It was midmorning on the three-month mark when the elves arrived-tall, graceful, and radiant in a way that made the air seem to still around them. One male, one female both clad uniforms marked with the eclipse sigils of the Luminous shimmering with silver threads and accents of soft green, marking them allies. They came bearing carts laden with supplies-fresh linens, dried herbs, persevered fruit and vegetables for them coming winter and tools requested by the temple caretakers. The Equilibrians welcome them reverence, hands working quickly to unload and organize. Nuri watched from the top steps arms crossed loosely her gaze unreadable. Lily found her a few moments later, brushing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear before smiling softly. "They've agreed to let you travel with them, to the city." Nuri blinked her hand unconsciously drafting to the curve of her belly. She wasn't surprised, exactly. She had known this place was a waystation, still hearing it aloud made it real. She nodded slowly. "When do they leave?"
"At dawn." Lily's voice held a note of sadness though it didn't change Nuri's mind. "They said it will be a long journey though the elves don't take risks lightly." For a moment neither of them said anything then Nuri turned her gaze back to the elves. So polished, so composed and yet something about them didn't feel completely unfamiliar. "Then I'll be ready."
The wagon rolled steadily through the forest, pulled by a single brown bear whose breath rose in puffs against the crisp autumn air. Leaves in copper and gold fluttered past the canvas flap, brushing the side of the wagon. Inside bundled in warm blankets and surrounded by empty crates the three travelers sat. Nocturna kept to herself, cloak pulled loosely around her shoulders the hood drawn up. She sat across from the two elves. The male elf studied the shifting light through the curtain slit his blonde hair catching glints of sun. Th female her posture immaculate adjusted her gloves with casual grace. Eventually the male elf broke the silence. "You do not speak much," he observed, his tone polite but edged with curiosity. His golden hair fell over one shoulder, his pale eyes sharp like the frozen river near Nocturina clan's home. "Is it a matter of custom or simply your nature?" Nocturna glanced up at him, her expression unreadable. "Neither. Just preference."
The female elf cast a sidelong look at her companion before changing the subject. "I will say, this visit was more tolerable than last." Her tone is smooth with and undercut of disdain. She played with then end of her bright green braided hair. "I'm grateful the priests had the sense to keep those filthy beast-people out of sight this time." "You mean the Veyrkin?" He asks with a faint smile on his lips. She gives a dismissive flick of her hand. "Yes. I know the Luminous preaches inclusion but letting creatures like that mingle freely among the faithful and join them? It's unsanitary. Undignified." She sighs. "At least this time the high priest was discreet. I didn't see a single one." Nocturna said nothing. Her face remained passive, but her fingers twitched slightly where they rested on her lap. The hood still shaded her features, her dark hair obscuring the curve line of her ears. The male shifted slightly his gaze going to Noctunia. "You stayed at the sanctum of the Ellipse for some time, didn't you?" Nocturna nodded slowly. "A few months." The female elf arched a brow. "How you endured the company of those things is beyond me."
"I've seen worse," Nocturna replies quietly.
The female elf furrows her brows then glances away. After a stretch of silence broken by the steady plodding of the bear, the male elf spoke again his voice warm but self-assured. "I suppose it's only proper we introduce ourselves." He dips his sharp shin in a polite nod. "I am Caelith of the Galeborn House-Keeper of the wind and Envoy to the Luminous Court. Perhaps you've heard of me."
"No," Nocturna simply replies.
He seemed only mildly surprised, his smile not faltering. Ah, well. The world is vast. Still, I've quelled tempests with a whisper and carried prayer on the wind across valleys. The skies obey me." "And I," said the female elf with a graceful tilt of her head, "am Lysari of the Stonevale Line, Warden of the Deep Roots. My connection to the earth is... profound. I can still a landslide or stir the trees to move." She gestured toward the bear pulling them along. "And this is Mora. She is my bounded Gurdian-our souls linked by an ancient rite. She chose me when I was just a child." At that, Noctutnas interest stirred. Her haze shifted to the bear's broad back, where the leather harness glinted with polishes runestone. "You're soul-bound?" She asks more curious than before.
The fire crackled softly in the hush of the fall evening. Leaves rustled gently overhead, stirred by a wind Caelith had summoned earlier just to keep the air fresh. Lysari sat opposite him, humming to herself as she polished a silver clasp on her cloak, while Mora—their bonded bear—slept nearby, her large frame rising and falling in rhythm with the quiet. Nocturna sat a little apart from them, cup of warm tea nestled in her hands. She watched the flames flicker, her thoughts drifting. They're not like the elves I remember. As a child, the elves she knew were barefoot wanderers of deep woods and ancient glades. They laughed often, and never acted like they were above anyone. Curious, not prideful. Grounded in the old ways, they listened more than they spoke and saw the world with open hearts, not narrowed eyes.
But these two…
Lysari moved with a grace that felt rehearsed, like she expected praise with every step. Caelith carried himself like wind obeyed him because the world owed him that courtesy. And they spoke of the Luminous as if no other truth could exist beyond their light. Nocturna sipped her tea, watching their silhouettes dance against the firelight. They look like the elves I once knew—but they feel so far from them. Mora let out a soft snore, drawing a faint smile from Nocturna. The bond between bear and elf was something rare, something real. That part, at least, felt right. The firelight danced across their camp as the wind rustled fallen leaves around the wagon. Nocturna sat quiet, wrapped in her thoughts, the voices of the elves talking politics faded in the background to her.
She was pulled back to the present when Lysari rose with a soft huff. "Ugh. I need to step away for a moment," she muttered, rummaging through a small satchel beside the wagon. She pulled out a slender device shaped of carved silver and glass—something Nocturna had never seen before. With an irritated flick of her thumb, Lysari tapped the gem set inside. Nothing. She gave it a harder tap. Still nothing. "Should've checked all your crystals before we left the city outpost," Caelith said, clearly amused. "You know the colder it gets, the faster they drain." Lysari shot him a glare and grumbled, "It was working fine two nights ago." She tossed the thing into Nocturna's lap with little ceremony. "Hold this," she muttered as she headed toward the wagon for her cloak. Nocturna blinked, holding the strange object delicately in her hands. It felt smooth, humming faintly under her fingers. It was shaped not unlike the crystal lamps she remembered from long ago, but this was more compact, more refined. Newer. Strange.
Her fingers brushed the white crystal embedded in the casing, and suddenly—a flicker of light blinked to life from within the device. It pulsed gently, like something stirred awake. Caelith looked over, brows raising. "Well, would you look at that," he said with a smirk. "Looks like it had a little life left in it after all." Lysari turned back, eyes narrowing. She strode over and took the flashlight from Nocturna's hand, her expression shifting to something unreadable as she inspected the crystal. It glowed now with a steady, soft light. "It was dead," she said flatly, her tone more curious than accusatory. "Completely dead." She looked at Nocturna. "Did you do something to it?" Nocturna shook her head. Lysari continued to study the light, lips pressed thin. She didn't argue—just gave a small hum and turned away, disappearing into the shadows beyond the wagon. Nocturna watched her go, still holding the faint warmth of the crystal in her fingertips not sure what had happened.