Completed The Morning Dew

"That is understandable. Everything is a growing process." Arastan said with a light, comforting smile. He began to pour multiple bowls of porridge to hand out to the other rescued elves.

"We are actually close to my home, so we should make it there before nightfall." He said with a touch of excitement. He wanted to show Taliyah the city, but he also wanted to show the people of Aellevanda that they could do good when not hiding behind their walls.
 
Once everyone had eaten, the camp was packed up. Arastan's men were determined that Taliyah be carried again but she insisted that she could walk. A compromise was finally reached. She could walk and if she got too tired or sore, she would let them know. She found it weird to be carried now that she was awake. She would push through any discomfort.

There was lots of discomfort and pain. She was also pretty sure that some of the newer cuts on her back had opened but she stayed silent. This was nothing like what she had dealt with for the last 138 days.

Arastan was right, they did reach Aellevanda before nightfall. The survivors were taken to the infirmary and Taliyah was among them. She protested but once the healers got ahold of her, she was silenced. They could not heal her scars but the wounds were healed. She would be fine with rest, food, and water. She did not want to be cooped up though so she insisted that she see Arastan.
 
Arastan had been sure to see all the survivors to the healers as soon as he arrived to the city. He was glad that they had to stay there for a while because he did not want Taliyah to see him get chastised by his parents. It was the same old usual script. He was being stupid, and irresponsible. He could have gotten hurt or killed. Who would rule the city when they were gone. Arastan was beginning to think he could say the speech before his parents ever got a chance.

Anyways, after a shouting match and a threat to put him in lockdown in the city, Arastan was ushered to his room to bathe. It's hard to yell at your child when he is covered in someone else's blood. When Taliyah was led into Arastan's room, he was just coming out of the bath. His hair was still slightly wet, and his only clothing was silk, emerald green robe.

The appearance of his room, his clothes, or really the city itself was nothing like Arastan. Everything was light in color with sophisticated architectural styles. The people of Aellevanda held themselves in high regard, which was easy to see from their clothing choices.

His eyes lit up when he saw Taliyah. "So? How are you feeling? The place isn't too bad." He laughed as a servant entered to bring him food and drink.
 
Taliyah had been bathed before they let her near the Prince's room. She was cleaner than she had ever been and her hair was a totally different color now that the dirt had been washed out. She had spent way too much time brushing it and it had dried with beautiful waves in it. She felt like she was alive for the first time in a long time. They had also dressed her in a long, flowy light green dress with thin straps and a low back. It showed off more of her back and her scars than she was comfortable with but she stayed silent.

As she walked into Arastan's room, her mouth fell open. It was huge and everything was so nice looking. She caught sight of the Prince and looked down quickly, her cheeks warming. "I am feeling better, thank you. They healed my open wounds and for the first time in," she paused and let out a low chuckle. "Well...ever...I am not in pain. I just could not stay in the infirmary though. I felt like I was caged again."

She finally looked up slowly again.
 
Arastan had a grin so wide that it threatened to take over his whole face. He laughed wholeheartedly before quickly walking across the room and pouring two cups of wine.

"That's fantastic. The magic users of Aellevanda are quite skilled. They might not be as famous as others, but we are a...private people." He said the last part a little annoyed. He changed subjects quickly.

"I can understand that feeling. Here, have a drink. I'll get dressed and then I will show you around the grand city. The trip when we entered does not do it justice."
 
Taliyah watched the Prince with a small smile on her face. She liked the man. He had saved her and he was nice to her. He did not even know her and he treated her with so much kindness.

She took the wine from Arastan and looked at it. She had only ever had water so this would be a new experience. "Thank you," she brought the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip of the strange liquid.

Taliyah let out a mmmm as she swallowed. "That is really good, thank you. I feel like I have been saying thank you to you so much but I am so very grateful."
 
"It's my pleasure. Besides, it should be the norm to offer kindness." Well, that comment only applied to elves, or really most of the other races, except humans.

He went behind a screen and came out a moment later with his princely attire on. He did a little twirl and shrugged. "Not really my style, but they insist that I 'look the part.'" He said jokingly.

Arastan walked over and grabbed his own cup before moving towards the exit. "Let me show you the grand Aellevanda!" He said in a largely theatrical tone.
 
Taliyah giggled as Arastan twirled in his outfit, "I think you look nice, my prince." She smiled and took another sip if her wine. The warmth in her stomach was a strange sensation. She had never felt anything like it before.

The elf followed Arastan towards the door and smiled widely when he talked about showing her Aellevanda. "Please, I am honored to given a tour by the Prince himself. Truly honored." She took another drink of the delicious, odd drink.
 
"Thanks, it's just a little much for me." Arastan sighed as he motioned to the cloak. A simple emerald green. Was that too much to ask for? All the hold embroidery and baubles were just so...loud.

He led her out the door of the palace, only taking so long as to waive off a guard who wished to accompany them.

The city of Aellevanda was for the most part located where the Sayve and Byrsta rivers met. Water runs through the upper end of the city. The upper end literally sat on the lake and reflected the graceful architecture that more urbanized elves displayed. The second half of the city, while not as fanciful, was just as graceful, but located in the surrounding woods.

Arastan was taking Taliyah to the upper end of the city first. That was usually what people came to see here.
 
Taliyah finished the drink before the left the room and her stomach felt all warm and weird again. Strange drink, indeed. As she walked beside Arastan, she asked him the question that was currently on her hazy mind.

"What was that drink? I feel a little weird," she said softly. Maybe that was how you were supposed to feel. Maybe the water was the strange drink and that was normal.

Taliyah really hated not having her memories.
 
Arastan lightly chuckled, "Oh, that was wine...It's made from grapes or something." He realized what she meant and broke into a bigger laugh.

"Oh, it's alcoholic, so I would not suggest drinking too much at any one time...It has a tendency to lead to bad decisions. I remember this one time I got a little too drunk and led some of the other druids out into the woods. We all turned into wild creatures and I'm pretty sure we ripped a traveling merchant's caravan to shreds."

He offered her a canteen of water. "This might help."
 
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"That sounds...terrible..." Taliyah said slowly as she took the water from Arastan. Taliyah wondered then if she had ever drank alcoholic beverages before and if she had any similar experiences. She spoke this thought out loud, "I am curious if I ever made bad decisions after drinking alcohol."

Her smile was genuine. She liked Arastan and not just because he had saved her. He was kind and helpful. He cared. It may have all been an act but she doubted it.
 
"If you have ever had alcohol before this then you almost certainly have. It has a magical way of making people do dumb things." Arastan said with a chuckle.

He was leading her to the cloud district which sat on the water. The area was dominated by the large structure known as the Fanturmo, otherwise known as the "Tower of Clouds". The structures in this part of the city seemed to be made of some type of wood, but it was a glossy white and had a smooth texture, like a strange combo of wood and marble. At the moment there was not a lot of activity in this part of the city, but the individuals here walked briskly and with purpose, often being dressed in more scholarly attire.

"This is cloud district. It's home to most of our mages. Our city is known in the elven community for its skill with water magic and illusion magic."
 
"Maybe one day I will remember," Taliyah said sadly.

She walked in silence as she took in all the sights, sounds, and smells. It really was a beautiful city. The strange textures of the buildings made her want to reach out and touch every single one.

"What do they do with the magics?" She did not know much about magic except the terrible things it had done to her.
 
Arastan saw her sad expression and wanted to help her, but he did not know how to immediately. The best he could come up with is that he needed to help her experience as many things as possible and see if any of them would ring a bell.

"Well, we use magics for a bit of everything, but the most important is that it protects us. Aellevanda has a large illusion field surrounding the city. It keeps it where no one sees the city unless we want them to, or they already know that it is here. It's a pretty neat trick."

He glanced to her to see if the discussion of magic would jog a memory, but then stopped himself. If he just expected everything he showed Taliyah to bring back her memories then he was going to be probably be very disappointed.

"So, anything you want to do or experience? Our city has a lot to offer."
 
The magic he was speaking of sounded pretty awesome especially the illusion magic. It was nice to be able to hide a whole city from people who might have ill will for you. It made a lot sense. She wondered if she had any magic but she was pretty sure that she would know by now.

When Arastan asked her if there was anything she wanted to do or experience, she looked at him like a lost puppy with big confused eyes. Taliyah had no idea what there was to even experience or do. Her lifetime of experiences had been in a cell with daily torture until now.

"What do you like to do for fun?"
 
Fun? Well, that usually meant hunting down shitty humans, or causing what his parents called 'diplomatic issues'. He thought for a moment before smiling and taking her hand.

"For that, we need to go out of the city. "

Arastan turned her around and led her out of the city, bypassing the market district, the stables, and finally the wall. The surrounding woodlands were lush and green, home to countless species of wildlife. The forest was alive, most people could hear it, if only slightly. However, for some like Arastan, when he was here it was like a rush of energy.

When they were a distance from Aellevanda, he produced a loud scream that did not fit with his humanoid form. He then showed Taliyah a toothy grin. "They will be here soon."

He body began to morph into that of a very large stag, starting at his legs.
 
Arastan took off faster than she thought he would. Her hand was in his as he led her through the city with no further explanations of the sights. She kept up with him easily now that she was not in pain. She appreciated that more than anything else.

As they entered the forest, she felt at home. It was peaceful. Maybe she had some sort of earth magic? More questions to add to the pile she was accumulating.

She jumped when Arastan screamed and just stared at him like he was insane as he started to shift into a stag.
 
The sound of hoofbeats started off quietly at first, but then came the vibration of the earth as the sound grew louder and louder. Just before Arastan's head morphed her motioned to his back. "You might want to hop on. The next part is the fun part."

A large creature suddenly broke past them knocking a branch to the ground. Then another raced by closer jumped over a bush to Taliyah's right, then another and another. They were all stags. Arastan had called a heard of great stags who seemed to have been urged into some sort of stampede.

Arastan for his part liked to stand out, he was now fully shifted in a large white stag, bigger than any of the others in the herd. The small horns that normally sat on Arastan's head had grown to a tower over his stag body, a fact that seemed to keep any of the other creatures from getting too close.
 
Taliyah gasped as the stags grew closer. She pulled herself up onto Arastan's back like she had been riding her entire life. It was an interesting feeling but she did not have time to dwell on it as she tightened her thighs and held on.

She watched the stags run past with a huge smile on her face, it was truly amazing. She had a sneaky suspicion that they were about to join the herd and she was growing excited about that. Arastan had not failed to surprise her and his horns now made a lot more sense.
 
Arastan first started out at a slow gallop as more of the herd showed up, but he quickly broke into a full run once he was satisfied that Taliyah was secured on his back. His long strides quickly found themselves back towards the front of the stampede.

He led a bleat indicating his happiness at the events. The energy of a stampede was like nothing else in the world to Arastan. The energy of the wild, while momentum moved everyone in one direction. This wasn't even the best part.

In his stag form, Arastan began to whistle, but there was a unique rhythm to it. It might have seemed strange at first, but it became clear that it was magical in nature. After a few moments, Taliyah might begin to notice other animals running with herds on the outside of the group...Arastan was creating a myriad stampede.
 
Taliyah held on tight to stag Arastan as he ran. The wind flowing her hair felt amazing and she found herself laughing with pure joy and love. She had never experienced anything like this and she quickly understood why this was his favorite thing to do.

She watched as the other animals started to join them in running and her happiness grew even more.
 
1 Week Later​

It had been one week since Taliyah had arrived in Aellevanda. At that time Arastan and Taliyah had been fairly inseparable. They had tried a variety of activities trying to trigger any of Taliyah's memories, but it had been largely ineffective.

Arastan had given up on trying to get Taliyah to remember and was now set on just helping her live a new life. That led the two of them to the training area of the palace. It was a rather simple room filled with various elven training weapons. The room was primarily used by tutors who used to train Arastan and his brother.

"Weapons has never really been my speed, but I am not awful, so I'll teach you a few tips and tricks. This way you can defend yourself if you run into trouble again."
 
In the last week, Arastan had Taliyah set up in a guest room at the palace and she still had not slept in the bed despite telling Arastan it was wonderful. The floor was the only thing she had ever known and she did not want him to feel bad or try to change the bed. He had been amazing, kind, and patient with her. Her gratefulness to him grew daily as did their budding friendship. Her only friend really.

It was only a day before Taliyah had realized that she was not a dress person for normal everyday wear and she had made her way to the palace seamstress. Bless that woman with every blessing possible because she had found Taliyah pants and shirts to wear.

So now she wore slim pants that were a dark brown color and a forest green top that cling to her in all the right places. She had also been given some lovely leather boots that she never wanted to take off. They were absolutely incredible feeling on her feet. She was much happier than she had been in the dress.

Taliyah looked around the training room and studied the various weapons. So many different options and she was sure they all had a specific purpose. "I appreciate it. I am not sure what I could have done against so many men but perhaps it will help all the same," she smiled at Arastan.

She walked over to the weapons rack and touched the hilts of a few of the swords. "What are we starting with?"
 
"We will start with swords since they are the most common. Pick one that feels right and balanced in your hands."

Arastan walked over and grabbed an old worn-out training sword that he had been using since he was a child. It seemed smaller than he remembered, but it had been a few decades since he had been in this room.

He took a moment to get used to the feeling of the sword and remember some of the things he was taught. A few swipes into the air and he seemed satisfied. He walked over to a circular raised training area.

"First lesson, when fighting, stand on the balls of your feet. It gives a little bit more spring and quicker reaction time."
 
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