Author's mumblings: I used much of the Dwarves' dialogue from the game because it amused me. The Elves, however, I will write on my own to make them rude. Because Elves are so popular, right now, I thought it would be interesting to show them as flawed and opinionated as humans. Also, I am cutting Matoya out of the storyline. I just never liked her and I found it to be a huge pain in the ass bringing the ungrateful hag her "eyes" back. My story, my choice. I've made up for it by throwing a plot twist into this chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its characters. Hurray!

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As Mace had feared, the canal was not finished. Cursing his bad luck, they anchored their ship in an abandoned port a day's journey from the Dwarf Cave. Dax led the way, as he was intimately familiar with the terrain.

There were Ogres in the area. Aura was terrified, but did not complain. Both Mace and Dax admired her very much for this. Edan, as usual, was unreadable. Dax did everything he could to avoid contact with the enemy, but they were forced to battle an Ogre on the last leg of the journey, literally within sight of the Dwarf Cave. Dax found himself guarding Aura during the battle, against his better judgment, and received some bruised ribs for his efforts.

The cave appeared to be just a hole in the hillside. Aura doubted she would have even seen it, if Dax had not guided them to it. She found it odd that there were no guards, but soon discovered why. Dax marched fearlessly into the dark hole, without even so much as calling out a hello, first. Aura and the others followed him, gingerly feeling their way in. A few twists and turns down the tunnel later, all light ceased to be. Aura had never been afraid of the dark, but this was a darkness she had never encountered, before. It was so complete, it was almost a physical presence. She became acutely aware of every sound around her, especially her own breathing. It was unnerving.

A sudden noise startled her, and an instant later, she realized Dax had struck flint against his sword to light a torch fixed to the wall. In the sudden light, she could see many torches around them. Mace quickly got another and lit it from the first.

"The main living area is just ahead," Dax told them. "Maybe half a kilometer."

Half a kilometer? Is he serious? Aura came up to Dax and grabbed his sleeve. He looked down at her hand curiously.

"In case the torch goes out," She explained.

He smiled. "Don't worry. I lived down here for years. I can find my way in the dark as well as any Dwarf." He could see his words were not comforting her, so he added, "Just stick close to me."

She nodded and gathered more fabric from his sleeve in her hand, gripping it. She could feel it already getting damp from sweat. Dax nodded to the others and resumed walking. They followed.

Aura was not sure where the natural cave stopped and the one the Dwarves had carved began. Perhaps it was all carved out of the hillside. About ten minutes after entering the cave, they came to a set of carved stone stairs leading downward. Not long after that, they came to another set, leading down and sharply to the right. At the bottom of those stairs, the cave suddenly opened up into a huge vaulted room. Aura was so awed, it took her a moment to realize that they were surrounded by Dwarves. They were short, squat people that moved around on stumpy little legs. Even with their pointy hats, most of them only came to Aura's waist. They almost seemed to be unaware of their visitors.

"Hello," She said to the nearest one.

"The earth is slowly rotting from the west," He said softly. He never stopped walking.

What? She looked up at Dax, confused.

"You'll get used to it," He said, laughing.

Mace decided to try. He flagged down another Dwarf as it walked by and said, "Excuse me, we are looking for Nerrick."

"Got a torch, eh?" The Dwarf scratched his chin. "Dwarves can see in the dark!" He grinned at them and walked away.

"Well, they seem… uh, interesting," Aura said slowly.

"They just have very different social skills," Dax said with a shrug. "They don't really understand the human concept of small talk. Oh! There's Smith. He's their blacksmith. Hey, Smithy!" He called.

A Dwarf waddled over to them, chuckling to himself. His face was smudged with more dirt than the others. "You're late. All of you."

Were they expecting us? Aura puzzled.

"I've joined them on a quest to save the world," Dax told him, gesturing to the others. "We are the Light Warriors."

Smith appeared unsurprised by the news. "For the Light Warriors, I will make a truly legendary sword. However, my supply of Adamant is exhausted."

"We shall bring you some," Dax told him. Smith nodded and walked off. Aura wasn't sure whether they were being serious or not.

Mace was losing patience, fast. "Where is Nerrick?"

A female Dwarf walking nearby overheard him and stopped. "That sound? Nerrick is building a canal."

"Hurray!" Said another.

I don't hear anything, Aura thought. Mace rubbed his forehead as if it were hurting.

"I think it's this way," Dax said. He guided them down yet another long corridor. Finally, they found a lone Dwarf slumped against the wall, snoring softly.

"Nerrick," Dax said loudly.

The Dwarf stopped snoring and opened his eyes. "A rock blocks construction of my canal."

"That's a shame," Dax said. "Can we help?"

The Dwarf got to his feet and wandered away, muttering, "If only I had some TNT."

"TNT? What's that?" Aura asked.

"A package full of highly explosive material," Dax said disappointedly. "The only people I know of who can make it is the Elves."

Edan closed his eyes briefly. Damn.

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The land of Elves lay due south of Coneria, on the other side of the Aldi Sea. It was a beautiful and densely wooded area that protected the Elves from outsiders. The had not counted on evil coming from within. 400 years ago, shortly after a peace treaty was signed with Coneria, Elfland was plunged into a civil war. The Elves had not been very good at dealing with outsiders, before, but now they were all but cut off from the world. Mace was not even sure where the Castle of Elf was.

"Do you know anything about them, Edan?" Mace asked as they sailed.

"Perhaps you should ask the half-elf," He suggested.

Mace turned to Dax, who was smiling in a somewhat unfriendly way at Edan.

"I'm afraid I don't know very much," Dax said after a moment. "I was born there, but my family was banished soon after. My father never spoke much about his people, and he died when I was still young."

"I'm sorry," Aura said.

Dax didn't look at her. "All I know is that the fighting is between the 'True Elves,' and the 'Dark Elves.' I'm not sure what the difference is, really. As far as I know, the ruler of Elfland is still King Alary, one of the 'True Elves'."

"That's not the same King Alary who signed the Coneria Treaty four hundred years ago, is it?" Aura asked.

"You know your history," Dax nodded. "Very good. Yes, Alary was old, back then, but four hundred years is not all that long for an Elf. He's probably still alive."

"How old are you?" Mace asked curiously.

"Thirty nine," Dax said.

"Wow," Aura said. "I mean - you don't look it, at all. I would have guessed twenty, maybe twenty five. How long will you live?"

"No one knows," Dax said with a touch of sadness. "Half-Elves are rare. As far as I know, I'm the only one, right now."

"That sounds terribly lonely," She said.

Dax didn't respond. He was quiet for the rest of the night.

The next morning, their ship was attacked by half human, half fish-like creatures. The nimble beasts leapt out of the water and onto the deck, biting and clawing before the Light Warriors could even get their weapons ready. One of them clamped onto Mace's hand and he wrestled with it. Edan chanted a spell and fried another one with a thunderbolt. The others quickly jumped back into the water, hooting at them. To Aura, it sounded like laughter.

"What in the world were those things?" Mace gasped, gripping his wounded hand. Aura quickly came to his aid with a healing potion.

"Sahags, I think," Dax said. "I've heard stories of them, but I've never seen one."

"I have been traveling for most of my life," Edan said softly. "And I have never seen anything like those, before. It seems as though every legendary monster from the past is coming back, and all those who were normal animals have gone mad. Have you seen the sharks that follow us?"

Sharks? Aura walked over to the railing and peered at the water. It took a moment to see them, but once she did, she wished she hadn't. They were as large as men and swam more effortlessly than birds could fly, flanking the ship. One of them lifted its head out of the water and thrashed, pure muscle with endless teeth.

Dax grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the railing suddenly, startling her. "Stay away from there, for now. We don't know when the next attack might come."

She nodded, her face burning. That was a stupid thing to do.

The next day, the sky was gray and the waves were choppy. Mace watched the sky constantly, frowning, but Aura did not mind as long as it kept the sea monsters away. She spent most of the morning watching Dax and Mace tend to the rigging and sails and staring at the horizon, looking for any signs of land. Later that afternoon, she got her first glimpse of the forested Elfland.

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They found the seaport easily enough, but once on land, Dax became uncertain, looking one way, then the other. Aura checked the maps she'd found in the cabin again, but they did not show the Land of Elves; just the coastline.

"What do we do, Dax?" Mace asked. "You said you could guide us there."

"We could head back to Pravoka," Aura suggested. "Maybe someone there has a map or something."

"No, no," Dax moaned in frustration. "I'm almost certain it's due south of us."

"Dax, I have no desire to get lost in these woods," Mace said quietly. "We will just have to go back to Pravoka, or perhaps Coneria, and find someone who can help us."

Edan, who had been crouching in the sand nearby listening to them, stood up suddenly. "I will lead the way."

Mace gave him a suspicious look. "You know this area?"

"Yes," Edan said simply. No one else said anything, so he began walking. The others quickly gathered their weapons and supplies and followed.

Why did he not says something earlier? Mace wondered. I have never trusted him.

Several hours later, they came to a large clearing in the woods. It appeared that this land had once been used for farming, but it had become overrun fairly recently. They soon found out why: wolves, giant spiders and snakes were everywhere. Like the beasts in Coneria and elsewhere, they had become unusually aggressive.

At last, they reached the town that encircled the castle. The Elves noticed the strangers right away and stared at them, making Aura feel uncomfortable.

Mace tried speaking to one of them. "Excuse me, sir. Could you please tell us where we could purchase some TNT?" The Elf stared at him coldly and did not respond. Mace turned around and addressed Dax. "Do you speak their language?"

"He understands you perfectly," Dax said dryly. "He refuses to speak to you because you are in my company."

"Why? What have you done?" Aura asked.

"Although it's not obvious to most humans, any Elf can tell just by looking at me that I'm half human," Dax explained. "I'm an abomination. That's why my parents and I were forced to leave Elfland when I was born."

Aura was speechless. She turned to the Elf, searching for some sign that this was not true. The Elf stared back, unmoved.

Dax's expression changed, as though he remembered something, and he walked toward the inn. "I'm going to go look for something. See if they get any friendlier when I'm gone," He suggested.

Behind the inn, he found a path through the trees and bushes that wound in a semi-circle. There, he found three headstones. The one on the left was small, but obviously well taken care of. It said simply "Here lies Erdrick, 837 - 866, R.I.P." Dax bent down and wiped an imaginary smudge from the words, feeling the texture of the marble.

"Hello," He said to the grave. Behind him, he heard the grass move under someone's feet. He turned his head and saw Aura coming over to him. Behind her, two small Elf children peered at him from behind a bush, whispering and giggling.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

"Of course," He said.

"This must be so difficult for you," She went on, shaking her head. "I don't understand any of this. It's so strange." Her eyes fell upon the tombstone. "Who is Erdrick?"

"A local hero," Dax said. "He saved King Alary, at the cost of his own life, from an assassination attempt. An amazing accomplishment for someone so young," He paused, hesitating. "He was my half brother."

Aura looked at him, surprised, but waited patiently for him to continue.

"I'm afraid my family scandal goes a little deeper than simple racial barriers," He said with a wry smile. "My father was already married when he met my mother."

"Oh," Was all she could think of to say.

They heard footsteps and turned around. Mace and Edan came over to them. Mace looked as though he would snap at any moment.

"They suggest we go to the castle," Mace said. "Come on."

Aura and Dax followed him. As they walked past the bush with the two Elf children, Aura heard one of them say the word "half-breed." She was sure Dax heard it, too, but he showed no indication of it. For some reason, she felt ashamed.

At the castle gate, two armed guards blocked their path.

"You are not welcome, here," One of them said contemptuously.

"Now, see here," Mace said, his voice growing tight. "I have had enough of this nonsense. I am a citizen of Coneria, and according to paragraph three, subparagraph two, line six of the Coneria Treaty I am entitled to a hearing with the King."

"Not you," The guard said as though Mace were an idiot. "Him."

To Mace's surprise, he was not pointing at Dax, but at Edan. "Edan? Why?"

"Because he's one of the Dark Elves," Dax explained. "Aren't you, Edan?"

Edan removed the hat and hood that had shielded his face for as long as the other Light Warriors had known him. He was, indeed, an elf. A very young one; scarcely older than the ones who had laughed at Dax in the village.