"Once was lost, but now am found.”
It wasn’t so bad, traveling by horseback. The further they got from the lush greens of the Atmora, the more coastal the road began to look. Pebbles and rocks began to crop up, and the Aegis Sea’s song could be heard when all was quiet. They stopped every so often to allow their horses to feed, not wanting to run them ragged. The journey, by Sern’s calculations, was only supposed to be about three days east, and then they would see a wooden hut that should not be there. When Wine asked what he meant, he just shrugged.
“Those are just the instructions I found, I’ve no idea
"The wanderers are everywhere."
Spires of silver intertwined themselves around trees, like hawks circling the skies, creating elegant homes and shops that molded with nature. Stables lay before the entrance of the city, and a plethora of agile creatures rested inside: white stags, gyrfalcons, and several horses. The stable hands waved to the guards, who nodded in acknowledgment, proceeding into the city. Every elf stared as they passed by, and it wasn’t until they reached the center that there was a commotion.
“Ainwin!”
A woman’s voice cried out over the throngs, and the guards paused to see an elvhen wo
"There is strength in numbers.”
They spoke no words, but Wine took up her sword once more and headed back into the fray, while arrows whistled by her, never touching her but finding their mark in the eyes of the Sist easily. Together, they cut it down in a roar of agony, before Wine pierced its chest where a heart should have been. An unearthly sound exhaled from it, and it gave a shuddering twitch before falling limp on the floor. The first Sist still fought with Samsara and Sern, so Wine and Ainwin joined them and quickly put it down in a similar fashion. When it breathed its last, the smiles of exhausted victory graced their face, u
"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”
They made their way towards the tree, picking their way over rubble and vines that lay across the floor. Wine found herself unable to keep her hands from fidgeting, her eyes studiously averted away from the tall elvhen figure that was Cael. Her excitement at his sudden appearance was quickly overshadowed by a sudden dubious feeling. Why had he shown up here, of all places, and in the middle of what was supposed to be their test to prove themselves? Had he come on his own, or has his parents asked him to watch them, certain they would fail?
Most of her companions seemed