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It was a crisp cool morning as she took the branch stairs two by two literally flying, her excitement was uncontainable as she rushed through the kitchen grabbing her bow off the antler rack pecking her mother on the cheek, yelling over her shoulder she yelled….”Mum, will be back as soon as I get the rabbits” The first rays of sunlight were just beginning to color the dawn sky as she made her way deeper into the woods. Moving silently she smiled to herself, her father had given her the task of hunting rabbits for their journey to New Ta’Faendryl. Why they were going there was still beyond her, all she knew was it was on a diplomatic mission for the Argent Mirror, what it was she had no idea, she only knew that there had been a lot of whispering an and a group of elves that had come to their home from Ta’Illistim to speak with her parents. No one was telling her much, other than it had to do with diplomatic ties. “Scowling” she grumbled to herself why the Ardenai were not going but her parents were. She stopped abruptly her quarry hopping around in the brush, drawing her bow back she brought the rabbit down in one shot, she put the rabbit in her satchel and moved on again stealthily, one rabbit down five more to go. By the time she had killed the sixth rabbit the sun was climbing into the early morning sky, she stopped at a stream washing the splatters of blood off her hands and took a long drink. Glancing into the sky to see where the sun was she muttered as she realized she was running late and ran for the families tree house. The house even to an experienced eye only looked like a massive modwir tree it’s resin covered trunk stretching into the sky with what appeared to be a hollow at the base was actually the entrance…She loved their home it was warm in winter and cool in summer, ocelots panthers, lynx and bobcats slept in its branches as well as a host of birds and multiple families of squirrels.
Scampering into the kitchen she tossed her satchel of rabbits on the table, her father smiled at her…”did you accomplish your goal Shi’larra” she nodded to him, as he beamed at her. She had four sisters and three brothers, yet she was her father’s favorite. Her father smiled and hugged her smacking her bottom her yelled after her, “hurry we need to leave soon”.
Climbing the steps to her room she went through her traveling case again. A spare pair of boots, a tunic, a shirt and bodice if it was warm and some fitted pants of soft leather. As an afterthought she tossed in a loincloth of a teal hue that matched the bodice, she did not know what early spring was like in New Ta’Faendryl. She tossed a few nuts and berries into her pouch as well and hurried outside to her waiting family.
Her mother was an empath of great renown, many traveled from great distances to see her, her father though an archer like herself was also a mage of great renown, he dabbled in potions spending many days collecting herbs with her mother for potions. He was tall and slender her mother slender like a willow tree yet her stature was of a bush, she laughed to herself looking at the two of them together still as much in love as when they had met over 300 years ago. They set out on their journey, moving swiftly through the woods stopping in neighboring towns for supplies, sleeping in the trees near streams, they made great speed to New Ta’Faendryl. They made the great distance in less than a fortnight, they would have traveled faster, but her great grandmother had made the journey with them, she had no idea how old she was other then she was very old her skin wrinkled and she always had the fresh clean sent of rose attar about her. She came with because her father my great-grandfather had been in the Wood guard In Yurigen during the Ur-demon wars, she must have been important to their mission in some way, however she had no idea why.
They were a day away from New Ta’Faendryl when her father sent her brothers out to the city asking for escorts, he did not trust the Faendryl and he had good reason not to. She had overheard conversations late at night when she could not sleep of the treachery the dark elves were capable of, not thinking much of it though, who would dare attack her family. Kidnap perhaps for a ransom but never attack. She had no idea how wrong she was.
Her brothers returned with what were to supposedly escorts each of them having strange dogs with them. The dogs put her on edge, there was something evil about them yet she could not put her finger on it. Pulling her father aside she voiced her concerns “Papa, I cannot smell the dogs, something is wrong I feel it” her father looked at her thoughtfully before speaking “Shi’rri (his pet name for her) I understand your concern but these are not our kind perhaps their dogs are special” how little did he know he would regret those words. The escorts positioned themselves, two in the front of their party, two at the side and two at the rear, talking merrily as they walked on towards the city. As they approached a large clearing the sun seemed to darken for a moment, which she took as a foreboding she blended into the shadows trailing behind the group. No one noticed as they were weary and excited to accomplish their missive and return home. Upon reaching the clearing their escorts surrounded the group, drawing their staffs they spoke an arcane language, her father and mother looked at each other asking what they were doing, before they knew what was happening the animals that looked like dogs transformed to their true selves demons, demons of great might. The Faendryl gave the demons spoke commands to the demons in elven, a language she understood well ~ two words Destroy them~ Her father stepped to the tall one with eyes she would never forget his name was Xanders asking if they had lost their minds. Xanders laughed a chilling laugh in her father’s face, stating simply, “you all may want a unification of the elves we want the power as long it is perceived that you were killed by those you were sent to speak with there will be no reunification” he also spat out “for the Argent Mirror to send a tree elf to speak is beyond disrespectful” with that he turned and set the demons on my family, she cried out as the demons tore apart first her mother then her father before unleashing their fury on her siblings and lastly on her grandmother. Blood covered the grasses as she huddled in the shadows hidden by a massive oak and tall grasses. One of the demons came in her direction smelling the air searching, but she had hidden well. Xanders looked over the work the demons had done, nodding in satisfaction he revealed an alter of black obsidian that had been obscured by brush. He lit black candles before summoning spirits in a tongue she did not understand. Turning to the corpses of her family he that he had kept preserved he poured something on each of them they came to life but yet they did not. Her father’s corpse started to speak her grandmothers to wail, Xanders waved his arm at them silencing them with a spell. Walking towards the being that was my father Xanders said to him “you will join the realms of undead never to be released, you will serve us as we command.” Summoning the spirits again to suck the life forces of her family out he set the demons to destroy the remains. She sobbed a keening cry out of anger and pain before realizing she had revealed herself. Xanders roared when he realized someone had escaped. He set the demons to look for her, they were sated from their meals and were not as diligent in their search as they would have been had they not eaten. She moved quietly in the shadows taking care not to step on twigs or dry leaves, the other sorcerers joined in the hunt yet they could not reveal her from the shadows. Xanders stood in the middle of the clearing, in a loud booming voice he spat “run little tree elf run, we will find you and your fate is sealed there is no place in elanthia to hide” “We shall seek you till we find you and you shall also your family for eons, however being that you are making us search for you, be assured that your fate and death will be tenfold of your family” with that he turned on his heal, and stalked off into the woods.
She stayed in her hiding place till the moon had set being careful to be as quiet as a cat, she ran and ran stopping only for water and sleep, every night turned into day and day into night yet she ran, hiding in the shadows, feeling the breath of the demons more than once on her trail yet never catching her. She finally made her way to Ta’Vaalor where she found solace and protection in the monastery before a kindly giant brought her to Wehnimer’s landing where the rest of her story will be told.