Valterra

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Faeron sauntered the east path towards the Embassy Tower which resided within a host of Irsalune City's other ivory towers. Irsalune was Valintra's city centre for the Civilian Elves. It was built shortly after they settled in the core of the planet, not too long after The Shattering. It was where he was trained as Warden and although he was not looking forward to confronting his Masters, it felt good to be back.

There were no roads in Irsalune, so Faeron took his time along the path to take in all he had missed. There were several new lodging towers built, all connected by small, paved intertwining pathways. Even the older paths looked as new now as they did when Irsalune was constructed, so many years ago. He looked up and noticed a few had new bridges built between them several stories above ground.

Each tower sustained itself and its residents through a number of systems and policies put place by the Master Elves. Each tower dwelling elf took on certain responsibilities to ensure the quality of life within the tower would be maximised for all its residents. Each floor was inhabited by one elf and their family, which was really whomever the designated elf chose. It could mean a spouse and children or a group of friends or business partners. Yet no matter whom it was who lived there, all tower dwelling elves devoted themselves to making their tower one of the best. Quality and quantity of food, entertainment, education, maintenance and policy enforcement, were the types of duties that each elf could be assigned when chosen.

Civilian Elves thrived off social interaction. It helped fine tune their abilities. In some cases, it helped in gaining abilities. A Civilian Elf was not at their best if left isolated, they lived happier in groups and could even become more powerful. If left alone too long, a Civilian Elf would become depressed or short tempered. Some believed that Dark Elves were created through the capture and torture of Civilian Elves. It would take centuries of confinement, but a Light Elf could be morphed into a Dark one under the right conditions.

Faeron was raised a Civilian Elf, though he considered himself a Woodland Elf. Because his fate was foreseen, he was taken from his parents at an early age and brought to Irsalune. He still had contact with his family, but they understood the importance of shaping Faeron into the elf he needed to become to be the best Warden he could.

Though it was seen as one of the most honourable positions an elf could be assigned to, Faeron had thought becoming Warden was a burden. Being taken from his home and family, being taught the formalities and intricacies of Elven history, knowing he would have to leave Valintra without any idea if he would return had made him resistant to his Warden training. His curiosity won out in the end. With his power ever growing, his need for knowledge and his joy for tracking and exploring made the idea of life on Valterra rather exciting. He knew his duties well. He grew to know Valterra well and for the most part, his vocation had been relatively easy. He tried to forget his failure at tracking the Fallen One, but when the dreams of the draugs began, he knew that battle wasn't over, no matter who the foe turned out to be.

Faeron was very well versed in the History of Valterra and its relations with Valintra. He had to be. So when he saw the vision of Elise and the boy involved in a magical battle against a demon, he came to two conclusions. First, the boy must be a Primordial, if not a full one, then an initiate. Secondly, Elise must technically be Fae. He can forgive himself for not catching it sooner, for all human witches were descendants of either Fae or Elf blood. But he still felt Elise was something more. Could she be a full blood Fae, not just a halfling? How was she connected to the boy more so than to himself? He definitely felt a connection to her but had yet to see any visions of a future that involved he and her together.        

Which left him with one nagging question, why did he have the same life-force as this young initiate? Could he be a Primordial as well? He had met one before and never felt the slightest bit of connection to him. The immortal Chancellor Marcus was with the boy in Bolster. He had a different looking aura, but still he was, or at least had been a Primordial and Faeron felt no pull towards him. Can an aura morph and change in time? In Faeron's experience it did not. However, he was still a young elf compared to most and he never took that for granted.