Chapter 1-Exposure

Birds twittered in the breezy air, air scented by open flowers and tinted slightly green from the thick tree branches over head. Two elves walked through the flowers, neither knowing of the enchantments that protected them or caring that they were precious to the township barely within shouting distance.

The four Havens are places for peace and escape from the bustling city life. Of them, the home to the elves was the oldest and most venerable of them all. It had seen times of war, times of peace, and it was said to be the birthplace of life.

But the heritage was lost on the youth; the past reduced to rumors through the generations. Elders only remembered elders of their youth telling of the wars and dragons, but newer generations had other things on their minds.

Such were the two elves, Christen and Angela, talking wistfully as they walked through the scent of freshly harvested grain, aloof to the person following them. Christen, a tall and stately elvish youth, was born into the upper class. His father, a wealthy merchant, had established him as the heir to a fortune so Christen didn't take his studies seriously. His father was busy and not able to tend to the needs of his son and Christen knew what was coming to him so Christen found little need for his studies.

His companion, they hoped for life, has always been more important to the village but less wealthy. Angela was the daughter of the Seer, and since she did not have her gift yet, she was the last in a line of visionaries that guided the civilization. The Seer granted passage through the territory for strangers and guided their societies with knowledge of the immediate future.

Something was happening now; all of the Seers had been called to the capitol now. Angela didn't know, or care, what her mother did but now the whole family had to move. She had to leave her friends, her village, her house, and most importantly, Christen.

Angela broke the silence, "I don't want to go. The counsel needs the Seers, they can have them but why do they need their families too? I won't do it," Angela cried to the world, "I won't go with my family." Christen gingerly pressed her head to his shoulder with one hand and held her close. Christen ran his hand through the thin strand's of Angela's faded gold hair and closed his eyes. Angela's tear soiled Christen's silk tunic as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Christen," A voice broke the atmosphere, "I'm so glad I caught up with you."

Christen didn't let go or turn his head, he knew the voice. "Luareth, Father told you to pack our things for the move. What are you doing here?"

"Yes, I did that," Luareth curtseyed, her bluish-black hair bobbing slightly, "and then your father told me to bring you back for the feast." Her words were followed by a pause. Christen had tried to get rid of her and now, and she knew Christen would ignore her, so she crouched low with her head barely above the leaf crests and dreamed of a better future.

Plants rustled in the silence and Luareth jumped up in alarm. Angela and Christen separated but continued to hold hands. A young woman materialized from the field. None of the elves had heard her approach and the stalks around her were high. Her deep sapphire cloak should have stood out among the golden stalks, but no one had seen her coming. A hood shielded her face from view except for her pale mouth. She took one look at Christen and Angela and laughed, "Sorry to interrupt but do you know where the Elvish Haven is?"

"Yes," Angela replied, "we all live there at the moment. Luareth over there will show you the way."

"But I can't," Luareth objected, "Christen, your father told me to bring you back for the feast."

"I know, Luareth," Christen soothed her panicked voice, "but this field is safe. I'll talk to father when I get back. For now, I order you to take this stranger back to the Haven."

"Master Christen and Angela," the stranger said, almost in reprimand of young love, "you two should know that no place is safe now. We should all go to the Haven; I have business with the haven."

Although protests sprang immediately to the throats of Christen and Angela, both of them felt the objections being smoothed over and suddenly the three elves agreed that they should go back. Christen took the lead, holding Angela's hand, while Luareth walked behind them and the newcomer took up the rear.

After they few minutes of walking, a gong's boom blasted through the forest and shook the forest with its resonating echoes. The feast had begun and the elves broke into a run. The stranger followed them until the outskirts of the Haven were in view. She stopped suddenly and spun around in a whirl of cloak to face behind her, "Are you sure?"

The elves stopped and looked at each other in confusion. They didn't see another person around, but the stranger seemed to. The ground around them was unbroken; no one stood with them. They whispered to each other and figured that the stranger was crazy and decided that Angela's mother would judge the stranger.

The stranger didn't notice their jabber; focused totally on the air; "I guess it's lucky that we came now, huh? Remember, after the feast we get our quarry." The three elves looked at each other but the stranger smiled. Each of the elves felt their caution slip away and the four of them continued to the Haven.

The table was covered with meat and fruit dishes, the steam escaped to the heavens while the smell enticed the village to feast. The table was long, and comfortably seated the village people plus the creatures that came from the surrounding woodland to feast. At the head of the table sat the two most valuable elves of the Haven, the Archmage prevailed over the feast and the Seer approved or turned away guests. Angela sat next to her mother on the end, across from Christen's father and mother. Neither Angela nor Christen knew any elves at this end of the table; all of their friends were at the other end of the table, but Christen and Angela were important to the village, so they had no choice.

The stranger walked into the clearing and bowed to the Seer and the Archmage. The Seer started to speak but instead she got a strange look in her eyes. When she did speak, her voice was devoid of feeling, "Come, join us, stranger." The stranger bowed again and took her place at the foot of the table. Some of the warriors shifted or tightened their grips on their weapons but the whole village relaxed deeply. In the daze, the table was silent and the Archmage shifted uncomfortably. When the Archmage reminded the village that the feast had begun, the call to food was answered with a clatter of dishes and requests for dishes.

Two helpings later, another stranger, in a red cloak and distinctly human, stepped into the clearing, "Hear your master and obey, peaceful weaklings." The elves continued to eat, oblivious to the threat.

"Pathetic and mindless, " The human in the red cloak scoffed, "I thought the elves were a careful race. This will be easier than I anticipated."

The stranger in the blue cloak stood up and stepped away from the table. She began walking around the table, "Namil, imagine seeing you here."

The red mage stepped back, her face quivering with fear, "Nessi, what are you doing here? Are you looking for her to?"

"I was just sitting down to a meal, when you came," Nessi replied harshly, "leave now and I won't kill you."

Namil smiled, "I doubt you'll let me leave." She pointed at Nessi with her pointer and middle finger and thick strands of lightning surged toward Nessi. Nessi waved her hand and the lightning fizzled. Nessi partially dropped her hold on the elves to free up her magic.

The elves awoke from their trance, enraged that they were duped and indignant that their home was impeded on. Seeing Namil as the enemy, every warrior leapt at Namil, archers unleashed their arrows and bolt. Namil waved her hand and the ground in front of her erupted into flame. Arrows streamed through the blazing shield, disintegrating into streams of smoke. With another wave of the mage's hand, the swords melted and the elves were beaten.

Blue energy enveloped Nessi and the shield formed into a large gelatinous puddle, which plopped to the ground several feet from Nessi's feet and began sliming toward Namil.

Namil took initiative. Red energy flared from her pores and she pushed the energy towards the blob. The slung energy condensed as it accelerated into a solid bolt of lava. The bolt fizzled upon contact, and the blob was still coming. Namil summoned a large goblin armed with a large hammer. The goblin slammed its hammer into the blob but the blob shrunk away from the blow and formed a hole in front of the head until the hammer struck the ground.

The blob welled up and consumed the goblin in its blue gel. The elves saw the goblin decompose through the blue film as the gel absorbed its energy. The goblin and the blob melted to the ground but then the goblin reformed with its greenish skin replaced with blue.

Namil panicked and lobed a bolt of lightning at the doppleganged goblin. A hole formed in the center of the goblin, allowing the bolt to pass through at Nessi. Nessi stepped back, rotating both her elbows in front of her and a mirror appeared in front of her. The lightning rebounded back, through another formed hole in the goblin, into Namil. It was all she could do to point at the bolt, summoning another goblin in front of her. The bolt cleansed the forest of the monster, but nothing would cleanse the air of its scream.

Undaunted, Namil flared again and her energy slid to her outstretched hands. From each hand, bolts of raw energy pounded the ground and a creature began to form. It was distinctly a cat, but lapping flames replaced fur and flesh as it bounded to consume Nessi. Nessi pointed to the blob, now formed into a goblin, she had created and a beam of light connected it with the Firecat.

The cat exploded into a puddle that became a turtle. At the same time, the puddle had turned into the Firecat, on the attack with a new target. Nessi motioned to the turtle, which disappeared. The elves only heard a scream and saw the Firecat washed through Namil. Her charred remains were carried away in the wind.