Just waking from its evening slumber, the sun rose over the hilly tree-covered terrain. A brisk wind filled the chill morning air as the morning dew fell from the lips of leaves. As the forests slowly woke, nature’s music of chattering animals and whispering trees could be heard far into the distances beyond. The sky above this waking land was light blue and nearly cloudless, promising of high temperatures in the noon.

Through the trees, the sound of wooden swords thrusting through the air could be heard. Two young boys, a human and an elf, were engaged in a friendly sword battle to test each other’s strengths. The two appeared to be roughly 12 years of age, but passersby would see how the two fought with warrior strength and vigor. They both were so deeply concentrating on their battle they had scarcely noticed the suns bright, warm fingers reaching through the limbs of the surrounding trees.

“Hah,” The little elvin boy taunted as he narrowly escaped an attack from the human boy. “You’re much to slow to strike me!”

His long, pointed ears were flushed red with the excitement of the battle. His somewhat straggly dark-brown hair was plastered to his brow and neck with sweat. He was of average height for his age, though that contained many more years than his friend for elves live for centuries while humans rarely reach seventy in these lands. His name was Tala, elvish meaning “Joyous one”, and to everyone who knew what his name meant they would agree that it was truly a well-chosen name.

“Teh!” The human boy grunted at his friend, preparing another strike.

This boy was a rather rowdy lad, though he knew his place well and respected others. He was bouncing slightly, calculating his next strike while shaking his dirty-blonde hair out of his eyes. He was ever so slightly taller than his friend, however he appeared more slender and not as physically strong as Tala, but he made up for his lack of strength with his endurance. He was named Samuel and lived with a small band of humans who had been stranded nearby when winter had started. It was mid spring at this point, and they were planning on moving again. Samuel felt that that was as good of an excuse as any to see his best friend, no matter how much his people and the elves hated each other.

While trying to dodge an attack, Tala stumbled over his own foot and fell straight on his face. However, he recovered quickly and jumped back from Samuel, panting.

“That was most graceful of ya', Tala!” Samuel laughed.

“Shuddup!” Tala panted, now also blushing. “I was getting too worked up, is all.” He raised his wooden sword once more. “I’m ready now!”

Samuel laughed. “Really? Alright, let’s go!”

Just as they were about to leap forward into another duel, Tala thought he heard a twig snap behind him, toward the edge of the trees. He immediately stopped, nearly making Samuel fall from thrusting his sword so forcefully into thin air.

“What are you doing-”

“Shhh!” Tala lowered himself slight to the ground and tightened his grip on the wooden hilt of the sword. He lowered his voice to a scarce whisper. “I thought I hear a twig snap…someone may be watching….”

Samuel froze, suddenly filling with fear. No matter who found them- whether it was and elf or a human- they would be in great danger. No doubt whatever race it was, one of them would most likely be killed. He, too, sunk to the ground, trembling slightly.

“What should we do?” He whispered.

Tala didn’t respond for a moment. “I don’t know…I don’t think there is anything other than face it…”

Samuel gulped in fear. “But-”

“Shh!!” Tala put his hand on Samuel’s mouth. “I heard it again-closer this time!”

Tala froze in that position as still as a statue, frozen with fear and somewhat with curiosity.

“Tala, Tala, Tala. You’ll never change. You should be so lucky to have me find you rather than anyone else.” A voice emanated from the forest, echoing around the clearing.

Tala smiled and his ears perked up. “…Elshi? Elshi! Has it been you this whole time??”

Out from behind a dark tree came Elshi, Tala’s older sister and best friend. Her hair was raven black and hung to her buttocks, curling inwards slightly at the ends. A small headband that had a deep purple jewel set in the middle with a smaller tear-shaped purple jewel hanging off of it lay upon her forehead. Her bangs stood far off her head before falling forward once more in silky perfection. She wore light tan leather-hide pants tightly pulled across her long, muscular legs. Her shirt was light orange in color and was long and ruffled, the only sleeve being on her right side. The most striking thing about her were her eyes- the deepest shade of purple that one would ever see- much like that of the jewel upon her forehead.

Tala quickly stood up and nodded at Samuel. “Its okay, she won’t hurt us.-”

“Who said I wouldn’t?” Elshi said emotionlessly. “Tala, may I ask why you ran away at dawn to be with…” She glanced at Samuel with disgust. “A human?”

Tala grew angry with Elshi. “You don’t understand, Elshi! Not all humans are murderers or are evil and neither are elves!”

“No, Tala!” Elshi shouted, almost sending Tala to his knees. “It is you who does not understand! It may seem like a beautiful, flowering friendship- but mark my words those demons will turn on you! Have you forgotten about--” Elshi’s voice broke and she looked away. “How dare you side with them…”

“I side with neither.” Tala mumbled.

“Tala. Have you forgotten what today is?” Elshi’s voice was in a whisper and was as cold as ice.

“No I hav-” Tala’s eyes went wide for a moment. “That’s…today?”

Elshi glared at Tala, then at Samuel. “Excuse us. We must leave- now.”

Tala looked sadly at Samuel. “I’m sorry for what she said, Sammy. I don’t think we’ll be able battle for a while…” He kicked the dirt, feeling Elshi’s glare upon him.

“It’s okay!” Samuel tried to smile, but it weak and quite fake. “Really…I’m sorry. I’ll…I’ll go now. Maybe I’ll see you another time, Tala.” Samuel smiled weakly again and ran off in the opposite direction, back to his own people.

“Let us go as well.” Elshi commanded coldly as she walked off in the direction that she had came from.

Tala glanced once more at the retreating Samuel, and then trotted off after Elshi. Her pace was quick and unforgiving, and soon Tala was lagging behind. “Elshi! Please wait! You’re going too fast!”

Elshi, either unable to hear him or just ignoring him, did not slow her pace until they reached a small pond surrounded by large droopy trees. Finally reaching her, Tala put his hands on his legs and bent over, trying to recover his breath. With an audible ‘plop’ Elshi quickly sat down on the moist forest floor, slight panting. She sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, staring at the barely-moving pond.

“Tala…come here.” She said, still as cold as before.

With both a fear of coming closer to her and of disobeying her he quickly sat down beside her. Imitating her, he stretched his legs before his and also stared into the pond. Sighing sadly, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“No Tala….it is I who should be apologizing. I didn’t mean to yell at you, or to embarrass you. I didn’t mean to insult your friend either but…” Elshi looked over at Tala, her face contorted with worry. “How can you be associating with them after what happened? And on this day of all!”

“I didn’t realize the rites were being held today!” Tala quickly blurted out. He was trying to think of a better excuse, but failed to think of any. “I really did forget about it… and I am truly sorry for that.”

“I know, Tala.” Elshi sighed. “I know.”

They sat there for a while in uncomfortable silence when Elshi suddenly scooped Tala into her lap, hugging him tightly.

“Elshi…?” Tala tried to look at his sister, only to see tears falling from her cheeks. “I…really am…”

Elshi shook her head. “Forget it, Tala. I’m just glad that you are safe. You must never be alone in these parts anymore… the humans will attack you without warning. We all know that now… it’s a pity that our parents had to teach us that.” She sighed and forced her tears to stop. “I’m the one that has to protect you now that Mother and Father have returned to the Weaver. I wasn’t mad at you… just worried. I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”

Tala hugged his sister tightly. “I miss them.”

“I know.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “I do too. The whole village misses them.”

The two sat for a moment as a slow wind shyly crept through the trees, making small ripple upon the quiet pond.

“You know what, Elshi?”

“Hmm?”

“I…want to see the ocean. I have never seen it before…I’d really like too sometime. Have you seen it?”

“No, actually. I can’t say I have. But hey, I tell you what,” Elshi grinned at her little brother. “After everything settles down again and we are back up on our feet, I’ll take you. I promise.”

“Yay!” Tala squealed, nearly leaping off of Elshi’s lap. “That sounds great! I can’t wait!”

Elshi laughed at the cuteness of Tala’s innocence. They stood up and started towards the village once more, both deep in thoughts of the future. Tala was fantasizing about running along the shores of the distant beaches, while Elshi could do nothing but worry. She saw the innocence in Tala, and she knew that it would be his downfall. ‘Nothing good could come from associating one’s self with humans’ , she thought.

It was not long before they reached their well-developed village. The forest surrounded it on all sides except the south side. The south side was a rather steep slope leading into fertile plains lands where the Plains Elves villages were. Elshi’s village was moderately populated but always seemed to have traffic in the marketplace. The marketplace was a large covered walkway through the middle of town with residential areas spread out beyond it. The Market, as it was plainly referred to, had vendors selling all kinds of various and exotic goods that attracted a fair amount of people.

The residential sections beyond the market were usually quiet and full of beautiful gardens. It was traditional for each person to have his or her own private garden, of which would be quite complex and would need a lot of looking-after. The gardens would contain almost any flower or plant possible that lived in the area, and some that were from far away. It was also traditional here for each person to have two houses- One ‘bedroom-house’ that was used purely for sleeping and hygiene purposes, and the other ‘living-house’ was used for everything else possible.

The village was called Ahrlish meaning “Beautiful Mix”. It had become the village’s title because the majority of the elves living there were mixed between the Plains and Forest elves, but for one to be a mix was not looked down upon. In elvin society, all are equal despite one’s heritage or gender, although those who are much older, ‘Elders’ as they are called, are often held higher than others, as are the Priests and Priestesses.

Together, Elshi and Tala bypassed the village and headed northwest through the forest. It was still early morning as they walked along in idle chatter about various things. Rumors, old legends, they babbled about the most trivial of things just to keep time passing, and to keep their thoughts from traveling far. They were traveling a thin dirt path that was well trodden with many years lying upon it. It was to lead them to a temple called Mehtuseh, a temple unique to Ahrlish.

Soon they reached the silver temple sitting on the top of a small hill with two large Khareh trees towering over it, as well as the majority of the forest. Mehtuseh’s roof was flat with a large hole in the middle, allowing the holy fire’s white smoke from within to exit the temple. A long flight of weathered carved steps lead up to the door, of which was preceded by three large columns on either side supporting a heavy roof. The majority of the temple was covered with green ivy, concealing it somewhat into the forest.

Elshi sighed heavily as she and Tala stopped before the stairs. Her eyes traveled up to the door of which she passed through many times, but never had she ever feared entering the temple. She had no idea if Juhai was going to scold just Tala or both Tala and herself, but either way it was most definitely not a pleasurable experience.

“You know, Juhai isn’t very pleased with you at the moment, Tala. Please try not to irritate him, okay?” Elshi pleaded to Tala.

Tala nodded and started up the cracked earthen steps, walking slowly, trying to anticipate what Juhai might say to him. Elshi followed Tala up the stairs, matching him in his slow pace. They walked through the entrance and the smell of herbs burning pleasantly filled the air. In each corner of the temple, a large pillar was supporting the roof and a small trench with clear water was running through the left side. In the middle of the ancient temple there was another flight of stairs leading to a stone altar, laden with herbs and books, and Mehtuseh’s holy fire was before it, roaring with all its might. Juhai, with his back turned to Elshi and Tala, was standing before the altar, flipping through the pages of an old worn-out book written in the ancient language of the Elves.

Elshi kneeled on one knee and hung her head while putting her hand over her heart. Tala followed Elshi’s lead, trying to be as polite as possible.

“Priest Juhai, I have returned to you with Tala.” She spoke in a dull tone, emotionless, her voice blotted out by the fire roaring before her.

“Hmm.” Juhai sighed as he slowly closed the book that he was flipping through. He turned around to look at them and then started down the stairs, carefully and achingly slow. He stopped about three stairs above Elshi and Tala, crossing his arms, waiting for Elshi to speak.

Elshi glimpsed upwards at Juhai, trying to read his expression before she spoke. He was hiding his emotion well, unfortunately enough for Elshi. ‘Although Juhai is a close friend to our family…’ She looked up at him again ‘...he can be so scary at times…’ She took in a breath and tried to remain calm. “I have retrieved Tala from the woods west of here. He was…” Elshi glanced over towards Tala, who was staring at his reflection on the smooth floor. His face was flushed red with embarrassment. Elshi turned back to Juhai. “He was taking a early morning walk…to clear his mind of things.”

Juhai glared at Tala for a moment before braking into a bright grin. “A walk…to clear your mind…of course.” He let out a soft laugh. “Then your disappearance is most understandable, but please Tala, let someone know where you are going or at least the simple fact that you are leaving. You had all of us quite worried, you know.”

Tala quickly nodded his head and stood up, still looking at the ground. “I am…sorry. Please forgive me, High Priest Juhai.”

Juhai tilted his head somewhat to the side with a quizzical look upon his face. “Well…of course, Tala…”

With another quick nod, Tala trotted out the doors of the temple, still red with embarrassment. Elshi turned around and tried to take off after Tala, but Juhai intervened.

“Just another moment, Elshi….”

Elshi turned back to Juhai, back at the door, and then back at Juhai. She shook her head saying, “I don’t know what just got into him..”

Juhai put his hand up and shook his head. “Its no problem at all, really. I just wanted to give you my condolences is all.”

“Oh…” Elshi sighed. She had managed to not think of them for a little while, and here she was again, reminiscing.

“Are you okay with everything?” Juhai put his hand on Elshi’s shoulder. She blushed slightly and nodded. “If you ever need anything, I’d be more then happy to help you and your brother. But now you should go and ready yourself for the festivities tonight, you’ll need all of your strength.”

“Alright, then, Juhai. I’ll see you then. Harmas!”

“Harmas!” Juhai smiled at her, and then walked back up the stairs to where he was previously.

Elshi left the temple and took in a deep breath of air outside. She looked around for Tala but could not find him; she decided to go back to Arhlish and look for him. ‘Perhaps he went back home..?’ She thought. Following the trail, she noticed that the trail looked wider than what it had in previous years. The population had grown, but not by much. She couldn’t understand how the trail would have grown so much in such a short amount of time. She soon realized that she was in view of Ahrlish once more, and she saw Tala entering the market.

Sighing, she jogged from the forest’s edge and went to the Market to find Tala. It was busier than usual, the crowds thicker, the vendors more plentiful and that much more loud. Elshi was pushed along the flowing stream of costumers; she found it hard to stop in one spot for more than just a moment. In the corner of her eye, she saw Tala at a musician’s stall, browsing through ocarinas, flutes and pipes. He picked up a bundle of reeds- a reed pipe- that was tied together with thick purple fabric. Looking it over once more, he put it to his mouth and played a few mellow notes. He was quite pleased with the sound it produced; he ruffled around his belt and pockets for his coin-pouch, but then remembered that he had left at back at his house. He sighed and put it back down in its place, and then left the market through the side, kicking the dirt somewhat as he walked.

Swimming through the crowd, she eventually made it over to the musician’s stall. She smiled and greeted the vendor warmly.

“Marthas!” She hailed.

“Martha to you, Elshi. What brings you here on such a fine day?”

“Did you happen to see my brother just pass by here?”

“Yes, just moments ago. He seemed to be quite interested in that reed pipe there.” The vendor motioned towards the small heap of various reed-pipes on the table.

“Which one, exactly?” Elshi asked, starting to sort through the pipes.

The vendor leaned over the temple and picked up the pipes tied together with the thick purple fabric. “Ah, this is the one that he was looking at!”

Elshi took the pipe and looked it over. She tried to flatter the vendor as much as she could. “My, my, this is very well made! I’m impressed! Did you make this yourself?”

“Aww,” The vendor rubbed the back of his head, acting modest. “Yeah, I made those all myself, but it’s not that big of a deal…”

“But such a wonderfully made reed-pipe much be expensive!” Elshi continued flattering the vendor. “Just how much is this exquisite instrument?”

“Oh no, no, no, Elshi! I couldn’t charge you for that!” He leaned in close to Elshi and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Just take it. Your brother is already skilled with the pipes, I’m sure he’ll make good use of this. Think of it as a gift, okay?”

Elshi hugged the vendor tightly, saying, “Oh that you so much! I can’t thank you enough!” She let go and bowed to the vendor before heading out of The Market. “I’ll see you tonight at the Hemen Irye, won’t I?”

The vendor nodded. “Of course. I knew your parents quite well; I wouldn’t miss this for anything! Harmas!”

“Harmas!” Elshi shouted back to the vendor, diving back into the sea of elves.

Finally coming to the end of the Market, Elshi was able leave the closely-packed crowds of consumers. She looked up into the sky and saw that it was nearly noon and practically cloudless. Wiping her brow, she had just suddenly become aware of the high temperature. Elshi figured that Tala would have most likely gone home after leaving The Market, so she headed towards her home.

Elshi opened the door to the house slowly and peeked in, she saw Tala was lying on his back upon his bed, his arms crossed behind his head. He was staring up at the ceiling, starting to get somewhat sleepy.

“Tala?” Elshi asked, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

“Hmm?” Tala seemed rather uninterested in anything that Elshi had to say.

Elshi creped over to Tala’s bed and dangled the pipes by the purple binding-string. “Enjoy!”

Tala surged up from his bed and grasped the reed pipes. “Elshi! This is the one that I was lookin’ at just a few moments ago! How did you…?”

Elshi grinned and shook her head. “I just caught a glimpse of you in The Market, looking at these. You just seemed so disappointed that you had forgotten your money that I just had to get it for you.”

“Thank you so much, Elshi!” Tala hugged Elshi tightly, choking her somewhat in the process.

Elshi hugged back and rubbed Tala’s head. “You can use these now rather than the old flute that you were using before. This should sound much better!”

“Yeah…” Tala nodded. “That old flute was about to disintegrate, it seemed. But….” Tala sighed and sat back down on his bed. “That was a gift from Mom…so I think I’ll keep it all the same.”

Elshi sighed as well and nodded in agreement. “Of course, just keep it in your chest for now… somewhere safe, where it will not be harmed by the elements nor by pesky bugs and whatnot.”

Tala blew a few notes through the pipe and giggled, saying “I just can’t believe this! Thanks again, Elshi. I think I’m going to go outside and practice this for a bit!”

“I may join you later then, Tala.” Elshi went over to her bed and pulled out a trunk from below. “Go have fun, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Without a word, Tala ran out of the house and sat on the reddish-stone wall that was guarding their garden. He immediately began testing a few old melodies that he had learned when playing his flute and then tweaking them to play nicely on his pipes.

Elshi was quite proud of herself for cheering her little brother up, but her mood changed when she glanced upon the trunk that she had brought out. It was a somewhat dusty dark blue color with intricate carvings of vines, leaves, and flowers twining around it. The trunk was wooden and had shown its age well with a few dents and marks around the edges. Elshi took in a breath and opened the trunk; an old musty woody smell came from the trunk. There inside, upon thin silk-like fabrics lay her instrument, her lute. She rubbed her finger along the edge; the last time that she had played her flute was only weeks ago but she had been playing it with her parents and brother. Shaking the nagging sad memories from her head, she took the lute from its resting place and sat it down in her lap. Plucking a few chords, Elshi tested each string to judge its tone. With a few tweaks she decided that the lute was in good shape and sounded perfectly fine. She stood up, somewhat dizzy from rising so fast, and went outside to join her little brother.

Tala was still sitting on the reddish-stone wall when Elshi had met up with him. He was nearly done with a melody and he had captivated a small audience of his friends. They were all sitting cross-legged on the ground in complete awe of Tala’s musical capabilities. Elshi waited patiently for Tala to finish the song before interrupting him, so she leaned against the wall and listened to the tune.

The tune was a fast-paced song that was ancient even to the elves. Originally, it would have been accompanied by vocals and perhaps another flute or two. The song was called “Ylihlit Oh Dhor-Harnaih” – roughly translated to “The Holy Mountain” – and told how the elves first crossed the holy mountain to populate this new land. Summarized from its verse form and translated from the original elvish, it would say similar to this:

The elf-maiden was deeply saddened by the news that her love had drowned in a ship wreck and she desperately wanted to se her love one last time. She was told by a wise elf-woman that if she were to climb up the holy mountain Dhor-Harnahi’ that she would be able to see her love at the summit. Determined to see her love, she decided to take up the dangerous journey. However, climbing up Dhor-Harnaih would be very difficult and she would encounter many deterrents. Monsters and goblins of all kinds had inhabited the mountain and the mountain was said to be full of hidden crevices that had sent many falling to their death.

She encountered a few fiends on her way up, but she quickly dispatched them using a magical staff given to her by a high-priest before her journey. Once she had gotten nearly half-way up the mountain she came to a halt. Before her was a crevice much too large to leap across, and below was a raging river which had undoubtedly taken the lives of many before. A lone Khareh tree stood before the crevice, and within it rested a Dryad. It commanded her to explain why she was trekking up the holy mountain, and she then told the dryad her reasons. Feeling sorry for her, the dryad sprouted vines from its hair and fingers and sent them across the canyon, to act as a bridge. The dryad also offered the elf-maiden part of a sturdy branch to act as a walking-stick. The elf-maiden thanked her and accepted the walking-stick, and after a quick farewell she crossed the vine-bridge and continued on her journey.

As she climbed higher and higher, she felt the air become chill and the trees begin to thin out. Soon, snow began to fall and cover the ground, making the elf-maiden start to regret her journey. The snow was piled high and came just above her knees, she could feel herself start to become weak and cold. She felt that she could go no further, and there she collapsed in the snow. When she next woke, she found herself in a primitive hut made of gathered twigs, branches, and vines all woven together. She left the hut and looked about for whomever it was that had saved her. Somewhat camouflaged in the snow, a yeti walked toward her and held out a long fur hide. She thanked the yeti and wrapped herself in the coat, took up her walking-stick, and set off on the journey once more.

She had finally reached the summit and waited patiently for her love’s spirit to appear. Alas, the moment did not come. She waited for the rest of that day, and unable to stay awake any longer, she fell asleep under the fur hide. She woke up just before dawn the next day, hungry and dejected. She stood up wearily and looked towards the bottom of the cliff which was hardly visible because of the thick fog hanging in the air below. She contemplated what her next move should be, whether she should continue to wait, go back home, or to jump off of the cliff and meet her life once more that way.

Slowly, the air seemed to become slightly warmer, and through the clouds she could see the tip of the sun stabbing through the haze. As the sun climbed higher, the vapors began to burn off, revealing the grand wheat fields of Harmoth and the vast plains of Arhana farther back. The elf-maiden was so stuck by the beauty of the land that she became teary-eyed. A thought came into her mind, almost as if some unknown force was whispering it into her ear: her love was dead and gone, but he had been reincarnated into the lands below for the elf-maiden and all beings to enjoy. The elf-maiden did not return to her people, instead she climbed down the other side of the mountain and proclaimed that land free for all beings to live upon, and thus Elves crossed the mountain barrier to populate the new area.

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