By the time Himelon had reached the edge of the magnificent green forest it was nearly nightfall. The moon was full and hung ever so softly in the darkening sky as the stars began to creep out to view the world. Their reflection in the large lake and wide river made the water appear to be glistening with light from within. The raven haired elf sighed as he sat down on a rock near the water and watched the daylight be consumed by the night. Night always had been his favorite time of day. It was cold and dark with only the soft light of the moon and stars keeping watch over the land. Their soft, protective, light was always his favorite. The harsh glaring light of the sun had always hurt his eyes and Himelon had only found it to be beautiful and more pleasant under a canopy of trees or when filtering down through something. Dimmed. That was the key to pleasant light. As the sun faded the lights of Laketown slowly appeared in the distance casting a golden glow over the ever present lake mist. Himelon sat on his rock until the final traces of the lights in the distance, from both Dale and Laketown, had gone black and all that remained were the moon and stars. Pulling his white bow and a silver arrow into his hands he rose and faced the, still as lively as in the daytime, forest. If he was to pass through unnoticed by his woodland kin Himelon would need to move through the night. Sleep could wait.
Greenwood was none the less beautiful at night than in the day. The way the moon shone through the leaves of the trees casting various green tinted shadows across everything and the gentle breeze that blew the aromas of flowers through the air made it a very relaxing location. The path that cut through the forest was paved with mindfully placed cobblestones and the trees of the forest had been wisely woven into the path's design to make the canyons and valleys of the forest effortless to navigate. Hanging at regular intervals were lanterns lit with glowing crystals of starlight to aid in visibility on moonless nights. Their glow and the soft filtered light from above made the whole of Greenwood glow in silver as if the forest itself was made of mithril and soft light. The light, life, and grace of the elves who called the forest home was evident. Their feral and dangerous nature was also evident. It was difficult to see and, to anyone but an elf, it would likely go unnoticed but just off the path there were remnants of a fight. An unidentifiable creature of the approximate size of either a small man or large dwarf laid just beneath a fallen log riddled with white feathered arrows.
"What sort of fool fights when cornered by ones of greater skill?" Himelon whispered softly to himself as he passed the unfortunate creature with down turned eyes saying a silent prayer for the fallen soul, "Still, they didn't have to kill it…" Violence and a lack of the deep running wisdom of their kin. This was the very reason Himelon was wary to visit with Silvan elves. They do not take well to others in their forest, kin or no, unless they had explicitly been invited. Too many times had the raven haired elf faced down a pack of brunettes and red-heads for simply walking along the path through the forest. Too often had such encounters ended in arguments with King Oropher and his predecessors. Himelon was determined to just get through the forest without incident this time. No Silvan elves, no violence, and no having to explain himself before the king. At least that had been his aim before he had wandered off the path while brooding to himself about how he was going to walk through Greenwood without incident.
"And now I'm lost." Himelon growled to himself mentally berating his own actions, "Brilliant." He took a deep breath and turned in the direction he thought the path should be in. Greenwood was quite large though and, judging from the slight amount of orange peeking through the leaves of the canopy, he had been walking around in it for a lot longer than he had initially surmised. On the plus side at least he was feeling comfortable and safe enough to zone out. That didn't happen very often anymore. The raven haired male wandered around the forest for a good part of the morning ever vigilant for signs of life other than the forest creature and listening for water. Where there was water, there was a river, and where there was river there was a path to follow out of the forest. Although Himelon's footsteps fell silently upon the ground, or tree branches in some cases, he knew his woodland kin had ways of knowing when someone was in their forest. Wards to alert of intruders and pacts with the trees and animals themselves. Many, if not all of the guards were sensitive to disturbances in their early warning system and had undoubtedly noticed someone tromping around their wood without permission.