Kyliska took a deep breath. She had made her trip down the Fae River to get to her father Feh'menthar's house in Sura territory. Now she was starting to have some second thoughts after she was finally here. Would her father even want to see her after they had left things last time?
He had wanted her to stay with him and she had argued with him and eventually ran away with her twin sister Saveenah. Her father was very mad at her for not wanting to stay and to learn about her Sura heritage, he might not be as accepting of her now. Now that she really did want to learn.
Kyliska ran her hands through her long blonde hair as if to brush it quickly and then made her way towards the small cottage.
As Kyliska approached, a head peeked out the door, Saveenah’s bright red eyes gleaming as they took in Kyliska. The pale, dark haired elf darted out of the doorway, her slender body moving gracefully as she rushed towards Kyliska and embraced her tightly, “Kyli! You came to visit again!”
Behind the excited and eccentric Sura elf, another figure appeared in the doorway, leaning against it. Feh’menthar waited as the sisters greeted one another, his arms folded across his broad chest as his red eyes took in the scene. His face was neutral, but Kyliska could have sworn she’d seen the hint of a smile for a moment as he watched the two, his short black hair moving slightly with the errant breezes coming from the swamps.
“We should get you inside! You must have had a long trip and we’re so close to the Dark Marshes,” Saveenah said happily.
"Oh Savvy I have missed you!!!" Kyliska replied. "Things have happened in Faeril, Braeth'el and Biara....we'll lets just say we have grown apart. I needed to get away and I could not think of a better place to come visit!" She looked forwards Feh'menthar. "That is if it is alright that I am here..."
Saveenah fell silent, looking to her father and biting her lip, the lithe elf shifting her weight from one foot to another. Feh’menthar unfolded his arms, stepping away from the doorway and approaching Kyliska more closely. He studied her for a moment, red eyes meeting teal eyes before he slowly responded, “While we did disagree on many things the last time you were here, the past is the past and you are here now. That you thought to come to us when you needed someone to reach out to speaks much of your devotion to your sister, and hopefully to me as well. You are welcome here, Kyliska, and I hope we can repair what has come between us.”
Kyliska looked to her father and, surprising herself as well as him, she gave him a tight hug. She relished in feeling such closeness with her sister and father. She smiled, feeling happy.
"I needed this I think. I am very sorry for how we left things father, and sister," she said. "I have come to realize that you are right and I do need to learn more about my Sura heritage. I am glad that we can move beyond these things and look towards our future."
Feh’menthar smiled at this and nodded, turning back towards the cabin and gesturing for the others to follow him. Although he was a Sura, Saveenah was half Faeril-blood and as a result, the two lived far on the outskirts of any civilized place, stuck on the edges of the swamps between the Dark Marshes and the human kingdom of Ektberg. It was a small, humble dwelling but filled with warmth from the fire and scents that drove away the fetid stink of the nearby swamps.
“Come, sit and relax for a while, Kyli,” Feh’menthar said. “You are welcome to stay here as long as you need to, and if you truly wish to learn more about your heritage, I can easily make arrangements to have someone come and teach you of our ways.”
Kyliska sat down and made herself at home. She felt much more comfortable in this cabin than the last time she had visited. The circumstances were quite different. She felt at ease with her father instead of defensive and angry. It was a nice change.
"Yes father I am still interested in learning more about the Sura. It is part of me and I feel I owe it to you and mother to learn more about my heritage." She paused and then continued. "I have only known my Faeril side, it is time to finally open my mind and learn."
Feh’menthar nodded at this, turning to stoke the fire in the hearth, “I am happy to hear you say this, Kyli. I thought after our last conversation that you’d never be willing to at least consider it. There is so much that you don’t know, that you can’t have known from your life in Faetheril. Things are not what you think, and it is no curse to be of Sura blood I assure you.”
Saveenah laughed, sitting down at the table across from Kyliska, “It’s certainly not, although I wouldn’t want to live in the Dark Marshes themselves! It’s nice here though! Maybe not as nice as your palaces though…”
Kyliska thought for a moment and then spoke. "Savvy, I lived in a very nice spire and then estate. I liked it but I always felt like something was missing. I never really fit in well with other nobles and I was not a very good Lady Sunfire. Trouble always seems to follow me." She frowned slightly and then tried to smile. " I think I can learn so much from staying here for a while. I'm just sorry it took me this long to realize that."
Feh’menthar grinned, “And I’m sorry that I tried to push you into this, Kyliska. I should have let you come to such a realization on your own, even if it took a very long time. It was not my place to try to force you to stay, and our last meeting is one that I truly regret. If you would like, I will reach out to my friend right away, and she can teach you as we’ve mentioned. Saveenah can visit with you in the meanwhile.”
"That sounds like a wonderful idea father! I would also love some time with Savvy to catch up! Please let your friend know I'm ready to explore!"
Feh’menthar nodded, stepping away from the fire and towards the door, “Very well then. If you will give me some time, I shall retrieve my friend. She was traveling in the area when you were spotted by Sura scouts on the river. I’m sure she will be happy to assist us.” With that he slipped through the door and into the mist-shrouded swamps beyond.
Saveenah smiled at Kyliska, resting her chin on two hands as she gazed at her twin with her disturbing red eyes, “I think this will be fun for you, Kyli! You need to learn more about the world beyond the palaces! The swamps may not be to your liking, but at least you’ll know more about where we come from! I wish I could go with you, but the scouting parties don’t like it when I do. They say I wander off too much, but I can’t help it, I enjoy exploring!”
"Sister you are not missing much in Faeril. There is much cheating and backstabbing. You never know who you can trust. I mean Brae and Biara have changed so much. I did not think it could happen but I feel as if I do not even know them anymore," she said sadly. "I am happy to come back here with you, my true sister. I know you will always be there for me!"
Saveenah smiled, reaching out to pat Kyliska’s hand, “Of course I will silly! I think this will be good for you. You’ll get a different perspective and then you’ll have a clearer head once you return home!”
She paused, frowning slightly, “One thing though, the others...they have hardened hearts. Make sure that you always keep yours open, okay? Your heart makes you who you are, and you don’t want to change so much.”
"I will try sister but my heart is already broken. I never thought Brae would be with another and I never thought Biara would say such mean things to me. She truly hates me. I feel like I have nothing left in Faetheril," she started to cry silently. "It does feel good to see you again though Savvy," she took Saveenah's hand in hers and squeezed it.
Saveenah frowned, rising from her place and coming around the table to embrace her sister, “It is alright, Kyli. You’ll always have us here for you, you know that! And it’s only temporary; you will find yourself smiling again soon. I know it!”
"Thank you so much sister. And I will try to stay true my heart as you have suggested. I know I will feel better soon it‘s just all so fresh and new right now. I just have to move on. I am looking forward to learning about the Sura though. And I'm also glad to see you and father so happy at my return."
Saveenah smiled, opening her mouth to say something else when two shadows loomed up in the doorway. Feh’menthar reappeared, entering the small cottage with another Sura elf behind him. As the elf entered, Kyliska’s eyes widened when she got a good view of her.
The Sura was stunning, not only in appearance but simply in her manner of moving and the way she was equipped. Tall and lean, with thick black hair that spilled down the middle of her back, the elf was as pale as the mists of the swamps. Her bright red eyes burned with an inner fire and energy that bespoke of confidence and experience beyond Kyliska’s own reach. The Sura was wearing a sleek, well designed set of leather armor that hugged her form perfectly, giving her a free range of motion as if she had almost nothing on. Decorated with a camoflague pattern of black, brown, and grey, the armor perfectly matched the swamps visible through the doorway beyond her.
For a moment the inside of the cabin was silent as Sura eyes studied Kyliska, and finally Feh’menthar nodded, gesturing at the newcomer, “Kyliska, this is Malaca Delephur; the friend I had previously mentioned. She has agreed to teach you more of our ways, and Saveenah and I will give you and her some time to talk. Come along now, Saveenah. Your sister has asked for this and we should not deny her the opportunity. You can visit more with her later.”
Saveenah nodded, smiling at her father and rising, giving Kyliska a gentle squeeze on her shoulder as she turned to go with him. Once she was gone, the cottage was silent again, the Sura called Malaca studied Kyliska for a moment longer, as if drinking in every detail of the half-Faeril before her.
Finally, the elf stirred, moving with a lithe grace that was impressive and indicative of many years of fighting. She moved closer to the hearth, and Kyliska noted she took care never to look directly at the glowing fire, instead leaning against the mantle before speaking. Her tone was low and warm, but reserved, “Greetings, Kyliska Sunfire, daughter of Feh’menthar Starfeather and Sassariel Spellfury. I have heard much of you, and have been waiting so very long to meet you. As your father said, I am Malaca Delephur, and I am at your service.”
Kyliska watched Malaca and began to speak. "It is very nice to meet you. I did not realize you even knew who I was or knew of my mother. I was not even made aware of my true heritage until recently," she paused thinking for a moment and continued. "Due to recent events at home I felt the need to come here to learn more about my Sura side. I would appreciate any help you can give me in achieving this goal."
Malaca tilted her head, studying Kyliska again before replying, “I have heard much of you over the years, and I am surprised that you would think this would not be the case. Tell me, what do you know of your mother, of her actions?”
"Well I know that she met and fell in love with my father and became a spy for the Sura. I was ashamed of this since I have only known my Faeril side. I did not understand how she could do that to our people."
Malaca’s expression remained serious, her red eyes meeting Kyliska’s with an intense look, “You have nothing to be ashamed of, Kyliska. Your mother was a heroine, and was highly respected for her actions. In many ways she embodied what it means to be Sura, and I always respected her for what she did, as do many of the others. You will find that things are very different within the Dark Marshes than they are in the entitled towers of Faetheril.”
Kyliska smiled at hearing the kind words about her mother, "Yes I know things must be different here. I always felt as if I did not fit in well there and never knew why. I am sorry I did not come sooner to learn of my Sura side. I owe it to my parents to learn about both sides of my heritage. Thank you so much for wanting to teach me."
Malaca nodded, shifting away from the fire and moving towards the table. She grabbed one of the simple wooden seats that Saveenah and her father had set up and slid it towards Kyliska, sitting only a few inches from her and still studying her intently, “Teaching and learning are things we do our entire lives. We must always strive to improve, to overcome obstacles. Being willing to learn is the first step towards mastering more skills, and an admirable trait. If you are agreeable, I will take you into the swamps, show you our ways, our culture and heritage. It is your birthright, and you’ve a right to know of these things, but it will not be easy. I warn you of this now, for you were not born to this world as Sura children are, but you must face it as they do, fresh and without the knowledge that those with experience will hold.”
Kyliska smiled at Malaca,"I do not mind that at all. I am used to training and fighting my enemies so I consider myself to be pretty tough. I look forward to this challenge."
Malaca smiled at this, the first hint of true emotion beyond her serious demeanor. She nodded once, gesturing at Kyliska, “The first step then, is to prepare you for the swamps. I am not sure what you were raised to believe, but our eye color is not naturally occurring, at least not at first. It is, in fact, the result of a spell. One that is necessary to survive in the wilds. I offer you the opportunity to experience it firsthand if you’d like, so you can see as we see.”
Kyliska looked a little wary at first but then considered this, "Alright if I am to really learn I need to fully commit. I am ready."
Malaca nodded, rising and standing directly in front of Kyliska, a faint hint of some floral herb from the swamps coming from her. This close, Kyliska could see the exquisite detail that had gone into the crafting of her armor, and realized it was a masterwork that would match anything a Faeril lord might wear. Malaca brought her hands out, gently placing her fingertips on each of Kyliska’s temples. “This will feel a little strange and will cause you to blink several times before your eyes adjust, but it will not harm you.”
With that, the Sura began to chant, her words coming in an almost musical undertone, the phrases foreign to Kyliska but reminiscent of a dark tale or song. Instantly Kyliska’s vision burned a bright red color, and it became impossible for her to see for a moment as all the world was engulfed in the red light. After a moment, the color faded, becoming less obvious and clinging to the outlines of things, particularly those that were warm such as Malaca’s body standing before her, or the outline of a cup of tea sitting on the table.
Malaca looked down at Kyliska, studying her handy-work and noting that the other’s eyes were glowing a proper red color, “Be cautious as you accustom yourself to this. Do not stare directly into a light source such as the hearth fire, or you will be blinded temporarily.”
Kyliska blinked a few more times trying to adjust her eyes. She looked around the cabin and made sure to not look directly into the bright flames as Malaca had instructed, "Wow this is pretty interesting! It might take some getting used to of course. I never knew the Sura needed something like this."
Malaca smiled, watching as the other acclimated herself to the spell. Her tone was softer now as she observed Kyliska’s eyes, “In the Dark Marshes there is much fog, rain, and gas rising from the fetid waters. It is virtually impossible to find your way once lost. This spell gives us the ability to see the heat outlines of things, of our friends, should we lose the path. It lets us hunt in the night, and avoid ambush. It is vital that you become used to it if you are to learn more of our ways, as the swamps are not at all a safe place.”
"Yes this spell does seem like it would help with that. I see I have much to learn as I am not used to fighting at night. I have also never been in the swamps. I am grateful that you are willing to teach me," Kyli said sincerely.
Malaca smiled and nodded, “It is my honor to instruct the daughter of Sassariel, which you will come to understand more in the near future. To best teach you, I must take you into our lands and show you how we truly live. Your father and sister live on the outskirts of our lands, and their lives are very different from what the bulk of our, your, people must endure.”
The Sura leaned forward, her gaze meeting Kyliska’s again, “The first step is to teach you one of our customs of greeting, as there are others I wish to introduce you to. As you can imagine, in the dense fogs it is often hard to distinguish friend from foe, and a heat outline of a person’s body is little help in this matter. When approaching others for the first time, you must tell them of your arrival, and hear their acknowledgement. This prevents disastrous encounters amongst friends.”
Malaca reached out, taking Kyliska’s hands gently in her own and holding them up, palm outwards towards the Sura, “We position our hands as thus, and speak the greeting formally until we are acknowledged. You say the phrase ‘I see your heart’ to indicate that you have identified a potential friend by their heat outline. They will reply ‘I hear your heart’ to indicate that they have noticed you and heard and acknowledged the words you’ve spoken. This will prevent unneeded conflict or worry amongst the others. If you do not hear this reply, you are talking to a foe or a dangerous creature within the swamp itself and must be wary.”
"Alright that sounds easy enough for me to remember. I must remember to also speak these phrases so others will not think I am an enemy," Kyliska started. "I do hope everyone knows I am not....an enemy. I do really wish to learn and mean no Sura harm."
Malaca tilted her head, pondering the other’s statement for a moment, “I have indeed told the others I will introduce you to that you are no foe, and many know of your mother. That being said, I could not take you deeper into our territory without making further changes. I will leave that up to you to decide if you want to do so or not after you have learned more of our ways. Certainly arms and armor are no issue and these can be found. We would need to dye your hair though. All Sura are either born with black hair, or dye it to more easily blend into the swamps.”
Kyliska thought for a moment and slightly frowned, "I suppose I can dye my hair it will just be such a change...I have always had my blonde hair. I guess I can just change it when I go back home!"
"And what do you mean about changes to go further into your territory?"
Malaca’s face became more serious as she answered, her tone still pleasant and mild, “Kyliska, what you will come to find is that we live in a world that hates us simply for being born. We face grave dangers every day, both from our kin in Faetheril and from the other races that dot the face of Estera. These dangers have lead us to become a community that must depend on one another, and outsiders are looked at suspiciously at first because of this. It has nothing to do with who you are, or even where you came from for we have often had Faeril join us in the past, it is instead a defense mechanism that helps us keep ourselves, our children, safe from harm. I can show you the path, and it will be up to you to decide how far down it you wish to walk.”
Kyli became saddened, "I know what my people have done to yours...ours? I'm so confused how I feel about both sides to my heritage. I have only known one way of thinking for my whole life. I am not saying I'm joining you but I am just seeing how you live and I want to know more. It is apart of me."
“You are wise to say you cannot pick a side without first learning of both,” Malaca said. “I will not pressure you into joining us or committing to this or that cause, instead I will simply show you how we live, and perhaps you will learn of a history that the Faeril would rather choose to forget. I suspect it will be an enlightening experience for you, and hope I can be an adequate teacher.”
"I am very thankful for having this opportunity to learn. I will keep an open mind and not let my upbringing sour the new facts that I will learn. And thank you for not pressuring me. I still do have a life in Fatheril that I need to get back to eventually."
Malaca smiled at this, “We all have our dreams, and I hope you find yours fulfilled one day. If you would like, we can begin your instruction now. There are others in the swamps beyond that are eagerly awaiting you. I am the leader of one of our scouting teams, our military if you will. We travel in small groups known as Claws, and complete tasks that are necessary for the defense of our lands. I would have you meet the members of my Claw, and come to know our lives.”
Kyliska's face brightened, “Yes of course I would love to meet your Claw! I am looking forward to learning what they do."
With this, Malaca moved towards the door with the same grace and poise that she’d had earlier. She gestured at Kyliska, beckoning her into the swamps beyond and her destiny amongst her people. Her voice was soft as she spoke over her shoulder, her smile hidden from Kyliska, “Then let us get started.”
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