Even though it had been 3 moons already, Clarke Griffin still couldn't get over the freedom of being in the village Arkadia. Living in a mage tower most of her life she barely got to go outside.
All mages, by law, had to live within a Circle of Magi tower. The towers came about due to the fear of mages, after a minority would use their magic for darkness. They used fear to gain power or kill fellow mortals. Some even transform themselves into abominations, that they could not return from. The worst and most feared were the blood mages. Blood magic was believed to have originally be taught to mortals by demons. It was used in order to access more powerful magic. The mages were willing to sacrifice their own health or the life of others in order to wield the powers of mind control, the awakening of the undead or summoning of demons.
Even now some mages choose to rebel against the law and didn't enter a tower. They were known as apostates but most, however, didn't used their magic for darkness.
The tower the Griffin's had been located in was on an island, in the middle of a large lake. Only accessible by boat. This was to "protect" people from the mages. The tower was tall, dark and cold. It could house up to a hundred mages at once, with training rooms, a kitchen, shared bedrooms and a large library. Clarke spend most of her time in the library, reading the many books of the different races.
Clarke herself wasn't a mage, having never shown any signs of the basic magics - ice, fire or electric. However her mother, Abigail 'Abby' Griffin, was.
3 moons ago the leader of Arkadia, Marcus Kane, had come to the tower to ask for a mage, specialising in healing to come to their village as many people had fallen ill, and traditional medicine wasn't working. Abby was the best healer with whom the Circle of Magi trusted, so a quarter moon later the Griffin's left to start a new life and cure the sick of Arkadia.
Arkadia was a small village, with a population of around 200 humans. It had a tavern, blacksmiths, market stalls, and houses of various shapes and sizes made from wood and clay.
The Griffin's home was located on the outskirts of the village, near the edge of the great forest of Polis. It was known the Trikru elves had a camp within the forest, so the humans of Arkadia tended to avoid going deep within the trees.
Clarke never understood, nor liked, the distrust and sometimes hate between the races. It was because of these feuds that she had lost her father many winters ago.
She was sitting alone on a slight embankment near her home, facing towards the forest of Polis.
She was an average height for her 18th winter, a beautiful young woman with a pale complexion, round face, and a dimpled chin. With blonde wavy hair always hidden under a bandana that also covered the tops of her ears. Her blue eyes were watching the trees blow in the gently breeze.
'I wished I could learn more about the elves living in there, rather than the usual 'They are disgusting knife ears'...or no answer at all, that I normally get from the people around here.' Clarke thought to herself, rolling her eyes 'They're not as bad as the ogres or trolls! Those fuckers attack villages at any given time, and would gladly kill a human!'
"Hey Raven, she's over here!" Clarke was broken from her thoughts by the shout. She turned to see her friend Octavia, at the top of the embankment, calling to their other friend Raven.
Octavia Blake had been the first friend the blonde had made within the village. She was as many winters old as Clarke, with long black hair and brown eyes. Her parents had been killed during a troll attack on the village two winters prior. So now it was just her and her brother, Bellamy, who was apart of the village guard. Octavia helped out in the tavern to earn a few coins of her own, rather than relying on her brother's earnings.
Once she had made her way down the embankment she sat down next to Clarke, waiting for Raven to join them.
Raven Reyes was a winter older than the other two. The blacksmith's daughter had olive skin, dark hair and eyes. She had also suffered during the troll attack. Her left leg was broken by one of the troll's hammers and she had lost her brother when he saved her from that troll. But she didn't let the fact she now had a limp stop her from doing what she wanted. And she was a genius! She had somehow managed to enchant a fire rune to a sword her father had made, making it stronger and more powerful, when it struck something it lit up in flames. Sadly, however, she only ever found that one rune. Still she bragged the heck out of the fact she was able to accomplish something so hard
Once she had caught up with her friend she sat down at the other side of Clarke.
"Hey Pirate." Raven had given Clarke the nickname on account of her always wearing a bandana over her head. The blonde rolled her eyes at her friend before asking them what they were doing that day.
"Nothing. We're both bored so we thought we come plan something fun with you." Octavia smiled at her.
"We could go gather plants for my mum?"
"Eh, Octavia said fun, Clarke. Plant gathering can be pretty boring."
"Okay, well you come up with a better plan."
"Oh! What about those cool ruins in the woods? The ones we saw last time we gathered plants for Abby? We could go check them out?"
The other two girls eyes lit up, then nodded their heads at Raven' suggestion.
"Race you!" Octavia shouted while jumping to her feet and running toward the forest. Clarke grinned, also jumping to her feet and chasing after her friend.
"Hey! No fair! You know I can't run as fast!" Raven shouted out to her friends getting to her feet to follow.
-
Deep within the forest of Polis a large stag was grazing in a clear patch of the forest. He lifted his head, looking around, fearing danger near by. After a few minutes with nothing happening he tipped his head back down.
Suddenly an arrow landed in his side. He gave out a whine then jumped to flee. However another arrow hit him in the neck slowing him down further. He had almost made it out of the clearing when another arrow hit him. He fell to the ground, succumbing to his injuries.
Across from the clearing, hidden within the bushes, a hand patted a younger elf on the back. "Well done Leksa. Along with mine and Linkon's kill we will have plenty of food for the camp for a week" Anya smiled proudly at her cousin. And she had every right to be proud, for she was once Lexa's mentor.
They were part of the Trikru clan. The Trikru was a clan of around 100 free elves, who were not, nor ever wanted to be city elves. City elves were made to live in Alienages within a city, becoming slaves to humans.
Lexa was in her 20th winter. Her skin was tanned. She had long brown hair, which was pulled back from her face with a number of layered braids so her long pointed ears were visible. She had a youthful face, with green eyes and full lips. Her body appeared lean, but was also toned.
Anya was 10 winters older than Lexa. She was taller, her body as lean yet toned as her cousin's. She had dark blonde hair with black roots. Her hair was also braided, and her pointed ears stuck out from her hair. She had hazel, almond-shaped eyes.
When Lexa was 8 winters old Anya became her mentor. She taught the young elf how to hunt, fight and hide her emotions. She trained Lexa how to be an archer, how to welded dual blades and speak the human language Gonasleng. Now however Lexa was no longer Anya's second, but her equal.
The pair headed across the clearing to gather the fur and meat from the deer.
"Will you be coming back to camp with me or do you wish to explore the forest?" Anya asked her cousin once they were finished with the stag. She knew Lexa enjoyed her company but sometimes the younger elf needed time alone.
"I will explore the forest." Lexa knew where she wanted to explore. A few times now during their hunts she had noticed an old Azgeda ruin in the forest, close to the human village of Arkadia. She had been waiting awhile now to discover the secrets within them.
The elves nodded their heads to each other, then left the clearing in their separate ways.