Loldirr stared intently at the lifeless flower in her hand. It was dry, crumbling and completely devoid of life. She had held this flower for a good hour now, constantly staring at it despite a growing frustration feeding on the back of her mind that she was wasting her time.

"Feel the void that was once the flowers life, focus on that and fill it with what it lacks." instructed Erdudvyl.

With a sigh, Loldirr stared at it once more. She was wasting her time. They had been doing this same mundane task for days, and for all those days the results were the same. The flower was still dead.

With a quick glance, she spotted Erdudvyl's face. A hint of resentment, a touch of frustration and lots of pent up anger. She had sat with Loldirr, day after day after day to coax this so-called power that the red-head possessed with no reward. The little elf didn't appear to like Loldirr and Ethelston when they arrived, she seemed to like them less now.

"The flower is not the only thing with a void." Ethelston sighed while he laid on his back staring at the sky.

Loldirr stood up abruptly and threw the flower to one side. "Ethelston's right, this is a pointless exercise. Maybe I just don't have the power you believe."

"Goddammit human, why can't you keep your voice down." Erdudvyl reprimanded Ethelston. She was at a boiling point too.

Ethelston just chuckled at the little Elf's resentment. He did not move from his spot knowing that this would likely frustrate Erdudvyl even more.

It was working, but before she reacted, two guards walked along the wall of the courtyard where they sat. There were too many eyes watching their every move and Erdudvyl was concerned comments were being relayed to the other priests in the tower.

Taking a deep breath, Erdudvyl walked gracefully towards Loldirr, keeping her head and posture upright. "We must keep on training, you will get somewhere, eventually."

Loldirr picked up on the bitterness in Erdudvyl's words and frowned in response. "You two are just about pushing me to the edge." she warned. The words appeared to encourage Ethelston to sit upright.

"You are being placed under pressure from this man, " Erdudvyl complained while pointing towards Ethelston, "I don't know why you tolerate his presence. If he wasn't here, perhaps you would feel more relaxed and..."

"Woah, wait a minute lady!" Ethelston reacted by standing up and crossing his arms in protest.

"Ethelston stays!" Loldirr answered back abruptly.

As Ethelston smiled arrogantly towards Erdudvyl, he spotted the angry look of Loldirr turning towards him.

"And Erdudvyl stays too. Ethelston, you go on about how I'm the Empress of the Isovine Empire, while Erdudvyl, you go on about how I'm the Elemental Sorceress. I am a hunter, I know how to use a bow and arrow, nothing more. I am not this all powerful being that you both claim I am." Loldirr argued.

Ethelston placed a hand on her shoulder which was instantly shrugged off aggressively by Loldirr.

"Don't! You have not been helpful since we left White Harbour, don't try and give me sympathy, it is not what you are here for." Loldirr scolded Ethelston.

He took a step back and folded his arms. "You're right, and I apologise, I have not been there when you needed it." pausing, Ethelston looked at Erdudvyl. "It has not been helped by the complete lack of stimulation these uptight elves provide."

Erdudvyl looked at Ethelston with confusion edged into her face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

A wide grin appeared on his face. "You see, a man should not spend a considerable amount of time without the sweet embrace of the fairer sex. It builds up a certain level of frustration in which very little can be used as a substitute. You Elves seem to be incapable of giving your own kind that type of embrace let alone anyone else."

Anger flashed across Erdudvyl's face. "We elves do not lower ourselves to the base desires that humans have. And we do know how to embrace when required. We do?" her voice trailed off as the words left her mouth.

Ethelston was taking satisfaction in seeing Erdudvyl stutter through her own words. "When did you last embrace Erdudvyl?"

"I, umm, I..." she stuttered, her pale cheeks starting to glow crimson red.

"Enough you two!" an exasperated Loldirr exclaimed. She stormed towards the tower door.

"Where are you going?" Erdudvyl asked.

"Away from you two. I need to think and not have to deal with conversations on embracing."

Loldirr turned away from them both with the faint sound of Erdudvyl scolding Ethelston the last thing that she could hear.

The young red-haired hunter needed to have a brief respite from the number of worries that currently plagued her mind. Until recently she had wanted nothing but adventure, but now that she had it, she wanted to escape this reality. The adventure hadn't been fun, it had been costly and finding out who she apparently is, was a burden that she was struggling to control.

Entering an empty spacious room, she studied the elven etchings that were engraved into the walls. "Spennels êower folgoð sam molsnian to ofergeatu," she spoke quietly to herself as she rubbed her hand against one of the engravings. "Embrace your destiny or perish in oblivion."

It appeared that these words had far more meaning than she had anticipated. This destiny that had been put before her, Emperess and Sorceress, was one that she was trying to run from. Perhaps running was no longer an option.

"Your elven is very good for a Wiðgýnan." a calm male voice called to her unexpectedly.

Startled, she spun around almost prepared for a fight until she saw the pale-skinned face of Vaalyun, the high priest of the tower. His long flowing purple and golden robes with elven words sewn into it, along with his golden and platinum staff seemed to scream of royalty. Loldirr wasn't sure whether to bow or not.

"You startled me, my Lord." Loldirr responded with her head slightly lowered.

He seemed to enjoy the unnecessary sign of respect shown towards him. "Where did you learn?"

"My guardian, Lord Edric Darke, he instructed me to learn Elven, among other languages."

"It's good to know that not all humans are simple and know that they should learn a superior language." Vaalyun responded while looking directly at the words Loldirr had just spoken.

Loldirr was determined to not let the insult cause a reaction within her.

"My daughter, Erdudvyl, is naive and is determined to prove that her visions are true by forcing you to do tasks you are clearly not skilled for." Vaalyun continued referring to the tasks with the flower.

Once again, Loldirr refrained from responding in an aggressive or agitated tone.

Turning his head towards Loldirr, Vaalyun smiled, aware that he was getting a rise of frustration from the young woman.

"Many within this tower believe that you and your companion should be removed from this establishment. While I agree with them, for the sake of my daughter, I allow you to remain."

If he wanted thanks, there was no way Loldirr was about to give him the satisfaction. "And Ethelston?"

A frown quickly flashed across Vaalyun's face before returning to its original creaseless origins. "Humans are abrupt, destructive individuals whose sole purpose is to create chaos. Your companion personifies this and for your benefit, he should be persuaded to go elsewhere."

Insulting humans, and refusing to call Ethelston by his name, this Elf was now stooping to new lows.

If Loldirr was indeed the Elemental Sorceress, this elven tower was the best place for her to learn. To prepare her for the fight against the Necromancer, she would need to draw on those with immense experience and knowledge.

However, when it comes to being the Empress of Isovine, she would need to protect her subjects, no matter the cost.

"And elves are egotistical, righteous narcissists, who, when the time comes, will need the humans to survive against the coming evil." she rebuked.

Vaalyun didn't seem prepared for that answer and looked at her stunned.

"Ethelston is a mercenary. I assume you understand what mercenaries do?" Loldirr asked.

"Yes, it's a vulgar profession." Vaalyun responded.

"I agree, " Loldirr replied "but I do not pay Ethelston to train me, to protect me, or to support me. I see a man with oh so many faults, but against his better judgement, when I am stationary, he stands by me, when I am in danger, he risks his life for me. Loyalty like that can not be bought. If he is this loyal to me, then the least I can do is repay that loyalty in kind. Could you say the same about your own people?"

Vaalyun remained silent. One of many things Loldirr had noticed about the Elves, as a people, was that they were mostly about self-preservation. When it came to loyalty, she wondered how much it was important for them.

Loldirr sighed knowing that she was evidently destroying what little relationship that she had with the High Priest, but she was also not prepared to appear weak or needy to a race that deemed themselves to be superior.

"It would appear that we have outstayed our welcome, what little we did have anyway. I thank you for your hospitality and bid you farewell."

With those final words, Loldirr turned briskly and strode confidently from the room. Heading towards the garden to locate Ethelston, she felt conflicted about her decision. It felt right and satisfying to do so, but the reality was that she had no idea what her next step was. Edric's instructions were to come to Gryffinfall, there was nothing after that.

She had no plan.

Boldly striding into the garden, she spotted Ethelston and Erdudvyl still engaged in heated debate. Calling Ethelston, Loldirr spoke. "Our time here has come to end, Ethelston. Collect our belongings, we leave immediately."

Walking directly past Erdudvyl without making eye contact, Loldirr knew she had to continue looking like she was totally in control of the current situation.

There was confusion on Erdudvyl's face. Her mouth wide open, she looked stunned as Ethelston bowed before turning and briskly following the young redhead.

"I thank you for your lessons, Erdudvyl, but I believe that they are perhaps wasted on the likes of me." Loldirr confidently announced before exciting the garden with Ethelston in tow.

It wasn't long before Vaalyun had glided next to Erdudvyl with a small smile on his face. "These humans are abrupt and destructive. I think it best you move on and concentrate on your own kind, for they have far more potential."

Erdudvyl frowned before looking towards her father. "What have you done?"

"I have done nothing, this is the human's decision." Vaalyun responded.

Erdudvyl scoffed and shook her head. "Then I have no choice but to follow."

Vaalyun frowned, where before it quickly disappeared, this time it stayed. "You dare defy the Tower's instructions to follow a human? If you take that step then I will have no choice but to recommend your exile. Are you willing to live a life away from other Elves to follow this one?"

"If I must." Erdudvyl replied.

"Choose wisely. You will not be welcome among other Elven cities, and when these two mortals die, remember your lifespan far extends there's. You will spend thousands of winters alone." Vaalyun rebuked before turning and heading for the tower.

As Erdudvyl was left alone in the garden she picked up the dead flower, instantly the petals turned from their brown decay to bright yellow, its stem became more rigid and it bloomed bright as if it had just entered spring.

Was a lifetime of exile worth following a vision in which, at present, did not appear certain? Was being separated from her people worth fighting in a war that may or may not truly exist. Was following a human worth the social humiliation it could potentially entail.

Throwing the flower aside, Erdudvyl knew that her next decision would have everlasting consequences and deserved time to reflect before following a path.

Yet time was not on her side, she had to make this decision now.

***

"What was that all about?" demanded Ethelston as Loldirr headed beyond the gates of the city and towards the docks.

She wanted to shout out to all the humans waiting in the queue for asylum that they had wasted their journey and they would be denied from entering the city. Refraining from doing so she knew it would cause more strained relations between the Elves and the humans around the city.

"My training seemed fruitless and I realised that we were not welcome here." Loldirr explained.

"Just," scoffed Ethelston, earning an exasperated sigh from his companion. "So where now?"

Loldirr halted in her tracks and turned towards Ethelston. "I do not know. I have no plan beyond this point, though I did not wish to be seen as someone without a plan."

"Smart. No reason to allow the Elves to think we are more clueless than we actually are." Ethelston smiled. "That little elf explained your so-called visions to me. Is this army of the dead real?"

"I believe so. The dream felt all to real, plus Erdudvyl confirmed what I had seen through the visions that she had received."

"I've seen strange things in my time, but never an army of the dead. If the army is as big as she claims, then we would need the biggest living army ever assembled to combat it. That can only be done if we have somewhere called home, where we can unite the people across the land. It means we'll need to find another ship to sail back east. I'm not sure how easy that will be at this time of day." Ethelston replied while admiring the various shades of oranges and red that had started to paint the sky.

"Leave that for me to sort." a calm voice said from beside the two companions.

Turning towards the voice, they were greeted with the small smiling figure of the elf Erdudvyl, though her eyes appeared reddened in sorrow.

Loldirr smiled until she saw her eyes. As Erdudvyl's face turned away from the eye contact, Loldirr realised it was best left not to pry at this time. Returning to the matter at hand, she responded, "It's good to see you once more Erdudvyl, I assume you shall be joining us on this journey."

She nodded "Indeed I shall, where are we headed?"

"It would make sense to head east towards Ravenscourt," explained Ethelston, "I know the Lord there and it is the seat of power to the west of the Isovine Empire. If we can make a home there, it would certainly make the nobles of the area take notice."

"To Ravenscourt then." Loldirr responded before turning and heading towards the docks.

Just as Erdudvyl responded, Ethelston stopped them in his tracks. "Just one thing?" he requested, a concerned look edged on his face.

"Please could we ensure, by any means necessary, that I'm sleeping on our return voyage!"