[color=forestgreen][b]“I’m not sure, old friend. This seems… odd… that they would send a request for me at a time like this. My nightmares have certainly become more frequent and powerful, but there can’t truly be a darkness like that coming to destroy the land. Why would a university such as this seek me as a student in my age? Might I be too old to learn from them? Oh, Earth Spirit, save me, can’t I just stay here and tend to the forest and defend our homeland of Tellus?”[/b][/color] A voice spoke out from the foliage of a particularly dense section of the forest. The cool and calm voice of Erolith ringing out as a soft note amongst the twittering of birds and squeaking of squirrels in the trees. He let his hand run against the side of his steed’s neck and ran his fingers through the short, coarse hair of the stag. A second humanoid figure stood nearby, dressed in leather armor with pieces of ironwood bark sewn into the left shoulder. An interesting looking bow sat in an equally interesting quiver as the slightly younger elf spoke to Erolith.

[b]“Erolith, you must go. I’ve seen the world and the state of its being. You cannot ignore the call to greatness. You of all of us have proven that you are the greatest of all of our people and shown to have a great deal of potential to be even greater. Please, brother, go and take up the mantle that you were destined to wear. If not for me, then for Tellus.”[/b] The younger elf spoke as he moved his way through the forest to get closer to Erolith.

[color=forestgreen][b]“Ignolis, we are not brothers. There is no blood relation, but I appreciate the notion. You left Tellus long ago and only returned recently, and now you ask of me to follow in your footsteps. I may have a power and potential that has not been seen or heard of since the time of the sages in our history books, and I may be the only one of our people to have the connection I have with Farrenthal, but I cannot risk losing the forest to pursue intelligence and power. What can they teach me that I could not learn from the Earth Spirit’s guidance?”[/b][/color]

[b]“They could teach you a great deal more than that stag could teach you. You are not the only protector of these forests, there are others who chose the life you live and decided to dedicate their lives to maintaining the balance of nature here. You have the opportunity to save not just our home, but the homes of so many others, to protect the beauty of the world and to preserve the earth as Farrenthal would command us to do. You cannot ignore that great of a calling. The whole world needs you Erolith, you are like a great warden of the earth, sent to defend us once again from the rising tide of darkness.”[/b]

With that conversation and last remark, Erolith slowly nodded his head, realizing that Tellus was not the only place of beauty and not the only home of plantlife. He had a duty to protect all forms of life that sprouted from the earth and to maintain its majesty. The decision was made, then, to travel to Tenebra and seek more knowledge and more power. A short few days passed before he would need to board the airship, where he would observe a peculiar woman with scars and affinity to shrink away from the rest of the occupants of the skyship. He noticed her spy him in the midst of their ride while he spoke to the birds that perched on the railing on the side of the ship. He could not actually speak to the birds, nor could he understand them, but he had comfort in knowing that life still existed so high in the sky. The journey would proved to be much longer than he would have liked, causing him to spend much of his time aboard the airship weaving vines around the railings and sprouting small, yellow flowers from those vines. He spent time shaping the wooden table and chairs in his room to be more rustic and feel less ornamental. 

Once the ship had finally docked at the hub near the school in Tenebra, Erolith spent little time finding his way to the designated meeting place in the letter sent to him a few days prior. He found himself standing at a large gateway, in the shape of a dragon that seemed to be wrapped in vines and covered in beautiful, thorny roses. Noting that such beauty could exist in a place as desolate as Tenebra, he stepped through the gateway and into the courtyard, which seemed to radiate with sunlight. The focal point in the center of the courtyard was a large fountain statue of a nymphe holding six separately colored gems, water flowing from the statue as vines and bushes of flowers grew around the base of the fountain. Gardens on all sides of the courtyard exploded with vibrant colors and beautifully kept flowers.

Erolith shed a small tear as he stared in wonder at the garden, a smile beginning to creep across his face, but not before he noticed the five others that were in the courtyard. One girl face down on the ground, looking as though she tripped and knocked herself out, next, a strange looking pair of people, a human girl and an elven male. He also noticed a strange man that seemed to have a vicious air about him, serpent-like eyes and a rather interesting way of walking,Erolith made note of the orange haired man and finally let his gaze rest on the half-elf girl that was on the airship. She was admiring the foliage and this brought another smile to his face as he made a move to approach her, unsure of how to speak to her. Though once he decided on a subject to speak about, it seemed  silly to him that he would assume that she would want to talk about plants with a strange, older elf. He instead just walked near her and glanced back at her every so often. Erolith would soon know this girl as Summer, but in the time being, he had no idea of her name, where she came from and what her purpose here was. All he could do was just watch her and admire the beauty of the plants that the girl was gazing at in wonderment.