Another World. Another Time (Akira.S & Gracielle Grace)

[Gracielle Grace]

"What am I going to do?" The man was so shocked that he didn't know what to do except sit on the ground and let his worried thoughts whirl through his mind. "I don't know who I am, where I'm from, what I am doing, or why I'm here. I must have amnesia or something! And who in the world are these people around me? Do they want to kill me? Did they capture me for doing something? If they try to attack me, maybe I should fight back. But how can I if I don't have any weapons? Oh, what can I do?!"

He stared at the tallest of the three figures standing above him. The figure was a obviously a man, but the strangest that the man had ever known. Or was he just going crazy, since he couldn't remember anything? Still, the man seemed very strange. He had golden eyes and similar colored skin. Muscles stuck out on his arms like he had worked out in a gym every day of his life. But, looking at his medieval clothes, it didn't seem likely. Even though he looked like around twenty years old, his hair was white like an old man's. This man looked so strange to the other that he couldn't help but gawk at him.

Suddenly, he gasped and was startled. The man with the white hair held a dagger in his hand, pointing at him. Quickly, the strange man grabbed one of the other persons (who looked like a girl) and pulled her to him. He had put a hand over her mouth, obviously wanting her to keep quiet. Keeping her close to him, he looked warily at the startled man. Obviously, he didn't trust the man and wanted to protect the girl with blonde hair. "Why is this guy looking at me like I'm a dangerous criminal or something? Is he wanting to kill me?" the scared man wondered to himself, and he started to shake. He felt like he should get away as soon as possible.

Then, everything seemed to stop. A beautiful woman with lovely, purple eyes came into his view. Long, flowing, white hair came down to her back and looked soft. Her skin was pale and smooth, unlike the man with the muscles and tough skin. His eyes bulged as he watched her come closer, and he thought that he had never seen any girl so pretty. To him, she looked like an angel!

He began to get a sinking feeling. Wondering what she was doing, he asked her. Unfortunately, she either didn't hear him or didn't understand him. Instead, she spoke to him with words that made no sense. It almost sounded like a different language! With a sense of hopelessness and fear, he realized he was not making any progress. "What am I going to do?" he cried out.

Then, many things happened that confused him. The man said something to the girl with purple eyes and looked like he was ready to attack the scared man. With a gasped, the other girl's eyes widened and she cried out to him. Suddenly, the pretty girl leaned over to him and, before he realized what was happening, she.....she.......kissed him! It seemed to him at least. At first, he was so shocked that he didn't know what to do. But then, he relaxed and somehow felt calmed by the action. He didn't understand why she did it, he kind of felt embarrassed, but he sure felt better since he had woken up.

After a time, he realized that somebody had yanked the girl with the beautiful eyes away and that the other girl was standing above him. She looked like a very messy girl and a tom boy, judging from the many stains that were on her green dress. Her hair was quite tangled, she had rips in her dress, and her eyes shown with mischief. Certainly, she looked to be the youngest and most playful of the three. With a kind smile and wide, curious, blue eyes, she said, "Greetings, sir! Do you mind if I ask what your name is and where you have come from?"

He blinked a couple of times to make sure he hadn't imagined it. The girl had talked to him in English. He was overjoyed! So far, he hadn't been able to understand a word from these people, but all of a sudden he could. It was amazing and wonderful to hear words he could understand again. Just to make sure, he pinched to make sure he wasn't sleeping. "You......you can understand me? Really? Wow!" cried the man.

With a laugh, the girl said, "Yes, I can understand you. Obviously, you can understand me as well. I'm not sure what you mean by "wow," but I take it you are very excited to understand me. It is good to be happy, or at least I think so. I'm glad you are so delighted, sir."

"Since you haven't answered my questions, I'll tell you who I am, " she replied. "I am Briennathaire, daughter of Harrowthane of Harpenshire. My father calls me Briennathaire, but many of my friends just call me Brienna, Brena, or even just Bren. It's shorter and easier to say, so I like it if you'd call me one of these, not my whole name. I live in Harpenshire, a village not far from here. It is the best village around, or at least I think so. But, if you don't mind my asking, what about you? Who are you and where do you come from?"

(Harrowthane sounds like "Har Oh Thane" if you wanted to know.)  

[Akira.S]

The two siblings…friends…betrothed, were too busy arguing that they failed to realize the sudden change in the group. Because Isley was busy disciplining Thea, he failed to realize that Bren had snuck off from around him and had approached the strange man. Before really grasping the situation either, too busy trying to defend her point, Thea heard Bren speak to the man in their tongue and heard him respond in turn. Both heads turned to the two people in front of them in seamless conversation.

“What did you do? Several moments ago he spoke in the tongue of man. How is it now that you’ve given him the ability of speech?” he questioned as Thea approached Bren and kneeled down beside her.
“Don’t question what you can’t possibly understand. I don’t…really know what I did…I can't really explain it but in any case at least we can all understand each other.” she responded calmly, listening to Bren explain herself to him while he slowly started to grasp the situation around him. He was a very unusual man, and said things neither of the three could really understand or knew the words for.

As soon as he explained to them who he was…or rather was not, Thea took it upon herself to help him try to figure out the difficult situation before them.
“So you don’t know who you are…or where you’re from…and somehow you ended up here in our forests, that's very peculiar indeed...” The situation seemed pretty dire and very strange. Well the only thing they could do was to take him back to the village and try to figure it out there just as Thea said, after all it was just about dark as the orange-glow in the sky was quickly fading and the deep purple was starting to take over.
"We need to leave now, before it gets any darker and the Darkness sneaks up on us." Isley spoke sternly, not giving their strange human a second glance or much rather concern for his inability to remember who he was or what he was doing here. If it was up to him Isley would leave him to die. He had to think of his people before he thought of strangers, but he wasn't as cold hearted as he seemed.

"We can talk later, in the village, but Isley's right we have to leave before it gets any darker." putting a hand on Bren's shoulder she motioned her up and back out to where their horses were waiting.
"By the way, my name is Amaltheianna, adopted daughter of Gewlain and Frielawna of Harpenshire Village. But don't feel the need to be formal, you may call me Thea if you like. That...tall, silent, brooding figure is my step-brother Isley, son of Gewlain and Frielawna of Harpenshire and the next in line to be village head. Don't feel threatened around him, he's just extremely cautious."

"And for good reason. Come, the stranger will ride with Bren, she can handle herself well enough." he didn't think Thea couldn't handle herself against this human who didn't seem to be carrying weapons, but he just didn't trust her with him. Bren had a good head on her shoulders and would be able to defend herself, that was all that mattered. Sheating his dagger, Isley almost forcefully grabbed Thea by the wrist and lead her to his horse, helping her up as he gracefully leaped into the spot behind her, refusing to allow her to sit behind him since they would probably have to run home. Still, Thea sat elegantly, side sitting firmly caught in between her brother's protective arms and the reins he held in his hand. "We'll meet you back in the stables, I'm sure father will want to have a good look at him when we arrive."

((I just wanted to get to the village and get the story going, in case you didn't like the pace that we were going at. LOL Isley really doesn't like this guy, only because he doesn't trust him yet ;3))  

[Gracielle Grace]

When Bren found out that her strange, new friend had no idea who he was, she was shocked. Nobody she had known had ever forgotten their name or where they were from. A few storytellers in Harpenshire had told tales of people who had lost their minds when the Great Darkness had overtaken them, but this man didn't seem to have completely lost his mind. She wondered if the Great Darkness had stolen his memory or if it was some other strange force at work. She couldn't believe it and just stared at him.

"Really? You don't know your name?!" Bren asked, perplexed. "Well, we will have to name you, then. Otherwise, it will be very confusing and annoying to keep calling you,'The Man.' No one likes to be called something so boring as that. At least, I know I wouldn't! Besides, you surely have an actual name, even if you can't remember it. So, if Thea and Isley don't object it, I think I'll name you. Do you mind?"

When he consented and the other two didn't try to stop her, Bren almost immediately said, "Then I think I'll call you Glaren." Noticing his confused expression, she explained, "It's the name of these kind of trees here in this forest. Since we found you in this forest, I think it makes some sense to call you by it, as long as you're alright with the name."

"Uh, sure. Why not?" he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Sounds fine to me. I don't care what you call me, really, as long as it's nothing too hard to say. Maybe someday I'll remember my actual name, but this will work for now."

With a grin, Bren said, "Good! I'm quite pleased to make your acquaintance then, Glaren!" She did a small, clumsy, curtsy and giggled at how terrible her curtsying was.

They didn't have much time to continue that conversation, however. Isley reminded them all sternly about how fast the sun was setting and quickly ushered them to their horses. He let Bren and Glaren ride together while he and Thea rode together. Isley looked like he didn't want to allow his sister to get too near the man. There was a mention of meeting at a stable, and then all four began the ride to Harpenshire, urging their horses to go at a fast pace. All conversation ceased until they were back home.

Though none of them were aware of it, a pair of eyes watched them with keen interest as they rode away. "So......Glaren, is it? I shall remember that," the owner of the eyes murmured. "Remember it for when we shall meet each other." A little cackle came from the bushes where the person was hiding, then the eyes disappeared. The four never saw the eyes, nor the spy who was watching them.  

[Akira.S]

Hawthor arrived at the Harpenshire stables much sooner than Bren's horse, settling down once he was in a familiar place and allowing Isley to take proper control of him. First Isley dismounted, then he helped his sister off gracefully like the lady she was. He handed the reins to a stable boy to put away his horse while waiting for Bren and...Glaren, as she named the boy, to catch up. He didn't know what his father was going to think when he saw him...or what the other elves were going to think either. It didn't feel right bringing him into the town, but Thea seemed to trust him, and so did Bren.

Thea had gone over to where Hawthor was being kept, stroking his long neck and head as she whispered so only he could hear. It was like she was talking to him even though they probably couldn't understand each other. It didn't take long for Bren to arrive, dismounting her horse and helping Glaren as well, it seemed he wasn't accustomed to riding horseback...The snow-white haired girl approached as Bren put her horse into its stall. She gave their new guest a once over, though she did it very subtly. "He won't approve Thea, not during these times..." Isley said cautiously as he motioned the two ladies and their guest out of the stables and into the town. He carried with him a lantern, the flame inside lit by a strange lizard that seemed to look like it was sleeping, and on fire at the same time. "We couldn't just leave him there to get consumed by the Great Darkness. Even if he isn't one of us...Would you have left me there if you'd found me there like him?" that shut Isley up rather quickly.

As they walked through the dark village, Bren beside Isley and Thea beside Glaren, each couple spoke to one another as they approached the town hall. Elves were nothing without their traditions and their closeness, and every night the town ate together in the village hall, and yes it was large enough to fit the whole town. The leader of the village, Isley and Thea's father would be there, Bren's adoptive father, everyone would be able to see the human for what he was.

As they walked together, Thea slipped her arm under his, as if he was a gentleman who should be escorting a lady. Although she didn't look at him, her gaze concentrated on the road ahead, she seemed confident in her gesture, indulging him in a sense of closeness and familiarity. "You seem tense...relax there's nothing to fear. It's not like we're going to eat you or put you on trial. You've done nothing wrong. Our people are just very cautious with what's been happening lately."

While Thea seemed to indulge the human in a bit of conversation, Isley decided to do the same. "What are we supposed to do with him if he does decide to stay? He's not one of us, he can't possibly live like us." he knew humans were so much more fragile than elves. They couldn't live the same way, hunt the same way, or survive the same. It would be difficult to have a human integrate into elf society at such an...old age. Even as he walked Glaren didn't carry himself the way Isley did. He looked more like Bren rather than an elf. But even Thea, who was a foreigner to their kind, looked more elf than both of them, only because of her cream coloured skin, long elegant snow-white hair, but her eyes...and that mark on her forehead, that was what separated her from all the others.  

[Gracielle Grace]

The ride back to Harpenshire was enjoyable for Bren. As she rode through the woods, the wind whipped her hair around so violently that she could barely see where she was going, making her laugh. Grinning at the fun and excitement of the ride, she let out a little giggle and urged her horse to ride faster, though not up to the horse's limit. Trees whizzed past her so quickly that they were only blurs through her hairy vision. Bren loved riding fast like this! When she and her new friend arrived at their destination, she was smiling and out of breath, obviously as happy as could be.

Glaren, however, didn't enjoy the ride as much as she did. He looked like he had ridden some wild animal and was a bit green in the face. Several marks on his face showed that branches in the woods had scratched him more than once. Never having ridden a horse, he had bounced around on the animal's back clumsily like a sack of potatoes. Now, he felt sore all over from being jostled around so much and he couldn't seem to see things straight. "I don't think I'll ever ride a horse again! Next time, I'm walking!" Glaren announced.

Laughing, Bren said, "That would be a very hard thing to accomplish! Everyone rides horses here, even the children. Horses are very important means of transportation to all races, not just elves and humans. If somehow all the horses died in this village, everyone would be frantic and wouldn't know what to do. Riding a horse much faster than walking, believe me, and you'd save yourself a lot of strength by.....well.....learning how to ride one. Walking everywhere is quite difficult, so I think you should learn soon!"

They let their conversation stop as Thea and Isley came towards them. Bren knew that Isley may not like her talking with Glaren so freely. Isley quickly took her arm in his, making sure that she was on the side farthest away from the stranger. Thea smiled kindly at Glaren and took his hand, leading him out of the stables and towards some other part of the village. All thought of talking left Glaren as he went over the girl's lovely eyes and hair again. Even though he tried not to stare, he couldn't help it. For the time being, talk of riding horses ceased.

After awhile, Glaren became more calm than he had been so far. Looking at him with her beautiful, purple eyes, she told him to relax and that he had nothing to worry about. Somehow the way she said it made him feel wanted. He believed her when she said that they wouldn't try to kill him or put him on trial. The village seemed very hospitable and inviting, making him feel a bit more welcome than he had at first. He let all the tense muscles in his body relax and smiled. "Maybe today will end better than it started," Glaren thought to himself hopefully.  

[Akira.S]

"That is all anyone can hope for. At least you always have tomorrow to look forward to." Thea was calm and surprisingly optimistic, it was no wonder the children liked her. She took a shine to Glaren though didn't understand why...he was so different, was that why she felt the need to be close to him? to protect him in a way?

The four approached the great town hall where all the elves in the village gathered to eat together as one community, as one family. Holding the lantern up Isley opened one of the glass doors and blew at the lizard that had caught on fire and was lighting their way. Abruptly, the lizard woke from its sleep, began to stir, and the flame around its body was miraculously put out. Isley reached into the lantern and pulled out the lizard, placing it on his shoulder while pushing open the doors to the great hall.

The large stone and wooden room was cosy, had high ceilings and was lit by manner of flame and lizard. There were torches of course, and a huge fire place at the other end of the room that kept it nice and toasty inside. There were also lanterns strategically placed with sleeping fire lizards in them, to provide more light to all the elves. And there were dozens and dozens of them, sitting round benches and eating their supper, smiling, relishing in the joy that they had lived another day. Despite the Great Darkness that plagued the lands there were still smiles on their faces - they were still happy to be alive.

Isley, Bren, and Thea weren't the only ones to bring a guest. It seemed at the far end of the room where Isley's parents, Bren's father, and the town council were sitting was another guest. A young looking female known as The Elder, the same one who predicted Thea's arrival and the coming of the Champions. Although several years had passed she still looked like a young girl about Bren's age.

There was some commotion and some stirring when the four of them entered. They all noticed the human right away as they walked together to the otherside of the hall. Thea kept a firm grasp on Glaren's hand, trying to reassuring him that they were just curious, wondering why a human was in their midst. The elves did look so different than Glaren could have possibly imagined, tall slender figures, pale skin, snow-white hair and pointed ears.
"ISLEY! THEA! Why did you bring a human to our village?" The village head, their father, stood from his large fur covered eat, his voice booming throughout the hall. That was embarrassing. Their mother was a little bit more forgiving than their father, getting up from her place beside him and going over to the two, hugging Thea and then Bren protectively, the two girls were always the mother's favourite even if Thea wasn't her biological daughter, and Bren was adopted and a friend of the family. "Thank goodness you're all back, we were so worried the Great Darkness had swallowed you up!"

But the village head was not amused. "Isley! Explain yourself?" of course he blamed his son for bringing the human into the village, what was more was the way Thea stood beside the human, arm in arm like she was familiar with the boy. He was older, he was supposed to be protecting the girls and talking some sense into him. As the next village head he had to take some responsibility, even though it wasn't his fault.  

[Gracielle Grace]

Glaren looked around him in wonder as he was led into the great hall of Harpenshire. Dozens of villagers were sitting around tables and eating their dinners, laughing and talking all at once so that everyone had a hard time understanding what another person said unless they increased the volume of their voice. To his amazement, Glaren saw sleeping lizards contained in lanterns all around the room. Though the creatures seemed to be on fire, they just slept peacefully on, and none of them looked burned at all. All these things were so strange to Glaren and he felt so little in this crowded room that he couldn't help but stare at his surrounding with wonder.

On the other side of Isley, however, Bren was smiling, happy to be back. She was getting quite hungry by now after a long, exciting day, and she couldn't wait to join the other elves in their feasting. Everyone in the hall looked so content, full, eating side by side with friends and family, playing games, and scolding the little ones for misbehaving. Nothing was out of place here, and one could forget all his troubles as he filled his stomach. Even now, the young, blond-haired girl forgot that her adopted father would want an explanation for her absence. Happily, she called out to no one in particular, "I'm famished! I hope we can hurry and find a seat so we may start eating!"

No sooner had Bren's words died out than she regretted that she had spoken. All the elves' eyes turned upon her and her companions. Silence filled the room as nobody spoke for a long time, just staring at the intruders of their supper. Then suddenly, a booming voice that she knew all to well rang out, "ISLEY! THEA! Why did you bring a human to our village?" Her adopted mother came over and said kind words, saying that she had been extremely worried about her and her friends, but Bren knew that she was wondering exactly the same thing as her husband. "Why didn't I just keep my mouth shut?" Bren scolded herself quietly.

The blame, unfortunately, seemed to be landing on Isley, which made Bren furious. "Why does he always blame his own son?" she wondered. "He is the one who tried to stop us from bringing Glaren here in the first place! All he wanted to do was protect us, but I persuaded him to take a chance that could have been dangerous. If anybody is to blame, it should be me! Still, was it wrong to try to help a poor man lying in the woods with no protection?" As her mind fought with these questions her face turned into an angry frown.

Glaren wasn't exactly delighted to see the village leader either. This man seemed very angry with Isley, Thea, and Bren for bringing a stranger here. Seeing how the three were looking at the leader, Glaren guessed that they had known that bringing him here would cause a problem. With so many eyes staring at him, including the village head man's, he felt like he was being pressed in. If he could have sunk through the floor, he would have done so in a flash. The village leader was definitely not going to let Glaren relax in this place for very long!  

[Akira.S]

Uh-oh...this didn’t look like it was going to bode over well. Of course none of them thought bring a human into the village was going to be easy. It was going to happen at some point, but they would have all preferred if the village head didn’t have to yell at them in the middle of the great hall. Of course now all the Elves were silent and staring at the three, or four in the middle of the hall. More unnecessary attention. Even though Bren seemed upset that the village head was blaming his own son, and Glaren looked like he just wanted to be invisible right now, Thea and Isley were the ones to stay calm and composed. She reassuringly squeezed Glaren’s arm and looked into his eyes with a silent smile. Without opening her mouth she spoke words, but not words he could hear with his ears, she spoke into his mind. ‘It’ll be alright, just trust me.’ there she goes again, with those big purple eyes and that kind angelic smile, but how was it she was able to speak into his mind?

“Please everyone, go back to your meals, do not stop on our account.” Thea spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, but didn’t yell. Her voice was even, kind and composed as she looked around the room to make sure the elves went back among their business.
“Come, all of you, you must have some serious explaining to do...” Thea and Isley’s mother motioned all four of them forward to the head table where their father, Gewlain, and Bren’s adopted father was waiting for them.

Once they approached the table, Isley, Thea and Bren all bowed, Thea motioning Glaren to do the same, just as a sign of respect.

“A human Isley? I wouldn’t expect something like this from you...” Gewlain was everything you expected in a leader, tall, wise, well clothed, eyes that have seen many things, but in all of this...he didn’t seem old, not old enough to be a father anyway. Come to think of it none of the elves in the room were particularly elderly looking. Gewlain and Frielawna didn’t even look that much older than Isley and Thea, maybe a bit older, and taller, but they had the air of parentage to them. Frielawna could have possibly been the most beautiful female elf in the village, there were always beautiful flowers woven in her hair and it was always set in such elaborate designs. Her gowns were absolutely breathtaking in design, and it helped that the woman was so slender.

“We found him outside the village while we were riding earlier today. It was getting dark and we couldn’t just leave him.” He was responsible for Bren and Thea even though Bren was the one who insisted they take him back. Even now he was protecting her from all the blame, from any sort of judgement or punishment his father would lay upon him. “The Great Darkness doesn’t discriminate against human or elf...and why should we?” Gewlain’s eyes moved from his son to Bren, to Thea, to the human Glaren...he was hardly human at all, at least the humans he encountered before the Great Darkness descended, he barely looked strong enough to lift a sword. “Father please, he’s just a human, he means us no harm, what could he possibly do to harm us?” Thea then pleaded with her father, still sticking by Glaren, never once letting go of his hand.

“What harm indeed?” The visitor beside Gewlain, the Elder child spoke, smiling from her seat as innocently as a young girl would. She had the most intricate design of clothes on, colours of the sun, and the moon and the darkness and the light. Jewels on a headpiece and long thick robes that looked difficult to walk in and dragged on the floor. “Why don’t you let Bren and Glaren explain the situation instead of trying to hide the truth to protect them.” How the Elder knew their names and knew Isley was half lying to them was beyond everyone’s comprehension. The Elder knew things about everyone....she just knew....just like how she knew Glaren wasn’t all that he seemed.  

[Gracielle Grace]

Bren was surprised when she heard the young-looking stranger ask Glaren and her to tell their tale. "How does she know my name?" wondered Bren to herself. "I have never seen this person before! Surely she hasn't been following us; she couldn't be in the woods and at this great hall at the same time. Does she have some magical powers that can see two places in the same instant? And how does she know that Isley and Thea were trying to protect Glaren and me?" All Bren could do was stare at this person who seemed to know everything.

After awhile, Glaren made up his mind to speak. He felt comforted by Thea's seemingly-telepathic words, "It'll be alright, just trust me," and felt a bit braver than he had. No matter how stupid his words might sound, he thought that he should at least try to explain himself. Although he didn't know how the leader of the village or the girl who mysteriously knew his name would react, he decided it was better to tell the truth than to try covering it up. Since Bren was making no move to speak, Glaren decided to explain everything as best as he could.

With a deep breath, Glaren declared, "I think this is my fault." As everyone turned their attention to him, he explained how he had woken up in the woods with no recollection whatsoever of how he had gotten there and how he couldn't remember his true name. After finishing the tale with how he had almost gotten sick riding Bren's horse, he said, "If I hadn't been there in the woods, they wouldn't have found me and brought me to you all. Probably I should have just asked them to let me stay in the woods so I wouldn't cause any trouble. I'm really sorry for all the problems I've caused."  

[Akira.S]

Isley and Thea weren’t surprised at the Elder’s wisdom, but had no idea of the powers she possessed. Instead of trying to hide the situation any longer, he stepped aside to let Bren and Glaren speak, bowing his head lowly while Thea released Glaren’s hand and motioned him forward. For a moment their younger female friend seemed too in shock to speak of her tale, so Glaren stepped forward instead, to the village’s head wandering eyes, and the Elder girl’s kind smile. After he explained his story, Gewlain looked to his wife and the Elder with an expression as to say ‘what now?’ He wasn’t sure what to do with the boy or what plans the Elder had from him. But human or not, he was not ordinary, not in the slightest.

“You’ve come a long way, and lost so much...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The Elder spoke soft kind words to Glaren as if she felt awful for him, but what she had to feel awful for no one was sure of. “Gewlain. Take this boy into your village, keep him safe, and teach him your ways and soon you may find he may be of use to you and the future.” Cocking her head to the side to face him, she also gave him a gentle smile which was hard to refuse. He would have to do as she said, but to what end. “We have been waiting a long time for you, some longer than others...” her silver eyes then turned to Thea who stood beside him but a little behind, with an unreadable but calm expression on her face. What did the Elder mean by implying that? She had no idea. “Boy from a far away land. With no memory of who you are or where you came from...you were chosen to help us, bring peace and life back to this earth, to save us from the Great Darkness that plagues the world, leading it to darkness, chaos, and death.” She was sure it was a lot to take in, and not an easy idea to digest, especially when first arriving to a strange land. “I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry but you have no choice in the matter. The only way you can return home, to find out who you really are, is to help us...only then will the magic that brought you to us bring you back home.”

It was a heavy topic of discussion and not one to be taken lightly. They all needed time for this to sink in. Take in the strange human, boy to teach him how to be a warrior, a hunter, to teach him to be like them. It wasn’t going to be easy nor were they sure if Glare was to be willing. “Please, sit down, eat, rest, and sleep on it. In the end to help us is your decision, but if you wish to return home, your place will be here, with Amaltheianna, Briennathaire, and Isley.” With that the Elder finished speaking, going back to her meal while Gewlain and Frielawna looked at each other, then over at Bren’s father before sighing and waving to the other elves, signaling the return to their meal. “He will stay in Bren’s home. You found him, you are responsible for him. You and Isley will take care of his training and teaching him how to be one of us. With any luck...this won’t take very long.” The village head said to his children and waved them off, to finally get some dinner in them, and again to let what had happened settle in all of their stomachs.

(( You can keep them here if you like, or you can time skip to another day where Glaren is training, whatever you like to do doesn’t matter to me))  

[Gracielle Grace]

The four companions ate most of their meal in silence that night. A lot of strange things had happened to them that day and, as the Elder had realized, it was a lot for them to take in. Bren, even though she had momentarily forgotten it when they had first come into the hall, had thought that they would be punished for bringing Glaren to Harpenshire. To her surprise, they hadn't done more than a little scolding and shouting at her friends and her. Glaren was also thinking a lot about what had occurred and what had been said. Looking at Isley and Thea, he guessed they were probably thinking similar thoughts to his. As everyone in the hall ate their suppers, they pondered the things that had occurred that evening.

Soon, the meal was finished and the assembly began dispersing. The cooks had a job to do of washing the dishes and tidying up for the next day, and the cooks didn't like people lingering too long in the hall while they tried to work. It had been a long day for everyone and most wanted to go to their homes to rest. All the events that had taken place that night had been hard for all of them to comprehend, and there was now a stranger in the village. It didn't take long for the whole hall to become empty, save for a few individuals.

After a moment of silence, Bren turned to Glaren and said with a little smile, "So, you are going to be staying at my home for awhile? Good! I'm sure you'll like it. We have a black dog that's ever so friendly and loyal, even though he is growing older, and he doesn't even bark at a fly. Although we don't have flowers anymore because of the Great Darkness, we used to have a wonderful flower patch. My parents will be kind to you and I'm sure we can find you a place to sleep. Don't worry; you will be quite comfortable in our house."

That night, as he lay on the bed Bren and her parents had generously given him, Glaren thought that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all. Apart from being in a strange, new house, he didn't feel very comfortable lying on the bed; it was a crudely made bed, twigs stuck into his back, and it felt as hard as sleeping against a tree trunk. Mosquitoes flew around the room constantly, biting Glaren from time to time; it was difficult for him to resist scratching the bites. More importantly, however, the past events of the day kept swirling inside his head, and he could hardly think of anything else. There was so much to think about! Lying on the stiff bed with several, annoying mosquitoes flying above his head, Glaren feared that he would have to stay awake all night.

"What in the world was that girl talking about?" wondered Glaren to himself. "She said that she was sorry about something......but what was it? Maybe she thought that I was having a hard time in a new, strange place with so many new people to meet, and maybe she was hoping that I would feel a bit more relaxed. Still, why would she say sorry for something like that? And what did she mean about 'We've been waiting a long time for you,'? Has she been spying on me? Does she know more about me than I do? What was she talking about when she said that I was chosen to help somebody? I wonder if any of this is supposed to make any sense to me or not, because none of it makes much sense to me at all."

Finally though, after what seemed like ages to Glaren, he managed to fall asleep. The darkness around him was not very interesting and his eyelids felt heavy. It had been a long day for him and he was worn out with meeting new people. Even his worries and wondering couldn't keep him awake for too long; it was like both his mind and body were tired. The slow breathing of his sleeping hosts in the nearby room had a calming affect on him as well, lulling him to sleep. Although he still puzzled about the Elder's words in his dreams, he got some well needed sleep that night.  

[Akira.S]

The next couple of days were definitely a rude awakening for Glaren. Just because he was new in town and a human didn’t mean he’d be getting special treatment. The skinny, lanky human was treated the same as everyone else, had to do chores, had to work, had to train and had to hunt. Well, training took up most of Glaren’s time since it took him longer to get the hang of things than elven boys. He had to be taught how to sword fight, how to kill, how to string a bow, how to actually shoot a bow properly, how to make a fire, essentially how to be a man. Other parts of his elven training consisted of cultural things, like their way of life, their history, the different creatures that still lived in the forest. He was told the legend of the four champions that were supposed to travel to rid their world of the Great Darkness, and it was all assumed that Glaren, Bren, Isley, and Thea were those four champions.

While Isley covered most of Glaren’s day to day training, Bren and Thea helped with most of the cultural aspects, taking him around on horseback, teaching him to ride a horse…PROPERLY for that matter, and getting some of the village women to make him a new set of clothes. By the time they were finished, Glaren looked like another elven hunter, except skinnier and shorter I guess.

They didn’t have weeks or months to train for a quest quite like this…especially since they weren’t sure what they had to do. But the Elder child would tell them in time, when she thought they were all ready. You could say that Isley never thought Glaren would be ready. He was slow, weak, had no muscular structure and was a little bit clumsy with heavy blades and swords. It was really as if this boy hadn’t worked a day in his life…

“He’s going to get us all killed.” He and Bren were sitting under a tree while some of the other men were training on the grounds, sharing a bit of lunch. Meat, cheese, and some fruit freshly picked from in town. He wasn’t pleased with Glaren’s progress but he had to admit at least the boy was trying. It was hard coming from nothing and expected to be something great in just over a week. “What do you think of him? He can’t be the last champion the Elder is waiting for, he’s useless in the field, and he’s not even from here…why would he care to help us?” Isley scowled and cut up a small piece of cheese with his knife, picking it up with the tip of the blade and putting it in his mouth. Bren usually had a good insight about these things. She had good instincts and was pretty smart for someone younger than him, he respected her opinions.

Thea was walking around the grounds with a packed lunch she’d help made in the kitchens, watching the men train. She wasn’t a strange to combat, but it was preferred she remain as a lady. When they were younger, she and Isley would play fight and he would teach her behind his father’s back, just because he thought it was important she learn. Not many women in the village were warriors but it’s not like it wasn’t allowed, after all Bren could handle herself with a knife or a sword so why couldn’t Thea? “Having trouble?” she asked softly as she came up behind Glaren with a very innocent smile on her face. Her deep indigo coloured eyes shining like the brightest jewel set against her perfectly milky white skin. “Here…” she put their lunch basket down and took Glaren’s bow from him and helped it string it with ease. She didn’t look very strong but she was, despite the fact she was very feminine and the loveliest creature in the village.

As Glaren tried to pull back the arrow to practice his archery, she noticed his form was a little off and decided to help. Coming up behind him, she helped align his arm and shoulders, putting her hand on his as she relaxed him, her soft features very close to his. “Relax, and breathe very slowly, the more patience you have the easier it will be to hit the target.” Well it wasn’t a moving target but she was sure he’d master those gently. “Think about where you want the arrow to go, and hold it steady….breathe out slowly as you release the arrow from your fingers.” She stepped back and allowed him to fire, being confident that it would hit the mark.

((Picture this kind of like AVATAR + Mulan training scene, that’s how I pictured it in my head – yaya movie references))  

[Gracielle Grace]

The training lessons in the days that followed were very difficult for Glaren. Every morning he had to wake up before the sun came up, quickly dress, and be ready when Isley called him in for training. Bren was usually the one to wake Glaren up, and she never let him over sleep. "Wake up, sloth!" she would cry, flinging away his blankets. "Today is a busy day!" He had to wake up as much as he could, and Isley always scolded him for his laziness. The rest of the day would mostly consist of some sort of training in fighting, so by the end of the day, he was quite worn out and longed to go back to sleep. Everything seem very hard for Glaren, and he wondered if he would ever get used to such stressful work.

It also seemed that he wasn't being accepted into the village very well. The villagers would stare at him strangely whenever he was in their presence. Murmurings would follow him as he passed the elves around him, and Glaren once even caught the words "stranger.....he shouldn't stay here." Although most of the elves tried to act kindly towards him, they sometimes made him feel like a burden to them, and all the fighters training with him would tease him behind his back. Some of the more bolder warriors decided to nickname him "maid," and they would laugh at him whenever he made a mistake. Isley didn't help much either with his scoldings, and the little children of the village would stare at Glaren with wide eyes like he was some sort of rare animal. "If this goes on too much longer, I think I might have to leave here," he thought to himself.

"Having trouble?" Glaren smiled with relief when he heard that soft, clear voice. He was trying to shoot arrows at a target, but all the arrows never hit the target. Isley had been quite strict with him that day and had told him not to come back until he had hit the target at least one time. Although he was getting used to Isley, Glaren still thought it was unfair that he had to do archery all day, and he was beginning to get very discouraged of ever becoming a good archer. With a grateful smile at Thea, he let her show him how to hold the bow.

Listening to her instructions as carefully as he could, Glaren soon managed to shoot the edge of the target. When he saw that he had shot at the target, he exclaimed, "I did it! I did it! I finally hit the target!" Even though it was a task that almost everyone in the village could manage, he was ecstatic about it. He thanked Thea for her help and told her, "You're a wonderful teacher to me! Thanks......uh.....I mean, thank you!"

Meanwhile, Bren bit into her lunch, thinking. Isley had told her what he thought of their new friend, and he wasn't very happy about his pupil's work. "He's going to get us all killed," he had said. Normally, Bren would have just teased Isley and asked, "So, do you expect him to murder us in the night, or in the day?" But this time, she didn't feel like saying anything of that sort. She was wondering the same things that Isley was wondering, and she wasn't quite sure what to think.

After thinking for awhile, Bren said, "I don't think we can know for certain, Isley. Glaren does seem to be a bit weak, and he's not the best fighter in the world. It doesn't seem very likely that he can save everyone from the Great Darkness right now, and he barely met us. He still doesn't even know his identity! Surely, though, the Elder knows what she is talking about, and if she says that he is one of the champions, we had better believe her. Let's see how this all plays out. Just be patient, Isley."

"Yes," murmured a voice far away. The one who had spied on the four earlier watched Isley and Bren talking with each other. "We will see how all plays out. Just be patient........patient......"  

[Akira.S]

Thea only giggled at his excitement. He was like a child, being able to do something right for the first time. But even the children in the village weren't this eccentric. Maybe it was a human thing. She wouldn't know, she wasn't human like him. "You way of speaking is still very odd to me. But you're welcome all the same." with a smile, she kneeled down and picked up the basket she'd put down. "Come, have some lunch. My brother can surely spare you for for a few minutes." Thea looked over to where Isley and Bren were sitting, waved and took Glaren's hand.

Even more of the warriors stared as Thea led him through the fray to a nice shady spot under a tree, a good distance away from Bren and Isley but at the same time, far enough so she could watch the other elves train. It's not that she didn't want to sit with her brother and her friend, it was just that Glaren looked like he needed to be away from it all before he went back - if you know what I mean.

"A flask of water, fine chese, assorted meats, fresh bread, and fruit I picked this morning with the children." most of which didn't look like fruit he was used to, but she assured him it would taste just fine. Like her adoptive brother, Thea was skilled with a knife and easily sliced pieces of cheese and slices of bread off for them, cutting the salted and newly cooked meat.

For the longest time, Thea didn't say anything to Glaren and ate in silence, keeping her eyes cast downward, until she let out a soft sigh. It seems she was hiding something. "I'm sorry for how the villagers are treating you," Thea said apologetically, "I'm sure it's hard, especially with my brother being your tutor, he's not very forgiving, but other times he can be very kind." she said softly and almost sadly, leaving the piece of bread untouched on her lap. "It's just hard with you being human. You're not what anyone expected..." she said softly once again, picking her food up once again.

Maybe they should change the subject a bit, just to lighten the mood a little. "Have you remembered anything from your past? Where you came from? Any idea who you are?"

Back over where Isley and Bren were sitting, Isley was idly watching his sister spend time with the human. Well if she didn't who would? It's not like he was very well-liked by anyone else in the village. Was he spying on them? Maybe a little bit but with good intentions. Thea had never showed interest in another elf before, much less a human. So why him? The clumsy fool who could barely swing a sword properly.

"If he is the one who's supposed to save us, we're doomed." Isley was brooding, shaking his head as he put a piece of cheese in his mouth and chewed slowly, watching the two as they talked.

Bren seemed to have some faith in the human boy, whatever little it was. Maybe with some time and patience Glaren would learn. But how could he learn all that in such a short amount of time? Isley and the others had their whole life to perfect the skills they had, Glaren barely had a month. But who was he to doubt the Elder? If the four of them were the chosen champions then who was to say otherwise?

"We can't wait forever Bren. We can't wait for him to learn how to be a warrior. The longer we wait the more Darkness consumes the world and soon there were will nothing left but death.” It’s not that Isley wasn’t patient, it’s just he couldn’t stand by and let these things happen…but if Glaren was one of the Champions he’d have no choice but to wait. Still, the blonde male couldn’t help but be frustrated. He lay down on the cool grass and put his arms behind his head, turning to Bren again to seek her advice, “What should I do about him? He learns slow, is far from agile, has no strength…what use is a human Champion who can’t fight? Hm, maybe you should teach him instead you two seem to be getting along when he isn’t right about to pass out at dinner time.” He'd noticed that Bren and Glaren had talked a fair amount over dinner if the boy could stay conscious long enough. It was probably because they lived together that they were much closer than the two males...but then again he wasn't particularly close with Thea. Just...protective of her as he was raised to be. He didn't worry about Bren though. She could handle a sword as well as the next warrior.  

[Gracielle Grace]

Bren grinned when Isley suggested that possibly she should be the one to teach Glaren. Nobody had ever trusted her enough to give fighting lessons to anyone. Some men, mainly the warriors, had laughed at the idea of her ever being as strong as they were, especially since she was a girl. But now, she was being given a choice to prove her strength to all the men. If she could teach this man how to fight properly she could do anything! With her face lit up, she cried, "Oh, Isley! May I teach him? That would be so wonderful!"

Meanwhile, Glaren sat next to Thea with a thoughtful expression on his face. No memories had come to him so far, but he thought that if he put his mind to it he might remember something. He thought back to his first memories he had. The first thing he could recall was waking up to the face of Thea, as well as Bren and Isley. "But was there something before that?" Glaren wondered to himself. Surely there must have been, but it wasn't coming very easily. Trying hard to concentrate, he squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could.

Something was there in the back of his mind; something not too pleasant. Slowly, an image came to his mind of a hand reaching for him. It tried to pull him into something dark; somewhere where he knew he didn't belong. With all his might he tried to resist it, but the hand finally managed to drag him off. It dragged him into the darkness along some bumpy, dirt surface with no regard for how his face was being dragged along the ground. After what seemed like a long time of this kind of torture, the hand stopped dragging him and tossed him at a rock. His head banged against the rock and everything became dark. The next thing he had seen was Thea. Shuddering at these memories, Glaren tried to push them away.

Glaren opened his eyes and said as convincingly as he could to Thea, "No. Not really. Nothing worth talking about." He didn't feel like he could tell anybody about his experience, not even Thea. If she knew about it, she would surely worry about it and tell someone else. Then, if that "somebody" turned out to be Isley........well, he wouldn't have an easy time. He would have to explain himself again, and it would surely frighten the villagers if they found out. Possibly, they would kick him out of the village, or worse, kill him! For the mean time at least, Glaren would have to keep these memories to himself.

Silence fell between the two like a curtain. Nothing but the sound of the distant clangs coming from the warriors in the village could be heard. Glaren munched away quietly on his lunch and turned to look off in the distance. He didn't trust himself to speak for fear of giving himself away. Neither Thea nor Glaren spoke for awhile, keeping their thoughts to themselves.