Private Tales One Faetful Discovery

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After a long and tiresome and expensive journey, the last thing Elianora Ardor could possibly want is a full-blown storm. Yet, the rain still came and drenched the young traveler who stumbled through the tangled Ixchel Wilds.

Ten days prior, she had unexpectedly appeared at the portal stone in the North by the Blightlands, which was quite a shock. You know, considering that her intention was to go the exact opposite direction. After nearly a year in Alliria, Elia ended her stay with four dead-end jobs, one dead-end friendship, and nowhere to turn to, Elbion seemed worthy to give another try. She saved up, did her duty, then trekked out to the Allir portal stone to the East. She made sure to make sure the mage from who she acquired the key was trustworthy, and she practiced the motions day and night, so she wouldn’t falter.

Elia had completed the steps just as she had been told to, but when she blinked out of existence in Alliria, it was not the savannah that greeted her, but the thick jungle of East Epressa. Luckily, a team of explorers passed by the stone within a day, but it certainly was not ideal. Where would she ever go? Did that even matter if she had no direction?

She pondered this constantly while traveling with the explorers. And then… what happened next? There was a storm. She was in the storm right now. Cold needles of rain flew at her, soaking her very bones. She remembered tripping, someone trying to grab her, and then feeling like she hit a frozen liquid pane of glass. The river. It was darkness after that.

Now, she tasted dirt and her hands felt dirty and heavy. Rain still fell, but her skin was numbed. The river’s course rushed over her ankles. The feelings ebbed with Elia’s consciousness. If only she could stay awake she could answer: where was she?

 

[Zaire]

On a rainy day, one would imagine that most would try to stay inside unless they had business to attend to. Luella was outside for this very reason, although any business she had was purely for herself and not in regards to anyone else. At times, training in the rain could prove useful, one’s senses were bombarded with the onslaught of raindrops which could make vision hazy, and understanding how the terrain changed when it came to footwork was also key.

Luella may have been 6’4, but for a Duanann, she was considered small on the short side. Whenever she walked throughout autumn court and came in sight of another of her kind, she always felt small. At least the lesser fae often had her feeling mighty. Her claymore was unsheathed as she practiced her swings near the river, every day she practiced the basics, it was a must. She focused on keeping her abdomen tight, her back tense and allowing her wrists to feel the most pressure. Women tended to be weaker in these areas than men and so she made sure to strengthen them as much as possible.

Mid-swing, she felt it. The magick. The quiver in the ley lines made her stop, becoming alert. Something had entered this parallel plane, but whatever had done so could not have been fae for causing such a disturbance. Luella wondered if the thing that entered nearby had malicious intent and her grip tightened on her sword as she began to slowly turn around.

To her surprise, it was a young woman. Confusion swept over Luella’s fair features, sheathing her sword as she slowly began walking over to the woman. There was magick with her, Luella could tell that much just like how she could tell the woman had brown hair and seemed to be in shock.

“Are you okay?” She called out, in the native fae tongue of Iza, picking up her pace to a brisk walk. She faced the woman, lavender eyes looking over her features. Without much thought, she grabbed the woman by her arms, leading her out of the river and holding her up still.

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[revenant]

Elia inhaled one, deep, long breath that sounded more like someone gasping for air than someone coming to. There was a noise that varied from the miscellaneous rain, and it sounded quite like someone speaking. But as hard as Elia tried to listen in that moment, she could not understand the word, or even the language entirely.

Not long after, she was being pulled by her arms out of the river, and into a woman’s arms. Elia herself wasn’t too tall, nor was she much more than “sturdy,” and the woman who pulled her seemed exceptionally capable as her feet no longer felt the bombardment of icy water. She looked up, and against the mud that hung on her eyelashes (which the rain was helping dissipate), she could just barely make out bright lavender eyes.

Groggily, she tried to plant one of her arms behind her to support her torso, and while it was a minor success, Elia could tell the stranger was doing much more of the heavy lifting. Then, she spoke.

Well, again, tried to speak. It came out in an awful raspy croak at first. Elia looked embarrassed despite her state. But on her second attempt:

“Hello?” She managed, speaking in the only language she knew, the common tongue.

Elia blinked up, dark eyes that could’ve been miles deep if you had the time to explore them. The rest of her features were smeared with riverbank, a few cut from unworn stones on the high points of her face. But generally, it was still easy to tell she was quite human— tanned skin and long brown hair that was stringy from the river, yet still a thick, knotted mess.

“I’m Elia,” she said— she thought that might be important to share— her eyes fluttering as her body fought to go to sleep while she fought to stay awake.

 

[Zaire]

Luella recognized the common tongue, and looking over the woman again, a perturbed look slowly came upon her face. How on earth did a human get here? The woman was light, at least for Luella who was far more sinewy than other female duannan, but it took her awhile to realize that the woman was not well. Or at least not well enough to answer any questions she may have for her.

“Elia,” Luella spoke back, her soft voice on the inquisitive side. They were both drenched, Luella didn’t mind it, which was why she was wearing jodhpurs and a plain, dark tunic along with paddock boots. Perfect attire for the rain that allowed her move freely with her sword. However, Elia before needed to get out of the rain, and quickly.

“I’m going to take you to my home,” Luella said finally, using the common tongue for Elia’s sake, nodding her head as if to reconfirm to herself that this would be a great idea. She was happy that her home was not far, quite often she went to spacious clearings and had to use the ley lines to travel. She had thought coming out here would be better and she was she had. She tended to be kinder to humans than most other fae.

Without asking, Luella bent down, one arm going behind Elia’s knees as one went behind her back. With ease she lifted her up, carrying her bridal style. She didn’t want to waste time with Elia stumbling— she always would prefer not to be seen. With a brisk trot, Luella made her way back to her home as they were pelted by the rain.

There were beautifully made cobblestone paths that Luella followed, greenery along it’s side, sporting large blooms of birds of paradise, blue Himalayan poppies, purple batik bearded irises, and red secret lust coneflowers. Vines tended to cover many of the homes, a warm light emitting from their windows, everyone inside except for the two women. When Luella came to her home, she whispered magick words, opening the pale door and stepping inside darkness.

She set Elia down, then closed the door. Inside her home it was a bit too cool, and a fire was most definitely needed. Taking the matches at the side table by her entranceway, she lit the first candle, an orange glow illuminating the small, plain hallway. There were no vases of flowers, no pictures, looking glasses, or anything decorative.

“Come, I’ll start a fire,” Luella murmured, walking ahead to the where the hallway widened into a small common room. Although small it was spacious as Luella kept the same minimalist theme of her hallway to the rest of her humble abode. She lit two more candles, her night vision allowing her to see things quite clearly, but she knew how mortal eyes were in the dark.

She took a few logs from a bundle of dry wood set neatly on the brick of her fireplace, placing them inside. Placing an old piece of newspaper between the logs, she then took her a dropper bottle that contained used vegetable oil from times she had cooked. She liberally dropped oil over the logs and newspaper before deciding to light it, only needing to use one match. It didn’t take long for the logs to catch on fire, the flames crackling hungry as they licked at the dark wood.

Luella unleashed a long side, her wet hair and clothes dripping on the wood floor and she looked over to Elia. She needed to be cleaned up, especially with all that mud on her. She looked at the couch in front of the fireplace, and wrinkled her nose at the thought of getting it dirty. Well, hospitality demanded it, did it not? She took the wool blanket that was folded on it— she didn’t want wool to get dirty but it would be much better than the couch— and laid it across the couch for Elia to sit on. “You can sit here, Elia,” Luella said, gesturing to the spot on the couch. “I’ll… find something more suitable for you to wear, but you should warm yourself before you catch a cold.”

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