No amount of Folka could fix what she had done.

The Advocate of the sylph floated down alone, no other sounds but the sound of the Undergrowth. Quiet but resolute, Cloud dared to remain beside her aunt and distance herself from the crowd of sylphs before her. Glorianna tried to rein in her disbelief, returning to her announcer duties as she gingerly called the rest of the Advocates over.

“On this day, the anniversary of so many of our fallen, we begin the process to start anew and name our next Elfidari. Pyriths. Sylphs. Dryads. Nymphs. All will bear witness to this night, this race to determine which of our Advocates represent the spirit of the Collective.”

The crowd hushed at the reminder of the anniversary, the Advocates stood in silence at the Thornguard's words but her aunt's turn of phrase bugged Cloud to the point of fixation. Glorianna never minced her words and neither did the Collective. 

She had read the letter Aunt Adrisa had given her countless times to the point of memorisation and now Glorianna had used the very same phrase to begin this race. The spirit of the Elfidari. The spirit of the Collective. It wasn't a coincidence.

“The rules are simple. Both Major and Minor Folka are allowed during the race but cannot be used to harm another, only to boost your own strength, healing or deal with the environment surrounding you.” Glorianna continued, making sure to make a clear distinction between the rules.

Astra nudged the pyrith Advocate watching intently, pretending to mock Cloud’s lack of singing and clearly staring straight at her. The nymphs smirk irritated her to no end and tried to focus on what her aunt was saying but the sights and sounds just kept reminding her of the night her mother died. The glowing light of the Trollians and the sound of her Folka mixing with her mother’s until it faded forever.

"There will be Thornguard’s stationed at each part of the race as impartial observers to make sure there is no foul play present. The first one back with the approval of the Collective wins.”

Glorianna seemed to look right through Astra’s attempts to whisper, the nymph getting startled by her glare before silently returning to her spot on the plinth beside her clan. Cloud noted Astra’s younger sister hiding in the crowd, her mouth tweaking upwards at the reminder of them coughing up bubbles of flame but grateful they seemed to be better.

“Lastly, there will be obstacles in place and the Undergrowth is no pushover. The Trollians have returned for the first time in a decade for their annual migration through the re-emerging Nook Knolls."

The niggling feeling in the back of her mind settled on her aunt's inclusion of the Trollians, things finally slotting together despite the cryptic nature of her aunt's wording. The spirit of the Elfidari, the Collective, relied entirely on the nature and relationship of the Trollians. Just as her mother led the Trollians to their Lasting Place, the next Elfidari would have to do the same.

"These naturally made portals can happen anywhere at anytime and we expect tonight’s blue moon to be a factor in that. Your Folka will react to them whether you like it or not so be careful." 

Glorrianna’s warning went on deaf ears, Fiord too distracted by the muttering and pointing of the dryads, Astra swept her hair away from her face to try and catch his attention as Tirithia darted from side to side in preparation for the race.

"However, as Advocates we ask you to react to this situation with grace and respect for those around you. Consider this an added trial to the race and one I am most certain you have all trained for.” 

Cloud’s wings began to flit nervously, betraying her cool calm expression despite her exhausted mind attempting to run through all of Aviatus’ quick fire lessons not one of them included anything about Nook Knolls. 

Of course she knew about them, the memory of her mother summoning them ingrained in her brain but flying through them was an entirely different story. They appeared mostly in Ironthorn trees to pass safely through to the next continent without detection. 

“If anyone, and I mean anyone decides to harm any Trollians on route to the Undergrowth I can assure you the entire wrath of the Collective will be the least of your worries.”

Glorianna’s tone became far sterner, much like a certain strict Speedchaser instructor, Cloud shivered despite the heavy armour in the cool night air, catching Adrisa’s eyes as even her wife took a wary step backwards, knowing full well what was about to happen. 

She almost felt bad for the other Advocates, her aunt's much scarier side being completely unfamiliar to the others. Tirithia dared to stare her down but even Astra quivered under the weight of Glorianna’s plain yet powerful presence.

Regardless of Glorianna’s glare there was no more time to waste. 

The crowd began to get restless, the growing unease along with the haunting blue hue of the rising arrival of the Solstice. It was time for the race to begin. Letting out a shaky breath she clamped down her Folka as calmly as she could, giving one last look to both her aunts and a distracted Aviatus and getting a reserved, warm smile in return.

“Give it up, Cloudless. We all know you can’t keep up without a Folka. Just leave the Trollian shepherding to us and go back to your traitorous aunts while you can.” Astra retorted, her quivering knees betraying her overconfidence as she stood right next to Cloud in the lineup for the race.

"We'll see."

Cloud smiled evenly, the nymph Advocate letting slip of what Cloud had already surmised was all but confirmed. Either you lead the race throughout and win cleanly or you took the risk to help the Trollians to their goal and pass the race with them regardless of standing. 

There was no doubt that the other Advocates had clocked the same idea or they had been tipped off by their own advisers. Her aunts had done her best to get her to focus on the upcoming Solstice but with everything going on with her father she wasn’t surprised that she missed the memo.

“Advocates, on your marks!”

Cloud halfheartedly took her place on the soft, springy grass emblazoned with the sylph Elfari emblem as the pliths began to rise in preparation of Glorianna’s call. She began to fidget with her Speedchaster gear, the various shades of greens and yellows blurring into the falling leaves from the treetops.

Despite the beauty of the Undergrowth, Cloud still felt marred by all the falling bodies that night. All those years, back in the same spot of the most grievous crime to ever occur in the history of the Collective. She had no doubt Tirithia had the same thought on her mind. 

“Wings up!”

Cloud barely unfurled her wings up in time, still lost in the questions and possibilities of what her opponents would do. Her mother, Aura, was known for helping the Trollian migration to reach the Lasting Place but if they tried to summon Nook Knolls and messed up she wasn’t sure whether they’d survive it. 

She had no doubt at least two of them would risk the win for getting the favour of the crowd and the Trollians on their side but Fiord? Tirithia? Even Astra? Her aunt might’ve given nothing away but with how the others reputations were who knew what would happen just to win and become the next Elfidari.

“Go!”

Tirithia’s Folka soared through the night leaving a streak of flame behind her, her Major Folka burning through the torrential rainstorm leaving a stream of steam behind her. Astra weaved seamlessly through the looming raindrops her translucent scales effortlessly camouflaging against the puddle streaked track leading into the gloomy forest.

Despite the race going exactly as Cloud expected, she couldn’t help but think that it was absolutely insane for a race to be happening in these conditions let alone on the same traumatic anniversary of so many of their kin’s deaths. Cloud could hear the crowd roaring in support for Tirithia’s showy start, Adrisa nowhere to be found but somehow, some way she could still hear her aunts’ Folka in her heart thrumming alongside the pace of her wings.

She felt a little more at ease knowing her family was part of the Thornguard observers but a sudden jet of water sprung up from the ground and knocked her and her confidence flat. So much for not attacking her opponents. There was no doubt in her mind how it would be overturned. Cursing the mudslicked ground beneath her, she muttered the counterspell to break free of the Major Folka trap.

She could hear Astra’s cackling long past the entrance to the next part of the race, even Fiord making his way through to the Ironthorn forest entrance without her. Letting out a growl of frustration, her Folka bubbled up to the surface in an attempt to catch up to the group. Hissing, she let it cool her mind and clung to her flying instructors advice with all she had. 

“Lady Elfari, are you alright?”

Ignoring Fiord’s initial reluctance to stay behind and help her, she brushed the hand aside and wiped herself down, unhooking the already damaged gear and cursed Astra for her stupid water trap. She abandoned the broken shin guards and backplate to free up her wings a little, thanking her ancestors that they weren’t damaged and gave herself a stern talking to for not paying attention.

“I’m fine just go after them without me, alright? I’ll catch up.”

She could almost hear her fellow sylphs swooning in the background at their interaction, a newly disowned noble and a downtrodden heir to the Elfidari throne being in the same two metre radius. At least her new flight instructor wasn’t as lovestruck as her aunts or anyone else in the court but she cringed at the sight of his blush creeping up his cheeks as he turned his face away. She didn’t have time for this.

"Go, Fiord. It's a race, remember? Just…pay her back for me, would you?" Cloud said, giving him a half hearted smile in return.

She didn’t think it was worth much considering she was covered in mud but he seemed to take it well, giving her a Thornguard salute before speeding off in the direction he came. Sighing, Cloud tried to get a decent running start, struggling to get her feet going with the slippy path before her but once she got a good feel of the straying winds behind her no rain could stop her.

She hadn’t been too far out from the forest entrance; its winding roots and bowing trees gave perfect cover to keep the grass mostly dry from rain cover. Grateful for the sylph’s natural talent for picking up even the slightest breeze, the winding slipstream of currents weaving through the large Ironthorn tree trunks. She saw the tips of Fiord’s wings, opting for a half climbing style of working through most of the Undergrowth’s tricky terrain.

“Look out!”

Cloud was lost in her element, the wind incredibly freeing without all the responsibilities of being Elfari, weighing her down. The gloomy scenery blurred into dark greens of the foliage around her before warping into an aquamarine sea of searing light. 

Cloud barely felt the gravity shift between her feet suddenly weightless, squinting at the strange sight before her. It was a realm entirely made of blueish light, with streams of translucent energy weaving through and around open and closing portals of various shapes and sizes. This was the realm of the Trollians. The Nook Knolls.