Chapter 1

The world around her came back slowly. The deformed, waving shapes were dark at first, then gradually became brighter and clearer until the world around her was a snow-covered forest again. Confused and disoriented she sat up from the snowy ground with difficulty, her vision still not completely straight. The elf first checked if she still had the small leather satchel on her belt; it was of great value to her as it contained the little food she had left, a cloth pouch with few coins, a map and the locket.

Oh yes, the damn locket.

Eira pulled the locket out and held it in her gloved hand, studying it as always. She bought the thing off a travelling merchant some time ago �" he said that it had belonged to a princess of Astrogia. She was strangely drawn to it and bought it for a reasonable price after negotiating for a while. Ever since it was in her possession she kept having moments of being light-headed, dizziness and strange dreams.

The dreams always started with vivid flashes of huge castle halls, a large village and the same forest she was in right now. A shadowy figure would lean towards her, take her hand and pull her through a white fog, until she stood alone in the middle of nowhere. And every time she would wake up in the night, drenched in sweat with only one word on her mind; Astrogia.

It was gorgeous nonetheless. It had been carved out of silver and inlaid with a dark sapphire, which was adorned by silver swirls and tiny clear crystals. There was nothing inside; at least she thought so. Trying to open it resulted in her breaking her nails, and even with the tip of an arrow the thing would not unlock. When shaking it nothing could be heard.

She put the silver chain around her neck and slipped it under her metal chest-plate, safe from any harm.

She was shaken out of thoughts as something nudged her shoulder. Her loyal mare snorted as the elf rose from the ground and gently caressed the horse’s head to tell her everything was alright. In fact that was a lie. Eira had unfortunately lost her tent to a thorn bush, and completely destroyed it when she tried to free it. The sun was already setting and she still had no place to sleep.

On her journey she would often stop at a local inn and stay a few nights, or sleep in the stables if there was no other accommodation for the night available. But being in a forest in the middle of the winter without a tent was not the brightest idea. And if she had to trust the map there would not be a village anywhere soon. At least not for tonight.

Her armor clinked faintly as she mounted the white mare again and nudged her forwards with her heels. She rode for a while until her eye caught other horse tracks. So there are others here, after all. she thought with mixed feelings. That would mean they had tents, and maybe one spare tent for her. On the other hand, she disliked being with company when travelling because they often were slower.  

She decided to follow the tracks until she found them. That didn’t take long; voices could be heard in the distance and she steadily increased her pace.

When she reached a small clearing, she saw a group of four Elves standing next to their horses, and two of them were unmistakably arguing over something.

“You knew that map was important, yet you lost it!” a male Elf said firmly. All Eira could see of him were a pair of leather boots, moss-green cape and oak-brown hair reaching the middle of his back.

“Was it my fault that the wind was so strong that the goddamn thing tore from my hands!?” a female Elf with auburn hair yelled back, her golden eyes flashing. The mane of auburn hair was tied back in a low side ponytail under her ear.

The group seemed to be from a Realm Eira never visited before. Their outfits consisted of leather armor either a light or dark brown engraved with golden designs. All wore moss green capes, except for the arguing female Elf who wore a long scarf.

Said elf had enough of the discussion and turned on her heels, walking back to her horse. The male Elf sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He hadn’t noticed that there was anyone else behind him.  

Until Eira cleared her throat.

He turned around only to meet her dark sapphire eyes, which had filled with questions. Eira noticed that the left side of his face had a blind eye and a horrendous scar. The mass was ties in his neck with a black leather strap and reached about mid-back. His green right eye observed her quietly. His build was lean, but most of it was covered by his garments and leather armor. On his back was a longbow made of light-coloured wood and a quiver full of arrows.

“Is something the matter?” she asked. He sighed miserably.

“Of course. We are lost. Without a map,” he said irritated, paused, turned and shared a glare with the auburn-haired Elf. Then he turned back to Eira. “We do not know how to get to Astrogia’s palace.”

“I happen to be heading to the palace as well, and I do have a map.” She said with a small grin, directing it towards the auburn haired elf whose eye twitched slightly in response. “But before we continue, give me one good reason I’ll let you tag along with me.”

“You don’t have a tent.” The auburn haired female shot back dryly. She was immediately countered by Eira.

“I don’t. But perhaps we can discuss that later. You’re with four, so you must have a spot to spare in one tent. You don’t have a map.” She shot at her. “I do. And I know you won’t get far without one.”

A male elf with a slender build and light brown hair whistled. “She has a point, we’re completely lost.” he said as the first male elf Eira met walked back to his company.

 “This is our plan right now. As we all have the same destination, we have no choice to cooperate with her. Pack your stuff; we leave as soon as possible.”

Eira let him finish discussing and studied the company. Two males, two females, all of different ages and heights. The only thing in common was the golden and sapphire leaf-shaped brooch on their outfits that most used to pin their cloaks together in the front. They were all dressed in tough leather with black and different shades of green, with moss green capes or scarves.

The elf had finished discussing and walked to his own horse, a dark brown stallion with a black mane and tail, and mounted it with ease. When he nudged his horse next to hers, she noticed how tall he was. Even though their horses were about the same height, he sat about half a head taller than her. It made her feel small in comparison.

She was struck out of her own thoughts when his hand reached for her in a friendly gesture. Eira  looked to the side and up to see his gentle, smiling face.

“Adeon.” He spoke. “Nice to meet you.”

 “Eira.” She said with a firm handshake and a glance from underneath her slightly curly bangs.

“Is everyone ready?” Adeon asked to the rest of his group. As he received a confirming nod he clicked his tongue to drive his horse forward further into the forest.

Their journey continued at last. After riding silently for a few hours across paths and past dozens of trees, Adeon started a conversation again.   

“So... What brings you here? Business or travelling like us?”

“I have been travelling for quite a few years now. My departure was in Mynydd Llithrig, and then I visited countless other Realms before arriving here.”

“Mynydd Llithrig? The mountain village in the East, right?”

She nodded. “Yes. It is quite cold over there, even in summer and spring. Even then, I'm still not good with cold. I grew up there, but the cold was something I could never adapt to.”

A slight pause fell between them.

 “I don’t even know who you all are.” Eira remarked. “Wouldn’t it be a good time to introduce everyone to me?”

Adeon began pointing to the handful of elves following them and the female elf turned to see.

The oldest elf was Cheirios, a female with black hair to her shoulders and dark eyes. She was a healer-sorceress and took care of the group. She was responsible for everyone’s meals and health. Unlike everyone else she was dressed in long flowing robes with varying shades of green and gold.

The next Elf was Cadan; Adeon’s best friend since childhood. Eira was told that his short, light brown hair was always a mess and his dark blue eyes held a friendly expression. He was slender and tall, just a bit taller than Eira. As he was an expert in using swords, he was responsible for the weapons and training.

Lastly was Aurus, the auburn-haired Elf whom he fought with earlier. Her golden eyes held something dangerous. Two daggers were strapped to two separate belts around her waist. From the look she gave Eira the elf already disliked her.

With that the introduction was over, and Adeon faced the forest path again. Eira asked if he did not mind the cold. She was right. He did not like humid or warm weather, he told her, unlike his comrades. As they talked and made way through the forest, hours passed by slowly.

After quite some time they reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. The clearing was surrounded by trees reaching to cover the orange sky above. Snow weighed down on them and their branches creaked eerily.

This would be their place to spend the night. The five Elves dismounted their horses and half of them began to search for wood for a campfire while the other half prepared the tents.

Then came the dilemma; where was Eira going to sleep? After all, she had no tent.

“Perhaps I could sleep with one of you in a tent?” she asked bluntly. The others stared at her like she had gone insane, Aurus in particular. It got on Eira’s nerves.

“Are you really willing to let me sleep outside in the snow, even after I offered you my map?” the elf continued as she crossed her arms over her chest. No way she would be sleeping outside tonight.

“We have one spare tent, but it’s mostly to stack up supplies. We put our food and cooking stuff and all those things there, to relieve our horses from the weight when we set up our camp. It might be a bit crammed, but-“

“Believe me, I’ve had worse.” Eira replied as she brushed a strand of hair out of her pale, oval face. “I slept in trees with a blanket before, so in a crammed tent won’t be a problem.”

As soon as the fire crackled to life, the group made a fine meal with their limited supplies. Laughter and conversations filled the night sky from underneath the snowy trees. Time passed quickly as the last birds went to sleep and the chirping exchanged for the howling of a lone wolf in the distance.

The moon had steadily began to rise. Elves needed little rest so they would not be bothered with going to bed late. A chilly wind lurked at the fire, signalling that it was about time everyone went to sleep.

And so they did, all crawling in their tents to get some rest. Eira curled up in the thick woollen blanket with her back against some supplies and her knees against her chest.

Maybe company isn’t half that bad.  She thought, a small smile forming on her face.

 

 

Author's Note

Any helpful criticism is welcome!