Moon Chasers: Into the storm [Finished]

Chapter seventeen: Vix

The four people have decided to sleep until sunrise and continue their search and bonding the next morning. As Jory awake he finds the drow working on some papers, different than the one from the night before. He observe her for a time before deciding to start making breakfast. Perhaps that will help relieve the palpable tension between the members of the team.

She comes to check on what he is doing but let him continue, soon everyone is awake and eating. Jory observe his companions, after having spent long months together he has come to understand them more, Qa feels wronged by the accusations of the woman but as always he keeps everything to himself no matter how many times Eleon ask him, with a soft voice, what is wrong.

If the halfling remembers correctly, three hundred years ago a ruler from Suhmar decided to purge his land from everyone who was not a human. What started as just asking them to leave by revoking their right turned into a genocide when the people tried to stand against his tyranny. Many just took their leave but many of the Drow that lived in Suhmar back then were refugees and with nowhere to go they tried to find ways to stay. The ruler then decided to attack, justifying his action by calling them traitors to the gods, indeed, due to the color of their skin he could call them creatures of the night and say that the disaster that destroyed their homeland was the gods might.

Deeply rooted religious belief took the last blow against them and public opinion changed, that's when the Hunt began and it ended fifty or so years later when the rulers son overthrew him and took his throne ending seventy years of tyranny and unfair rules in Suhmar, the Hunt was never recognized by the country and no one ever got an apology or their stolen items back. But by the time the Hunt ended very little drows remained and a lot had just vanished. The number of death was never really known and people decided to ignore that the event happened at all. Drows vanished from the surface and everyone believed they were all gone forever.

"May I ask you name? I can't keep on calling you "hey you!"." Asked Jory while they were getting ready to continue to the place their compass was pointing at.

"Then you have to formally introduce yourselves, in the drow fashion, you tell your name and your parents name and your birth name if you ever married then you bow to me, not deeply but cup your hands in front of me and I shall do the same." Eleon almost went on a rant on how he was not going to do that but the exasperation on Qa's face stopped him before he could open his mouth

High elves, Sylvan elves and Drow have common history, feud and animosity between them but that's an entirely other story that date back to times that no one really remembers. Elves matters are left to elves, and most of the time they are prehistoric, Jory will stick to what happened in the last thousand years and will not look too far back, but perhaps one day he'll learn about it.

They did as she asked, Jory went first. "I am Jory Braveheart born from Rose and Magnus Brave heart" he bowed and cuped his had and she did the same then came Qa

"I am Qa al-Shaheen born from parents I never knew" He bowed she did the same always extremely solemn, introducing yourself must be something extremely important for her people

"I am Eleon son of King Ninleyn of house Shi and Queen Maeril of House Elt, by tradition I am therefore considered to be of House Elt." He bowed in a very gracious fashion and so did the drow proving that she was also well versed in court mannerisms.

"And I am Vix Talith born from parents I never met" she bowed once again and everyone did the same "Now you know my name and I know yours so we are officially partner in this quest, we shall protect each other against whatever danger might lay ahead"

"Wait a second, Vix Talith don't your people talk to spiders? Then how come that you couldn't stop them?"

"Eleon of House Elt, heir to the throne of evergreen, spiders have different languages, just like us moreover they sometimes can't be reasoned with, just like us" Eleon had a stupid look of surprise

"How did you know for me?"

" The way you said king Ninleyn and I am not a savage I know about the current ruling dynasties, so you are royalty, how come that you're here chasing myths?"

" I fled the evergreen one night, it's that easy"

This whole exchange had been so passive agressive that both Qa and Jory realized with horror that now they had two sassy elves that loves to argue, and play cold wars and both felt already immensely tired at the idea of having to cope with both of them, especially if Vix was as skilled as Eleon for veiled insults.

"So, hum, Vix, I can call you Vix? How did you get here?" She made a subtle nod before answering the little man's question

"Your compass is not the only one that exist in this world, fortunately yours is not a one time use, once I got here mine exploded"

"What?! Alright that's weird, so how was your boat trip?"

"I didn't use a boat I came here by earth-shaper tunnels, and also ley lines, the compass protected me it was made to use such pathways"

"Oh, and may I ask if you are here on your own decision or if someone sent you?" The halfling was really confused by the feigned friendliness Vix was showing

"Details of my personal mission are a secret" but truth be told Vix was far from free, she was bound by an oath a promises duty and orders, but she is a proud person and also very dutiful she will not divulge intelligence on her mission or people, she has the same objective as those buffoons and that's where their closeness stopped and would ever stop.

Vix was someone who even when doing the most mundane thing looked martial, she was a soldier alright, Qa had seen it immediately recognizing himself in her. It takes one to know one. She, like him, probably never knew freedom of choice or freedom of speech. Someone who was raised in the army, who never knew anything and by the way she talked about her parents he could guess that she was abandoned, given to people in need of new pairs of hands, either that or she started as a slave somewhere. He pitied her the same way his companions pitied him, with compassion and not even daring to imagine what their life was like, with respect. Vix carried herself with might power and dignity and her face had a perpetual rigid and serious expression. Inspiring respect.