Jaden gazed across the dark water of the river that was, in a way, keeping her from something better. Or at the very least, keeping her from something different. The icy water had long since soaked the rock that she was sitting on. Yet Jaden felt no chill or discomfort. She was imagining herself on the other bank. The other side of the world… Where the grass is greener, the sun brighter, and the water warmer. Although the sun had set it was still gorgeous in the moonlight.
"Jaden!"
Jaden stood up with a start, her hand reaching for her dagger. She stopped in mid-reach when she realized whom the voice belonged to. At the edge of the forest stood Sylas, her brother.
"Sylas!" Jaden ran to him and threw her arms around him. "I'm so happy you made it home safe."
Sylas Everlorn was a knight in the honorable army of Sy'ar. The Sy'ar knights were protectors of the kingdom, known as Wilmire, and a good portion of the King's advisors were members of this knighthood. They followed a strict code and worshipped the god of righteousness, Polamas. It was a high honor to be admitted into their ranks and it had taken Sylas many years of training to become what the knights needed.
Almost immediately after Sylas became a full-fledged knight, the King declared war on Li'as, a neighboring kingdom. And Li'as's western border just so happened to be the one right across the river. The king of Li'as was an elf and he didn't approve of living so close to humans. The king did, however let the so-called lesser race live on his land, just as long they pledged alliance to him. Needless to say, the ones who owned the land across the water were humans. Many despised this family of "traitors". They are known only as the Ravencrests.
The war was started because the elven and human lands had longed for a test to prove who was the superior race. It was rumored that the King of Wilmire sent an assassin to kill one the elven princes. The assassin succeeded and threw the King of Li'as into mourning. Then as an act of retaliation, the elf hired a few assassins of his own and attacked the human royal family. No one was killed but the human king claimed that the elves' attack was unprovoked and so he invaded the elven lands from the north, and in the process he gained more territory. It was said that the "good" king went a little mad and his hunger for the green, fertile land of the elves caused him to send more and more troops to war. Yet those of the armies he controlled remained fiercely loyal to the crown.
That was three years ago and the two kingdoms were still at war. Sylas had fought in the front lines for almost the entirety of that time. Jaden had not seen her brother since he had been on leave the last time, one year ago.
Once Jaden was done hugging her brother, he began leading her away from the banks and into the forest.
"You know how dangerous it is out here, don't you?" Sylas sounded disapproving.
Suddenly, Jaden felt very small. Her brother had always had the ability to make her feel guilty about anything.
"I'm sorry, but it's just so pretty over there." She looked at her brown, dry surroundings with disgust.
Her brother smiled at her. "I swear that every time I see you, your head gets further and further up in the clouds." Sylas chuckled to himself.
Jaden went to hit his arm, but instead her hand connected with his metal armor. She yelped in pain.
"Gods damn it!"
Sylas laughed harder and soon Jaden couldn't help joining in. And just for those few minutes, on the way home, they both remembered how good it felt to be happy.
