Kyrae Lavellan sat under the shade of the oak tree and eagerly turned the page of her book. The sun had begun its decent and she wanted to use every bit of light she could. Suddenly, the book was lifted from her hands and disappeared into the branches above. Kyrae looked up in confusion and frustration to find a pair of amber eyes looking back at her.
"If I'd known you would choose reading this instead of coming hunting with me, I wouldn't have brought it back from the ruins." Pellaes Haldir sat on a low branch right above Kyrae flipping through the old pages of the leather bound book.
"Be careful with that," Kyrae exclaimed as she jumped up. He dark green eyes flashed as she leaped for the book. Haldir easily avoided her grasp as he jumped to a higher branch. "Haldir," Kyrae said in a warning voice as she placed her hands on her hips. Haldir laughed as he nimbly swung down and landed with a soft thud in the foliage. He was a head taller than Kyrae with a thin build that was typical of elves. His light brown hair had a few leaves in it and his sand colored eyes glinted with mirth. He held the book out to Kyrae who took it carefully.
"I don't see what is so special about some dusty old paper," Haldir said. He slung his bow and quiver from his back and sprawled out on one of the giant tree roots. Kyrae sat cross legged beside him and opened up the book again. She gently ran her fingers over the old text and sighed.
"It's a piece of our past. Our heritage is contained in this book and books like it. If we ever want to bring back what was lost, then we have to learn about it first."
"Right." Haldir pulled an apple from his pocket and took a bite. "What have you learned from this one?" He asked around bits of apple.
Kyrae wrinkled her nose and shut the book. "Not much. It's written in ancient elven so I can only make out bits and pieces. But from what I can read it seems to be a manifest of some sort. Or maybe a catalog of something." A silence settle between them interrupted only by the crunch of Haldir's apple. Kyrae traced the faded pattern of vines on the cover as she thought about what her people had lost. As the keeper's first, it was her job to preserve the culture of the Dalish and restore the things they had lost through the years.
The ancient elves of Arlathan were such a mystery. Any information they had was distorted by myth and legend. Kyrae yearned to know the truth and hoped to be able to restore the splendors of that time. However, she was constantly coming up against obstacles. The first and largest being that there was so little evidence left. There were plenty of ruins, but they had been plundered and defaced so many times through the ages that there was nothing left but stone and memories. Any piece of history, no matter how small was more precious than gold to her. Haldir knew that, which was why he looked for things like the book when he went out hunting. He took a great deal of pleasure in the look on her face when he brought her little trinkets.
"You know," Haldir began as he tossed the apple core into the trees. "I could take you to see the ruins we found. I think I saw some more writing on one of the pillars."
Kyrae looked up at him with a start. "Didn't the keeper tell everyone to stay away from there because of the Templars?" Haldir gave a shrug as he stood and stretched.
"I have my bow. You have your staff. I think we can handle any shem templar. Besides," He slung his bow and quiver over one shoulder. "I know how to be extra stealthy. I snuck up on you, didn't I?" He offered his hand to help her stand and she took it with only a slight roll of her eyes.
"If we're going to disobey the Keeper, we might as well do it now before it gets dark." She gently put the book in her satchel and grabbed her staff.