it out at all. When i stood there, not having a clue what to say, the Master smiled. He proclaimed that regardless of whether i understood or not, he would let his monks help me find the answers to those questions. From this day forward, i was a Monbo Monk.
16th of Mendopel, the year 6267
Several months have passed. I have received training from the more experienced Monbo Monks in the Way of the Four Elements. They say i show remarkable progress, but there are still problems with controlling my emotions. It has happened way too often that i accidentally set something ablaze or blew a slightly too harsh wind through the training chambers. If any of these monks had hair, it'd look stylish. But i digress. I honestly need to master these techniques as quick and complete as i can. I need to be able to defend myself against anyone who wishes to capture me.
6th of Ghrok, the year 6269
A very long time has passed since i wrote something in here. But my chronicles were taken from me after i wrote the last one. Apparently i am not allowed to write anything as it would distract me from my training. So why am i writing in it? Well, i am no longer part of the monastery, simple as that. It went like this:
on the sixth day of Mendopel, so one month ago, the Monbo Master approached me. He said how i was doing with my training. Well, i did fairly okay. I have mastered like fifty of the 86 techniques that come with mastering the Monbo Style. But when i told him this, he silenced me. He asked me if i remembered any of the words he said when i entered the monastery. Well... i specifically wrote them down in here so i would not need to remember them. But i didn't want him to know. So i lied. The Master looked at me with disbelieving eyes, and then told me to follow.
I entered one of the special training rooms of the monastery, one that was filled with parts of every element. The master turned towards me and proclaimed that he deemed me worthy of learning the ultimate technique of the Monbo Style. As he said this, a priest entered the room. It turns out he came from the Briarhood of the Botanical Deities. They told me i could learn this technique. It would cost me greatly, but i would achieve great power that most people would think of as unimaginable. I of course accepted.
It was at that day, the 6th of Mendopel, that i learned the Ultimate Botanical State. The power was overwhelming. I immediately realized that with this technique, i could overwhelm my enemies and crush them down. Of course, i hid these thoughts from my masters. I thanked them for their generosity. They, in turn, said that i could leave and join my army again. The army would be foolish to capture me in my current state, they figured. And that's how i am writing this. Now i'm heading to Circana, ready for war for the first time in my life.

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The aftermath of Salverus's training at the Monastery has become the talk of legend, and gave Salverus the fame and infamy he still has in death.
When he went to Circana, a gigantic battle for the city was happening, in the middle of west Budston. This was the first time Salverus used the Ultimate Botanical State, and he scorched the opposing side with his mastery over the fire element. He tore the battlefield asunder with flame, and left only charred remains of nature behind. This gave him the name Sunderfield, and his offspring still carries the name.
It's not the only thing his family carries, however. Upon seeing the slaughter that Salverus committed upon nature, the Monbo Master cursed the bloodline of Salverus, making it so that all of it will at least receive one type of nature's wrath. Salverus turned paranoid again upon hearing this, and sheltered himself in Dunough once again, frightened as to what nature might bring him and his kin...
And that's how the Monbo Master's prophecy was fulfilled..

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1: Sargert was the name of what is now known as Seedonia before the Continental War happened.
2: Same explanation as above, Yuler is now known as Twigser.
3: Salverus is kinda losing it.