(A/N: While reading, I suggest listening to this: youtubedotcom/watch?v=_4COXTfo0Mc sub in an actual ".com" instead of the "dotcom")
(obviously)
For a long while, things were calm in Elvendale. No big threats emerged, no crisis to earth had to be averted, and everyone could just kick back, relax, and enjoy life. Even Cronan was enjoying the tranquility, for after nearly a year of long, tireless work undoing his wrongs, he had restored his former name, and instilled himself as a trustworthy, dependable character, granting advice to elves and his goblin subjects alike, and overall becoming a benevolent, just king (he and Rosalyn also got married. So, there's that). Yes, the peace and quiet was a luxury for everyone.
But, of course, good things don't last forever.
The day started out like any other. Birds chirped, insects buzzed, and things were quite pleasant at the elves' treehouse sanctuary. Emily and Sophie had come to visit, so there was plenty of fun to be had among the six friends. Currently, they were engaged in a competitive game of hide and seek, with Azari seeking, after having lost the previous three rounds.
And, after twenty minutes of searching without finding anyone, she was losing the fourth.
"Come one, guys, will at least one of you give up and come out?" Upon not receiving an answer, she huffed and stomped a foot on the ground, her patience waning. She stayed that way for a solid minute, until she saw a bush move out of the corner of her eye. She turned to it and gave a mischievous smile. At least she'd find one of her friends. Before she could start making her way over to it, however, a figure dressed in dark clothes came out of the brush. He certainly didn't look like any elf Azari had ever seen.
His clothes were alien, wearing pants similar in fabric to Sophie's overalls, and he had on a weird-looking, hooded jacket over a dark gray shirt. His shoes looked like Emily's, only his were black. He also had dark hair, mostly covered due to an odd hat that he was wearing (a beanie, as Emily would later tell her). The hat covered the tops of his ears as well, but there were two features about him that really jumped out at her. The first was the dagger on his belt. It was quite beautifully crafted. The hilt was short, and wrapped in some sort of black cord. The blade itself was flat and wide, both single-edged and curved. A black, oval-shaped gem was embedded in the blade, looking strikingly similar to Emily and Cronan's medallions.
The second and most striking aspect of him was the long tear in his shirt. Well, the tear wasn't the striking part. What was interesting is that it was caked in blood, and a large cut adorned his chest.
The boy locked eyes with her for a second before muttering in a desperate voice, "Help...me…" After those two words, he collapsed forward, landing face-first in the grass.
Azari stood stunned for a moment, before quickly regaining her composure and yelling as loud as she could, "Guys, come quickly! I need some help over here!"