New Arrivals

The sun shone down brightly on the faded and ancient marble stones of the pegasus landing platform. Beyond it, green grass spread as far as the eye could see, wildflowers in full bloom in the open fields beyond the stone pathway leading from the platform. Here and there beautiful green trees swayed slightly in the warm breeze of the Island of Dawn. Truly it was a paradise, and it was no wonder that its splendor had attracted the First Expedition to explore its mysteries. One could spend days simply soaking in the beautiful, tranquil-

"Professor Knox! PROFESSOR KNOX!"

The voice cut through Ilhedith Knox's concentration like a sword might cut through a pigling. Her brow furrowed and she turned slowly back towards the marble landing platform behind her, platinum blonde hair moving gently in the breeze against her tanned skin. Crystal blue eyes took in a sight that she was hoping she wouldn't encounter for a few more hours as she watched a tall, slender elven woman dashing across the circular platform. After all, there had always been the hope that Malandrae Moonwhisper would get lost on the way, giving her a few moments of peace!

"Professor Knox! There you are!" the elf said as she half-ran, half-tumbled down the steps that lead from the platform to the paved pathway below. The elf skidded to a halt near Ilhedith, her high heels clicking loudly on the stones beneath her as she tried to catch her breath.

Ilhedith sighed and then offered the elf a smile. They'd only met a few weeks before, but already the elf had grown on the woman, despite her various faults. Ilhedith had first encountered her in the city of Velika while walking to the market. The human mystic had been lost deep in thought when the sound of an argument had drawn her attention. She'd discovered two Velika guards arguing with an elf that was insisting that they carry her luggage to the nearest 'bed and breakfast' despite their protests that they were not porters. After breaking up the argument, Ilhedith had explained to the high elf that the guards were there to protect them, not servants at which point the rather vapid creature had simply waved her hand and used magic to move her giant chests of clothing along behind her, much to the groaning of everyone who had been in the argument.

Being a mystic and wishing to serve the people of the Federation, Ilhedith had known immediately that Malandrae would need looking after. She had apparently been sent to Velika by her rather powerful and well established family as a token of support for the Federation. After talking with the elf for a while, Ilhedith had gathered that House Moonwhisper had fought many times in the wars of conquest that the High Elves had regularly engaged in, and sending their youngest daughter out to liason with the Federation was their way of begrudgingly accepting the new path their people had chosen of cooperation. It also avoided any uncomfortable embarrassment on the part of the more prominent members of the family!

After giving the high fashion high elf a room to stay in, Ilhedith had received notification that her own application as a healer and researcher for the Federation had been accepted, and she'd been assigned to an advisory role in one of the newly formed mercenary companies based out of the city. Her orders also included a directive to investigate the demonic activity that the Blackhearts had reported encountering on the Island of Dawn.  Wasting little time, Ilhedith had prepared to depart, only to discover that her newly found elven friend had also packed and was planning to follow her.

"Professor Knox, are you going to just stare off into space like that all day?" Malandrae asked, snapping Ilhedith out of her stream of thoughts. The human sighed softly, the motion causing her light dress to flutter a bit. She looked over the high elf with a critical eye, taking in the high heels that were completely inappropriate for walking in the wilderness, the overly decorative dress the elf was wearing, and the coral blue lipstick and makeup that the creature insisted looked 'fantastic' and plastered all over herself constantly. With a frown, she also noted one other detail about the high elf.

"Malandrae, d-did you bring the research journals and writing materials like I asked?" Ilhedith questioned. She already knew the answer; there was no way the high elf had even the most basic of supplies in the tiny bag she carried. It was likely that the thing contained her lipstick and ONLY her lipstick given its size.

Predictably, the elf's shoulders slumped and she shook her head, "Eeep! I'm SO sorry! I totally forgot! I mean, I had one journal but it uh...sort of got ripped out of my hands while I was flying on the pegasus...."

Ilhedith folded her arms over her chest and sighed again, "By the Gods, why would you try and take a journal out while flying through the air?!"

The high elf perked up, smiling happily. The sunlight filtered through her cyan hair, creating an odd halo effect around her, "Oh I totally was going to draw a picture of one of those gates before I went into it! But sadly I dropped it!"

Ilhedith shook her head and turned, starting to walk down the path. She waved at the high elf over her shoulder, "Nevermind then. We can always resupply at Tower Base before we set out to hunt for the demons that the others reported." Behind her she heard the sound of the elf's shoes clicking away and knew that the other was following her.

"Oh! Professor Knox? I almost forgot! I had that strange dream again!" Malandrae said over the mystic's shoulder.

Without pausing, Ilhedith continued the conversation as they walked, "The one where your ears were much longer, and you were my aunt?"

The high elf giggled a little, likely nodding even though Ilhedith couldn't see her, "Yep! Totally the same one! I think it's a sign! I was definitely meant to find you and be your friend. This research trip is going to be SO MUCH FUN!"

Ilhedith managed to suppress a groan as they walked down the path. Far ahead, she saw the huge magical tree that rose above Tower Base; their ultimate destination. That is, if Malandrae didn't wander off the path and get lost on the way. Or attract demons. Or blow something up with her spells. The human shook her head, her platinum locks bouncing around her face. It was going to be a very long trip she suspected. She just didn't know who it would be worse for, herself or any demons they encountered.

She almost believed the demons might be getting off easy by being destroyed.

The two walked off into the morning mists, the shorter human strolling casually, her new high elf friend almost gliding along behind her. Their adventures had only just begun.