Suddenly, Kaylia reappeared and sat next to the fire.
“Where did you go?” asked Gewey.
Kaylia pushed back her hood; her face was stone and her eyes narrow slits. “I was speaking to my kin.”
Gewey leapt to his feet. “What?”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’re in no danger.”
Lee grunted and tossed a twig into the fire.
“That’s good news,” said Millet. “But it would have been nice to know elves were nearby.”
“There was no need to tell you,” said Lee. “At least not at the time.”
“How long have you known they were out there?” Gewey seethed.
“What difference does it make?” he answered. “You couldn’t have done anything about it other than worry. If they’d attacked, we’d all be dead anyway.”
This did little to calm Gewey. “I don’t care!” he yelled. “If my life’s in danger, I have a right to know!”
Kaylia fixed her gaze on Gewey. “Shut your mouth,” she said.
Her voice was steel. “What right do you have to question anything? Those around you are willing to sacrifice themselves to protect you. Isn’t that enough?” With that, she turned and headed off into the night.
Gewey started to follow her, but Lee stopped him.
“Leave her,” Lee advised.
Gewey pushed passed him and chased after her.
“Rash,” said Millet. “Very rash. But I must say, he is handling his situation remarkably well, all things considered.”
Lee sat down. “How am I going to keep him alive long enough to get him ready? It’s been less than a month, and already he’s nearly been killed.”
“Yes,” Millet replied. “But he wasn’t killed, was he? The boy will learn, just as you did.”
“I almost failed,” Lee said. “When I attacked the bandit camp, I chased two of them down. That’s when Gewey got hurt. When I left him alone.”
Millet nodded. “That sounds familiar; you never could stand to let anyone escape.”
“It’s all too familiar,” Lee agreed. “It almost got Gewey killed. If I had just let them go, the boy would have never been injured. I keep making the same mistakes, over and over again.”
Millet smiled softly and placed his hand on Lee’s shoulder.
“You’ve always expected too much of yourself, Lee Starfinder. Your job is one of a protector, but you are also a teacher. The boy survived, and learned from the experience. If you think he can learn without danger, you’re wrong. Even I know that. You can’t protect him from everything, and you shouldn’t try.” Millet stood up and walked over to his blanket. “I believe in you, and I believe in the boy,” he said as he lay down. “You should too.”
Lee remained by the fire, mulling Millet’s words over in his head.
Meanwhile, Gewey wandered aimlessly, hoping to find Kaylia.
“Kaylia,” he called out in a whisper. He repeated it several times, but there was no reply. He was about to give up and start back to the camp when he realized he was hopelessly lost. After meandering for a bit longer, he decided there was nothing to do but sit and wait for daylight.
Gewey heard a voice from behind him. “You’re very foolish.
You know elves wander these woods, yet you venture off alone in the dark.”
Gewey was startled and quickly got to his feet; turning around, he was able to make out Kaylia’s features in the darkness. “I was looking for you,” he said. “And besides, you told us they wouldn’t attack.”
“You continue to take my word on its merit,” said Kaylia. “The word of an elf. How strange.” The elven woman sat on the ground and crossed her legs. “Sit.”
Gewey sat across from Kaylia. After looking him up and down for a moment, she began to speak. “You’re not like other humans, are you? And I don’t just mean your attitude towards my kind. There’s something else different about you. Something that your friends are afraid I’ll discover.”
“Yes, there is,” Gewey replied nervously. “And believe me, I would like nothing more than to tell you.”
“So why don’t you?”
“I can’t,” Gewey insisted. “I don’t think you’d like what you’d find out.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” Kaylia proposed. “We’ll sit here and talk for a while, and I’ll tell you about my people; after that, you can decide the wisdom of sharing your secret. That is what you want, isn’t it? To know more about elves, and our ways?”
“I would love to know more about your people,” Gewey agreed. “And you.”
“Then we have an agreement,” she said, pulling back her hood.
“You asked how old I am: I am one hundred and three years old.
That is young for my kind, in fact not much older than you by our standards. We can live for well over five hundred years. My father, who fought in the Great War, died eighty years ago. I’ve wandered ever since.”
“Why are you wandering?” asked Gewey.
“I search for my destiny,” Kaylia answered. “I was given a task when my father died, and I seek to complete it.”
Gewey was intrigued. “What’s the task?”
“My father was great among my people, and had the power of foresight. As he lay dying, he told me that it was my task to find redemption for my people, and that I should never stop looking for it. He said that one day the elven people would be healed by my hand. Since then, I have sought the meaning of his words.”
“You’ve wandered for eighty years?”
“I have,” she replied. “I hope to one day fulfill my destiny and help my people become great, as they were before the Great War.”
“Lee told me your kind hate humans,” said Gewey. “But the war has been over for five hundred years. Certainly enough time has passed to move on.”
“You wouldn’t understand. The Great War changed us. You would have to know what we once were to comprehend how devastating it has been for us.”
“Then we should start there,” Gewey said enthusiastically. “Tell me about your people.”
“A tall order,” Kaylia responded. “And a tale longer than time will allow. But I will tell you enough to satisfy your curiosity.”
Kaylia got to her feet to look at the night sky. The stars twinkled like fireflies over a lake, and the half-moon lit her face, making her features soft and radiant.
“The story of my people begins with the creation,” she began.
“Unlike you humans, we believe that the world was created by a single God. In the very beginning, there were only elves and the earth. Our ancestors were charged as caretakers for all living things, and for thousands of years we lived in harmony with nature. God blessed us with dominion over all things and the wisdom to keep the world in balance. But as time passed, we became arrogant, and forgetful of our duties. As a result, the One God sent the many gods, and with them…man.
“We prayed and lamented in hope that God would take pity on us and forgive us our sins, but God heard our prayers and knew them to be prideful. The many gods were now the keepers of the world, and man was favored above us. God could see the anger behind our prayers and removed his blessings. We lost the ability to speak with the Father of All Things, and my people fell into despair. But then he took pity on us, and sent the spirits and angels down to carry our prayers to him. They watch over us and guard the souls of our kin until the day God returns to pass His judgment. On that day we will see the Father, and we will both answer for our sins and be rewarded for our good deeds.
“You are the first human in over five hundred years to hear these words,” Kaylia said. “There are many stories about the time before the gods came, and I promise I will tell them all if you wish to hear them-but for now, you know enough to understand the faith of my people.”
“Thank you,” said Gewey. “I would love to hear as much as you can tell me.”
Kaylia smiled warmly. “If all humans were as open as you, I doubt the Great War would have ever happened.”
“Do you hate humans?” Gewey asked.
“No,” Kaylia answered. “But I pity them.”
“Why?”
“They put their hopes in gods that are selfish and cruel,” she explained. “The gods have enslaved man, and made them their dogs. They gave them the gift of victory over the elves and have allowed them to become powerful, and then denied them the wisdom to use that power. Such beings are not worthy of worship. The gods saved the humans from annihilation that would have been caused by their own arrogance; then, instead of reigning in their destruction, they set them loose to burn the world…and destroy my people.”