17 An Unfortunate Past

I paused after Velari responded to my statement with such vigor. Did she really understand what I wanted to know?

"I've only spent a few days in this village but it's clear to me that something is wrong here Velari. Please help me understand what happened here, maybe after that I can help in some way. I softly pleaded with her hoping for an answer that would be satisfactory for me.

"I said yes didn't I? Jeez have some patience." Velari responded as she sat between my legs.

Velari, me, and the slowly rising sun all waited moment by moment.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that there exists an odd generational gap within the Lakeborn elves." Velari stated.

"Sure, if elves are truly ageless then it doesn't make sense for there to be such a huge population of young elves."

"Well, years ago I used to be the youngest elf in the village, the only one truly close to me in age was Iniel but even then I was the only one who could be truly considered an adolescent. I lived here with my parents and my sister and we were quite happy.

Those days were much simpler, we didn't have to worry about roaming bands of foreigners and the Fiends were kept in check.

Our village was truly flourishing. With that success came exploration. Especially when it concerned the lake. I don't know how much you know about the lake Anduin, but no one has ever reached the bottom of it as far as we know. It gradually gets deeper until eventually sheer cliffs form and drop off deep into the depths.

Some of us became obsessed with exploring every inch of this underwater world which we held near and dear to us. The Lake has always been our home but some could not abide not knowing all its secrets.

So they dove, deeper and deeper. I don't know what they found but whatever they did seemed to awake something in the lake.

I remember the day vividly because the water shone with a faint light and it radiated extreme power. The air was heavy and this process lasted several hours."

Velari paused for a moment to catch her breath and it seemed that the next part was especially difficult for her to say.

"The exploration party did not return and so my parents and a few others decided to dive into the lake to search for them. The Twilight family was always one of the leaders of the village and could never hesitate when things seemed dangerous.

They entered the lake but not long after their whole group was forced out of the water. Strange and powerful monsters had appeared in the water, they were hideous scaled beasts with gaping maws and razor sharp teeth.

That day I experienced true despair, while some in the group made it back to shore unscathed my parents had obviously stood at the front to block the advance of the creatures. The next time I saw my father he..." Velari was choking up a little at this point and I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"He was in the mouth of one of those beasts! My mother was stabbing wildly and viciously at its head but it was having little effect. She had lost her reason and didn't see the other monster that caught her from behind.

Neither of them made it." Tears were now flowing in earnest as she tried to hold back the sobs so that she could finish her story. I wrapped my arms around her even more tightly to let her know that she was not alone and she leaned into me more firmly to regain some composure.

After a not so short period of time she seemed to have regained her calm.

"I assume Iniel cast soul magic to implant your weapons into your soul?" She asked.

I nodded in response but wondered how this was related to the story.

"Iniel was apprenticed under my sister, she showed a great affinity for soul magic and luckily the village already had an incredible prodigy in that area. My sister, Vanadis Twilight, one of the few elves to have traveled from the village. I wasn't alive at the time of her traveling but apparently she picked up an incredible amount of knowledge about soul magic.

I don't know if Iniel told you this but she is only capable of casting one spell, and why is this? Because Vanadis never got the chance to teach her anymore.

After the monsters appeared the whole village became a frantic chaotic scene of fighting and slaughter. The monsters showed no mercy as they came ashore and began to hunt the frightened elves of the village. We resisted as best we could and even though our weapons were mostly ineffective some types of magic worked quite well, though I was young at the time and don't have the best idea of all the events of that day.

I wasn't long before the lake, which had been glowing all this time, decided to change even more drastically. A huge pillar of light appeared near the center of the lake and a hole seemed to appear in the water, almost as if it was making way for something. It wasn't sucked down like a whirlpool, it merely opened up as if the column of light had split it.

The air became oppressive and my senses told me extreme danger was approaching. My sister, who up until this point had been protecting me and trying to lead others to safety seemed to have sensed something that none of the rest of us could, or perhaps her travels had afforded her some clue as to what was happening that we didn't have.

Either way, she seemed to gather her resolve before kneeling down in front of me and looking in my eyes. Her last words were 'I'm sorry little sister, grow up strong and leave this place okay?' She couldn't wait to see if I understood as she kissed my forehead and launched herself into the air. I had heard that some powerful mages could achieve flight but this was the first time I had actually seen it. My sister was far more powerful than she let on, far more powerful than anyone in the village.

She rapidly approached the column of light and entered it. Before anyone had time to react or even comprehend what was happening she released a brilliant radiant silver light that came from every pore of her skin. It was as if her entire soul was ablaze. Vanadis and the column struggled against each other for a few seconds before Vanadis placed both hands palms down in front of her and began to furiously yell.

The light dimmed rapidly and retreated back into the water. The monsters were also pulled back from the shore and the village, as if an unseen force had plucked them and whisked them away. But with the light and monsters, my sisters was also taken down into the depths of the water.

As if nothing had ever happened the water soon became calm and peace returned to the surroundings. But for the elves, no one felt at peace and my wailing was the loudest of them all. I lost everything that day and what's worse is that too this day I still understand nothing about it.

I have no rhyme or reason as to why my family was taken from me, not just my parents and sister but the entirety of the Twilight family was eradicated that day.

Why Mar? Can you tell me why?" her last question dug deep into my heart, I couldn't tell her why, obviously I had no idea, but the pain that laced each word of that query pierced me far deeper than any Razortusk could manage.

Tears flowed in earnest down her face. Light was gradually peeking over the horizon and trees at this point, announcing that soon the sun would makes its grand entrance but I couldn't muster up any admiration or appreciation for the dawn.

The look on my lover's face was too terrible to feel anything like that at the moment. My brain ached for something to say but the only thing that came to mind as if words unbidden were tat final apology her sister made to her.

"I'm sorry" I said quietly and once again held her tight against me. Those placating words have been used in a variety of contexts and in a multitude of ways but sometimes that is all we can manage, when our emotions are too complex and too deep for any amount of elegant wordplay to express, those simple words somehow try to make up the difference.

We stayed like that for several long minutes, enough time for the orange light of the sun to finally begin makings its debut by streaking across the sky. Of course it wasn't over the tree line yet and so we were still shaded.

Finally Velari calmed down and I felt the muscles of her body which had been taut this whole time gradually loosen.

"Velari, thank you for sharing, that couldn't have been easy. It was insensitive of me to have dredged up such painful memories." I finally said.

"No, you needed to know, you would never be able to fully understand me otherwise, or this village for that matter." She replied.

"But why are you still here?" I asked rather abruptly

"Huh?" Velari seemed to not fully understand the question.

"Vanadis used her last words to warn you not to stay in this place right? She obviously didn't want you to remain at the lake." This one issue had bugged me from the moment Velari had brought it up. I could tell that Velari revered her sister, perhaps more than her parents from the way she had spoken about her. So why hadn't Velari heeded her sister's warning?

Velari sighed after I said this.

"When I relayed my sister's words to the elders they rejected the idea. They said it wasn't clear if that was what Vanadis really meant or if she just wanted me to get away from the monsters. Clearly they were unwilling to leave this village and the sacred home of the Lakeborn just because of a few words from a girl with no authority, even if I come from the Twilight family

I could have left on my own and I almost did several times, but my family gave their lives for this village and I am unwilling to abandon it just like that. I resolved myself to improve my standing and once I gain enough influence I could help lead us away."

Finally the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit, with the huge loss of life the elves had no choice but to supplement their numbers with new children. Judging by the size of the village and the number of young elves, the birthrate of elves was truly small. Even so a concerted effort had yielded quite few children. Youla, Ninor, and Linor must be a part of the very first wave of that effort and so they are the closest to Velari in age. This also means that event happened several years before I was born as elves and orcs don't mature at the same rate.

A troubling thought struck me next. "I'm not sure you have to time go through with that plan Velari." I said before following up. "Something is happening, we can all feel it. I don't know if it has to do with the lake but whatever it is it's powerful enough to affect here and all the surrounding areas as well, including my tribe. This is just my feeling but I think time is running out for our peaceful lives."

"You're right, but what other choice do I have? I've been alone all this time desperately trying to get stronger." Velari responded.

"I don't know what the best path to take is, but what I do know is that you aren't alone anymore." I said before turning my head slightly. "Isn't that right girls?"

Youla, Ninor, and Linor had approached quietly when we weren't paying attention. Even I didn't know how much of the story they had heard before I noticed them.

"Right" All three of them replied softly but firmly before taking seated positions around the two of us, lending even more support and warmth with their bodies.

And just like that we watched the dawn of a brand new day.