Ashari

by chicadoodle

Ashari : a race of elfkind who secreted themselves away from the rest of humanity centuries ago, existing now in legends only to the rest of humanity. He was Ashari, but only half. Raised in a family that was not his own, the Ashari have returned to claim what is theirs . . . And Ron Weasley's life will never be the same.

1. For what I shall give

Eladrin's first memory was of his younger cousin.

Ashari relationships were complicated things, much like their politics. And not every child was welcomed with open arms; not every life was celebrated.

It was different in the Wizarding World; even Eladrin had known that at a young age. The wizarding world world was a harsh place, one war after another taking many lives. Children were protected, by both the Light and the Dark.

But the Ashari had never created such definitive lines; had never broken down magic nor their society into such clear cut definitions. Light, dark, good and evil; these were words which had no place among their people. They lived instead in shades of gray, cut off from humanity and their endless squabbles.

But sometimes their people strayed; sometimes they were lost to the passions of humanity, drawn into the beauty of humankind. For it could not be denied that there was beauty there, even among the harsh coldness of their self-righteousness and hatred for anything that was new, anything that was different. Children of these unions were looked upon as oddities as a whole, with individual opinions differing far and wide ... Their fates decided on a case by case basis.

Eladrin did not remember his cousin's mother. She had fled their realm shortly after her child had been born, and few were willing to speak of her as he grew older. But he remembered his cousin, and how beautiful he had been. Eladrin remembered his beauty most of all.

The Ashari were a private people, having crafted with magic a realm of their own long ago. Their contact with the world they had left behind was sparrodic, and it seemed that the longer they were gone the more varied humanity became at finding ways to kill one another, be they magical or technological. Few visitors were allowed within their sanctum, and fewer still were allowed to leave. Those who did, had powerful enchantments placed. Upon them, lest they speak to others of theAshari and their society.

But nobody would speak of his cousin's mother, nor where she had gone. Would she bring others here? Either nobody knew, or they were not concerned. Either way, Eladrin had learned long ago not to ask.

But his cousin - he knew exactly where he had gone. Into the world of wizards, secreted away with an already bursting family who had just lost their young son. And now he was coming home - and they had sent Eladrin to retrieve him.