MAJOR EDIT: Apologies, I thought Rayla's parents were presumed dead, but soon found out she believes them to be alive according to the fan-made wiki. Changes have been made accordingly.

The stars seemed to mock him as he flew through the night sky. They were perfect and beautiful, reminding him of what once was. Now they accompanied him to what would hopefully be a quick demise.

As he approached the border to Xadia, he braced himself for the first impacts of arrows to streak through his chest and leave him gurgling in his own blood until he succumbed to blood loss, his body twitching on the ground. However, this was far from the truth. He found not a single soul roaming the borders, only silence was his constant companion as it had been for so many months. His eyes seemed to twitch as he saw even the ancient Moonhenge had been rebuilt. A shining lake that represented what the elves once held dear, only to be destroyed at the beginning of the war to prevent human misusage.

"Might as well get drunk with a view," he whispered to himself.

Eainamar landed near the edge of the lake as his wings became arms and hands again. Stabbing his spear into the soft dirt, he plopped himself down near the lakeside and fumbled through his rucksack procuring a flask of ale he had acquired before he left town from another local barkeep. He took a swig and looked out over the water which gave a purple gleam with hints and specks of dark blue and magenta. He took another swig before letting out a long sigh.

"What are you doing here?" A voice came.

He slowly turned around to see a shorter elf than he, long white hair with markings that suggested she hailed from the Moonshadow clan.

"Look I promise I won't piss in the lake, I swear it." She looked at him in confusion. Her expression soon turned to one of awe as her mouth was agape slightly seeing the spear stabbed into the ground beside him. He followed her gaze to the weapon. "You want it? You can have it. I have no need of it."

The Moonshadow elf stumbled back a bit in disbelief causing Eainamar to express equal amounts of confusion.

"You're a-

"I'm a what? A drunken Skywing elf?" I know, been doing it for about a year, or two, or maybe three-

"You're a Dragonguard! That's the spear given to the aerial wing of the Dragonguard!" She screamed, her voice filled with anger.

Eainamar felt as if a large boulder had tumbled over him at the sound of that title.

"Look little one, that was a long time ago-

"Cowards like you ran as my mother and father risked their lives trying to protect the egg!"

Eainamar suddenly dropped to his knees as the tears began to fill his eyelids.

"I'm sorry!" The elf broke down in tears as he bowed before the younger elf. Small sobs filled the air for a while dashing the silence.

The Moonshadow elf turned around, her back facing the sobbing figure as she let out a small sigh.

"Look, I didn't mean to do that." He looked at her as he knelt.

"The egg was taken and my friends and I had to save it because it was under the threat of destruction at the time." Eainamar regained his composure slightly as his sobbing subsided with his features expressing confusion.

"I was told that the egg was in safe hands. Why did you have to reclaim it?" The Moonshadow elf looked at him in confusion.

"My mother and father were the last ones to defend that egg! The rest of you ran!"

"I wouldn't have run if I had known that it was still under threat. Even after the fact that- Eainamar stopped short, the words bearing on him heavily refusing to leave his throat.

"The fact that what?" The Skywing elf gave a long sigh.

"The fact that I lost my wife that day!" The Moonshadow elf slumped slightly.

"I'm sorry, I just knew my parents were trying to defend that egg because they were all that was left of the guard." Silence fell upon the two.

"What were their names, child?" The Moonshadow elf sat beside him facing the lake.

"Tiadrin and Lain." Eainamar repositioned himself to look out over the lake as well.

"I knew your parents. Two of the bravest in the Dragonguard. In fact, I had even spoken with them shortly before the battle began." The Moonshadow elf's eyes lit up.

"Really? What happened that day?"

"It's a long story young one, and not one that I am fond of telling." The Moonshadow elf averted her gaze slightly. "But a story is a story nonetheless." Eainamar grabbed one of his flasks as he raised it to take a sip.

"Say, what's your name?"

"Rayla, and yours?"

"Eainamar."