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Fast asleep next to Selene, high in the Shadowed Forest’s thick canopy, Cire’s hammock swayed slightly in the evening breeze. After a long day of painfully navigating their way through dense thickets and bushes, standing in the crook of the tall oak tree was quite relaxing. Her ears twisted and turned as she kept watch using her full suite of senses. A damp, warm wind carried the scent of a newborn thunderstorm on the horizon.

Educating Cire on the basics to not make a fool of himself in the elven settlement had filled their breaks since entering the forest. The day before, the first time they took to the trees to avoid a threat, shehad started to open up about the Tempest Treetops. Selene had finally come to terms with how close they were to their destination and couldn’t put off talking about it any longer.

The conversation hadn’t gone as she had planned, but things with Cire seldom did. His blatant curiosity and eagerness to listen made it hard to tamp down her anger. She still wasn’t sure if her descriptions of the aristocratic houses had been accurate as a result. The Morningdew, Goldenspring, Cinnamonswirl, and Silverstar families each controlled one of the large towers, the pillars of the sky, at the center of the village.

The royal family, the Tempestnight bloodline, allowed the other citizen families free reign within their own towers. However, all of the other complexes ostensibly fell under royal authority. In practice, the druid tower was largely left alone as well. Each order having a rigid set of rules for the free persons who came and went within their sections.

Selene was sure that Cire didn’t understand the nuances of elven politics, but that could always be explained away by his peculiar origins and age. If he managed to accidentally offend someone, he would be summarily dismissed as the child that he was. That didn’t mean that Selene wanted anything to go wrong during their stay in town.

The best thing they could do was introduce him to her family, find out more about his heritage, and keep their heads down. If Selene could, she wanted to minimize his connections to Sunset, Constantine Dawnslight, and Miletus. Although she didn’t think that was likely to happen. She had to get her answers too, and Cire was stuck right in the middle of that mess. It would be best if she brought him in on her observations, otherwise he might go spouting his mouth off to the wrong people.

Running her hand along the rope securing the hammock to the massive oak, she checked on Cire again. His eyes had the far off look of an elf in half-sleep. Earlier in the evening, Selene had to keep him from pulling himself from their perch. She didn’t know what he had been dreaming about, but it had to have been something active. If she could convince her mother to spend some time working with him it would be better than her fumbling instruction.

A wicked smile slashed across the female elf’s visage. She tugged at her midnight black hair with an idle finger, it was the perfect way to get Cire up to speed. Selene wondered how long it would take before he came to her begging for relief. At least this way she wouldn’t have to spend too long at home with her insufferable, high and mighty, siblings.

If I had any aptitude for magic I would be wrapped up in that game just like Penelope and Alexander. At least Damien married away from the families web of schemes and plots. If they find out about Cire’s new title, and my new house, there’s no way we will escape. Thank the gods he has that ring and learns quick.

Shaking Cire by his shoulder, Selene woke her companion as the morning light threaded weakly through the dense blanket of leaves overhead. Stretching and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Cire nodded his thanks. He used rudimentary handtalk, obviously wary to break the silence.

“Talk, okay?”

“Yeah, we can speak. There is a family of squirrels behind us, towards the mountains. A bear circled our tree, but left after marking it, shortly after I took over watch. Besides that, nothing but insects and birds.”

Cire was eating a handful of nuts and passed her a small pouch containing the rest. Selene polished them off as a light breakfast.She gathered up the hammock and untied their packs from the tree, where they had been stored for the night.

“We aren’t too far out now, we should get to the river today. We’ll follow along the southern bank until we get to the town’s borders. We should get intercepted before we get close, but if we make it to the walls on our own, let me do the talking,” She paused to take a long drink of water. “In fact, try not to talk at all in front of other elvesbefore I get you to my mother. The less attention you bring to yourself, the better.”

“You never told me you were from a noble family, I don’t think anyone back in Sunset knows. Well, I besides Maisy and Stout.” Cire stopped speaking with his mouth open, obviously wanting to ask follow up questions, but catching himself as a cloudy expression crossed her face.

Selene sighed and brushed past her prickly reaction. He didn’t know any better. It wasn’t like she would be able to hide it anyways. Deftly hopping down to a lower branch, and then another, the elf used her momentum to carry her down to the ground. She called back up to Cire after the acrobatic display, “If you want to know, you’ll have to keep up.”

There was no way Cire could copy her agile practiced movements, especially in armor, but his natural dexterity bridged the gap adequately. His descent was more of a mad scramble, catching himself from falling with his hands more than once. By the time he was running through the brush, thorns catching on his padded yeti hide, he was only a few strides behind Selene. In between breaths, he huffed out a series of questions, hoping to slow her up by having to respond.

“If you were already nobility before I made you an heir, why did you accept the offer? Why were you the only elf in Sunset before I popped up? Why don’t you want to go home?”

“Magic.”

Selene’s one word reply punctuated her pivoting around a copse of fir trees and dashing away. When Cire rounded the last trunk, she was gone from his vision. Straining his sight, he scanned the dark woods. Twitching the tips of his ears, he heard a twig break and swiveled his head. Standing with a broken stick in her hands, Selene clucked her tongue and kept running.

Chasing after his elven companion, Cire managed a passable job with rapid forest movement. Selene was pushing him to see if any untested woodland skills might reveal themselves, and because she wanted to. She couldn’t out run his queries, but she could make him earn the answers. By the time he caught up, she had eased to an ambling walk and casually explained her flippant reply.

“I don’t have the aptitude for any of the basic types of magic, or any of the advanced schools I have been tested for. In my family, that makes me an outcast of sorts. The Silverstar’s are known for our powerful casters, moon elves have a natural affinity for the arcane arts.”

Looking over Cire’s face, an expression of adorable confusion tempered her frustration with his ignorance. Hiking up to the top of a small rise, she stopped and cupped her hand around her ear. Rumbling on the wind the sound of the river welcomed her. She may dislike much of what she was returning to, but the place itself would always be dear to her heart.

“You saw my status sheet when we became companions. Do you remember any of my traits? Skills? Take another look. Let’s see if anything I have tried to teach you has stuck.”

Selene saw the focused look in his eyes and knew he was scanning over her status, so she pulled it up herself. Glaring, as always, Selene’sAstral Concentration trait taunted her with its potential and her failure. She knew he would figure it out, even if it took him a while, so she started walking again.

It was easier to show him, versus saying it out loud. She wasn’t a child anymore, but that didn’t make the pain brought by falling short of her families expectations any easier. It didn’t make the look in their eyes feel any better. Giving him plenty of room, she led at a slow pace.

Biographical Information:

Name: Selene Eventide

Level: 15

Experience: 133,682

Lineage: ½ Moon Elf, ½ Wood Elf

Profession: Unselected

Disposition: Stern Trickster (1 Bad, 3 Chaotic, 1 Good, 2 Orderly)

Languages: Elvish, Elven Handtalk, Common

Stats:

Health: 110/110

Mana: 198/198

Armor: 14

Dodge: 10%

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 19

Constitution: 10

Intelligence: 16

Spirit: 17

Charisma: 15

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Luck: 12

Resistances:

Enchantment 50%

Magic 10%

Aspects:

Sly

Determined

Skills:

Swordsmanship 22, Natural

Sub-skill: Small Blades 22, Natural

Sub-skill: Flurry 14, Natural

Sub-skill: Dual Wield 10, Significant

Sub-skill: Large Blades 7, Significant

Sub-skill: Curved Blades 2, Significant

Thrown Weapons 15, Natural

Sub-skill: Blades 9, Natural

Sub-skill: Devices 3, Natural

Archery 49, Natural

Sub-skill: Short Bows 41, Natural

Sub-skill: Long Bows 22, Natural

Sub-skill: Marksmanship 35, Natural

Sub-skill: Quickdraw 28, Natural

Sub-skill: Vital Shot 9, Natural

Pickpocket 16, Natural

Sub-skill: Sleight of Hand 8, Natural

Stealth 29, Natural

Sub-skill: Hide 24, Natural

Sub-skill: Stalk 24, Natural

Adventurer 5, Natural

Armor 29, Significant

Sub-skill: Medium Armor 29, Significant

Sub-skill: Light Armor 16, Significant

Herbalism 31, Significant

Trapping 15, Significant

Sub-skill: Disarm Traps 8, Significant

Sub-skill: Find Traps 11, Significant

Sub-skill: Set Traps 7, Significant

Tracking 19, Significant

Farming 12, Average

Sub-skill: Tilling 5, Limited

Sub-skill: Sowing 2, Limited

Sub-skill: Reaping 3, Limited

Musical Instruments 7, Average

Sub-skill: Harp 5, Average

Lore 42, General

Sub-skill: Woods & Forests, 39 Natural

Sub-skill: Elvish Culture & Customs, 25 Natural

Sub-skill: Fae Culture & Customs, 15 Significant

Sub-skill: Human Culture & Customs, 15 Average

Sub-skill: Arcana, 18 Average

Sub-skill: Mountains and Hills, 9 Limited

Communication 24, General

Abilities:

Skill Abilities: Flurry, Vital Shot, Sleight of Hand, Hide, Stalk

Traits:

Elven Heritage: 50% Enchantment resistance. Low-light vision & acute senses, Perception +1.

Forest Finesse: Increased accuracy and damage when using ranged weapons. Increased chance to dodge. Normal movement rate when in dense brush.

Astral Concentration: +10% Spell potency. +10% Magic resistance.

House of the Chimera’s Mane: As an heir of the territories’ noble house you receive a 5% bonus to all actions within the area. You may summon a Hera’s Bow of Dominion once per day. Theia’s Blessing: +1 to Luck, +1 to Perception. Other elements of this trait may reveal themselves over time.

Inventory:

(Not Available)

Pleased with the advancement of her skills since the last time she had given her status a look, Selene dismissed the opaque screen and picked her way to the bank of the river. Once she got to the rocky shore, she refilled her waterskins and then took Cire’s to do the same. She took up a sitting position next to him on a fallen tree, but didn’t make eye contact, her eyes lingering on the water.

“You always worry about offending people, just ask.”

Cire shifted uncomfortably, his boot scraping against bark.

“Well, you’re half moon elf and half wood elf. Based on what you have eluded to, your dad is a wood elf? I never really thought about what that meant, not in terms of skills or inherited traits. If your family has a reputation for high magical aptitude, but you do not possess it...” He stopped talking, not needing or wanting to list the large amount of implied ramifications.

“Exactly, all of that. I was volunteered to take a posting out of sight. At first it was for them, my family. Over time, I carved my own place out of the mountains, defined myself.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see conflict at play on Cire’s face. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but she knew he was measuring his words. Taking the time to think through the information before speaking. Slapping him across the shoulders, Selene stood up.

“Let’s get going. There’s a storm coming and we don’t want to get caught out in it.”

Departing the immediate shores of the Swiftwater, they began making their way deeper into the forest. Keeping the river to their right as a directional marker allowed a more rapid pace than before. They pressed on later than previous days in the woods, letting the starry sky shroud their steps as they caught glimpses of it between the trees.

Selene was watching as Cire worked on his hearing, twisting the tips of his ears and pushing his lobe to cup and angle, when a sudden quiet descended around them. Serenading crickets and buzzing june bugs ceased their concert of spring, sending a cold shiver up Selene’s spin. She immediately signaled for them to take to the trees.

From their position hidden in the leaves, Selene could make out the interloper, a giant wolf spider. Hairy and bulbous, the size of a small wagon, the arachnid scuttled along the forest floor below them. Communicating back and forth with Cire, she told him to be quiet until the monster passed them by. Once it was out of earshot, they broke out food and picked up conversation.

However, in the middle of their conversation about Cire’sexpected behaviour once they made it to town, Selene clamped her hand over his mouth. Upon meeting her blue eyes, he went silent. Cautiously he signaled to her.

“Danger?”

Withdrawing her hand, she flicked and wove a quick reply, “Not sure. Listen, something’s in the trees. Not sure where.”

Twitching, Cire moved his ears and focused on the wind breathing through the boughs. Now accustomed to his elven senses, it didn’t take long for him to pick up the subtle difference. Looking up to the stars to confirm their direction he responded, “From the north. In trees. Moving fast.”

Selene nodded confirmation and slowly unsheathed her daggers, shifting to an adjoining branch to give Cire space. Looking back to Cire she nodded once and then faded into the foliage, her cloak breaking her form as she camouflaged. Grating and metallic, a stymphalian bird’s call shattered the quiet.

Leaning her head back, breaking cover, Selene responded. Cire was equal parts intrigued watching her move her finger rapidly over the front of her throat and astonished by the sound she produced. Grinning wickedly, Selene sheathed her weapons and stood nonchalantly on the branch.

“No swamp birds this far north Cire, looks like we got noticed. It’s a patrol from the ‘Tops. Keep still, they will come and find us.”

Dropping from higher in the canopy, as if on cue, a chestnut haired elf with a ruddy complexion landed on the end of their branch casually. He was wearing a flexible suit of leather armor similar to Selene’s, but with dyed panels of green mixed in with the dark brown. A bow strapped to his back and long curved sword at his hip remained untouched. The tone of his challenge was professional, offering it as a greeting, and less as identification.

“Our house is built with strong beams and breezes. What are they made of?”

“The moon and storm. I am Selene Silverstar, returning with a report for my mother.”

Giving a slight bow, the wood elf’s eyes glanced from Selene to Cire.

“Welcome home, Lady Silverstar. I am Lucas Rootwine, scout of the guard. May I ask who you travel with?”

“A wildling I found in the mountains. Enough talk, we are weary from our trip. Take us to your camp so that we may rest.”

Lucas nodded, but instead of heading to the ground, turned and ran along the branch. Leaping across a small gap in the trees, Lucas bounded along the boughs of the next oak like a squirrel. Running and jumping after him, Selene gracefully moved through the trees. Cire attempted his best, but lagged behind. Selene’s words of caution drove him forward without complaint.

“Keep up! He is still testing us!”