Chapter 3
Dark finished packing up, and met Aeron outside of her tent. "Have you got everything? The map?" she asked.
"Yes, yes" replied Aeron, impatient. Dark could be a bit pestering at times.
"Then let's go," Dark said with a deciding nod. Waving, and saying goodbye, they swiftly departed camp. It would take until dark to reach the wall of the pass. They trusted the forest, more than they did the world outside the pass. Then, the next morning they would set off for the Gnome Stronghold. It would take a few weeks, so they would also stop in Yanille, and the surrounding towns.
"Wait!" a voice called out just as they were about to leave Lletya. A woman suddenly burst from the crowd, and ran to Dark and Aeron. She was quite taller than Dark, though Aeron still towered slightly above her. The woman looked like most elves, with tan skin and fair hair, though she had a kind twist to the corners of her mouth that were unfortunately absent for most in Lletya and Isafdar. It was Dark and Aeron's mother, holding a sort of parcel. "You have not yet said goodbye," she said with a smile.
"Mother, you worry too much. I had wished to avoid this," replied Aeron with an oh-so-similar smile.
"What harm is it for a mother to worry about her children? Besides, I have something to give you." With that she took out the parcel, wrapped in leaves the size of dinner plates. Slowly unwrapping it, the parcel revealed to be a book. It was not like the books they studied from though; this one was leather bound, with very old parchment pages held together by a golden lock on the cover. "Take this, you will need it. This tells you of various healing herbs and techniques that the Elders have learned and known over the years. But there are only two copies of this book, so please keep that in mind before you are about to walk into a volcano," Dark and Aeron's mother explained with a now melancholy smile. She, like the others, was very worried. For all she knew, this would be her last time seeing her children.
With more hugs and tearful goodbyes and thank-yous, Dark and Aeron finally walked outside the boundaries of Lletya. They walked with a good pace, pointing out the traps every so often. They did not stop until they reached the bog, where they cast a few spells to repel the toxic gas and muck from their shoes, and also for a small lunch of berries and dried meat.
They arrived at the gate some time later. They had made good time, and arrived on schedule. The sun was just setting, and before Dark and Aeron set up camp, they made the traditional signs to praise Seren. Skillfully and quickly, they wove blanket-like sleeping sacks from fallen leaves and vines. This was one of the survival techniques they were taught in the small school one of the more scholarly Elders from the caravan set up. Dark and Aeron both excelled in that class, and were so skillful that the blankets were practically watertight.
Dark made a fire of nearby shrubbery. This was another skill they were taught in school, as there was rarely anything dry enough to properly start a fire. What she did was find some vines and leaves that absorbed the most water. Because of the science of gravity and attraction, it is easier to drain something with much water in it than something that has only a few drops. She made a few slits, and then hung the vegetation upside down. Soon there was enough tinder to start a proper fire.
With that, Aeron started cooking the rest of the Pawya meat. It was going to be his last meal in Tirranwn before journeying outside the lands he had love for so long, he thought with a melancholy sigh. But, he also knew it was his duty to protect Dark, and not just because he was bonded to her.
Unknown to Dark, before she was old enough to remember it, one of the Elders made a prophecy. In fact, the Elder made the prophecy. She was the oldest of all the tribes; the matriarch. And though it was known to only two people in Runescape, she herself was only part elf. Like Dark, she was also part human; which made what she said not only direly important, but a true prophecy. Interestingly enough, the Elder dies only several days after addressing Aeron's family and the elf that was to become th new Head Elf (the one that Dark spoke to). Regardless of the prophecy though, Aeron always knew Dark was special. A sort of aura hung about her, something he knew she would be hunted for; pursued for months, or years. But Aeron pushed that out of his head. It was not something to worry about at the time, and he needed to focus his energies on the day ahead.
After they had eaten, Dark and Aeron put a bit more wood on the fire so it would last the night (near the pass, it got much colder at night than it did deeper into Tirranwn). Aeron lay away for quite some time though, gazing up into the fathomless heavens. The star of Saradomin was out that night, shining bright in the north. Aeron pondered what lay before him in this great journey. He still felt waves of anxiety overcome him, though a small, hidden part of him admitted he really was looking forward to it. That part of him relished the unknown. He supposed, with a smile that, that part of him was what chose him to be Dark's brother. With a satisfied sigh, Aeron slipped effortlessly into unconsciousness, awaiting tomorrow with a new vigor.